The latest shiny new thing in last week's round of @CrackinWax group breaks. #CrackinWaxMailDay
First off, I want to give my usual nod to Crackin' Wax, which did its usual solid job of providing group break services to the masses, such as me. They did an excellent job at what they do, and I'm grateful for it.
Along with a few other breaks, I bought into a 2020 Bowman 1st Edition break. This was the thing that crashed all kinds of websites. I'm still having a hard time understanding why.
The story goes that Topps had to delay the regular Bowman product, which is understandable. They apparently have two printing locations, one that is for the masses in a place that is more tightly regulated by current world health situations, and one that is not (because Florida.) The "on demand" (i.e. website only, exclusive cash grab $$$ money place) has been fully operational. So, someone at Topps central had the bright idea to bring back the old 1st Edition logo and put out a special Bowman thing to hold people over until the real thing came out.
None of this is something I have a problem with. And even if I don't like something, I'm not usually going to have a problem with it being put out into the world. After all, it's not like I have to buy it.
But this... Bowman 1st Edition, is incredibly disappointing and ridiculous. It's basically a Bowman "paper" prospects set issued on the same flimsy card stock as all of their regular stuff, and it caught on fire with some ridiculous triple digit prices paid for a few cards -- particularly a 17 year old Yankees signee who sits somewhere in the middle of the top 100 prospect rankings. Again, these look barely indistinguishable from any other plain Bowman Prospect cards issued in the past ten years, aside from the 1st Edition logo, I suppose.
I was able to complete the Cardinals team set from the break, along with a few extras, which is nice. The box break numbers were much larger than the 150 card base set, which means (on average) you should end up with quite a few Jasson (with two S's) Dominguez cards if you open enough of this stuff.
(Don't get me started on Project 2020.)
Let's shift gears to something more enjoyable. Yes, Topps "online" makes some stuff I actually like. It's kind of silly that Allen & Ginter X exists as, basically, Bizarro Ginter (or just "Black" Ginter... yikes), but the cards generally look awesome.
I snagged another Cardinals spot in a break and picked up another set of good looking minis (and base cards -- not pictured.)
I also ended up the randomly selected winner of this limited numbered autographed framed mini card of a guy who is named Burton Rocks. Let that sink in. Burton. Rocks.
I'm told that he is a sports agent and author, which... y'know... that is two things that I am not. If you're a fan of Mr. Rocks or are just casually (or obsessively) interested in this card, feel free to let me know. For now, it's going to slide in to a box next to a Marc "Double Dare" Summers Allen & Ginter relic card that I have.
Nothing about modern cards makes much sense anymore, which is why I'm less and less of a team collector these days (when it comes to current stuff anyway).
ReplyDeleteI am basically ignoring all of the online-only releases and pretending that they don't exist. Too much money for too little product, in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteDid they even put foil on the Bowmans? I really wish Florida would just shut everything non-life dependant down for just a week to quell this virus. Had we done this in the early stages, I think we would've still had the rush at grocery stores, but it perhaps could've contained everything and we wouldn't have had to go into the 2+month shutdown we have been in now. It doesn't surprise me that the other printing place is here in FL. I was kind of wondering how Topps got those Bowman cards printed while the regular ones are still waiting.
ReplyDeleteThose Bowman cards look like stickers to me. Very disappointing design.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no foil at all. I've only had in my hands a few of the cards from other "on demand" sets (like the recent Topps Total) so I was expecting something a little more substantial, I guess. From scans/pictures/video, though, it looks like the foil parallels are kind of nice, maybe?
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to secure your team set. Would I like to own the A's or Padres set? Sure. But I wouldn't pay more than a couple of bucks... which means it's not likely to ever happen.
ReplyDeleteGreeat read thanks
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