Yes, Bruce the bat dog got the call to be so close to being a big-leaguer ... but the official MLB cardboard hasn't happened yet.

Earlier this month, the Washington Nationals promoted the golden retriever from Triple-A Rochester for a day in The Show but he didn't see any in-game action. He arrived in his uniform bandana and his MLB Debut patch attached (click the MLB image at right for a closer look) for a pre-game ceremonial moment as part of Pups it the Park. But ... he didn't make the cut for Topps Now since, pawsumingly, he wasn't used in the game.

(Woof.)

No worries, though. This on-the-diamond superstar is a merch machine for the Rochester Red Wings where he made his debut just last September. He's got pawtographed parallel versions of his first MiLB baseball card -- they feature prints uniquely placed on each one -- that raise money for charity.

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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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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 NOT A '52, BUT ...
The Item: Ryan Mantle 2008 Grandstand Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Update
The Buzz On This: The last line of this card's "Ballpark Banter" gives away the show here -- he's the third cousin of Mickey Mantle -- and there have been a few Mantles to appear on cards beyond The Mick over the years. This one played two seasons of minor-league ball for three teams in that stretch and then 10 final games during his third season -- that one in the Frontier League. The final MiLB stats? Three homers and 38 RBI in 81 games while batting .269. Per Baseball Reference, he's among six relatives of the Hall of Famer to play pro baseball.

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

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The on-field furballs are back on baseball cards this year.

Actually, the mascots never truly left, but Topps' upcoming Celebration boxes for 2025 Topps Series 1 loosen things up and revisit a number of the inclusions in its old Opening Day brand where MLB's other stars at the stadium get baseball cards in the flagship-style Topps design once again.

Cards like this used to be the norm -- something Opening Day introduced back in 2007 -- until Topps ditched the brand for a more-obvious kid-branded Big League in 2023 and then again last year. And, yes, mascots were in play in those releases -- but not with the look of the players on the field ... you know, their teammates.

But Celebration boxes will include Series 1 cards -- and more -- inside when they officially arrive and part of that lineup includes 28 mascot cards ... see 'em all after the jump.

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

ALL ABOUT THAT BLING!
The Card: Wool E. Bull 2023 Choice Durham Bulls
The Buzz On This: It seems the mascot card is a staple of MiLB team sets -- it's one of few cards you can typically count on finding year after year unless there's a team name change -- and this one of the modern-day iteration of the mascot many might first remember from Bull Durham. This card caught my attention as it's one of few where the mascot shows off their version of the team's championship ring -- a ring card collection could be an interesting little twist even if not limited to just mascots. Beyond that bling, the achievements captured on the back of this card are also pretty strong for a veteran you can see on a lot of cardboard. Collect 'em all!

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

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

JUST CALL HER SKIP
The Card: Ronnie Gajownik 2021 Choice Hillsboro Hops
The Buzz On This: I picked up a couple cards from this team set for the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate at some point last year while going through oddball MiLB singles for a couple reasons. First, this design is a pretty non-traditional look for most sets -- though it is from one of the companies that teams use to pick their looks for their sets each year -- and for a player it incorporates a smaller cut-out action photo and a facsimile auto (see one here). I picked off this one since you don't see many "video coordinator" cards out there in many sets but what made this one more interesting this season is that she was the team's manager in 2023. She is MiLB's first female High-A manager as Rachel Balkovec's Tampa Tarpons are in Single-A ball. In between this and her new role this season, she was a coach for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. Her team went 56-76 this season in the Northwest League. Read more about her here.

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

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

SAME SET, SECOND STAR ...
The Cards: Spencer Strider 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This month's item leads off just like last time with a key single from a team set that has a current big-leaguer who had a heck of a rookie year in Atlanta last season. Unlike Michael Harris, Strider had a number of Rookie Cards in big-league sets last year and he also had a lot of prospect cards (also unlike Harris) so cards like these have a lot of competition. But, I like this one as he looks like a big-leaguer other than that cap and the set was relatively cheap, too, vs. a lot of in-pack stuff by the pack or box right now. The print run on sets like this where there are multiple stars might not be on the low side for MiLB sets but in comparison to packed-out MLB cards there's no chance that the print run is in the same galaxy. I like that.

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

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What: 2023 Topps Big League baseball cards
Arrives: March 31
Box basics: Eighteen eight-card packs per hobby box (20 per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Big League is back with "an all-new collecting format as well as some of the most exciting, fun, and colorful designs in the hobby," according to Topps.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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

GOING OFF THE RADAR ...
The Cards: Michael Harris 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This guy is likely to be on my collecting radar quite a bit this year after a near-cardless 2022 that saw him take home the National League Rookie of The Year honors with the Atlanta Braves. Before that, "Money Mike" had some prospect cards in packs and minor league cards count there, too, but his Rookie Cards were held to appear in the full 2023 lineup. With basic stuff like 2023 Topps figuring to the plentiful and prices all over the place right now, I opted to pick up a lot of these -- as team sets -- as he's in there and so are others (you'll see them in later months here) instead ... and I did it without breaking the bank. He has other MiLB cards -- but not a ton -- but this one looked good to me for the price. I'll probably grade some of these, too, as you can probably guess based on the cases they're in right here.

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

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Mascots getting paid, pondering investment QBs, MLB and NFL chatter, Immaculate WWE and new pulls.

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

A HALL OF FAMER'S OLD SOX
The Card: Mike Piazza 1999 Arizona Fall League #29
The Buzz On This One: No, the Hall of Famer wasn't crafting his game on the side while playing for the Mets. This one is a flashback piece included in a 30-card set for the AFL where prospects get to work on their game in the off-season. I think I found this one -- the full set -- in a bulk lot that, for the most part, wasn't all that eventful ... so this one stood out. Who else was in this one? A who's who of "Who?" Maybe, maybe not ... Ryan Anderson, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Michael Cuddyer, Jack Cust, Jason Grilli, Jim Morris (The Rookie!), Corey Patterson, Vernon Wells and others ... actually, quite a few big-leaguers but not a lot of card-value guys all these years later. I bet there are some Piazza fans who might not have even seen this card before -- at least I hadn't -- so that's why it bats lead-off this time.

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

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

REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The Card: Brian Span (with Whitney Houston ... sort of) 1989 Sport Pro Spokane Indians #15
The Buzz On This One: If you're a regular Buzz reader, then you may remember my deep dive into this epic MiLB team set that, well, showcases how the team went to the mall to make their annual card set. No, really, each player and some coaches plugged various stores at the mall with some having funnier cards than others. Span went to DJ’s Sound City, a chain described as "a fixture in Spokane's Music Market for almost 20 years" and made one of the weirdest cards ever made. (See the rest of them at that link.) I had the chance to pick up two more of these and I did ... and you can bet I'll probably grade one -- it's just too comical not to.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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 ... and it's once again the biggest Buzz Buys ever. (A collection of pick-ups from recent times as well as in the past year or so.)

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A RECORD-SETTER, BUT ... 
The Cards: Wander Franco 2022 Topps Living Set (/68,228)
The Price: Direct from Topps (10-pack price)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one re-wrote the new Living Set record book with its sales volume and I did a 10-pack to hopefully land a copy without centering issues and to maybe grade one or two. It turns out 10 wasn't enough as the front card is closest to centered but it has a cardboard blotch that should nix some top marks and any immediate grading from me. I still might but not right now. With so many made, there likely will be plenty graded in the coming months ... so without an obvious gem I'll wait. This might have been my first Living Set lot direct from Topps since Vladimir Guerrero Jr., so it will probably send me back to hibernation on that brand. We'll see.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this one ... but MLB boxes are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 box: 2022 Topps Opening Day baseball cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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

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

A BASEBALL PIONEER
The Card: Ila Borders 1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids card #768
The Buzz On This One: OK, this is the rare inclusion in this series that wasn't found in a traditional MiLB team set, but with a lot of women making baseball headlines in recent months (and years) I figured I'd revisit a key name from the past. Borders was the first woman to get a win in a men's minor-league game back in 1998 when she was a pitcher for the Duluth–Superior Dukes. You can read more about her career -- which included more than this first -- right here. She doesn't have a ton of baseball cards and if you search her name here on The Buzz you can see where I previously picked up her lone traditional MiLB team set card. I figured I'd grab this to go with it. Meanwhile, (tip time) these cards from sheets in magazines seem to be capturing a lot of attention from some buyers in some instances. If you have interests in names who don't have traditional cards, you might try a search for SI for Kids singles or full magazines, which included nine cards per issue for a long, long time.

Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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

A LIFE IN THE GAME & A LOT GOING ON HERE ...
The Card: Ron "Roady" Plein 2011 Perfect Game USA Cedar Rapids Kernels #31
The Buzz On This One: There are a lot of guys like Ron Plein out there in the baseball world -- on MLB payroll and not on MLB payroll -- who have a lifetime spent in the game but never, ever appear on baseball cards ... except maybe in MiLB releases. This card? It's not his first as he was 67 years old here and in his 37th year in baseball. (Learn more about him here.) Check out that card back -- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Random fact about this team? One of its players the previous season was Mike Trout ... this guy probably made him sandwiches and fixed his gear quite a bit after all those stolen bases that season.

Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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

THE BULL BATS LEAD-OFF
The Card: Wool E. Bull 2015 Choice Durham Bulls #30
The Buzz On This One: You may know the team and mascot from Bull Durham -- technically it's not the same bull as he has a name now and only arrived in 1992 -- but this furball's card leads off here for another reason. That Daytona 500-style grip on the wheel got me looking at mascot cards I had stockpiled and I noticed a trend ... they really like to drive. Whether it's ripping around the warning track in a Frontier-branded kart like this one, or some heavy hardware like you'll soon see, there are a lot of baseball cards in minor-league team sets out there just like this ... and it's all pocket-change stuff.

Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item. 

BATTING LEAD-OFF ...
The Card: Double Balonironi Burger 2021 Choice West Virginia Power #30
The Buzz On This One: This edition of the series is all about food and this one is arguably a Rookie Card -- though MiLB cards don't really have RCs -- for a burger apparently a big enough deal that it made the team's annual card set. Why? Well, it's probably not tied to the set sponsor -- Thomas Health hospitals -- but this ballpark "belly buster" seems like it might be an All-Star down on the farm -- check out this video. (Oh, and note the typo on the card front ... an uncorrected error, I think.) I've seen my fair share of cardboard in my day but other than one insert set done at the MLB level a few years ago I'm not sure if I have seen specific food items get their own card before in a MiLB set where, as the point of this series goes, you can see a little bit of everything. Given how much ballpark emphasis there is about food, I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more. The ingredients are on the back, the fact that it's two pounds is interesting and it's ironic they mask the calorie content. Perhaps the next card will have something to say about that.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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Minor league cards can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item. 

ABOVE THE FOLD
The Card: Chris Petrakis 2013 Choice Jupiter Hammerheads #27
The Buzz On This One: Equipment managers actually appear on baseball cards often in the sets made and sold down on the farm -- they're far more odd than those we see made for national release in pack form -- and that's a key part of this series' existence. However, I might venture that this card has the highest towel-to-subject ratio in the history of cardboard both on the front and the back where his apparently affinity for towels dominates both. I mean, just look at those stats. Only thing weirder I've seen among the laundry side of things (beyond memorabilia cards) might be this baseball card of a washing machine.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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Minor league cards can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item. 

BARBEQUED BASEBALLS?
The Card: Nate Alleyne 2018 Grandstand San Jose Giants #34
The Buzz On This One: We'll just accept it as a given that a clubhouse manager needs a baseball card -- it happens in the minors -- but what might lead one to be grilling a baseball on a card? You know ... I have no idea but here it is. You know what's weirder? The fact that this guy has multiple baseball cards where he's toting water bottles and one where he's running a vacuum cleaner at home plate. The year before this one? Golfing with a baseball. Don't believe me? Click here.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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 ... and this time around it's an oddball edition of stuff I've picked up throughout the last year.

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BERNIE BATTING LEAD-OFF
The Card: Bernie Brewer 2018 Topps Opening Day Mascot Relics
The Price: $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one isn't all that unusual if you know Opening Day's inclusions through the years, but Mascot Relics are still odd in the big picture and mostly only found in this brand that gets a "for the kids" label slapped on it often when it's really one that's "for the collectors." So, what's the catch? Stuff like this has odds so long that you don't see them pop up unless you're ripping in bulk. How rare? This one was close to one in 5,000 packs. There are mascot auto Relics in there, too, at close to one in 94,000 packs. Only seven mascots had these cards in this particular set and I'd argue that this guy might be among the better ones.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Opening Day MLB

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Have you seen the latest cool cards from a new release? With so many options for collectors of all kinds arriving every week it's possible you haven't. That's where Buzz comes in -- well at least on one brand you'll see here from time to time in what we're calling Buzz's Pick Six. Simply put, here are six cards from a new arrival that seemed interesting to this collector and we think they might interest you, too.

This week's releases: 2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks and 2019 Panini Prizm Draft Picks -- a combo since I truly couldn't decide which way to go during this NFL Draft weekend.

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THE TOP GUY ... 
The Card: Kyler Murray 2019 Panini Prizm Contenders Optic Mojo College Ticket autograph (/15)
The Price: $1,250 opening bid (six days remaining)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card is perhaps a tad confusing ... it's a Contenders Optic card from Prizm and there's one in Prizm packs, too, but that one is not serial-numbered to 15 according to the checklists. Either way, this is a big pull and it's got on-card ink of the guy who went first in the 2019 NFL Draft last night and also the Heisman winner who is the only player ever taken in the first round of both the MLB and NFL drafts in the same year. There's a lot of attention and storyline here -- especially with the added Josh Rosen drama -- but he might be the biggest name of the bunch drafted so far when it comes to cardboard. (At least until everybody suits up.) This is an actual auction instead of a Buy-It-Now with new-car pricing attached, so we'll see how much demand there is here in a few days.

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

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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 box: 2019 Topps Opening Day baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 11
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 77
Base set completion: 
65 of 200 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Kris Bryant, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Bregman, Gleyber Torres, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew Benintendi, Anthony Rizzo, Miguel Andujar, Dansby Swanson, Edwin Diaz, Billy Hamilton, Paul Goldschmidt

Rookie Cards (5) – Yusei Kikuchi, Willians Astudillo, Brad Keller, Rowdy Tellez, Dakota Hudson

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Some of the biggest sports stars of the past and some of NASCAR and MLB's biggest names of today will all be appearing on Funko Pop! toys this year.

Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali get things going in a legends line, while Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt lead the pack for new NASCAR toys revealed just as the Daytona 500 and a new racing season starts today.

Joining them will be a huge lineup of MLB stars and mascots -- and for NFL fans a two-pack for Shaquem and Shaquille Griffin of the Seattle Seahawks.

Keep reading for a rundown of them all.

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What: 2019 Topps Opening Day baseball cards
Arrives: March 13
Box basics: No hits guaranteed per 36-pack box (20 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Opening Day returns for its 20th season with an insert in every pack, autographs and Relics in the mix -- and things even get a little dirty again, too.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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