2012 Bowman Box Break (3)

And now in to the goodies associated with my retail box of Bowman. My expectations for this box, in regards to insets, was simple: 4 Bowman's Best, preferably prospects. On the back of the pack, Prospects are listed as 1:4 and veterans also at 1:4.

Well, I received my four Bowman's Best, and they are as follows - starting with the sole veteran:

Kershz.

Of course, since Adam Jones isn't in this insert set (that I know of), my veteran insert is Clayton Kershaw. I have been seeing quite a bit of him in 2013, and that's fine by me. I'll go as far as to say every blogger reppin' the interlocking L-A would love this card, and at my last count, there are 678 Dodgers bloggers, comprising 75% of the blogospheroid, with 24% fighting over the Cubs. The remaining one percent wallow in the shadows hoarding Blue Jays, Mets and Cardinals.

That being said, I will entertain offers for this card.

I'll do the prospects in oder of my interest in said prospects:

Uggghhh

I was all-in on Bauer at the end of last season. Then he made his debut, got knocked around, and pouted all winter, got into wars with twitter followers (they're just trolls, Trevor, they're not real people) and pouted some more. GM KevTowers & Co. saw what they had and shipped him off to Cleveland before he blew up further on Miguel Montero and the other gritty/edgy/Gibsony Diamondbacks.

De-Bradentoned.

Kid Canada Part II was fun to watch in legitimate competition this month in the World Baseball Classic. I'm glad Canada finally has a decent pitcher to throw out there...and the Pirates, too, but Jameson will begin the season in the minors until the Pirates front office realizes that Jonathan Sanchez and Jeanmar Gomez are on their pitching staff (I don't think anyone has told them yet.)

Match the background to the unifrom? Topps laughs at you.

That's more like it. Manny Machado is a studski. Early on, Manny had Alex Rodriguez comps. Please, Manny, do not take excessive amounts of PEDs, get yourself painted as a centaur, kiss yourself in a mirror or date Madonna.

My last goal, and one I thought would be least attainable, was an autograph. I didn't expect much, and honestly I never even looked at the odds of grabbing one. But hell, why not, here it is:

Of course.

Bowman Flagship autographs are classic. Aside from the sticker, this is exactly the way that autograph cards should look. Fine-tipped pen, easy contrast, photo fade.

Of course, it's a Barve. I don't like the Barves, and I keep pulling them anyways. Especially autographs.

On to the Review: Inserts (Weighted 25%)

They're good, but they're not great. Previous issues of Bowman have had more, which is what I would prefer, but I am not a case-breaker, thus, I carry no clout in this industry. I buy retails and singles, I am a peasant to Topps. I should stop before this escalates further.

Back to inserts. The Bowman's Best are okay - I wish they had done what they did in 2011 and used an older design. Maybe they did and I just never saw that particular set. It's also nice that it's an insert set and not another $300/2 mini box separate  product, and that there are parallels - but they;re a tough, tough pull. I'd like to see more than one insert, 3-4 would be fine, but anything like the Topps Trend in burying the collectors in bullshit inserts and fifty parallels of players that had no place in today's sets is most unwelcome. 3.9/5.

I like that Bowman doesn't include retired players and short prints. They're about getting prospects and rookie cards at a reasonable price, with the chance at pulling a great card always looking.

Overall, Bowman 2012 is probably a 4/5. I want to give it a 5, but that's reserved for something as perfect as 2004 Studio. So instead, I am going to use the Scout Scale (20-80), and give 2012 Bowman a high 60.