New Release: 2020 BBM Glory

BBM's truly high-end release, Glory, came out in late December, and offers up what is to be expected from their annual offering.

I should note that I haven't obtained any cards from this set for myself yet, though I have a few of the memorabilia cards for someone else. So all of the images below are promotional images from BBM.

 Each box contains one pack of six cards, with at least one of those being an autograph or memorabilia card. Each box retails for 15,000 yen, and only 2200 boxes were produced.

Crunching production numbers, you'll basically get 3-4 base cards and parallels, one insert, and 1-2 memorabilia or autographs.

 The base cards are very thick and feature an intricate gold design. There are only 36 cards in the base set, with three players from each team. Some players appear in the other sets but not in the base set.

There are three versions for the base set: gold #/100, light blue #/80, and holofoil #/30.

 Miyabi insert set has a black background with an intricate gold foil design, and parallels the base set checklist, meaning there are 36 cards in all. Each card is numbered to 50.

 The other "high grade" insert set is Glorious 3D, a 12-card set (one player per team) numbered to 25. And yes, the cards are in 3D.

 Moving on to memorabilia cards, the base memorabilia cards are numbered to 102 (the one bat card is #/100); most players have patch versions numbered to 30 (bat barrel #/20). There are 11 cards, with one per team; the Lions have no memorabilia card. All of the jersey cards also have "Super Patch" versions, generally featuring player's name letters.

 12 Combo Memorabilia cards; 10 teams are represented (no Giants or Lions), each with one card. The other two cards pair two players from different teams; of those four players, three have other combo memorabilia cards. The fourth (Taiga Kamachitani of the BayStars) has no other memorabilia cards in the set, so his fabric must be left over from 2019 sets or being used in upcoming 2020 releases. Both the Fighters and Marines cards feature dual swatches from the same player (Wang Po-Jung and Kyota Fujiwara, respectively), using different jerseys.

All cards in the combo set are numbered to 30, with patch versions numbered to 10.

 Three Triple Memorabilia cards feature jerseys from the Carp, Tigers, and Fighters. All cards are numbered to 20, with patch versions numbered to 10.

 This is the one Quartet card in the set, and is numbered to only 10 copies, with a #/5 patch version also available.

Patches for all of the memorabilia cards can vary greatly. Most teams use sublimation technology for printing almost the entire jersey design, including player names, so patches are just multi-colored swatches of fabric in most cases. However, sleeve patches tend to be patches in the traditional sense of the word, and as such look much more interesting and carry a bigger premium.

The set is rounded out with autographs, using stickers as always. Print runs are up to 30 copies for most players, though a couple players have 50 copies each. Some players have a print run as low as six copies.

While the top-end cards from this set go for big bucks, like any other high-priced release there is a lot of risk in opening a box of Glory.

New Release: 2020 BBM Time Travel 1985

It's been a while since I've done one of these, since I went AWOL about nine months ago. Let's see if I can keep it up for a whole year this time, huh?

BBM's first release of 2020 came out in the middle of December. Each box contains only 15 packs, with six cards per pack. SRP is 400 yen per pack, or 6000 yen per box. There are 12 boxes per case.

Base cards are printed on a matte stock, reminiscent of pre-1992 Topps or historic menko cards. The backs are printed only in green, similar to old menko cards.

 The regular base cards have stats through 1985 on the back. Fujimoto played through the 1994 season, though his card doesn't show it.

 The first subset is a nine card set highlighting players who retired in 1985. Ikegaya played from 1974-1985, and his career stat line is found on the back, along with a long listing of his career accomplishments. His best season was 1976, when he won 20 games, lead the league in many categories, and received a few awards.

 The next six cards (#82-87) highlight events throughout the season. None of them recognize any team achievements or results from the postseason.

 Born in 1985 (#88-93) feature players who were born in 1985. The backs have some career highlights and career statistics through 2019.

 Finally, #94-97 focuses on news and pop culture in 1985, including the debut of new bullet train 100 series. The bullet train itself opened in 1964, but the 100 series brought a more aerodynamic design.

The two regular insert sets are Title Holders, featuring statistical leaders and award winners in each league. Both sets have parallels #/30.

 Central League Title Holders are green, with a CT card number prefix.

Pacific League Title Holders are blue, with a PT card number prefix.

BBM Promotional Image

The only premium set is the autograph set. Cards are serial-numbered up to 90 copies each. There are three non-player autographs included.

Bright Spots Before My Eyes: Completed Set

While I'm always on the lookout for any cards I need to finish sets, some sets are higher on my priority list.

Several years ago, I decided to put together a master 1996 Topps Laser set. I eventually got the base set done, and I've been working on the inserts ever since.

There are three insert sets, each with 16 cards. Stadium Stars is the rarest, appearing in 1:60 packs. Only 24 packs came per box, meaning it would take two to three boxes on average to get just one card; with perfect collation that makes forty boxes to get a full Stadium Stars set. That would be, with great luck, 20 boxes of each series.

You'd probably get one and a half Power Cuts sets, as those are 1:40.

The easiest set is still essentially a box hit, appearing 1:20 packs. That is the Bright Spots insert set. The checklist focuses on younger players expected to be future stars. Jason Kendall has a card, as do Chipper Jones and Hideo Nomo. And there's Bob Wolcott, Brooks Kieschnick, and Jimmy Haynes. Do any of those names ring a bell?

There is one more big name in the set:

1996 was Jeter's first full season in the majors, and he tore up the American League, batting .314 and winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. It certainly makes sense that Jeter would appear here, but he has a unique distinction in the set: he has two cards. No other player appears twice.

Thanks to Jeter's popularity, both of his cards were ones I needed as I approached the completion of this set. I lucked into finding the Series 2 card, #13, at a show in Tokyo, and I got an amazing deal on it. Card #2 here, from the first series, has proven itself to be quite elusive at affordable prices. I still feel like I probably overpaid, especially looking at that bottom left corner, but I'm happy to knock this card off the list.

I still need ten of the Power Cuts cards and 14 Stadium Stars. Perhaps I can finish those off in the next decade.

Until next time...