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: The Atlanta Braves are heading to the World Series, NBA at 75, redemption chatter, breaks 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: Chris Taylor powers the Dodgers, a thread to see, NFL chatter, NBA at 75 honors and more.

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Fast Five is a quick list that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection or new focus -- five things that could be fun for a beginner or a new way to add something to your stash if you're a grizzled veteran.

This time? Five names in the news you could collect

MR. MVP?
Eddie Rosario, OF, Atlanta Braves: With Atlanta a win away from the World Series it's been this guy who has been a surprising and dominating performer for a team loaded with young and popular options for collecting. He's not that -- he's a trade grab earlier this year -- but he doesn't have a lot of past cards at key points (first prospect and Rookie Cards) and that makes for an easier and cheaper (so far) option to collect somebody on a heater. He's a free agent after this season ends but he's been playing so well that could mean he stays or dollar signs if he goes. He had a two-homer game last night (the second homer spoiled his chance at the cycle) and it was his second four-hit game of the NLCS (10-for-17) where he's hitting .588. He doesn't have a boatload of cards overall and has Rookie Cards in just five 2015 releases -- Bowman Chrome, Topps Update, Topps Chrome Update, Topps Heritage High Number and then an auto-mem RC in National Treasures limited to 99 copies. His Bowman Draft debut was way back in 2010 and his only other prospect cards that year are in Pro Debut. His stuff isn't super-pricey but his playing so well should mean more of the rarer stuff gets posted out there if you're looking.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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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: New pulls, setting up in an antiques shop, MLB predictions and more in today's 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: Dodgers vs. Braves, NFL Week 6 chatter, Urban Meyer, pondering the boom 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: Austin Riley, Zach Ertz, a loaded LITE box, Josh Allen, NFL MVP picks and more in today's 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: Dodgers advance to the NLCS, big pulls, inside UFC Chronicles, NFL chatter and more in this Friday edition.

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Fast Five is a quick list that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection or new focus -- five things that could be fun for a beginner or a new way to add something to your stash if you're a grizzled veteran.

This time? Five MLB players worth a look after this season ... and, no, not the super-obvious guys.

A CAREER YEAR ...
Ozzie Albies, SS, Atlanta Braves -- RCs in 2018 releases
The Braves' loss of Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending injury didn't lead to the team faltering without one of MLB's biggest stars in the midst of another strong year. Instead, other guys kept at it and other guys stepped up and the team is still leading the NL East as the season winds down. Albies? He's having a career year in pretty much everything but average with 30 homers (previous high 24), 103 RBI to reach that plateau for the first time and even a career-high 19 stolen bases. Big-picture, there are other shortstops out there with numbers like this but they might be pricier when it comes to cards for whatever reasons. His RCs in 2018 releases are all over the place yet affordable and his 2015 cards might get overlooked here and there as he's listed as "Ozhaino." (You might set up a saved search for that name, too.) He's a home-grown player on a contender who's only 24 and among a core of young players ... a recipe for strong cards if they win it all.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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As you probably know if you're a regular reader here, Buzz is a fan of the game-used bargain bin just as much as any other ... so this is a result of one of those digs.

This month's item in this Collecting Game-used series? Well, it's another $10 game-used baseball from a recent Philadelphia Phillies firesale -- and it's one with a likely future All-Star's name attached. That name is Dansby Swanson, the Atlanta Braves shortstop who's in the midst of a career year this summer with new highs in hits, doubles, homers and RBI with plenty of time left to play.

The ball? Well, you can keep reading to see the details and see it 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: Reacting to the 2022 Topps design, counting down the days to The National, PSA buys another company, the Braves make a move, the Yankees have a problem and ... two boxes with two 1/1 autos inside? (Yep.)

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Fast Five is a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five MLB rookies I'd be watching this year ... at least based on the results so far.

RED ALERT
Jonathan India -- 3B, Cincinnati Reds (click here for autographed cards on eBay)
This one is about the numbers for me -- 10-for-21 (.476) with a double, triple and 10 RBI in his first six games of his big-league career. He's a known commodity for prospectors since he was the fifth-overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and was a top-100 prospect at times since. However, in two MiLB seasons he hit just .254 with 17 homers and 67 RBI in 165 games (154 Ks) so there might not have been as much attention heading into this debut. He did hit .313 with three homers and seven RBI in 22 games this spring. Because he's been a high-profile player, he's already got a ton of cards -- more than 800 -- and nearly half of those are certified autos. His earliest ink is in 2014 Leaf Perfect Game releases and then his first MLB autos are in 2018 Bowman Draft. He's got ink from Panini America, too, in prospect releases and I'd be looking for bargain-priced ink here vs. the slabbed stuff with big prices attached. The 2014 autos are also somewhat appealing being so much earlier than the rest. Him having volume should give you more choices and more chances to find bargains compared to other guys on this list -- guys with scorching starts but fewer cards.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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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: Some MLB and auction predictions, big pulls, an old Press Pass box delivers and "are we in the early '90s again?"

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The life of this fully authenticated game-used MLB ball isn't all that impressive -- I liked it for a team clearance $10 pick-up, though given player names attached -- but the reason you see it here for this month's Collecting Game-used series item is that it's an example of how something launched online last fall might spark more interest in game-used memorabilia.

Thanks to the MLB Film Room, you can find countless memorable (and many forgettable) video clips of plays from past games all in database form. You can search by names, players, teams, plays, etc., and to a degree that should add some interest to game-used pieces like this ball ... and maybe some value beyond the authentication statements that are also in a database with every ball.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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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 ...

WORKS FOR ME
The Card: Dan Marino 1984 Topps #123 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I never really aspired to own a Dan Marino RC -- or a number of other notables from the past -- but this one presented itself on the cheaper side of things for this card (about $135) and considering how this one looks I grabbed it. Why? Go window-shopping for these cards raw -- it can be depressing to see how sloppy the printing and cutting can be for this set. (Want more proof of extreme possibilites? Click here.)
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: I knew this was a strong grade for this card but I didn't look at the pop report for this heavily graded and iconic Hall of Famer RC. Just 415 check in at a higher mark out of nearly 9,000 graded -- less than 5 percent of the total grade higher -- and this one accounts for just seven percent of the total population for this card. My card isn't perfect -- there's a minor couple of spots in the black border line above "Dan" and some very, very minor specs here and there on the edges but at a glance there are not massive differences here vs. higher grades ... other than the fact that a BGS 10 copy of this card has sold on eBay for more than $4,500. I'll take mine all day long -- and getting a nine here is tough as it is.

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

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This month's Collecting Game-used item is really just a tip ... a reminder to watch out for postseason offers from teams that need to get rid of stuff that has piled up over the last year.

Fire-sale Season for MLB teams is all about stuff that's left over for them ... knowing that another season's worth of game-used items will be showing up before you know it -- and even they don't have unlimited amounts of space (or maybe patience) for used equipment to pile up.

The ball you see above? Yes, it's oddly pearl white -- clearly not prepped and rubbed-down for game use -- and it's got a shockingly neon green color on it, too. Meanwhile, green is something I didn't have to cough up to get this particular ball into my hands.

It was a freebie, a throw-in -- a batting practice home run ball -- with the purchase of a dozen game-used balls via Phillies Authentics. It's fully authenticated just like the baker's dozen of baseballs I grabbed for just $10 a ball. Shipped. And it wasn't even a mystery box situation, either -- I'm a sucker for those -- as I got to pick my dozen off a list.

The only mystery was whose name was attached to this one.

You can keep reading to see the details ...

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I'm now 3-for-3 in this game within the Collecting Game-used series.

What am I talking about? Picking off game-used baseball bats for the retired player I collect, Nick Swisher, and in this case it's another 100-percent game-used and photo-matched piece -- but one without an MLB Authentication sticker. (Here's last time and here's the first one.)

How was this possible? Just like last time -- with research and some luck while knowing what to look for with game-used bats. I actually picked up this bat with zero idea of when it might have been used -- all I knew about it and the reason why I wanted it was that it was from 2015 when he was on the Braves. In general, this should be his rarest pro gamer -- 46 games in 2015 and then 17 spring games in 2016 -- compared to four years in Oakland, a full season in Chicago, four in New York Yankees pinstripes and then two and a half in Cleveland. Why does this matter to me? Well, thanks to this pick-up, I finally can say I have gamers from each of his pro teams and close to a full rundown of his models of bats he used. (Not all but close.)

This bat is another reminder that not every item that gets used gets an MLB Authentication sticker -- and that you can find gems for any player.

You can keep reading to see the details this time.

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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: Cody Bellinger shoulders the load as the Los Angeles Dodgers head to the World Series ... and even more in this midnight-drop edition.

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This one is a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? MLB postseason players to watch on cardboard

Shane Bieber -- SP, Cleveland Indians
This year's most-dominating pitcher took home the Triple Crown when the season ended and he's got tonight's must-win game against the Yankees and their top arm, Gerrit Cole. Bieber's got just three Rookie Cards and that makes for some added volatility -- 2018 Topps Update and Topps Chrome Update and then Panini Spectra, which was found in boxes of 2018 Panini Chronicles. Those are also sets loaded with other hobby-favorite rookies -- so they are in demand and not cheap. His first autographed cards also arrived that year in Bowman Chrome, while his first prospect cards dropped in 2017 ... but without ink so there's not anything earlier to truly trump the 2018 stuff. His basic cardboard is pretty cheap big-picture, but his rarities and early autos are not -- and tonight's the night that is a key to them all. If they lose, the hype goes elsewhere. If they win and make a run? Watch out ... "Not Justin" will just get hotter.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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This is a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five reasons a sports card can be appealing ... beyond just value.

A STRONG PHOTO
We all know a lot of cards from any sports (or non-sports) set from the past that has a photo that's just so clean or different that it stands out from the rest of the pack every time we see it. It doesn't have to be a star, it doesn't have to be a bum ... it's just memorable. Sometimes cards like these can actually command more value than others around it (probably moreso in the years before hits and inserts) but that added appeal can't hurt. The card you see here? It's a simple portrait -- literally nothing but the image -- no design here -- and that's why I chose it. It shows the power of letting the photo have its moment. I own hundreds of Derek Jeter cards that I don't really want or need but the strong photo here makes me want and need it. It's rarer (/100) and from the 2019 Topps Transcendent VIP Party set, but this one would be a card I'd chase if it were from Opening Day. It's all about the photo.

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This ongoing Collecting Game-used series is one that typically is all about a notable name or an item exactly photo-matched as it was caught in action. This time? It's a little bit of that second one but really with a little more dumb luck involved.

Buzz is on a mailing list for Philadelphia Phillies gamers that include spreadsheets and info on everything the team has up for grabs -- the better the name, the higher the price at most times (especially on the home team) -- and I use their listings to scout opposing players that they can often under-price. Meanwhile, elsewhere out there there are also mystery-bag scenarios for the Phillies where you can pick the date and get a ball (drop-shipped direct from the team) from that game ... but without the choice of which exact ball you get.

This time? I went the mystery route -- a cheaper route -- but after scouting a list where nearly every name out of nearly a dozen was a strong one (a young player with higher-value potential). What happened? Well, I got perhaps one of the worst pairings about who used the ball from that day ... but it was for a super-unique play with super-slow-mo details visible on the Interwebs. So, Phillies picker, while I didn't get a name I wanted ... I salute your selection.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the ball in action.

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This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Young MLB stars I'd be eyeing on cardboard right now (some obvious choices).

THE NEXT BIG THING ...
New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez makes his MLB cardboard debut in 2020 Bowman 1st Edition which will be followed up by the standard 2020 Bowman release soon. The 17-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic is getting a boatload of attention here -- and the prices on his base cards in this debut release are nutty (for a base card) but justified (given the type of release), so I present a strategy. If you're going to chase him, get one of his parallels instead -- preferably a numbered version. Yes, it will cost you more but it might be a safer long-term hold since they will be rarer than the standard card. If he delivers big, it won't matter -- all will be in demand -- but the numbered stuff will be safer either way. Also a thought? If you can't go there on this one, consider he's got stuff in 2019 Panini Prizm Draft Picks and 2019 Elite Extra Edition -- including autographs -- as well as 2019 Leaf Metal Draft.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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They're not easy pulls, but they're cards in 2020 Topps Opening Day that are unique and figure to be ones that could hold interest over time as they might not be ever made again.

Arriving today in packs of that low-end but loaded-with-the-unusual brand are 11 Ballpark Profile autograph cards that showcase people who are probably known well by their hometown fans but might be relative unknowns to others.

In most -- but not all -- cases, these are cardboard debuts for those in the set and they are certainly all first-time certified autographs.

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This one is a quick idea for a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five MLB items fans should own ... or beginners could use.

SOMETHING DIRTY...
Game-used and fully authenticated MLB dirt is seemingly everywhere and it's often not expensive at all -- yet I'd bet a lot of collectors who consider their stashes to be on the "serious" side don't have anything dirty in them at all. Dirt Relics have been in play in a few brands in the past with one of them being 2019 Topps Opening Day as you can see here. You can find sealed miniature bottles of MLB authenticated dirt from team sites on MLB.com, framed displays that include small capsules embedded into them and, yes, some baseball cards. Heck, I've even seen dirt loaded into writing pens tied to teams. Most of these items aren't aren't that expensive and you can pretty much collect authenticated dirt from all stadiums or even key events like World Series or All-Star Games if you hunt online. (MLB is big on dirt and using it.) You easily can start a small mystery box for your team's fan with something like this and add to it ... keep reading.

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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: Big pulls, last-pack magic, Super Bowl chatter, Zion Williamson, Felix Hernandez and "have baseball cards fallen behind basketball and football cards?"

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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: Black November sales chatter, Myles Garrett's suspension, Braves get a reliever, pondering A-Rod autos and more.

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