2019 Bowman Chrome Hobby Box Break

It's that time of year! The time when I randomly get an email from UPS telling me that a package is going to be delivered to me in a few days, and I start to wonder what the heck it is. I ponder for a minute and then I remember that it's the box of Bowman Chrome that I pre-ordered months ago. It's become somewhat of an annual tradition for me: Sometime in the summer I pre-order one box of Topps Chrome and one box of Bowman Chrome, and it becomes a nice little surprise a few months later.

This year, Bowman Chrome took a different route with Hobby: 

• A standard Hobby Box is referred to a "Master Box."
• The Master Box contains two Mini-boxes (broken out in the two pictures below).
• Each Mini-Box contains 6 packs, 5 cards per pack, one auto.
• 12 packs total, 60 cards, two autos.

The cover artwork features a man who crushed his 50th home run last night. And Fernando Tatis' son.

On to the highlights:

Sam Hentges Chrome Refractor /499. Hentges is a 23-year old lefty who spent the year in AA with the Akron Rubber Ducks, the AA affiliate for the Indians. He finished the year with 5.11 ERA. 

(L) Tommy Wilson Purple Refractor /249. Similar story to Hentges. 23 years old, spent the year with the Mets AA affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. 4.96 ERA.

(R) Garrett Whitlock Purple Shimmer. #27 Prospect in the Yankees system. 

Brandon Bielak base auto. #11 prospect in the Astros system, and seems to have some good upside. 11th round pick out of Notre Dame in 2017. He was pitching in AAA this year, so his arrival may come sooner than later.

Blaine Knight Refractor Auto #/499. #16 Prospect in the Orioles system. This 23 year old weights in at a whopping 165 pounds, so he could certainly add to his 6'3 frame. He was a third rounder in the draft this year and from what I've read, a live arm.

So there we have it. Overall, this was a fun break. All of these cards will be going directly into storage and I'll revisit them down the road. Unless you hit a unicorn, that's the attitude you have to have with Bowman Chrome. Store them away and revisit in a few years. Patience is a virtue in collecting. I've learned that the hard way, like the time I flipped a Giannis rookie relic in 2014 just to reimburse the cost of the repack I found it in. Man... what I would give for a 5-year rewind with that one.

Retail Review: 2013-14 Panini Titanium Box

When I heard about this product, I must admit that it intrigued me. I love to collect basketball cards, but I rarely buy retail. My retail budget is usually allotted for baseball. However, the guarantee of two rookie relics is a very compelling sell. When I stumbled across this box at Target over the weekend, I couldn't resist.

One problem that I have with this product is the lack of cards. If I'm paying 20 bucks, I'd like some base cards- Even if it gets me two relics. Above is the wimpy 5-card pack. On to the cards:

Here are the first two base cards. I like the design, particularly the fact the player's name dominates the text-portion of the card. Panini has a habit of enlarging their own logos and diminishing the players name....

As such. I really dislike when Panini does this. Next card:

I know very little about this man. The back of the card says he's 7'0 and went to Kansas, which can be said for what seems like a dozen NBA players. He was a second rounder, so I've got to assume he's over in Lithuania or some other Euro league by now. This card happens to be numbered 001/149, which means its AN EBAY 1/1!!!! This should fetch me millions!

I was excited to see some orange and blue in the pack, knowing it probably THJ. As a New Yorker, I'm subjected to constant coverage and meaningless banter regarding the Knickerbockers. Couple that with the fact that Knicks fans are terribly obnoxious, and you've got a recipe for maximum annoyance. 

So yeah, I'm not a huge Knicks fan. With that said, Tim Hardaway Jr. is one of the very few Knicks I can tolerate. If there's a young player that can ignite some hustle and head the Knicks in a direction where it's not just all about Melo, it might be this guy. I wish him the best. I'll be stashing this away with my PC cards.

Lastly, my second memorabilia card. I remember when Antetokounmpo was drafted, and the Bucks took some serious criticism for the pick. The "Greek Freak" as he is sometimes called was considered to be incredibly raw but equally athletic.

He's beginning to quiet the critics. Giannis had a very impressive rookie year, putting up solid numbers for the NBA's worst team. He's young, talented, and from what I've heard, a fan favorite. For these reasons, his cards have become pretty desirable among NBA collectors. It's numbered to only 85 which gives it a very limited print run, so there's a good chance I'll try to use it to refund my purchase. 

My Review? I'd say that this a a fun product. You're only getting 5 cards which is a bummer, but at least two of them are relics. The relics are all numbered, which is a huge plus for me. It was also great to pull a base card that was numbered. 

The guarantee of two memorabilia cards is an exciting concept. especially for only $20. There is also a hobby version of Titanum, which I know stirred some controversy from collectors who fear that this type of retail product undermines LCS's and hobbyists. I can't argue with that.

Basketball card fans: If you've got an extra $20, there are worse ways to spend it.

Thanks for reading.