Ichiro Suzuki’s 2001 MLB arrival didn’t just change the game on the field — he helped feed growing international demand for baseball cards via plenty of new premium brands that helped pave the way for the ultra-deluxe stuff of today.

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A legendary career and baseball journey on two continents makes its final stop this month in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Hall of Fame and there’s a lot that can be said about that in several directions. 

Ichiro Suzuki changed the game with his arrival in MLB, eschewing the longball in favor of speed and hits — lots and lots of hits. But, “hits” are also the story of all those years when it comes to baseball cards with the prized rarities found in packs with autographs on them — or pieces of memorabilia in them — being an unstoppable force in those years. 

Of course, hits didn’t start with the Japanese star’s arrival, but many of his cards in sets alongside another now-legendary 2001 rookie, Albert Pujols, helped change the cardboard world even faster. Demand for their stuff prompted several new brands from several companies making MLB cards back then to try new things, capitalizing on their new stars who could move packs and boxes of cards -- just like they could move players around the bases and move butts into seats to watch games. One could argue that 2001 was in part a big piece in the evolution of what we see in today’s sports card landscape -- a focus on rarities with small print runs and with premium prices that weren’t like the wax paper-wrapped pocket-change treasures of not that many years before. 

Now, what’s to come here is absolutely not a definitive list of top cards — and it’s not one purely based on volatile values or one limited solely to Rookie Cards. Why? There’s a lot to choose from for Suzuki on all fronts — there could be several ways to take on this challenge. He has more than 50 different Rookie Cards between his 1993 Nippon Professional Baseball and 2001 Major League Baseball debuts (depending on how you want to argue about RC definitions) and he had roughly 500 cards in 2001 alone. Many of them are rarer cards where it is impossible to own them all thanks to small print runs and rare serial-numbered versions. 

In all, he appears on more than 19,000 different cards made over the years between NPB and MLB -- and even though his playing career ended in 2019 his cardboard career has not. He’s got a place in the game in seemingly every new baseball card set on the way and that figures to be the story for the rest of cardboard eternity. He’s not just a Hall of Famer … he’s an international icon.

Here’s a small sampling of 25 Ichiro Suzuki cards that are both fun and notable.

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What's Buzzing: A Clayton Kershaw question, Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., The Miz and more in today's edition.

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1 -- Clayton Kershaw and the 3,000-K Club

2 -- All your MLB matters are here

3 -- Checking in on the Aaron Judge chatter 

4 -- Talking The Miz in MLB

5 -- Still legit

6 -- The National chatter is heating up

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What: 2025 Leaf History Book Sports Edition Chapter 2 sports cards
Arrives: Sept. 29
Box basics: Two "premium" booklet cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf offers up a second chapter for one of its newest high-end multi-sport brands -- a mix of multi-player autograph and memorabilia groupings from around the sports world all in one spot -- and it's once again nothing but booklet cards.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2025 Topps Chrome baseball cards
Arrives: July 23
Box basics: One autograph per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case); three autos per 12-pack jumbo box (TBD boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Sapphire Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The full Topps Chrome details are still to come but the basics and early teasers are here for when the latest flagship release hits colorful and flashy plastic with "an all-new lineup of jaw-dropping inserts and exciting Chrome parallels."

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: The Miz is awesome, a sweet Bowman mega, Pete Crow-Armstrong and more in today's edition.

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1 -- The Miz is ... awesome

2 -- Bowman mega box for the win

3 -- Talking Pete Crow-Armstrong 

4 -- More MLB chatter is here

5 -- Panini is readying a massive Caitlin Clark release ... (teaser video here)

6 -- The National section

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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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: 2025 Topps Heritage baseball cards (hanger)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all other formats)
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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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: 2025 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What's Buzzing: Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge? That's the question leading the way in this midweek edition.

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1 -- Ohtani or Judge?

2 -- Still talking 2025 Topps Series 2

3 -- This thread is kind of a big deal

4 -- New MLB pulls are here

5 -- A slab question

6 -- NBA Finals chatter

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What: 2025 Topps Series 2 baseball cards
Arrives: June 11
Box basics: One auto or Relic per hobby box (12 per case) or one auto and two Relics per jumbo box (six per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The earliest teases of the second series of the Topps baseball card flagship set are here -- the packaging formats -- with Shohei Ohtani leading the way on all fronts.

Keep reading for more info.

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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: 2023 Topps Heritage baseball cards (mega)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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What's Buzzing: New AEW & WWE pulls, Aaron Judge, 2025 Bowman and more in this Thursday edition.

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1 -- That's a win

2 -- New NFL pulls are here

3 -- All your MLB chatter

4 -- Inside an AEW Black Diamond case

5 -- Checking in on the Aaron Judge chatter

6 -- 2025 Bowman breaks and more

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What: 2025 Onyx Preferred Players Baseball Collection autographed baseballs
Arrives: June 13
Box basics: One signed baseball per box (three boxes per case; 12 boxes per master case)
Final player checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This MLBPA-approved product hits the diamond once again with some big surprises in store and a roster of young names who are in demand as well as legends of the game.

Keep reading for more info and a checklist.

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What: 2025 Leaf Bronx Legacy baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 2025
Box basics: Four "premium hits" per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's brand documenting New York's premier baseball franchise arrives for a third time with the biggest legends in the history of the game and so much more to be found.

Keep reading for more info and a full montage of cards released so far.

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What: 2025 Topps Dynamic Duals baseball cards
Arrives: May 22
Box basics: One dual-auto card per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: This brand looking at prolific pairings "showcases enticing player combinations featuring top MLB stars both past and present" with some other surprises also in the mix.

Keep reading for more info and images for this one.

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What's Buzzing: Waiting on Jordan Lawlar, meeting Chris Jericho, 2025 Bowman is here and more in this midweek edition.

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1 -- Awaiting Jordan Lawlar's arrival ... 

2 -- Checking in on the Aaron Judge chatter

3 -- 2025 Bowman is here ... Reactions to Bowman Red

4 -- Opening Topps Chrome Black 

5 -- NBA chatter is here

6 -- Meeting Chris Jericho

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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What: 2025 Leaf Pearl Multi-sport cards
Arrives: August
Box basics: 11 premium cards per box (two boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's high-end celebration of sport in seemingly every direction arrives for a new edition with some monster 16-auto booklets, a rare cut auto in every box and some of the biggest names in all the games found together right here.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2019 Donruss Optic baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (this and other formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and a gallery of highlights from this one.

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What's Buzzing: Aaron Judge, multi-player autos, NBA chatter, a really funky Heritage blaster, 2025 Bowman and more in today's edition.

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1 -- Judge.

2 -- Showing off multi-player NFL autos

3 -- NBA chatter as the postseason continues

4 -- Something really funky brewing?

5 -- All your MLB chatter is here

6 -- Bowman Red Rookie Redemption reactions

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

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

SCENE FROM A CLASSIC
The Card: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson & Lisa Spoonauer (aka Dante Hicks, Randal Graves and Caitlin Bree) 2017 Skybox Clerks Triple Scene Autographs
The Reason Graded: Back when this one arrived, I picked off a lot of the autos over time -- at least while they were affordable -- with my sights set on some of the obscure names here and not the pricey Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) ink that any serious collector of the View Askew realm likely already had on something before this card set arrived. The character that I wanted to find was Caitlin Bree as that character's moments were hilariously twisted and this card's scene was the culminating moment in her story. Getting this on cardboard was hilarious to me. What's unfortunate here is real life -- Spoonauer died of a medication overdose at age 44 while fighting cancer just 10 days after this product arrived. Read director Kevin Smith's tribute to her here. Over time, I picked off all but one of her autographs -- one that had been pricey that's even moreso now still eludes me as it also includes Smith -- but I recently decided to slab a couple of the best ones form my stash when I revisited them and saw how clean they looked. 
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: Perfect grade works for me. Her auto just barely touches the border of the card but that's about its only potential issue and it's really not incomplete, so it still got a top mark. (Though auto grades are pretty meaningless to me.) This is a strong start and I should really slab more -- and find that last one I need.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for 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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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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: 2025 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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What's Buzzing: NFL Draft first-round reactions, Aaron Judge, Jac Caglianone, Topps Black, NBA postseason and more in this Friday drop.

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1 -- All your NFL Draft reactions are here

2 -- Aaron Judge is on their minds

3 -- PuddleMonkey (who collects harder than you) has a question ... (see, harder)

4 -- Checking in on the Jac Caglianone thread

5 -- Talking Topps Black

6 -- NBA postseason chatter

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2025 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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What: 2025 Leaf Lumber baseball cards
Arrives: August
Box basics: Four premium hits (at least one autograph) per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's bats-focused brand arrives with some of the biggest and most-outrageous booklet cards in baseball card history with members of the 3,000 Hit Club, 500 Home Run Club and more inside some of them -- and not just their bat pieces, either.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Continue reading →