2005 Bowman Sterling
What I pulled--
Base Cards:
Cesar Carrillo, Dan Carte, Jeff Clement, Brett Hayes, Hernan Iribarren, Chuck James, Jeff Lyman, Mark McCormick, Zach
Simons, Troy Tulowitzki, Jered Weaver
Parallels:
Refractor - Zach Simons (#61/199)
Relic Cards and Autographs:
Veteran Relics - Torii Hunter bat, Hideki Matsui black workout jersey, Mark Mulder uniform, Trot Nixon bat, Mike Piazza bat
Veteran Relics Refractor - Hideki Matsui black workout jersey (#46/199)
First Year Autographs - C.J. Henry, Cliff Pennington, Humberto Sanchez (x2), Chris Volstad
First Year Autographs Refractor - Chris Volstad (#128/199)
Autograph Relics - Dustin Pedroia red jersey, Curtis Thigpen white jersey
First Year Autograph Relics - Carmen Pignatiello blue jersey, Jay Bruce red jersey, Brandon McCarthy white jersey with black
pinstripe
First Year Autograph Relics Refractor - Bobby Livingston black jersey (#196/199)
Black Veteran Relics Black Refractor box loader - Tino Martinez bat (#6/25)
Review:
Bowman Sterling is at the high end of all Topps products. And they make sure to load up this box
with some great stuff.
Right out of the gate, you can see how much care goes into the product. Six packs come per box,
with each pack coming in a small, individually wrapped box of its own. Also in the box is a
separately wrapped box loader bonus, so you can get a feel for the fun experience coming up
before you have even seen a card.
Then you get to the cards. They are all chrome, with each pack of Sterling containing five cards -
two base cards, a veteran relic, a first year autograph and an autographed first year relic. In some
cases, one of the cards is a serially numbered refractor (#ed to 199). There are also red and black
refractors, as well.
The focus of this product is clearly First Year Cards, with a player list that includes top prospects such
as Jeff Clement, Troy Tulowitzi and Jered Weaver. Anyone lucky to pull an autograph of one of these
guys, or some of the other top prospects, will be very happy. The only veteran presence is in the veteran
relic cards, which has a great player selection
My big knock on this product is with the collation more than the cards. One of the cardinal sins is
committed in this box, with two autographs of Humberto Sanchez and Chris Volstad (although one
Volstad is a refractor) and two Hideki Matsui relics (again, one being a refractor). Any high end product should guarantee that
no autographs are repeated, ensuring the buyer a better array of players at the end of the break.
With the upcoming changes to Rookie Card rules and when players are allowed to appear on their first card, products like this
might be nearing their end, since they are so prospect-driven. But, all of these autographs and relics in this box, if this is the
way Bowman Sterling goes out, they have nothing to be ashamed of......................
B
