Buzz Break: 2018 Topps Series 1 MLB cards (Walmart-version 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: 2018 Topps Series 1 (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all formats)
Packs per box: 11 (10 plus patch pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion: 
76 of 350 (22 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Benintendi, George Springer (World Series)

Rookie Cards (10) – Rafael Devers, Ozzie Albies, J.P. Crawford, Miguel Andujar, Anthony Banda, Brian Anderson, Nick Williams, Erick Fedde, Dominic Smith, Luis Santos

Buzz Break: 2017 Panini Chronicles 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 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 4
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 20
Base set completion: 
15 of 100 (15 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Bryce Harper, Yangervis Solarte, Will Myers, Rougned Odor, Matt Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Chris Sale, Billy Hamilton, Matt Holiday, Joe Mauer, Javier Baez, Corey Seager, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner

Buzz Break: 2017 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (hobby 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 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 60
Base set completion: 
42 of 100 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Mookie Betts, Ryne Sandberg, Justin Verlander, Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Rose, Carlos Correa, Clayton Kershaw, Gary Sanchez, Jose Altuve, Mike Schmidt, Buster Posey, Mickey Mantle, Kris Bryant, Nolan Ryan

Buzz-worthy Bargain Break: 2015 Panini Prizm baseball cards

If you hadn’t noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices this weekend and for the next week or so over on the mothership and they were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of them.

So much so here’s the first of a few “picks” to come in the next few days.

Buzz Break: 2017 Topps Chrome baseball cards (Walmart jumbo 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 Chrome baseball cards (Walmart jumbo box)
Where to buy: Initially at Walmart for $34.98 (BlowoutCards.com for hobby & blasters)

Packs per box: 12 (10 packs plus two X-fractor packs)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 5 per X-fractor
Cards in this box: 50
Base set completion: 
31 of 200 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Buster Posey, Gary Sanchez, Albert Pujols, Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Andrew McCutchen

Rookie Cards (8) – Alex Reyes, Teoscar Hernandez, Manny Margot, Ryon Healy, Gavin Cecchini, David Dahl, Yulieski Gurriel, Mitch Haniger

Buzz Break: 2017 Topps Allen & Ginter X baseball cards (hobby 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 Allen & Ginter X baseball cards
Where to buy: Initially via Topps.com (BlowoutCards.com for hobby A&G)

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 142
Base set completion: 
113 of 300 (38 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Bryce Harper, Ken Griffey Jr., Clayton Kershaw, Laurie Hernandez, Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Albert Pujols, Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Ryne Sandberg, Chipper Jones, Yu Darvish, Trevor Story, Ken Rosenthal, Gary Sanchez, Kris Bryant, Nolan Ryan, Don Mattingly, Stephen A. Smith

Rookie Cards (18) – Aaron Judge, Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Yoan Moncada, Andrew Benintendi, Tyler Glasnow, Matt Olson, Antonio Senzatela, Jharel Cotton, Jesse Winker, Yulieski Gurriel, Hunter Renfroe, Renato Nunez, Alex Reyes, Jose DeLeon, David Dahl, Jake Thompson, Ty Blach (SP)

Buzz Break: 2017 Topps Museum Collection 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 Museum Collection baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 4
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 20
Base set completion: 
10 of 100 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Bryce Harper, Don Mattingly, David Ortiz, Buster Posey, Carlos Correa, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Freddie Freeman, Yu Darvish

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. 

World Baseball Classic continues with new Topps Now cardboard

The World Baseball Classic may be over but the Topps Now baseball cards are not.

A total of 10 new cards were revealed on the real-time cardboard platform on Friday, focusing on the members of the All-WBC Team and a trio of young stars on one squad who signed on for the newest autographs from the event.

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: 2016 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: 2016 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 – Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Alex Rodriguez, Justin Verlander, Carlos Correa, Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish, Javier Baez, Albert Pujols

Rookie Cards (13) – Corey Seager, Tyler Naquin, Kyle Schwarber, Jose Berrios, Julio Urias, Miguel Sano, Ross Stripling, Luis Severino, Nomar Mazara, Robert Stephenson, Aaron Nola, Byung-Ho Park, Blake Snell

When it comes to Chicago Cubs World Series autographed memorabilia, Fanatics has it covered

The Chicago Cubs‘ World Series championship has prompted plenty of memorabilia and, of course, with that success comes high demand and higher costs for companies to get players to sign.

That’s the price of doing business.

But for Fanatics there’s plenty of business — and plenty of autographed memorabilia — for Cubs fans to chase including high-dollar ticket items like this 12-baseball shadowbox as part of an impressive  and deep array of World Series memorabilia that might not have been seen before for a championship squad.

Chicago Cubs’ historic World Series title prompts biggest Topps Now day

A historic World Series win for the Chicago Cubs means a historic day for Topps Now.

How historic? A mere (record) 36 different cards with a record five different signers, a Relic and 10 different base cards — and that’s just in the standard Now set. There’s a completely separate Now-branded team set also available that was previously teased here.

The five signers can be seen above — Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, David Ross and Dexter Fowler. The World Series MVP, Ben Zobrist, gets a Relic.

Buzz Poll: Would a Chicago Cubs World Series win be the biggest thing ever for cardboard?

We’re just a few hours away from Game 7 of the World Series where the Chicago Cubs will end more than a century of futility — or the Cleveland Indians will make them once again wait for next year.

On cardboard and in the hobby, there’s no comparison between the two teams as the Cubs are largely stocked with young players (several homegrown) who are well-established and readily available on cardboard — for now — compared to the Indians, who have a few young notables but nobody who’ll truly break the bank. Among the Cubbies’ notables are Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, Javier Baez, Jake Arrieta, Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo … and that’s not all on a list that’s meaty and the cardboard is boldly available for nearly all of them.

That got Buzz wondering … if the Cubs win it all, is their victory bigger than the Boston Red Sox’ 2004 World Series win when it comes to the hobby and collecting? Is it bigger than Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens — you know, all those historic super-human performances that ultimately turned out to be, well, a bit questionable? They all sold plenty of cardboard in the past — plenty — but that team and those players were mostly established veterans. The Cubs are largely kids with plenty of potential for future successes — dare we say dynasty — for years to come being a real possibility.

And that would all start with a ring tonight and pay off for collectors for years to come.

I’d argue that demand for the Cubs’ key players autographs and key players could be the biggest thing seen in years once it’s all said and done. Once The Curse of the Billy Goat is dead and buried alongside that of The Bambino there’s all kinds of potential for now in the short-term, later in the weeks and months to come and, ultimately, for future seasons.

It could be like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Agree? Disagree? Tell Buzz what you think in the poll below …

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

Buzz Poll: Who’s winning the World Series … and who’s worth collecting?

Game 1 of the World Series is set for 8 p.m tonight on FOX and it pits two long-losing franchises against each other with one of them ready to claim their first championship in decades.

Here are a few basic questions about the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians for collectors to chew on …

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

Chicago Cubs’ World Series berth gets first wave of Topps Now cards

The Chicago Cubs are headed back to the World Series and Topps has the cardboard to prove it.

Less than 24 hours after the team clinched its first National League pennant since 1945, Topps Now cards are on the way documenting the big win — but for only 24 hours via Topps.com.

There are Kris Bryant autographs — a first for the player in the line — along with Relics and standard cardboard as part of today’s 16-card lineup.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Oct. 12)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Flawless & Five Star breaks, finding Superfractors and a new-found Javier Baez man crush.