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

AS GOOD AS IT GETS
The Card: Caitlin Clark 2024-25 Panini Instant WNBA (/26,980) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I watched and waited for the most part with Caitlin Clark cards as Panini Instant stuff arrived regularly and her in-pack WNBA Rookie Cards arrived later in the year. But, when this award-winner card popped up with a clean and iconic studio photo? Well, I pretty much instantly (pun not intended as it's simply true) grabbed a 10-pack with an eye for a slab. It's in a past Buzz Buys (hit the archives) and this is the result a few months later.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: This one is heavily made and should be heavily slabbed -- the number of Pristines has at least doubled just in the few weeks since I got these back from CGC -- but many won't be checking in at this top mark. I didn't slab to expect a perfect 10 but I thought this one had potential after going through my stack. Three of my 10 had solid centering and this one was first to make that cut ... with this mark I may not need to send in the other two. It's my lone Clark slab ... and it's strong enough it might stay that way just so I can say I went 1-for-1 grading here. We'll see.

Keep reading for more of this month's rundown of 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: 2016 Topps Heritage High Number baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of images.

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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 7.

The box: 2016 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster) 
The cost: Will vary ... click here for all Heritage boxes

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but a new year's resolution just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around they're not all on-the-cheap additions.

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HISTORIAN CARDBOARD HISTORY
The Card: John Thorn 2018 Topps Archives Purple Fan Favorites Autographs (/150)
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Buzz first knew his name back in 1989 when the massive book Total Baseball was a key way to look up past MLB players' stats -- you know, before the Internet -- and you could find a bit of everything else from the rules of the game, baseball history and more inside. Thorn has a ton of credits since then, including a consultant on the landmark Ken Burns documentary Baseball, and he is a winner of the Henry Chadwick Award, which is the top honor from SABR. Since 2011, Thorn has been the official historian of Major League Baseball and he has credited baseball cards as one way his interest in the game was sparked when he was young. He's also a collector. Believe it or not, he has a past card appearance in the 1990 Little Sun Baseball Writers set (an obscure release that's tough to find), but his cards in Archives can be landed somewhat easily despite there not being a lot to go around. He only appears on autograph cards -- a standard card and then Purple (/150), Silver (/99), Blue (/25) and 1/1 Gold parallels. The stock on these cards is way too thin, so you will see flaws easily -- especially on bold-colored versions -- but I grabbed this one because it was about adding the ink. Archives has included a number of unusual autographs with ties to the game in recent years and this one was on my to-get list from the start.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps Archives

Keep reading for six more interesting items ...

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It's also a way to get an autograph of the Chicago Cubs' World Series-winning manager who has never sat down with a card company for a certified signature on a card despite a 15-year career as boss atop plenty more time as a coach and minor-leaguer. It's that time that helped bring some of these concepts to life.

"I’ve been wanting to do this for years" reads on essay on the Maddon Art website. "I’ve always enjoyed art, we all do. I’m not saying I’m an artist by any means, but I’ve always enjoyed the concepts. I believe baseball is a very artistic game and that major league players are artists, just like athletes from all of the other professional sports. For some time, I have tried to coerce Major League Baseball to utilize 'Put the Art Back in Thee Game' as a marketing campaign. I was unable to get anyone to bite, so I did it myself."

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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: 2012 Topps Heritage baseball cards (24-pack retail)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for Value Boxes with two Heritage hobby packs)

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 215
Base set completion: 
194 of 425 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Yadier Molina, Justin Verlander, Aroldis Chapman, Felix Hernandez, Stephen Strasburg, Jason Heyward, Dustin Pedroia, Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, Johan Santana, Todd Frazier, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Joe Maddon, Adrian Beltre, Matt Kemp, Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Joey Votto

Rookie Cards (25) – Adron Chambers (SP), Brett Lawrie, Jesus Montero, Matt Moore, Devin Mesoraco, Austin Romine, Wilin Rosario, Addison Reed, Jared Hughes, Chris Schwinden, Tim Federowicz, Nick Hagadone, Tom Milone and a dozen multi-player cards with notables there including Dellin Betances and Devin Mesoraco.

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If you're in the camp that sports novelties just weren't quirky and fun enough, then Forever Collectibles has something you might like.

They're caricature bobbleheads.

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The newest big-name Chicago Cubs prospect arrived on Saturday and made his presence felt immediately in his first game with a two-run homer.

So far, Ian Happ is hitting .429 in his first two games, further helping bolster a mostly home-grown lineup that is watched closely by collectors.

Happ is not a surprise for prospectors as the defending World Series champs took him with the ninth pick in the 2015 MLB Draft out of the University of Cincinnati-- and he's been watched on cardboard ever since -- but sales of his cards, at least so far, are showing some room for growth.

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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 past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 9.

The box: 2016 Topps Heritage High Number blaster box
The cost now: $19.99 -- or less
The cost then: $19.99 (at retail)

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

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One of the biggest moments of the Chicago Cubs' season will hopefully make a big impact for the team's charities.

How?

A number of game-used items from Jake Arrieta's no-hitter on April 21 are currently on the auction block via MLB.com to benefit Cubs Charities.

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