Archive for prospects

2012 Bowman Baseball: Home of the (Oakland A’s) Rookie Cards

Posted in Newspaperman with tags , , , , , , , on May 9, 2012 by Cardboard Icons

2012 Bowman Yoenis Cespedes rookie card #193

I saw a slew of 2012 Bowman baseball opened this week and it instantly came to my attention that Bowman is not only “Home of the Rookie Card,” but more specifically home of the Oakland A’s rookie cards.

The Bowman set features a whopping seven legitimate rookie cards of Oakland Athletics players, and this does not take into account the multiple prospect cards that some people sometimes consider rookies.

We all knew that one of the big draws of the Bowman set was the first pack-seeded rookie card of Yoenis Cespedes wearing a Major League Baseball uniform.  But what I didn’t realize, and likely many others, is that there are a half-dozen other Oakland players who call the 2012 Bowman set the home of their first “official” rookie card.

Guys like Tom Milone and Brad Peacock were in 2012 Topps, but they were pictured as members of the Washington Nationals.

Take a look at this:

2012 Bowman Tom Milone rookie card #196

2012 Bowman Brad Peacock rookie card #216

2012 Bowman Jarrod Parker rookie card #213

2012 Bowman Jemile Weeks rookie card #61

2012 Bowman Michael Taylor rookie card #206

2012 Bowman Collin Cowgill rookie card #201

It should be noted that while these seven cards are considered rookie cards, four of these other players have appeared on Bowman branded baseball cards in recent years.

*Michael Taylor appeared in 2007 Bowman as a prospect card when he was with the Phillies. (2007 Bowman products)

*Jarrod Parker also appeared in 2007 Bowman as a prospect when he was in the Diamond Backs organization. (2007 Bowman products)

*Brad Peacock was in 2008 Bowman products as a Washington National.  (2008 Bowman products)

*Collin Cowgill appeared in 2011 Bowman Sterling as an autographed prospect card while featured in a Diamond Backs unform.  (2011 Bowman Sterling)

Card of the Day: 1992 Topps Gold Brien Taylor autograph /12000

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 1, 2009 by Cardboard Icons

brien1Happy New Year to you all. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

If you’re a proud iPod owner, thank your lucky stars that you don’t own a Zune mp3 player. Poor bastards. And if you do own a Zune that was affected by the calendar roll-over, things could be much worse. You could be the guy whom Kathy Griffin pointed her crude remarks toward last night as she and Anderson Cooper brought in the New Year in style

Anyway, all joking aside, I wanted to start the new year off in golden fashion by discussing a card that for many remains one of the most interesting baseball cards of this generation: the 1992 Topps Gold Brien Taylor certified autograph. Continue reading

Pack Break: 2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects w/ Chrome

Posted in Box / Pack Break with tags , , , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

bdpppacksStopped by one of my local shops (Stevens Creek Sports Cards) today to pick up the new Beckett and some boxes for my sets. I also wound up buying three packs of 2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects as well. Keep reading to see the break. Continue reading

Card of the Day: 2007 Bowman Draft Picks Jay Bruce Printing Plate Magenta

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

bruceplatemagentaThis week I fight a serious urge. I never really considered myself a prospector, although I do fancy myself a baseball card collector who likes to be “in the know” (read: own rookies/first cards of everyone). So with the release of 2008 Bowman (Chrome) Draft Picks and Prospects this week, I fight the urge to buy a box or two.

When I got back into collecting in 2006, after a on-and-off couple of years during college, it was because of a random blaster I purchased at Wal-Mart. In that stray blaster, I pulled this. I had no idea who Travis Snider was, but I learned minutes later via eBay that he was a top prospect and the card I pulled could have instantly paid for my box, and three others. Continue reading

Card of the Day: 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Evan Longoria

Posted in Card of the Day with tags , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2008 by Cardboard Icons

For some reason or another, third base prospects have come in bunches over the last two and a half decades. And in this hobby of baseball cards the Hot Corner has been a hotbed for collectors and investors alike. You had groupings like Mark McGwire, Greg Jefferies and Matt Williams; then Scott Rolen, Troy Glaus and Eric Chavez; and now we’ve got Ryan Zimmerman, Alex Gordon, Ryan Braun, and Evan Longoria. There were some other up-and-comers mixed in there. Some studs like David Wright; solid ball players like Travis Fryman. And then some guys who had tons of interest, but eventually just disappeared — Chris Sabo (Note: He is a three-time all-star and world champion. Crazy, huh?) The reason this comes to mind today is because Longoria is one of the hottest players in the game right now. Continue reading