First Day Issues Top 5 Pulls of 2010

Two thousand and ten was a banner year for me in terms of card collecting with a bevy of big money hits and rare pulls. Of course I also spent a boatload of money, but in the end, I'd say I did pretty well. Judge for yourself:

#5) 2008 Bowman Draft Gordon Beckham RC Auto Refractor #/500: This might not be the biggest pull in terms of monetary value after Beckham's stinker of a season, but considering I pulled it from two packs at a gas station, I feel it deserves to make the list. The card is in great condition and I might send it in to BGS or PSA if I ever work up the energy. It'll be tough to pull a better card from a gas station, but I'll never rule it out...

#4) 2010 Topps Chrome Awkwasi Owusu-Ansah Superfractor RC #1/1: I thought I might go my whole collecting career without pulling a superfractor but in my second ever hobby box of football cards I pulled this beauty. Now, Akwasi Owusa-Ansah (henceforth referred to as AOA) isn't exactly a household name, but anybody in a Cowboys uniform is a potential hobby star and I can't complain about an amazing looking card that was 1:2,500+ packs.

#3) 2009 Bowman Draft Jared Mitchell Gold Refractor #37/50: With some of the proceeds of the sale from card number one on this list (you won't want to miss that) I purchased a box of 2009 Bowman Draft from Atlanta Sports Cards and pulled a Mike Minor RC Auto and this Jared Mitchell Gold Refractor RC Auto which sold for $150. It was tough to part with because I love the design of 2009 Bowman, but I don't have the courage for high stakes prospecting, so I dropped it like it was hot.

#2) 2010 Topps Platinum Sam Bradford/Colt McCoy Dual Auto #13/25: This card came from my very first hobby box of football cards after the frustration of not pulling a patch/auto out of countless retail blasters reached it's boiling point. I ordered this box from Blowout Cards and although it didn't contain a patch auto (Topps rectified the situation later) I was awfully happy to pull a dual auto of the top rookie quarterbacks. With Bradford's strong season and McCoy's late season emergence, I was able to sell this on eBay for a cool $150. If only every box was so fruitful...

#1) 2008 Bowman Draft Jason Heyward Aflac Auto SP: Early on in 2010 I was hooked on Bowman Draft after pulling a few autos from a box of the 2009 variety. I decided to go after a box of 2008 Draft but finding one at the right price (less than $100) proved elusive. I finally gambled on a box from eBay even though I didn't really have the money for it at the time...call it hunch. About 2/3 thirds of the way through the box I hadn't pulled a single card of note until this jawdropper emerged. With Heyward's hobby star rising and the extreme rarity of this card, I was able to sell it for an unbelievable $500 dollars. The pull of a lifetime? Maybe...

Box Break: 2009 Bowman Draft Picks (Dos Autos)

This is the second box that I bought from Atlanta Sports Cards with the money I made from the Jason Heyward Aflac Auto (I promise that's the last time I mention it for a while--although, I did sell for $500 so I feel I am allowed to gloat a little). After the stirring success I had with a box of 2008 Bowman Draft, I felt it was only fair that I gave the '09 variety a chance to shine. Well, my good luck continued with a great box, including two rookie autos and a bevy of refractors and numbered parallels. Here are the best cards from my box of 2009 Bowman Draft Picks:

Mike Minor Refractor Auto #494/500: Mike "Spike" Minor is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the minor leagues, with 101 punch outs in just 80 innings. Another in a long string of talented Atlanta pitching prospects, Minor was the #7 overall pick out of Vanderbilt last year after a storied college career. I would have been plenty happy if this was the only auto I pulled from the box, but...

Jared Mitchell Gold Refractor Auto #33/50: I was hoping to pull a colored refractor out of this box and was thrilled when I opened a pack and saw the golden edge shining on one of the cards. I was ecstatic when I realized that the gold refractor was also an autograph of White Sox top prospect Jared Mitchell. A two-sport star at LSU, Chicago envisions Mitchell as their leadoff man of the future. I'm not quite patient enough to wait for that to happen, so I went ahead and sold this card for twice what I paid for the box. Yeah, I'm on a bit of a roll. Let's hope it continues on to 2010 A & G.

Overall Thoughts: With a strong rookie class (Mike Minor, Mike Trout, Mike Leake, Bobby Borchering, Drew Stanton, etc.) and a chance at multiple autos per box, 2009 Bowman Draft Picks is a great box to break for aspiring prospectors. The boxes have risen in price from around $55 to $75, so if you can find a box at the low end of that spectrum I would encourage you to go for it. Of course, I might be a little biased...