Bowman Week: State and Hometown Cubs Cards

The Bowman International parallel has been around, on and off, since the late '90s.  It returns again this year, though with a new name.  International is out, State and Hometown is in.  The name has change but the concept is sill the same--the background has a map or flag from the player's home.

It's flags in the background this year.  For US players, the flag is that of their home state.  Foreign players have their country's flag behind them.

I'll start with the most unusual....

Tayler Scott.  Do you know the flag?  It's not one known for baseball....South Africa.  In fact, Scott is the first South African to be drafted by an MLB team.  There are several other South Africans in the minors (this page has more about them), but there has yet to be an MLB player born in South Africa.  Will Scott be the first?

  

Three Cubs are native to the baseball hotbed of the Dominican Republic, Castro, Soriano, and Alcantara.

Other foreign-born Cubs in the set include...

....Fujikawa, Japan

....Amaya, Venezuela

and Villanueva, Mexico.

States represented by the US-born Cubs include...

....California, Jackson

....Florida, Rizzo

....Indiana, Samardzija

...and Oregon, Barney

As Bowman week continues, tomorrow I've got the Top 100 Cubs.