Finally! A Bowman Set is Complete by Hand Collation

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I don't know how many times I've mentioned this on this blog (probably too many to count), but I am a Bowman collector of a medium order.  In other words, I have been collecting the sets from the beginning of the modern era of Bowman (1992) until the creation of the confusing numbering systems (2005).  I have bought a couple of the sets because they were the most cost effective ways considering what else comes in a box (such as 1994, 1996) or because pack prices are so expensive that it would not be worth it to buy a box for the purpose of getting a set (2001).  

I am in the process of collating 1997, 1998 (well, not after this post), 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.   I know they all look the same, but they each have their own personality.

1997: The progenitor of the red and blue, proud and bold and chromily inspirational: the patriarch

1998: Then & now features, sideways signatures, and very sticky: the restless toddler.

1999: Very dark and shadowy with stealth rookies and shaded borders: the schoolyard bully.

2000: Silver shine, retro/future parallel, little star power: the middle child

2001: haughty, expensive, given to chroming with curves: the stepping-out teen

2002: largest one series offering since 1996, but the borders are stripey, less mature than 2001: the wannabe primary school student

2003: museum framed portraits with a look to the future, full of friction: the almost adjusted freshman in college

2004: silky smooth, but leaves out the corners, feels like a shortened checklist, the smoothness does not cancel this: the proverbial promise maker

2005: loves to show off and hogs the spotlight, only really wants to be the best Bowman set it can be: the overachieving family member

In any case, here are the last three cards I acquired to complete the 1998 set.

Wade Miller:  Rookie of the Reading, PA product who was a good mid-rotation starter for the Astros for a few years.

Fred Mcgriff:  in the original Devil Rays uniform; they were very strange and the Crime Dog didn't take to it very well the first year with the 2nd lowest OPS+ of his career.

Brian Rose: was once traded for Mike Lansing.

Those are the cards that allow me to call myself a Bowman collector in full.  Before, I was merely a struggling one.  One set down, 7 more to go....plus the draft picks and prospects sets from 2002-2005 (but we're not counting those yet).