Question: When's the last time a New York Yankees rookie arrived with barely any baseball cards? (Has it ever happened? Can that really happen these days?)

Answer: This year -- and that rookie is Jonathan Loaisiga.

The 23-year-old made his MLB debut and got his first win on Friday night, going five innings and striking out six. He only walked four and allowed just three hits against Tampa Bay -- and he almost had as many strikeouts as he does baseball cards.

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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 Championship Collection Shohei Ohtani baseball repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.99)

Packs per box: 15 (five packs are bonus items) plus one Leaf Shohei Ohtani card
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: NSCC chatter, estate sale wax, best NFL auto sets, big maildays, busting 2018 Topps Series 2 and ... is Mike Trout the most-boring great player ever?

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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 breaks and NSCC discussions in this weekend 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: 2018 Topps Series 2 (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)
Packs per box: 11 (10 plus patch pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion: 
74 of 350 (21 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Cubs team card, Andrew Benintendi, Aroldis Chapman,  Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish, Joey Votto

Rookie Cards (6) – Shohei Ohtani, Kyle McGrath, Sandy Alcantara, A.J. Minter, Troy Scribner, Victor Arano

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You ever have one of those items that you need for your collection that could be found somewhat easily but you're either too picky about its quality, too finicky about the price tag attached or have such narrow wants that it might not be too easy of a find after all?

I did, but I finally got over it a little bit while still getting what I wanted.

That item for me? An autograph from "The Voice of The Yankees" and former This Week in Baseball host Mel Allen. After years of casual looking from time to time, months of daily eBay searches with stuff that was either too pricey or not quite good enough for me (and my low price want), I finally found what I was looking for.

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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 pack: 2018 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball rack set (two)
Where to buy: Direct from USA Baseball Shop ($12) (click here for hobby)
Cards per pack: 69
Set completion: 
66 of 66 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Casey Mize, Bryce Tucker, Cadyn Grenier, Will Banfield, Triston Casas, Ryan Weathers, Raynel Delgado, Nolan Gorman, Michael Siani, Matthew Liberatore, Mason Denaburg, Landon Marceaux, Kumar Rocker, J.T. Ginn, Jarred Kelenic, Ethan Hankins, Cole Wilcox, Brice Turang, Anthony Seigler, Alek Thomas, Tyler Holton, Tyler Frank, Travis Swaggerty, Tim Cate, Steven Gingery, Steele Walker, Seth Beer, Sean Wymer, Ryley Gilliam, Nick Sprengel, Nick Meyer, Nick Madrigal, Konnor Pilkington, Jon Olsen, Johnny Aiello, Jeremy Eierman, Jake McCarthy, Grant Koch, Dallas Woolfolk

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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 from around the collecting world, NSCC chatter and more as we head into the weekend.

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This year's National Sports Collectors Convention is set for Aug. 1-5 in Cleveland with a meaty roster of autograph guests signing for those who opt to get a ticket and get in line for an "inkredible" moment.

Some of those signers are actually free if you're at the VIP reception on Wednesday or buy a VIP ticket package -- a bonus for taking the time to hit the entire show or buy the full package for all of the other bonuses -- but other signers will take some planning to land the ones you want.

It's tough to see everything at the show -- it's that big -- and the time it takes to work through autograph lines is valuable in that it impedes your shot at seeing it all. With that said, here are my picks -- one per day -- to grab off the autograph list. (Keep reading for the full signers list in a gallery at the end.)

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What: 2018 Topps High Tek baseball cards
Arrives: Oct. 10
Box basics: Two on-card autographs per 40-card box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps High Tek returns for another dazzling season with meaty packs that include a pair of autos, four numbered cards and a ton more every time.

Keep reading for more as well as 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 pack: 1985 Topps 3-D Baseball Stars pack
Where to buy: Where/if you can find

What's inside this? Keep reading ...

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Have you seen the latest crazy 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.

--

AN OHTANI 1/1 ... ON THE CHEAP?
The Item: 2018 Bowman Shohei Ohtani Yellow 1/1 Printing Plate
The Price: $879 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The speculators in Shohei Ohtani cardboard might be less speculative now that he is facing injury issues that could sideline him for some time -- at least it's looking that way. But, if this one had been found a month ago, it would be much pricier than that asking price. No matter what he does in MLB from here on out -- on the mound or with his bat -- he'll always be an established star in Japan. That's what makes this one seem under-priced to me.
Similar Pieces: Shohei Ohtani autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2018 baseball boxes

Keep reading for four 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: Juan Soto, 2018 Topps Series 2 breaks, NSCC chatter and several big pulls from around the collecting world.

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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: Fanatics Philadelphia Phillies game-used baseball mystery box
The cost: $39.95 (via JCPenney.com)

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

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Pulling a 1/1 card isn't as hard as it used to be these days, but finding a cool trivial piece that is a 1/1 -- but isn't -- isn't all that easy.

(Wait, what?)

Well, it isn't that easy on the cheap, but this collector managed to pull it off thanks to the Topps wall art line and the fact that these are a little more overlooked vs. the standard cardboard despite being a much bigger deal.

My recent addition? An Ozzie Albies 2018 Topps Heritage Rookie Card -- just jumbo-style.

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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 pack: 1985 Topps Super baseball cards pack
Where to buy: Where/if you can find

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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: 2017 Donruss Elite NFL cards (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 4
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 20
Base set completion: 
12 of 100 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Rob Gronkowski, Larry Fitzgerald, Joe Flacco, Tyreek Hill, Doug Baldwin, Eli Rogers, T.Y. Hilton, Sammy Watkins, Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, Sam Bradford, Jeremy Hill

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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: Inside a huge Chicago Bears collection, busting 2018 Bowman Mega Boxes, other big pulls and NSCC chatter.

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What: 2018 Panini Chronicles baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 24
Box basics:  Three autographs and one memorabilia card per six-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Panini once again will test the waters of several familiar brands in its portfolio for the baseball diamond while also updating some releases all in one spot.

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

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Every hobby box buy gets one and every jumbo box buy gets two -- and those may land you more than you might expect.

What are they?

They're the 2018 Topps Series 2 promo packs and the details of what they'll include has been revealed by Topps on the eve of its formal hobby release tomorrow.

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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: Warriors chatter, big pulls, remembering a card shop owner, NSCC chatter & more.

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We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary of the arrival of a cardboard icon and the highest-voted Hall of Famer in history, Ken Griffey Jr., on the field as well as on his Rookie Cards. While we’re not there just yet, Buzz couldn’t wait to try a little something with box-busting … a 24-hour marathon where we chase No. 24.

Welcome to Buzz 24 for 24.

The boxes? We’ve got one safe pick — a 24-pack 1989 Fleer cello box from a sealed case — and a riskier and pricier pick — a 36-pack 1989 Upper Deck High Number Series box. The Fleer Griffey isn’t an expensive one, but it should make an appearance given the set size vs. the box size. Meanwhile, the Upper Deck card isn’t a sure thing from a high-number box but it can be done. (High boxes are also roughly half the price of standard boxes … so that’s why Buzz went this way.)

So, for the next 24 hours you’ll see a break of at least a couple packs as we chase No. 24, George Kenneth Griffey Jr., and take a quick look back at some of the cardboard that was big at the time.

This is Hour 24 ... the finale. 

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We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary of the arrival of a cardboard icon and the highest-voted Hall of Famer in history, Ken Griffey Jr., on the field as well as on his Rookie Cards. While we’re not there just yet, Buzz couldn’t wait to try a little something with box-busting … a 24-hour marathon where we chase No. 24.

Welcome to Buzz 24 for 24.

The boxes? We’ve got one safe pick — a 24-pack 1989 Fleer cello box from a sealed case — and a riskier and pricier pick — a 36-pack 1989 Upper Deck High Number Series box. The Fleer Griffey isn’t an expensive one, but it should make an appearance given the set size vs. the box size. Meanwhile, the Upper Deck card isn’t a sure thing from a high-number box but it can be done. (High boxes are also roughly half the price of standard boxes … so that’s why Buzz went this way.)

So, for the next 24 hours you’ll see a break of at least a couple packs as we chase No. 24, George Kenneth Griffey Jr., and take a quick look back at some of the cardboard that was big at the time.

This is Hour 23.

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We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary of the arrival of a cardboard icon and the highest-voted Hall of Famer in history, Ken Griffey Jr., on the field as well as on his Rookie Cards. While we’re not there just yet, Buzz couldn’t wait to try a little something with box-busting … a 24-hour marathon where we chase No. 24.

Welcome to Buzz 24 for 24.

The boxes? We’ve got one safe pick — a 24-pack 1989 Fleer cello box from a sealed case — and a riskier and pricier pick — a 36-pack 1989 Upper Deck High Number Series box. The Fleer Griffey isn’t an expensive one, but it should make an appearance given the set size vs. the box size. Meanwhile, the Upper Deck card isn’t a sure thing from a high-number box but it can be done. (High boxes are also roughly half the price of standard boxes … so that’s why Buzz went this way.)

So, for the next 24 hours you’ll see a break of at least a couple packs as we chase No. 24, George Kenneth Griffey Jr., and take a quick look back at some of the cardboard that was big at the time.

This is Hour 22.

Continue reading →

We’re coming up on the 30th anniversary of the arrival of a cardboard icon and the highest-voted Hall of Famer in history, Ken Griffey Jr., on the field as well as on his Rookie Cards. While we’re not there just yet, Buzz couldn’t wait to try a little something with box-busting … a 24-hour marathon where we chase No. 24.

Welcome to Buzz 24 for 24.

The boxes? We’ve got one safe pick — a 24-pack 1989 Fleer cello box from a sealed case — and a riskier and pricier pick — a 36-pack 1989 Upper Deck High Number Series box. The Fleer Griffey isn’t an expensive one, but it should make an appearance given the set size vs. the box size. Meanwhile, the Upper Deck card isn’t a sure thing from a high-number box but it can be done. (High boxes are also roughly half the price of standard boxes … so that’s why Buzz went this way.)

So, for the next 24 hours you’ll see a break of at least a couple packs as we chase No. 24, George Kenneth Griffey Jr., and take a quick look back at some of the cardboard that was big at the time.

This is Hour 21.

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