Due to the smashing debut of red refractors in last years Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects, Topps decided to continue the trend, only this time around make it a smidgen easier to pull.
If you are lucky-enough to pull a red refractor from 2005 Bowman Chrome, you’ll notice that the cards are now serial-numbered to just five copies. Oh…and there’s also gold Superfractors, in addition to the one of one press plates, which are serial-numbered to just one copy. Already a vast improvement over prior Bowman releases.
Now, if you factor in the x-fractors (serial #’d to 225) and the newly-minted blue refractors (serial #’d to 150), plus the unnumbered refractors, you’ve got the best Bowman Chrome set issued to date.
And if you are a connoisseur of fine chrome autographs, look no further than this set. This year’s set boasts some of the biggest prospects in baseball including Andy LaRoche, Billy Butler, Justin Verlander and Jeff Niemann.
The checklist also reeks of stellar rookie cards including those of Chuck James, Chris Young, Carlos Gonzalez, Brian Bannister and Brandon McCarthy, just to name a few.
As is the case with Bowman Chrome year after year, you won’t be shelling out an arm and a leg for a box. Look to pay roughly $75 per box.
The box that I sampled was loaded. I pulled a Billy Butler autograph and a red refractor of Mets prospect Kyle Strayhorn. Not too shabby!
As usual, Bowman Chrome baseball sets the benchmark by which all other products should be measured. And in keeping with tradition – Bowman, once again, is the home of the rookie card!
Here’s what you might find in a randomly selected hobby box of 2005 Bowman Chrome baseball:
Base Set
353 Total Cards
165 Veterans/Prospects
176 First Year Players
12 Autographed First Year (1:28)
Parallels
Refractor (1:4)
X-Fractor (1:13)
Blue Refractor (1:20)
Gold Refractor (1:61)
Red Refractor (1:606)
Super-Fractor (1:3,117)
Printing Plates (1:779)
Autographed Printing Plates (1:10,996)
12 Autographed First Year Refractor (1:88)
12 Autographed First Year X-Fractor (1:196)
12 Autographed First Year Blue Refractor (1:294)
12 Autographed First Year Gold Refractor (1:880)
12 Autographed First Year Red Refractor (1:8,773)
12 Autographed First Year Super-Fractor (1:47,238)
Inserts
A-Rod Throwbacks (1:9)
A-Rod Throwbacks Refractor (1:445)
A-Rod Throwbacks X-Fractor (1:2,241)
A-Rod Throwbacks Super-Fractor (1:266,044)
A-Rod Throwbacks 1997 Auto (1:9,042)
A-Rod Throwbacks 1996 Refractor Auto (1:18,061)
A-Rod Throwbacks 1995 X-Fractor Auto (1:36,122)
A-Rod Throwbacks 1994 Super-Fractor Auto (1:614,088)
Two of a Kind Auto (1:76,761)