Buzz Break: 2017 Topps Holiday 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: 2017 Topps Holiday baseball cards
Where to buy: Initially available at Walmart ($19.98)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 98
Base set completion: 
92 of 200 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Corey Seager, Manny Machado, Buster Posey, Yoenis Cespedes, Joey Votto, Yu Darvish, Nolan Arenado, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Cabrera, Stephen Strasburg, Mookie Betts

Rookie Cards (23) – Andrew Benintendi, Dansby Swanson, Bradley Zimmer, Lewis Brinson, Antonio Senzatela, Sam Travis, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Freeland, Amir Garrett, German Marquez, Jorge Bonifacio, Jharel Cotton, Robert Gsellman, Orlando Arcia, Joe Musgrove, Sean Newcomb,   Reynaldo Lopez, David Dahl, Dinelson Lamet, Franklin Barreto, Ryon Healy, Mitch Haniger, Jeff Hoffman

Aaron Judge could have been an Oakland A’s star — and here’s his 2010 Bowman Draft Picks card

You probably know Aaron Judge by now. After all, he’s tied for the MLB lead with 15 home runs, is the 6-foot-7 young face of the New York Yankees and on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

But in an alternate reality — and an alternate reality with baseball cards — none of this would have happened. He’d be playing somewhere else.

You probably didn’t know — this collector didn’t — that Judge was once a draft pick of the Oakland A’s, the Moneyballing squad that ultimately sends all of its star players to the Yankees anyway and gets its playoff hopes dashed by Yankees stars and unlikely plays that will never, ever go away. (They even start off movies made about the A’s.)

Elite Extra Edition boxes can pay off for bargain hunters & auto chasers

To say that the baseball card landscape has changed in the last decade might be an understatement, but there’s been one prospecting brand that has delivered many of the biggest names early and often and delivered a good amount of ink, too, thanks to Hot Boxes.

It’s packed a number of surprise inclusions, a tremendous rainbow of serial-numbered parallel autos and even some pretty good bargains as many collectors have their established habits elsewhere. In recent years, it’s also given us a teaser of younger USA Baseball players, too.

This mainstay — and arguably a simultaneous sleeper — is Elite Extra Edition. 

Surprises in 2017 Topps include MLB Network, Stephen Colbert’s first pitch, Cubs World Series cards

Although the MLB Network has its share of Hall of Famers like John Smoltz, “Rookie Cards” for some of the other names who bring you the highlights begin arriving on Feb. 1 in packs of 2017 Topps Series 1 baseball cards.

A 10-card release begins a set that will continue in Series 2 and Update later this year and this series will include Lauren Shehadi (RC), Kevin Millar, Mike Lowell, Greg Amsinger (RC), Ryan Dempster, Sean Casey, Harold Reynolds, Dan Plesac and Smoltz as well as an MLB Tonight card.

A number of that crew’s members already have cards as players (click to view a Buzz archives piece) — but there will be several debuts in the forthcoming releases. Meanwhile, a number of them haven’t had many autographs and all nine found in Series 1 will have ink.

Buzz Break: 2015 Topps Heritage 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: 2015 Topps Heritage baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 71
Base set completion: 
63 of 500 (13 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ryan Howard, Jason Heyward, George Springer, Don Mattingly (manager)

Rookie Cards (5) – Jairo Diaz & Shawn O’Malley, Brandon Finnegan & Terrence Gore, Frank Garces & Erik Cordier, Gary Brown & Hunter Strickland, Guilder Rodriguez & Lisalverto Bonilla

Kris Bryant autos, Aroldis Chapman Relics commemorate Chicago Cubs’ win in Game 5 of World Series

The Chicago Cubs are still alive after a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the World Series Sunday night and today we have the Topps Now cards that commemorate that first Series win in Wrigley Field since 1945.

A total of 16 cards — with a mix of Kris Bryant autographs and Aroldis Chapman game-used base Relics — are available today and for no more than 24 hours via Topps.com.

Buzz Break: 2016 Donruss Optic 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: 2016 Donruss Optic baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 30
Base set completion: 
18 of 165 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Alex Rodriguez (DK), Albert Pujols (DK), Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Cabrera, Clayton Kershaw

Rookie Cards (3) – Kyle Schwarber, Miguel Sano, Michael Conforto (all Rated Rookies)

Buzz Break: 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter 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: 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 47
Base set completion: 
26 of 300 (9 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Tom Glavine, Robinson Cano, Monica Abbott, Jacob deGrom, Michelle Steele

Rookie Cards (9) – Nomar Mazara, Stephen Piscotty, Aaron Nola, Guido Knudson, Zach Lee, Dustin Garneau, Hector Olivera, Raul Mondesi, Richie Shaffer