From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (three)
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf proof packs/lots

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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What: 2025 Leaf Metal Authentics autograph cards
Arrives: Aug. 29
Box basics: One on-card autograph per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Metal is back with nothing but autographs and colorful, rarer parallels in play with a mix of sports and non-sports all in one -- and with multi-signed cards (above) and inscriptions (below) also mixed in.

Keep reading for more details and a teaser gallery for this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (two)
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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What: 2025 Leaf Vivid football cards
Arrives: Sept. 12
Box basics: Seven autos per nine-card hobby box (12 boxes per case) or 10 autos per 12-card jumbo box (eight per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: A third year of Vivid football includes base cards in the mix -- every one of them a 1/1 creation -- alongside the autographs that cover the gridiron and offer up a few surprised from beyond it, too.

Keep reading for more.

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For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? A member of The Sandlot cast, Patrick Renna.

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The National is days away and here are just some of the basics like hours, pack promo details and other basics all in one spot -- at least all that's known at this time. (A different approach since a lot of info has been released later than normal this year.)

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Keep reading to see all that's known so far ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (three)
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

What's Buzzing: More reactions to an alleged large-scale autographed memorabilia forgery operation, The National, Juan Soto and plenty more in this Friday edition.

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1 -- Reactions to an alleged autograph forgery ring

2 -- The National nears

3 -- Talking Juan Soto

4 -- Wrestling cards are on their minds

5 -- Collectors' new pulls

6 -- Inside some new Star Trek boxes

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Women of Sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (four)
Where to buy: Click here for regular boxes (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

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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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Women of Sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (two)
Where to buy: Click here for regular boxes (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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RETRO RECORD-HOLDER
The Card: Roger Maris 2014 Panini Classics Home Run Heroes Jerseys (/25)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I ponied up a little bit for this one vs. my typical range for Maris mem cards since it's a rarer card, has a material (jersey/pants) swatch vs. a bat and is from a brand that packed a lot of potential for big names back in the day. Yet, at the same time, that price was a bargain. Yes, its centering is just slightly off, but otherwise it's clean -- that errant spot on the right side is part of the printed design on all cards here. It was an easy addition for a player I collect and pick off stuff for a few times a year. Those top corners are really clean on this one, which might not always be the case with those bold colors.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2025 Leaf History Book Sports Edition Chapter 2 sports cards
Arrives: Sept. 29
Box basics: Two "premium" booklet cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf offers up a second chapter for one of its newest high-end multi-sport brands -- a mix of multi-player autograph and memorabilia groupings from around the sports world all in one spot -- and it's once again nothing but booklet cards.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs (two)
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

What: 2025 Leaf Metal baseball cards
Arrives: July 25
Box basics: Five autos per seven-card hobby box (12 per case) or 10 autos (one being a slabbed 1/1 proof) per 14-card jumbo box (eight per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Metal is back for another go once again with its two box formats -- and still having exclusives and encased proofs among possible finds.

Keep reading for more.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

What: 2025 Leaf Optichrome football cards
Arrives: Aug. 29
Box basics: Six autos and two base cards per hobby box (12 boxes per case) or 12 autos and three base per jumbo (eight per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf Optichrome "will deliver the most-comprehensive football checklist of the season, featuring a spectrum of football stars ranging from prep school phenoms to Hall of Fame legends," according to Leaf.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Women of Sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for regular boxes (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... sometimes stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new fun cards and oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

IT'S ANNIE SAVOY!
The Cards: Susan Sarandon 2024 Leaf Pop Century Now Showing Red, White & Blue Mojo Pre-Production Proofs (each a 1/1 card)
The Buzz On This: This long-running non-sports catch-all card franchise often shows celebs in headshots or on fashionable red-carpet moments, but when I spotted a few of these blank-backed cards sporting a photo from Bull Durham -- still likely the movie of all movies when it comes to Minor League Baseball -- I picked off each of these and another color (to be seen elsewhere later) among a bunch of these proofs with various colors and textures from this set. Why? They're affordable and fun -- something rare (each color/texture is the lone copy in proof form) -- and still can be collected without breaking the bank. I landed these for less than $10 a card shipped, though I wouldn't have bothered if these didn't have the Annie Savoy visual. (This is from the memorable batting cage scene and the set is made to lightly emulate a movie ticket.) I did a lot of cheap proofs here, so I'll show off others and my other shade of this one elsewhere at some point. These aren't my typical oddball cards here, but I figured since we're in-season I'd mix in some other stuff from the MiLB realm.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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What: 2025 Leaf National Lacrosse League cards
Arrives: Aug. 29
Box basics: Two autos per six-card box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf turns to the lacrosse ranks for a new brand and sport in its product lineup with ink in every box and a small array of colorful parallels to chase, too.

Keep reading for more.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

Continue reading →

What's Buzzing: Denzel Clarke, Jac Caglianone, NBA Finals, Frank Gore Jr.'s autograph, The National and an impressive Mets autograph booklet.

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1 -- Denzel Clarke's catch has 'em talking

2 -- NBA Finals chatter ... and even more NBA

3 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s Topps autos ...

4 -- Talking Jac Caglianone

5 -- Check out the Mets booklet here

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.