1993 Bowman

One of the perks of writing your own blog is reading your fan mail. It's great to hear from folks who appreciate what you do. It's even better to hear from folks who show that appreciation by giving you free stuff.

Two such fans are Steve Swinehart and his son. They're both getting back into The Hobby after a long absence and stumbled across Stale Gum. Both are now regular readers.

A couple of days ago Steve sent me an e-mail asking for my mailing address. It seems that Steve and his son like my blog so much that, as a token of their appreciation, they wanted to give me some free cards. Pretty cool, huh? Yep, blogging has its privileges.

But what to ask for? I told them -- in so many words -- to surprise me.

Boy, did they.

One pack of 1993 Bowman.

Butch Huskey
Bill Haselman
Rheal Cormier
Keith Gordon
Chris Holt
Matt Whiteside
John Franco
Tim Bogar
Wade Boggs
Ed Sprague
Mike Devereaux
Raul Mondesi
Dan Frye Foil
Checklist #1

Remember when Bowman didn't suck? I do, and opening this pack brought back memories of what the once-great Bowman brand was, and can be again.

If anyone from Topps is reading this (and hopefully they are), 1993 Bowman is what the 2008 Bowman set should be modeled after. 708 cards, no short-prints, no annoying base-set autographs, no meaningless Chromes, no gimmicks. In other words, no BS.

And although I didn't pull either the Derek Jeter or Andy Pettitte RCs, and although the only card from this pack that was on my wantlist was the checklist, this was the best pack I've ripped in a LONG time. I got a fifteen-year-old card of a Hall-of-Famer, a Raul Mondesi that would have been worth something a decade ago, and a card of the 1992 Appalachian League MVP that looks like the Exxon Valdez dropped its load onto it.

Steve & son, you're welcome.