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

STARTING ON A SERIOUS NOTE ...
The Card: Will Ferrell 2015 Topps Archives Will Ferrell Inserts
The Reason Graded: Back in 2015 this comedy legend took to the field for 10 MLB teams and played 10 positions in a single day of real spring training action -- you can see his stats here -- as part of a project with a charity component called Ferrell Takes The Field. Collectors ended up chasing his autographs on 10 different cards in Archives that year -- roughly one per hobby case if I remember correctly -- but, alas, I went 0-for-1 there before those boxes got too pricy and/or vanished ... but I did hit the blasters. There, the regular Ferrell inserts were found one per box -- at least until all of those boxes disappeared, too. It's been a decade since this publicity stunt took place (March 12, 2015), so I figured we could start this new MLB season here on a serious note. These aren't his only cards -- he popped up a few times that year -- but this was the first set and this was the first card -- and one for my team.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: There's a small volume of stuff slabbed for this card -- roughly all cards here have no more than 10 slabbed copies across the entire set -- and this is among the top marks. This card has full-bleed back edges in bright blue just like in 1965 Topps and when I saw how clean this card was, well, it was a no-brainer. I previously slabbed one elsewhere years ago and this copy will go well with that and a slab of the same photo used on a magazine cover that ended up on a show promo card. A lot of those who likely weren't collecting back then seem to be interested here as asking prices can be steep -- raw or graded -- for Ferrell stuff.

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

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What's Buzzing: Whatever, whoever, whenever ... yada, yada, yada ... read them or don't in today's edition.

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1 -- Him?

2 -- Whoopee!

3 -- Whatever.

4 -- Who?

5 -- That guy?

6 -- Really? Only a blaster?

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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 box: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

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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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

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What's Buzzing: Opening Day is here ... so we've got nothing but baseball in this one.

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1 -- Opening Day is here

2 -- Collecting pitchers?

3 -- Sapphire vs. Chrome 

4 -- Baseball breaks are here

5 -- Checking in on Shohei Ohtani chatter

6 -- Still talking Heritage High Number ... and bots

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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 Tribute baseball cards
Arrives: April 23
Box basics: Three autographs and three Relics per six-pack box (four boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Tribute is up next in the Topps MLB lineup with its familiar high-end approach the same but it having a smaller case size this year.

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

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What's Buzzing: Chasing the Dodgers' big names, March Madness, The Living Set, new pulls and a Kobe question.

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1 -- Talkin' baseball ... 

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is still on their minds ... Roki Sasaki is, too

3 -- March Madness

4 -- A Kobe question

5  -- So ... The Living Set missed a day?

6 -- New pulls are popping here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (retail Super Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

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

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What's Buzzing: The Dodgers win again (in Japan), Shohei Ohtani, NFL chatter, sketch cards and more in this mid-week edition.

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1 -- All your MLB chatter as the season is here

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is still on their minds ... Roki Sasaki is, too

3 -- One for Steelers fans

4 -- Showing off sketch cards

5  -- Stranger Things reactions

6 -- Wrestling cards are the focus here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

They're not the mascots, but they figure to be in some collections.

Topps' upcoming Celebration boxes for 2025 Topps Series 1 will loosen things up and revisit a number of the inclusions in its old Opening Day brand and, while the checklist isn't yet officially revealed, we do have a sneak peek at a few of the insert sets to be found in this one when it arrives next month.

One set will be Dugout Peeks cards as you can see above -- 10 cards are teased in our gallery -- and they'll be joined by a few other sets. See 'em all after the jump.

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What's Buzzing: The MLB season officially begins in Japan, Shohei Ohtani, NFL chatter, explaining the boom and more in today's edition.

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1 -- All your MLB chatter as the season is here

2 -- Shohei Ohtani is on their minds

3 -- Explaining the boom?

4 -- Off-season NFL chatter has a lot in here

5  -- Lots of thoughts from collectors here

6 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

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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: Non-sports chatter, Spring Training highlights, Deebo Samuel, Allen & Ginter X, Shohei Ohtani and "the gamble pays off."

1 -- "The gamble pays off"

2 -- Checking in on the Shohei Ohtani thread

3 -- Plenty of non-sports chatter at the moment

4 -- Talking Spring Training ...

5  -- Deebo Samuel reactions

6 -- Talking Allen & Ginter X

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2024 Topps Heritage baseball cards (giant)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

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

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

CLOSE TO PERFECT
The Card: Shohei Ohtani 2018 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Ohtani's historic 2024 season had me assessing all of my cards from my 2018 stash -- mostly lower-end stuff that's heavily graded -- but not graded by me. Why? I don't grade the heavily submitted stuff because a lesser mark wouldn't be as worthy of going through the process and, really, in most instances a card can always be found already graded if it's needed. But, with his 50-50 season being so big, I opted to slab a few basics and this is one that made the cut. The stock used in 2018 is almost as thin as it gets and all that dark ink definitely showcases flaws, but I picked a pair of cards I thought were perfect from my stash and sent them in.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: I don't know where I missed a perfect mark here but I'll still take a 10 ... less than half check in there and I think it's really harder than that -- people are examining their stuff harder before sending them in. The fact that these have checked in as low as a seven show how this one isn't easy sledding when it comes to slabbing. And as for my perfect aspirations? Well, it doesn't exist.

Keep reading for more of this month's 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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

Continue reading →

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: 2024 Topps Heritage baseball cards (giant)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

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

Continue reading →

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: 2025 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

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This year's first installment of Topps baseball cards is almost here in the form of 2025 Topps Series 1 and with some sleuthing, we've made our picks for 12 standard cards that are stand out from the pack this time.

Sure, there will be more to chase -- and likely even more interesting photos among the planned variations -- but here are some notables from the base cards we've seen so far in advance of its Feb. 12 arrival -- get yours at the link above.

BACK TO SCHOOL 
Taylor Ward -- OF, Los Angeles Angels
This is a pretty standard photo maximizing the looseness of a horizontal frame and yet it's still properly cropped and clean. Why would a simple image make the list? His Players' Weekend Victus No. 2 pencil bat, of course -- see it in action here.

Keep reading for the rest of this dandy dozen from Series 1 ... and for a look at almost the entire base set after that.

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What's Buzzing: Ichiro Suzuki awaits his Cooperstown call, NFL chatter, new pulls, Shohei Ohtani, Wemby and 2025 Topps in this one.

1 -- Awaiting this year's Hall of Fame results

2 -- Fresh NFL perspectives

3 -- Check out these new pulls

4 -- Talking Shohei Ohtani cards

5  -- Checking in on the Wemby thread

6 -- 2025 Topps interest remains strong ... and read more here

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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: 2024 Topps Diamond Icons baseball cards
Arrives: TBD 2025
Box basics: Nine autographed cards and one Relic per 10-card box (two boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: "One of the most-treasured releases every year from Topps" returns with the same format as previous years but with new players and plenty of hits -- in fact, it's once again nothing but hits.

Keep reading for more as well as 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 boxes: 2024 Topps Holiday baseball cards (tin)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Where to buy: Click here

Why two? Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this pairing.

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What's Buzzing: Collecting goals for 2025, pondering what Shohei Ohtani can do next, NFL Week 17, Rickey Henderson and more in this one.

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What: 2024 Topps Transcendent Collection baseball cards
Arrives: Jan. 22, 2025
Box basics: 10 hits and more per 42-card box
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Transcendent returns via a different approach with "careful crafting and elegant touches" for its super-premium VIP product experience -- and with only 100 VIP party invitations now randomly inserted into the run and a second rarer VIP party package to be found, too.

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

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And the award goes to ... those who open this one to find the cardboard treasures inside.

Baseball America's Best of 2024 Awards issue is here and just like its Draft Preview it's jam-packed with everything one needs to know -- and it once again includes bonus collectibles.

Beyond the annual awards, this double issue also features player profiles and scouting reports for 150 top prospects in the American League -- but the bonus insert should add to its demand. The inserts are similar to Sports Illustrated for Kids trading cards, which are heavily collected and, in the case of iconic stars and newcomers, often quite valuable.

Keep reading for the details and a look at what's in this one.

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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: 2024 Topps Holiday baseball cards (tin)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Where to buy: Click here

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

Continue reading →