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

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 4
Cards in this box: 96
Base set completion: 
70 of 200 (35 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – David Ortiz, Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story, Albert Pujols, Gary Sanchez, Yu Darvish, Jose Quintana, Carlos Correa, Paul Goldschmidt

Rookie Cards (24) – Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel, Trey Mancini, Tyler Glasnow, Carson Fulmer, Kyle Freehand, Amir Garrett, Antonio Senzatela, Jeff Hoffman, Luke Weaver, David Dahl, Tyler Austin, Orlando Arcia, Matt Strahm, German Marquez, Hunter Dozier, Mitch Haniger, Jose DeLeon, Jesse Winker, Joe Jimenez, Manny Margot, Jordan Montgomery, Christian Arroyo

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. 

Buzz 12 in 12: Busting a 2016 Topps Heritage High Number baseball blaster box (Hour 9)

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 9.

The box: 2016 Topps Heritage High Number blaster box
The cost now: $19.99 — or less
The cost then: $19.99 (at retail)

What’s inside this box? Keep reading …

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

Packs per box: 24 (plus one box-topper)
Cards per pack: 9
Cards in this box: 220
Base set completion: 
202 of 500 (40 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Short-prints (Nos. 401-500) (8) –  Mike Trout, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Fulmer, Stephen Strasburg, Dee Gordon, Jake Odorizzi, Francisco Lindor, Christian Yelich

Notables on base cards – Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Jose Altuve, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Anthony Rizzo, Mookie Betts, Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout, Joc Pederson, Ichiro Suzuki, Matt Wieters, Yadier Molina, Yasiel Puig, Joe Mauer, Javier Baez

>>> For a checklist and the variation galleries, click here

Rookie Cards (16 cards, 32 rookies) – Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel, Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Dansby Swanson, Rio Ruiz, JaCoby Jones, Dustin Molleken, Trey Mancini, Donnie Hart, Josh Bell, Tyler Glasnow, Orlando Arcia, Brent Suter, David Dahl, Raimel Tapia, Matt Dermody, Danny Barnes, Robert Gsellman, Gavin Cecchini, Carson Fulmer, Yoan Moncada, Tony Renda, Wandy Peralta, Jake Thompson, Roman Quinn, Ryon Healy, Jharel Cotton, Brian Goodwin, Spencer Kieboom, Luke Weaver, Alex Reyes

Top rookies Corey Seager & Michael Fulmer get Topps Now nods

The Rookie of the Year award winners Now have more cardboard.

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and Detroit Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer picked up the NL ROY and AL ROY honors on Monday night — and tonight they pick up the Topps Now honors.

Seager is the first player to have a game-used jersey Relic in the line, while Fulmer will be signing autographs for his award-winner card in the program.

Chrome Update returns in Mega Boxes with Superfractors & more

The Topps Mega Box is back — but only at Target stores.

Topps revealed its plans for a 2016 Topps Chrome Update baseball card set on Thursday and, like past years, those cards will be retail-only finds in its holiday Mega Box offering that will have a limited retail release this holiday season.

And there will be some new inclusions when they start hitting stores this week.

Buzz Break: 2016 Topps Update 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: 2016 Topps Update baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 36
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 356
Base set completion: 
300 of 300 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 19

Notables on base cards – Anthony Rizzo, Clayton Kershaw, Nolan Arenado, Francisco Lindor, Buster Posey, Jackie Bradley Jr., Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout, David Ortiz, Kris Bryant, Aroldis Chapman, Jake Arrieta, Ichiro Suzuki

Rookie Cards (95; includes duplicates) – Notables include Aledmys Diaz, Michael Fulmer, Julio Urias, Willson Contreras, Tyler Naquin, Kyle Schwarber, Corey Seager, Kenta Maeda, Nomar Mazara, Trevor Story

Looks like 2016 Bowman Platinum baseball cards are on the way — as a Walmart exclusive

Bowman Platinum is apparently making a comeback.

How do we know this?

Topps released a final checklist for the baseball brand on Wednesday — and that makes it a likely candidate to be arriving very soon as a Topps.com exclusive. Update: Make that a Walmart exclusive.

It will arrive on Aug. 24 with a parallel rainbow that includes Purple (/250), Green (/99), Orange (/25), Black (1/1) and printing plates (1/1) parallels as well as Ice parallels only available two per “value box.”

Update 2: There will be two autographs per 20-pack box, while blaster boxes (value box) will have seven packs and a four-card Ice parallel pack. Fat packs will include 12 cards.

Sweet 16: MLB midseason surprises include unknowns & obvious

The MLB All-Star Game is nearly upon us and that gives us all a chance to take a break and assess the season so far and watch the home runs fly in tonight’s Home Run Derby.

One of those sluggers is Cincinnati’s Adam Duvall, who has 23 homers out of absolute nowhere and nearly no cardboard to show for it. As previously noted here on The Buzz, Duvall’s first Rookie Card arrived in 2016 Topps Series 2. And to show how off the radar he’s been he’s a third-year big-leaguer with just one past Bowman card appearance — no autographs — and this Rookie Card is one that doesn’t even have an RC logo. That probably hasn’t helped sales, but some rarities are sellers.

There are other big names in the hobby this season who have played well — in fact there are a lot of decent showings — but here are 15 who have impressed on the field and should be noticed when it comes to cardboard.