The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Buzz is on the DL but that won't stop him from bringing you a few links.

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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 ...

The Card: 2018 Donruss Optic Red & Yellow #153 Baker Mayfield (RC parallel)
The Reason Graded: I found this one in a Mega Box and it was by far the best highlight of the bunch there so that's why you see it here. Mayfield has shown himself to be a spark plug among a good rookie crop since back when I pulled it, so that's another reason. A third? This brand is one that I like more than others. The color scheme of this card, a retail-exclusive, also looked good, so I figured I'd slab it up and see how it looked when it came back. These were very pricey when they first started arriving on eBay but I'm sure they have settled down by now -- still an impressive card to me either way and I'll be tucking this one away in my stash alongside my Bowman Chrome Tom Brady RC for the simple long-term appreciation. (Mine, not financial.)
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: At the point I submitted this one, there was at most one graded and I'm still surprised that there are so few slabbed. I also was surprised with the grade figuring I'd check in at a likely BGS 9 but I'll take it. I think high-grade copies of retail-only parallels found in certain formats could be tougher future finds than people might think.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but links to breaks here as Buzz is on the DL for today.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s first big-league hit came in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night and now we have the cardboard to prove it.

It's his first Rookie Card -- and it's available via Topps Now for just 24 hours.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., arrives, big pulls from 2019 Bowman and beyond ... and another rookie goes boom.

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Topps Now is now in pack form for a second time this season -- with another predictive fantasy twist.

Topps revealed on Friday the second wave of packs for the Topps Now Future program. This time they will include cards for players who are contenders to be award-winners at season's end.

And if they do win, they will yield prizes.

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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A No. 1 CONTENDER ... 
The Item: Kyler Murray 2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks Cracked Ice auto (/23)
The Price: $3,499 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one's serial-numbering is his uni number and his potential selection spot in tonight's NFL Draft. Is the price out of whack? Probably not given how some QBs have sold in recent years when it comes to rarities and  autographs. It's also not the highest-priced of his cards on eBay right now. The only drawback here is that his card won't note his new NFL team -- these arrived in packs this week -- but he's got a pretty successful Oklahoma history and a strong fan base there that will have their eyes on this one now -- and later -- no matter where he goes.
Similar Pieces: Other Kyler Murray autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2019 Panini Contenders Draft boxes

Keep reading for a few more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Vladdy 2.0 arrives Friday, Superfractors, big pulls and "could trimming ever become an accepted practice?"

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Not all game-used baseballs are the same, despite the fact that they're all a pair of leather panels with 108 stitches holding it all together.

Some are hits or other big plays -- others are beanballs -- but many are fouled off or even semi-meaningless pitches in the dirt that quickly get discarded from play in favor for a cleaner ball that won't act erratically when they fly due to foreign substances.

The ball you see here? It was used for less than two minutes two summers ago by emerging Atlanta Braves star Mike Foltynewicz, who'll make his MLB debut for this season this weekend. This ball was used for just under two minutes -- just five pitches -- before it ended up in a Fanatics game-used ball mystery box.

You can keep reading to see the details ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2016 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster) 
The cost: Will vary ... click here for all Heritage boxes

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 3.

The box: 2019 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster)
The cost: Click here (a few formats)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 1.

The box: 2019 Panini Diamond Kings baseball cards (FOTL hobby)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Damian Lillard and NBA chatter, big breaks for 2019 Bowman and 2019 Panini Contenders Draft Picks and more in today's edition.

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What: 2019 Topps Gold Label baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 4
Box basics: One framed autograph per seven-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' Gold Label is back with some new twists -- multiple-player autos and gold nugget cards -- along with the familiar class structure from past releases.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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 Update baseball cards (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (several formats)
Packs per box: 11 (10 plus patch pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion: 
73 of 300 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve. Giancarlo Stanton, Chrsitian Yelich, Max Muncy, Luis Severino, Freddie Freeman

Rookie Cards (22) – Notables include Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Shohei Ohtani, Gleyber Torres

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, big arrivals, Donnie Baseball, The Orville and a huge pull ... dropped.

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Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Ty France, 2B-3B-1B, Padres — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Baseball America’s highlight line: "In a loaded Padres system, it was France who led the organization in total bases, runs and RBIs last year and tied for the lead in home runs. That performance got him put on the 40-man roster in the offseason, and he’s now on the verge of mashing his way to his major league debut. France extended his hit streak to 14 games during his incredible week, capped by hitting back-to-back homers twice with Josh Naylor on Sunday."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team sets 
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: Still to come
Buzz’s card take: He's been in the minors since 2015 after he was a 34th-round pick, but hasn't appeared on anything more than minor-league team sets despite hitting 22 homers with 96 RBI in 137 games between Double-A San Antonio and Triple A El Paso last season. The 24-year-old is on pace for a career year with nine homers in 18 games this season and that should get him a cardboard look soon.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

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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 Holiday Box baseball cards
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 98
Base set completion: 
92 of 200 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Corey Seager, Blake Snell, Dansby Swanson, Jose Ramirez, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Bregman, Nolan Arenado, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Jacob deGrom, Buster Posey, Francisco Lindor, Yu Darvish, Javier Baez, Ichiro Suzuki, Bryce Harper

Rookie Cards (23) – Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Ozzie Albies, Miles Mikolas, Fernando Romero, Tyler Mahle, Joey Lucchesi, J.P. Crawford, Gleyber Torres, Amed Rosario, Scott Kingery, Christian Villaneuva, Mike Soroka, Jordan Hicks, Willie Calhoun, Nick Kingham, Jack Flaherty, J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, Francisco Mejia, Garrett Cooper, Chris Stratton, Tyler O'Neill

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls and big breaks in this new edition.

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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: 2019 Bowman baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 12
Cards per box: 72

Set completion: 
37 of 100 (37 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Prospect set completion: 
18 of 150 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Chrome Prospect set completion: 
12 of 150 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base/prospect cards – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Clayton Kershaw, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Judge, Bo Bichette, Seth Beer, Adam Haseley, Cristian Javier, Edward Cabrera, Ronaldo Hernandez

Rookie Cards (14) – Kyle Tucker, Michael Kopech, Jeff McNeil, Adolis Garcia, Chris Shaw, Stevenn Duggar, Williams Astudillo, Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer, Taylor Ward, Rowdy Tellez, Bryse Wilson, Aramis Garcia, D.J. Stewart

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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: Baseball Power Cube baseball repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Retail outlets ($19.99)

Packs per box: 5 ... and plenty more
Cards per pack: Varies by brand

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: New MLB breaks, 2019 Bowman pulls, NFL breaks and plenty more in today's edition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, licensing discussions, sketch cards and more in todays edition.

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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: 2019 Bowman baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 12
Cards per box: 72

Set completion: 
37 of 100 (37 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Prospect set completion: 
18 of 150 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Chrome Prospect set completion: 
12 of 150 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base/prospect cards – Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, Khris Davis, Ozzie Albies, Kris Bryant, Keegan Thompson, Nolan Gorman, Brady Singer, Jo Adell, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Jazz Chisholm

Rookie Cards (14) – Christin Stewart, Ramon Laureano, Jonathan Loaisiga, Rowdy Tellez, Bryse Wilson, Jake Cave, Luis Guillorme, Cedric Mullins, Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, Ryan Borucki, Enyel De Los Santos, Aramis Garcia, D.J. Stewart

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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 they're all cheap finds or something with a story.

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LIVING AFFORDABLY ... 
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Living Set (PSA 9)
The Price: $9.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Have you seen this guy's stats this week? That's why he's batting lead-off today -- he just keeps Living, err, hitting. This is the most-available Topps Living Set card at a record 46,809 made and that's one of the reasons why I was able to pick this up for less than what it would cost me to find one raw and get it graded. Nearly all of the nearly 4,000 copies of this card graded by PSA check in at this grade or a 10. There are 1,522 PSA 9s and 2,309 10s. I'm fine with nines as long as they appear relatively clean and to me the key on this card is that bottom-right black corner. It's good on this one but isn't on many others in this grade. Yes, the centering is off a tad here, but that corner would be much more jarring to me if it were nicked. This card looked very good to me, especially at its price.
Grab a box right here: You won't find these in packs ... so hit MLB boxes here for something different. 

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

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