30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

It Could Have Been Worse

Back in January I classified myself a jack of all trades when it came to collecting.  I may have been exaggerating just a wee bit when I wrote that post.  Although I've always enjoyed collecting rookie cards to some extent, but prospecting hasn't been my thing since the early 90's.  That's why I don't usually go out of my way to buy products like Bowman Chrome.


However.. back in November, Gavin wrote about purchasing some boxes of 2008 Bowman Chrome over at Blowout for $19.95 each.  I looked over the checklist and quickly realized why these boxes are so affordable.  There aren't a lot of prospects who panned out.  With that knowledge firmly in the back of my mind, I still made the decision to purchase four boxes due to the entertainment factor and the slim chance of pulling a Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, David Price, or Giancarlo Stanton autograph.

Sadly... I didn't hit any of those guys... but like the title suggests... it could have been worse.  

To save us both a lot of time, I'm only going to list the cards of interest... which aren't many.

#12008 Bowman Chrome X-Fractor #194 (#'d 166/250)


This was my favorite card from the break.  I've actually thought about bidding on this card a few times over the years.  It's not Votto's real rookie card, but it's still cool.


#22008 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP171


Justin Turner has been a rock solid free agent acquisition for the Dodgers the past few seasons.  Pulling this card was a pleasant surprise.


#32008 Bowman Chrome Prospects Red Refractor Autograph #BCP282 (#'d 2/5)


This card is the most valuable card from the break.  Melancon is no longer an elite closer, but this is an autographed rookie card of a 3x MLB All-Star numbered to fiveIt could have been worse.


#42008 Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractor Autograph #BCP264


An autograph of a guy I've actually heard of.  It could have been worse.


#5A Variety of Refractors


Here are nine I'm planning on keeping:


Nothing too exciting, but it could have been worse.


#62008 Bowman Chrome #194



Another Votto that technically isn't his rookie card, but it could have been worse.


#72008 Bowman Chrome Prospects X-Fractor Autograph #BCP259


Bard hasn't pitched in an MLB game since April 27th, 2013... and officially retired as a player last year.  But it could have been worse.

Fifteen years ago, Baseball America named Bard the top freshman pitcher in the United StatesTwo years later, the Boston Red Sox took him in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft with the 28th pickThree years later, he was the Red Sox #3 Top Prospect.  In 2010, he appeared in 73 games for the Sox and had a 1.93 ERA.  In 2011, he set the franchise record when he pitched 25 consecutive scoreless innings.  He didn't allow a single earned run in June or July that season.


#82008 Bowman Chrome #216


This card is no longer sitting on anyone's hot lists like it did ten years ago.  Heck... he's probably no longer a Top 20 third baseman in the league.  But it could have been worse.  He's approaching the 300 home run mark and I don't think I own many (if any) of his rookie cards.

I'll wrap up this box break post with the fourth and final autograph from this break, but before I do... I want to thank Bulldog over at Nothing If Not Random.  He recently wrote about his 2017 Donruss NASCAR box break that he busted two years ago.  When he mentioned that, I remembered that this post was still sitting in my drafts.

Alright here's the final card of significance...


#92008 Bowman Chrome Prospects Autograph #BCP242


Never heard of Zink... but it could have been worse.  He was once considered the top prospect in Wisconsin back in 2003 and he's wearing a Yankees jersey, so this will be passed along to a fellow blogger who roots for the Evil Empire.

Eighty bucks could have bought me a few nice autographs or even a graded 1956 Topps hall of famer for my collection, but sometimes this collector needs to scratch that pack busting itch.  And the bottom line is... this break could have been much, much worse.

By the way, I'm hosting my first contest of 2019.  If you're interested in winning a 2015 Pastime Presidential Portraits set, click here. 

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

16 comments:

Zippy Zappy said...

I'm very jealous of your Melancon and Zink pulls. Woof, a red ref auto.

defgav said...

Some nice stuff here! Much better than my box. Congrats.

Adam said...

That's some pretty solid stuff there Fuji. I wouldn't at all be disappointed with pulling some of those cards, especially the Votto cards and the Melancon auto. Also, that Justin Turner is a fabulous zero-year card.

The Lost Collector said...

The Melancon is neat! Good pitcher and a low number is pretty cool.

Chris said...

I bought a couple of these about 4-5 years ago. Pulled the MadBum auto, but didn't get any color refractors of note. That Melancon is fantastic!

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Than darn itch always gets us.

Robert said...

I'd totally forgotten that Melancon was with the Yankees. Great pull there, despite the rest which could have been worse...

Peter K Steinberg said...

Votto's way better than Price! I'd be stoked to have pulled that.

Fuji said...

zippy zappy - the zink is yours. trying to figure out what i'm gonna do with the melancon. debating on listing it to recover some of the cost of my break

defgav - thanks for letting me know about the sale. it was a fun break

adam sanders - i was really stoked to pull the votto refractor. i was secretly hoping for it.

the lost collector - yeah. can't complain. out of the four autographs, i was glad he was the red #'d to five

chris - nice. i would have gone nuts if i pulled madbum. that would have been an awesome addition to my lefty pc

john miller - it sure does. i still have a few more unopened boxes to get me through the rough patches

robert - lol. yeah. it totally could have been worse.

peter k steinberg - i only mentioned price, because he has an autographed card in this product. votto doesn't. that being said... i'm stoked about the vottos i pulled.

Matt said...

One of Bobby Valentine's experiments in his lone year as Red Sox manager was to try and convert Daniel Bard to a starter. It ruined his mechanics and he was never the same again.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Did Brandon Laird make an appearance? This was his first set.

Zippy Zappy said...

Well I've got a few things up my sleeve just in case...

Fuji said...

matt - thanks for the details. shame. seems like he had solid career ahead of him.

sumomenkoman - i'll double check. if there's any, they're all yours.

Adam Kaningher said...

TIL that Justin Turner is almost as old as Joey Votto.

Fuji said...

I knew Turner wasn't a spring chicken... but I wouldn't have guessed that he was in his mid 30's either.

eltoro2012 said...

I just stumbled across this post and noticed you pulled an Orange Billy Butler Refractor. Is that available for trade or sell by chance?