Buzz 12 in 12: Busting a 2001 Topps Archives MLB blaster box (Hour 3)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today’s your day then as we launch 12 in 12 — a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We’ll post one every hour on the hour all day long today … this is Hour 3.

12in12-logo-smallerThe box: 2001 Topps Archives baseball cards (blaster)
The cost: 
$50 now ($34.99 then by the box, $3.99 per pack)

What’s inside this one? Keep reading …

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Buzz Break: 2017 Topps Update baseball cards (blaster box)

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: 2017 Topps Update baseball cards 
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for nearly all wax formats)

Packs per box: 11 (10 standard plus one medallion pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion: 
81 of 300 (27 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Corey Seager, Giancarlo Stanton, Francisco Lindor, George Springer, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Stephen Strasburg

Rookie Cards (30) – Notables include Andrew Benintendi, Bradley Zimmer (2), Aaron Judge (no logo), Lewis Brinson, Yulieski Gurriel, Jordan Montgomery

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Newest Lelands auction includes some serious baseball history

A number of high-end and truly historic baseball items are leading the way in the latest Lelands Masters Auction.

What you see above? A 1962 Topps first series cello box.

It includes 36 packs that originally cost buyers $3.60 if they cleared out the box. It’s been inspected, authenticated and documented by Baseball Card Exchange and includes a number of packs with stars showing, including four showing Stan Musial and then appearances by Sandy Koufax, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Brooks Robinson and a number of leaders cards.

Bidding currently sits at $48,717 after just eight bids — and it’s not even close to the biggest item in the sale.

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NSCC signers: Whose autograph would you pick first?


This year’s National Sports Collectors Convention begins on Wednesday with more than 100 autograph guests signing for those who opt to get a ticket and stand in line for their “inkredible” moment.

Some of those signers are actually free if you’re at the VIP reception on Wednesday or buy a VIP ticket package — a bonus for taking the time to hit the entire show or buy the full package for all of the other bonuses — but other signers will take some planning to land the ones you want.

>>> NSCC Want even more? Click here to see all of our past pieces previously revealing nuggets of news for the show and keep up with newer stories tagged NSCC by clicking here.

It’s tough to see everything at the show — 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. With that said, here are my picks — one per day — to grab off the autograph list. (Keep reading for the full signers list in a gallery at the end.)

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Buzz Break: 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts baseball cards

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: 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 50
Base set completion: 
46 of 100 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Frank Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr., Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Harmon Killebrew, Tom Seaver, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, Robin Yount, Willie Stargell, Tony Gwynn, Willie McCovey

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Aaron Judge’s home run barrage has him on pace to be in elite company

If the season ended today, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would win the Triple Crown.

As a rookie.

With two homers on Sunday — one a highlight-reel worthy 496-foot shot — he upped his mark to 21 this season and that goes right alongside a .344 batting average and 47 RBI. Will the Triple Crown pace continue? Who knows, but the power is a barometer of baseball card potential and he’s on pace to be among the best rookies in MLB history.

He’s on pace to top the 40-homer mark and that’s been done just one other time by a rookie. Even if he struggles some, by season’s end he’s likely to be very close to — if not among — the top 10 sluggers for most home run seasons by a rookie.

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Buzz 12 in 12: Busting three 2014 Topps Series 1 MLB commemorative patch packs (Hour 10)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today’s your day then as we launch 12 in 12 — a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We’ll post one every hour on the hour all day long today … this is Hour 10.

12in12-logo-smallerThe packs: 2014 Topps Series 1 MLB commemorative patch packs
The cost: Click here

What’s inside this one? Keep reading …

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Alex Rodriguez to sign at National Sports Collectors Convention

There’s a new big name among the first wave of autograph signers for this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago.

It’s Alex Rodriguez.

Once baseball’s highest-paid player, he’s a member of the 3,000-hit club and a player who hit 696 home runs during his at times controversial 22-year MLB career with the Mariners, Rangers and Yankees.

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Are you ready to chase variations in 2017 Topps Heritage? Here’s a potential checklist primer from ’68

2017-topps-heritage-blaster-box

The annual trip back in time on baseball cards is nearly here as 2017 Topps Heritage arrives on March 1 with a new look at the famed (or is it infamous?) burlap design of 1968 Topps.

Part of that package are variations that are based on errors and variations from the original set that it seeks to replicate (at least in part) with players of today.

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Need a 2016 Panini Prime Cuts baseball checklist? It’s here + gallery

2016-Panini-Prime-Cuts-baseball-8Prime Cuts is almost here — but the wait for its checklist is now over.

How many Babe Ruth memorabilia cards will there be? How many rookies made the cut? Who’s signing and whose memorabilia can be found for the first time?

Oh and who made it onto the eight-player autograph booklets?

Keep reading to find out what’s in store for 2016 Panini Prime Cuts baseball cards …

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NSCC signers: Whose autograph would you pick first?

Hideki-Matsui-autographThis year’s National Sports Collectors Convention is a couple of months away and thanks to its non-traditional location — Atlantic City, N.J. — there are perhaps a few more guests on tap that we’ve not expected to see at the annual show.

It’s been a long time since the show was last in New Jersey — it’s largely been located in the Midwest for most of the last decade — so regional autograph guests such as Hideki Matsui and countless others who wore pinstripes and starred for other teams in that area make sense. They’ll also help draw in locals who might not normally hit the show … just to get that ink.

Autograph ticket pricing for the show will come soon, but Buzz has picked seven top names that may not break the bank — one per sport — at the show.

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What should we expect in 2016 Topps Legacies of Baseball?

2016-topps-legaciesIt’s a new brand name with a semi-familiar look, so what should we expect to find in 2016 Topps Legacies of Baseball?

Buzz took a look at the checklist to find out.

First, though, the basics: You get four cards per box for a premium price — one being a metal card, two being autographs and one being an insert.

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Just For Fun: Can you identify which years these vintage baseball card photographs were used?

MantleWhen someone says “1952 Topps Mickey Mantle” there’s simply one image that comes to mind for collectors — the image of the Oklahoma-born slugger looking over his right shoulder where his Louisville Slugger resides.

The blue hues and the yellow bat — the results of colorized images back in those days — are dramatically different than what we often expect from the cardboard of today, yet they are the basis of everything, too.

Seeing one of these memorable card images recently got Buzz wondering whether fellow collectors would be able to identify photographs from memorable vintage baseball card sets — but without the accoutrement that make 1952 look like 1952 or 1965 look like 1965.

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