2021 Bowman’s Best Baseball Offers New Parallels, Autographs
Like a Christmas present, Bowman’s Best baseball will offer some new items for 2021. The set is scheduled for a December release, and there will be new parallels, inserts and autographs for collectors to chase.
2021 Bowman’s Best Configuration
A master box of Bowman’s Best will contain two mini boxes, and there will be six packs to a mini. Each pack will have four base cards, and Topps is promising two autographs per mini box for a total of four in a master.
Base Set and Parallels
The base set will consist of 100 cards. Every pack will have at least one refractor parallel. There are three new refractors in this year’s parallel rainbow: Aqua Lava Refractor, numbered to 199; Gold Lava Refractor, numbered to 75; and Red Lava Refractor, numbered to 5.
Returning parallels will include the Atomic Refractor, which will fall one in every 12 packs. Numbered parallels will feature Purple Refractor, numbered to 250; Blue Refractor (150), Green Refractor (99), Gold Refractor (50), Orange Refractor (25), Red Refractor (10) and SuperFractor (1/1).
Inserts
Inserts will showcase some brand new content for this year’s offering.
Bowman Future Vibrance will fall one in every three packs, and it will focus on the next class of phenoms who may impact the game in future years. An Atomic Refractor parallel will fall two per case; the Lava Refractor Parallel is numbered to 50, while the SuperFractor parallel is a 1/1 offering.
The Heatwave Die-Cut insert is also new and will fall one in every six packs. The cards are cut to resemble cards that were burned at the corners, which is an interesting concept. The subjects will include current and future stars.
An Atomic Refractor parallel will fall two per case; the Lava Refractor Parallel is numbered to 50, while the SuperFractor parallel is 1/1.
Rookie Craftsmanship, also a new insert, can be found in every eight packs. The idea for the card is puzzling — actually, it is a puzzle-like subset — and will focus on current rookies.
An Atomic Refractor parallel is a case hit, the Lava Refractor Parallel is numbered to 50, while the SuperFractor parallel is 1/1.
Bowman Masterpieces is a scarcer insert falling once every 18 packs. The concept for this insert comes from 1960s pop art.
Question: Will there be an Andy Warhol-type Campbell’s Soup can card design for Mariners infielder Paul Campbell and Marlins pitcher Eric Campbell? It’s a thought.
An Atomic Refractor parallel of the insert will appear in every other case, with a Lava Refractor numbered to 50 and a 1/1 SuperFractor.
Autographs
The more common signature cards will be the Best of 2021 Autographs. They will include an abundance of parallels, with two new ones: Gold Lava Refractors will be numbered to 75, while Red Lava Refractors will be numbered to 5. Returnees will be Refactors, Blue (numbered to 150), Green (99), Gold (50), Atomic (25), Red (10), SuperFractor (1/1) and Printing Plates (1/1).
The insert sets will also have autographs. Heatwave Die-Cuts autographs will be varied in their numbers, while Bowman Masterpieces parallel autographs and Rookie Craftsmanship Autograph parallels each will be numbered to 99. The Heatwave Die-Cut will include a new Lava Refractor numbered to 50, an Atomic Refractor (25) and a SuperFractor (1/1). The Bowman Masterpieces and Rookie Craftsmanship sets will each have 1/1 SuperFractor parallels.
Dual Autographs, featuring two players, will be numbered to 25. There will be an Atomic Refractor parallel numbered to 10 and a 1/1 SuperFractor.
About Bob D’Angelo
Bob has been a sportswriter and copy editor for more than 35 years and a blogger for a decade. He is celebrating his 50th year of card collecting, and still counts his 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle as his favorite. You can reach him at [email protected].
