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A Review Of 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball

By Mike D
on February 23rd, 2024
in Releases

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While it feels a bit odd to be discussing a 2023 product releasing in spring of 2024, here we are.

We live in a world where baseball card releases come days before the start of the next season and seasonal beers are released 3 months before the season they coincide with. Weird.

That being said, if there’s a 2023 product worth getting excited about four and a half months after the season ended, it might just be 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball. With a high-end feel and slick design, and a focus on up-and-coming prospects, Bowman Inception has a lot going for it.

What will collectors find inside 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball? What are the hits? And are they worth pretending it’s still 2023 to break a box?

Check out prices of previous years of Bowman Inception Baseball?

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball release date & release format

The release date for 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball is scheduled for March 15, 2024 (subject to change).

Hobby boxes of 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball contain a single pack of seven cards. There are 16 hobby boxes per case.

Each hobby box includes two autographs and one parallel per box. Hobby boxes of 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball are pre-selling for $150.

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball base set & design

The base set of 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball consists of 100 cards. The checklist includes prospects rising through the minor leagues.

The design is decidedly high-end but doesn’t provide the shiny finish of Chrome offerings. Think loud, stylized background and gold foil trim. While they may not appeal to the staunchest of vintage collectors, these cards do certainly offer significant visual appeal.

Similar to the “1^st Bowman” denotation on a player’s first appearance on a Bowman card, Inception offered gold-stamped Inception Inaugurations on a player’s first appearance on an Inception card.

Check out prices of previous years of Bowman Inception Baseball?

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball parallels

Parallels fall one per 7-card pack/box, and range from print runs of 99 down to 1/1s.

Parallels include:

Blue Foil – /99
Blue Foil Pattern II – /99
Fuchsia Foil – /75
Gold Foil – /50
Gold Foil Electricity – /50
Orange Foil – /25
Red Foil – /5
Red Foil Pattern II – /5
FoilFractors – 1/1
Printing Plates – 1/1

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball autographs

Seeded two per pack, autographs are a big part of the appeal of 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball. Several highly stylized, abstract designs help enhance the autograph experience.

Bowman Inception Autographs offers the largest autograph offering in the product. They are all serial numbered, with seven layers of parallel. The parallels include Blue Foil (/99), Fuchsia Foil (/75), Gold Foil (/50), Gold Foil Electricity (/50), Orange Foil (/25), Red Shimmer Foil (/5), and 1/1 FoilFractors.

Inception Silver Signings Autographs bring colored ink, with each card being serial numbered. Gold Rainbow Foil (/25) and Gold Inscription Rainbow Foil (1/1) parallels are also available.

Primordial Prospects Autographs are serial numbered out of only 99 copies each. Parallels include Blue Foil (/75), Gold Foil Electricity (/50), Orange Foil (/25), Red Foil (/5) and FoilFractors (1/1).

Short Print Bowman Inception Autographs are as the title suggests, very hard to pull. There are only 10 copies of each available, with no parallels.

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball autographed relics

Combining an autograph and relic into one serial-numbered package, the autographed relics offer another layer of chase to the Bowman Inception experience.

Autograph Dual Relic Cards are serial-numbered to varying numbers, and include Gold (/50), Orange Foil (/25), Red Foil (/5) and FoilFractor (1/1) parallels.

Autograph Jumbo Dual Relic Book Cards offer jumbo relics along with autographs in book format. Parallels include Orange Foil (/25), Red Foil (/5) and FoilFractor (1/1).

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball value

2023 Bowman Inception is decidedly high-end. But is it a good candidate to buy-and-hold unopened? Let’s see what recent comps of hobby boxes from the last few years can tell us.

Year	Recent Hobby Box Comp Price
2023	$150
2022	$150-180
2021	$115-130

The mixed bag in prices suggests these might not be the best candidate to buy-and-hold unopened. These feel like they’re designed to be opened, not stuck on a shelf in hopes of future price increases.

That being said, if you find the checklist particularly compelling, the quality of the players in any given year is likely to be the biggest driver of future prices.

What about singles? Let’s take a look at the comp prices of 2022 Bowman Inception cards graded by PSA and recently sold on eBay. What can comps tell us about the value potential?

The first lesson is that there’s potential value here, for sure, if the right player is included in the set. The second is that for 2022 Bowman Inception, that player was Elly De La Cruz.

Seriously, the top 10 most valuable recent comps are all De La Cruz cards. The high water mark was an Elly de La Cruz /50 Patch Auto Gold PSA 10 that sold for $1,000. A Dual Relic Auto /200 PSA 10 sold for around $435.

In between, other De La Cruz cards are pretty evenly spaced out. From there, a good number of graded examples sell for $200-400, meaning that even beyond the Reds mega prospect, there’s some value to be attained here, although with only 7 cards per box, ROI is far from guaranteed.

Final thoughts on 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball is undeniably high-end, from the slick designs, small base set, and guaranteed hits. It also carries a price tag of over $20 per card. The small box size keeps the overall outlay in check, however.

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball looks like a reasonable option for a collector looking for a quick break on some high-end cards without completely breaking the bank. If this is you, and your risk tolerance and collecting budget allows, you can do a lot worse than 2023 Bowman Inception.

What’s your take on 2023 Bowman Inception Baseball? Think it’s worth a break? What has you excited about it? Tell us what’s on your mind at card_lines on Twitter.

Check out prices of previous years of Bowman Inception Baseball?

2023 Bowman Inception Baseball checklist

Coming soon! Please check back.

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Mike D

Mike D. has collected cards for over 35 years, since he bought his first pack of Topps at the corner store in 1987. His fandom, collecting interests, and contributions to Cardlines center around baseball in general and the Baseball Hall of Fame specifically.

Mike's collecting focus is centered on graded cards, mostly rookie cards, of Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers. Lately, he's been enjoying dabbling in graded minor league cards. A collector/investor with a "buy and hold" approach, Mike takes the long-term view with his collection.