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

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LEGENDARY INK
The Card: Ichiro Suzuki autographed 2001 Topps Rookie Card (BAS 10 auto)
The Price: Not as much as you might think ... but also not that cheap.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Clean copies of this iconic Topps flagship Rookie Card are not easy finds in general with the boxes and sets likely bricked now if they remain unopened -- that means the gloss will be snowy if you're lucky to peel the cards apart at all -- and then the dark green border and high-gloss on soft stock here is always going to be problematic. When I spotted this card among many where Suzuki has signed for literally years (Mill Creek Sports) without a premium price, I bit on this just before his Hall of Fame results hit. (We all knew he was going in ... but I didn't know if his prices were going to rise.) This copy is super clean vs. many cards out there with some very light roughness on maybe one edge and a light touch on the bottom-left corner ... but some of what's seen in my photo is just how the light is reflecting. I generally don't do a ton of bigger buys for my collection, but this one's cost wasn't that much more than some of the hot and plentiful new release hobby boxes. I went with a safe and iconic bet for my (for me) premium spend and went with the sure thing on an iconic card for a living legend. I pulled his ink once from an unlicensed release -- and it was in one of my earliest Making The Grade posts here -- but a signed RC means I'll likely never need to sweat his stuff again. (Might window shop, though, or bite if price is right for a nice certified.) One more fun part of my card? If that label had a simple added line of Beckett/Fanatics witnessed instead of signed for Mill Creek and then slabbed, the price likely would be double what I paid. I wouldn't pay that -- and this one is a win in my book.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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ICONIC ARRIVAL
The Cards: Caitlin Clark 2024 Panini Instant WNBA (All-Rookie Team) -- Rookie Card (/26,980)
The Price: Whatever a 10-pack cost was from Panini
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's no doubt that Clark owned the WNBA in her rookie year and for most of this year her only pro cardboard came via Instant ... but I passed. Why? I figured I'd wait and see what popped up that I liked in packs -- and then when I opened one of her college career boxes I found interesting stuff but not cards all that slab-worthy with the details for cutting and printing. (Too messy for the risk to me.) As an easy slabbing decision, I grabbed a 10-pack of this card within hours of its arrival online. Why? It's clean and simple -- iconic -- and I knew that I'd want one or two of these in a slab with a high mark. How does that happen? Well, you have to have a few to pick from -- to eliminate obvious flaws like centering or corners -- and in this case three of my 10 might get sent in. The rest were too off-centered for my taste. There were plenty of these made so there's no rush, but it'll happen at some point in 2025.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WNBA cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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A HISTORY LESSON
The Cards: Huck Betts, Joe Oeschger & Whitey Glazner 2019 Historic Autographs Triple Play Cut Signatures Triple Play Booklet ... plus 1961 Topps Leon Cadore & Joe Oeschger (Brooklyn-Boston Play 26-Inning Tie) from the Baseball Thrills subset
The Price: $21 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm not exactly sure what sparked my going down the rabbit hole to end up finding this one -- whether it was some trivia about the game or just a search of cut autographs I'm not sure as I found this earlier this year -- but for something different without breaking the bank this cardboard duo was worth a lead-off spot this time. As the Topps card details, on May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves played 26 innings to a 1-1 tie that ended due to darkness and that's still an MLB record. Cadore and Oeschger both pitched all 26 innings -- think about that a minute -- and that's their only Topps card appearance. As for the cut, Oeschger gets the center spot with an inscription for that game, while Betts was a rookie in 1920 for the Phillies and Glazner was a rookie for the Pirates later that year. Why are all three on this cut auto book? I'm not totally sure ... but all three did pitch for the Phillies at some point so it could be that beyond 1920 highlights. The center auto here is the key to me ... that's some good trivia.

Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... BlowoutCards.com for MLB

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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: Women of Star Trek Art & Images trading cards
Where to buy: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this over-delivering box as well as a gallery.

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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.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ... 

GOOD AS GOLD ...
The Card: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Flash (/10)
The Reason Graded: If you recognize this card, well, there's a reason. Just a few weeks ago, I pulled it from a blaster box and thanks to CSG's quick, budget-minded services I turned this around fast and, well, this rarity pays for itself. This retail-only card is rare -- only nine others like it exist -- and it came back with a top mark since even the horizontal centering was clean. (That's not the norm from what I have seen with this release.) This is a pricey card right now so that was my main reason for slabbing, and now it's that much better.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: It's the only one that has been slabbed so far. How many might still be sitting in packs? Generally speaking, Select is a strong release worth your look in any format -- and I have other stuff here I intend to get graded.

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

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What: 2021 Rittenhouse Women of Star Trek Art & Images trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 13
Box basics: Three autographs per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The women of the long-running science fiction franchise get another run on cardboard with a rather comprehensive release that even includes autographs signed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry back in 2008.

Keep reading for more details.

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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: Women of Star Trek 50th Anniversary trading cards
Where to buy: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this over-delivering box as well as a gallery.

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What: Star Trek Inflexions Starfleet's Finest trading cards
Arrives: Dec. 18
Box basics: Three autographs per three-pack box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Star Trek gets a high-end release with an autograph in every pack and plenty of potential from throughout the legendary franchise -- both TV and film all in one place ... and sometimes on the same card.

Keep reading for more info and images.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as BlowoutCards.com has started its April Showers sales that will add new stuff every week.

The first batch is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five options that caught this collector’s eye.

2017 Panini Donruss Optic NFL fat pack
Want to chase Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards on the cheap but with the potential for plenty more like other key RCs and parallels? This might be the best place to look right now as these packs are slashed to a fraction of their original price. Lime parallels are only found in these packs and a raw Mahomes can sell for a solid amount while a PSA 10 recently sold for more than $200. There are, of course, standard versions and Prizms in this one as well as inserts -- I'll be ordering a max of 20 packs just for fun and look for a Buzz Break of this one here soon because the price is great for the potential to be found. (And Mahomes is far from alone as far as notables here are concerned.)

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 4 is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye.

2016 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball hobby box
You may not recognize the uniforms here but they're creative -- and wearing them are names you should know with guys like Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins on the checklist. The crop of players here is pretty strong and so is the signers list in a product that takes the 1967 Topps design back to the minor leagues. Atop the signers list that includes Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi, Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout for starters, they're all on-card autographs here. A couple of boxes should get you a basic base set and a number of the inserts that this one includes. It's a simple but fun break and you can see a sample box here.

Keep reading for four more picks ...

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What: 2017 Rittenhouse Women of Star Trek 50th Anniversary trading cards
Arrives: July 26
Box basics: Three autographed cards and one costume card per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: The 50th anniversary of Star Trek's arrival continues on cardboard with a look at the women in the sci-fi franchise's extensive universe.

Keep reading for more.

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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: 1991 Star Trek 25th Anniversary trading cards
Where to buy: Check eBay 

Packs per box: 36
Cards per pack: 12
Cards in this box: 423
Base set completion: 
147 of 150 (98 percent)
Duplicates: 138
Triplicates: 94
Quadruplicates: 42
Quintuplicates: 2

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