Topps official: Minor League deal will not affect Bowman lines
With Topps‘ announcement earlier today that it will be the exclusive licensee of cards for Minor League Baseball beginning in 2010, there’s a common question brewing among many prospectors.
What does this mean for Bowman? Could Topps entering the MiLB card market impact the prospect-packed Bowman lines?
Nope, according to Topps’ Clay Luraschi.
“Business as usual with Bowman,” Luraschi told Beckett Media on Monday afternoon.
Luraschi did offer more details for Topps’ inaugural release, 2010 Topps Pro Debut Series 1, which will arrive in March.
Luraschi confirmed that the MiLB products from Topps will include autograph and memorabilia cards (something a Minor League release quite possibly could have gone without) and that a second series for Topps Pro Debut will arrive sometime in the summer.
The MiLB deal, which operates under a blanket agreement, allows Topps to make cards of any player — so those looking for the first fully licensed cards of No. 1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg just might find him there.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
i dig it
Bowman Baseball just went from being (somewhat) relevant again, to back to being irrelevant in the span of a few hours.
I think that’s the case only if you consider Minor League cards to be competition to Bowman.
Minor League cards are just that, minor league cards. Bowman having players in MLB uniforms with MLB logos still makes a ton of difference to many people.
(Eh, what do I know… I like USA Baseball stuff.)