Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XI

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

Let's see some Jon Jay!

2010 Topps Update #US203 Jon Jay
2010 Topps Chrome #178 Jon Jay
2011 Topps - Platinum Diamond Anniversary #295 Jon Jay
2013 Bowman #54 Jon Jay
2013 Topps Archives #7 Jon Jay
2015 Bowman #94 Jhonny Peralta
2015 Topps
#11 Jon Jay
#311 Jhonny Peralta
#527 Carlos Martinez

Jon Jay was traded to San Diego for Jedd Gyorko before this season. So far it seems to have been a decent trade. Unfortunately that means we no longer have a player to lead the team in High Sock Sundays.

2014 Topps Update
#US134 Tony Cruz
#US212 Randy Choate
#US260 Jhonny Peralta

Randy Choate became a free agent at the end of 2015, was a member of the Blue Jays organization (though never played for the MLB team) for part of March, and baseball reference now claims he's signed with the dodgers, but he doesn't seem to be on even the 40-man roster. I really thought Tony Cruz was being groomed to replace Yadier Molina when he retires - or goes to the AL to DH, but the Cardinals sent him to Kansas City, and he has since been sent to AAA. These are the first 2014 Update cards I have. That was a year I just didn't buy much current stuff at all.

A Contest Win from Chipp 'n' Dale

Chunter over at Chipp 'n' Dale had a very simple contest a few weeks ago, and I dutifully promoted it on my blog for my bonus entry. The randomizer picked me and I snagged 2 packs of 2013 Bowman.

I haven't bought any Bowman since I resumed collecting in 2010, except as part of a group break of 2007 products. I like the look of the sets, but for some reason the combination of price and prospects makes me shy away from buying it. So really, it's a perfect prize, because I know all 20 cards will be new to me. For that reason, let's see all 20.

2013 Bowman
#4 Brett Jackson
#25 Dan Uggla
#45 Alex Rodriguez
#73 Angel Pagan
#92 David Wright
#94 Jason Heyward
#130 Tyler Cloyd
#207 Eric Hosmer

I will give Bowman credit for this, the single series and smaller base set mean most of the base cards are the bigger stars. Uggla, A-Rod, Wright, Heyward, Pagan, and Hosmer definitely qualify to me.

2013 Bowman - Prospects
#BP32 Harold Castro
#BP45 Michael Reed
#BP59 William Cuevas
#BP72 Christian Bethancourt

Next up, the prospects. I don't know any of these guys, and I'd imagine you only have a chance of knowing them if you follow the Tigers, Brewers, Red Sox, or Braves. Maybe in five years I'll look back on this post and remember a time before I knew anything about the player who would turn out to be the 2018 MVP.

2013 Bowman Chrome - Prospects
#BCP20 Darwin Rivera
#BCP54 Chris McFarland
#BCP73 Pedro Guerra
#BCP88 Dorssys Paulino

Same story with these guys, but shinier!

2013 Bowman
Gold #112 Mark Reynolds
Gold #215 Manny Machado
Silver Ice #14 Allen Craig
Blue Parallel #158 Jon Lester #366/500

Now we're back to the Major Leaguers. The Gold Parallels appear to be about 1 per pack. The Silver Ice, which scans in a very odd way, is 1:24, and the Blue Border is 1:34. I mention that not because it's that interesting, but just that I'm obsessed with numbers. I'm restraining myself from running the numbers on all the inserts and figuring out if I "beat the odds" or not with the rarity of my inserts. Anyway, parallel Cardinals are always appreciated, especially Allen Craig, the man unbelievably currently hitting nearly .500 with RISP.

Thanks to Chunter for the contest and the cards!