What: 2020 Onyx Preferred Players Baseball Collection autographed baseballs
Arrives: March 6
Box basics: One signed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: This MLBPA-approved product hits the diamond once again with a number of notable names inside, including Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., Cody Bellinger, Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Wander Franco to name a few.

Keep reading for more info and a checklist.

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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 Update baseball cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby/jumbo)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard, one commemorative patch pack)
Cards per pack: 14
Cards in this box: 99
Base set completion: 
86 of 300 (29 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, Justin Verlander, Josh Donaldson

Rookie Cards (31) – Notables include Pete Alonso (2), Austin Riley, Will Smith, Cavan Biggio, Eloy Jimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Nick Senzel, Brendan Rodgers, Michael Chavis, Carter Kieboom

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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 release: 2020 Topps Series 1 baseball cards

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SMALL SURPRISES AND STRONG PHOTOS 
The Card: Big Air Big Hair ... Card No. 298
The Price: Cheap but fun.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a textbook example of how some of the basic inclusions in this one -- either team cards or checklists -- can have fun photos that help make the simple inclusions a little more interesting. This is something that some brands do often and with deliberate appeal -- think Stadium Club -- but flagship Topps has done this more in recent years and the results are getting a little better. One touch on this card that some might notice? The new (old) logo for the Brewers will be found in this series. It also doesn't hurt that one of the strong sophomores, Keston Hiura, is here, too. This won't be an expensive card at all -- it's just a nod to remember that fun stuff adds value in other ways and we might all remember that more often ... a good photo can make a good card, too.

Keep reading for five more interesting items in this one ...

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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 Today: Tom Brady, Super Bowl LIV, Bowman Heritage, a Gardner Minshew 1/1 RC parallel, top MLB names and "Hall of Famers we are watching in 2020."

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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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RED-HOT SAPPHIRES
The Item: Adley Rutschman 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire Edition Red Refactor (/5) — BGS 9.5
The Price: $4,500 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card of the No. 1 draft pick is just one of the monsters that can be found in boxes of this online-only released parallel version of one of the most-popular brands on the planet -- and this white-hot release is one that's quickly running its way toward the top of the parallel lists, too, as its slightly non-traditional release is one that a lot of people just don't see in their typical shop spots. Only the 1/1 Padparadscha (a type of immensely rare Sapphire) is a tougher pull than this shade and it's one of several parallel types you can find in these small but loaded boxes.
Similar Pieces: 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire cards on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire Edition boxes

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

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This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five MLB items fans should own ... or beginners could use.

SOMETHING DIRTY...
Game-used and fully authenticated MLB dirt is seemingly everywhere and it's often not expensive at all -- yet I'd bet a lot of collectors who consider their stashes to be on the "serious" side don't have anything dirty in them at all. Dirt Relics have been in play in a few brands in the past with one of them being 2019 Topps Opening Day as you can see here. You can find sealed miniature bottles of MLB authenticated dirt from team sites on MLB.com, framed displays that include small capsules embedded into them and, yes, some baseball cards. Heck, I've even seen dirt loaded into writing pens tied to teams. Most of these items aren't aren't that expensive and you can pretty much collect authenticated dirt from all stadiums or even key events like World Series or All-Star Games if you hunt online. (MLB is big on dirt and using it.) You easily can start a small mystery box for your team's fan with something like this and add to it ... keep reading.

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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 Today: Big pulls, last-pack magic, Super Bowl chatter, Zion Williamson, Felix Hernandez and "have baseball cards fallen behind basketball and football cards?"

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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 mostly stuff found on the affordable side.

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WORKHORSE PLATES
The Card: Derrick Henry 2016 Panini Spectra Plates & Patches black printing plate (1/1)
The Price: About $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: We'll know soon whether this monster of the gridiron this season will be playing in the Super Bowl for the first time, but I figured I'd lead off with him since he's had a huge year. I'd also let this serve as a reminder that there are some solid bargains to be found among stuff that's not brand new and that there are types of cards that seem to be overlooked. This card fits that bill. Yes, printing plates can have less appeal depending on the color of the plate and the design of the cards, but they seem to be overlooked by many for some unknown reason to me. They are 1/1s available in four different colors/separations but people don't seem to always act like they are when selling or buying. This price works for me and for my collecting tastes, especially when you consider this is also from his rookie year.
Grab a box right here: Spectra NFL boxes (all years)

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2020 Topps Big League baseball cards
Arrives: May 13 June 19
Box basics: Eighteen 10-card packs per hobby box (20 boxes per case); five 10-card packs and one Super7 figurine per collector box (16 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Big League returns with a twist in one of its box formats -- retro-styled action figures -- as well as a number of fun inclusions taking a look at the game in different ways.

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

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What: 2020 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 2
Box basics: Two autographs per 16-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Stadium Club hits the field for another summer on the diamond with dynamic photographs leading the way and a minimalist design that lets them do just that.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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 Today: A big Contenders NBA box, other big pulls, pondering Tom Brady's next team, buying a case for a 10-year-old and which Ronald Acuña Jr. card would you want?

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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 Bowman's Best baseball cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 60
Base set completion: 
22 of 70 (31 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Prospects set completion: 
10 of 30 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Walker Buehler, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, Anthony Rizzo, Justin Verlander, Nolan Arenado, Christian Yelich, Jacob deGrom

Rookie Cards (3) – Will Smith, Justus Sheffield, Kyle Tucker

Prospect cards (10) – Adley Rutschman, Wander Franco, Bo Bichette, Riley Greene, Corbin Carroll, Taylor Trammell, Nolan Gorman, Forrest Whitley, J.J. Bleday, Josh Jung

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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: 2018 Topps Gallery baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for collector's box)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard, one Artist Proof pack)
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 32
Base set completion: 
25 of 150 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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A new year is here and with this being the first Thursday that means it's time for the first Topps #TBT set of 2020.

If you don't know, this is a weekly offering via Topps' website where a memorable design from the past gets a new go with some new players in a small, affordable format.

For this one, they're throwing things all the way back to ... 2020.

No, really.

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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 Today: The biggest eBay buys of 2019 (not just cards), Ronald Acuña Jr., David Stern, Don Larsen, Phil Hughes, Zion Williamson and a few big pulls to start the year.

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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 ... a super-sized edition with 20 cards to open 2020.

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SO CLOSE TO PERFECTION ...
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Chrome #193 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This one looked very clean to my eye and I figured getting some of my past Acuña pulls slabbed was a good move considering his almost-40/40 showing last year. Some of his cards are heavily graded to the point where they can be had for not much more than a typical cost to slab if not in top grades. Meanwhile, others aren't as plentiful and some can typically grade very well. I went with this one since it's not as heavily graded and it does tend to grade well. Plus, I just liked the photo here compared to others -- and those I already own slabbed.
The Grade: BGS 10

Reality Check: This one surprised me a bit -- just one half-subgrade away from a BGS Black. Only 14 cards have gotten the perfect mark and this one is among an also-small population. Most cards here check in at 9.5s -- a solid mark and a perfect card to bat lead-off for this first MTG of the year. I expect big things from Acuña this year and I'll be slabbing him often.

Keep reading for more.

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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 Today: Big pulls leading the way in this final Board Buzz of the year.

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Making The Grade is a monthly department here on The Buzz that ran all year long in 2019 -- its first complete season so far. Its a place where newly slabbed cards and a few pick-ups get the spotlight -- a little show-and-tell to get people talking and thinking about cards beyond "What's it worth?"

Sometimes I picked cards for fun, sometimes I chased 10s, but other times I slabbed with some longer-term "investment" thought -- and I don't even do that often. (My go-to is to simply slab stuff that I like.) The card you see up top? You can firmly place it in the red-hot fun file. The card at right? You can put it in the long-term keeper stack along with the guy below him, who had plenty of appearances in the series this year.

As one of a couple of 2019 retrospective posts I have planned -- they're at least on my to-do list at least until other work pops up -- here's a look at the series where I talked about 158 new slabs this past year. You can see them all at the links below.

January -- Making the Grade: Patrick Mahomes, The Mick, Tommy Chong, Whitney Houston, botched cardboard & more

February -- Making the Grade: Patrick Mahomes, Bo Knows, Wendy Peffercorn, Tom Brady, Super Bowl stars & more

March -- Making the Grade: Young MVPs, iconic Hall of Famers, Silent Bob, March Madness, a Future Superstar & more

April -- Making the Grade: Vince McMahon, Steve Austin and WrestleMania icons plus Ronald Acuña Jr. & more MLB stars

May -- Making the Grade: Baker Mayfield, JLo's Rookie Card, Joe Cool, Nuke LaLoosh, Hailie Deegan & more past gems

June -- Making the Grade: The Dream Team, Ronald Acuña Jr., Bart Starr, Mike Trout, Deadpool, Kelly Hu's rookie & more

July -- Making the Grade: Aaron Judge, Jayson Tatum, Ric Flair, Michael Jordan, Ronald Acuña Jr., Billy Ripken's bad bat knob, Chrissy Teigen's Rookie Card, The Big Lebowski's ink & more

August -- Making the Grade: New Vladdy, Acuña, Rally Squirrel, Undertaker, Juggernaut, Michael Jordan, Paige, Kurt Cobain, The Bad News Bears' ace ... and Keith Comstock's beanballs?

September -- Making the Grade: Joe Namath's ink, Dak & Jerry Rookie Cards, Saquon Barkley, Lonzo Ball, 1990s NFL classics, high-grade vintage, The Four Horsewomen of NXT & more

October -- Making the Grade: Ronald Acuña Jr. heaters, Clerks, Ernie Davis, hot ink, Supergirl, Catwoman & real Nuke LaLoosh

November -- Making the Grade: Dak Prescott, Luka Doncic, Magic Johnson & John Cena rookies, Robert Mueller, the first perfect Keith Comstock, Meghan Markle's MLB card & more

December -- Making the Grade: Rare Shohei Ohtani, Star Wars, Pete Alonso, Tim Duncan, vintage, several WWE stars & more

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Need even more? See previous months' Making The Grade posts by clicking here (scroll down)

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

>> Click here to buy 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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, Prizm breaks, new Hall of Famers, Bowman Draft and choosing between Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto or Fernando Tatis Jr.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer boxes this year 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 that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a bit of everything but more on the affordable side.

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MONSTER YEAR, SIMPLE ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Derrick Henry 2016 Donruss Rookie Card (BGS 9.5)
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I made this pick-up just before he started his recent run of big games mostly because it seemed underpriced for the grade, which is a solid quad 9.5. Interestingly, just 25 copies of this card have been slabbed and nothing has checked in below this mark. It makes me think you could pick off a factory set at a pretty cheap price if you want to dabble with grading key cards here -- and there are a few where you could do pretty well with some 9.5s or 10s. About that price ... one of the other 9.5s had an asking price of $40 on eBay when I looked. Sure, the action here is heavier on Optic, ink and rarer parallels, but simple RCs of affordable sets seem to be go-to cards for more and more people these days.
Grab a box right here: 2016 Donruss (several formats)

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 ...

A BIG BLASTER PULL
The Card: Shohei Ohtani 2018 Topps #700B hand on helmet SSP photo variation
The Reason Graded: Not that long ago, I pulled this card from a Series 2 blaster box and decided that it needed a slab since these SSPs appear to be relatively rare -- and I was even more surprised to see how they didn't grade all that well on the pop report. Meanwhile, mine looked very clean ... so I had to do it.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Only one card graded better than mine and four others have equaled it while eight cards have checked in at a BGS 9 or lower -- that seems pretty low for a modern card, though the skinny stock here clearly could have issues after these cards hit packaging. I'll admit that this was a pull while Ronald Acuña Jr. hunting in Series 2, but this feels like a win on top of a win with it grading so well after being pulled from a discounted box. Here's hoping his third season is as strong or better than his first two, which are remarkably similar from the batting side.

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

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What: 2020 Topps Sterling baseball cards
Arrives: July 22
Box basics: Two autographed Relics -- or one auto Relic and a 1/1 Relic -- per box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: After a decade in the dugout, the high-end Topps Sterling returns with a mini-box/master box format that delivers big and more atop of that.

Keep reading for more as well as 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 box: 2019 Topps Gallery baseball cards (collector's box)
Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Packs per box: 21 (20 standard, one jumbo box-topper)
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 102
Base set completion: 
90 of 150 (57 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman, Josh Donaldson, Max Scherzer, Christian Yelich, Kris Bryant, Joey Votto

Rookie Cards (40) – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, Fernando Tatis Jr., Brad Keller, Mike Yastrzemski, J.D. Hammer, Jacob Nix, Cedric Mullins, Sean Reid-Foley, David Fletcher, Josh James, Garrett Hampson, Harold Ramirez, Jake Bauers, Michael Chavis, Josh Naylor, Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, Jalen Beeks, Dennis Santana, Kevin Newman, Elvis Luciano, Brendan Rodgers, Ryan Helsley, Bryse Wilson, Lane Thomas, Christin Stewart, Dakota Hudson, Will Smith, Kolby Allard, Ryan Borucki, Cole Tucker, Nate Lowe, Steven Duggar, Chance Adams, Willians Astudillo, Shawn Anderson, Kyle Tucker, Rowdy Tellez, Taylor Ward

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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 Today: Big pulls, Optic vs. Prizm and a weird Tom Brady game-used story a few years in the making.

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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 Chrome baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: Click here (a few formats)

Packs per box: 8 (seven packs plus one Sepia Refractor pack)
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 32
Base set completion: 
21 of 204 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Josh Donaldson, Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, Rafael Devers, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Joey Votto

Rookie Cards (2) – Christin Stewart, Patrick Wisdom

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