Ichiro Suzuki’s 2001 MLB arrival didn’t just change the game on the field — he helped feed growing international demand for baseball cards via plenty of new premium brands that helped pave the way for the ultra-deluxe stuff of today.

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A legendary career and baseball journey on two continents makes its final stop this month in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Hall of Fame and there’s a lot that can be said about that in several directions. 

Ichiro Suzuki changed the game with his arrival in MLB, eschewing the longball in favor of speed and hits — lots and lots of hits. But, “hits” are also the story of all those years when it comes to baseball cards with the prized rarities found in packs with autographs on them — or pieces of memorabilia in them — being an unstoppable force in those years. 

Of course, hits didn’t start with the Japanese star’s arrival, but many of his cards in sets alongside another now-legendary 2001 rookie, Albert Pujols, helped change the cardboard world even faster. Demand for their stuff prompted several new brands from several companies making MLB cards back then to try new things, capitalizing on their new stars who could move packs and boxes of cards -- just like they could move players around the bases and move butts into seats to watch games. One could argue that 2001 was in part a big piece in the evolution of what we see in today’s sports card landscape -- a focus on rarities with small print runs and with premium prices that weren’t like the wax paper-wrapped pocket-change treasures of not that many years before. 

Now, what’s to come here is absolutely not a definitive list of top cards — and it’s not one purely based on volatile values or one limited solely to Rookie Cards. Why? There’s a lot to choose from for Suzuki on all fronts — there could be several ways to take on this challenge. He has more than 50 different Rookie Cards between his 1993 Nippon Professional Baseball and 2001 Major League Baseball debuts (depending on how you want to argue about RC definitions) and he had roughly 500 cards in 2001 alone. Many of them are rarer cards where it is impossible to own them all thanks to small print runs and rare serial-numbered versions. 

In all, he appears on more than 19,000 different cards made over the years between NPB and MLB -- and even though his playing career ended in 2019 his cardboard career has not. He’s got a place in the game in seemingly every new baseball card set on the way and that figures to be the story for the rest of cardboard eternity. He’s not just a Hall of Famer … he’s an international icon.

Here’s a small sampling of 25 Ichiro Suzuki cards that are both fun and notable.

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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HE LOVES L.A. AFTER GAME ONE
The Item: Kawhi Leonard 2012-13 Panini Immaculate Collection rookie patch auto (/100)
The Price: $2,999 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: What do you collect when a star has bounced around and arrives in a new home, scoring 30 points in his new team debut against their rival? Well, I don't know as I'm firmly priced out on the big cards in basketball these (but I do have a clean NBA Hoops RC headed into a slab soon and I'll dig that) but my gut says that his hottest cards soon will be his first Clippers cards more than his Raptors or Spurs stuff. But, with that not here yet, the best bets would be to bargain hunt among the rookie patch autos from his rookie season like this one. There could be cheaper ones for sure, but there are also a ton of pricier ones with National Treasures cards in slabs going into five-figures. There's no doubt that Leonard is a talent and here's hoping the past weirdness settles down and he's a Clipper for some time with success ... that would justify the big-money prices for his cards and justify even more gains for sure. He's already got championships with two teams and there are expectations for more. Game 1 against LeBron and his Lakers seemed to start off on a big note, which might fuel expectations and interest here even more if his team continues playing as it did last night.
Similar Pieces: Kawhi Leonard autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2012-13 NBA boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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Scott Schebler is this year's Adam Duvall -- a hard-hitting Cincinnati Reds outfielder who's come out of nowhere to hit a boatload of home runs.

Schebler's present stat line stands at 15 homers and 29 RBI through his first 48 games where he's hitting .247. It's a home run mark that puts him tied for fifth in the majors and tops in the National League beside Bryce Harper. (Duvall is one shot behind them on the NL list.)

Unlike Duvall, whose arrival last year was at a time where he had no certified autographs, Schebler's is one where he's got autographs -- but only in a single past release.

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Real cards in real time -- or at least the next day. It was a simple idea that became Topps Now that has helped in some ways transform collecting beginning on April 3, 2016.

Need proof?

There are 1,184 different Now cards now for MLB alone -- some with autographs and game-used memorabilia from the games that are depicted on the card. There are also Topps Now cards for last year's election and presidential debates, Now cards for WWE and for UFC and even real-time cardboard releases from AMC's Preacher and the Garbage Pail Kids taking on real-time scandals and viral curiosities. Oh, and there are other companies in on the real-time card business now for the other leagues, too.

Let's take a quick look at some of the highlights from last year's MLB releases before the 2017 Topps Now cards -- with a new look and numbering -- start soon and some basic info on every single one of the 2016 releases.

How do we knew there's a new look? Buzz checked the mailbox and found something inside. Keep reading for a first look at 2017 Topps Now.

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It's a leading candidate for the most-influential and most-innovative brand of the year and one dealer who took on the challenge of collecting the 2016 Topps Now baseball card set feels now might be the time to sell.

A collection of more than 665 standard Topps Now cards along with the All-Star and Off-season sets. It doesn't include the myriad of autographs and Relics that were offered throughout the year -- or any of the team sets or Cubs championship cards made on the side, but just building the standard set is challenge enough.

So, the million-dollar question is ... what's it selling for right now?

The auction will end tonight ... and we want to know how high you think it will go. Tell us in the poll below or with a comment here or on Twitter.

[polldaddy poll=9585188]

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

This Red Sox slugger has been in some elite company this season and his cardboard continues to pick up momentum.

His name is Mookie Betts and he smacked another homer -- a three-run shot -- last night in Baltimore to up his season total to 28. That comes off the heels of a three-homer game Sunday that put him side-by-side with Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players with a pair of three-homer games in the same season.

It's sparked a wave of Topps Now cards -- and pricey Relics that sold out near-instantly -- but it's not the only cardboard that Betts has that's now in more demand.

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Topps Now takes an All-Star twist today with eight new cards offered on the real-time platform.

Five of those are the starting infield for the American League All-Stars -- the start of some grouped offerings celebrating The Midsummer Classic.

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Topps recently promised surprises in Topps Now.

It has delivered.

Ten lucky collectors will be finding autographs of world hit king Ichiro Suzuki among those that they ordered from the company.

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Topps' new program creating real baseball cards in real time documenting the highlights of the here and now have caught on with some collectors as this season has begun with some historic starts and impressive debuts for MLB rookies.

It's 2016 Topps Now and the cards are only available for a 24-hour window. After that, the population reports are released and the next day's cards are unveiled -- all in made-to-order, real-time fashion.

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