[pyweed]

Thanks for all the well wishes. Cards have arrived and just a few hours before I start busting.

[gyrodata]

Galvez, 82 pitches.

Good luck.

[tgriffith]

Lowest: Hultzen and 98 pitches

[Patrick_cpg]

Collins: 84 Pitches

Good Luck!

[BGS_Graded_Card_Guy]

Lowest Parallel: Hultzen, 97 Pitches

[suzukmepa]

Lowest parallel: walker, 88 pitches.

Good luck, I hope the break is a lot of fun!

[ncortes]

As many of you know, I regularly post Bowman breaks on this board. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I am scheduled to receive my five cases of 2012 Platinum ($4900 delivered from ATL), and I hope to start busting in the evening.

I will be listing out all numbered cards and autos, providing some photos of the better cards, and may eventually attempt to grade the break on a box by box basis once I get acclimated to the product. I invite you to stop by this thread, help me with the grading, and contribute to the discussion. I sleeve, clean, and sort as I go, so the breaks usually last 5-7 days, which gives a lot of different members an opportunity to stop by and comment while the break is still ongoing. The collective expertise of the Beckett community in these threads invariably makes me more knowledgeable about the product. Plus, it's fun to show off a little bit.

As you might remember, my break of last year's Platinum product was a disaster, consistent with the experiences of most. That break can be found here:

http://www.beckett.com/forums/thread-1450190.html

However, 2010 Platinum was really great, even aside from the two superfractor autos I pulled:

http://www.beckett.com/forums/thread-1396290.html

But both years I really liked the aesthetic of the cards. I think it's a pretty neat product, and it has become one of my favorite breaks.

To heighten interest in the break, I will organize a couple of contests. All contest information (including results) will be in this thread, and entries need to be posted here as well. This keeps the Message Board tidy.

[CONTEST #1 OPEN]

CONTEST #1: To kick things off, I will be offering FIVE prospect autos from among my duplicates (I will provide a list from which you may choose) to the winner of the first contest. If you like, you may choose as an alternative prize $50 worth of cards from my collection (instructions for this alternate prize will be provided backchannel). To participate, you need to guess which Prospect Autograph Card will appear in my first case as the lowest-numbered parallel. For example, if the first case produces 18 base autos, four green refractor autos, a blue refractor auto, and a red refractor auto, who is the red auto? If there is a tie for lowest numbered parallel (e.g., two blue refractor autos), the winner will be the one I pull LAST in the case. To break ties (including the scenario in which nobody picks the lowest numbered prospect auto), you must also guess the number of pitches to be thrown by Max Scherzer in the Wednesday night game. Closest to the pin wins, further tie break goes to the first poster. All entries must be posted before I post results from my first box, which should be about 7PM Eastern. I settle all disputes.

Based on what I'm seeing on eBay, the prospect auto checklist includes the following 35 players:

Arbela
Arce
Arcia
Bauer
Bird
Bortnick
Buchanan
Bundy
Calhoun
Capps
Catricala
Cole
Collins
Corcino
Galvez
Holmes
Hultzen
Jacobs
Mahtook
Maples
Michael
Mitchell
Nash
Norris
Pimentel
Purke
Ray
Rendon
Ross
Starling
Szczur
Terdoslavich
Tilson
Walker
Wright

A valid entry, therefore, will look something like this: "Lowest parallel: Bundy, 75 pitches"

If you miss the deadline, don't despair -- I will post another contest after the first case has been busted. Keep checking back.

Make sense? Good luck to you and to me.

Nathan

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Prospect Galves, pitches 89

[spitjean]

Bauer 101 pitches, thanks for the contest!

---

P.S. I won last year looking for a repeat!!!

Thanks again nate!!

Bauer 101 pitches, thanks for the contest!

[tdog4468]

BPP60 Keyvius Sampson
102 pitches

Btw good luck!

[pyweed]

Contest #1 closed. No further entries accepted. I've started busting wax!

---

There were 41 valid entries, plus two entries that duplicated previous entries, plus one entry containing a name not on the auto list. Good luck, everyone!

---

Case #1, Box #1

Notable colored base:
Alex Rodriguez gold
Bryce Harper gold

Notable prospect parallels:
Mike Montgomery refractor
Gary Sanchez refractor
Bubba Starling xfractor

Notable die-cuts:
Miguel Cabrera
Justin Verlander

Notable Top Prospects:
Bubba Starling

Vincent Catricala Green Refractor /399
Billy Hamilton Blue Refractor /199
Freddie Freeman Die Cut Relic /50

David Buchanan Prospect Auto
Oswaldo Arcia Blue Prospect Auto /199

Mike Olt Auto Relic

Grade: A
Comments: Wow, there is so much stuff to look at when busting this product. The colored base, the parallel prospects, the die cuts, the top prospects, the numbered prospects, and the three auto hits. Plus I got a die cut relic that I wasn’t expecting. I’m probably grading way too high due to halo effects, but a blue prospect auto in the first box plus a Harper parallel and a numbered Hamilton makes me think there’s a lot of cash value in this box. I’ll have to revisit this grade later, but for now I give it an A.