2005 Bowman
From BaseballCardPedia.com
2005 Bowman was a baseball card set released by Topps. It would be the last of the traditional Bowman releases before the new rookie cards rules went into effect. Alex Rodriguez had just signed a Topps exclusive deal and was featured prominently in this set.
Contents |
Distribution
The product was released in retail, hobby and HTA jumbo boxes. The standard hobby boxes (as shown below) have two AU/GU hits per box. The HTA jumbo boxes had 4 GU or AU per box including an autographed box topper. These boxes are still relatively easy to find (and afford) in both card shops and online.
 Hobby Box |
 Hobby Pack |
Base Set
The 2005 Bowman set had three different types of cards included in their base set. Numbers 1-140 featured veteran players and were trimmed in red. Numbers 141-165 featured prospects who already had a card in Bowman and were trimmed in green. Numbers 166-330 were all First Year players (trimmed in blue) and rookies except for 242 Pat Osborn, 244 Shaun Marcum and 321 Ben Harrison, who were on their first Bowman card but already had another rookie card.
There are a number of cards in the set that share photographs with other Bowman releases.
Other Inserts
Besides the two insert sets veteran and Futures Game relics and the Alex Rodriguez Throwbacks, there were two other special game used relics cards that were inserted into packs. The first was a Base of the Future relic featuring a piece of game used base from the Futures Game and an autograph of Aaron Hill, who was the MVP of the game in 2004. This card was inserted 1:106 HTA exclusively with a Red ink parallel version (serial numbered to 25) inserted at 1:4708 HTA packs.
The other card was a dual bat card of Jason Bay and Bobby Crosby, the two Rookies of the Year in 2004. This card was inserted at a rate of 1:668 hobby, 1:248 HTA, and 1:1535 retail. These Rookie of the Year game used cards were an annual insert card in Bowman.
Checklist
BC Jason Bay / Bobby Crosby
1 Gavin Floyd
2 Eric Chavez
3 Miguel Tejada
4 Dmitri Young
5 Hank Blalock
6 Kerry Wood
7 Andy Pettitte
8 Pat Burrell
9 Johnny Estrada
10 Frank Thomas
11 Juan Pierre
12 Tom Glavine
13 Lyle Overbay
14 Jim Edmonds
15 Steve Finley
16 Jermaine Dye
17 Omar Vizquel
18 Nick Johnson
19 Brian Giles
20 Justin Morneau
21 Preston Wilson
22 Wily Mo Pena
23 Rafael Palmeiro
24 Scott Kazmir
25 Derek Jeter
26 Barry Zito
27 Mike Lowell
28 Jason Bay
29 Ken Harvey
30 Nomar Garciaparra
31 Roy Halladay
32 Todd Helton
33 Mark Kotsay
34 Jake Peavy
35 David Wright
36 Dontrelle Willis
37 Marcus Giles
38 Chone Figgins
39 Sidney Ponson
40 Randy Johnson
41 John Smoltz
42 Kevin Millar
43 Mark Teixeira
44 Alex Rios
45 Mike Piazza
46 Victor Martinez
47 Jeff Bagwell
48 Shawn Green
49 Ivan Rodriguez
50 Alex Rodriguez
51 Kazuo Matsui
52 Mark Mulder
53 Michael Young
54 Javy Lopez
55 Johnny Damon
56 Jeff Francis
57 Rich Harden
58 Bobby Abreu
59 Mark Loretta
60 Gary Sheffield
61 Jamie Moyer
62 Garret Anderson
63 Vernon Wells
64 Orlando Cabrera
65 Magglio Ordonez
66 Ronnie Belliard
67 Carlos Lee
68 Carl Pavano
69 Jon Lieber
70 Aubrey Huff
71 Rocco Baldelli
72 Jason Schmidt
73 Bernie Williams
74 Hideki Matsui
75 Ken Griffey, Jr.
76 Josh Beckett
77 Mark Buehrle
78 David Ortiz
79 Luis Gonzalez
80 Scott Rolen
81 Joe Mauer
82 Jose Reyes
83 Adam Dunn
84 Greg Maddux
85 Bartolo Colon
86 Bret Boone
87 Mike Mussina
88 Ben Sheets
89 Lance Berkman
90 Miguel Cabrera
91 C.C. Sabathia
92 Mike Maroth
93 Andruw Jones
94 Jack Wilson
95 Ichiro Suzuki
96 Geoff Jenkins
97 Zack Greinke
98 Jorge Posada
99 Travis Hafner
100 Barry Bonds
101 Aaron Rowand
102 Aramis Ramirez
103 Curt Schilling
104 Melvin Mora
105 Albert Pujols
106 Austin Kearns
107 Shannon Stewart
108 Carl Crawford
109 Carlos Zambrano
110 Roger Clemens
111 Javier Vazquez
112 Randy Wolf
113 Chipper Jones
114 Larry Walker
115 Alfonso Soriano
116 Brad Wilkerson
117 Bobby Crosby
118 Jim Thome
119 Oliver Perez
120 Vladimir Guerrero
121 Roy Oswalt
122 Torii Hunter
123 Rafael Furcal
124 Luis Castillo
125 Carlos Beltran
126 Mike Sweeney
127 Johan Santana
128 Tim Hudson
129 Troy Glaus
130 Manny Ramirez
131 Jeff Kent
132 Jose Vidro
133 Edgar Renteria
134 Russ Ortiz
135 Sammy Sosa
136 Carlos Delgado
137 Richie Sexson
138 Pedro Martinez
139 Adrian Beltre
140 Mark Prior
141 Omar Quintanilla
142 Carlos Quentin
143 Dan Johnson
144 Jake Stevens
145 Nate Schierholtz
146 Neil Walker
147 Bill Bray
148 Taylor Tankersley
149 Trevor Plouffe
150 Felix Hernandez
151 Philip Hughes
152 James Houser
153 David Murphy
154 Ervin Santana
155 Anthony Whittington
156 Chris Lambert
157 Jeremy Sowers
158 Giovanny Gonzalez
159 Blake DeWitt
160 Thomas Diamond
161 Greg Golson
162 David Aardsma
163 Paul Maholm
164 Mark Rogers
165 Homer Bailey
166 Chip Cannon
167 Tony Giarratano
168 Darren Fenster
169 Elvys Quezada
170 Glen Perkins
171 Ian Kinsler
172 Mike Bourn
173 Jeremy West
174 Justin Verlander
175 Kevin West
176 Luis Hernandez
177 Matt Campbell
178 Nate McLouth
179 Ryan Goleski
180 Matthew Lindstrom
181 Matt DeSalvo
182 Kole Strayhorn
183 Jose Vaquedano
184 James Jurries
185 Ian Bladergroen
186 Eric Nielsen
187 Chris Vines
188 Chris Denorfia
189 Kevin Melillo
190 Melky Cabrera
191 Ryan Sweeney
192 Sean Marshall
193 Andy LaRoche
194 Tyler Pelland
195 Mike Morse
196 Wes Swackhamer
197 Wade Robinson
198 Dan Santin
199 Steve Doetsch
200 Shane Costa
201 Scott Mathieson
202 Ben Jones
203 Michael Rogers
204 Matt Rogelstad
205 Luis Ramirez
206 Landon Powell
207 Erik Cordier
208 Chris Seddon
209 Chris Roberson
210 Thomas Oldham
211 Dana Eveland
212 Cody Haerther
213 Danny Core
214 Craig Tatum
215 Elliot Johnson
216 Ender Chavez
217 Errol Simonitsch
218 Matt Van Der Bosch
219 Eulogio De La Cruz
220 C.J. Smith
221 Adam Boeve
222 Adam Harben
223 Baltazar Lopez
224 Russ Martin
225 Brian Bannister
226 Brian Miller
227 Casey McGehee
228 Humberto Sanchez
229 Javon Moran
230 Brandon McCarthy
231 Danny Zell
232 Jake Postlewait
233 Juan Tejeda
234 Keith Ramsey
235 Lorenzo Scott
236 Wladimir Balentien
237 Martin Prado
238 Matt Albers
239 Brian Schweiger
240 Brian Stavisky
241 Pat Misch
242 Pat Osborn
243 Ryan Feierabend
244 Shaun Marcum
245 Kevin Collins
246 Stuart Pomeranz
247 Tetsu Yofu
248 Hernan Iribarren
249 Mike Spidale
250 Tony Arnerich
251 Manny Parra
252 Drew Anderson
253 T.J. Beam
254 Pedro Lopez
255 Andy Sides
256 Bear Bay
257 Bill McCarthy
258 Daniel Haigwood
259 Brian Sprout
260 Bryan Triplett
261 Steven Bondurant
262 Darwinson Salazar
263 David Shepard
264 Johan Silva
265 J.B. Thurmond
266 Brandon Moorhead
267 Kyle Nichols
268 Jonathan Sanchez
269 Mike Esposito
270 Erik Schindewolf
271 Peeter Ramos
272 Juan Senreiso
273 Matthew Kemp
274 Vinny Rottino
275 Micah Furtado
276 George Kottaras
277 Billy Butler
278 Buck Coats
279 Kenny Durost
280 Nick Touchstone
281 Jerry Owens
282 Stefan Bailie
283 Jesse Gutierrez
284 Chuck Tiffany
285 Brendan Ryan
286 Hayden Penn
287 Shawn Bowman
288 Alexander Smit
289 Micah Schnurstein
290 Jared Gothreaux
291 Jair Jurrjens
292 Bobby Livingston
293 Ryan Speier
294 Zach Parker
295 Christian Colonel
296 Scott Mitchinson
297 Neil Wilson
298 Chuck James
299 Heath Totten
300 Sean Tracey
301 Ismael Ramirez
302 Matt Brown
303 Franklin Morales
304 Brandon Sing
305 D.J. Houlton
306 Jayce Tingler
307 Mitchell Arnold
308 Jim Burt
309 Jason Motte
310 David Gassner
311 Andy Santana
312 Kelvin Pichardo
313 Carlos Carrasco
314 Willy Mota
315 Frank Mata
316 Carlos Gonzalez
317 Jeff Niemann
318 Chris B. Young
319 Billy Sadler
320 Ricky Barrett
321 Ben Harrison
322 Steve Nelson
323 Daryl Thompson
324 Philip Humber
325 Jeremy Harts
326 Nick Masset
327 Mike Rodriguez
328 Mike Garber
329 Kennard Bibbs
330 Ryan Garko
Key Cards
The rookie class in the 2005 set is highlighted Ian Kinsler, Justin Verlander, Melky Cabrera, Andy LaRoche, Russ Martin, Matt Kemp, Billy Butler, Chuck James, Carlos Gonzalez, and Chris B Young
The players who were originally the top prospects in the set were Justin Verlander, Andy LaRoche, Brandon McCarthy, Matt Kemp, Billy Butler, Buck Coats, Chuck James, Carlos Gonzalez, Chris B. Young, and Ryan Garko
Errors
Base Parallel Sets
Four different full parallel sets of 2005 Bowman were produced. The 1st Edition set was actually released in seperate packs than the standard Bowman cards. However, no inserts were included in those packs and the boxes were distributed to hobby dealers only.
Overall parallel insert rate into hobby, HTA and retail packs was 1:1. The Gold paralllels were distributed into all packs and were not serial numbered. The Red and White parallels were available in hobby and HTA packs only.
The Red parallels are all serial numbered 1/1 and were inserted at 1:2768 Hobby and 1:708 HTA and are by far the most rare cards in this set. As you can see in the picture, the border of these cards is not the same red as used in the Chrome Refractor sets. It is much more muted, but is still easy to distinguish from the other parallels.
The White parallels were distributed very differently from the Red and Gold. Each card was serial numbered to 240, but only half of the print run was inserted into packs at a rate of 1:23 Hobby and 1:6 HTA. The rest were packed out as exchange cards to the pit.com at a rate of 1:94 hobby and 1:23 Retail. 4 random cards were assigned to be redeemed with each exchange card and the deadline was 12/31/2005 to exchange these cards.
Alex Rodriguez Cards
Base Inserts
As Alex Rodriguez had just signed an exclusive deal with Topps, he was put front and center in many products in 2005. The first group of cards was a series of "Cards That Never Were", Bowman cards of his that would have been produced if he had not been signed exclusively with Upper Deck. These cards were inserted at a rate of 1:12 hobby packs.
A-Rod Jersey Cards
- 1994 - 1
- 1995 - 25
- 1996 - 90
- 1997 - 800
A-Rod Autographs
Extremely rare and carry high value.
 A-Rod Jersey |
 A-Rod Autograph |
Insert Sets
2005 Bowman continued the tradition of autographed insert cards and the other inserts that had become standard issues for the last few years.
Veteran Game Used Relics
A partial parallel set of 2005 Bowman featuring swatches of game used jerseys and bats. Inserted at the following rates 1:50 Hobby, 1:19 HTA Jumbo, and 1:114 Retail. None of the cards are short printed.
Some of the card fronts feature different pictures than the base set while others the identical one as the base set. The cards are printed on the thicker stock used for the GU and parallel cards. Topps has never stated if any of the jersey pieces are prime, thus any prime jersey cards found on the secondary market should be met with skepticism.
 2 - Eric Chavez |
 43 - Mark Teixeira |
 90 - Miguel Cabrera |
 135 - Sammy Sosa |
Autographs
These autographs cards are a partial parallel set of 2005 Bowman of numbers 141-165. The group of prospects (who were not rookies in this set) all signed a number of cards for insertion into packs and as box toppers in the HTA jumbo boxes. The autographs are actually signed on the card, unlike the Signs of the Future set from the same year. The card fronts and backs are identical to the base card, except the additional of a COA hologram on the back and a signature on the front in blue or red ink. The red inked autographs are not serial numbered but Topps has stated the print run was 25 cards. Note that the Group A cards are slightly easier to pull than the Group B cards.
David Aardsma did return his cards before the cards were shipped, thus his card was inserted as an exchange card that could be redeemed unitl 05/31/2007.
The players from this set that are currently highest in demand are Phillip Hughes and Felix Hernandez.
Signs of the Future
Once again a Signs of the Future insert set made its way into 2005 Bowman. The cards feature a major prospect or rookie and their autograph on a sticker on the front of the card. These cards were inserted at 4 different rates depending on which group the autographs were in. Overall insertion odds were 1:62 hobby, 1:25 HTA Jumbo Packs and 1:142 retail packs.
The lone short print in the set is the David Wright card. According to Topps only 100 copies were produced but the cards were not serial numbered. Brad Snyder did not return his stickers in time and thus a redemption card was packed out instead. The exchange deadline was 05/31/07 (as with all other 2005 Bowman exchange cards).
 DM - Dallas McPherson |
 PM - Paul Malholm |
 RR - Richie Robnett |
 TG - Tom Gorzelanny |
Futures Game Used
These cards feature game used jersey swatches from the 2004 Futures Game, played during the All-Star break, prior to the major league All-Star Game. Thus, it should should be noted that these jerseys are unique from that particular event. The cards were inserted 1:36 Hobby, 1:19 HTA Jumbo and 1:114 Retail.
These cards are easily confused with the 2005 Bowman Draft Futures Game Relics without a picture. The key is that the 2005 Bowman Draft Picks Futures Game Relics are parallels of the main set, while the 2005 regular Bowman ones are a unique insert set featuring pictures on the players while wearing the jersey pieces. Also only a couple players are included in both sets.
None of the jersey relics are noted as primes. Caution is suggested if a "prime" jersey peice is spotted one of these cards.
 AH - Aaron Hill |
 DM - Dallas McPherson |
 FP - Felix Pie |
 GF - Gavin Floyd |
