2006 Bowman Heritage
What I pulled--
Relics and Autograph:
Pieces of Greatness Relics - Nick Johnson bat, David Ortiz bat
Signs of Greatness - Sean Gallagher
Review:
I have never hidden my love of throwback sets. So maybe my standards are too high, since 2006 Bowman
Heritage left me feeling a little short on excitement.
Based on the 1949 Bowman design, these cards are very simply put together. A color picture adorns the
card, with various background colors. That's it. Unfortunately, I think the artwork in this set, whether it is the
backgrounds, or the touching up of the photos to make them look older, leaves some of the pictures
looking a little out of focus. For me, I want a nice crisp picture on the card. Topps has always done a
masterful job of this on the throwback sets, but this one falls a little short.
Bells and whistles? Minimal, which is fine, as far as I'm concerned. There are two relics and one
player-touched autograph per box, and each pack has a mini parallel and a rainbow parallel. In addition,
each box comes with a five card "prospect variation" pack of mini-cards, which is the only way to get minis
of the players in the prospect set (yes, the ugly MLBPA rules rear their ugly heads here yet again). As with
many throwback sets, there are also many variations and short prints (I was lucky enough to pull the
Mickey Mantle SP, for example). But again, all these are just bonuses. This is about the base cards and
building an attractive set.
Unfortunately, I think that is where 2006 Bowman Heritage falls short. A base set like this needs to be
flawlessly attractive. This one isn't. Whether it is the design or a rare misstep in the execution, I'm not sure.
It is still worth going out and buying a box if you are a fan of throwback sets, of course, but if you are like
me, it will only make you start counting the days until 2007 Topps Heritage arrives........................
B-
