Pack of 2021 Bowman Chrome Lights 100 BOX! (Break)

Topps recently introduced another marketing gimmick that was right up my alley...

Bowman Chrome LIGHT(s)!

I'm a smoker and that's bad and I know that. 

I quit for a while and then I quit quitting. 

And that's bad and I know that.

But as a smoker, I'm very familiar with the term: "Light". Back in the nights of gas stationery (parts one and two), I probably heard the phrase "Pack of Marlboro Lights BOX!" at least 10 times per shift. Sure, there were occasional switch ups, like replacing Marlboro with Camel, or the addition of 100 after Lights, sometimes even Soft Pack for Box. No matter how you remixed it, you heard it a lot leading up to bar rush and again during the morning commute.

Some ten or so years ago, tobacco companies were made to remove the word "Light" from their packaging, as the powers that be found that term misleading. Years went by before I even noticed. Out of habit, I always asked for Lights. And the clerks always knew what I wanted.

My brand, Winston, (shown here in both variant and base) opted for the term "Gold" instead of "Light". Winston Regular comes in red packs, so that makes sense. Wont even get as deep as the former "Ultra Light" having now become Winston White. Either way, they're more affectionately known as "Old Man Smokes" by those who matter.

Point being...

Topps made the decision to market this year's edition of Bowman Chrome in both regular and light boxes. Both varieties still contain the same amount of tobacco and nicotine (as in zero), but the Lights omit the sought after autographs. In theory, eliminating the high dollar lottery ticket option would -in theory- lower the retail cost of boxes. Which is appealing to me because I'd rather have the cards that most of the people buying this product don't really want.

I went to the LCS with a specific amount in my 2021 Bowman Chrome budget. Upon arrival, I was presented with several options:

Hobby Box

Containing 2 mini-boxes of five packs of 5 cards each. Each of the two mini-boxes were guaranteed to contain 1 certified Bowman Chrome Autographed card. This option was too expensive for today.

Mini Box

There was also the option of buying just one mini-box. Which would mean only 5 packs of 5, but I'd get one Bowman Chrome Autographed card. At roughly half the price of the full Hobby Box, it was well within my budget, and I'd almost settled on that.

Yeah, Right... Box

To eliminate all pretenses of NOT being anything but a lottery ticket, you could opt for this box. It was more than the price of three mini-boxes, and contained a whopping total of three CARDS. Granted, all of them were Bowman Chrome Autographs. All sorts of nope there...

Light Box

This was still within my budget and was twice as many cards as the also in my price range Mini Box! While not considerably more than the price of a single Mini Box, I could get twice as many packs, but zero guaranteed Bowman Chrome Autographed cards. 

However, as an exclusive to the Mini Box, you get 5 exclusive Black & White Mini Diamond Parallel cards. Since they aren't found in any of the other boxes, that seems like a pretty fair trade off for not getting a guaranteed Bowman Chrome Autographed card. Sure, you could hit it big, with a low serial numbered autograph of a top prospect. Then get it graded and all that jazz, then it'll sell on ebay for billions. (That's what I hear at least...) But the chance of getting an autograph of a player that never sniffs even AA baseball is always there and highly likely. 

I know I have quite a few Bowman Chrome Autographs of players that never reached the majors, from all years of Bowman Chrome. Because I've traditionally loved this product and bought a lot of in years past. Lately it's been too expensive to get much of it. And I don't like paying so much for the slight chance at a decent autograph.

I'll take the gamble on five of these parallels instead. If I get a big name top prospect, that's certainly better than an autograph of someone who spends a total of 2 and a half seasons as a Kansas City Royals middle reliever, 8 years from now.

So let's see if my 10 packs of 2021 Bowman Chrome Light brought me to Flavor Country!

Pack One

Bryce Harper - Philadelphia Phillies

The first card I saw from the box was Bryce Harper. That's fine. Good player, a card I have zero issues with having.

Kristian Robinson - Arizona Diamondbacks - Purple Refractor 81/250

I'll never mind a serial numbered, colored parallel Refractor. Even if it is a D-Bags card.

Eduardo Garcia - Milwaukee Brewers - Black & White Mini Diamond

So this is how the "Light" exclusives look. Actually, this is pretty cool. I like the black and white photo over the Refractory parts. 

Garcia is an 18 year old slick fielding Venezuelan shortstop. He spent most of the Summer in Rookie Ball, but got into 10 games with the Low-A Carolina Mudcats in September. So far, he's shown little power, takes too few walks and strikes out too much. But he's 18 and that could change quickly.

Or it doesn't.

Mick Abel - Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia's first round draft pick in 2020, he pitched pretty well in Low-A Ball. I remember reading his name come up in trade rumors for Byron Buxton last July. The Phillies don't have a great deal of Top Prospects to offer, and I think I read that Abel was off limits. Which is fine with me. Abel is too great a question mark for a player like Buxton (injuries and all), at this point in time.

Ronny Mauricio - New York Mets

Mauricio is very good prospect. Who will likely become trade bait in the near future. He's not taking Lindor's spot...

So that was the first pack. I'm happy with it, so I guess I'll go ahead and finish opening the box.

But first, I gotta see how common that Purple Refractor is...

One in 53 packs isn't too bad. Some interesting numbers if you want to dig into them.

Pack Two

George Springer - Toronto Blue Jays

I really wanted to see the Blue Jays in the playoffs this year...

Clarke Schmidt - New York Yankees

With as many Clarke Schmidt cards as I keep getting, I hope he ends up better than your typical overhyped New York Yankee starting pitcher.

Jeremy De La Rosa - Washington Nationals - 40 Man Futures

Super bright and colorful insert of a decent Nationals prospect. They'll sure need more of those, very soon!

Matthew Liberatore - St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis's big return for Randy Arozarena. They challenged the 21 year old with a full season at AAA Memphis, and he held his own. Showed great control and struck out nearly a batter per inning. Maybe the Cardinals wont end up regretting that trade. But they sure could have used Arozarena's bat this year.

Jordan Groshans - Toronto Blue Jays

Groshans was another rumored name heading towards Minnesota at the July trade deadline. We chose the right half of the 2021 Bowman Chrome advertisement instead.

Pack Three

Tarik Skubal - Detroit Tigers

Skubal is a good candidate for the next Detroit Tiger player I'll collect. There's been so few Tigers that I'll had any interest in, but I think he could become a decent left handed starter. Improving as the team he's on continues to figure out how to play... 

Joey Bart - San Francisco Giants

The Giants still need to send him to the Rockies. They just signed (former Twin) C.J. Cron to a two year deal... Make the trade, Cron'll hold you down for a couple seasons! It just makes sense!

Kevin Made - Chicago Cubs - Black & White Mini Diamond

Made played in Low-A, for the 2021 season. Quite the leap for an 18 year old. I'll follow his season in 2022, just due to this card.

Miguel Amaya - Chicago Cubs

Catcher/First baseman that seems to have been a prospect even longer than Royce Lewis. (He isn't...)

Zac Veen - Colorado Rockies

2020 First round draft pick (9th overall) put up a .900 OPS over a full season at Low A Fresno. And he was only 19. 

Looks like I may have to give a little credit for Bridich's last draft...

******

2021 Prizm Joey Bart Illumination Bronze Prizm Mini-Donut

Speaking of Bart, I drew the San Francisco Giants in a box break. Figured it would net me a buncha Barts, and it did. Chrome, Prizm and Select. Mostly base, but I did get the whatever it's called, numbered to 40, as my top hit. It's a much nicer card than this scan shows. 

Pack Four

Shane McClanahan - Tampa Bay Rays

McClanahan kinda imploded in the playoffs, keying Tampa's disappointing ousting by the damn Red Sox. 

Noelvi Marte - Seattle Mariners - 2020 Summer Camp

An insert set honoring the prospects that filled each team's Covid camps in 2020, that's pretty cool. The lake and trees backdrop, Refractorized!, is all sorts of cool.

Yoelqui Cespedes - Chicago White Sox - Dawn of Glory

Bland design on this insert. Looks incomplete.

Starlin Aguilar - Seattle Mariners

This guy was born in January 2004! I hadn't even turned 30 yet! The 17 year old batted only .246, but had a .359 OPS, over 53 games in the Dominican Summer League. Quite the plate discipline for a 17 year old. He's another one to watch over the next few years.

Jeter Downs - Boston Red Sox

Yeah, I'm going to hold that jersey against him, even though he's never actually worn it.

******

Bowman Chrome isn't sold in retail stores. And not just because cards aren't available in big box retail these days... Topps made Bowman Chrome a Hobby Exclusive brand a few years back. But in the early 2000’s, most of the Bowman Chrome I'd buy came from your Targets and WalMarts, as it was nearly always sold out (or too expensive) at the hobby shops. Now in 2020, thanks to a myriad of reasons, from Covid to flippers to an overall changing marketplace, big box chain stores such as Targets and WalMarts decided to stop selling cards on the in-store retail shelves. 

However, sports cards have started being slowly introduced back into retail stores. Despite Targets’ sign declaring the opposite, I recently found some actual cards on sale there. Which made me happy. Not that it immediately put dollar signs in my eyes. I know I’m not funding retirement on retail pack ripping. But since I have to do a lot of the shopping for our house, I’m just glad to be able to find a few retail packs to tear open after all the commerce is done. It’s a whole lot easier to tolerate being out in public if I can end the afternoon with cards.

I only bought one Blaster of Gypsy Queen, and pulled an autograph. It won’t buy me a car, but it put a smile on my face. Took away some of the sting from battling the three headed Target-Walgreens-Grocery-Store-on-Sunday-Afternoon dragon. Just as opening cards always does. 

Along with chain smoking in the car between stores and parking lots...

Pack Five

Cody Bellinger - Los Angeles Dodgers

I've not been very emotionally invested in the 2021 MLB Postseason. Once the Rays were gone, then the Brewers, it was down to 8 teams that I really can't stand. If I were to rank the MLB teams I hate the most, it would be Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco and the Yankees at the top of the list of teams that I just don't like.

Hmmmm... I should rank all 30 clubs in order of how much or little, I like them...

One of these days...

Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds

The Reds would fall firmly in the middle the pack in such a list, were I to make one. Neither high nor low. Though I have to admit I’m fairly impressed with Votto’s consistency over the last 15 years. I seem to pull his cards quite often. If he keeps it up for a while longer, perhaps a Hall of Fame chance someday?

Josiah Gray - Los Angeles Dodgers - Black & White Mini Diamond

Traded to the Nationals (with others) for Scherzer and Turner. Getting away from the Dodgers means he’s instantly a better player in my eyes.

Malcom Nunez - St. Louis Cardinals

Looking at his numbers, this 20 year old third baseman seems solid, but nothing jumps out at you. He did play half the season at AA Springfield, so he’s advancing fast. Not sure where he plays with the abundance of third basemen in the St. Louis organization.

Shalin Polanco - Pittsburgh Pirates

Another 17 year old in the Dominican Summer League. Projects as a power/speed centerfielder, but nothing he did in 2021 screams future superstar. But’s not like the Pirates would do anything besides trade him after 4 years of service time, if he did.

******

2021 Bowman Chrome Twins Talent Pipeline

I didn't draw a single Twins card from the 2021 Bowman Chrome Light Box. That was a tad disappointing. However, I found this card in the Twins singles box for $2. A trifecta of Minnesota's shortstop prospects, from A, AA and AAA. So far Wander has been a let down, partially due to injury. Lewis has likely lost too much development time to become the superstar I'd hoped for. Injuries played a role there too. Nick Gordon was a nice surprise in a very low season, spending a lot longer with the Twins than I would have expected. He held his own for much of the Summer, but finished with a very strong September. He could figure into a bigger role on the 2022 Twins. He's definitely earned the chance.

While carrying the moniker of 2021 Bowman Chrome, this card isn't from the set that comes in 2021 Bowman Chrome Light. It's a completely different set. This is an insert in 2021 Bowman. Which has 2021 Bowman Chrome cards in it. Just not the ones available in 2021 Bowman Chrome Light.

Benson and Hedges Deluxe Super Slim with Raisins Light 120's BOX!

Pack Six

Mike Yastrzemski - San Francisco Giants

You know this postseason pool was bleak when I was actually rooting for the Giants.

Gleyber Torres - New York Yankees

Or even the Yankees...

Patrick Bailey - San Francisco Giants - 40 Man Futures

Okay, I wasn’t serious about rooting for the Giants.

Stop giving me their cards.

Julio Carreras - Colorado Rockies

He could develop into something better, but Carreras will be 22 on Opening Day and has yet to play beyond Low-A. And the numbers he’s put up so far don’t inspire much confidence. In short, a typical Rockies minor leaguer.

Jeferson Quero - Milwaukee Brewers

Intriguing prospect with an excellent eye at the plate for an 18 year old. Granted, it was only 83 plate appearances in the Arizona Complex League, but an OBP of .434 gets your attention. If he can develop and stick behind the plate, the Brewers may really have something here.

******

All of this satisfaction is making me edgy...

Time for a Smoke Break!

Enjoy a little mid-1980's Negativland, with their short film, Fetch My Cigarettes, until I come back.

It'll blow your MIND!

Pack Seven

Jose Abreu - Chicago White Sox

Hey Abreu… What happened to the White Sox in the playoffs? 

You were supposed to beat the Astros. I needed you to beat the Astros. Just like you beat up the Twins all year. Just like most of the teams beat up the Twins all year...

Gabriel Rodriguez - Cleveland Indians - Silver Refractor 202/499

Nice card of a very fringe prospect. Only 19, but only an OPS of .602 in 97 games at Low-A. Little power, marginal speed, lotsa strikeouts. I could’ve done better here... At least it's colorful!

Ed Howard - Chicago Cubs - Black & White Mini Diamond

Howard was a pretty hyped prospect going into the 2020 Draft, and his loud and enthusiastic draft party was memorable to watch on MLB Network. Finally getting to play in 2021, the 19 year old posted only a .591 OPS in Low-A. There’s plenty of room for improvement in all facets of his game. Because his 2021 numbers were not very first round worthy.

Blaze Jordan - Boston Red Sox

Of course this Red Sox prospect posted big numbers because he’s a Red Sox prospect. That’s the way it works. I’m assuming injuries cost him, as he only played in 28 games of Rookie League and Low A ball. But a .959 OPS in 114 plate appearances is noteworthy for a 19 year old.

Because Boston needs more lauded prospects...

Jasson Dominguez - New York Yankees

“He’ll be better than Trout!”

Not off to a very Trouty start though... But that’s not stopping people from paying ridiculous sums of money for his cards. I certainly won’t be any time soon.

******

I'm way behind on setting up any sort of organization in NewBaseballcardland. That's the name of my baseball card and collectable toys storage room. We've been in this house for over three years now, and after putting all the baseball cards and collectable toys inside that basement room, I probably haven't spent more than an hour at a time in sorting any of it. One of those 45 minutes recently, I found this in a box of stuff I brought over from my parent's house. (Before the fire.)

On November 11th, 1993, I bought Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 for the SuperNoFriendo. The local Woolworths store was closing at the Northtown Mall, at the Going Out Of Business sales were pretty good. Full retail on this game was $49.99, so I got it for almost half off!

Stock image from the Googles. I wasn't smart enough to save the box once I got home. Should have had the foresight to know that I'd need it for a story in 28 years.

A couple of months before, I bought the SuperNoFriendo, but still didn't have a baseball game for it. While Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 didn't follow MLB at all, you could still play a fairly decent basic baseball game with it. I immediately became hooked on the Simulator part. You could set up a six team league, with rosters of a size I can't remember, comprised of players you had make. You could name them whatever you wanted and assign their respective attribute as you pleased. So I spent far too much time doing just that. However, my teams were full of minor league players and current MLB all stars. 

The baseball was fun, but the simulator was kind of strange. Once I made my six teams, I'd have the SuperNoFriendo simulate the full 166 game season, while I was asleep. The compiled statistics for each player were fun to read, although a little strange. Simulated Frank Thomas once hit over 90 home runs in a single simulated year. That's not a good thing.

One such simulation was reported on in Wasted Quarter issue #3 Sports Report. (November 1993)

Enough of this, lets get back to the Bowman Chrome.

So I can get on to something more interesting to write about.

Pack Eight

Ronald Acuna Jr. - Atlanta Braves

I'm worried that if Atlanta makes it to the World Series, I'll have to want them to win. Certainly will not support the Astros or Red Sox to win the Series, so that means I'll be rooting for the Atlanta Crackers. I'm going to call them the Crackers to make myself feel better about a deep personal betrayal. I'm going to have to turn my Expos jerseys around so I don't have to face them out of shame. 

And Acuna wont even get to play!

Taylor Trammell - Seattle Mariners

After bouncing around as a Top Prospect for several teams, Trammell finally debut for the Mariners. And it wasn't that great of a debut... He did hit 8 home runs, but had 75 strikeouts in just over 150 plate appearances would make even Miguel Sano say: “Damn, that’s too many strikeouts!”

Mick Abel - Philadelphia Phillies - 40 Man Futures

Hey, it's that guy again! Maybe I should collect him?

After all, I don't keep a great deal of Phillies around.

CJ Abrams - San Diego Padres

Interested in see what the Padres do with Abrams. A damn fine looking shortstop prospect is seemingly blocked by Fernando Tatis Jr. Does Abrams change positions? Does Tatis? Will Abrams get traded, as one of San Diego's last big time prospects, for the piece that puts them right with the Dodgers and Giants? 

Or does he not pan out...

Nick Yorke - Boston Red Sox

Officially reached my limit on Red Sox cards in this box. If you're not going to give me any Twins, stop giving me anyone affiliated with Boston.

Oh look! A toilet!

******

The other day I received an unsolicited message from a name I didn’t recognize. He sent a picture to me, which Messenger blurred out for my protection. So I unblurred it because I’m not scared. Then something from my past was revealed...

Wasted Quarter issue 22?!?!?

Turns out, this guy had recently bought a house in my hometown, and was doing some renovations in one of the bathrooms. Stashed behind one of the vanity drawers was a copy of my zine! He said it was fun to read, and he was a Mariners fan, so that's pretty damn cool. 

Along with this amazing piece of history, there was a hand-written note! Back in the dark ages of no cell phones, people actually passed notes on actual paper! Written in actual PENCIL! From a guy named Tom, to a girl named Michelle. Such a simpler time...

Reading into the note, I've deducted that Tom or Michelle were in high school at the time. Maybe both of them? Since Michelle (Code name: Spuddy) was the recipient of this note, I would assume this was her parent's house. They likely are in Choir together. Tom had recently broke his finger in a basketball accident, and had also been busted for smoking. His writing sucks because his finger hurts. And he's concerned about communicating or weekend plans, given his cigarette induced grounding.

He asked me if I knew of either Tom or Michelle, but I had no idea who they were. In that era, Wasted Quarter's audience was more than just people I saw on a semi-daily basis. In addition to first person sales, I was selling copies at the Northtown 20/20 Sound. Not a big bunch, but a few. Meaning that Michelle (or one of Michelle's friends) picked up this copy at my favorite CD store of all time! 

Wasted Quarter issue 22 was my 1995 Year In Review issue. Complete with extra-added Jeff Innis. This would have been printed in very late December 1995, or early January 1996. On sale at 20/20 Sound for the following month or so. Meaning, it's likely been stuffed inside that vanity for 25 years now. There probably aren't a whole lot of these left laying around these days. He said he would send it back to me if I didn't have a copy. I do, and the originals, so I told him to keep it. 

That made my day!

Of course knowing that someone I'd never met, has just read some of my earliest work, meant I had to go back and look at it myself. And yes, it was kind of embarrassing looking at my 20 year old thoughts about my 20 year old world. But what was there, turned into this. It was crude then, and -to some- it's still crude today. But I can look back at something I wrote 26 years ago, and be proud of the work I've put in to make it this today.

And you cant fold up a web site and lose it in a vanity.

Pack Nine

Christian Javier - Houston Astros

Had hopes that with Justin Verlander's injuries, Garrett Cole leaving and Zack Grienke getting older, Houston's rotation wouldn't carry them deep into the playoffs. But it seems their minor league system can churn out some decent young pitching to replace the missing pieces. Damn them.

They're going to make me root for the Dodgers or Braves in the World Series.

I wont cheer for Houston.

Nolan Gorman - St. Louis Cardinals - 2020 Summer Camp

Yay! More RefracTrees!

Marco Luciano - San Francisco Giants - Black & White Mini Diamond

The Giants Top Prospect is a 19 year old shortstop, that put in an impressive season split between Low A and High A. With an overall slash line of .258 / .344 / .471, decent plate discipline and 19 home runs, over 453 plate appearances. About the time Brandon Crawford finishes his new 2 year deal, Luciano should be ready to slide into the shortstop position in San Francisco.

Hunter Greene - Cincinnati Reds

Chosen second overall in the 2017 Draft, just behind Minnesota taking Royce Lewis. There was a lot of debate at the time that the Twins would/should draft Greene with the first overall pick. We're still waiting on Lewis, Cincinnati is still waiting on Greene. Lewis missed the entire 2021 season with a torn ACL. Greene missed the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons with Tommy John Surgery. Still only 22, Greene had a very good year between AA and AAA, going 10-8 with a 3.30 ERA, in 106 innings. Impressively, he struck out 139 batters and only walked 39, in that span.

From 2017 to 2020, I was glad the Twins chose Royce Lewis.

Now I wish he had Hunter Greene ready to step into our rotation next year instead.

Adley Rutschman - Baltimore Orioles

So here's the first overall Draft pick in 2019. Rutschman looks like he's ready as soon as Baltimore wants to start the clock on him. He'll be 24 on Opening Day 2022, and is coming off a very good .285 / .397 / .502 line between AA and AAA in 2021. Whenever he gets there, he should be a bright spot behind the plate, for a pretty dismal Orioles team

******

Found this at the LCS a couple weeks ago.

1994 Flashback!

Not a known tobacco user, just smoking hot back in 1994. 

Pack Ten

Brailyn Marquez - Chicago Cubs

Flamethrowing lefty had one major League appearance in 2020, then missed all of 2021 with a left shoulder injury. That doesn't bode well for him. Now I'm thinking he will probably end up in the bullpen as a relief pitcher. Good thing he has about 7,000 rookie cards spread throughout 2021 Topps and Panini brands.

Ke’Bryan Hayes - Pittsburgh Pirates

Yup, officially collecting Hayes cards. 

Deivi Garcia - New York Yankees - Purple Refractor 31/250

Wasn't expecting a second Purple Refractor out of this box. So that's pretty cool. Garcia hasn't established himself with the Yankees, although his secondary number look much better than his overall stats. Still pretty young (22 in 2022), there's plenty of time for him to develop, and this to become a very nice card to have. Plus, he's a Yankee, so any moderate success will make this card more important than if he was a Mariner.

Drew Waters - Atlanta Braves

This guy seems to have been a prospect forever as well. He's 22, put up acceptable numbers at every level, but doesn't seem like he's going to be a star. Perhaps a decent 4th outfielder on a rebuilding club. Future trade bait?

Francisco Alvarez - New York Mets

A 19 year old catcher slugging 24 home runs over 99 games in Low A and High A is something to notice. Combine that with 55 walks and only 89 strikeouts in 400 plate appearances, and you've got a player worth following. I'm sure the Mets will screw this up, as they normally do, but Alvarez could be an All Star homegrown player. Something the Mets really need.

And that's the box!

2021 Topps Chrome Ke’Bryan Hayes

Keeping up with the Ke’Bryan Hayes additions, I won another 2021 Topps Chrome Hayes from a Pirates draw in a different box break. Then I got another one in a rare 2021 Topps Chrome Hanger Box at the WalMarts.

He even co-stars on the 2021 Bowman Chrome wrappers (and box)!

2021 Bowman Chrome Light is a great idea from Topps. I was able to get more base cards (and inserts) for the price, than buying the Hobby box with a guarantee of 1 certified Bowman Chrome Autographed card. Only to end up with a 24 year old Pirates catcher, with no bat, in Low-A.

Take away the high from that gamble, it still satisfies the fix. Because it's Bowman Chrome. The chances of getting something decent for the future is always there. And they're nice looking cards. The inserts are almost always gorgeous. Taking the built in disappointment away, leaves an overall more pleasant experience. You can always buy the autographs you want later. More often than not, they'll be far cheaper in a couple of years than chasing them through wax today.

And then you NEED more...