2023 In Review - BBM

2023 was a kind of unremarkable year for BBM which in a way made it kind of remarkable.  BBM issued only 27 sets which is the fewest they've done since they only did 26 in 2006 (and almost half of the 50(!) they did ten years ago in 2013).  As far as I can tell, all the cards they issued that had a "cover date" of 2023 were actually released in 2023 which is a first at least for as long as I've been paying attention (and obviously I mean for any given year, not just 2023).

Almost all of BBM's releases in 2023 were what I refer to as their "perennials" - sets they issue every year.  There are now 25 of these - the three "flagship" sets - "1st Version", "2nd Version" and "Fusion"; the team sets for all 12 NPB teams - the Baystars, Buffaloes, Carp, Dragons, Eagles, Fighters, Giants, Hawks, Lions, Marines, Swallows and Tigers; the "Rookie Edition" (draft pick) set; the high-end "Genesis" set; the ultra-high-end "Glory" set and the two "Dancing Heroine" Cheerleader sets ("Hana" and "Mai").  They also issued two baseball specific box sets - "Icons" (with a theme of "Samurai" this year) and "Rookie Edition Premium".  They also issued three multi-sport sets that primarily featured baseball players - the "Farewell" box set for retiring baseball players and other athletes, the "Infinity" set and the ultra high-end "Crown" set.  The big changes for the year was that "Glory" went from being issued in December of the previous year to November of the current year.  This is only the second year that "Crown" has been produced.

The two non-perennial sets were the "Munetaka Murakami Shinka" box set that was dedicated to all 56 of Murakami's home runs from 2022 (plus a card for him winning the Triple Crown) and the latest installment of BBM's "Team History" sets - "Lions History 1950-2023".

I have to say I was a little surprised that BBM did not do some sort of box set celebrating the Tigers winning their first Nippon Series in 38 years.  I was also a bit surprised they only did one "Team History" set as they had done at least two in each of the previous three years.  At this point, however, there's only three teams left that they haven't done one of these sets for - the Fighters, the Eagles and the Baystars - and there's a possible reason for each of them to NOT have a set doen.  The Fighters have really only ever had one OB team set from BBM and that was celebrating the 10th Anniversary of them moving to Hokkaido, the Eagles have only been around for 20 years and the Baystars just had an OB team set done in 2019 for their 70th Anniversary.  That said, it wouldn't stun me for BBM to issue a "Team History" set in 2024 for either or both of the Eagles (celebrating their 20th season) or the Baystars (celebrating their 75th).