Note: A break from The National coverage for this month's Making the Grade as Buzz preps to be at the show later today. Look for plenty more from Cleveland here soon.

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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 ...

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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 ...

Continue reading →

The recent Ken Stabler Career Collection sale via Pristine Auction was one on my collecting radar from the second it was teased and on my mind until the final gavel came down earlier this month.

Simply put, I had to have something.

Why? Stabler wasn't the first NFL player I ever met -- he was probably the second -- and I had his autograph a dozen times from various appearances where I played autograph hound in the past, but I knew I had met someone unique every time I ran into him. I knew that the MVP awards and the game-used items would be out of my reach. I knew that the game balls would be scooped up by serious collectors just like many of the odd mementos in the auction that included everything from wedding photos to belt buckles, cowboy hats and mix tapes.

But I knew I had to have something.

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If you hadn't heard, BlowoutTV is breaking a box of 1973 Topps baseball cards live on Friday night.

Last night, the randomization of 660 spots to determine who got each card in the set -- no matter how many show up in the box -- took place. The key spot, card No. 615 aka the Rookie Card of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, randomly went to one of five winners who retweeted a Blowout contest.

Who got the card? Nobody yet ... so keep reading.

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The five winners have been selected from the Blowout Cards retweet contest that will give each of them one of 660 spots in a group-break of this 1973 Topps baseball wax box.

Did you miss out on it? (Check out the story from last week with all the details right here.)

If you were in ... keep reading to see if you won.

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What you see here is a 1973 Topps wax box -- 24 packs of 10 cards -- with cards inside just as they were wrapped in wax paper more than 40 years ago.

They'll all see the light of day soon as part of an upcoming BlowoutTV group break, which will give collectors a shot at high-grade copies of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's Rookie Card along with RCs of Rich "Goose" Gossage, Dwight Evans, Davey Lopes and Bob Boone. (Oh, and keep reading to see how you can get in on a free spot in the break ...)

And then, of course, there are cards of Hall of Famers and notables such as Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Morgan and many more. Perfect specimens aren't a given with the printing, cutting and packaging of the past, but a box like this one can yield plenty of high-dollar cards in PSA 9 and 10 form. (And some strong cards in lesser grades.)

But the real power in this one beyond the Hall of Famers? The potential for PSA 10 commons -- cards that are often overlooked raw but can command insane amounts when PSA Registry collectors chase a set in high grade. How about $739.76 for a PSA 10 Bobby Murcer?

There's some Power of the Pinstripes in play there, but that card is not alone.

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You probably don't know the name Ron Blomberg, but he was the first-overall pick in the 1967 MLB Draft and a big-leaguer for parts of eight seasons with the Yankees and White Sox.

But if you do know his name it's probably because of one thing -- he was the first designated hitter in MLB history.

Could there be more hitting history made soon? Perhaps with the MLB owners' meetings this week in Florida where the owners are considering adopting the DH in the National League as soon as next season. Such a change wouldn't be possible without the approval of the MLBPA but it still could happen.

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