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 boxes: 2018 Boys of Summer (baseball) and Gunslingers (football) repacks (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart and other retail chains ($9.98 apiece)

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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: NSCC chatter and big pulls -- including this Derek Jeter 1/1 from a blaster box -- lead the way today.

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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. Jo Adell, OF, Angels — High-A Inland Empire 66ers
Season so far: Hitting .318 with 14 doubles, 14 homers, 47 RBI and 11 SBs in 50 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “At just 19 years old, Adell is quickly emerging as one of the top five-tool prospects in the minor leagues. He earned a promotion to the California League roughly a month ago and has taken the circuit by storm.”
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 400
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Leaf Metal
Buzz’s card take: He’s heavily hyped and was very pricey when his first Chrome ink arrived. A season like this won’t change that. Bargain-hunting could be tough here — but he’ll also likely keep appearing on prospect checklists.

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

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What: 2018 In The Game Used Sports cards
Arrives: Aug. 1
Box basics: Five memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf takes its In The Game Used brand and opens it up to the wider sports world beyond hockey with a high-end product that will have a low print run, a limited distribution and a prime spot at the National Sports Collectors Convention as part of its box-breaking redemption program.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images released so far.

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With the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft last night, a new crop of MLB hopefuls now have new collectors seeking their cardboard -- but this year there's a little bit of a challenge involved that could help make for a stronger card crop later.

How? Interestingly, a number of the first-rounders and supplemental picks last night don't actually have cardboard yet. That's certainly not the norm in a world where USA Baseball players not even in high school yet have card appearances and signed certified autograph cards years before MLB might call and where other prep All-Star events spawn card sets of their own.

Here's a Buzz List rundown of who has ink and where ...

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What: 2018 Leaf Memorabilia Vault
Arrives: Fall 2018
Box basics: Ten memorabilia pieces per box
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf Trading Cards' Memorabilia Vault returns with plenty of surprises inside one massive box -- a mix of items from the sports world and beyond.

Keep reading for more.

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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 4.

The box: 2017 Leaf Originals Artwork
The cost: $79 (price will vary ... if you can find)

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

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What: 2018 Leaf Pop Century Signed Photograph Edition
Arrives: August/September
Box basics: One autographed 8-by-10 photo per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's next autograph product for pop culture arrives with certified autographed photos from the biggest names in Hollywood as well as big names from elsewhere one per box.

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What: 2018 Leaf Best of Baseball cards
Arrives: August
Box basics: One buyback card or bonus item and one Best of Baseball per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's buyback brand returns with a case size twice as big as last year but some of the same iconic baseball cards from the past.

Keep reading for more info.

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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 3.

The box: 2017 Leaf Metal Sports Heroes Proofs
The cost: Click here for the standard product (when available)

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

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What: 2018 Leaf Showcase Baseball Vault cards
Arrives: June
Box basics: One past Leaf Showcase box and five 1/1 (or /5) autographs per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here when available

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf revisits the Perfect Game Showcase with a limited-edition release that's even rarer than last year and revisits past years of the prep all-star event via full boxes of those past products combined with newer bonus cards.

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: 2018 Championship Collection Shohei Ohtani baseball repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.99)

Packs per box: 15 (five packs are bonus items) plus one Leaf Shohei Ohtani card
Cards per pack: Varies by brand
Cards in this box: 121
Base set completion: N/A

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

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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 Championship Collection Shohei Ohtani baseball repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.99)

Packs per box: 15 (five packs are bonus items) plus one Leaf Shohei Ohtani card
Cards per pack: Varies by brand
Cards in this box: 118
Base set completion: N/A

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

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What: 2018 Leaf Trinity football cards
Arrives: July-August
Box basics: Five on-card autographs per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's all-hit three-tiered approach to draft pick football cards arrives soon with a mix of approaches and big names you probably know from the college game and the NFL Draft.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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An international baseball legend is calling it a career ... maybe.

After 27 seasons as a professional baseball player -- the last 18 in Major League Baseball -- Ichiro Suzuki is taking a front-office position with the Seattle Mariners. The 44-year-old had played in 15 games this season -- collecting nine hits -- in a return to the team he began his MLB career with back in 2001. Before that he was a star in Japan with the Orix Blue Wave for nine seasons beginning as an 18-year-old in 1992.

"With Ichiro's track record of success, his personality, his unique perspective and his work ethic, he is singularly positioned to impact both our younger players and the veterans in the clubhouse," Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto told ESPN. "We really don't want him to change anything that he's doing right now, with the exception that he will not be playing in games."

Meanwhile, Suzuki's agent says he's not retiring.

“He doesn’t plan on retiring,’’ John Boggs, his agent, told USA TODAY Sports. “He’s morphing into the role. He’ll still be traveling with the team, work out with the team every day, but he just isn’t going to be allowed to play.

“He in no way has decided to retire.’’

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What: 2018 Leaf Flash football cards
Arrives: June-July
Box basics: Five autographs per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's new football line packs plenty of flash and a few flashbacks into its boxes that will be full of nothing but autographed cards with plenty of parallels.

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: 2018 Championship Collection Shohei Ohtani baseball repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.99)

Packs per box: 15 (five packs are bonus items) plus one Leaf Shohei Ohtani card
Cards per pack: Varies by brand
Cards in this box: 125
Base set completion: N/A

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

Continue reading →

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: Blowout's $60,000 offer for Shohei Ohtani's first Superfractor autograph, bulk buys and big pulls have 'em talking.

Continue reading →

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: Shohei Ohtani pulls, a former big-leaguer's perspective on signing (video), big pulls and plenty more.

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What: 2018 Leaf Metal U.S. Army All-American Bowl football cards
Arrives: May 30
Box basics: Eight autographs per box (15 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's Metal take on the All-American Bowl is back for another season with an array of possibilities that includes inscriptions, patch cards and more for this prep all-star showcase event.

Keep reading for more.

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Long before the days of Hulk Hogan took professional wrestling to cable TV and beyond, it was one man who owned New York City and held Vince J. McMahon's company in his hands for years.

He was Bruno Sammartino -- an Italian immigrant who won the World Wide Wrestling Federation championship for nearly eight years and then held it for three more when he got a second run. He was a strongman known worldwide and dubbed "The Living Legend." He died on Wednesday at age 82.

"Devastated to hear the passing of a true icon, legend, great, honest and wonderful man," wrote WWE Executive VP of Talent Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, on Twitter. "A true friend and one of the toughest people I've ever met. My thoughts are with his entire family."

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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 1/1 pulls leading the way in today's edition.

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What: 2018 Leaf Autographed Football Jersey Edition
Arrives: June-July
Box basics: One autographed custom jersey per box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf once again brings the fabric of the game to the blind-wrapped football memorabilia market with "an incredible mix of Hall of Famers, fan favorites, the biggest stars in the game today plus the hottest young players in the game."

Keep reading for 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 Today: Nothing but big breaks in today's edition.

Continue reading →

What: 2018 Leaf Greatest Hits basketball cards
Arrives: late June
Box basics: At least four buyback cards and one Leaf Original autograph per box (two boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Greatest Hits is back with some of the biggest cardboard from the past on buyback cards, but possibly some of the biggest cards of the future, too. Who might that be?

Keep reading for more.

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