2024 BBM Icons - Generations

BBM has put out a little box set called "Icons" every March since 2013.  Basically it's an excuse for them to put out the first cards of the top draft picks that show them on a baseball diamond (as opposed to in the introductory press conference that Rookie Edition's cards are from).  Since 2015 each box has contained 37 cards - the 36 card base set (three cards per team) plus one "special insert" card that could possibly be an autographed card.  I always get an opened set that just has the base set and not the "special insert" card.  This year's edition of the set was one of the items that Ryan had picked up for me and gave me when I met up with him in Tokyo.

The set has a different theme each year and this year's was "Generations".  BBM's description of the set on their website says it gathers together "the young stars of the golden generation who will carry the future of professional baseball".  I don't know about that but the set does contain cards of a number of NPB's young stars such as Roki Sasaki, Yuki Okabayashi,  Chusei Mannami, Hiroya Miyagi and Kotaro Kurebayashi.  It also has cards of nine of the twelve first round picks from last year - Kyuto Ueda (Marines), Sho Kusaka (Dragons), Kaito Shimomura (Tigers), Hayato Tsunehiro (Carp), Haruki Hosono (Fighters), Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions), Tatsuki Koja (Eagles), Kota Nishidate (Swallows) and Yuhi Nishidate (Giants).

I'm kind of "meh" about this set.  The player selection is OK but the design just doesn't really do anything for me.  Here's some sample cards:

#22

#36

#19

#14

#31

#02

The photo selection is kind of "meh" too.  Lot's of "pitchers pitching, batters batting" poses but I think the most egregious thing is the photo on Kusaka's card - it 's a posed shot that could have been used for Rookie Edition:

#16

The reason there's no photo of Kusaka on the field is that he was diagnosed with an elbow issue in January and has undergone Tommy John surgery (Shimomura also had TJ surgery but was not diagnosed until April).  I have to wonder why BBM didn't pick a different young Dragons player to replace Kusaka in the set.

As usual, you can see all the cards over at Jambalaya.