Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

STARTING ON A SERIOUS NOTE ...
The Card: Will Ferrell 2015 Topps Archives Will Ferrell Inserts
The Reason Graded: Back in 2015 this comedy legend took to the field for 10 MLB teams and played 10 positions in a single day of real spring training action -- you can see his stats here -- as part of a project with a charity component called Ferrell Takes The Field. Collectors ended up chasing his autographs on 10 different cards in Archives that year -- roughly one per hobby case if I remember correctly -- but, alas, I went 0-for-1 there before those boxes got too pricy and/or vanished ... but I did hit the blasters. There, the regular Ferrell inserts were found one per box -- at least until all of those boxes disappeared, too. It's been a decade since this publicity stunt took place (March 12, 2015), so I figured we could start this new MLB season here on a serious note. These aren't his only cards -- he popped up a few times that year -- but this was the first set and this was the first card -- and one for my team.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: There's a small volume of stuff slabbed for this card -- roughly all cards here have no more than 10 slabbed copies across the entire set -- and this is among the top marks. This card has full-bleed back edges in bright blue just like in 1965 Topps and when I saw how clean this card was, well, it was a no-brainer. I previously slabbed one elsewhere years ago and this copy will go well with that and a slab of the same photo used on a magazine cover that ended up on a show promo card. A lot of those who likely weren't collecting back then seem to be interested here as asking prices can be steep -- raw or graded -- for Ferrell stuff.

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

FROM THE BARGAIN BIN TO ...
The Card: Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Topps Traded -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I picked up this at the last minute -- literally at closing time -- at a past National Sports Collectors Convention after some digging through a bargain bin where cards were literally bouncing around inside cases in a plastic tub. For just $5 this card (as a raw copy) was mine after one thing jumped out at me -- its back with all that black ink was perfectly cut and its front was super-close to centered. It's not that I needed this card, really, as I picked up about three or four sets from the 1989 JCPenney Christmas catalog -- just $12.99 apiece -- back in the day, but I found the rough back edges to be an issue when revisiting all my copies with the the stars that survived past purges. This one made it into one of my bulk grading subs earlier this year as it was past time to grade one. Yes, it's got a very slight rough spot on the front left -- some extra fuzz as it's some light cardboard -- but everything else here (especially the back) was too clean to not send it in.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: That's definitely the kind of grade I was going for here, though a lot of them seem to check in at that mark -- about 17 percent of the current population -- which seems high for the era, but, at the same time, these were released as boxed sets and not in packs so they perhaps didn't get handled as much during packaging. Plus, inner cards in the boxes got protected pretty well. I'll take it. This one has always been one of my favorite RCs for this icon ... because I could afford this one and not the other big one that many love. I have them all now, of course (I think), but I'm pretty sure few or even none of my copies from back then would grade like this one did. Not bad for a $5 find and then $10 more to grade it.

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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SOMETHING SIMPLE ... 
The Card: Shaun Alexander 2000 EX NFL Debut Postmarks
The Price: $7.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a throwback leading off because I have a simple question to present with it ... have we seen anything like this recently? As you can see, this card has a stamp affixed to a card with a postmark applied on the day of his NFL debut, which was in Miami. It's a simple kind of non-traditional card -- I don't think I'd call it a hit -- but something like this could mix things up a bit. Sure, there's a little extra work involved here but ... something different in packs that can be done for pocket change wouldn't hurt, right?
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but NFL boxes are here 

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 it's a baker's dozen (that doesn't include Mayfield ... this time).

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A MARIS WITH A TWIST?
The Card: Roger Maris 2018 Panini National Treasures Game Gear Duals (/49)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I sprung for this card at a slightly higher price than I might normally do for a Maris memorabilia card because of the small sliver of a red patch that caught my eye but remained a mystery. The New York Yankees weren't known for a lot of patches on their uniforms, let alone any red ones, but perhaps this one came from a sleeve? After buying and then doing some homework, I think the pinstripes led me astray. After receiving the card, I remembered an errant comment I heard years ago -- a rumor about Panini looking at a Cleveland Indians jersey at auction -- and I simply Googled "Roger Maris game-used jersey auction" and found a visual that perhaps answered my pinstripe mystery. Then a couple of cross-searches led me here.The Indians wore pinstripes for a time and it was a time when Maris was there. The colors match and the fabric consistency looks to be right, too. Could this be a sliver of a sleeve patch? We don't get a good view there, but it could be. It could also be something from the Kansas City A's though I couldn't find any info on them wearing pinstripes while Maris was there. It's not definitive -- and it still could be a sleeve patch from a Yankees jersey -- but I think I'm comfortable with my newest Maris patch (barely) card.
Grab a box right here: National Treasures boxes (all sports)

Keep reading for a few more interesting items ...

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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 Archives Signature Series Active Player Edition baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 1
Base set completion: 
N/A

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big breaks, Superfractors and the Ben Simmons question.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: New-product breaks, old-product breaks and a Super Break.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Retro rips, too many cards, people "jacking up prices," looking forward to looking back.

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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: 2016 Topps Chrome baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 96
Base set completion: 
70 of 200 (35 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Francisco Lindor, Jose Fernandez, David Wright, Buster Posey, Jose Altuve, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado

Rookie Cards (24) – Trevor Story, Tyler White, Blake Snell, Ross Stipling, Aaron Blair, Jose Berrios, Jorge Lopez, Kyle Schwarber, Seung-Hwan Oh, Jeremy Hazelbaker, Brian Johnson, Rob Refsnyder, Gary Sanchez, Zach Lee

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Superfractors from 2016 Topps Chrome, Immaculate breaks, digging into Leaf Pop Century and more.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Busting Topps Chrome, Immaculate Collection, The Mint & more.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: 2016 Topps Chrome, Panini VIP packs, vintage cards and the NFL is back.

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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: 2016 Topps Chrome baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard packs plus one Sepia Refractor pack)
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 32
Base set completion: 
20 of 200 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Kris Bryant, Matt Harvey, Paul Goldschmidt, Prince Fielder

Rookie Cards (3) – Raul Mondesi, Joey Rickard, Frankie Montas

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There are many products making their debut tomorrow and at the National Sports Collectors Convention and one of the more-watched ones might be 2016 Topps Chrome.

It's got a big rookie autograph checklist with quite a few notable names and a design that seems like it will be primed for a good-looking rainbow.

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We're less than a week away from the arrival of 2016 Topps Chrome baseball cards -- and this year's rainbow of Refractors could be promising with a design that's primed for parallels.

And, with the arrival of the checklist, we now know what Topps promises inside its packs.

Click here to view the 2016 Topps Chrome baseball card checklist.

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

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

What: 2016 Topps Chrome baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 3
Box basics: Two autographs per 24-pack hobby box; five autographs per 12-pack jumbo box

What's buzz-worthy: This year's Chrome will have all the rainbow shades collectors expect, some rare veteran autos and two autos in every box, but that all might be trumped by the inclusion of 2015 Topps Chrome Carlos Correa Rookie Card autographs as the ink from the reigning American League Rookie of the Year will also be found here.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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