What's Buzzing: MLB All-Star Game reactions, The National, Tom Brady Rookie Cards, "true" collectors, signed books and is Kyle Schwarber a Hall of Famer?

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1 -- Is Kyle Schwarber a Hall of Famer?

2 -- Checking in on the autographed books thread

3 -- All your All-Star Game chatter 

4 -- A "true" collectors question 

5 -- Still talking Tom Brady Rookie Cards

6 -- The National nears

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Via @tristar1 ... Bo Jackson

This year's National Sports Collectors Convention is nearly here -- it's set for July 30-Aug. 3 in Chicago with a strong roster of autograph guests ready to sign for collectors who get a ticket and get in line for their moment beyond the ballpark.

Some signers are free if you attend the VIP reception on opening day of the show or buy a VIP ticket package -- a bonus for taking the time to hit every day of the show -- but landing other signers will take some planning and a few bucks.

It's tough to see everything at The National -- it's that big -- and the time it takes to work through autograph lines is valuable in that it impedes your shot at seeing it all. But, if you have wanted to meet a player and get that ink, a number of past and present stars are on the list this year. With that said, here are my picks -- skewing toward the best names for the lowest prices possible -- to grab off the autograph list during the full days of the show this year. (Keep reading for the full signers list at the end ... and, remember, times are always subject to change.)

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What's Buzzing: Big Dumper continues big swings, All-Star Game chatter, new pulls and more in this Tuesday edition.

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1 -- Big Dumper makes Derby history ... and here's more on Cal Raleigh

2 -- New MLB pulls are here

3 -- All-Star Game chatter 

4 -- All your off-season football card talk

5 -- Basketball cards on their minds

6 -- The National nears

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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 pack: 2024 Topps Stars of MLB Network baseball cards
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... Click here for MLB boxes

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

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What's Buzzing: The MLB Draft, All-Star Game festivities, still talking Tom Brady Rookie Cards, The National and more.

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1 -- MLB Draft reactions 

2 -- Not a bad Bowman find

3 -- All-Star chatter 

4 -- Talking Tom Brady Rookie Cards and more

5 -- Big Dumper is chasing history ... and here's more on Cal Raleigh

6 -- The National is on their minds

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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's Buzzing: Tom Brady Rookie Cards, Manny Machado, case hits, The National, Cal Raleigh and MiLB.

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1 -- Talking Manny Machado

2 -- Case hits are on their minds

3 -- Talking Tom Brady Rookie Cards and more

4 -- Keeping an eye on MiLB action

5 -- Big Dumper is chasing history ... and here's more on Cal Raleigh

6 -- The National is on their minds

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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's Buzzing: Cal Raleigh chases history, Aaron Judge, Nick Kurtz, The National, 2025 Donruss NFL and more.

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1 -- Big Dumper is chasing history ... and here's more on Cal Raleigh

2 -- Reactions to the 2025 Donruss NFL reveal

3 -- Inside a new soccer box

4 -- Aaron Judge

5 -- Nick Kurtz

6 -- The National is on their minds

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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 pack: 2004 Topps Cracker Jack baseball cards (retail)
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for other Retro Rips

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

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What's Buzzing: Talking 2025 Score football cards, Jac, Trout, Topps Series 2, the National and still talking young pitchers.

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1 -- Talking 2025 Score NFL

2 -- Reel Big Fish

3 -- Is hobby legend Jac back?

4 -- Pondering futures for MLB pitchers

5 -- Ripping into Topps Series 2

6 -- All your National 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 Panini Prizm baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 13
Box basics:  Three autographs per 12-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Prizm drops for another year with all-time greats, future prospects and selected MLB newcomers in play here as part of the familiar formula of the past -- but without current veterans.

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

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What's Buzzing: Pondering the future for some new MLB pitchers, The Miz, Aaron Judge, The National and more.

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1 -- Pondering futures for MLB pitchers

2 -- The (MLB) Miz is awesome

3 -- Talking Aaron Judge

4 -- Ripping into Topps Series 2

5 -- Thoughts on a blind-bag comic ...

6 -- All your National 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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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 pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

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

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What's Buzzing: New Marvel Chrome pulls, inside an "insane collection," MLB All-Stars, Caitlin Clark, The National and ... investment talk?

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1 -- Highlights from some Marvel Chrome

2 -- Showing off an "insane collection"

3 -- Still talking MLB All-Stars ... and snubs

4 -- Caitlin Clark cardboard chatter

5 -- Would you?

6 -- All your National 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 Archives Signature Series baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 6
Box basics: One encased and numbered buyback autograph per box (20 boxes per case)
Player list: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' long-running brand arrives once again with "a curated lineup of autographed buybacks — each one a piece of hobby history reimagined."

Keep reading for more.

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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: MLB All-Stars (and snubs), collecting Tom Brady, Jazz Chisholm Jr. cards, The National and more.

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1 -- Talking MLB All-Stars ... and snubs

2 -- A thread back from the dead

3 -- Collecting Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

4 -- A Luis Ortiz issue?

5 -- Showing off Tom Brady cards

6 -- All your National 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's Buzzing: Showing off rare Tom Brady cards, pondering the best year for NBA cards, wondering how many "true" collectors there are and more in this Sunday edition.

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1 -- "How many true collectors are there?"

2 -- Showing off Tom Brady cards

3 -- "What's the best year in the history of basketball cards?"

4 -- Some new old baseball breaks here

5 -- Showing off Independence Day parallels

6 -- All your National 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's Buzzing: Old NBA boxes, Caitlin Clark cards, MLB chatter, The National and a pair of comic book topics.

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1 -- Still sitting on old NBA boxes?

2 -- All your MLB matters

3 -- Talking Caitlin Clark cards

4 -- Collecting Rogue & Gambit covers

5 -- What about the back covers of comics?

6 -- All your National 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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Simply put, this one is all about the best of the best.

Baseball's global icon and living legend Ichiro Suzuki takes his spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame later this month in Cooperstown, N.Y., and just one piece of all that's to come with his history-making day is Baseball America's special issue that's precision-crafted with a little bit of everything inside when it comes to Japan's greatest player and an icon among the elite in MLB history.

The Ichiro Baseball America Hall of Fame Commemorative is 50 pages of full-bleed retrospective splendor that showcases all of the memorable moments, rarely seen photographs, historic analysis, other memories and stories from yesteryear, thoughts from opposing pitchers and, of course, it's even got some baseball cards inside.

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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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It started as a simple idea for some summertime filler breaks ... but this old pack turned out to be a reminder of something else to consider.

It's a 1993 Bowman jumbo with 22 cards inside -- 20 of them being shots at a Rookie Card for New York Yankees icon and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter as the big find. Jumbo packs also include a pair of foiled cards from the 708-card set that doesn't include a single thing otherwise.

It's all gas, no breaks -- at least if base cards are your thing.

There are no insert cards, no parallels, no hits ... just cards (a few with foil, but nearly all without). The only chase beyond landing your specific wanted name here are the RCs -- there are almost 200 names in the set (27.5 percent of it to be precise) being a first-year MLB card appearance.

So ... what did I find this time?

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What's Buzzing: NBA stars on collectors' minds, MLB, The National and more in this one.

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1 -- Will Giannis end up elsewhere?

2 -- All your MLB chatter is here

3 -- The Shai thread ... 

4 -- New pulls are popping here

5 -- Talking 2025 Topps Chrome

6 -- The National section is open

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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RETRO RECORD-HOLDER
The Card: Roger Maris 2014 Panini Classics Home Run Heroes Jerseys (/25)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I ponied up a little bit for this one vs. my typical range for Maris mem cards since it's a rarer card, has a material (jersey/pants) swatch vs. a bat and is from a brand that packed a lot of potential for big names back in the day. Yet, at the same time, that price was a bargain. Yes, its centering is just slightly off, but otherwise it's clean -- that errant spot on the right side is part of the printed design on all cards here. It was an easy addition for a player I collect and pick off stuff for a few times a year. Those top corners are really clean on this one, which might not always be the case with those bold colors.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What's Buzzing: Chrome, Dave Parker, NFL collusion, new wrestling cards, The National and signed books are today's topics.

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1 -- Talking 2025 Topps Chrome

2 -- An NFL issue?

3 -- Collectors remember Dave Parker

4 -- Wrestling cards are on their minds

5 -- Checking in on the signed books section

6 -- The National section is open as the show nears

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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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