Buzz Buys: Ronald Acuña Jr. RCs, Roger Maris memorabilia, Wolverine's creator, Make-A-Wish ink, Ruby Riott & 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 it's a super-sized edition.

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A CLASSIC YOU CAN FIND ... FOR NOW 
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Heritage High Number RC (PSA 9)
The Price: $11.20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Atlanta Braves slugger had a strong start in April -- enough to get people looking at his Rookie Cards from last season once again and that's why I have him leading off here once again but with a different card. I didn't pick this one up since that hot start, but the PSA 10s and other high-grade cards out there have asking prices that are definitely getting more attention and pricier than when I nabbed this one. Raw copies are going for not a lot less than what I paid on the same site and ripping a box isn't going to guarantee you a well-centered copy. (All of mine pulled  last year were a tad off.) This one is off top-to-bottom but that worries me far less than left-right centering, so I grabbed it at the price.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Heritage High Number

Keep reading for nine more interesting items ...

A MARIS MISTAKE
The Card: Roger Maris 2003 Leaf Certified Materials Fabric of the Game Debut Year (not numbered; normally /55)
The Price: $40.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked this one up at a pretty good chunk below what others were going for at the time on eBay. Why? Maris is a player I try to pick off from time to time for memorabilia cards that aren't basic bat pieces. What makes this one interesting? It's got a piece of a jersey he wore in 1958 as a member of the Kansas City Athletics and the jersey is shown on the back. What makes it a mistake? The "55" is for a debut year -- one of a few die-cuts to show off the jersey piece and create parallels -- but he actually didn't debut until 1957 with the Indians. The standard version of this card is numbered to 55, while this is an un-numbered one that got out from Donruss' hands without that notation. I figured it's rarer than the regular one, and I picked it up since the price was right. 
Grab a box right here: These are long gone but MLB boxes are here.

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AN ICONIC CREATOR
The Card: Len Wein 1992 Eclipse Famous Comic Book Creators
The Price: $2.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You may not know the set (I didn't) and you may not know the name, but Len Wein's characters are names you should know. Wolverine is arguably atop that list, but he's also credited as being a force behind Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler from the X-Men and even Swamp Thing and Amanda Waller from his days working for DC Comics. (He also edited the landmark Watchmen series.) This writer/editor doesn't have a con of card appearances from the past, but he does have a few certified autographs from Marvel Beginnings. I picked this one up recently after he was mentioned in something I was watching on TV -- a name-drop that mentioned he died in 2017 -- and that was enough to pique my interest in what cardboard he had.
Grab a box right here: None for this one, but non-sports boxes are here.

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NO BULL ... BUT IT'S CLOSE
The Card: 2017 Topps Pro Debut Fragments of the Farm Relics - Backstop Netting from Durham Bulls Athletic Park
The Price: $5.35
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The Fragments of The Farm Relics are always a go-to for me in Topps Pro Debut and my interest in weird memorabilia cards is satisfied with this prime example. It's not quite a piece of the bull -- something you should remember from Bull Durham and something you can see in the photo on this card -- but it's a little easier to find. *The bull Relics must be rare as I've never seen one beyond when they were announced.) This backstop net has a nice knot to it -- as most of them probably do -- and the price was right. 
Grab a box right here: Topps Pro Debut (all years)

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TOOK MY OWN ADVICE
The Card: Ruby Riot 2018 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania Autographs
The Price: $22 (raw)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card was among one of my eBay Buzz picks late last year as there wasn't a lot of Ruby Riott (name changed since this card arrived) ink on eBay then and they were selling pretty well. After checking my stash to realize I didn't have an autograph from this newcomer I figured why not. When I got it, the card looked so sharp that I immediately added it into my grading submission for Making The Grade but instead you see it here. Riott has a distinct look in WWE and is the leader of a fun group of heels who can be entertaining with their real-life antics on social media -- enough that I can say I was fan enough to pick this one up. It graded pretty well and is one of just two cards graded for her via BGS, so it seems those buying them up aren't big graders. Either way, I'm good with this card.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes (all years/brands)

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CALL IT A RESCUE CARD
The Card: Roger Maris 1959 Topps (grey back)
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one has almost comically rounded corners and that top-right pushes this card closer to scrap filler status but like I said earlier I pick up Maris when it presents itself. The photo of this card is clean -- it's just those corners -- and that was enough for me to grab it at that price. There are copies of higher-grade cards out there with worse images and damage than this one so I don't worry about how it looks as much. (I also have two lower-grade slabs already so, yeah, you can call this one a rescued card.
Grab a box right here: Long gone but MLB boxes are here.

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BACK IN THE NEWS
The Card: Khris Davis 2019 Topps SP variation (Anthony Slocumb autographed jersey)
The Price: $4.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Last August, this A's slugger met a Make-A-Wish kid -- 10-year-old sixth-grader Anthony Slocumb -- and had him sign the back of his jersey. Then he wore that same jersey to hit a home run before giving the jersey to him. This short-printed variation made the cut in this year's Topps set giving us all a good look at the jersey from the moment. (His Home Run Challenge card did not show this image ... I know because I picked Khrush to homer that day.) Slocumb recently went to another A's game -- this time wearing the jersey that had since been signed by Davis and stickered via MLB Authentication -- and it's the little details that can say a lot about an interesting card. 
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps Series 1

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FOR ALL YOU CHECKLISTERS ...
The Card: Jefferson Burdick 2010 TRISTAR Obak T212 Mini
The Price: $2.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Jefferson Burdick created the American Card Catalog back in 1951 to help fans of trading cards document what existed and essentially create a checklist for them all. As it says on the back of his card, "his system assigned letters and numbers to each card style becoming the de facto method of organizing pre-1951 issues." Obak is a brand based on the old T212 set with T standing for tobacco. Obak is one of those unique brands that gave us cardboard for a number of people in and around cards and collecting as well as those who took the field with big and little fanfare but have a story. This is a parallel card and I paid less than what you might see for the base card on some sites. His 10 cards in 2010 TRISTAR Obak are his only card appearances and boxes of this one are not easy finds (the only one on eBay has a $249 price tag attached).
Grab a box right here: Obak boxes are gone, but MLB boxes are here. 

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF CUT
The Card: 2016 Upper Deck Captain America 75th Anniversary Comic Cuts - Captain America No. 416
The Price: $5.65
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card concept is one I like -- a panel cut from a comic book and put into a card. When they first arrived they included pieces from rarer books that are pricey and the pieces were promised to have come from mangled if not coverless copies that had less value. In the case of this one? It's not a pricey book at all -- the whole book can go for not much more than its $1 price back in 1993. (So there's not a lot of built-in comic value here.)  I picked up this one just because its panel looked good in the card and I figured it was worth talking about. 
Grab a box right here: None for this one, but non-sports boxes are here.

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HARPER'S BIG MOMENT OF 2018
The Card: Bryce Harper 2018 Topps X Bryce Harper 220 Second to None Jersey Relic
The Price: $5.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is one of the hits from a set selected and built by the former Washington Nationals slugger that was available in a pair of formats. The big drawn the deluxe edition of this set? Possible autographs from Harper, while other boxes include Relics of a few types. I picked this one up since it was going for less than half of what looked like the norm at the time. The image comes from what might be his biggest moment from his last season in D.C. when he took home the Home Run Derby crown in his home stadium. 
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps X Bryce Harper 220

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