Description

2002 Bowman's Best is a 181-card set released in August, 2002. In a radical departure for the brand, each of the 91 rookies and prospects (cards #91-#181) would come either autographed or have a piece of a game-used bat on it. Each pack will yield one such card.

Distribution

Ten packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $15). Ten boxes per case. Hobby only.

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	181	-	?
short set	90	-	4:1
Autographed/Game-Used First-Year	91	-	one-per-pack
Blue short set	90	300	1:6
Blue Autographed First-Year	65	-	1:6
Blue Game-Used First-Year	26	-	1:14
Red short set	90	200	1:8
Red Autographed First-Year	65	-	1:17
Red Game-Used First-Year	26	-	1:39
Gold short set	90	50	1:31
Red Autographed First-Year	65	-	1:51
Red Game-Used First-Year	26	-	1:115
Uncirculated Autograph Redemption	65	20	1:129
Uncirculated Game-Used First Year Redemption	26	20	1:322

Checklist

Base Set

1 Josh Beckett
2 Derek Jeter
3 Alex Rodriguez
4 Miguel Tejada
5 Nomar Garciaparra
6 Aramis Ramirez
7 Jeremy Giambi
8 Bernie Williams
9 Juan Pierre
10 Chipper Jones
11 Jimmy Rollins
12 Alfonso Soriano
13 Mark Prior
14 Paul Konerko
15 Tim Hudson
16 Doug Mientkiewicz
17 Todd Helton
18 Moises Alou
19 Juan Gonzalez
20 Jorge Posada
21 Jeff Kent
22 Roger Clemens
23 Phil Nevin
24 Brian Giles
25 Carlos Delgado
26 Jason Giambi
27 Vladimir Guerrero
28 Cliff Floyd
29 Shea Hillenbrand
30 Ken Griffey, Jr.
31 Mike Piazza
32 Carlos Pena
33 Larry Walker
34 Magglio Ordonez
35 Mike Mussina
36 Andruw Jones
37 Nick Johnson
38 Curt Schilling
39 Eric Chavez
40 Bartolo Colon
41 Eric Hinske
42 Sean Burroughs
43 Randy Johnson
44 Adam Dunn
45 Pedro Martinez
46 Garret Anderson
47 Jim Thome
48 Gary Sheffield
49 Tsuyoshi Shinjo
50 Albert Pujols
51 Ichiro
52 C.C. Sabathia
53 Bob Abreu
54 Ivan Rodriguez
55 J.D. Drew
56 Jacque Jones
57 Jason Kendall
58 Javier Vazquez
59 Jeff Bagwell
60 Greg Maddux
61 Jim Edmonds
62 Hank Blalock
63 Jose Vidro
64 Kevin Brown
65 Mark Teixeira
66 Sammy Sosa
67 Lance Berkman
68 Mark Mulder
69 Marty Cordova
70 Frank Thomas
71 Mike Cameron
72 Mike Sweeney
73 Barry Bonds
74 Troy Glaus
75 Barry Zito
76 Pat Burrell
77 Paul LoDuca
78 Rafael Palmeiro
79 Austin Kearns
80 Darin Erstad
81 Richie Sexson
82 Roberto Alomar
83 Roy Oswalt
84 Ryan Klesko
85 Luis Gonzalez
86 Scott Rolen
87 Shannon Stewart
88 Shawn Green
89 Toby Hall
90 Bret Boone

Autographed/Game-Used First Year

The following cards feature a piece of a game-used bat: 91, 93, 96, 103, 107, 113, 115, 124, 128, 129, 131, 134, 135, 144, 145, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158, 160, 180, and 181. All other cards in this subset are autographed by the player. In addition, #181 packed out as a redemption card which expired December 31, 2002.

91 Casey Kotchman BAT RC
92 Jose Valverde AU A RC
93 Cole Barthel BAT RC*
94 Brad Nelson AU A RC
95 Mauricio Lara AU A RC
96 Ryan Gripp BAT RC
97 Brian West AU A RC*
98 Chris Piersoll AU B RC
99 Ryan Church AU B RC
100 Javier Colina AU A
101 Juan M. Gonzalez AU A RC*
102 Benito Baez AU A
103 Mike Hill BAT RC
104 Jason Grove AU B RC*
105 Koyie Hill AU B
106 Mark Outlaw AU A RC*
107 Jason Bay BAT RC
108 Jorge Padilla AU A RC
109 Pete Zamora AU A RC*
110 Joe Mauer AU A RC
111 Franklyn German AU A RC
112 Chris Flinn AU A RC*
113 David Wright BAT RC
114 Anastacio Martinez AU A RC
115 Nic Jackson BAT RC*
116 Rene Reyes AU A RC
117 Colin Young AU A RC*
118 Joe Orloski AU A RC*
119 Mike Wilson AU A RC
120 Rich Thompson AU A RC
121 Jake Mauer AU B RC*
122 Mario Ramos AU A RC
123 Doug Sessions AU B RC*
124 Doug Devore BAT RC
125 Travis Foley AU A RC*
126 Chris Baker AU A RC*
127 Michael Floyd AU A RC*
128 Josh Barfield BAT RC
129 Jose Bautista BAT RC
130 Gavin Floyd AU A RC
131 Jason Botts BAT RC
132 Clint Nageotte AU A RC
133 Jesus Cota AU B RC*
134 Ron Calloway BAT RC
135 Kevin Cash BAT RC
136 Jonny Gomes AU B RC
137 Dennis Ulacia AU A RC*
138 Ryan Snare AU A RC
139 Kevin Deaton AU A RC*
140 Bobby Jenks AU B RC
141 Casey Kotchman AU A RC
142 Adam Walker AU A RC*
143 Mike Gonzalez AU A RC
144 Ruben Gotay BAT RC
145 Jason Grove BAT RC
146 Freddy Sanchez AU B RC
147 Jason Arnold AU B RC*
148 Scott Hairston AU A RC
149 Jason St. Clair AU B RC*
150 Chris Tritle BAT RC*
151 Edwin Yan BAT RC*
152 Freddy Sanchez BAT RC
153 Greg Sain BAT RC*
154 Yurendell De Caster BAT RC
155 Noochie Varner BAT RC*
156 Nelson Castro AU B RC*
157 Randall Shelley BAT RC*
158 Reed Johnson BAT RC
159 Ryan Raburn AU A RC
160 Jose Morban BAT RC
161 Justin Schuda AU A RC*
162 Henry Pichardo AU A RC*
163 Josh Bard AU A RC
164 Josh Bonifay AU A RC*
165 Brandon League AU B RC
166 Jorge-Julio DePaula AU A RC
167 Todd Linden AU B RC
168 Francisco Liriano AU A RC
169 Chris Snelling AU A RC
170 Blake McGinley AU A RC*
171 Cody McKay AU A RC
172 Jason Stanford AU A RC
173 Lenny DiNardo AU A RC
174 Greg Montalbano AU A RC*
175 Earl Snyder AU A RC
176 Justin Huber AU A RC
177 Chris Narveson AU A RC
178 Jon Switzer AU A RC
179 Ronald Acuña, Sr. AU A RC*
180 Chris Duffy BAT RC
181 Kazuhisa Ishii BAT RC EXCH

Parallels

All 191 base cards are available in the following parallels. The 90 veteran players are serial-numbered to the production figures listed below; while the 91 Autographed/Game-Used First Year cards are NOT serial-numbered.

Red (serial-numbered to 300 copies)
Blue (serial-numbered to 200 copies)
Gold (serial-numbered to 50 copies)

Uncirculated First Year

Randomly inserted into packs were redemption cards good for an "Uncirculated" parallel for the 91 Autographed/Game-Used First Year cards. When redeemed, the collector would receive a the player's Bowman's Best card encased in a plastic case. Only 20 redemption cards for each player were inserted, and all cards expired December 31, 2002.