An early version of the 2016 Topps Series 1 baseball checklist arrived on Tuesday and that first glimpse offered a few surprises before its arrival on Feb. 3.

But there are also undoubtedly more still to come.

The First Pitch cards showing celebrities making ceremonial appearances? They're not on the checklist but are confirmed as still coming. There's no note of variations or short-printed cards for the release -- we all know those are coming. They always do.

What else? Keep reading for a rundown of what's known and notable from the checklist

Continue reading →

When 2016 Topps Series 1 arrives just a few weeks from now, it will include something different for baseball cards that is bound to have some people excited about the brand and one particularly unique set inside.

The insert is called Perspectives and it's a 23-card set that features unusual angles and some visual wizardry -- at least on on the Ozzie Smith card teased by the company on Monday.

Continue reading →

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

What's Buzzing Today: National Treasures hits and case breaks, the dirty Cincinnati Bengals, the dirty Pittsburgh Steelers, Carlos Correa, Panini Rewards and more ...

Continue reading →

The start of a new baseball card season is coming as 2016 Topps Series 1 is set to arrive on Feb. 3.

Uncut sheets like you see above are rolling off the presses in Texas in advance of packaging for the arrival that's just 26 days away as of this moment, according to Buzz's calendar, and Buzz has just one question ...

[polldaddy poll=9261897]

--

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

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com

Austin McPherson
Also known as: @texmcpherson
Email: texmcpherson@live.com
Location: Iowa
Work away from cards: Server
Collecting since: 2012

Main focuses: Working on my Buster Posey personal collection and also autographs of stars, semi-stars and prospects.

Favorite players/teams: The Cubs 100 percent! My grandpa was destined to have me be a Cubs fan since birth. Aside from that, the Bryce Harper hype is what got me back into collecting, so I show some favoritism there also. But, as most of the Blowout members should know, my favorite player of all-time is the almighty Buster Posey.

Continue reading →

Henry Owens made his big-league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 2015 and this year he'll debut with a new team.

The Topps Authentics squad.

Topps revealed Owens as the latest exclusive member of its autographed memorabilia team on Wednesday. He joins reigning American League Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino. The company also teased that there will be more TA announcements to come.

“I’m very excited to be a part of this new endeavor with Topps,” Owens said. “First, being featured in their card products. Now a featured athlete for their Topps Authentics brand. Quite the honor.”

Continue reading →

He was known as "Little Napoleon" during his 17 seasons as a player that began way back in 1891 and during his 36 seasons as a manager that ended back in 1932, but the memorabilia cards of Baseball Hall of Famer John McGraw found in 2015 Panini National Treasures are a big deal.

Why? They're unprecedented in hobby history.

Continue reading →

One Blowout member did something unconventional by most collectors' standards and has sparked an interesting debate about collecting over on the forum.

He got his 2015 Bowman Chrome Mini Superfractor of Steven Matz autographed in-person. It's since been JSA certified, yet he asks the question "Did I ruin this card?"

In a poll on the site, 55 percent of those who answered said it looks awesome but he killed the value of the card. Just 30 percent said it was a good idea and the rest say he ruined it.

Continue reading →

Tanner Jones
Also Known As: Mouschi / Tan Man Baseball Fan / @tanmanbbfan
Website: www.TanManBaseballFan.com
Email: tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com
Location: Texas
Work away from cards: Website development
Collecting since: 1989

Main focuses: Jose Canseco
Favorite players/teams: Jose Canseco (on all his teams)

Current collecting projects: Ultimately, anything not yet on my list at www.CansecoCollector.com including prototypes, samples, test cards, etc. My most-wanted cards are the 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold, 1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified Platinum Gold and 1998 Donruss Crusade Red.

Continue reading →

Panini America starts off the new year with not one but four new products scheduled to arrive this week -- from four different sports, too. Meanwhile, there's only one other brand on the calendar.

The biggest for most collectors is the arrival of 2015 Panini Contenders football cards with the annual chase for the Rookie Ticket autographs one that's been a mainstay for years. Which ones will be short-prints? Which ones are variations and which ones aren't? We'll find out more beginning Wednesday. Each box includes at least five autographs -- and it looks like some of them might be coaches who have never signed before. Will those be short-prints? Should be interesting to watch.

Continue reading →

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

What's Buzzing: Contenders variations, game-dated Relic confusion, signing 1/1 cards & more

Continue reading →

Jason Dean Martin
Also Known As: @jasondeanmartin on Twitter (And everywhere else, too.)
Website: www.jasondeanmartin.weebly.com & www.beansballcardblog.com
Email: jasondeanmartin@gmail.com
Location: Pennsylvania
Work away from cards: Territory Manager for PPG Industries
Collecting since: 1987

Main focuses: Josh Fogg and anything baseball including MLB, MiLB, NCAA and USA. Also errors and variations.

Favorite players/teams: Josh Fogg, Bobby Bonilla, Bryce Harper

Current collecting projects: Josh Fogg (including cards and memorabilia), 1991 Topps errors and variations

Continue reading →

Not long ago, we thought Cuban fireballer and four-time All-Star Aroldis Chapman was on his way to Los Angeles after the Dodgers agreed to trade a pair of prospects to land him.

But, after a deal on Monday, he's headed to New York to be the closer for the Yankees.

What does it mean for Chapman's baseball cards?

Continue reading →

When 2015 Topps Strata arrived last week with just two cards per box, some collectors may not have noticed one of the features that the high-end brand includes on its Clearly Authentic Autographed Relic and Clearly Authentic Relic cards.

But it's something that many collectors say they have been seeking for a long time.

What is it? Added authenticity -- as in specific game-dating -- thanks to the little silver MLB Authentication sticker found on every single card in those two sets.

Continue reading →

What to do with old common cards is a question and a challenge for many collectors, especially as they continue to pile up.

But for 19-year-old New York-based Blowout member Steven Verdile, aka Metsfan1121, the temptation to simply throw them away was thwarted when the graphic design student received an assignment in a 3D class earlier this year.

"We had to take items that we already had and aren't typically used for art, and use them to create a 3D piece," he wrote on a post on the forum. "I quickly thought about using my cards, and came up with an idea. I decided to make a baseball field, along with bleachers and a dugout, out of cards."

Continue reading →

It's a standalone and it's looking spectacular.

The arrival of 2015 Topps Strata as a standalone brand is today and the results ripped from wax boxes are starting to appear on eBay with some big names but also more affordable ones, too.

(They all just look like a million bucks.)

Continue reading →

Bowman's Best officially returns tomorrow for the first time in eight years and it's going to pack two autographs into each mini box, four per master, when collectors tear in.

First introduced in 1994, Bowman's Best ran for more than a decade before a year off and a return in 2007. It's been sidelined ever since. This time around, the brand replaces Bowman Sterling and offers a selection of young stars that have captivated collectors already this past season or so along with a crop of new draft picks as well. Nearly all autographs are signed on-card for this release.

Continue reading →

The Bowman Critic is one who spends countless hours examining checklists and box scores to see who should be emerging on collectors' want lists soon. After the checklist for 2015 Bowman's Best checklist arrived -- click here to view it -- there's even more to say.

Keep reading for The Bowman Critic's pros and cons about this release, which is set to arrive on Dec. 23.

Continue reading →

Buzz spent a few minutes on Wednesday watching breaks of 2015 Topps Dynasty baseball cards on BlowoutTV during its first day on the market.

Here's a glimpse at some of what was found ...

Continue reading →

What: 2016 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards
Arrives: June 29, 2016
Box basics: Two hits in every 16-pack hobby box

What's buzz-worthy: The hobby's showcase brand for photography returns for another season with much of the same formula it's carried for the last couple of seasons -- a throwback collecting experience with touches of 1990s retro and modern releases.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

Continue reading →

Check out Topps' teaser video for its buybacks to be found in 2016 Topps Series 1. They will have five shades of foil-stamping to denote their scarcity.

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

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com

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

What's Buzzing: Non-traditional wax releases, investments, 2015 Bowman Draft & more in this weekend edition ...

Continue reading →

Plenty of big contracts have been doled out lately in MLB, but Buzz isn't that sure many of them will spark cardboard riches for collectors. Same might be said for a couple of notable trades made during the MLB Winter Meetings.

As we head into the weekend, we wondered what you think. Tell us in our poll or by leaving a comment who's the big winner among new players in new places.

--

[polldaddy poll=9228097]

--

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

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com.

They're two distinctly different styles of art probably catering to different types of sports fans, but you should have no doubts about one thing -- the works of S. Preston are the work of a sports fan. 

"I won piano competitions, art competitions and mathematics competitions, but that didn't matter because all I wanted to do was be in sports," he writes on his website. "But as we all know too well, the dream of being a professional athlete is not for everyone, including me."

Working with a broadcasting team led to a lot of time in stadiums and one day an old doodle led to an idea of drawing stadiums in the simplest ways possible -- but noting the details sports fans can Identify with. "Minimalist Ballparks" was born. On the other end of the spectrum are his hand-penciled "Baseball Princesses" sketches of iconic characters little girls love with a simple twist and the simple idea that "girls can be baseball fans, too."

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2015 Topps Update/Topps Chrome Update baseball cards mega box
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 7 (five 2015 Topps Update/two 2015 Topps Chrome Update)
Cards per pack: 8 Update/4 Chrome Update
Cards in this box: 45
Base set (Update) completion: 
33 of 400 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Base set (Chrome Update) completion: 
4 of 50 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable names pulled on base cards: Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa

Continue reading →