You should know by now that Shohei Ohtani is having another historic year with dominating performances on both the mound and at the plate ... it's stuff that could only be called Ruthian -- and yet Babe Ruth didn't do it all at the same time.

Right now, on June 28, he leads the league in homers (28), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.654), total bases (200) and other offensive stats, while also having. 7-3 record on the mound with 127 Ks in 95 innings and a 3.02 ERA ... in short, he leads his team in pretty much everything. This kind of showing could mean serious headlines by year's end, too, with that home run pace alone.

The Japanese icon and pitcher-slash-DH's 2018 Rookie Cards are ones you should be thinking about right now as there's been a serious uptick in interest -- and it was already high. But, thanks to there being plenty of sets that year and with him in most of them, there's still a lot to choose from that's not priced out of many collectors' budgets. Things do get quite interesting with basic cards in slabs, too. (Prices should surprise you ... they did for me just prepping this.)

Ohtani, who had a ton of cards during his career in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan starting in 2013, appears on literally thousands of unique baseball cards -- he'll probably hit around 15,000 by year's end or this time next year. More than 3,000 of those are from 2018 alone. His time in MLB releases started almost immediately as he never needed MiLB time and arrived in almost everything in the 2018 lineups from Topps, Panini America and elsewhere -- Rookie Cards, parallels, autographs, memorabilia you name it he's had it all since then. And there will be plenty more to come, perhaps making those earlier cards feel more unique to some ... especially if they missed out.

For simplicity's sake here, we have carved out all of his Topps Now and several other small-set cards sold as online releases as well as Panini America's meaty lineup of Ohtani (about 30 basic RCs and tons more when it comes to hits and inserts). We've also punted all autographs and Relic cards to make this a starting point with the widest affordability and accessibility possible, though there are plenty of high-dollar cards in this roundup.

Keep reading for a rundown of Shohei Ohtani Rookie Cards ... and it won't even be all of his stuff you could dabble with from that key year as there are plenty of cards with RC logos that don't fall under the definition.

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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 ... and it might be the biggest edition ever.

BIG SEASON AHEAD?
The Card: Josh Allen 2018 Donruss Optic #154 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I pulled a pair of these from a number of rips -- probably deep in the archives here if you poke around -- but I never slabbed any of them back then, instead grading guys like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and maybe a Nick Chubb. Meanwhile, it turns out this guy might be The One over the long term from this rookie class. After this past season's successes and close finish at the end, I figured it was time to grade a pair of these and I'm still working through some of my past pulls to see if I need to grade more for this franchise QB.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: I was happy with this one (and I'll drop my other one here at some point later this season) as Optic stock can be hit and miss, particularly on the backs. Sometimes it's dents and wrinkles or minor dents but this one was clean. It looks like these do grade pretty well with nearly half of them getting this mark. An interesting comparison to make here? PSA has graded more than 2,500 of these with more than half being 10s, while BGS has graded only 160 and SGC has slabbed 320.

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 ...

KEY CARD, KEY PLAYER
The Card: Lucas Sims & Ozzie Albies 2018 Topps Heritage 100th Anniversary -- RC parallel (announced /25)
The Reason Bought: This parallel card isn't numbered, but they are very rare and if you consider the healthy print run and various pack formats for this popular brand, it's a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack type of card to pull in general let alone for a notable or specific player. I grabbed this since I've met both of them and Albies is a key Braves player ... and this brand is one that I generally buy a lot of (and did a ton in 2018). It's funky but I like 1969 Topps, too.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Why did I bite? The combo of scarcity and high grade and a price that wasn't that bad (about $80) made this one appealing to me. Also, the fact that the only other one was on eBay for $199.99 and isn't as good on subs as this one. (That price? Too high.) There are three copies of this card in PSA slabs (two 10s, one 9), too. How many might still be sitting in packs? Probably a few ... and that's also another reason I grabbed this to stash it.

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

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 5.

The box:2018 Topps Heritage baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

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

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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 ... a super-sized edition this time around that's heavy on MLB and NBA but with a few surprises.

The Cards: 1991-92 SkyBox #544-546 Team USA puzzle
The Reason Graded: I picked up a box of this one for roughly $16 late last year (a bargain price) and pulled two sets of these puzzles, which was good. Why? Because grading these and the other notables from the iconic Hall of Famer-loaded Dream Team is pretty heavy and this one has been on my to-do list. I landed most of the notables more than once but just one Jordan that was noticeably off-centered. These glossed cards on the puzzle could have issues that the standard cards don't have simply because of their surfaces, but mine were clean. I will revisit my second set to see if anything stands out. I may go the PSA route on the other set for variety's sake if I see anything that would make me wonder about potential grades.
The Grades: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one was a stressful one as I had hoped for matching grades. Thankfully, that's what I got and that's where most cards land for all three pieces of the puzzle. This is a textbook example of the kind of cardboard that can make you some money with grading, too, as they're no more than $10 total raw, while BGS 9.5s together should top $100 in some cases and asking prices for the middle (Jordan) card alone can be steep. It's memorable cardboard from the past with nothing but iconic players involved, so there's still good demand -- and that's another reason why I slabbed. Wax boxes aren't all that plentiful, either, compared to other boxes around that time.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

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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 case breakdowns and big pulls as we start the week.

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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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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 Heritage High Number baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 71
Base set completion: 
61 of 200 (31 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Bartolo Colon, Pat Neshek, Chase Utley (it's about RCs)

Rookie Cards (19) – Shohei Ohtani, Gleyber Torres, Scott Kingery, A.J. Minter, Eric Lauer, Freddy Peralta, Braxton Lee, P.J. Conlon, Niko Goodrum, Tomas Nido, Yonny Chirinos, Mitch Garver, Yoshihisa Hirano, Merandy Gonzalez, Shane Carle, Mike Soroka, Joey Lucchesi, Garrett Cooper, Andrew Suarez

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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 Heritage High Number baseball cards (hanger box tray)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (this and other hobby/retail formats)

Boxes per tray: 8
Cards per box: 35
Cards in this tray: 280
Base set completion: 
200 of 200 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 52

Notables on base cards – Pablo Sandoval, Bartolo Colon, Pat Neshek, Chase Utley (and all others you might deem notable ... this one's about Rookie Cards)

Rookie Cards (68) – Notables include Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani (2), Juan Soto, Scott Kingery, David Bote, Austin Meadows, Dereck Rodriguez, Gleyber Torres, Tyler O'Neill, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

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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 Heritage High Number baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 71
Base set completion: 
62 of 200 (31 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – None

Rookie Cards (16) – Gleyber Torres, Ryan Yarbrough, P.J. Conlon, Braxton Lee, Austin Meadows, Mike Soroka, Shane Carle, Jaime Barria, Garrett Cooper, Andrew Suarez, Jacob Barnes, Niko Goodrum, Tomas Nido, Jacob Nottingham, Jaime Schultz, Tyler O'Neill

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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 →

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 Heritage baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24 (plus one box-topper)
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 217
Base set completion: 
197 of 400 (49 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Jose Altuve, Ichiro Suzuki, Buster Posey, Carlos Correa, Giancarlo Stanton, Yu Darvish, Alex Bregman, Francisco Lindor, Anthony Rizzo, Dansby Swanson, Luis Severino, Carlos Beltran, Justin Verlander, Joey Votto, Manny Machado, Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes, Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Mike Trout, Corey Seager, Aaron Judge, Max Scherzer

>>> For a checklist and variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (11 cards, 23 rookies) – Lucas Sims, Ozzie Albies, Rafael Devers, Kyle Martin, Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins, Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, Kyle Farmer, Tim Locastro, O'Koyea Dickson, Tyler Wade, Garrett Cooper, Raudy Read, Erick Fedde, Max Fried, Luiz Gohara, Nicky Delmonico, Aaron Bummer, Parker Bridwell, Troy Scribner, Ildemaro Vargas, Jack Reinheimer

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The wrapper redemption programs at the National Sports Collectors Convention are a challenge, a pastime and a must-do for many attendees every year.

But there are drawbacks, too, hence that challenge part. There can be long waits -- depending on how long the lines are and, more importantly, how early you got in them -- and there's the possibility that your line could get cut off before land your treasures.

But the wait can be worth it with the surprises in your packs -- or your boxes you grab to get said packs -- and that's what Buzz opted to try a few times this year. First up? The Topps program.

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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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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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Are his cards good for bargain hunters? Maybe not now on some stuff ... but there's definitely new interest and some under-the-radar cards out there.

He's Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies and power-wise he's come out of nowhere to lead the majors with 13 home runs after his latest shot on Monday night -- he's one of five players with that many longballs so far this season and it's a surprise because he's not been known as a power guy. Albies had just six homers in 57 games last season and hit just 16 in 390 games before arriving in Atlanta.

This is a change that might spark added interest in his baseball cards.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 5.

The box: 2018 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster)
The cost: Click here

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

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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 Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
66 of 400 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jose Altuve, Cody Bellinger, Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, Buster Posey, Corey Seager, Miguel Cabrera, Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber, Francisco Lindor, Paul Goldschmidt

>>> For a checklist and variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (2 cards, 4 rookies) – Lucas Sims, Ozzie Albies, Raudy Read, Erick Fedde

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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 Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
66 of 400 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Carlos Correa, Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado, Yadier Molina, Miguel Cabrera, Javier Baez, Buster Posey, Jose Altuve, Clayton Kershaw

>>> For a checklist and variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (3 cards, 6 rookies) – Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, Lucas Sims, Ozzie Albies, Sandy Alcantara, Alex Mejia

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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 big pulls in today's edition -- and how's this first Star Wars box 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: 2018 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
66 of 400 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Kris Bryant, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Carlos Correa, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Byron Buxton, Paul Goldschmidt

>>> For a checklist and variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (5 cards, 10 rookies) – Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, Harrison Bader, Jack Flaherty, Christian Villanueva, Kyle McGrath, Willie Calhoun, Nick Gardewine, Sandy Alcantara, Alex Mejia

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Shohei Ohtani is off to a red-hot start in his first month as a major-leaguer and there were two ways to see it on Sunday.

One was on the mound where he followed a week of notable home runs with a stymying performance that flirted with perfection, while the other was on eBay where one of his rarer and most in-demand baseball cards carried just as much heat.

The card is his red-ink auto from 2018 Topps Heritage and this particular copy was pulled by fellow big-leaguer and collector Pat Neshek, who sold it on eBay Sunday night for $6,101 after 114 bids. Ohtani made his in-pack MLB debut there with one unsigned short-printed card with two autographs, a blue-ink card and this one, limited to just 69 copies.

But on the field is where Ohtani shined once again.

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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: Huge pulls, pondering mock drafts, Game of Inches memorabilia card sets and more on this WrestleMania Sunday.

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He's had a long road to where he is today, but after a big game on Tuesday night a few more people might know his name.

He's San Diego Padres rookie third baseman Christian Villanueva and he hit three home runs Tuesday night in Denver. Why might the collecting focus be of added interest for a 27-year-old rookie?

Because he doesn't have that much cardboard at all.

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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 Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 72
Base set completion: 
66 of 400 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Albert Pujols, Aaron Judge, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Altuve, Gary Sanchez, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard, Alex Bregman

>>> For a checklist and variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (3 cards, 6 rookies) – Tyler Mahle, Jackson Stephens, Ryan McMahon, Mike Tauchman, Francisco Mejia, Greg Allen

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