2006 Bowman
What I pulled--
Parallels:
Blue Parallels - Jason Botts (#375/500), Danny Haren (#485/500), Jason Jones (#260/500), Aaron Wideman (#112/500)
White Parallel - Justin Morneau (#66/120)
Autograph:
Autograph Parallel - Garrett Mock
Review:
With the changes in the rules for rookie cards, it was widely believed that the annual Bowman release
would be dramatically affected, given the set's history as the "Home of the Rookie Card".
Wrong.
Topps has been allowed to continue this tradition, and does so this year as well as ever. As always, the
cards are color coded, with veterans in red, prospects in green and first timers in blue. The tweaks come
in two ways. For one, Bowman Chrome cards are included with regular Bowman cards as part of the
regular issue for the first time. Secondly, the "1st Bowman Cards" (don't call them rookie cards) are
numbered as inserts rather than as part of the regular set.
Each pack has ten cards - five regular base cards, one gold parallel, two regular "1st" cards and two
Chrome "1st" cards. In addition, there are numerous parallels in varying colors and numbering for both
sets, including refractors for the Chrome. Of course, there are also autographed "1st" cards, as is the
Bowman tradition. The value in these ten cards makes the pack, given its low price point, more than worth
it. Of course prospectors go crazy over Bowman every year, which gives the hot rookies in the set high
secondary market value.
On that note, there is one "1st" card that is drawing extra attention. No, I'm not talking about the soon-to-be
legendary Kevin Ool. I'm talking about Alex Gordon, whose cards were the center of controversy in both
Topps Series I and Topps Heritage, since they were not supposed to be included, yet made their way into
some packs in varying forms. In this set, you'll find the first "legal" Gordon cards, and demand for them is
sky high.
The Bowman formula is a fairly foolproof one, and Topps gets it right every year. It really is one of those things where the
adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" really does apply. This set ain't broke, and probably never will be........................
A
