The 2011 Bowman Baseball card set was released on May 11, 2011 and featured prospects and rookies from all 30 Major League Baseball teams. It was the 58th annual Bowman Baseball set issued by Topps and contained a variety of insert sets showingcasing some of the best young minor league talent in baseball.
The base set contained 329 cards and featured a majority of top prospects in minor league baseball at the time of release. Notable prospects included pitchers Gerrit Cole, Dylan Bundy, Matt Moore, Archie Bradley, Nick Kingham, and Jake Odorizzi as well as position players such as Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Christian Yelich, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, and Anthony Rizzo. In addition to prospects, the set also included rookie cards of established players like Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, and Adrian Gonzalez from earlier Bowman issues when they were just starting their pro careers.
Two of the most popular insert sets in 2011 Bowman were the Blue Paper Authentic Variations and Gold Refractors. The Blue Papers contained tough serial numbered parallels ranging from /50 to /499 along with extremely rare 1/1 versions. Pulling these parallel prospects signed to memorabilia pieces made them highly sought after Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler and Jacoby Ellsbury were among the veteran players featured. Gold Refractor parallel cards were even more elusive at /75 or less and became highly coveted if they featured top prospects. Refractors of Mike Trout, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper from this set command big money to this day.
Another standout insert was the Superfractor parallel cards found one per case. Printed on thick card stock with image extending to the edges, these 1/1 parallels of prospects like Trevor Story, Clint Frazier and Lucas Giolito attained near legendary status. The set also included Autograph Cards featuring signatures of prospects like Dylan Bundy, Carlos Martinez, Noah Syndergaard and Christian Bethancourt on the sticker autographs. The 1/1 Diamond Anniversary parallel autographs inserted one per case grabbed attention of serious collectors.
Bowman Sterling was a luxury high-end parallel set inserted in hobby boxes with cards cut squarely and featuring prospects like Manny Machado, Gerrit Cole and Jose Fernandez. These silvery parallels boasted serial numbers of /50 or less making them extremely difficult to acquire. Additional insert sets included Prospect Stars highlighting top international amateurs, Solid Prospects, Prospects of Distinction on luxurious foiled stock and minor league team logos on Return to the Minors cards.
Collectors loved 2011 Bowman for its depth of both domestic and international prospects. Due to cards of future superstars like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper being released early in their careers, sets from this year have aged extremely well. Keys to long-term profitability were hitting big league hits like autographs or low-numbered parallels of players prior to their stardom. With so many future all-stars and talents distributed throughout, 2011 Bowman Baseball endured as a benchmark release which showcased promise of baseball’s next generation. Valuable gems from this set still surface in today’s active trading scene ten years later.
The 2011 Bowman Baseball card set provided a deep prospect pool and featured some of the best young talent that would go on to stardom in Major League Baseball. Insert sets like Blue Papers, Gold Refractors and Sterling parallels added tremendous chase and excitement. Keys were low-numbered hits of emerging talents prior to breakthroughs like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Due to featuring so many future all-stars very early in their careers, 2011 Bowman has proven to be one of the most investment-worthy releases from the modern era of baseball cards. Its prospect-rich composition and memorabilia hits of coming superstars make it a set that remains popular among today’s traders and collectors.
