It's not from The Big Guy, but it's not a bad baseball for the price ... and I've actually pulled this move off twice.

This month's ball in the Collecting Game-used series is another that came to me via a grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game. The baseballs from this game that were thrown by the reigning National League Rookie Of The Year (and future Cy Young winner) Paul Skenes command a big premium price over the rest of baseballs from this day, so I knew I wouldn't land one with his name attached. But ... I didn't get some meaningless ball in the dirt as this one was a hit in support of the phenom and part of a pretty solid day for the batter.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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It's BBWAA Awards Week for Major League Baseball and one of the most-notable winners made his way into my game-used collection this year ... well, sort of.

This month's ball in the Collecting Game-used series is another that came to me via a blind grab bag where all I knew was the date of the game ... but this time that wasn't to my advantage as, well, the baseballs pitched by the now-reigning National League Rookie Of The Year, Paul Skenes, command a 15x premium price over the rest of baseballs from this day and this game. Despite that, I rolled the dice, hoping for a possible inventory error or something interesting from what was still a Skenes start ... and I got just that.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and the ball in action.

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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: World Series chatter, NFL Week 8, playoff integrity, baseball cards at Costco 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 a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: It's TacoFractor Time, World Series chatter, NFL Week 8 and more in this edition.

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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: Corbin Carroll might be the best TacoFractor to own, blasters for the win, baseball cards at Costco and more in today's edition.

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If you want to collect 'em all, you'll have to hit an MLB team shop.

Topps and MLB Players Inc. revealed this morning that the 2022 Topps Players Clubhouse baseball card line, which will get a pack of cards into your hands if you buy at least $149 in "officially licensed MLB Players products displaying the MLB Players logo, in a single transaction, at this team store location" beginning on selected dates -- starting today -- while supplies last with a limit of one pack per person.

Packs will not be sold at the participating team shops, according to the announcement.

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Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Dylan Carlson, OF, Cardinals — Triple-A Memphis Redbirds
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Carlson, who won’t turn 21 until the middle of October, has made a mark in the Cardinals’ upper levels. He blitzed the Texas League after opening as its fourth-youngest player, putting forth an OPS of .882 before moving to Triple-A Memphis. That mark still stands as the TL’s second-highest figure. He’s quickly adjusted to the Pacific Coast League, where he’s notched at least one hit in all 10 of his games."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 160
First Chrome auto: 2016 Bowman Draft 
One auto to consider: 2016 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: Almost half of his cards are autos, so that's a good thing when seeing such a low overall number but that's also something that will help keep the competition on the auction block on the fierce side if people keep up with him. The Cardinals often have heavily watched prospects, so he's one who will get attention with a strong season.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

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There are eight guys with realistic chances at being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame tonight (announcement is set for 6 p.m. EST on MLB Network) and there's one good thing to be had here for potential new baseball card collectors or veterans still needing them.

Most of them have Rookie Cards can be easily landed thanks to the timeframe when they were made -- and they have plenty of cards to chase in boxes made since.

The first lock of the bunch is former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, MLB's career saves leader (652), who is a contender for the highest Hall of Fame voting percentage ever. That mark is 99.6 percent of ballots and is held by Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2016. Unlike Griffey -- and others you'll see here -- Rivera has just one Rookie Card. It can be found in 1992 Bowman, a set that added gloss and white stock into the brand's repertoire along with a deeper checklist (and guys in street clothes). Rivera has more than 5,500 different cards but only one gets the RC label -- that's a rarity in this day and age that helps bolster its value. (If you want one, buy it graded. They have been counterfeited.) >> Check out his autographed cards (and more) on eBay

Who else is out there and potentially headed to Cooperstown?

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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 1.

The box: Arizona Diamondbacks Authentics Mystery Cap Box
The cost: $30 (via MLB Auctions)

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

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Giancarlo who?

That might be the question for some baseball fans -- particularly if they are Chicago White Sox-minded -- after Opening Day as Matt Davidson and his Sox made a little history on Thursday, despite the two-homer debut of that other guy on some team somewhere.

Davidson became just the fourth player in MLB history to hit three home runs on Opening Day and his team tied the MLB record with six longballs on the day as part of a 14-7 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Davidson joins George Bell (1988), Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes (1994) and Dmitri Young (2005) in the Opening Day club, while the only other team to go yard that often was the 1988 New York Mets. The good news here for collectors? Unlike that guy in pinstripes, Davidson's certified autographs are relatively plentiful and available -- and he's been appearing on cards just as long.

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If you've ripped into packs of 2018 Topps Series 1, odds are that you've seen one insert that you may not realize is a bit different than the rest.

It's the Topps Home Run Challenge, which is a new contest card (one per hobby box) that weaves some fantasy baseball elements into your collecting experience in one simple way -- predicting home runs.

The Jake Lamb card you see here? It's what I found in a box of 2018 Topps that I ripped yesterday, so I opted to see what it was all about.

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Which card do you chase when there's a player on a hot streak and emerging from the pack -- but when he doesn't have much ink?

This collector would lean toward the earliest.

That player is Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray, and he's a guy who posted an 8-15 record last season -- but with 218 strikeouts, a mark that was fourth-best in the National League.

This year?

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A new baseball season is nearly here with the first spring training games set to air later this month and that's when we'll see the newest players on their new teams.

And many of them will be wearing new uniforms -- well, at least new caps.

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A series of charity auctions during the MLB Winter Meetings will raise money for a New Jersey youth baseball field in memory of former New York Mets public relations executive Shannon Forde and one will give a card collector a big, memorable moment.

One of the Arizona Diamondbacks' auctions among more than 80 active as part of the Play Ball initiative will give the winner a chance to meet someone legendary in the history of baseball cards.

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The Atlanta Braves have the worst record in baseball but they'll be one of the most-watched teams when it comes to hobbyists the rest of this season thanks to a call-up that appears to have paid off pretty well on Wednesday night.

Former No. 1 overall draft pick Dansby Swanson arrived and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in his big-league debut. The home-state star's promotion is about more than just performance, though, as less than 10 months ago, he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization -- and now he's immediately one of the faces of a franchise aiming to rebuild. It's a franchise with plenty of hobby favorites in the past and it doesn't hurt that there's a new stadium coming next year, too.

Now, the questions come about cardboard. Will this Rookie Cards now be included in 2017 Topps Series 1 and 2017 Topps Heritage? We don't know that yet -- but we do know he's among today's Topps Now stars on a call-up card -- not once but twice.

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Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer did something last night that had only happened three other times in MLB history.

He struck out 20 batters in a game.

It's a feat that only Roger Clemens, who did it twice, and Kerry Wood have done before, but in both of those pitchers' cases there's an iconic early baseball card to chase. For Clemens, his 1984 Fleer Update card is the one to own. For Wood, it's his 1997 Bowman Chrome.

For Scherzer?

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The No. 1 overall pick in this year's MLB Draft appears to be traded to the Atlanta Braves as part of a package for Shelby Miller agreed to on Tuesday night.

So now Dansby Swanson's first Bowman Chrome autographs, which officially arrive tomorrow in 2015 Bowman Draft, show him with his old team, immediately perhaps making them less appealing to collectors on both sides of the trade.

Sure, Swanson is from Georgia -- that's a plus -- but Buzz has to wonder what collectors think of the move. Or, does Topps consider issuing a second version of a Swanson 2015 Bowman auto with a Photoshopped Braves uni -- remember, the Diamondbacks version is just that -- somewhere in 2016 packs?

Tell us what you think with our poll or in a comment below.

[polldaddy poll=9222129]

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Who will be signing for 2015 Bowman Draft? That's a question that's been on the minds of many collectors the last few months and Topps provided two answers on Thursday morning.

The first two signers will be Dansby Swanson and Brendan Rodgers.

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