Video Box Break and Review: 2009 Bowman HTA

One HTA box of 2009 Bowman Baseball (paid $85)
32 cards per pack, 12 packs per box

The Details:

Chiptoppers
One Autographed Rookie Card (10 cards, one per HTA box)

Base Set: 230 cards
220 short-set
10 Autographed Rookie Cards (see above)

Inserts
Bowman Prospects: 90 cards
World Baseball Classic: 20 cards

Parallels
Golds: 330 cards (one-per-pack)
Blues: 330 cards (numbered to 500)
Oranges: 330 cards (1:3 packs, numbered to 250)
Reds: 330 cards (1:1020)
Chrome: 110 cards (six-per-pack)
Chrome Refractors: 110 cards (1:5, numbered to 599)
Chrome X-Fractors: 110 cards (1:10, numbered to 299)
Chrome Blue Refractors: 110 cards (1:19, numbered to 150)
Chrome Gold Refractors: 110 cards (1:57, numbered to 50)
Chrome Orange Refractors: 110 cards (1:114, numbered to 25)
Chrome Red Refractors: 110 cards (1:484, numbered to 5)
Chrome SuperFractor: 110 cards (1:2415, one-of-one)
Press Plates: 330 cards (1:93)

Autogamers
Autographed Rookies: (ten cards, 1:40)
Autographed Blue Rookies: (ten cards, 1:98, numbered to 500)
Autographed Orange Rookies: (ten cards, 1:194, numbered to 250)
Autographed Red Rookies: (ten cards, 1:50,000, one-of-one)
Autographed Rookie Press Plates (ten cards, 1:13,000)
Autographed Chrome Prospects: (17 cards*, 1:23)
Autographed Chrome Refractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:47)
Autographed Chrome X-Fractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:94)
Autographed Chrome Blue Refractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:152)
Autographed Chrome Gold Refractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:457)
Autographed Chrome Orange Refractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:911)
Autographed Chrome Red Refractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:4500)
Autographed Chrome SuperFractor Prospects: (17 cards, 1:22,500)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Press Plates: (17 cards, 1:2400)
Bowman Prospect Autographs: (ten cards, 1:24)

The 17 Autographed Chrome Prospects are numbered as an extension of the Chrome Prospects insert set. (BCP111-BCP127)

The Pulls

Part One:


Part Two:


Base Set: 192 of 230 (83.48%)

short set: 191 of 220 (86.82%)
Autographed Rookies: 1 of 10 (10.00%) L. Montz

Inserts
Bowman Prospects: 77 of 90 (85.56%)
Bowman World Baseball Classic: 19 of 20 (95.00%)

Parallels
12 Golds
8 Blues: C-M Wang, R. Ankiel, D. Haren, J. Lannan, M. Lowell, C. Quentin, Y. Escobar, J. Bourgeois
4 Oranges: N. Leyja, N. Buss, T. Johnson, C. Li
67 Chromes
2 Chrome Refractors: J. Jones, P. Aumont
2 Chrome X-Fractors: O. Tejada, J. Bogany

Autogamers
1 Autographed Chrome Prospect: J. Rodriguez
1 Bowman Prospect Autograph: R. Kalish

The Greatest Video Box Break Ever: Part Two

The Greatest Video Box Break Ever: Part One

2009 Bowman Baseball

24 packs per box, 10 cards per pack
Supplied from Topps

A Special Preview of my 2009 Bowman Video Break.

I promise you, that my upcoming video box break of 2009 Bowman Baseball will be THE GREATEST VIDEO BOX BREAK YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!!

I wouldn't be making this claim if I didn't think it would be THAT FUCKING AWESOME!!!

Seriously, this box break will BLOW YOUR FUCKING MIND!!!

By the time this gets posted, I'll be on my way to the site of my epic break. I don't want to give away any hints, but all I'll say is the reason why it will be THE GREATEST VIDEO BOX BREAK EVER, has to do with this guy...

The card that may make Bowman Baseball relevant again.

Well, for this year anyway.

In case you don't know who this guy is, check this out.

Tom the Ripper: 2008 Bowman Sterling (in 3D)

For the final time...

This is a legit error card.



This is a gimmick card.



And this... The jury is still out on.



Got it? Good.

The most signifcant card in 20 years?

No, they don't have a license, and they probably never will. But the first of the Razor promos have hit The National and made their way to eBay. Get a good look at the "Bowman Killer."

Yes, This Guy Is Real.

In an attempt to gimmick away what little relevance their Bowman brand still had with collectors, Topps has included autographed inserts of over 20 Major League scouts in their just-released 2008 Bowman. But some collectors have had questions about this particular scout card.



This is an autograph of the mysterious "Bowman Scout." Who is this guy? Is he even real? Or do we have another Kazuo Uzuki? Or "Rip Master?"

First off, yes, The Bowman Scout is a real person. He is an actual scout for an American League team who has worked as a consultant for Topps since the early 90s. According to a 2006 interview with Beckett, The Scout (who wishes to remain anonymous) says he attends 300-400 baseball games a year, ranging from high school to the Big Leagues.

Among The Scout's greatest "discoveries:" Mike Piazza (1992 Bowman), Jorge Posada ('94), Matt Holliday ('99), Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau (2001).

And despite his work with Topps, he says he doesn't collect baseball cards.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

1st Impressions: "Fisking" the 2008 Bowman Sell Sheet

Fisking: "A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story."

The term was coined to describe a now (in)famous December 9, 2001 blog entry by Andrew Sullivan that ripped left-wing journalist Robert Fisk a new one.

With that said, I have in my formerly nicotine stained hands (CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH) the sell sheet for 2008 Bowman. Yes, it's not even February, and the sell sheets for '08 Bowman (with Bowman Chrome!) are already out.

Whaddaya say we have some fun with this?

UPDATE: 1/28/08
Found a sell sheet.

---

Configuration: 24 packs per box. 10 cards per pack.

So far, so good.

Home of the Rookie Card!

For the last few years Bowman has ceased to be "The Home of the Rookie Card." But hey, maybe Bowman's changed. Maybe they'll include a few more Rookies this year? Then again, this product is going to be released in May, so maybe not. Let's find out, anyway.

2008 Bowman Baseball now features even more must-have, Bowman Exclusive cards than ever before!

Ooh, I can hardly wait. Are they going to expand the base set to more than 220 cards? Get rid of the base set autographed cards?

NEW this year, 2008 Bowman Baseball presents Hobby Exclusive AUTOGRAPHED Bowman Chrome Prospect Cards, at an insertion rate of 1 per Hobby and HTA Box and introduces Bowman Scouts Autographed Cards, highlighting baseball scouts who have signed some of today’s most incredible MLB stars!

SURVEY SAYS......



FEATURES
- NEW Bowman Chrome Autographed Prospect Cards! 1 PER HOBBY BOX!

NEW Bowman Chrome Autographed Prospect Cards? 1 PER HOBBY BOX? Be honest, raise your hand if you didn't see this coming?

- NEW Autographed Bowman Scout Cards!

SURVEY SAYS......

Yes, you read right. Autographed cards.

Of scouts.

(How the hell can these people sleep at night?)

- 110 Topps Exclusive Bowman Chrome Prospect Cards!
- 110 Topps Exclusive Bowman Prospect Cards!
- 3 Autographed Cards Per HTA Box!
- Each pack contains 5 Bowman Baseball cards PLUS 2 Prospect cards PLUS 2 Bowman Chrome Prospect cards PLUS 1 Gold Parallel card.

Wait, wait, wait. Why are you telling us on one line that we get three autographs in an HTA box; but then give us the pack breakdown for regular wax in the next? What's the breakdown for HTA boxes?

BASE CARDS (200 subjects): 5 PER PACK!
- VETERANS: 200 top MLB pros.
- ROOKIES: 20 young players featured with the MLB® Rookie Card Logo.

Same old puny 220-card base set; unchanged from the last couple of years. If there was anything that NEEDED to change about Bowman, it was the base set.

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE! A 1 of 1 version of the base set.
- ORANGE: Numbered* to 250.
- BLUE: Numbered* to 500.
- GOLD: The player’s signature and Bowman logo are gold-foil stamped!

Does anybody really care about the non-Chrome parallels? I get the one-per-pack Gold parallels, but what's the point with the Oranges and Blues? (Yeah, I know. "Adding value." Whatever.)

AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARDS: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!

I hope for Topps sake, they didn't tell Wal-Mart that the AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARDS are HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!

And what's the deal with THE ALL CAPS AND THE EXCLAMATION POINTS AT THE END OF EACH SENTENCE! IT SOUNDSSSS LIKE THISSSS GUY WROTE IT:

(VERIFYING ON ANOTHER!)

- 10 Rookies sign their base card and are numbered 221-230. 1 PER HTA BOX!

Here is the complete AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD checklist:

221 Clay Buchholz
222 Nyjer Morgan
223 Brandon Jones
224 Sam Fuld
225 Daric Barton
226 Chris Seddon
227 J.R. Towles
228 Steve Pearce
229 Ross Ohlendorf
230 Clint Sammons

Basically, it's that guy who pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox last September, and nine others.

Oh, and wasn't Daric Barton's RC in 2003 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects? (That would be a "yes.")

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: 1 OF 1!
- ORANGE: Numbered* to 250.
- BLUE: Numbered* to 500.

Blah, blah, blah...

Moving on to...

PROSPECT CARDS (110 subjects): 4 PER PACK!

BOWMAN PROSPECTS (2 per pack! HTA 8 per pack):
- Non-Major League Prospects appear in their MLB uniforms along with a “First Bowman Card” logo. Numbered BP1–BP110. 2 PER PACK!

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE! A 1.....

Same concept as the base cards. You get the idea.

NEW! AUTOGRAPHED BOWMAN CHROME PROSPECTS: 1 PER HOBBY & HTA BOX!
- HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
- 25 prospects appear with their signatures on Chrome technology and will be numbered BCP111-BCP135!

Translation: All those Autographed Prospect Cards that were numbered as part of the regular Prospects set, have been moved into the Bowman Chrome set.

And who you ask are these guys?

BCP111 David Price
BCP112 Michael Moustakas

Autographed non-rookie cards of players whose First Bowman Card was in last year's BDP&P.

SURVEY SAYS......

Here's the rest of the checklist.

BCP113 Matt LaPorta
BCP114 Wendell Fairley
BCP115 Josh Vitters
BCP116 Johnathan Bachanov
BCP117 Edward Kunz
BCP118 Matt Dominguez
BCP119 Kyle Lotzkar
BCP120 Madison Bumgarner
BCP121 Jason Heyward
BCP122 Julio Borbon
BCP123 Josh Smoker
BCP124 Jarrod Parker
BCP125 Kevin Ahrens
BCP126 J.P. Arencibia
BCP127 Johs Bell
BCP128 Scott Cousins
BCP129 Brandon Hynick
BCP130 Alan Johnson
BCP131 Josh Kreuzer
BCP132 Ryan Zink
BCP133 Matt Harrison
BCP134 Justin Masterson
BCP135 Fautino de los Santos

---

Alright, that's enough, you get the gist of 2008 Bowman: Very few actual rookies and a shitload of gimmicks.

And that's the problem. Topps' once vaunted Bowman brand -- the self-proclaimed "Home of the Rookie Card" -- has lost it's identity. Granted, most of it is not of their making (i.e. the MLBPA's "Rookie Card" rules), but a lot of it is self-inflicted. I think Ben Henry said it best last summer: Do collectors really want Autographed Chrome Prospects in regular ol' Bowman, (or Chrome cards? or autographs of scouts? for that matter) or is it because Topps thinks that's what they want?

Anyway, for the first time in years, I think I'll be taking a pass on 2008 Bowman. (At least until the season ends.) If anything, by the time of next year's World Series, hobby wax will be selling for half price.

ETA: 5/12/08

Box Break and Review: 2007 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects

One Box of 2007 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects (paid $59)
24 packs per box, seven cards per pack (MSRP $2.99/pack)

The Details

Chiptoppers:
One over sized checklist.
One two-card pack of A-Rod Bullshit Waste-of-Space Mirrors.

Base Set: 55 cards (two-per-pack)

Inserts:
Prospects: 110 cards (two-per-pack)

Mirrors:
A-Rod Waste-of-Space: 25 cards (two per chiptopper pack)

Parallels*:
Golds: 165 cards (one-per-pack #)
Blues: 165 cards (1:29; numbered to 399)
Reds: (1:10,377; one-of-one)
Chrome: 165 cards (two-per-pack)
Chrome Refractor: 165 cards (1:11; limited, but not numbered, to 1060 copies)
X-Fractor: 165 cards (1:39; numbered to 299)
Blue Refractor: 165 cards (1:58, numbered to 199 copies)
Gold Refractor: 165 cards (1:232, numbered to 50)
Orange Refractor: 165 cards (1:463, numbered to 25)
Red Refractor: 165 Cards (1:2300, numbered to five)
Superfractor: 165 cards (1:10,377, one-of-one)
Printing Plates: (1:1294)

* All parallel sets include the 55 card base set, as well as the 110 Prospect "inserts," bundled together.
# Packs containing a Futures Relic, do not have a Gold card.

Autogamers +:
Autographed Chrome Prospects: 25 cards^ (1:38)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Refractor: 25 cards (1:118)
Autographed Chrome Prospects X-Fractor: 25 cards (1:262)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Blue Refractor: 25 cards (1:400)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Gold Refractor: 25 cards (1:1270)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Orange Refractor: 25 cards (1:2345)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Red Refractor: 25 cards (1:11,400)
Autographed Chrome Prospects Superfractor: 25 cards (1:57,814)
Head of the Class: two cards (1:4965)
Head of the Class Refractor: two cards (1:18,000)
Head of the Class Gold Refractor: two cards (1:34,500)
Head of the Class Superfractor: two cards (1:809,400)
Chrome Autographed Press Plates (1:14,255)
Futures Game Patch Relics: 45 cards (1:384)
Futures Game Base Relics: 45 cards (1:633; numbered to 135 copies)

+ Stated odds of finding an Autograph or Relic: 1:12
^ The 30 Autographed Chrome Prospects are numbered as an extension of the Prospects insert set. (DP 111-135)

The Pulls
Each seven card pack contains:

• Two base set cards ("Greens")
  
• Two Prospect "inserts" ("Blues")
  
• Either a Gold Parallel, or a Relic
  
• One Bowman Chrome Parallel
  
• Either a second BowChro card, a BowChro Refractor, or an Autographed BowChro Prospect

Base Set: 47 of 55 (85.45%)

Inserts:
Prospects: 48 of 110 (43.64%)

Mirrors:
2 A-Rod Waste of Space: #438 & #445

Parallels:
23 Golds
1 Blue: C. Culberson
44 Chromes
2 Refractors: O. Marmol, J. Borbon
1 X-Fractor: J. Whittleman

Autogamers:
1 Autographed Chrome Prospect: T. Alderson
1 Futures Game Base Relic: B. Bocock

The Review

The season's over, the Chrismahanukwanzakah Holidays here, and you know what that means: It's Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects time.

First off, I have to give Topps credit. Unlike 2007 Bowman, the player depicted on all the BDP&P wrappers and display boxes actually appears in the product. Not only is Houston Astro center fielder Hunter Pence in the set, but unlike last year's BDP&P cover boy Evan Longoria, Pence is on a regular base set card -- as opposed to a short-printed, autographed Chrome card.

The 2007 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects base set consists of 54 green bordered MLBPA-approved "Rookies," and a card of Barry Bonds. This particular Bonds uses the same photo as the card that was inserted into packs of regular Bowman. However, the back of Barry's BDP&P card mentions the home run record and lists his complete 2007 statistics. And while most of the "Rookies" are of the parenth-RC variety (i.e. Felix Pie, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Braun, and the like), there are some actual true RCs; such as Kyle Kendrick, Tim Lincecum, and JOBA!!!!

The 110 "Blue" Prospects are divided into 65 Draft Picks and 45 Futures Game cards. Unlike last year, the two subsets are not numbered separately, and (unfortunately) as has become par-for-the-course for BDP&P, there are an additional 25 Draft Picks that are only available in the Autographed Chrome format.

Last year's BDP&P had less than half of the 2006 first-round draft class. And of those first rounders that Topps did include, most of them were available only as Autographed Chromes. Did Topps improve with this year's set? Well, let's see.

After analyzing the checklist, Topps was able to snag 24 of the 30 2007 first round draft picks (up from only 13 last year). Of those, 17 appear exclusively in the Autographed Chrome Prospects subset. However, of the seven unautographed first-rounders, five were top ten selections -- including the first two overall picks.

One of the positive unintended consequences of Donruss's forthcoming unlicensed draft pick product, is that they signed both David Price and Michael Moustakas (#1 and #2 respectively) to exclusive autograph contracts. Although Topps was able to get both Price and Moustakas, their 2007 BDP&P cards are unautographed -- thereby making them collectible. Thanks Donruss!

As usual, there are a slew of 2nd, 3rd, and "sandwich" round picks, as well as a few later round draftees that Topps thinks might pan out -- but probably won't. One of the most interesting cards is #BDPP2 Karl Bolt -- a first baseman selected by the Phillies with the 473rd overall selection. What makes Bolt so interesting is where he went to college: The Air Force Academy. HOO-RAH, AIR FORCE!!!

Here's an interesting nugget of information I found out by reading the card backs. Did you know that Frank Gailey (23rd round pick of the Blue Jays) AND Jason Kiley (25th rounder of the Yankees) are both West Chester University's career strikeout leaders? They both went to Archbishop Carroll High School along with Buccaneers receive Maurice Stovall? And that they both enjoy golf and were on the links when they were drafted by Toronto?

The Bottom Line:

If you're a fan of San Francisco Giants' minor leaguers, then this was the box for you. I pulled a Blue parallel of Giants "sandwich" round draft pick (51st overall) Charlie Culberson and an Autographed Chrome Prospect of first rounder (22nd overall) Tim Alderson. In addition, I received a Futures Game base card of some guy named Brian Bocock -- a ninth round pick of the Giants in last year's draft. Bocock hit .243 at Single-A last season, but was leading all of minor league baseball in stolen bases at the All-Star Break; which somehow made him worthy of a Futures Game selection.

In addition, I pulled two refractors (one of St. Louis sixth round pick Oliver Marmol and the other of Rangers sandwich rounder Julio Borbon.) and an X-Fractor of Ranger prospect and Futures Game participant Johnny Whittleman.

Product Rating: 2 1/2 Gumsticks (out of 5)

My chief complaint regarding last year's BDP&P, and of every BDP&P set since it went to this format in 2002, remains. The autographed Chrome cards are killing the collectability of this product. If Topps would have made the 25 draft picks in both autographed Chrome AND unautographed non-Chrome versions, this would easily be a 3 1/2 Gumstick set.

I Get Letters: 2007 Bowman Chrome

Let me state for the 534th time, I don't "get" Bowman Chrome. (For all the "Chromies" out there, spare me your hate mail.) I've never opened a pack of the stuff, and I have no intention of ever doing so.

With that said, long time Stale Gum reader Dane Muramoto alerted me to a quality control issue with this year's BowChro. I reprint his warning as a public service to collectors everywhere.

I started opening 3 boxes of Bowman Chrome and noticed the following pattern emerge. The "chase" cards seem to appear most often in the 3rd from top pack position. Out of three boxes, one pack didn't have a chase, and that box, the card was in the 4th from top (2nd from bottom) position.

Also, the autographs were in all three cases in the bottom half (the side with 4 packs per stack) of the box. At first I thought the emergent pattern was lower left corner, but one of the boxes (the one with the non-blue auto) was lower right corner.

So this leads me to two theories on this release.

#1 If your box has a blue auto, it will be lower left corner.
#2 It is impossible to finish a set with 4 boxes.

I think #2 is a MAJOR pet peeve for me. With the boxes ranging $75-$120 (eBay to local), I cannot see paying $500 to complete a set.

This is getting ridiculously out of hand.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up on it. Also a warning to readers to not buy single packs.

1st Impressions: A Trio of Topps Sets.

Regardless of what you think about the on-again, off-again Topps/UD/Michael Eisner takeover, I'm sure we can all agree on one thing; 2007 hasn't exactly been a banner year for Topps. Oh sure, there have been some hits. But every Allen & Ginter has been offset with garbage like Moments and Milestones.

So I guess it's rather appropriate then that Topps closes out 2007 with three products that -- upon first glance -- appear to be more "miss" than "hit:" Bowman's Best, Topps 52 and Topps Updates and Highlights.

Bowman's Best

After a year's hiatus, the redheaded step-child of the Bowman family makes a not-so-triumphant return. BowBest is back (again), this time with a new format (again).

The cards themselves are printed on what Topps calls "Tribute Technology," rather than the Finest-esque chrome stock. In fact, you could probably slap a "Bowman Sterling" label on the wrapper, and most collectors wouldn't know the difference. But like Finest, each waxbox will come packaged into three separate mini-boxes.

Here's where it gets a weird, and you'll have to follow me on this. Some of the base set and Prospect "inserts" are available only as autographs. Others are only available un-autographed. And yet a third group are available either autographed or un-autographed.

And it's not just the "Rookies" and Prospects either. For example: Alex Rodriguez's base set card is only available autographed. Derek Jeter's is not autographed. But Ryan Howard's card is available in both flavors.

Set aside the fact that, if you're an A-Rod collector and want his 2007 Bowman's Best base set card, you'll have no choice but to get one with an autograph; the question I'd like to ask Topps is: Why? Why not just make all the base set cards in an un-autographed version, and have a few players sign as a "variation?" (But that would actually make sense, and we can't have that, can we?)

Confused yet? Well, you can pretty much forget about attempting collect the entire set, as the 29 veteran autographs, 28 "Rookie" autographs, and 24 Prospect "insert" autographs are (naturally) short-printed and come three-per-box (one per mini-box). Not only that, but the 30 un-autographed base set "Rookies" and 40 plain vanilla Prospect "inserts" are all short-printed, serial-numbered, and are seeded at the rate of one-per mini-box, each.

Back in the day, Bowman's Best was a great product. It was the prefect hybrid of Finest technology with Bowman's prospects. And then along came Bowman Chrome; then Bowman Draft Picks; then Bowman Heritage....

The fact is, for the last few years or so, Bowman's Best ceased to be even remotely collectible. This new iteration of BowBest is even less so.

If there is one good thing I can say about '07 BowBest, is that it's somewhat affordable. The MSRP I saw on the sell sheet says $3/pack. (Although I believe this to be a typo.) Street Date: November 12

Topps Rookies -- '52 Edition

And now for something from the "We've Completely Run Out Of New Ideas" department, yet another edition of Topps 52! When I first saw the sell sheet, I said to myself, "I can't believe they're making this set AGAIN." I tried to pinch myself, but to no avail.

It's the exact same concept as last year's Topps 52 -- all the MLBPA-approved "ROOKIES" in one set, and all on the same old 1952 design that Topps has been beating to death ever since the first series of Topps Heritage. And yes, there will be yet another Mickey Mantle reprint in the base set -- as if there haven't been enough of them.

Put a stamp on this one, 'cause Topps is mailing this one in.

MSRP: $5/pack; Street Date: Nov. 19.

Moving along...

Topps Updates and Highlights

TU&H is essentially the third series of '07 Topps -- and I have absolutely no idea why Topps just doesn't call it that. And yes, the parade of insert stupidity continues!

TU&H has more mirrors than a carnival fun house: 100 more Mickey Mantle's, 25 A-Rod's, and another 22 Barry Bonds'. But the coup-de-grace is another 200-card batch of the worst insert set ever: Generation Now.

But at least Topps didn't screw up the base set: 330 cards, with subsets galore.

Street Date: Late October


Judging by the sell sheets for these products, it's become obvious that the Topps product development department is just waiting for the buy-out to resolve itself. Because the effort just ain't there. I guess the best we collector's can hope for is for UD or Eisner to take over, and let 'em clean house.

Box Break and Review: 2007 Bowman HTA

One HTA Box of 2007 Bowman (paid $100)
12 packs per box, 32 cards per pack.

The Details

Chiptoppers: One Signs of the Future autographed card*, and a "Scouting Report" checklist.

Base Set: 236 cards

Short Set: 220 cards
*Autographed Rookie Cards: 16 cards (1:25)

Inserts:
Prospects: 135 cards (eight per pack)

Short Set: 110 cards
*Autographed Prospects: 25 cards (1:16)

A-Rod Road to 500: 50 cards (1:2)

Parallels:
# Gold: 330 cards (one-per-pack)
# Blue: 330 cards (1:3/packs, numbered to 500)
# Orange: 330 cards (1:6, #250)
# Red: 330 cards (1:1400, one-of-one)
# Press Plates: 330 cards (1:212)
Chrome Prospects: 110 cards (six-per-pack)
Chrome Prospects Refractors: 110 cards (1:8, #500)
Chrome Prospects X-Fractors: 110 cards (1:15, #275)
Chrome Prospects Blue Refractors: 110 cards (1:27, #150)
Chrome Prospects Gold Refractors: 110 cards (1:80, #50)
Chrome Prospects Orange Refractors: 110 cards (1:160, #25)
Chrome Prospects Red Refractors: 110 cards (1:799, #5)
Chrome Prospects Superfractors: 110 cards (1:4,073, one-of-one)
* Blue Autographed Rookies: 16 cards (1:60, #500)
* Orange Autographed Rookies: 16 cards (1:119, #250)
* Red Autographed Rookies: 16 cards (1:27,000, one-of-one)
* Blue Autographed Prospects: 25 cards (1:38, #500)
* Orange Autographed Prospects: 25 cards (1:77, #250)
* Red Autographed Prospects: 25 cards (1:19,252, one-of-one)
* Autographed Print Plates: 41 cards (1:1150)

Autogamers:

A-Rod Road to 500 Autographed: 25 cards (1:11,000*, one-of-one)

* Three autographs per box.
# Parallels include all 220 non-autographed base set cards and all non-autographed 110 Prospects "inserts."

The Pulls

Each 32 card pack contains:

Sixteen base set cards
Eight Prospects "inserts"
One Gold parallel
Five Chrome Prospects parallels
Either a sixth Chrome Prospect or a Chrome Prospects Refractor
Either a 17th base set card, a parallel, or an autographed card.

Signs of the Future Chiptopper: J. Brown

Base Set: 180 of 236 (76.27%)
Seven doubles
Three damaged cards

Short Set: 180 of 220 (81.82%)
Autographed Rookies: 0 of 16

Inserts:
Prospects: 96 of 135 (71.11%)
One double

Short Set: 95 of 110 (86.36%)
1 Autographed Prospect: C. Willems

6 A-Rod Road to 500s

Parallels:
12 Golds
4 Blues: J. Posada, J. Beckett, F. Thomas, J. Litsom
2 Oranges: L. Overbay, R. Mullins
68 Chrome Prospects
2 Chrome Prospect Refractors: G. Mejia, B. Davis
1 Chrome Prospect X-Fractor: J. Vasquez
1 Chrome Prospect Gold Refractor: J. Garthwaite
1 Blue Autographed Prospect: A. Ottavino

The Review:

2007 Bowman is essentially the same product as last year, and that should not be taken as a complement. In reviewing last year's Bowman, I posed the rhetorical question: "Will (Bowman) continue to be the 'Home of the Rookie Card?' Or is it destined to become just another set with dozens of short-prints?" Unfortunately, Topps has answered my question with the latter.

A quick glance at the checklist, and (with the exception of Dice-K and Andrew Miller), there really aren't any "buzz" rookies -- or "Prospects" for that matter. Most of the "Rookies" (i.e. the "Green" cards) are "parenth-RCs," and most of the Prospects (i.e. the "Blue" cards) aren't really all that great. Considering he was every Bowman product last year, the exclusion of Alex Gordon is understandable. But Tim Lincecum's also not in the set, and as I mentioned before, Luke Hochevar is prominently displayed on each wrapper, but does not actually appear in 2007 Bowman.

So who is actually in 2007 Bowman? As with most Bowman Prospects, most of these guys probably won't about to much. But you knew that already. What's surprising are the Autographed Prospects. Most of the guys who signed have already been in previous Bowman Products. Kyle Drabek and Evan Longoria were both in last year's Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's first Bowman card was four years ago! But there they are, in the 2007 Bowman Autographed Prospects set.

If there is one change to '07 Bowman, is that the Prospects are all white bordered. I guess it's to distinguish them from the base set cards. I don't know about you, but the whole "black-bordered with red, green, or blue highlights" design Bowman has reused for the last decade was getting a bit tedious. However, it should be noted, that all the Autographed Prospects and the Chrome Prospect parallels remain black bordered.

The Bottom Line:

With the recent news from the MLBPA that the number of 2008 products will be reduced from 20 to 17, may I make a suggestion? It may be time for Topps (or the MLBPA) to put Bowman to rest, once and for all. I know what your thinking. Dump Bowman? While this may not be popular in The Hobby, nonetheless, it should be given some consideration. With the MLBPA's "Rookie Card" rules, Bowman is just not the same product as it was. The inclusion of autographed cards and the bundling with BowChro may have led to increased sales among the "Chromies," but at what cost?

The MLBPA dropping Donruss wasn't all that popular either, and in looking back in retrospect, it was probably the best thing to happen to The Hobby in a long while. Whether it be Michael Eisner, or Upper Deck, or someone else, whoever winds up owning Topps, should seriously consider the future of this product line.

This HTA box yielded a little over 80% of both the short base set and the Prospects short set. There were a few doubles, and a couple of cards that came out of the pack with large print dots. All the parallels came as promised, and I received the stated "3 Autographed Cards Per Box" -- which is the main selling point of HTA.

Buyer beware: although you do get two more autographs in HTA (as opposed to Hobby), one of those is a "Signs of the Future" chiptopper, and another is an autographed parallel. Reports from other collectors confirm that about every HTA box has one SOTF, a regular autograph, and a parallel autograph. In other words, you get the same number of regular base set/Prospects autographs in Hobby as you do in HTA.

This particular box had a SOTF of Indians' farm hand Jordan Brown, a Blue parallel of Adam Ottavino (St. Louis' first-rounder last year), and a regular Autographed Prospect of Atlanta first-rounder Colton Willems.

If you're into autographed parallel cards -- and hey, who isn't? -- then HTA is for you. If not, and you absolutely have to have 2007 Bowman, save yourself the forty extra bucks, and go for a regular hobby box.

Product Rating: 2 Gumsticks (out of five)

Guess who's NOT in 2007 Bowman?

Here's your one, and only, hint.



You know, you just gotta hand it to the Topps marketing department. Putting last year's number one overall draft pick on all the wax boxes and pack wrappers is one thing. But it takes balls to put last year's number one overall draft pick on all the wax boxes and pack wrappers, AND NOT EVEN BOTHER TO PUT HIM IN THE ACTUAL PRODUCT!

That's right. I've scanned the checklist three times, and could not find the name "Luke Hochevar" anywhere. He's not in the base set. He's not in the Prospects "inserts." And nor is he among the autographs.

I just cracked an HTA box and will have a full box break sometime later this week. Let's just say that it won't be pretty.

Box Break and Review: 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

One Box of 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects (paid $79)
24 packs per box, seven cards per pack (MSRP $3.99/pack)

The Details

Chiptoppers: One over sized checklist.

Base Set: 55 cards (two-per-pack)

Inserts: (two-per-pack)
Futures Game: 45 cards
Draft Picks: 65 cards

Parallels*:
Golds: 165 cards (one-per-pack #)
Whites: 165 cards (1:43, numbered to 225)
Reds: (1:7934, one-of-one)
Chrome: 165 cards (two-per-pack)
Chrome Refractor: 165 cards (1:11)
X-Fractor: 165 cards (1:32)
Blue Refractor: 165 cards (1:50, numbered to 199 copies)
Gold Refractor: 165 cards (1:197, numbered to 50)
Orange Refractor: 165 cards (1:395, numbered to 25)
Red Refractor: 165 Cards (1:585, numbered to 10)
Superfractor: 165 cards (1:7934, one-of-one)
Printing Plates: (1:990)

* All parallel sets include the 55 card base set, as well as the 45 Futures Game and 65 Draft Pick "inserts," bundled together.
# Packs containing a Futures Relic, do not have a Gold card.

Autogamers #:
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks: 30 cards^ (1:50)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Refractor: 30 cards (1:156)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks X-Fractor: 30 cards (1:351)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Blue Refractor: 30 cards (1:535)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Gold Refractor: 30 cards (1:1575)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Orange Refractor: 30 cards (1:3232)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Red Refractor: 30 cards (1:13,166)
Autographed Chrome Draft Picks Superfractor: 30 cards (1:53,812)
Head of the Class: 1 card (1:7640)
Head of the Class Refractor: 1 card (1:27,000)
Head of the Class Gold Refractor: 1 card (1:56,000)
Head of the Class Superfractor: 1 card (1:261,680)
Signs of the Future: 19 cards (production varies)
Chrome Autographed Press Plates (1:13,200)
Futures Game Relics: 45 cards (production varies)

# Stated odds of finding an Autograph or Relic: 1:12
^ The 30 Autographed Chrome Prospects are numbered as an extension of the Draft Picks insert set. (DP 66-95)

The Pulls

Each seven card pack contains:

• Two base set cards ("Greens")
• Two Futures Game or Draft Picks "inserts" ("Blues")
• Either a Gold Parallel, or a Futures Game Relic
• One Bowman Chrome Parallel
• Either a second BowChro card, a BowChro Refractor, or an Autographed BowChro Draft Pick

Base Set: 42 of 55 (76.36%)

Inserts:
Futures Game: 19 of 45 (42.22%)
Draft Picks: 27 of 65 (41.54%)

Parallels:
22 Golds
1 White: C. Villanueva
43 Chromes (one double)
3 Refractors: B. Bannister, L. Cruz, M. McBride
1 Blue Refractor: R. Morris

Autogamers:
1 Autographed Chrome Draft Pick: D. Evans
2 Futures Game Relics: R. Braun, A. Gordon

The Review

The 2006 Edition of Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects (BDP&P) is here, and if you're familiar with the previous couple of year's editions, then you know the drill. The more the MLBPA tries to change The Hobby, just more BDP&P stays the same. (Sort of.)

Just like with '06 Bowman, the MLBPA's new "Rookie Card" definition has made it necessary for Topps to make some changes to the composition to the product. The 55-card "base set" are all green bordered (there are no "Red" cards) and feature the now familiar cross-brand "ROOKIE CARD" logo -- most of which are "parenth-RCs." To be sure, there are some "true" RCs (Mike Napoli, Jon Lester, and Michael Pelfrey to name a few), but just not as many as your used to. If you include the base set with the 110 blue-bordered "inserts," the combined 165-card set equals the set size of previous BDP&P efforts.

The 110 "Blues" are divided into two separate insert sets: 45 Futures Games and 65 Draft Picks. The design of both sets are similar, and the only way to distinguish between the two is that the Futures Game cards are numbered on the back with an "FG" prefix, and the Draft Picks have a "DP." Other than that, you really can't tell the difference. Each pack comes with (on average) two "Greens" and two "Blues." Something to consider if, like me, you still consider the Blues as part of the base set.

Each pack comes with a Gold parallel, and with the return of game used cards, they have reverted to being printed on thicker gauge cardboard, and double as pack-searching decoys. Just like with Bowman, BDP&P is "bundled" with the Chrome version, and you get two of them in a pack. (For purposes of this set, I classify the Chromes for what they are: "parallels.") And as has become standard operating procedure for BDP&P, Topps tacked on an additional autographed cards that are only available in the Chrome version.

Speaking of the 65 Draft Picks and the 30 Chrome Autographed Draft Picks, collectors should take note not necessarily of who's in the set, but who's NOT in the set. Looking for the first Bowman card of Luke Hochevar -- the first pick in the 2006 draft? You'll have to wait a while, because he's not here. And neither is Gregory Reynolds, the second overall pick. Evan Longoria, the number three pick, is in the set (in fact, he's the product's "cover boy"), but good luck actually finding one of his cards (more on that later). Even Andrew Miller, the sixth pick overall and considered by many to be the best player available in the draft; a player who made his Major League debut on August 30th with the Tigers -- and as such is eligible to have his first true "rookie card" in this set -- is missing. In fact, of the 30 first round draft picks, only 13 appear in '06 BDP&P -- six of which are part of the Autographed Chrome set.

So with only 13 first rounders, who exactly are these other 82 draft picks? Well, there are a handful of 2nd and 3rd round picks, but (surprisingly) there are a large amount of 5th, 6th, and even 8th round picks. To be sure, a couple of these 5th-through-8th rounders will wind up as the proverbial "diamonds in the rough," but history shows that most of these guys will never amount to much. And, of course, some will probably never even play a single inning in the big leagues. But then again, if collect Bowman, you already knew that. Caveat Emptor.

Wrapping up BDP&P, are the Futures Game Relic cards, which are a pseudo-parallel of the Futures Game inserts. For some reason, the Futures Game Relics are green bordered, rather than blue. And then there's the autograph set everyone loves to hate: Signs of the Future.

The Bottom Line:

2006 has been a transition year for The Hobby as a whole, and for the Bowman family of products in particular. No longer "The Home of the Rookie Card," Topps has been forced to make adjustments to all their Bowman products. With '06 Bowman, the results were mixed. Bundling regular Bowman with Bowman Chrome, gave the "Chromies" a reason to rediscover the regular Bowman set, and it sold very well. But the inclusion of autographed cards in the base set alienated many long-time Bowman set builders -- myself included. However, with the MLBPA-mandated exception of segregating the non-MLB players from the base set, Topps has left Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects alone.

This particular box yielded three-quarters of the base set, but only about two-fifths of the "Blues." If you're like me and still consider the Blues to be part of the base set, you'll be disappointed to know that Topps short-printed them. To build a full 165-card set, you'll need at least two, maybe even three, boxes.

Each box promises two autogamers, and in this box I got three. So I guess I got over on Topps. Yay! I pulled an Autographed Draft Pick card of Braves second-rounder Dustin Evans. The two Futures Game Relics I pulled were of Ryan Braun -- the fifth overall pick in last year's draft -- and the current object of the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann's affection: Alex Gordon. For those of you scoring at home, Alex Gordon has now made an appearance in all three Bowman products this year (Bowman, BowChro, and BDP&P), but we're still waiting for his first legit "rookie card."

Although the regular "Blues" are short-printed in relation to the base-set "Greens," this does not appear to be the case among the parallels. Of the 22 Gold cards this box yielded, eight were from the base set, and the other 14 were Blues. The three refractors pulled came from each of the three different sets: A Green of Mets pitcher Brian Bannister, a Futures Game of Padres SS Luis Cruz, and a Draft Pick of Cleveland 2nd rounder Matt McBride. I also pulled a White parallel of Brewers pitcher Carlos Villanueva, and a Blue Refractor of Ryan Morris, the Indians' 4th-round draft pick.

Product Rating: 3 Gumsticks (out of five)

Do I recommend this product?

Hardcore Bowman fans will be disappointed with the lack of "true" rookie cards. And not including over half the first-round draft picks, in product billed as a "Draft Pick" set is kind of pathetic. But still, if you're a Bowman fan, you're going to like this product. You don't need me to tell you that.

... and another thing.

Allow me to vent a little bit. One thing that's pissed me off about BDP&P ever since it went to this format in '02, has been the inclusion of the Autographed Chrome cards. As many of you who regularly read this blog know, I don't collect Chrome. I don't "get" Chrome. I've never opened a pack of Topps or Bowman Chrome in my life, and I don't intend to. I don't collect ToppChro or BowChro, and I never intend to. And I still don't like the fact that BDP&P is bundled with BowChroDP&P, just as much as I didn't like the fact that '06 Bowman was bundled with '06 BowChro.

So why doesn't Topps make a non-Chrome (preferably un-autographed) version of the Autographed Chrome Draft Pick cards? You know, for the rest of us. Those of us who only collect regular Bowman? Are you listening Topps?

And what's up with putting Evan Longoria on the wrappers and box panels anyway? (Longoria is one of those 30 Autographed Draft Pick cards.) At the stated odds of 1:50/packs, and assuming perfect collation, a collector would have to open up 1500 packs of 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects in order to get a single card of the player prominently featured on the wrapper. What is up with that Topps? Now, I don't want to say that Topps is doing something illegal or unethical by putting Longoria on all the wrappers. Oh wait, yes I am.

What I Got at the Card Show: 12/9/06

Site: Granite Run Mall: Media, PA

Oh sure, I got a term paper due on Wednesday. And I have a final on Friday, and two more next week. But dammit, Bowman Draft just came out, and got to bust a box! Besides, graduate school is so over-rated anyway.

One box of 2006 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects (Paid $79)

Box break forthcoming ..... whenever.

Total spent on cards: $79
Bridge Tolls: $3
Grand Total: $82

Box Break and Review: 2006 Bowman

Two Boxes of 2006 Bowman baseball (paid $68 and $65).
24 packs per box, 10 cards per pack (MSRP $2.99/pack)

The Details

Chiptoppers: One "Scouting Report" checklist.

Base Set: 231 cards

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set ("Reds" and "Greens"): 220 cards
* Autographed Rookie Cards ("Greens"): 11 cards (1:82)

Parallels:
# Gold: 330 cards (one-per-pack)
# Blue: 330 cards (1:8/packs, numbered to 500)
# White: 330 cards (1:32, numbered to 120)
# Red: 330 cards (1:3750, one-of-one)
# Press Plates: 330 cards (1:588)
Blue Autographed Rookie Cards: 11 cards (1:225)
White Autographed Rookie Cards: 11 cards (1:1020)
Red Autographed Rookie Cards: 11 cards (1:11453. one-of-one)
Autographed Rookie Card Variation: two cards (1:1150)

Inserts:
Prospects ("Blues"): 124 cards (two-per-pack)

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 110 cards
* Prospect Autographed Cards: 14 cards (1:62)

Blue Prospect Autographed Cards: 14 cards (1:170)
White Prospect Autographed Cards: 14 cards (1:750)
Red Prospect Autographed Cards: 14 cards (1:80208, one-of-one)
Prospect Chrome Cards: 110 cards (two-per-pack)
$ Prospect Chrome Refractors: 110 cards (1:36, numbered to 500)
$ Prospect Chrome X-fractors: 110 cards (1:72, numbered to 250)
$ Prospect Chrome Blue Refractors: 110 cards (1:118)
$ Prospect Chrome Gold Refractors: 110 cards (1:355)
$ Prospect Chrome Orange Refractors: 110 cards (1:710)
$ Prospect Chrome Red Refractors: 110 cards (1:3000)
$ Prospect Chrome Superfractors: 110 cards (1:15425, one-of-one)

* Odds of finding an Autographed Rookie Card or a Prospect Autographed Card: 1:24
# Parallels include all 220 base set cards and the 110 Prospects "inserts"
$ Overall odds of finding a refractor (of any flavor): 1:24

Autogamers:
NONE (not including the autographs that are part of the base and Prospects sets)

The Pulls.

Each pack of 10 cards contains:

Four base set cards (reds and greens)
Two Prospect "inserts" (blues)
Two Bowman Chrome Prospect parallels
One Gold parallel
and either an additional parallel, autograph, or a fifth base set card.

Base Set (including variations): 114 of 231 (49.35%)
No doubles

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 114 of 220 (51.82%)
Autographed Rookie Cards: 0 of 11

Parallels:
16 Gold
2 Blue (C. Delgado, L. Gonzalez)

Inserts:
Prospects: 49 of 124 (39.52%)

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 47 of 110 (43.64%)
Prospect Autographed Cards: 1 of 14 (7.14%, L. Broadway)

8 Gold Prospects
1 Blue Prospect (E. Bellorin)
1 White Prospect (K. Morales)
46 Prospect Chrome Cards (One Double)
1 Prospect Chrome Refractors (J. Vanden Berg)

The Review.

So much for The Hobby's renewed commitment to set building, eh? Bowman used to be one of the only products that featured dozens of true rookie cards, all in a base set that could actually be collected. No more. Eleven base set cards, and fourteen Prospect "inserts" come only one way: autographed and short-printed.

Speaking of true rookie cards, where the hell are they? This is Bowman, the "Home of the Rookie Card," right? Looking at the checklist, there are only two players who fit The Hobby's "Rookie Card" definition (Red Sox pitcher Craig Hansen and Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima). Now, there are 29 cards in the "green" subset, and all sport the MLBPA "Rookie Card" icon. Unfortunately, they are all "parenth-RCs:" That is, they all feature players whose true rookie cards were issued in pre-2006 products. Amongst these are "(RC's)" of Hanley Ramirez, Francisco Lirano, and Adam Wainwright. Also, all eleven of the Autographed Rookie Cards, including the highly regarded Ryan Zimmerman, are parenth-RCs.


The draw of this set has always been the Prospects and leading the way is, of course, Alex Gordon's first rookie card, errr..., "first year player" card. As with most Bowman sets, the checklist stars dozens of minor-leaguers, whose "1st Bowman Card" will more than likely be their last. There are 124 Prospects in all, 14 of which are autographed.

I do find it curious that the Prospect "inserts" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and the Chrome Prospects were seeded into packs at the same rate (2:1). Which begs the question: Will collectors be willing to pay the "Chrome Premium," when the regular cards are produced in roughly the same amount? In other words, will Alex Gordon's Chrome Prospect card book the same as his regular card? Also curious: the Chrome Prospects only parallel the 110 non-autographed cards. I guess Topps is holding those 14 Autographed Prospects for the release of regular BowChro.

The Bottom Line:

What effect, if any, the MLBPA's new "Rookie Card" guidelines, and the addition of the autographs will have on the long-term viability on the Bowman brand remains to be seen. Will it continue to be the "Home of the Rookie Card?" Or is it destined to become just another set with dozens of short-prints? This reviewer fears the latter.

Now, on to the collation. I busted two boxes -- which should be all you need to build most of the base, Prospects and Chrome Prospects sets -- and each delivered as promised. Neither box, by itself, yielded any base set or Prospects doubles (although collectively they did), but I did get two Camilo Vazquez Chromes out of the first box. The first box yielded none of the "Big Three" (Hansen, Johjima, or Gordon); however in the second I pulled a Hansen and a Gordon Prospect.


Each box yielded the promised autograph with the first bearing an Autographed Prospect of White Sox 2005 first-rounder Lance Broadway. The other box had a Rookie Autograph of Scott Olsen. Olsen went 6-4 for the Marlins' AA Club, before getting a September call-up last year -- which allowed him to be included as a "Rookie." Ho-hum. By the way, Olsen has to have the worst autograph I think I have ever seen on a baseball card. Geez, and I thought I had lousy penmanship!

Each box had 16 base set and eight Prospect Gold parallels; two base and one Prospect Blue parallels; one White parallel; and a Chrome Refractor of some sort. Being that there is no game-used element to this year's Bowman, the Gold cards are back to being printed on the same stock as the regular cards. The second box had a Gold Alex Gordon (Yay!), while the first had a White card of Angels Prospect (and Cuban National Team defector) Kendry Morales -- who is probably the second best prospect in the "Prospects" subset. The two Refractors I pulled were of Phillies Catcher Jon Vanden Berg and an X-Fractor of Tigers Second Baseman Chris Maples. Vanden Berg was picked up from the Brewers in the Rule V draft and Maples hit .225 in AA year. Like I said before, "1st Bowman Card" and likely the last.

Product Rating: 2 1/2 Gumsticks (out of five)

Do I recommend this product?

Two boxes should be enough to build most of the base and Prospects short-sets. And between the base and Prospects sets, there are only 25 autographs to chase after. Of course, only is a relative term. I still don't understand why Topps decided to monkey around with a product that really didn't need to be monkeyed around with. Subtract the autographs and the Chrome cards, and 2006 Bowman would easily be a Four Gumsitck product.

Production Figures

Based on pack insertion ratios, stated production figures, and set sizes -- and assuming that all cards in a particular set were printed in equal quantities -- I have calculated the following production runs:

Base Set: 28,000 copies
Prospect Inserts: 22,500
Chrome Prospects : 22,000
Gold Parallels: 3750
Autographed Rookies and Prospect Autographs: 2065
Hansen and Johjima Autographed Variations: 540

...and another thing

Where is the "Box Sticker?" You know, that sticker that Topps used to include in each waxbox that proudly stated: "STICK THIS ON YOUR COMPLETED SET'S BOX." (or words to that effect) I guess Topps really doesn't care if you collect Bowman as a set anymore.