Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Packs a Punch

I made a trip to the other side of Washington on a long weekend to catch a couple of Mariners games (they're awful) and spend time with some friends from college. Since there are zero card shops within three hours of me I went a little crazy when I found one in Olympia. I got four packs of Topps Unique (which yielded bupkus), four packs of SP Authentic (same story) and last but certainly not least, 12 packs of 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. Here's what those packs yielded:

Eric Arnett Rookie Auto: Well, I guess I should be excited about an autograph, even if the player and signature both leave something to be desired. Arnett was a first round pick, so I suppose he must bring something to the table. I'll hold onto this one and see if he breaks out in the next few seasons because it fetches about $3 on eBay right now. I figured that this was the only hit of the box, but thankfully I was wrong, because in the last of the 12 packs I pulled...

Tony Sanchez X-Fractor Rookie Auto #114/225: Shazow!! A beautiful on-card rookie autograph of the #4 overall pick in last years draft, Tony Sanchez. He's one of the better prospects in the set and is tearing the cover off the ball at high class A so far in 2010. The x-fractoring looks great in person and I was very happy with this pull as it saved me from a complete disaster at the card shop.

Instead of stopping while I was ahead (and by that I mean not totally behind) I stopped by a gas station on the way home that carries hobby packs. I got one pack of SP Authentic (nothing--and I'm done buying these forever) and two dusty packs of 2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. The first pack had nothing noteworthy and at that point I was cursing myself for spending money I didn't have on rookies who would never sniff the big leagues. I opened the last pack, fully expecting more disappointment, but was greated by a friendly face. I saw the shine of the refractor and was happy to at least pull something worth a buck or two. Here it is:

Gordon Beckham Refractor Auto Rookie #393/500: Great googely moogely! My jaw literally dropped when I pulled this gorgeous card out of the last pack of the trip. As far as I know, Beckham was the best possible card to pull from this set, and the fact that it's the refractor version is just icing on the cake. I wished I had pulled this last summer, but once Gordon starts hitting again this will be one of the centerpieces of my collection. A great way to end the trip and make me forget about the Mariners struggles.


Thanks for looking! None are for trade at the current time. Have a great Thursday!