Making the Grade (Aug.): Strider, Spears, Sabu, Silverman, Suzuki, WWE autographs, vintage, old magazines & more

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 ...

SHINE LIKE MINI-DIAMONDS ...
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Edition Rose Gold Mini-Diamond Refractors (/75)
The Reason Graded: Generally, I only do Chrome stuff in any kind of volume when it gets cheap -- and in this case they were as I found a run of mega boxes of this one priced less than blasters and that got me to bite. (They're all Buzz Breaks so go check the archives.) One of my better finds in those boxes was this card, which is a super-sparkly take on the 1952 Topps design that, in my mind, does work while a lot of the basic Chrome takes found in this set just don't. (There were a lot of quality control issues with this release.) In this case, since it's a top name, a rare card and a crisp and cleanly centered copy I put it into a bulk sub. Why? I like it and the player ... and I felt like it had some good potential.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: It's the lowest of two copies graded by CSG (now CGC) with the other one checking in where I had hoped to be. No biggie ... I like this card no matter what and all of his stuff -- Rookie Cards, hits and rarities -- should be getting looks as he could become baseball's newest 40-40 Club member -- and might even push higher if he gets really hot with the bat in the second half. With him you never know.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

THAT PARALLEL POPS
The Card: Spencer Strider 2022 Topps Stadium Club Red -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: Another of the key players for the first-place Braves right now, Strider seemingly came out of nowhere to be a dominating strikeout guy last year and this year is no different, though he's already equaled his win total of 2022 and leads the majors in Ks with a ridiculous per-nine ratio. He has a couple-dozen basic Rookie Cards -- and most aren't anything deluxe -- and that's a good thing in my mind. It means he can be collected ... and he's still got plenty of other stuff to chase if one wants to. In this case, I've picked up some slabs over the last couple years and this one, a parallel I just had to have, is one with a color that just pops and feels right for the team, too. Had to have it and did by skipping over a blaster to just grab this for about the same price.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: The volume is low -- I like that -- and there's only one 10 right now. That's good, too, as it makes those that just missed a little safer ads as most are there. Are these tough grades? Maybe. There's some iffy laminating here and there and the gloss and soft stock are all tough combos. I don't think I'd submit much ... but I will pick off others' tries when they're not 10s.

--

WHITE-PARALLEL PERFECTION
The Card: Tatum O'Neal (aka Amanda Whurlitzer) 2013 Panini Golden Age White parallel (mislabeled*)
The Reason Graded: I landed this White parallel at a good price and knew it would eventually make its way into a slab after seeing how clean it was when I got it in-hand. This is one of a group of Bad News Bears actors who had base cards, minis and autographs in this Panini throwback release of a decade ago. I ripped tons of it -- so much so I probably have 15-20 minis of this card alone -- and then plenty more of the cream-bordered base. These White parallels, though, are a lot tougher and I want to say they had an announced run of under 100 copies but didn't go try to find that reveal. In all my boxes, I'm not sure I ever pulled more than one or two.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: Only one graded and it likely won't be topped. Works for me.

--

SQUAD-SQUAD COLOR
The Cards: Liv Morgan 2020 Topps Finest WWE Orange Autographs (/50) & Ruby Riott 2020 Topps Finest WWE Green Autographs (/99)
The Reason Graded: I added two of the three members of The Riott Squad in this one and I submitted them back-to-back for grading in a bulk sub. I knew I wanted the Morgan graded -- I actually bought it outright and paid a little more than I might have normally back in the day (it looked clean), while the Riott was one I pulled from a pack. (I think ... it was a ways back.) There are a lot of background and layered textures going on with these cards (you can see it on the left sides) and I was worried they might be seen as flaws by graders and miss on a better grade if I only sent the Morgan. Both are pretty solid cards, though, in my stash and neither is alone among my graded collection for these two. Morgan is just a good auto more often than not and the Riott is a nice color match to her gear and hair on the card -- and also with her trademark colors today in AEW.
The Grades: CSG 9.5 & CSG 9

-

Reality Check: No 10s this time but split the difference between the range I'd like between them ... that's fine. I'm good with nines and up.

-

A BARGAIN BUY
The Card: Michael Harris II 2023 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I pulled a parallel of this one in my lone hobby box this year but it had kind of a rough edge (not damaged, just not smooth) so that scared me off from grading. And with the Topps-SGC cheap grading promo for the release, the availability here for slabs is a bit through the roof. (That's not really a normal kind of number, though PSA would likely be higher for a top-name RC like this.) I bit here not because I liked the details -- there are a couple of issues (edge, corner) where I would not have graded the card -- but when it was less than $7.50 after his slow start to this season I grabbed it.
The Grade: SGC 9

Reality Check: The pop is high and the top grade is, too, and that means prices likely aren't all that steep with a sophomore season that's not as intense as his Rookie Of The Year campaign last year. All good for my price, though.

-

BARGAIN BUY II
The Card: Bernie Sanders 2020 Topps Now Election (/91,169)
The Reason Bought: As you can see by the production number, this Hall of Fame meme on cardboard was a popular one and I couldn't pass it up when I spotted it for just $6. You can't sniff grading it for that and it cost more than that to start with, too, if you ordered one raw straight from Topps. I have some other copies somewhere but could cross it off wherever it was deep in my maybe-grade list after this pick-up. I'm fine with a nine.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: The 10 volume is pretty obscene to the point where there shouldn't really be premium pricing here, but I'm not sweating that at all now. This one is good enough for me.

--

A RECENT ICON?
The Mag: Kelly Clarkson -- Blender, August 2007
The Reason Graded: I can't remember if this was a mag from back when I was a regular buyer of Blender at newsstand or whether this was a more-recent mag-lot pick-up ... but after more than a year at CGC this one was among a small lot of non-traditional titles that I sent in to add some icons in slabs and some variety here. Typcially, I'd go into a spiel about how recent-years' stars don't have a lot of cards so slabbed magazines can be interesting pieces and command more than you might think. In the case of this former American Idol winner and entertainer turned TV host and more, well, she does have card appearances thanks to Idol but I thought this would still be a good slab.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (Universal)

Reality Check: It's the only copy graded and one of less than a handful of Blender issues even graded. It's a reminder that you can grade pretty much close to anything that will fit in a CGC case (though there are some limitations). I think my grade dropped slightly with the square-bound spine wrinkling up top but I knew this still looked clean as it was basically an un-read or carefully flipped-through copy with no other issues. I could have paid for it to be pressed but that would have taken far longer to get done beyond the long, long wait at CGC at the time. I don't think I did any other issues for this title but I have several I'd want to grade for sure as it was among my favorite mags back in the day covering music in quick, quippy formats.

--

ICON OF THE PAST
The Card: Yasiel Puig 2013 Topps Pro Debut
The Reason Bought: This one is a relic of the past ... a card of a player who was the talk of MLB for a time that would have been a big deal on all fronts. After all, look at that pop number -- and remember that this is a MiLB card. MiLB is as popular as stuff where he'd be wearing his Dodgers uniform with this same design. Why did I do this one? Price (just $8) and as a reminder that what's red-hot now might not be later ... no matter what a lot of talking heads say. (They weren't around for this one. I was.) Atop that, the overall volume of this set has to be lower than anything flagship and there are a lot more variations and other versions to distract from the basic card in the MLB release. In this case, there's one variation and one parallel (I think) and then maybe some plates. Way simpler -- and I like seeing familiar names in unfamiliar uniforms.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: The volume here is definitely high for MiLB -- and the overall volume of so many 9.5s is, too. But it is what it is -- and only one card out there has a higher mark.

--

A SURPRISE TO ME
The Card: Rain Robinson (Sarah Silverman) 2021 Rittenhouse Women of Star Trek Art & Images Blue parallel (/99)
The Reason Bought: As I mentioned in the last Buzz Buys last month, this base card jumped out at me opening a box of this as I hadn't remembered a 1995 appearance on a Trek show from this long-time comedian and provocateur. There's not a lot to a parallel rainbow here -- just this, a Red and a 1/1 printing plate set -- and I now have all but the plates. Why? Because I could pick them off quick and easy and call it a day.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: Only one graded and it's got a top mark. Works for me.

--

REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The Mag: Britney Spears -- Esquire, November 2003
The Reason Graded: Remember this one? It was in Buzz Buys last winter and you can see my logic for picking it up here. Spears is definitely an icon of the last 25 years -- good or bad -- and this issue was a nod to some Esquire history, too, which has even been emulated once again in the 20 years since this one arrived. (Twenty years ... yikes.) The paper used for these mags is not all that glossy and not all that firm, so damaged copies were definitely common even when they were fresh on the newsstand. I knew based on a spine spot on the back this one wouldn't be a truly elite grade, but I felt it was still worth the sub as I was getting a feel for what CGC's standards are. This one came back lower than I had hoped but that's fine ... I still have the alternative version (see link above) to send in for pressing and then a slab. In fact, I have a couple copies to choose from ... and now pressing is faster from CGC.
The Grade: CGC 8.5 (Universal)

Reality Check: The rich colors here make everything prone to having issues that jump out at you if they are there and on the front here that bottom right corner probably didn't help. (Lost color means a lower grade rather quickly.) But, at least it's not a bend as those just look worse. The issue on the back was a corner drop scenario that didn't damage the front so I wasn't as worried about it. This is a copy that's not an elite grade but presents well and that's a big part of memorabilia like this. You can name your price unless other copies are available on the market at the same time.

--

ROOKIE CARD SIMPLICITY
The Card: Spencer Strider 2022 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: You know this guy from earlier, right? All that still applies and this one is a flagship RC that jumped out at me because its centering is rock-solid. Many copies of this card are off left-right a little too much for my taste so I passed on many. This one might be a smidge off top to bottom to drop it down but I can live with that more easily than left-right -- my eye has always been off that way ... I don't notice it as much unless the vertical centering is really, really bad. This one is not.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: The pop report here was a bit jacked up* when I tried to find it -- I'm not sure if the screen that loaded meant there are nine nines or nine total copies graded. This card in the set itself didn't show up and I had to look it up based on its serial number. I suspect there are more than nine copies but these stats are all I know for now.

--

PULLED IT DECADES AGO ...
The Card: Ichiro Suzuki 2001 Topps -- MLB Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I knew this one wouldn't be a 10 contender with the bottom left corner, a small edge issue and a tinier but there edge issue up top. But I sent it in anyway. Why? I pulled this one ages ago and he's among MLB's all-time greats all these years later. I found this one in a retail blaster from a Target or some loosies from a Books-A-Million store as I didn't have a big card shop where I lived at the time -- more of a mall kiosk -- so my ripping was either retail or I grabbed singles of players I needed and called it a day after a blaster or two. Flagship Topps is the one that will always be in demand and these are not the most-friendly cards based on aging. The gloss was sticky way back then and I have seen plenty of snowed out results from more recent ripping and sets where stuff sticks and there's basically nothing you can do about it. Here's hoping a lot of the stuff made in the years since this won't age the same ways. There also have been some strong prices paid for 2001 cards in high grades for other names due to the bricking and snow that happens opening packs and sets of this one now.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: It's the typical grade on a card that typically doesn't grade that well. The volume on 9.5 and 10 is super-lean and it should be. It's not an elite copy but it's mine and that's fine I'd rather have it in a slab than bouncing around in a top-loader for 20 more years. It's a simple modern-day classic that won't break the bank to find unlike the stuff that was considered big back in that year. (Those are even bigger now.)

--

BARGAIN BUY III
The Card: Jonathan Taylor 2020 Panini Chronicles NFL Score (Optichrome update) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I grabbed this RC for less than $6 and I did a few of his cards as that price is solid for a player who has had some big showings in his young career. Not much else to say there.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: I should have cleaned off my slab a little better before my pic, but it's a pretty clean card and only two copies grade higher. The quality control on a lot of stuff has been a bit hit and miss the last couple years, but this is one way I'd prefer to dabble with stuff that's not part of my core player buying ... cheap slabs.

--

PARALLEL POWER
The Card: Roger Maris 2002 Topps Tribute First Impressions parallel (/57)
The Reason Bought: Yeah, the number here isn't good -- that's lower than my norm for a buy -- but this cost about the same as it would to grade one and it's a rare parallel from a high-end release where the stuff was long gone in box form a long time ago. Atop that, it's a historic moment for a player I collect ... I grabbed it as it's not the kind of card you'll just happen to spot at a show or shop regularly with only 56 other copies out there in the world.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: It's the only one graded and it's about right as this one has some surface spots and very light corner tweaks on a couple of them ... not bad, though, considering this one is 20 years old and you never know how all that holofoil might age. (I've also seen worse cards right out of new packs in recent years. Maybe that's softening me on 8.5-level stuff.)

--

CRISP & CLEAN ... FOR THE MOST PART
The Card: Alvin Dark 1967 Topps
The Reason Bought: I didn't need this one but it jumped out at me for $9.99 as a super-cheap slab but also with a card having very little wrong with it save for what looks like either some errant wax paper or a small lift on that bottom-left corner. That's ugly but if I remember correctly under a loupe it looked like it was some extra funk atop the card and not the stock itself. Beyond that, I just liked the simplicity here with this former big-leaguer in his manager's cap less than a decade before he took this team to a World Series ring only after being dismissed and re-hired by the owner in the years between. At that time, he became just the third manager in MLB history to manage a team to a World Series in both leagues.
The Grade: SGC 7

Reality Check: This one checks in at the lowest on the pop report but that just proves I didn't look when I grabbed this one. It's simply an amazing-looking card other than that corner. I wish all sevens looked this good -- and I bet some above it on the pop report might not look this good.

--

A LOT BUY
The Card: Frank Thomas 1991 Topps
The Reason Bought: I found this for about $6 as part of a small lot of 1980s and 1990s cards that were memorable and in acceptable slabs. Yes, the centering here is funky but that's about all that's wrong with it and it's Thomas' first Topps flagship card in his MLB uniform. (His 1990 RC is a college uni.) This design might be among the most elegant and simple of the last 40 years, though it gets little respect as it was not among the league leaders in innovation that year. It's merely one that, in my eyes, has aged well vs. a lot of the "trendy" stuff of 1991 that feels like it should stay back then either being too overcooked or too plain with its "innovation" of the time. This one is clean and simple ... and that's the point.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: The volume here is surprisingly high considering it's not a Rookie Card or really anything all that valuable. What is interesting is how few copies out of nearly 50 check in at 9.5 or higher. (That's 17 percent for both marks, less than 10 percent individually.) That's not an easy grade. Maybe my nine isn't so bad ...

--

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
The Card: Sabu 1995 BBM Pro Wrestling (Japan) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I paid pretty well for this one and you saw it in a past Buzz Buys piece if you're a regular reader. As I said then, I don't really worry about international oddball wrestling sets unless they are traditional in-pack releases -- because there's a lot that's not and they might not be legit -- but for this former ECW icon this card may be one of his earliest cards if not his first and it comes from Japan. As far as I know, his only ECW stuff comes a few years later and for in-pack stuff even later during his brief time in the WWE version of ECW. Prices on these can be meatier than what I paid.
The Grade: CSG 8

Reality Check: The front is clean, making it look way better than its mark for sure. This one dropped down more due to an issue with either the back corners or edges. It's still clean but has a couple spots. Either way, I just wanted this card in a slab. Only one copy grades higher and even it's not in what I consider to be an elite slot, either. Generally BBM stuff from recent years grades well but the stock may not be as friendly as you go back further.

--

ANOTHER THROWBACK
The Card: Bo Bichette 2021 Topps '52 Redux
The Reason Bought: This is one of many cheaper Bichette slabs I've grabbed since 2020 mostly because they are available and affordable. These inserts were retail-only finds and they flowed pretty well -- too well where they're not that pricey and often not clean enough I'd submit any for grading ... but I do like them as an affordable filler in the graded collection.
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: The spread of grades here sure looks like they are either spot on or they are not. The centering can be an issue for sure and the stock is fibery, too. Just look at the left side of this one. Those are reasons why I just grabbed one from somebody else who slabbed instead of grading one myself.

--

SOME LOW-GRADE FILLER
The Card: Will Smith 1991-92 NBA Hoops
The Reason Bought: This card has been on my want-to-grade radar for some time now as it's a fun and odd base card from a set from long ago. It's not pricey but it's unique and the way these cards were made and then packed out in basically plastic baggies means a lot won't be contenders for a top, elite mark. This one, for me, is a filler slab as I found it for about $8. Having a low-grade slab slows my roll a bit wanting to find a high-grade raw copy.
The Grade: CSG 8

Reality Check: The centering here is dramatically off both ways and one corner looks a little funky for my taste, too. A sixth of the overall pop report here checks in lower than this and only three cards are at 9.5 or higher. Sure, it's not a big-money card or a heavily slabbed card but a high-grade copy will draw a lot more interest than you might think ... just finding one in that grade won't be a cakewalk.

--

A TEN FROM LONG AGO
The Card: Ruby Riott 2019 Topps WWE Road To WrestleMania Silver Autographs (/25)
The Reason Graded: I can't remember if I pulled this or grabbed it on the cheap -- I probably pulled it from a pack but either way I knew I wanted to grade it early on with the low volume and the on-card auto combined with it looking so clean. She had some strong stretches in WWE where I also was a fan before she was derailed with some injuries and then moved on to AEW.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: As you can tell by the green slab, this one was an early CSG bulk submission and it delivered on that high-grade look with what is now a 10. Works for me.

--

A BAYLEY BUMMER
The Card: Bayley 2018 Topps WWE Road To WrestleMania Silver Autographs (/25)
The Reason Graded: This card's reasoning was the same as the last one except Bayley is definitely a higher-profile name and easily a future WWE Hall of Famer already. Her old persona is captured here with a big, bold on-card auto and with about the only thing that even remotely might bug anybody is how it's signed slightly higher up on the card than maybe it should be. That happens all the time, though and the big auto here makes up for it.
The Grade: CSG 8.5

Reality Check: The grade was a surprise to me for sure as I figured it was a 9.5 contender but with a closer look this one might have a surface spot on the front I missed (a tiny dent) or if that's not it there may have been a light corner on the back. Either way, I figured this was a safe nine or better but stuff can be missed. Still a good card, though, and one that had raw-card asking prices of over $100 when I did a past search. Why? Top name and a rarer card.

--

ANOTHER OLD (FORMERLY) BIG ONE ...
The Card: Fernando Tatis Jr. 2019 Topps Finest Refractors -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: As I've noted before, I had a number of early Tatis cards in some of my bulk subs quite a while back (again obvious with this being an original CSG green label) but with all of his career chaos I let them sit in my holding pen for MTG until a time where there might be more interest in his stuff. Is now the time? I dunno ... but there's a reason he's filling out the bottom of the lineup this month.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: The volume here is pretty modest but they're all getting top marks ... so that's good and kinda bad at time same time. There's not a lot of competition with this one (to maybe go with not a lot of people looking) but with them all 10s then there's really no premium that can be placed for a top grade over another one.

--

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com.