Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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FINALLY LANDED HIM
The Card: Roger Maris autographed 1975 Topps MVPs card (PSA/DNA authenticated)
The Price: About $200 less than I figured it would cost me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: For several years now, something on my want list for when I'd head to The National was to find a clean and slabbed Maris autograph of some sort. They're rare but not impossible as the former single-season home run champ who hit 61 homers in 1961 died in 1985 just as doing autograph shows was about to truly explode for past players. Had he died a decade later he'd probably be an easy autograph to find -- or at least an easier one -- but still in high demand. A typical signed and slabbed plain 3-by-5 card of him typically was around $500 when I was looking in the past and I've seen many of them but that was still a little too much to swing for me if I wanted to keep shopping while at a show. Signed and slabbed cards from his career are often a lot pricier depending on the condition of the card and the year ... some are quite impressive and many are not having been signed in ballpoint pen. Like pretty much everything, prices on his autos have jumped in the last few years but I still had been looking for something like this ... and then one day late last year I woke up and checked emails to see this one on the block with a buy price that made it an instant grab. It's not a perfect card, it's not a mangled card ... but it was an affordable one for me as it's a lesser card from just after his career ended (last cards as an active player were in 1968). As a bonus to me, he's seen alongside pretty much the other player I actively collect from the era ... but his auto is easy to find. I've crossed a big one off my want list.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB stuff is here

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

FEELING SUPER
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Bowman Chrome Superfractor #129 (1/1)
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up off of a collector friend who grabbed it for me, making this just my second Superfractor for my retired favorite player and my third Super overall (I once pulled one from a Heritage blaster) in years of collecting. There's not a whole lot of grading drama to be had on either the grade or the pop report, but I figured I'd lead things off with the rarest card of the bunch for this edition.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This is the only one that exists and it had been on the market for literally years online -- I got it for about $3 more than an offer I made for it when it first arrived and was declined. I've never been all that enamored enough to chase any of them, but this one I'm comfortable with since it was not much more than a basic Bowman box typically goes for at suggested retail price even after landing a top grade.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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