New Release: 2014 BBM Tigers Fielding

BBM releases only one premium pack-based set every year, currently titled Genesis. But I've mentioned before that the box sets serve to function as additional premium releases, with guaranteed per-pack/box autographs, very limited inserts, or relics at a premium price. The actual increase in price per-card for box sets compared to packs isn't as much as it is for US sets in most cases, though with the newest Frontier issues which guarantee autographs in every box the price per card is much higher, especially given the apparent value of these autographs on the secondary market.

But I still prefer the box set model over the US premium pack model, because at least there is a base set in every box. The base cards are about the same as any other set, though, so the subjects of the set are the only reason they would be worth chasing.

Some box sets have been appealing to me lately - this year's Nagashima set, the Carp 40th Anniversary set, some of the Epoch OB sets, and a few BBM themed box sets like Speed & Smart. A large number of the sets are team-based, which fits Japan's fan base, but I wish BBM would put more effort into the base cards (throwback designs, different textures, premium card stock like Finest or Chrome, and other gimmicks).

What spawned all these thoughts? Now that the season is winding down, BBM's releases are more and more box-set based. After today's post, there are four more box sets released in the past month I need to post about. And BBM Genesis should have hit shelves last week too. These are products that just don't interest me too much.

But here is BBM's set devoted to Hanshin Tigers in the field.

Coming out almost a month ago, Tigers Fielding is another team-based box set. The base set has 23 cards, with one additional random premium card included per box. As you might expect, the images are all of players fielding. The photos are all action shots, but there aren't really any standout images as most players are just about to catch a routine grounder or fly ball, or are throwing the ball.

 The premium cards are either autographs or relics. All 23 subjects in the base set have horizontal autographs (#/60), with seven of those also receiving vertical autographs (#/30, except Shintaro #/10). 1570 total autographs are included in the product.

At least nine different jersey relic cards are in the set. BBM didn't release information about the relic set, though the three cards I've seen have serial numbers to 70 (#TM03), 100 (#TM06) and 100 (#TM09). 930 total jersey cards would have been made based on the total print run, which means that patch parallels and/or additional jerseys probably exist.

Box sets carry a higher price tag than usual, around 5000 yen (most BBM box sets cost 4000 yen), but the print run is limited to only 2500 sets.