Buzz Buys: Nick Chubb RCs, Stranger Things ink, AEW's Elite, Juan Soto slabs, Sasha Banks, Pat Neshek ink & plenty more

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters 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. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything.

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BUZZ IS FINE WITH NINES
The Card: Nick Chubb 2018 Donruss Optic Blue Prizm (/149) Rookie Card parallel (BGS 9)
The Price: $14
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy was the top RB in the NFL in Week 4 with a monster game (and this one was purchased before that) but I'm thinking that he's among the better buys for last year's rookies right now because of where he's playing and the potential. If the Browns win big or at least improve impressively and have some moments, the 2018 RCs of Baker Mayfield and Chubb will arguably be the cards looked at first -- and Mayfield is already expensive so this guy might have more potential of the two. The basic versions of his cards are pretty easy finds, even when graded, so parallels are the way to go first in my mind. I grabbed this one since it was a tad cheaper than other versions but perhaps lower than it might be if it had been graded subgrades. (I'm fine with this type of BGS card as long as there's no obvious flaw showing to make you wonder.)
Grab a box right here: 2018 Donruss Optic NFL (a few formats)

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

WEEKEND BINGE GOT ME AGAIN
The Card: Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler 2018 Topps Stranger Things Autographs
The Price: $13.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a pick-up admittedly made in the midst of a Season 3 binge where I thought her character might have a bit bigger role than she ultimately had. I probably paid more here than I should have, too -- and I didn't remember paying that much -- but I knew this was a cheaper option than other names who are key in the series. I also had figured she had some other non-sports autos since she had spots with The Sopranos and Mad Men, but her only autos are a baker's dozen in the two Topps releases so I guess that helps demand and value here some. One drawback? There will probably be more on the way in the next Stranger Things releases. Parallels of this card and her Series 2 auto are better sellers than this one but one thing to look out for is her autograph running off the side of the card. This one escaped that problem, which is probably another reason I grabbed it and not a different one. 
Grab a box right here: Topps Stranger Things boxes

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SECOND-YEAR LOOK-BACK
The Card: Juan Soto 2018 Topps Heritage High Number Rookie Card (PSA 9)
The Price: $8.24
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This price seemed pretty good for a top rookie from a top (still-affordable singles-wise) set and I made this buy before the Nationals made the postseason. How does it look now where I buy? Well, raw cards are not much less than this and other PSA 9s are priced about twice as high as this -- and all I wanted to do was pick up a copy to go with some of my Acuñas that you have seen here in past months. The centering here is admittedly off so that's probably why it's a PSA 9 -- everything else looks pretty solid to me. He put up a solid season in his second year with the team so, he's definitely one to keep watching here on out. These are safe buys in my mind as the volume of unopened wax continues to drop every day with a popular brand like this, too.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Heritage High Number

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JUST HAD TO ...
The Card: 2019 Goodwin Champions Botanical Wonders Relics Cosmos Yellow
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand has had its fair share of unusual inclusions in past years and the 2019 edition has some surprises, too. The Botanical Wonders set is one that includes nearly 40 standard-size cards and then a half-dozen more jumbo cards that are via redemption. Some of the standard Botanical Wonders cards have small flowers inside and some have fallen off their glue beneath their acetate lids, but this one looked good enough to add it to the stash. Why? It's weird. I don't think I want some of the bug cards from Goodwin's past, but this one might go pretty well alongside my Field of Dreams cornstalk card I have stashed away somewhere. Something like that. 
Grab a box right here: 2019 Goodwin Champions 

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ONE OF AEW'S GLOBAL STARS ... ON THE CHEAP
The Card: Kenny Omega 2019 Leaf Best of Sports Blue Wave parallel (/20) 
The Price: $2.70
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The AEW wrestling promotion arrived on cable this month with a live show on TNT for the first time in about 18 years and this guy was one of the key people who has helped make it happen. He also was a guy who was part of the main event for that first show ... until he was not. (He ended up going through a glass table ... more details next Wednesday.) Leaf's Best of Sports set is loaded with low-volume cards so even this one doesn't command as much money as you might think for a card limited to only 20 -- and the main draw there are really the buyback cards. I picked off a low-volume auto of his in the past, so figured I'd add this one on the cheap. There could be more interest in him as a U.S. audience sees him more -- and all he has are Leaf cards in a handful of releases.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Leaf Best of Sports

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FUTURE HALL OF FAMER TAKES A SEAT
The Card: Tim Duncan 1997-98 Fleer Ultra Heir to the Throne
The Price: $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Some Panini photos of new NBA rookies -- guys like Zion Williamson -- sitting on a throne are likely to be coming to cardboard at some point since they are out there for promotional materials. Those made me think of one of my favorite simple insert sets from the Fleer years and a rookie who I never pulled back in the day when I lived in the middle of nowhere but found packs of this one at a Pamida store. These cards are embossed where the basketballs appear, but they'd be cool even without that extra touch. They were glossed and Ultra stock was very soft and chippy so these cards are often messy when you find them -- but not as bad as his Rookie Card. (You'll see one of those here at some point, too.) This card was clean and cheap -- and I need to revisit whether it's worthy of a slab ... that's how much I like this one.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but newer NBA boxes are here.

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SURPRISING PRICE, SOLID SEASON
The Card: Miguel Sano 2016 Topps Archives 1969 Topps Super Autographs (/99)
The Price: $6.62
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy's team hit a boatload of homers this year and he had 34 so that "meh" batting average of his didn't hurt as much as it might without all of those longballs. This card is as simple as it gets with an approach where autographs can seemingly always look good and I grabbed it because I liked it. Simple as that. Topps Archives has had plenty of good inclusions in recent years though the year this one came out had a lot of cards that felt too similar -- this set was not one of those.
Grab a box right here: Topps Archives boxes (any year)

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ALL ABOUT THE NUMBER ...
The Card: Roger Maris 2018 Topps Triple Threads Amber parallel (/199)
The Price: $1.69
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was one of the better designs for MLB sets last year and the printing and stock as as clean as it gets. It's also among the better years for this release in general -- a brand where people often look to it for its hits first and perhaps not much else. This design also works for a parallel-heavy lineup, too, but there's one thing that made this particular card jump out at me when browsing Maris, one of the names I grab on the cheap. What is it? Its serial-number. In 1961, Maris hit a record 61 homers that stood for a long time -- and this card has the perfect number. I just wish that crop wasn't so awkward.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Triple Threads 

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A MAKING-THE-GRADE BUMMER
The Card: Wally Joyner 1989 Upper Deck Promo (hologram at bottom) (PSA 8)
The Price: About $6 (purchased raw)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one made me mad when I got it back from grading -- that doesn't happen often with any type of cardboard -- because I had graded a different copy of this card that I thought had some issues and it got a PSA 9. This one is -- I'm not saying was -- clearly better than the other card but came back with a grade that was far lower than I had expected. I suspect, looking back at it now, it's the back bottom edge that was perhaps rougher here (that didn't seem to matter as much on my other one but it wasn't as pronounced as this one). There were a few different types of promo cards for just two members of the Angels before Upper Deck rolled out its first release and this is the easiest version to find. Yet, these are still cards you don't see every day and they're not all that heavily slabbed compared to other memorable cards from that time. I slabbed my copy of the other guy, too, so it will run solo in Making The Grade at some point -- it wasn't a bummer like this one.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one but newer MLB boxes are here.

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THE BABY-FACED ASSASSIN'S ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Ted Irvine 1968-69 Topps Rookie Card (PSA 7)
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I don't do a lot of the hockeys but this one is a vintage guy where I'm picking off his stuff on the cheap here and there and this was a good price on a copy of the Topps version of his Rookie Card. Why this guy? He's the dad of pro wrestler Chris Jericho ... so it really goes with my wrestling stash for the fun of it. It was also had to pass on this for the price as it looks very good for the grade, too. If all PSA 7s looked like this on the vintage side, I'd be buying a ton.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one but newer NHL boxes are here.

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LETTERS, MAN ...
The Card: J.P. Ramirez 2008 Upper Deck USA Baseball The Letters Junior National Team (/7)
The Price: $7.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is the final letter from the back of his jersey -- there are not seven Z cards made from seven jerseys, just a total of seven letters on his nameplate. (Some companies would make these all 1/1 cards.) The cost here got me for sure -- I pretty much pick any of these off when they present themselves on the cheap -- not realizing that it has some edges where the sharp cut of the gloss on the stock wore off probably due to somebody running their finger across the edge. None of the other cards I have from this -- some pulled, some bought -- had this issue so I didn't even realize they were right there in the scan. (Oh well. Didn't buy this one for cash. I buy these because I like them.)
Grab a box right here: USA Baseball boxes (all years)

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A FAVORITE IN A SLAB
The Card: Jose Canseco 1989 Upper Deck (PSA 9)
The Price: $4.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a card I probably own 100-plus times between original pick-ups in the past and then bulk lots in post-retirement years for this former Bash Brother. Why? The set was a big deal then and I never really ripped into any meaningful number of packs back when they first arrived so singles it was all that time. The photo of this one is simple and clean and that's what makes it work and a little more notable to me. It's not quite the Mark McGwire photo -- that's a classic from this set -- but this one is good and it's a player I collected very hard back in the say. (Not so much now -- call me retired there.) This is the kind of card I'd want in a BGS 9.5-10 slab, but it was hard to pass this one up for the cost -- and getting high grades isn't a given with the stock, packaging and printing of that time.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one but newer MLB boxes are here.

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THE BOSS IS BACK
The Card: Sasha Banks 2017 Topps Heritage WWE Silver parallel (/75)
The Price: $4.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This WWE star was off the radar for a few months but is back in action and looks like she will be a big deal for the women's ranks soon ... so that's why you see this one here. (I actually picked this one up long ago and had it waiting ... if she came back. There were times when it didn't seem to be a given.) This is a fun but a tad dry release and this is among the rarer parallels in there, so I thought it was good for the price. The parallels here can showcase flaws easily but this one looked pretty good save for the top-bottom centering. Had that been locked in, I might have slabbed it.
Grab a box right here: 2017 Topps Heritage WWE

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THE COLLECTOR'S INK
The Card: Pat Neshek 2018 Topps Update 1983 Topps Autographs
The Price: Under $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This MLB veteran is a collector and he's signed his share of cards for fans out there through-the-mail through the years. He's also had a certified auto a number of times, too, but I hadn't ever tracked one down. This one shows his unique delivery, his big, bold auto and the stitches he puts into his sig are nicely visible, too. This one also comes from a brand that's gotten quite pricey because it delivers well.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Update 

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