Buzz Buys: A big Jasson Dominguez, Project 2020, Moneyball, Mantle & Maris, Betty Spaghetti, The Natural & plenty more

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 all baseball with some new oddball pick-ups as well as some oldschool stuff.

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A BIGGER DEAL (AGAIN)
The Card: Jasson Dominguez 2020 Bowman Bowman Scouts Top 100 wall art (/99)
The Price: $17.50 (after promotional discount)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is not déjà vu all over again as Yogi Berra once said, but this oddly Yankees heavy edition (since I don't really collect them) has perhaps the most-hyped young prospect in the game today batting lead-off just like last time when I presented his standard card here. As I said then, this guy's iconic card this year has eluded me beyond a couple of standard Bowman cards I pulled in blasters -- all I really wanted was a clean grading-worthy Chrome, but no -- so I opted for a limited version of a card that's a big deal this year but in bigger form as Topps wall art. This is an 11-by-13 version of the card that Topps sells on its site for $24.99 (only the base card is sold out, not the three inserts) with a 30 percent discount if you buy three posters of any kind. Will Dominguez pay off for the many chasing him? We'll find out eventually but this one fits into my stash pretty well no matter what as I try to pick off Rookie Cards as wall art.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of these ... but 2020 Bowman can be yours in a few forms here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

VARIATION ON PERFECTION
The Card: Rickey Henderson 2020 Topps Project 2020 -- Artist: Blake Jamieson (/3,819)
The Price: Factory cost from Topps
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Henderson was at one point going to be the player I collected all the way for Project 2020, despite the wishes of my wallet, but that idea has come and gone with a piece I simply couldn't do. That wasn't this card at all -- it was a no-brainer buy as it was a simple twist on a perfect Rookie Card from 1980 that takes a few of its features and tweaks them in different ways. My favorite part here? The facsimile auto in the pennant instead of the team name. Jamieson's artwork is made up of layers painted or spray-painted on using cut stencils -- a street-art style brought to cardboard -- so that's why it's not as crisp as some Photoshopped creations in the series. His is actually painted ... no pixels to start out. 
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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RELICS THAT NEVER GET OLD
The Card: Roger Maris 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Mini Relic
The Price: $13.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up was a no-brainer as framed minis are in my wheelhouse and Roger Maris is a guy that I pick off on mem cards perhaps more than any other type when they are cheap -- plus bat cards make sense for the former single-season home run record-holder.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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FIRST PITCH CARDBOARD
The Card: McKayla Maroney 2015 Topps First Pitch
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The run of these celeb first pitch cards was a fun one while it lasted (2015-2017) and there are a number of them that still sell pretty well as you only landed a few per hobby box. This former Olympic gymnast isn't among those pricey ones, but it does show one of the more-unique moments captured on cardboard -- her flip that proceeded her pitch. It probably didn't produce much leg-kick power but you can watch it here. Could Topps pull off a Topps Now card for a notable first pitch happening tonight at the Washington Nationals game? We'll find out soon. My money says yes ... and it will be a money card when it happens. 
Grab a box right here: Check out 2015 Topps boxes here

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REAL-WORLD CARDBOARD
The Card: Moneyball tribute (Billy Beane & Peter Brand) Trading Cards 5  by artist Cuyler Smith (/90)
The Price: $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This movie has a lot of potential for fantasy cardboard in this artist's popular series of card-size prints but I think this Brad Pitt-Jonah Hill card is the first showing them as GM Billy Beane and a fictional composite character named Peter Brand. I recently picked up a trio of cards from this year's set -- check out last time's roundup for one more and some additional details about the series.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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ROCKFORD PEACHES INK
The Card: Tracy Reiner autographed 8-by-10 A League of Their Own photo (via Hollywood Show)
The Price: About $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You probably know her parents -- Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall -- but if you've seen this iconic baseball movie then you might remember "Betty Spaghetti" Betty Horn from a few smaller scenes and then one where she finds out that her husband had died in the war. Beyond studio licensing (no small feat), a small insert set for this film might be a huge inclusion for collectors, though the odds of landing autographs from a number of the cast members would be just as costly to pull off -- Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Lori Petty are among the biggest names. I've managed to pick up a few autos here and there for the film (not an active project, just occasional finds) and figured I'd grab this one. Some of the lesser-known names might be tougher than the A-listers, though they might not be expensive.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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THE CAP MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
The Card: Roger Maris 1979 TCMA Baseball History Series -- The 1950s
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you want to see Roger Maris in his Kansas City A's uniform on cardboard during his career, you have few options -- 1959 Topps is the only thing that comes to mind as I type this -- but in later years he does have a number of cards showing him with the A's where he played in 1958 and 1959 before he was traded with Joe DeMaestri and Kent Hadley to the Yankees for Hank Bauer, Don Larsen, Norm Siebern and Marv Throneberry ... and then he became a back-to-back American League MVP and baseball icon in 1961.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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RARE MEMORABILIA?
The Card: Spider Jorgensen 2001 Upper Deck Legends of New York -- Dodgers Legendary Gold Game-Worn Jersey (/500)
The Price: Under $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former Brooklyn Dodger appears on an oddly low amount of cardboard -- under 20 cards -- and this is one of just two memorabilia cards he has. (This is the parallel of the other.) He signed with the Dodgers in 1941 but his MiLB days were cut short with his time in the Army during World War II, but he then returned to the game to make his MLB debut the same day as Jackie Robinson. He played just five seasons and his first was his best -- I essentially just picked this one up since there are so few options. In later years, though, he was a coach and scout with Dusty Baker among one of his American Legion players.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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MISSING MiLB?
The Card: John Kruk 1984 Cramer Pacific Coast League 
The Price: $2.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card pre-dates his MLB stuff by a couple years and comes from a pretty large release of more than 500 minor-league cards issued as team sets. There are a number of other names you'd know from the Stars set alone, but a number of others you'll know from throughout the full series which came from what later became Pacific Trading Cards, a later MLB licensee.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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A PIECE OF PERFECTION
The Card: Don Larsen 2001 Fleer Genuine Final Cut Jerseys
The Price: $6.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Larsen's autograph isn't all that tough to find -- he has about 150 different ones from throughout the years and he signed at shows and through-the-mail for years before he died in January. But memorabilia cards are seemingly rarer -- I'm not sure if I've ever seen others beyond this one that I picked up. (He has about 65 cards.) His place in the game is a strong one due to just one game of historic proportion -- and his career numbers might surprise you if you go look. I couldn't pass on this one for the price.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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A PIECE OF THE CHAMP
The Card: Stephen Strasburg 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Framed Relics
The Price: About $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was probably a post-World Series (night-of-finale) cheap pick-up that I had stashed away, grabbed since I just like the feel of framed minis and I wasn't sure if I had anything on the sole-Relic front for him. (I know I have some auto-mem stuff from pre-MLB USA appearances.) This season will be one to watch for him as building upon last year could rejuvenate his cardboard even more than last year. At one point, he was the biggest name in the game before the wheels fell off due to injury.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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OLD-TIMER'S DAY VISUALS
The Card: Mickey Mantle 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes 125th Anniversary stamp
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one jumped out at me as an odd one for Mantle cards as it shows him in uniform from later in his life. Could this simple idea make for a really cool insert set with stars from the past suiting up one more time? (Make it happen, Topps!) Just a thought as unique cardboard -- simple things -- can stand out a lot in today's splintered and often-viral collecting environment.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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MISTAKEN IDENTITY (OR SOMETHING)
The Card: Pete Rose/Bump Wills 1982 Topps wrong-back misprint card
The Price: Under $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These kinds of cards are fun and not the easiest thing to find in some instances and this one includes one of the biggest names in the game at that time. I thought it was an interesting example to present here, simple as that.
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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THE NATURAL
The Card: Eddie Waitkus 1955 Bowman 
The Price: $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: "In 1949, I was shot by a deranged girl. After I was released from the hospital, I was sent to Florida by the Phillies to see if I might recover enough to resume baseball. The schedule laid out for me was a nightmare. I was in a bad nervous condition, and I grew more depressed each day. Then I met a girl who knew a lot about human nature — who had faith in me. I went on to a good season, and the newspapers commended me for for the ‘Comeback of the Year.’ (The girl who helped so much is now my wife.)" That's what the back of this card says. Do you recognize the story at all? His real-life tale helped inspire The Natural. 
Grab a box right here: Check out MLB boxes here

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