Play at the Plate Contest Rack Pack

I won the monthly contest over at Play at the Plate for July, and I picked a rack pack of 2011 Bowman for my prize. Before I post my goodies, I have to thank Brian for putting on these contests every month. If you aren't checking out the contests  he has at Play at the Plate the first of every month, you should be. And you should be reading one of the best blogs out there. Brian has a way of getting readers involved that I envy. On top of his superior blogging skills, he's also one of the most generous bloggers.

OK, enough ass-kissing. You came here to see if I got a Bryce Harper.

I did better than pull a Harper, I scored two of my favorite Tigers from the set. A Cabrera for the player collection and a V-Mart in full catcher gear. I beat the odds pulling the 4th and 5th spots in the batting lineup.

Here are two non-Harper chrome prospects. I didn't realize this Bowman card of Dee Gordon, son of Flash, was not his first Bowman card. I think I do have his first card, though, from 2008, when he was Devaris Strange-Gordon. Why'd you drop the Strange, Dee? That's strange. Maybe not. You don't see too many hyphenated names in baseball. I'm pretty sure when Topps picked up their monopoly status they outlawed hyphenation.

I also pulled one of those Bowman's Best inserts. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of this insert set. Retro '90s just isn't a retro I'm ready to revel in yet. I liked the 1992 Bowman inserts from last year, but these ones don't do it for me.

Again, not Harper, and who cares. Pirela has 7 home runs so far this year in AA, and even though he's a Yankee, I do enjoy me a good green border.

The rack pack was a fun free rip, but the real highlight of my contest winnings was the extra goodies Brian sent.

This Ichiro was much-needed for my 2007 Bowman Heritage set, my favorite modern set. And this is a fantastic card. I love Ichiro's pose set against the clouds and the colorful wall. I'm not sure which wall we're looking at here. I'm not too sure it's even a real wall, but it captures that vintage feel perfectly. This is one of the best looking cards in a great set.

Brian also tossed in another Ichiro. He's not officially a player I collect, but somehow Brian knew I'd enjoy more Ichiro. Hell, who doesn't? Ichiro's one of those guys I've always considered starting to collect more seriously.
Thanks for sending all the great stuff, Brian.

I recently picked up a few more packs of 2011 Bowman for my birthday, which I'll post soon, and then you can see what other non-Harpers I scored.