The follow was taken from a recent post of Ryan Cracknell, Beckett Hobby Editor
2016 Bowman Chrome Baseball arrives Wednesday at Sports Cards Plus (Hobby boxes $61.95, Vending boxes $81.95) much to the delight of baseball prospectors everywhere. Just as Topps hinted at the 2016 Industry Summit, the box configurations have been overhauled. Hobby boxes now come packaged with a pair of mini boxes. The product also marks the return of vending boxes.
Hobby boxes, which have a total of 12 packs, come with TWO Autographs. Vending boxes don’t have packs, a return to the fast-opening packaging that was common in the 1980s and early 1990s. These have 88 cards including THREE Autographs, FIVE EXCLUSIVE Refractors and a few other things EXCLUSIVE tom Vending.
BASE SET AND PROSPECT CARDS
The actual base set for 2016 Bowman Chrome Baseball is all veterans and rookies. There’s also the separate 100-card Prospects portion of the product.
As usual, both have an HUGE lineup of Refractor PARALLELS. While Basic Refractors aren’t serial numbered, the ever-popular color versions all are: Purple, Blue, Green (hobby only), Gold, Orange (/25, hobby only), Red (/5) and Superfractor (1/1). Each card also has four different one-of-one Printing Plates.
In addition to these, Prospects have a few more Refractors. New Black and Gold Refractors are EXCLUSIVE to vending boxes. Blue Shimmer Refractors are in randomly inserted hot packs exclusive to hobby boxes. Orange Shimmer Refractors are also hot pack exclusives, EXCEPT these are only in vending boxes.
AUTOGRAPHS
Prospect Autographs remain the cornerstone of 2016 Bowman Chrome Baseball. Once again, they’re ALL SIGNED ON-CARD. Parallels include Refractors, Blue Refractors, Green Refractors, Gold Refractors, Orange Refractors (/25), Red Refractors (/5), Superfractors (1/1) and Printing Plates. Of these, there are a couple of exclusives. Orange Refractors are only in hobby boxes. Gold Refractor Autographs are EXCLUSIVE to VENDING boxes.
Rookie Autographs cover key players already in the majors. These have a similar parallel setup as the Prospect Autographs except the Gold Refractors aren’t a vending box exclusive.
Prime Position Autographs highlight top young players at various positions. Numbered Green Refractors, Gold Refractors, Orange Refractors (/25, hobby-exclusive) and Superfractors are also available.
Carrying on with the AFLAC tradition are All-America Game Autographs. These were signed by prospects while they were still in high school. The result can sometimes lead to different signatures than they use today.
MEMORABILIA CARDS
Jerseys and other types of memorabilia cards are not a major draw for Bowman Chrome Baseball. 2015 AFL Fall Stars Game Relics are the only type of memorabilia card in the product and is exclusive to hobby boxes, These use a variety of pieces from the Arizona Fall League game including hats, bats and bases and look great. Orange Refractors (/25) and Superfractors (1/1) are the parallels.
INSERTS
AFL Fall Stars Game highlight top players from the prospect game held last November. Some of these feature low-numbered parallels that have autographs. AFL Fall Stars Game inserts are only in hobby packs.
Out of the Gate is another hobbyexclusive. These highlight 2016 rookies that got off to strong starts at the beginning of the season.
Bowman Scouts’ Updates spotlight minor league players who also started 2016 well in their respective leagues. Autographed parallels exist as do Refractors: Blue, Gold, Orange (/25) and Superfractor (1/1).
While most of the inserts in 2016 Bowman Chrome Baseball look to the future, there’s one that goes in the opposite direction. Refractors That Never Were reprint old Bowman cards of retired stars as though they were one of the popular parallels. Select cards have autographed versions as well.
