My Reference Cards #3 - 2000 Bowman

Although Bowman had started "color-coding" their cards in 1997, they hadn't quite settled into the black-red and black-blue motif that they relentlessly followed for the next 10 years or so. By "color-coding" I mean that veteran players had a red highlight while rookies had a blue highlight. The set had 440 cards and was issued in one series. Individual packs had 10 cards and were available for $3.00.

A nice design although the player photo is a bit squeezed. Instead of black, the cards are gray. The red is more maroon to me. The player name and card logo are in gold foil. The "Bowman Briefing" on the back first appeared in 1999 and continues to this day.

In addition to the blue highlight, the 'rookie' cards had silver foil. Since Oswalt didn't actually appear in the majors until 2001, under MLB's current rules, this would be called a "1st Bowman Card" and be part of the "Prospects" subset.

There were no subsets in 2000 Bowman, just the division into veteran and rookie cards.  There were however inserts and parallel cards.

Bowman Retro and Bowman Future

This parallel set was printed on foil board and was inserted one per pack. The veteran players were featured on an old-fashioned TV while the rookies were featured on a more modern looking TV set. The cards had the same photos as the base set but cropped to only show the players heads.

Bowman Autographs

There were 40 autographed cards inserted at a 1:144 ratio. I did not get an auto in the hobby box I bought but got this on eBay later. The card has "Certified Autograph Insert" embossed in in blue foil on the front and a holographic sticker on the back. The auto is on-card.

Bowman’s Best Preview

These were inserted in 1:18 packs. I got one of them in the box.

Bowman Early Indications

This 10-insert set had a strange finish. The swirling lines on the front were raised giving the card some texture. These were inserted 1:24 packs. I pulled just this one from the box.

Bowman Major Power

Another 10-card set with a glossy, textured finish. These were inserted 1:24 as well, but I got two of them.

Bowman Tool Time

 Bowman was really fond of this hard-to-scan finish in 2000. This was a 20-card set inserted at 1:8. Higher insert ratio, better chance of getting one. I got 3, including the Phillies Pat Burrell.

There was also a Bowman Gold parallel in this set but I don't have one. Other than that, I have at least one representative card of the entire issue. There's lots of Bowman to go. Coming up will be Bowman Chrome, Bowman Draft Picks (regular and Chrome) and Bowman's Best.

2004 Draft Picks - How did they do? Part 1

I figure that 10 years ought to be long enough to figure out if a draft pick had an impact on the game. If I remember, maybe I'll make this an annual feature.  Since there were 30 players drafted, I'll break this into 3 posts.

2004 Topps Traded #71 Matt Bush

#1 pick by the Padres. Drafted right out of high school as a shortstop, he's also made some appearances as a pitcher. Matt spent 6 years in the minors (3 years with the Padres and 3 with the Rays) before giving it up after the 2011 season.

2005 Bowman Gold #174 Justin Verlander

#2 pick by the Tigers. It doesn't take too much investigation to determine that the 2nd overall pick of 2004, Justin Verlander, is the most successful player drafted that year. Verlander made his major league debut in 2005 and finished that season with an 0-2 record. But by now, he has a 150-89 record, 1,814 KOs, and 6 All-Star appearances. He was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and won the Cy Young Award in 2011. How was Matt Bush picked ahead of Verlander?

2007 Bowman Draft Signs of the Future Philip Humber

#3 pick by the Mets. As a first-round draft pick, Humber had a lot of potential, but has never really lived up to it. For the first 5 years of his career he didn't get much work. The White Sox acquired him in 2011 and gave him a chance as a starter. He was 9-9 in 2011 and 5-5 in 2012. The Astros acquired him in 2013 amid great fanfare in Houston but he went 0-8. Granted the Astros lost over 100 games in 2013 but more was expected of Humber. He's spent 2014 in the minors for the A's.

2005 Topps #682 Jeff Niemann

#4 pick by the Devil Rays. Niemann was 13-6 in his 2009 rookie year, earning him some discussion as Rookie of the Year. He had decent, winning seasons in 2010 and 2011 but in 2012, his luck ran out. He had is leg broken by a come-backer by Adam Lind in May 2012, and his 2013 season ended in April with shoulder surgery. He's currently a free agent.

2005 Bowman Chrome #164 Mark Rogers

#5 pick by the Brewers. After 7 years in the Brewers minor league system, Rogers finally made the bigs for a cup of coffee in 2011. He was 3-1 for the Brewers in 2012 but since then he's been in the Mariners minor league system.

2007 Fleer Rookie Sensations Jeremy Sowers

#6 pick by the Indians. Sowers made his ML debut in 2006 With a 7-4 record, with 2 shutouts, with the Indians. He was 11-26 in his next 3 years and went back to the minors for a year. before leaving baseball.

2004 Topps Traded Chrome #72 Homer Bailey

#7 by the Reds. Bailey hasn't had a spectacular career but he's been successful. He came up in 2007, and except for 2008 when he was 0-6, has had a winning season as a starter every year since. The Reds certainly like him as he's signed through 2020.

Wade Townsend
#8 by the Orioles. Although drafted by the Orioles, he's been in the Rays minor league system his whole career.  There are 96 cards listed for him in Beckett.com but I don't have a single card of him.

2013 Topps Blue Walmart #427 Chris Nelson

#9 pick by the Rockies. Rogers was drafted by the Rockies and played for them from 2010-2013. He doesn't seem to have been a starter but he got some playing time. He was traded to the Yankees in 2013 and then picked off waivers by the Angles later in the season. He's currently with the Padres. He's a career .265 hitter with little or no power and his playing time has decreased steadily.

2010 Bowman Chrome Draft #66 Thomas Diamond

#10 pick by Rangers. He made is ML debut with the Cubs on 8/3/10 and played his final game on 10/3/10. In between he was 1-3 with a 6.83 ERA.

Pictures of Pitchers

My daughter was at the Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethsada, MD last weekend. This is a convention for independent comic book and graphic novel artists and small publishers. A lot of artists come to this and sell their work and produce original artwork for a commission. While she was there she bought this for me.

And this...

These are little booklets, apparently self published by artist Katherine K. Wirick. She was nice enough to autograph them to me.  Here are some of her pictures.

The booklets are laid out with a head shot of a pitcher on one side and a full shot on the other. This is Walter Johnson.

Sandy Koufax

She says that she only draws pitchers who inspire her in some way.

Who wasn't inspired by Mo'ne Davis?

Whitey Ford

Most of the pictures were of past greats.

She seems to have a particular affinity for Dodgers.

You can see more of her work here.

That sad time of year

Well it's that sad time of year. No, I don't mean the start of school, or the first hints of fall in the air. I mean it's the time of year when football and hockey cards begin to push baseball cards off the rack at Target.

And dear God, what is this?

Garbage...Pail...Kids....Chrome!!??

My hand was shaking so much I couldn't get the picture in focus.

Broken Bats and Baseball Cards

One of the subsets of baseball cards I like are cards featuring broken bats. It's always fun as a fan to find a razor-sharp hunk of wood spinning at your head.  Most of the cards I have show the barrel of the bat just at the act of breaking, or just as it's leaving the handle of the bat in the player's hands.

1992 Upper Deck #180 Kirk Gibson

Looks like he broke his bat on a check swing.

1992 Pinnacle Rookies #14 Monty Fariss

Sometimes it's all you can do to get the bat between you and the ball.

1992 Triple Play #113 Andre Dawson

On the back it says "Players, like Andre Dawson of the Cubs, break dozens of bats each season". Doesn't this card look nicer than the recent Panini Triple Play cards?

1993 Upper Deck #253 Pat Listach

Pat looks like he's ready to do some damage with that weapon in his hand.

1993 Upper Deck #267 Wes Chamberlain

It must be a weird feeling to complete your follow-through with just a nubbin of the bat.

1993 Upper Deck #582 Brian R. Hunter

I'm having a hard time figuring out what went on here. Hunter is a right-handed batter. It looks like the bat broke before he got it off his shoulder. Upper Deck was having luck getting broken bat pics in 1993.

2001 Stadium Club #60 Ivan Rodriguez

Infielders beware.

2007 Upper Deck #399 Roger Clemens

Cards featuring pitchers batting are rare. One's where the pitcher is getting his bat broken are very rare.

2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update #319 David Ortiz

Upper Deck - home of the broken bat.

2009 Upper Deck #763 David Wright 

It's hard to tell exactly, but it looks like the photographer caught the ball in the act.

2010 Upper Deck #32 Kyle Phillips

A thoroughly demolished bat.

2001 Topps #233 Ramon Hernandez

Without Upper Deck, I guess we'll see fewer broken bat cards. This is the latest one I have.