Buzz List: Five other ways to collect your favorite baseball player or team beyond the world of cardboard

One of the challenges of collecting once you reach a certain level (either in years or cards) is how to keep yourself engaged in a hobby that can be full of obstacles.

Cost can be an obstacle. A limited number of releases including your player or team — or scarcity of cards within those releases that are made — can be an obstacle. A player retiring can be an obstacle. These aren’t the only ones, either.

Once you have a certain number of cards for a player or a team, though, maybe it’s time to consider adding to your collection in a few simple ways that are already around you. They can be just as challenging as cards, too.

Here are a few options …

Buzz List: Nine autographs to find in 2013 & 2014 Elite Extra Edition boxes

Countless collectors call themselves prospectors, and that particular focus is one that can lead to a lot of pack-ripping or a lot of secondary market purchases with future flips in mind.

One brand that’s got many of those coveted newcomer names year after year is Elite Extra Edition, which is Panini America‘s foilboard-focused prospecting brand that typically packs one of the deepest checklists and, with Hot Boxes, some of the highest autograph totals in the hobby.

While the dust isn’t yet settling on the recently released newest edition of the brand, Buzz decided to take a look back at nine names who you should know from the previous two editions (2013 and 2014) and see how they did last season. Why? There are inevitably some bargains to be had if you consider this brand and these guys (along with countless other players that may not yet be on the radars of too many prospectors) given box prices these days. After all, old wax can still be good wax if the price is right.

Buzz List: Eight NFL players to watch this weekend

The NFL’s postseason kicks off with four games this weekend and it seems each of them have players to watch when it comes to collecting football cards.

Here’s one player from all eight teams Buzz says could be of interest — some obvious, some not.

J.J. Watt — The Houston Texans’ defensive dynamo and part-time tight end is basically a household name with his bloody noses and his Papa John’s commercials, but when it comes to autographed Rookie Cards he might be overvalued. He’s one of very few defensive stars to really get attention when it comes to cards, so it would take a monster game against the Chiefs to make those Contenders Rookie Cards even better buys. Sorry for the bad news there. (Maybe him being able to successfully complete a pizza curl in a follow-up Papa John’s commercial would help?)

Buzz List: Five top Santa Claus cards *serious* collectors need right now

With the holiday season here, cardboard is probably on the minds of many Buzz readers as they wonder what might await them soon.

Others, like Buzz, might be thinking of Cardboard of Christmas Past — you know, some of the Santa Claus trading cards we’ve seen throughout the years. Most of it’s trivial and not all that collectable — but they all stand out in a way compared to our traditional sports cards.

1989 Pro Set Promos #1989
When Dallas-based Pro Set created this card during its first season of making football cards in 1989, it sparked a trend that we saw in not just football cards but other areas in the years that followed. (Boy are there some bad Photoshop jobs there in the 1990s.) For all intents and purposes, though, Buzz would call this one a “Rookie Card.” Yes, there were previous non-sports cards — but this was the one that put cards like this on the minds of the sports-collecting masses after it was mailed out to dealers and selected NFL-related people.

Buzz List: Five NFL players to watch in Week 15

As the season winds down (and fantasy season’s like Buzz’s are flat-out over), some players are in situations where it’s just about tallying their stats to see how it ends. Others have postseason potential, but for the stars on those teams — like the undefeated Panthers and QB Cam Newton — the expectations are set and they are set high.

With an undefeated team, it goes without saying that Newton is a player to watch this week and you should’ve been eyeing his Rookie Cards from 2011 for some time now.

Keep reading for four more players to watch …

Buzz List: Five NFL players to watch in Week 14

Buzz-worthy or bust-worthy — those might be the labels thrown around this week depending on what Cleveland’s Johnny Bench Football does as starter for the Browns.

Johnny Manziel has probably been a disappointment to many considering where his cardboard ranked among his rookie peers last year but this week’s game could end up being a coming out party showing or one where the moralists and scouts say “I told you so” before they bail on his cardboard.

Love ’em or hate ’em, Manziel is one to watch against the San Francisco 49ers. Keep reading for four more …

Buzz List: Five NFL players to watch in Week 13

With the Patriots jettisoned from the unbeaten ranks, all eyes are on MVP candidate Cam Newton as his 11-0 Carolina Panthers take on the high-powered offense and no-powered defense of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.

Newton has thrown for 2,466 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, scoring seven more times on the ground. His 2011 Rookie Cards have to be among the most-watched right now, too, with Topps Chrome and Panini Contenders autos among perennial favorites with more tradition-minded collectors who can’t swing for the high-end brands. (Or maybe that’s just Buzz.)

Something wants Buzz to call an upset here because the Saints have potential on offense, but … we’ll see.

Keep reading for four more guys to watch on Sunday.

Buzz List: Five 1990s rockers who need a certified autograph card

When the news broke that former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland had died at age 48 on Thursday night, the chatter online turned to the memorable songs of the band that was a memorable one for a stretch in the 1990s.

Naturally, Buzz wondered if he had any trading cards — knowing that rock n’ roll and cardboard have never really meshed in the past save for a few forgettable releases in the early 1990s. It turns out Weiland had a single cut autograph produced in modest quantity from a major company. In 2009, Upper Deck made 23 copies of a card with a cut auto. For the record, it’s in the 2009 Upper Deck Prominent Cuts Cut Signatures set and just a single one had been sold in recent months. (Its low-quality image is seen here.)

That got Buzz brainstorming … which definitively 1990s rockers should have a certified autograph card?