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 ...

MAMI'S HOME ...
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Chrome WWE Gold Refractor Autographs (/50) -- rookie-year auto
The Reason Graded: I picked up this one a few years ago for a pretty modest price -- about the price of a box back then -- and since then Ripley has emerged as the top name among a newer wave of stars who, barring injuries, should be helping redefine women's wrestling for some time. I had this one in my get-graded stacks for a long time as I don't often slab up auto cards -- I don't like surprises -- but I did it on this one and a standard auto earlier this year since they looked quite clean.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine) with 10 auto

Reality Check: As good as it gets and this card is a monster as it is. A raw copy pushed $500 not that long ago and a PSA 9 sold for that much as well earlier this year. A perfect 10 absolutely works for me on this one ... it's the best color here if you ask me, too.

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 ...

MY FIRST WEM-BAM!-YAMA ...
The Card: Victor Wembanyama 2023-24 Panini Prizm Green Prizms -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: My first -- and actually only -- batch of Prizm NBA blasters included this gem and I knew instantly that it would be in a slab once I saw its centering and then no issues among the sometimes-pesky edges for Prizm and similar stock of the last few years. (Sometimes clean ... sometimes not.) In this case, I had this one in a box headed for grading even before I had its Buzz Break box broken down and posted here ... and it's a solid keeper for me vs. my Hoops finds that all had things that me scared off of slabbing them.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: That's pretty much the perfect scenario isn't it? Top grade for a retail blaster -- at suggested retail price even -- pull ... even if there's a curtain that seemed to lather up some people out there. This won't be the last you see of this generational talent in this series ... but this is it for this month's slabs.

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

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

REMEMBERING HERITAGE ...
The Cards: Max Fried 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League cards
The Buzz On This: Before he was among the stacked rotation of the Atlanta Braves and got himself a World Series ring, Fried was a member of the Fort Wayne TinCaps and the Mississippi Braves and he appeared on cards in the in-pack MiLB sets released under the Topps Heritage line. That meant retro designs here -- 1964, 1965, 1967 and the burlap-inspired 1968 look -- but with clean, modern printing and other touches that put it in the here and now while looking a lot like back then. Fried missed a year (I presume due to his injury/trade) and has some other inserts and parallels in these sets before his Heritage RC in 2018 and all that's come since. I keep talking about doing a run of some players' Heritage cards in slabs and I grabbed all of these since they're all affordable (despite being likely far rarer than anything Heritage MLB) and just might do it for both MiLB and MLB releases. Also: The Heritage MiLB brand apparently died in 2023 ... so pour one out for that one while we're at it.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

MONEYBALL DOWN ON THE FARM?
The Card: Amanda Brady 2021 Choice Hudson Valley Renegades #34
The Buzz On This One: When was the last time you saw an "advanced scouting analyst" baseball card? This is a first for me and I've seen quite a bit of oddball cardboard in my time doing this series. Brady is an analyst in the Yankees organization and this card is "exactly what I always dreamed my first baseball card would be," she tweeted. There's a pretty good chance there are other analyst cards to come as the MiLB checklists continue to include the non-traditional but, right now, this is the only one I've ever seen.

Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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The mystery is over.

Topps revealed the two mystery rookie redemptions from 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League on Friday and it's No. 1 draft pick Royce Lewis and No. 4 pick Brendan McKay.

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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 that bat knob wasn't even the best card in the box -- check it out.

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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 as we head into the weekend.

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Buzz is a collector who has to be selective -- can't collect everything but would probably want to -- so that's why a day like Black Friday is important.

It's a time for me to try stuff I normally wouldn't -- or try something I've always eyed but never done simply because the price is right.

Blowout's Black Friday Doorbusters have been revealed and there are some serious bargains to be found along with the previous waves of Black November discounts on other brands beyond these. Keep your eyes on this forum link to get the latest of what's been unleashed on Friday -- and what's back in stock, too.

Keep reading for my picks on the deals that would get my attention first once those Friday prices kick in -- and then check out the full list here to see the prices. 

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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 today ... grip it and rip it!

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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 Topps Heritage Minor League baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 140
Base set completion: 
121 of 200 (61 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Amed Rosario, Mickey Moniak, Nick Senzel, Blake Rutherford, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ozzie Albies, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Rhys Hoskins, Austin Riley, Bo Bichette, Rafael Devers

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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: Defining the Rookie Card, Kyrie's team, massive breaks & 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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Collectors react to Gordon Hayward's injury, rip into new MLB cases and show off other big pulls in today's edition.

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Topps will make sure a collector suits up for one of Minor League Baseball's tastiest franchises next year.

The company announced on Thursday that its Make Your Pro Debut contest that allows a collector to join a team for a day will take its talents to Fresno, Calif., where the winner will don the uniform of the Fresno Grizzlies' promotional alter ego -- the Fresno Tacos -- next April on Taco Tuesday.

The contest's scratch-off code cards will be found in hobby boxes of 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League, which arrives next month. Winning code holders will be asked questions and then Topps will choose a winner based off of those answers.

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What: 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 27
Box basics: One autograph and one Relic per 18-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: The players and teams in the minor leagues take a trip back to 1968 with this release that includes variations, rare parallels, hits and, of course, autos.

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

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