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Showing posts with label bowmans best. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bowmans best. Show all posts

Friday, September 16, 2011

2005 Bowman's Best Green, Red, Blue


 

Set size: 143 cards for each parallel


Front Design: A color photo is surrounded on the right and bottom by a semi-transparent border. On the right side, four dots run vertically from the Bowman's Best logo to the nameplate at the bottom; First Year (card numbers 31-143) players are identified as such in the colored border. At the bottom, the team logo and player name appears in an L-shaped solid team-colored box. Depending on the parallel, the border overlays are red, green, or blue. Forty-three cards in each set (#101-143) are autographed.


Back Design: The backs contain a dot-matrix pattern in the same color as the front. The player's name, position, team, vitals, and prior year highlight appear on the upper right, while prior year stats are stacked against the league and level averages. The cards are serial numbered in the lower right corner (see Distribution, below).


Parallels and Similars: These cards are all parallels of the base Bowman's Best set. There are three other parallels: Gold, Silver, and Black, plus printing plates.


Distribution: Cards were randomly inserted into packs of Bowman's Best. Green cards are serial numbered to 899 (399 for autographed cards), Blue cards are numbered to 499 (299 for autographed cards), and Red parallels are numbered to 199 (199 for autographed cards).


Thoughts: Bowman sets are known for their parallels, and six parallels with this set isn't surprising. These three cards are attractive, much more so than the gold-bordered parallels in the regular Bowman set. Being that Best is a premium issue, that should be expected.


Additional Images: card backs:

Monday, August 8, 2011

1998 Bowman's Best Performers

Set size: 10 cards

Front Design: A color photo sits over a background that could best be described as an iris or circular baggage carousel. The top of the card contains team logo, Bowman's Best logo, and the set name, while the player's name is centered across the bottom. The cards have a shiny chrome finish.

Back Design: The player's basic vitals and a short biography appear on the left, while a second color photo is on the right over a sunburst-style design similar to the front. The card back borders appear marbleized.

Parallels and Similars: This set was released with two parallels: a refractor version numbered to 200 and an atomic refractor numbered to 50.

Distribution: These cards were randomly inserted into packs of Bowman's Best at a rate of 1 in 6.

Thoughts: Some Bowman's Best inserts are exciting, but the uninspired background on this card means I'll pass on collecting it. The set contains the ten best minor league players of the 1997 season, so in 1998 it would have been quite popular. I have yet to see the refractor and atomic refractor versions in person, which could be stunning.

Additional Images: card back: