2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball Guide

Mike D October 20, 2023

Bowman Sterling is back for 2023 with premium chromium cards, guaranteed autographs, and a focus on prospects and rookies. Its one of our top release picks for the month of November,

But what will collectors find inside 2023 Bowman Sterling? What are the hits? And are they worth breaking?

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2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball release date & release format

The release date for 2023 Bowman Sterling is scheduled for November 3, 2023 (subject to change).

Each hobby box of 2023 Bowman Sterling contains 5 packs per box. Each pack is really a mini-box and contains 6 cards per pack. A hobby case contains 12 boxes per case.

Each mini-box/pack contains an autograph, which means there are 5 autographs per hobby box.

As of the publish date of this article, presale prices for 2023 Bowman Sterling are not yet available.

For reference, 2022 Bowman Sterling pre-sold for $300-325 per box. Check back closer to the release date for updates, but the one source we see pre-selling them has them at $300 for a hobby box.

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Bowman Sterling 2023 Baseball base set & design

The 2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball complete set contains 100 cards. The checklist consists of 50 prospects and 50 rookies. The cards feature player photos over a stylized background on chromium stock.

2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball parallels

Bowman Sterling historically brings a good number of parallels and refractors, and 2023 is no different.

Parallels include:

• Refractor – /199
• Mini-Diamond Refractor – /150
• Sterling Silver Refractor – /100
• Speckle Refractor – /99
• Magenta Refractor – /75
• Gold Refractor – /50
• Blue Refractor – /25
• Black Lava Refractor – /10
• Red Refractor – /5
• Printing Plates – 1/1
• Superfractors – 1/1

Bowman Sterling 2023 Baseball inserts

Sterling Tek returns for 2023, limited to 99 copies per card. Parallels include Gold (/50), Blue (/25), Rose Gold (/15), Aqua (/10), Red (/5) and Black (1/1).

Autographs in 2023 Bowman Sterling boxes

Autographs, which fall five per hobby box, are a big part of the draw of 2023 Bowman Sterling.

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Prospect and Rookie Autographs

The largest autograph set in the product is the Prospect and Rookie Autographs.

Parallels include:

• Refractors – /150
• Wave Refractors – /125
• Sterling Silver – /100
• Speckle Refractors – /99
• Orange Refractors – /75
• Gold Refractors – /50
• Blue Refractors – /25
• Rose Gold Refractors – /15
• Black Lava Refractors – /10
• Red Refractors – /5
• Superfractors – 1/1

Dual Refractor Autographs

Numbered to just 25 copies each, these feature two autographs per card. Players featured share a common theme or trait.

Parallels include Black Lava Refractors (/10), Rose Gold Lava Refractors (/5), Canary Diamond Refractors (/3), Red Refractors (1/1) and Superfractors (1/1).

Triple Refractor Autographs

Also limited to 25 copies each, but with three autographs per card. Again, players featured share a common theme or trait.

Parallels include Black Lava Refractors (/10), Rose Gold Lava Refractors (/5), Canary Diamond Refractors (/3), Red Refractors (1/1) and Superfractors (1/1).

Sterling Opulence Autographs

New for 2023, with varying print runs. This autograph offering brings “artistic opulence and prestige” to the product and features the hottest phenoms in the game.

Black Lava Refractors (/10), Rose Gold Lava Refractors (/5), Canary Diamond Refractors (/3), Red Refractors (/1/1) and Superfractors (1/1) parallels are also available.

Sterling Tek Autographs

Select cards from the Sterling Tek insert set have autograph versions. Varying print runs.

Parallels include Blue (/25), Rose Gold (/15), Aqua (/10), Red (/5) and Black (1/1).

2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball value

Bowman Sterling goes heavy on the hits, but is it a good candidate for a buy-and-hold unopened? Let’s look at recent comps for hobby boxes from the last few years to see what they tell us.

For reference, 2022 Bowman Sterling presold for $300-325. So, while these boxes seem to hold at least most of their value, they don’t look like boxes that will rise in value significantly or predictably. These appear to be designed to break, not buy and hold unopened.

Bowman Sterling baseball card value

In terms of singles, we can look at recent sales of 2022 Bowman Sterling cards in PSA 10 slabs to see what the chances of a big hit are.

The big story in 2022 Sterling was Phenom Elly De La Cruz. Blue parallel autos /25 have sold in PSA 10 slabs a few times over the last few months, with pricing as high as $9,500.

Another copy sold for $7777.77. A handful of other copies have sold in the $4,000-$5,000.

A handful of more plentiful De La Cruz auto parallels sold for $1,500-$3,000. A few other tough parallel autos of stars such as Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt Jr. have sold for $1,500-$3,500.

On the other end of the spectrum, more than a few PSA 10 cards from the set have sold for less than the price of grading. So, there’s the opportunity to get some really big hits and huge returns, but nothing is guaranteed.

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Final thoughts on 2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball

2023 Bowman Sterling puts a spotlight on young talent. How impactful that talent is will go a long way towards determining the value this product holds, either unopened or after breaking.

There’s a lot to like here, with five autographs per box and lots of parallels to chase.

What is your take on 2023 Bowman Sterling? Excited about the product? Planning to break a box? Or tuck one away for the future? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.

Shop for 2023 Bowman Sterling hobby boxes when they become available

Other recent and upcoming baseball releases

• 2023 Topps Tier 1
• 2023 Topps Stadium Club
• 2023 Topps Update
• 2023 Topps Pro Debut
• 2023 Topps Gilded Collection
• 2023 Topps Allen & Ginter
• 2023 Topps Chrome
• 2023 Topps Finest
• 2023 Topps Sterling
• 2023 Topps Chrome Lids Mitchell and Ness
• 2023 Topps Holiday Mega Box
• 2023 Topps Finest Flashbacks
• 2023 Topps Holiday Box

2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball

Stay tuned to this space for more information on the 2023 Bowman Sterling Baseball checklist here.