First Look: 2012 Bowman (update w/final AU list)
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
Topps released on Tuesday the basic product information and preview images for its flagship prospecting product for 2012, Bowman.
Scheduled to arrive on May 9, Bowman will include one Chrome autograph per 24-pack hobby box with a few new introductions to the line, too.
New for 2012 will be Bowman Black autographs, autographed Rookie Originals — signed buybacks of players who never had Bowman autographed prospect cards in the past — Aflac All-American autographs and a wrapper redemption program, too.
Bowman Black (above) will showcase 25 players on its checklist, while 10 players will sign buybacks also limited to 25 copies. The number of Aflac players is still TBD.
The wrapper redemption program will yield a five-card pack of Blue Wave Refractors for every 24 wrappers submitted. This set will parallel the 110-card prospect set.
As with past releases, Bowman Chrome prospect autographs will be found with Refractors as well as Blue (/150), Gold (/50), Orange (/25), Purple (/10), Red (/5) and SuperFractor (1/1) versions. The printing plates and Purples will only be found in the 12-pack HTA Jumbo boxes. (Jumbo boxes will include 32 cards per pack and three autographs per box.)
Autographed Rookies will not have Purples with their Blues slightly more plentiful at 250 copies per.
The 2012 Bowman’s Best set will be 50 cards — each apparently diecut — with Refractor, Xfractor and Atomic Refractor.
Also new will be Bowman Silver Ice cards — a one-per-box insert — paralleling the 330 cards in the product.
The prospects set will consist of 110 cards with two Chromes per pack and two regular cards per pack. There will be International, Blue, Orange and Red parallels of the basic cards along with Refractor, Blue, Gold, Orange, Red and Supers for the Chromes.
Also found in the wrapper redemption packs will be Red Wave Refractors limited to 25 copies along with Blue Wave Refractor Prospect autos limited to 50.
Among the signers already committed to having Chrome autographs in the product are Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, Anthony Rendon, Jesus Montero, Matt Moore and Brad Peacock.
Those presently slated to have Bowman Black autographs are Bryce Harper, Cole, Hultzen, Rendon, Andrelton Simmons, Trevor Bauer and Francisco Lindor.
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Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
Click on the images below for an un-obstructed view if necessary.
APRIL 5 UPDATE: FINAL PROSPECT AUTO CHECKLIST
Andrelton Simmons Braves
Andrew Susac Giants
Anthony Rendon Nationals
Austin Hedges Padres
Brandon Drury Atlanta Braves
Brandon Jacobs Red Sox
Bryan Brickhouse Royals
Carlos Martinez Cardinals
Charlie Tilson Cardinals
Cheslor Cuthbert Royals
Clay Holmes Pirates
Daniel Norris Blue Jays
Danny Hultzen Mariners
Dante Bichette Jr. New York Yankees
Dean Green Detroit Tigers
Dillon Howard Indians
Dillon Maples Cubs
Drew Hutchison Blue Jays
Eddie Rosario Minnesota Twins
Eric Arce Blue Jays
Gerrit Cole Pirates
Greg Bird Yankees
Jackie Bradley Jr. Red Sox
Jacob Anderson Blue Jays
Jeimer Candelario Chicago Cubs
Joc Pederson Los Angeles Dodgers
Joe Ross San Diego Padres
Josh Bell Pirates
Julio Rodriguez Phillies
Kes Carter Tampa Bay Rays
Matt Purke Nationals
Nick Delmonico Orioles
Nick Maronde Angels
Oscar Taveras Cardinals
Rookie Davis New York Yankees
Tommy Joseph Giants
Tyler Collins Detroit Tigers
Xander Bogaerts Red Sox
confused
1. wheres the 1st bowman logos?
2. why is lindor a red and he is in 2011 draft
3 if cole, redon and hultzen have autos in the chrome part………………whos going to carry bowman chrome ?
I like the way the Lindor and the Redon look, I like the style, way better than the topps diamond style.
These cards look sweet. I’m in.
Clean and simple! Just what you expect from a quality Bowman product. I can’t wait to see those Bowman Black in person. I bet the silver autographs really pop on the black card stock.
Like their looks! Just hope there’s no card numbering flubs as there was with several of this year’s Chrome ~ complicates thing for us set builders! Also, I hope the refractors are annotated as such. Sometimes we old guys, with old eyeballs, have a difficult time differentiating between commons and refractors!
It does look really good overall….. It’s amazing what they call a “DIECUT” these day’s…. One little corner cut away “nice”…. I do really think it will be another great year for this line though… Let’s just see how much jumbo’s will go for now that plates and purples are jumbo only….
SOS (same ol’ ***) C’mon, Topps- how about something that is actually different rather than the same ol’, same ol’. Absolutely no creativity.
Actually, it looks like those Bowman Best are a half circle. Looks like the upper and lower left corners are rounded and then the center part of the right side has semi-circle indent cut. Too bad it’s a scan and not a video to actually show the die cut. I like the looks of them kind of, I just hate how many parallels they have and I am glad Topps never did numbering like what they do with baseball for their basketball products. Might have been because they didn’t have an NCAA license, but I would have hated seeing some cards being BP123, BPP123, BBP123 and 123. That can be confusing, at least for the little baseball I’ve bought. I bought one Bowman pack last year just to test it out and had like 4 base, two prospects, two chrome prospects, one green and one gold. A set collector’s nightmare. :)
Terrific list of signers. I haven’t bought hardly any Bowman in a few years, this may be one to jump on. Nice additions too!
As for the Lindor and Rendon being red bordered, I think they’re using team colors (Cole is in gold…)
These look typically Bowman, and that’s good. I agree with earlier submitters that it would be nice if Topps cleaned up thier act. Get the numbers right, watch the quality, and stop taking the collector for granted. I also agree with Mr. Anderson, mark the refractors. What was once so clear, no longer is with my aging eyes. Overall, I look forward to their release.
same retread of past issues
Hate to be the one to say it but, too damn many parallels. Like the redemption idea though.
Where is the innovation from Topps?
[…] on 2012 Bowman Beckett News First Look: 2012 Bowman baseball cards (w/poll) I plan on making $$ on S1 and turning that into a few cases of Bowman. BC is a coin-flip depending […]
[…] I did collect the team set last year. I bought most of it off ebay for $5 after the product came out. I’m not really a big “prospecting” guy, so a couple guys who immediately got traded and aren’t Red Sox any more don’t really interest me. I also collected Bowman Platinum, which I thought had a better design, and slightly cheaper price point, enough for me to buy a couple blasters. I liked it’s variety, but again, I’m not really looking for prospects these days. Bowman Chrome is the same as last year, just different kids, and I actually can’t find any information about whether Platinum is going to come back at all. Instead, I think Topps is pushing out 8 uber-top tier sets at price points I can’t reach. I think this one is definitely not for me this year. Gotta cut back somewhere, and this seems like just the place to it. […]
the 2010 Bowman that i bought from a hobby shop were very disapointing! The finnish on the chrome cards had a lot of flaws. You need to step it up on your quaility controll if you are going to produce cards like this and ones like it. Buyer be wear!!.