Washington Nationals pitcher Lucas Giolito made his big-league debut on Tuesday night but a rain delay prevented him from picking up a win.

Meanwhile, a win is what collectors will get as the game now makes him eligible for Rookie Cards in the remaining 2016 products from Topps and Panini America. (Will his first be a Topps Now card arriving within hours? Stay tuned. Update: Yep.)

The right-hander from Santa Monica, Calif., gave up just one hit in four innings, walking two and striking out one before the rain ended his night.

Continue reading →

The last time Stephen Strasburg took to the mound for the Washington Nationals and his team did not win was late last season. The last time Strasburg lost? That's last season, too.

And the last time collectors seemed to truly care about his cardboard? ... Arguably that might have been about six years ago.

Don't look now, but the guy who owned the hobby in the summer of 2010 and owned the Washington Nationals' hobby dollars (at least for a while) until some guy named Bryce Harper showed up just might be on the rebound and a compelling buy as a successful 2016 season builds.

Continue reading →

Update: Lelands has updated its posting to say the jersey is from that game, but likely worn before the fight.

--

It's one of the most-memorable -- and probably most-forgettable -- moments in Washington Nationals history all at once and the game-used jersey of the team's biggest star can be yours.

The jersey Bryce Harper wore when he was choked by teammate Jonathan Papelbon during a game last Sept. 27 is on the auction block via Lelands.

Continue reading →

Bryce Harper is the reigning National League MVP and easily one of the first names mentioned when someones asks "Who's the best player in the game today?"

Collectors who have been around have known his name for several years now -- he made his cardboard debut way back in the 2008-09 USA Baseball boxed set as a member of the 16U National Team -- but the high demand for his autographs arguably hasn't waned since his dramatic entry into the national consciousness on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old.

He's signed plenty of autographs, but there's still plenty of demand. Check eBay or COMC and you'll see the lowest asking prices for his ink pushing or topping the $200 mark and that puts him out of reach for a lot of collectors.

Continue reading →

Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer did something last night that had only happened three other times in MLB history.

He struck out 20 batters in a game.

It's a feat that only Roger Clemens, who did it twice, and Kerry Wood have done before, but in both of those pitchers' cases there's an iconic early baseball card to chase. For Clemens, his 1984 Fleer Update card is the one to own. For Wood, it's his 1997 Bowman Chrome.

For Scherzer?

Continue reading →

Four years ago, Bryce Harper made his MLB debut with plenty of collectors watching and plenty of money already spent on his cardboard.

He's lived up to the hype since then as the reigning National League MVP, and to mark the four-year anniversary of the debut -- and what he's done since then -- a limited edition cap and package was produced for Nationals fans to chase if they live in the D.C. area.

Continue reading →

Topps' new program creating real baseball cards in real time documenting the highlights of the here and now have caught on with some collectors as this season has begun with some historic starts and impressive debuts for MLB rookies.

It's 2016 Topps Now and the cards are only available for a 24-hour window. After that, the population reports are released and the next day's cards are unveiled -- all in made-to-order, real-time fashion.

Continue reading →

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.

For the first grading diary here on The Buzz, it will be a mix of cards graded for a few reasons.

The Card: 1993 Upper Deck #449 Derek Jeter
The Reason Graded: This was pulled straight from an underpriced factory set and looked very clean except for a tiny spot on the back -- Buzz figured it might push into the high grades even with the gloss issue. These cards are also not easy to pull from wax or sets cleanly because the high-gloss cards often stick together, peeling away specks of paper. Another reason? This is an iconic card that's worth grading if you own a clean one.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The SP Jeter rookie is the one people chase, not this one. This one's $20 on eBay -- and perhaps undervalued considering how they grade on the pop report. BGS 9s and higher are really much rarer than people think.

Continue reading →

Topps Bunt is a phone app where plenty of collectors buy virtual packs of cards and then wheel and deal to land the ones they want. Some are easy to find, others are not.

This Bryce Harper Signature Card was an award -- given out to those who completed a collecting challenge in the game -- and it's limited to only 16 copies.

Just like real cardboard with Harper's autograph on them, there's big interest in rare cards of the likely National League MVP. This card commanded a few bucks as the rights to the card were sold on eBay -- something that's been a pretty common occurrence in the last couple of years as more and more baseball fans try out the app.

How much did it go for? You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. (The actual amount paid was $299 less than that posted price, but ... still.)

Continue reading →