2014 Bowman Sterling Baseball Cards Box Break Recap and Review

Last year the design of Bowman Sterling Baseball was straightforward, a player and his autograph. This year the backgrounds are exploding with whirlwind design. But something remains the same, it’s knowing exactly what you are getting with each box, consistency within prospect collecting, and the whole point of Sterling, 18 autographs in a hobby box. All of this makes 2014 Bowman Sterling Baseball a solid, reliable product for hit seeking Bowman prospectors.

Bowman Sterling Baseball comes in at the high end of our premium cards category.  Each hobby box contains 6 packs with 4 cards per pack.  Each pack contains 3 Autograph Cards. There are also Box Toppers to be found, but not in every box.

Here are all of the cards we pulled.

Our Contest Is Officially Closed

That's it, no more entries.  All that's left is to pick a winner.  We'll draw for that winner and announce who it is after Monday Night Football.  Enjoy the game and good luck to all.

How The Prize Set Came To Be.

YOU STILL HAVE UNTIL MONDAY TO ENTER TO WIN THIS SET, JUST FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR THE DETAILS.

Putting together the set for this contest was fun for me.   I love the idea of a common thread to a series of cards.  So let me explain how it was formed.

Originally, I was only going to take the comments that were based on incidents where “mental errors” or “lapses in judgment” came into play, but I realized that a common error can be just as devastating. 

Being “inspired,” I decided to use all of the comments to form this set, include a few more of my own.  So this set is truly a measure of your participation.  Here are the incidents that lead to the formation of the set.  Each of them links to an article about the play.

Chris Nelson steals home as Nick Masset winds up for his pitch.

Johnny Evers reverses the outcome of a game by tagging second base that Fred Merkle never touched, later dubbed “Merkle’s Boner.”

Milton Bradley throws a ball in the stands after catching what was only the second out of the inning. Larry Walker did the same thing several years prior.

Alex Rodriguez hits an easy out to Luis Castillo, who drops it.  Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira score on the play that changes the outcome of the game.

Mookie Wilson hit an easy ground ball that goes between Bill Buckner’s legs to score the winning run.

Travis Fryman bunts a ball to advance Enrique Wilson and gets to first as the ball hits him in the back.  Chuck Knoblauch argues for an interference call as Wilson rounds the bases and scores.

Pete Stoyanovich has his last second blocked.  Instead of letting the ball sit and the clock run out, Leon Lett tries to down the ball, misses, the Dolphins recover and Stoyanovich gets to kick the winning field goal.  In another incident, Leon Lett starts to celebrate a TD before he crosses the goal line.  Don Bebee knocks the ball out of his hand before he can score. 

DeSean Jackson does the same thing, but doesn’t need someone to knock the ball out of his hands, he does it all by himself.

Paul LoDuca catches Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew in a double play at the plate. Manager Willie Randolph recalled it happen to his team during his playing days as Carlton Fisk caught Bobby Meacham and Dale Berra in a double play at the plate.

Moises Alou goes up to catch what should be the second out of the inning but is prevented by Steve Bartman.  I couldn’t find a card for Steve Bartman, so I substituted a first issue of the Bartman comics.

During the 2006 World Series, Joel Zumaya overthrows a routine ground ball to Brandon Inge.

Jose Canseco lets a ball bounce off his head, over the fence for a homerun.

Torii Hunter dives for a liner off Mark Kotsay and misses.  Kotsay scores on an inside-the-park home run.

Eli Manning escapes a potential sack by two Patriots and throws to David Tyree who makes a miracle catch.

So there you go.  I hope you all like the set.  I threw in the 1960 Johnny Evers cause I thought it was a neat card.  

Good luck to all.  I hope to do more of these in the future.  Once again, you still have until Monday to enter if you haven't already, just follow this link.

Contest Update, Final Set Books at Over $225

Entering phase 2 of our contest, you now have one more chance to win this set and it's simple.  You must be a VISIBLE, PUBLIC follower here of our blog AND you must leave a comment on this set under this post.  The deadline for submitting a comment is Monday, September 27th, 2010 by 8:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time.   If you are following privately and I can't confirm you, it doesn't count.  If you leave a comment and do not follow our blog, it doesn't count.  If you leave a comment on this set under a different post, it doesn't count.  If you leave a foul language or objectionable comment, I will delete it and it wont count.  Got it?  Good!

 OK, here it is and it books for approximately $228.65.  I will go into further details about the set and the incidents that inspired  the set in later posts.  For now, here is a list of the cards that make up this set.

Johnny Evers                  1960 Fleer    

Bill Buckner                   1972 Topps

Carlton Fisk                    1974 Topps

Mookie Wilson               1981 Donruss Rookie Card

Dale Berra                      1985 Topps  Yogi & Dale Berra

Jose Canseco                  1986 Topps Traded Rookie Card

Bobby Meacham            1989 Upper Deck

Travis Fryman                1990 Bowman Rookie Card

Pete Stoyanovich            1990 Pro Set

Don Bebee                     1990 Pro Set

Bartman                          1993 Bartman, Issue #1, Bongo Comics

Alex Rodriguez              1994 Collector's Choice Rookie Card

Fred Merkle                    1994 Upper Deck The American Epic

Enrique Wilson               1997 Bowman

Mark Kotsay                   1997 Donruss Signature Autographs

Chris Nelson                   1997 Modesto A's Grandstand

Brandon Inge                  2000 Bowman Chrome

Willie Randolph  &

Chuck Knoblauch           2002 Upper Deck Yankee Dynasty Memorabilia

J D Drew                        2003 Hot Prospects of the Game Burrell/Drew Jerseys

Paul Lo Duca                  2003 Topps Autographs

Moises Alou                    2004 Sweet Spot Sweet Threads Patterson/Alou/Sosa

Joel Zumaya                   2004 Topps Chrome Traded    

Larry Walker                  2005 Donruss Impressions Materials /Bat

Torii Hunter                   2005 Fleer Authentix Game of the Week Ramirez/Hunter 114/140

Nick Masset                   2006 Topps 52

Louis Castillo                 2008 Allen & Ginter

DeSean Jackson             2008 Bowman Rookie Card

Jeff Kent                        2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics

Leon Lett                       2008 Topps Chrome

Derek Jeter                     2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Ortiz/Youkilis/Giambi/Jeter

Eli Manning & 

David Tyree                   2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Johnny Evers                 2010 Topps 206 Mini

Milton Bradley              2010 Topps Allen & Ginter

Mark Teixeira                2010 Topps Legendary Lineage Mantle/Teixeira

Good luck to all and thanks for inspiring this set.