Bought it for one reason and one reason only ... and then it arrived with two other stars attached.

This latest entry in the Collecting Game-used series is another that came to me via a blind grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game ... and yet this was another impressive ball in terms of its star power. In short, this one was the kind of ball typically not destined for a mystery box.

The initial reason I picked the date of this baseball? This game was just the second in the career of Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood and that alone was good enough for me to grab one -- a debut ball would have cost me substantially more ($1,199 last I looked) and I figured anything here would have story potential -- but then this turned out to be a base hit for one younger New York Mets star and then a foul ball for a franchise player.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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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: 2023 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes baseball cards (mega)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all years of USA)

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery.

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What's Buzzing: Chasing the Dodgers' big names, March Madness, The Living Set, new pulls and a Kobe question.

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1 -- Talkin' baseball ... 

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is still on their minds ... Roki Sasaki is, too

3 -- March Madness

4 -- A Kobe question

5  -- So ... The Living Set missed a day?

6 -- New pulls are popping here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (retail Super Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What's Buzzing: The Dodgers win again (in Japan), Shohei Ohtani, NFL chatter, sketch cards and more in this mid-week edition.

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1 -- All your MLB chatter as the season is here

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is still on their minds ... Roki Sasaki is, too

3 -- One for Steelers fans

4 -- Showing off sketch cards

5  -- Stranger Things reactions

6 -- Wrestling cards are the focus here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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They're not the mascots, but they figure to be in some collections.

Topps' upcoming Celebration boxes for 2025 Topps Series 1 will loosen things up and revisit a number of the inclusions in its old Opening Day brand and, while the checklist isn't yet officially revealed, we do have a sneak peek at a few of the insert sets to be found in this one when it arrives next month.

One set will be Dugout Peeks cards as you can see above -- 10 cards are teased in our gallery -- and they'll be joined by a few other sets. See 'em all after the jump.

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The on-field furballs are back on baseball cards this year.

Actually, the mascots never truly left, but Topps' upcoming Celebration boxes for 2025 Topps Series 1 loosen things up and revisit a number of the inclusions in its old Opening Day brand where MLB's other stars at the stadium get baseball cards in the flagship-style Topps design once again.

Cards like this used to be the norm -- something Opening Day introduced back in 2007 -- until Topps ditched the brand for a more-obvious kid-branded Big League in 2023 and then again last year. And, yes, mascots were in play in those releases -- but not with the look of the players on the field ... you know, their teammates.

But Celebration boxes will include Series 1 cards -- and more -- inside when they officially arrive and part of that lineup includes 28 mascot cards ... see 'em all after the jump.

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What's Buzzing: The MLB season officially begins in Japan, Shohei Ohtani, NFL chatter, explaining the boom and more in today's edition.

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1 -- All your MLB chatter as the season is here

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is on their minds

3 -- Explaining the boom?

4 -- Off-season NFL chatter has a lot in here

5  -- Lots of thoughts from collectors here

6 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Spencer Strider makes his spring debut today, more MLB chatter, graded 1980s rookies, 2025 Bowman and more in this Monday edition.

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1 -- Braves fans will be talking here today 

2 -- MLB is on their minds

3 -- Collecting graded 1980s MLB rookies

4 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

5  -- The joy of a completed page

6 -- Reactions to MLB award-winner patches

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What's Buzzing: New award-winners patches going on gamers -- and into cards. All that and more in this Sunday edition.

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1 -- "React!"

2 -- Even more baseball chatter as the season nears 

3 -- Checking in own the Alexander Ovechkin thread

4 -- Some off-season NFL chatter

5  -- Breaking down two cases of McDonald's basketball cards

6 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design, new finds, a big Star Wars Superfractor pull and more.

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1 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

2 -- Results from six boxes of Cheers cards

3 -- New MLB pulls are here

4 -- A big Star Wars Superfractor pull

5  -- Worth the wait

6 -- Ripping into some Donruss NFL

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What's Buzzing: Reacting to the 2025 Bowman design, new pulls, wrong cards, Hidden Gems and more in today's roundup.

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1 -- Reactions to the 2025 Bowman design tease

2 -- Inside a new Panini baseball box

3 -- Receiving the wrong card?

4 -- Talking Hidden Gems

5  -- Still talking Fanatics repacks

6 -- New MLB pulls are here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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As the world awaits his first MLB Rookie Cards in packs, there's still plenty to chase right now when it comes to this phenom.

Los Angeles Dodgers prospect and former Chiba Lotte Marines superstar Roki Sasaki won't have an in-pack RC until his official regular-season MLB debut and he won't have any other in-pack Dodgers cards as a prospect until the first Bowman sets of the year arrive. But, he's still got a bunch of cardboard already thanks to appearances in World Baseball Classic releases and Nippon Professional Baseball cards made by Topps for the Japanese market.

Sasaki's debut comes next week as the Dodgers take on the Cubs in the Tokyo Series, a two-game set that starts the MLB season in an international way and that location is fitting as Sasaki's four seasons in NPB once included a 19-strikeout perfect game and then eight more perfect innings in his next start after that to put him firmly on the radar of collectors around the world.

What's he got for cards? Keep reading ...

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What: 2024 Wild Card Alumination Just The Hits Special Edition baseball cards
Arrives: April 4, 2025
Basics: Five encased and serial-numbered cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Wild Card continues with its encased-card approach with a release that's limited to only 43 players and is packed with variety and colorful parallels.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: A new Michael Jordan card, ups and downs, Heritage High Number, repacks and MLB.

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1 -- Talking Michael Jordan cards ...

2 -- "What goes up, must come down"

3 -- Still talking Heritage High Number

4 -- Still talking Fanatics repacks

5  -- Even more MLB chatter is here

6 -- New MLB pulls

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What's Buzzing: Roki Sasaki, 2025 Topps, Fanatics repacks, new pulls, MLB chatter and "prospects that broke your heart."

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1 -- Roki Sasaki has 'em talking

2 -- All your MLB chatter is here

3 -- They have their thoughts on Fanatics repacks ...

4 -- Still talking 2025 Topps

5  -- "Prospects that broke your heart"

6 -- New MLB pulls

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Gerrit Cole injury reactions, some questions with answers, new pulls and more in this Tuesday edition.

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1 -- Gerrit Cole is out ... checking in on the Yankees chatter

2 -- A question with some answers 

3 -- Even more MLB chatter

4 -- Sigh ... 

5  -- New MLB pulls

6 -- Some notable WNBA finds at retail 

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What's Buzzing: Jac Caglianone, new MLB pulls, a Sapphire WWE surprise, NBA cards, errors and more.

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1 -- Checking in on the Jac Caglianone chatter

2 -- 2025 Topps pulls and more

3 -- Sapphire WWE box delivers a surprise

4 -- NBA cards are on their minds

5  -- Look for the one odd card mentioned here

6 -- Sell the Rays? (What about the Marlins?)

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What's Buzzing: Talking Ichiro Suzuki cards, Topps Chrome, 1990s NFL inserts, nervously holding Mike Trout cards and more.

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1 -- Talking Ichiro Suzuki cardboard

2 -- They have their thoughts on Topps Chrome football 

3 -- Showing off 1990s and 2000s NFL inserts 

4 -- Giddy!

5  -- Chatter about the state of the hobby?

6 -- Nervously holding Mike Trout cards?

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Non-sports chatter, Spring Training highlights, Deebo Samuel, Allen & Ginter X, Shohei Ohtani and "the gamble pays off."

1 -- "The gamble pays off"

2 -- Checking in on the Shohei Ohtani thread

3 -- Plenty of non-sports chatter at the moment

4 -- Talking Spring Training ...

5  -- Deebo Samuel reactions

6 -- Talking Allen & Ginter X

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: New pulls, volume ripping, WWE chatter, buy the card not the grade, Cheers cards and more.

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1 -- Some volume ripping of Leaf Metal autos

2 -- What's next in WWE?

3 -- Some new basketball pulls

4 -- All your off-season football chatter

5  -- Buy the card, not the grade

6 -- Still talking Cheers cards ... Get your box here!

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What: 2024 Panini Flawless baseball cards
Arrives: April 30, 2025
Box basics: Eight autograph or memorabilia cards and two gem cards per 10-card box (two boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Flawless once again hits the diamond with a new batch of high-end finds for superstars of the past as well as prospects and selected young stars of the present all in one spot.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

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What's Buzzing: Hall of Fame voting change, error cards, Gold Prizms, Cheers cards and more have them talking.

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1 -- Error cards and misprints are on their minds

2 -- Hall of Fame voting change might eliminate debate 

3 -- Gooooooooollllllllldd NBA Prizms and Refractors

4 -- Heritage High Number has 'em talking

5  -- Topps Now WWE chatter has some gems

6 -- Talking Cheers cards ... Get your box here!

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

WAIT, WHAT?
The Item: Kerry Wood 1998 Best Player Of The Year - Best Possibilities promo card
The Buzz On This: This card is one that I'd apparently never seen until just recently and it really threw me for a loop as Wood was a fireballer who only played for the Chicago Cubs back at this time as part of a 14-year MLB career. Why was it weird? Well, on 1998 cardboard, Wood was firmly a Chicago Cub and definitely not a Tampa Bay Devil Ray as they were known then and this logo is theirs for sure. But ... this card shows Wood as a member of the 1997 Orlando Rays and most MiLB cards of him from back then -- the ones I pulled -- used road unis, so the Rays name and the logo weren't as obviously seen like they were on MLB fields that year. The Orlando Rays were the Cubs' farm team until 1997, switched to the Mariners in 1998 when the Rays arrived in Tampa Bay that year, and then worked with Tampa Bay's prospects from 1999 until the team moved to Alabama to become the Montgomery Biscuits. Wood, of course, was a Cub from 1998-2008 (and a Cub on cards even longer than that) before he finished his career with stops in Cleveland and New York as a Yankee before a return to the Cubs. Somehow, I'd never noticed this card.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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