2008 Bowman Chrome Box Break

Product: 2008 Bowman Chrome - Hobby Box
Packs/Cards: 18 packs/4 cards a pack
Price: $54

Overview: Bowman Chrome is a prospect heavy product. While the set includes 220 MLB players, it also features another 110 prospects currently in the minor leagues. Bowman Chrome includes refractor variations of each card, as well as the long sought after superfractor. Autographed cards of prospects are a highlight of Bowman Chrome, with one autographed card per box.

The appeal of Bowman Chrome are the prospects. I am not a prospect collector, but I do look for the Twins, both with the big leagues and those in the farm system.

Results:
- 64 Base Cards (out of 330)
--- 30 MLB Veterans and Rookies (out of 220)
--- 34 Prospects (out of 110)

- 1 Autographed Prospect: Daniel Bard (Red Sox)

- 6 Refractors: Billy Butler, Jermaine Dye, Kosuke Fukudome, Vladimir Guerrero, Brad Hawpe, Lyle Overbay.
- 1 Xfractor: Glenn Gibson (Rays)

- 1 Kosuke Fukudome Japan variation

There were a total of 73 cards. One pack contained five cards and that pack contained the Fukudome variation. Sometimes the variations are cool and sometimes they are not. The Fukudome variation is definitely cool. Last year, Fukudome was the next big Japanese baseball star to jump to the Major Leagues. While I am not a fan of Fukudome, I liked the idea of the Japanese variation being included in the set.







Set Builders Perspective:
The cards are packaged 2 MLB Players and 2 Prospects per pack. With 220 MLB Players total and 110 Prospects total, it will be easier to complete the Prospects set than it would the MLB Players set. (This is the complete opposite for the regular Bowman set.) If each box includes about 30 MLB Players, not counting refractors, it would take a minimum of eight boxes to complete the set. The Prosects set would take a minimum of four. If you are a set completist, Bowman Chrome would take a lot of effort to complete.

Twins Perspective:
While the MLB chrome cards are typically parallels of the regular Bowman counterparts, there are a couple of Twins in Bowman Chrome that were not in Bowman: Denard Span and Matt Tolbert. In addition to the base MLB and prospect cards, there are also six autographed Twins prospect cards include as part of the product. However, in my box, I only received one Twin: Nick Blackburn. Even so, I had already had the Nick Blackburn.



If not an autographed Twin, I was hoping for at least a refractor. Though, a superfractor would be very nice. Not a lucky box for me, but I don't have reason to believe another box wouldn't go in the Twins favor.

Grade: Double-A New Britian Rock Cats