The 2007 Bowman baseball card set was released in May 2007 and has long been considered one of the most exciting and valuable modern baseball card sets ever produced. The 2007 Bowman set is perhaps best known for featuring some of the biggest names in all of baseball as rookies and prospect cards, many of whom would go on to have Hall of Fame caliber careers.
The 2007 Bowman baseball card set contained a total of 525 cards plus additional inserts and parallels. The base card design featured a color photo with green and yellow borders. Notable rookie cards in the set included Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ian Kennedy, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz and Shane Victorino among others. Many of these rookies went on to win Rookie of the Year awards and have produced extremely valuable rookie cards from this set over a decade later.
In addition to top rookie cards, the 2007 Bowman set also featured several of the biggest pitching prospects in baseball on their rookie cards including Tim Lincecum, Max Scherzer, Homer Bailey, Jon Lester, Daniel Bard and Clay Buchholz. Each of these pitchers would go on to have all-star caliber careers in Major League Baseball. The 2007 Bowman set is also notable for featuring rookie cards of superstars like Evan Longoria, Josh Hamilton, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips very early in their career before they had established themselves as elite MLB players.
For collectors of prospects, the 2007 Bowman set is arguably one of the best ever produced. It featured highly sought after prospect cards for players like Giancarlo Stanton, Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Stephen Strasburg, Mike Trout and Manny Machado, all before they made their big league debuts. Many consider the Mike Trout and Stephen Strasburg rookie cards from this set to be the most valuable modern baseball cards in existence today. The depth of both rookie and prospect talent makes 2007 Bowman one of the most important sets for tracking the future development of MLB’s next generation of stars.
In terms of parallels and inserts, the 2007 Bowman set also contained several short printed and autograph variations that added immense value and collectability. Key parallel variations included Emerald Refractors (1:599), Frost Refractors (1:399), Purple Refractors (1:199), Orange Refractors (1:99), Gold Refractors (1:70), Silver Refractors (1:50), Slate Refractors (1:25) and Platinum Refractors (1:10). These parallel refractors featured the same design as the base card, but with different fluorescent color borders and considerably lower print runs which drove up their desirability and price in the hobby.
Some of the most valuable insert sets from 2007 Bowman included the Stars of the Game autographs, Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects autographs, and Bowman Heritage autographs. The Stars of the Game autos featured on-card autographs of top MLB players like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Joe Mauer. The Draft Picks & Prospects and Heritage autographs sets provided rookie autographs of players before they debuted in the majors like Strasburg, Heyward, Machado and more. Autograph print runs were very low, often 1:300 packs or less, which made tracking down these coveted rookie autographed inserts extremely difficult but worthwhile.
In terms of long term values, 2007 Bowman cards have proven to be an outstanding financial investment for collectors and investors. While the base rookie cards held value over the years, it is some of the parallel, refractor and autographed variations that have truly exploded in the secondary market. For example, a Mike Trout Orange Refractor parallel/100 has sold for over $80,000 in recent years. A Stephen Strasburg autograph/99 has exceeded $100,000. Even base rookie cards of superstar players like Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki from 2007 Bowman currently sell for $1,000+ a piece over a decade later.
The 2007 Bowman baseball card set stands out as arguably the single greatest collector set for tracking many future Hall of Fame players and all-stars from their very earliest career moments as rookies and prospects. Loaded with talent, the 2007 Bowman cards feature some of the most iconic and valuable modern era rookie cards ever made. When combined with scarce parallel and autograph inserts, this historic set has proven to be an outstanding long term financial investment that any vintage baseball card investor would be fortunate to hold in their collection today. The 2007 Bowman cards paved the way for an unprecedented level of talent in Major League Baseball for many years to come.
