In late January, Cheap Fun Breaks ran a deal too good to pass up: Four years of Bowman’s Best hobby boxes. He ran four breaks, so I grabbed one spot per break. I got the Rays, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Phillies. Which isn’t too bad, honestly. The cards came in Tuesday, the 6th, and I’m just now able to sit down and share what I got.
2020 Bowman's Best
Rather than going by team, I’m breaking down by year, starting with the 2020 cards, which may be one of the bottom picks for design since the 2015 relaunch. Top row is the base cards I got: Brendan McKay (#40), Mookie Betts (#20), Cody Bellinger (#63), and Brusdar Graterol (#49). Bottom row starts out with Wander Franco (#TP-1) which would have been an awesome hit … before summer 2013. There’s also a Franchise 2020 Alec Bohm insert (#FFDC-AB) and a Decade’s Best Gavin Lux (#DB-2).
2021 Bowman's Best
This one is marginally better than the 2020 design, and that’s certainly debatable. Top row was the inserts: Ketel Marte (#24) refractor and purple refractor and an Alec Bohm Heatwave die-cut (#HW-22). Bottom row is Albert Pujols refractor (#87), Max Scherzer atomic refractor (#53), Wander Franco again (#50), and Jordan Lawlar (#39)
2022 Bowman's Best
By this point, the price of a case was just ridiculous so I passed. I have gotten a few cards – a Mystery Box, bought a box on sale in 2023 – and so this was nice to get. Even if I didn’t get much.
Top row: Vidal Brujan refractor (#55), a UFO Bryce Harper (#UFO-10), and an atomic refractor Freddie Freeman (#37). The bottom two are Josh Lowe (#67) and Bryce Harper (#10).
2023 Bowman's Best
I got quite a few hits on the 2023 box! Top row, left to right, Deyvison de los Santos (#B23-DO), Joendry Vargas (#B23-JV), green Taj Bradley (#1, 13/99), and a purple Joendry Vargas (#TP-11, 119/250).
Second row are all refractors: Justin Crawford (#TP-25), Josue de Paula (#TP-17), James Outman (#63), and Tommy Troy (#TP-3).
Third row are base cards: James Outman, Taj Bradley, and Jose de Paula.
Bottom two are Druw Jones (#TP-8) and a Shellacked Josue de Paula (#SH-7).
2021 Topps Heritage
And then, to my surprise, was a pack of 2021 Topps Heritage High Number Series. Maybe Houdini was feeling sympathetic for the Phillies team? I dunno.
The top two corners are Francisco Lindor (#501) and Jordan Luplow (#614). Bottom row is Trevor Rogers (#563), Gary Sanchez (#587), Adbert Alzolay (618), and Garrett Whitlock (#518). To my surprise, in the center top row, was an Anthony Rizzo Clubhouse Collection (#CC-AR) relic. Whoa! Not pictured was a Greg Holland (#698).
I’ve hit better … I’ve had worse. The Franco’s would have been nice before his issues. The Rizzo relic will get sold. A few nice little hits. I think the Harper UFO was my personal favorite hit.