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 mix of new slabs and some recent pick-ups.

BIG RETAIL PULL NOW VS. THEN
The Card: Christian McCaffrey 2017 Crown Royale Platinum #88 (/49) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: With the NFL season (perhaps) finally coming, I'll let this guy kick things off since it's a rarer card and one that I figured would grade well but did have some fears about with one of the back corners showing some funk. I pulled this one from a mega box (or whatever it was called for this one) while sitting in a snowy Walmart parking lot back in the day only to be bummed that my autograph guaranteed in the box wasn't there ... it was Panini Rewards points. I was more hung up on that than appreciating this card back then, but he's been a playmaker in the league -- so much so I actually got rid of my Donruss and Optic RCs of him without getting them graded. Instead I decided to slab this one.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded better than I had expected -- I was thinking probably a 9 but optimistically a 9.5 -- and I consider this one a win. It's razor-sharp and clean except for that one corner and on the back it may not hurt as much. Either way, I'm good with this one. Only 12 total cards of McCaffrey from this release have been graded and this is the only for this parallel. There have been nine copies of his standard RC graded and only four cards overall equal this one with nothing higher.

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

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This is 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 perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five reasons a sports card can be appealing ... beyond just value.

A STRONG PHOTO
We all know a lot of cards from any sports (or non-sports) set from the past that has a photo that's just so clean or different that it stands out from the rest of the pack every time we see it. It doesn't have to be a star, it doesn't have to be a bum ... it's just memorable. Sometimes cards like these can actually command more value than others around it (probably moreso in the years before hits and inserts) but that added appeal can't hurt. The card you see here? It's a simple portrait -- literally nothing but the image -- no design here -- and that's why I chose it. It shows the power of letting the photo have its moment. I own hundreds of Derek Jeter cards that I don't really want or need but the strong photo here makes me want and need it. It's rarer (/100) and from the 2019 Topps Transcendent VIP Party set, but this one would be a card I'd chase if it were from Opening Day. It's all about the photo.

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When it comes to baseball card brands, Topps' Allen & Ginter is one of the most-unique ones in the hobby today -- even though it's modeled after cards from the 1880s.

Why? Those original tobacco cards featured all kinds of people and all kinds of things -- not just baseball players -- among many releases but it's the "World's Champions" that drive the idea of what we've gotten today since Topps re-introduced the brand back in 2006.

Kate Upton, Takeru Kobayashi, George W. Bush, Serena Williams, Axl Rose, Michelle Beadle, Anthony Bourdain, Nick Saban, Cat Osterman, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Maria Sharapova, John Wooden, Laila Ali, Snoop Dogg, Pele, Henry Rollins and so many other surprising subjects have been found in packs of baseball cards beside typical MLB inclusions such as Mike Trout, Hank Aaron, Bryce Harper, Derek Jeter, Justin Verlander, Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw and Ichiro Suzuki through the years. Those surprises can be pricey later, too. Upton wasn't a super-rare autograph but you wouldn't know it based on these prices.

Planning stages for the 2019 release are clearly already beginning for the brand as Topps took to Twitter on Thursday to ask collectors who they'd want to see in Ginter for non-baseball inclusions.

That got Buzz thinking ... and here are a few signers I'd want to see in 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter -- and more than a few of them have small ties to the baseball world.

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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 Opening Day baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Packs per box: 36
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 252
Base set completion: 
200 of 200 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 8

Notables on base cards – Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Ian Happ, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Gary Sanchez, Ichiro Suzuki, Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson, Carlos Correa, Bryce Harper, David Price, Kris Bryant, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, Buster Posey, Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge, Corey Seager, Albert Pujols, Andrew Benintendi and everybody else

Rookie Cards (29) – Notables include Shohei Ohtani, Rhys Hoskins, Rafael Devers, Ozzie Albies, Amed Rosario, Clint Frazier, Victor Robles, Miguel Andujar

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Sure, Shohei Ohtani has a Rookie card in packs of 2018 Topps Opening Day baseball, but there may not be one that sells faster than one of the cards in the Team Traditions and Celebrations insert set.

It's the Rookie Card for The Freeze. 

Forget the sausage races and the presidential mascot races -- those are so retro. This card for the Atlanta Braves phenom will leave them all in the dust along with a few other cards in the set arriving next Wednesday.

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