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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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 Heritage High Number baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview, SPs & checklist: Click here

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
65 of 200 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Austin Meadows, Byron Buxton

Rookie Cards (15) – Fernando Tatis Jr., Keston Hiura, Skye Bolt, Justus Sheffield, Braden Bishop, Cal Quantrill, Kyle Zimmer, Griffin Canning, Jake Bauers, Eric Stamets, Connor Joe, John Means, Josh Fuentes, Ryan Helsley (SP)

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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. 

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What: 2020 Panini Diamond Kings baseball cards
Arrives: April 29 June 10
Box basics: One autograph and one memorabilia card per 12-pack box (24 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Diamond Kings will take to the field once again with an insert in every pack and plenty of notable names from the past and present inside, too.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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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 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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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 High Tek baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 3
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 18
Base set (any pattern): 8 of 112 (7 percent)
Duplicate players (any pattern): 0

Base cards – Derek Jeter, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Jose Ramirez, Javier Baez, Andrew Benintendi, Anthony Rizzo

Rookie Cards (any pattern) (1) – Christin Stewart

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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 Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 71
Base set completion: 
63 of 400 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Boston Red Sox World Series Champions, Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper, Yu Darvish, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rendon, Ryan Braun, Christian Yelich

>>> For variation details, click here

Rookie Cards (7 cards, 16 rookies) – Kolby Allard, Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright, Framber Valdez, Josh James, Dean Deetz, Edmundo Sosa, Adolis Garcia, Daniel Poncedeleon. Dakota Hudson, Ryan O'Hearn, Meibrys Vitoria, Chris Shaw, Aramis Garcia, David Fletcher, Taylor Ward

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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 582 Montgomery Club Set No. 5
Where to buy: Only part of membership

Base set completion: 
20 of 20 (100 percent)

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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, Topps Holiday boxes arrive, Zion Williamson and iconic inserts in today's edition.

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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 Holiday baseball cards
Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: Initially at Walmart; (here when available)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 100
Base set completion: 
91 of 200 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Juan Soto, Justin Verlander, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Anthony Rendon, Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Ozzie Albies, Nolan Arenado, Giancarlo Stanton, Corey Seager, Albert Pujols, Noah Syndergaard, CC Sabathia, Anthony Rizzo, Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Christian Yelich

Rookie Cards (22) – Fernando Tatis Jr., Eloy Jimenez, Will Smith, Mike Yastrzemski, Spencer Turnbull, Trent Thornton, Luis Arraez, Nate Lowe, Austin Allen, Griffin Canning, Corbin Martin, Jeff McNeil, Taylor Clarke, Ryan Helsley, Nick Anderson, Nicky Lopez, Thairo Estrada, Ryne Harper, Jon Duplantier, Brendan Rodgers, J.D. Hammer, Harold Ramirez

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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 Triple Threads baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 2
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 14
Base set completion: 
6 of 100 (6 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Bryce Harper, Jackie Robinson, Shohei Ohtani, Nolan Arenado, Josh Bell, Don Mattingly

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What: 2020 Topps Inception baseball cards
Arrives: March 18
Box basics: One autograph or one autographed patch Relic per seven-card box (16 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps Inception gets an even more colorful run for a new season with a crop of new rookies, plenty of autographs and the other inclusions collectors have come to expect for the brand.

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 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: 
88 of 300 (29 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Albert Pujols, George Springer, Willson Contreras, Noah Syndergaard, Max Muncy, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw

Rookie Cards (34) – Pete Alonso, Austin Riley, Will Smith, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Nick Senzel, Cavan Biggio, Eloy Jimenez, James Bourque, Jake Noll, Mike Ford, Luis Rengifo, Michael Chavis, Josh Fuentes, Justus Sheffield, Darwinzon Hernandez, Corbin Martin, Cole Irvin, Skye Bolt, J.D. Hammer, Pedro Avila, Jared Walsh, Merrill Kelly, Matt Festa, Adam Haseley, Dylan Moore, Austin Allen, Thomas Pannone, Kevin Cron, Kyle Bird, Taylor Clarke, Richie Martin, Andrew Knizner

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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 Heritage High Number baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview, SPs & checklist: Click here

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
65 of 200 (33 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Manny Machado, Adam Wainwright, Alex Verdugo

Rookie Cards (17) – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Carter Kieboom, Austin Riley, Elvis Luciano, Cole Tucker, Joe Harvey, Brendan Rodgers, Taylor Clarke, Richard Lovelady, Nicky Lopez, Brandon Brennan, Nate Lowe, Alex Jackson, Jon Duplantier, Michael Chavis, Jake Cave

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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 Allen & Ginter baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 47
Base set completion: 
27 of 300 (9 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Hank Aaron, Shohei Ohtani, Travis Pastrana, Juan Marichal, Gleyber Torres, Bob Feller, Vladimir Guerrero, Brooks Robinson

Rookie Cards (1) – Patrick Wisdom

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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 Donruss Optic baseball cards (Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 4
Cards per box: 40
Set completion: 
10 of 100 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Nolan Ryan, Clayton Kershaw, Joe Morgan, Josh Bell, Ryan Zimmerman, Freddie Freeman, Noah Syndergaard, Adrian Beltre, Reggie Jackson, Orlando Arcia

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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 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 5 (four standard, one Revolution)
Cards per pack: 5 (three in revolution)
Cards in this box: 23
Base set completion: 
1 of 60 (2 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Harrison Bader

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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 Donruss Optic baseball cards (Target mega box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12 (10 standard, 2 Shock)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 10 per shock
Cards per box: 60
Set completion: 
16 of 100 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ken Griffey Jr., Corey Seager, Buster Posey, Adrian Beltre, Kirby Puckett, Reggie Jackson, Justin Verlander

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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 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (two blasters)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby and blasters)

Packs per box: 5 (four standard, one Revolution)
Cards per pack: 5 (three in revolution)
Cards in this lot: 46
Base set completion: 
4 of 60 (7 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Giancarlo Stanton, Chance Sisco, Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 8.

The box: 2018 Topps Heritage High Number baseball cards (hanger box tray)
The cost: Will vary -- click for hobby and other formats

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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It started with a hunch -- a reminder to myself about a past visit to a certain store, a dash of the "hit 'em where they ain't" philosophy and a whole lot of the ol' instant gratification habit established years ago -- long, long before The Buzz or even BlowoutCards.com existed.

At 5 p.m. sharp yesterday, I started what ultimately became a three-hour tour that included a few stops and some surprises with the name Ronald Acuña Jr. all at its core.

If you don't have a card shop, there's always the click-here-to-buy approach that works every single time -- but on this day it was a fresh forum post that reminded me of a previous hunch about a chain you might not think of for cardboard that finally got me to go look.

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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 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 5 (four standard, one Unparalleled)
Cards per pack: 5 (three in Unparalleled)
Cards in this box: 23
Base set completion: 
2 of 50 (4 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Christian Yelich, Michael Kopech (RC)

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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 582 Montgomery Club Set No. 4
Where to buy: Only part of membership

Base set completion: 
20 of 20 (100 percent)

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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: Nothing but pulls from around the collecting world in today's edition.

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