TOLEDO, Ohio — In 2019, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Jase Bowen straight out of high school with their 11th round pick. Since then. his dream has been to one day play in the majors.
While that journey continues to climb closer to reality, the former Central Catholic High School star also possesses another special goal: to collect all of his own baseball cards.
"It's something that as I continued to get older, I never lost a passion for," Bowen said.
The hobby of collecting sports cards began at the age of five when Bowen, now 23, and his brother would trade each other as kids. Now, the pro baseball player has more than 100,000 cards in his collection.
"I've always strived to have one, but as a kid, it's hard to picture," Bowen said. "My dad would always tell me how cool it was for me to collect cards but reminded me to work to be a person on a card."
That moment came to fruition in May 2023 when Topps created its first Jase Bowen baseball card. Bowen knew it right away, too, because he recognized the bat in the photo, which was taken in a game where he hit a home run as a member of the Bradenton Marauders, the Single-A affiliate for the Pirates.
"That child in me is like 'wow, this is you,'" Bowen said. "You worked so hard to get here and for Topps to be gracious enough to put me on a card, I was just so ecstatic."
Buying, selling and trading is what Bowen enjoys when away from the diamond. Yet playing professional baseball still serves as a valuable platform in his quest for new cards.
T-shirts, gloves and hats are all attire that the do-it-all position player can use for trades. While he was in Arizona playing in the Fall League, a card shop owner in Minnesota wanted a broken bat. But it was a piece of equipment Bowen didn't have with him until the owner's friend, who turned out to be that day's starting pitcher, helped seal the deal.
"I remember signing the bat and writing 'I hate Trent Palmer' who was the pitcher," Bowen said. "He ended up signing the bat as well and then I traded it away for a super rare card of mine."
Baseball is not the only theme of Bowen's collection. It also contains a Michael Warren II football card, a former Irish teammate, as well as other football and basketball stars like Ben Roethlisberger and LeBron James.
Despite all of the incredible names, what makes the set special are the messages Bowen personally writes. He said he sometimes writes "Tol" and "edo" on two different cards so "someone can try to piece them together" among other unique marks.
"For me, to share the gospel, I like to write scripture on my cards," he said. "Inscriptions for collectors to collect ... an area code or CCHS Alum are others, just cool little things that I think are unique."
When asked who his favorite non-Bowen card is in his collection, he said Dustin Pedroia. As for a card he'd like to get his hands on, that would be a rookie Mike Trout.
Time will tell to determine how much bigger and better Bowen's hobby will get. For now, he is in Florida preparing for his fifth season in the minor leagues. Yet, the aspiration of accruing a certain piece of himself doesn't sit too far behind in terms of potential milestones.
"Chasing my own card has been so much fun. I'm trying to do the rainbow, which is getting every color," he said. "I'm far away and it's expensive, but I have a great time doing it and connecting with fans."
Last season, Bowen hit an average of .255 to go along with 23 HR, 95 RBI and 26 SB. His performance earned him a call-up late in the summer to Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve, a team he is eager to begin 2024 with.
Before flying out for spring training, the Central Catholic alum spent time at his old stomping grounds last week to share insight and inspiration with his old baseball team.
Coming out of high school, Bowen had committed to play for Michigan State in both football and baseball before getting drafted.