Ken Griffey Jr. signs new exclusive autograph deal with TRISTAR

TRISTAR has a new exclusive team member — and he’s “the greatest baseball player of all time” based on Hall of Fame voting.

It’s former Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds star Ken Griffey Jr. and a full line of autographed memorabilia from him is available now from the Houston-based company after the new deal was announced on Tuesday night.

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Trey Griffey’s first football card may elude Miami Dolphins collectors

The newest member of the Miami Dolphins has a famous family, but it’s likely you don’t have his first football card.

He’s Trey Griffey — the son of baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. — and no matter how his NFL career goes he’s already got a Topps football card.

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Funko readies King Felix stadium giveaway with Seattle Mariners

Funko Pop! is coming to the stadium.

Everett, Wash.-based Funko revealed a stadium giveaway to come in September with its popular Pop! toy line going into the hands of fans of the Seattle Mariners.

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Buzz Collector Profile: Tony Yi — an Ichiro Suzuki fan aka The Ichiro Vault


Tony Yi

Also known as: @theichirovault and iamtony33 on Blowout Forum
Website: theichirovault.blogspot.com
Location: Washington
Work away from cards: Corporate management
Collecting since: 2011

Main focuses: Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano and 1/1 cards — he owns 335 1/1s and 42 of those are Superfractors.
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Favorite teams: Seattle Mariners, Washington Huskies football

Current collecting projects: I used to work on rainbow projects often, and I have completed 14 of them. They have become too time-consuming so I now mainly concentrate on obtaining Ichiro, Cano and certain 1/1 cards. There is one Ichiro rainbow I will never stop trying for though and it’s from my favorite set, 2012 Topps Chrome. All I am missing is the Superfractor that sold years ago and I assume its in a PC collection forever. But if anyone knows who has it, please let me know.

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Gallery: 2017 MLB spring training & batting practice caps from New Era

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A new baseball season is nearly here with the first spring training games set to air later this month and that’s when we’ll see the newest players on their new teams.

And many of them will be wearing new uniforms — well, at least new caps.

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Ichiro Suzuki’s “Journey to 3000” is this week’s Topps #TBT pack

artbb-cckb28-16tbt-10-secondary1.pngThe best players of today on new cards using memorable designs of yesteryear is the point of the 2016 Topps #TBT, an ongoing baseball card set from Topps that has been released one pack a week this summer.

And this week the players are all Ichiro Suzuki and his “Journey to 3,000” that ended on Sunday at Coors Field in Colorado.

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Buzz Poll: Do you think Alex Rodriguez will play elsewhere?

Alex-Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez‘s playing time with the New York Yankees is coming to an end on Friday.

How many games he might play between now and then is up in the air with a road trip to Boston, but the end as a player is definitely at home on Friday with an advisory role signed through next season if he wants it. However, he insisted that he’s “not a coach” and stopped short of saying he’d never play again. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he’d have an open door if he wanted to play elsewhere.

It’s been a long journey with cardboard that looks back to his high school days, time with USA Baseball and throughout his years with Seattle, Texas and New York.

A-Rod is four home runs short of 700 — and that makes one wonder if it’s not a possibility. What do you think? Tell us in our poll, with a comment below or on Twitter.

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

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Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. Hall of Fame bobblehead is hot commodity on eBay — and it’s not even out yet

Ken-Griffey-Jr-Hall-of-Fame-bobbleheadKen Griffey Jr.‘s Hall of Fame bobblehead is a hot commodity on eBay already — and it’s not even out yet.

The Seattle Mariners have a three-day stretch beginning next Friday where the team will honor its first Hall of Famer and retire his No. 24. It begins against the Angels on Friday with this Hall of Fame bobblehead.

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New Era revisits the cap of The Kid who became a legend for new line

hwlKen Griffey Jr.‘s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame has had its share of commemorative cardboard and now it’s got something more.

New old caps from New Era commemorating The Kid’s never-ending trip to Cooperstown and his upcoming number retirement.

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Mariners’ “Swelmet” started as idea of Blowout member Larry Andersen

Robinson-Cano-SwelmetIt started as an idea of long-time Seattle Mariners fan and Blowout member Larry Andersen and it’s become a phenomenon and a symbol of a team in the hunt for the American League West crown.

It’s the Swelmet — a painted Darth Vader helmet that Andersen wore to a Mariners game in Oakland, an item that caught the eye of the players and an item he traded to the team for a signed Robinson Cano bat.

Now, it’s become a piece that the team awards to a player after sweeps — the “sweep helmet” became “Swelmet” — a piece seen in photos tweeted by the team and a likely future promotional piece if the team can get them made in time.

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Ichiro Suzuki’s 3,000-hit conquest may hit its finale sooner than later

1993-BBM-ichiro-suzukiHe’s been a legendary hitter in MLB since arriving in a Seattle Mariners uniform back in 2001, and he’s now 42 years old and on a tear with 10 hits in his last three games for the Miami Marlins.

He’s Ichiro Suzuki and he’s just 40 hits away from the 3,000 Hit Club as a major-leaguer. (Throw on 1,434 hits in Japan and, well, that’s a career mark even Pete Rose should appreciate.)

Even if you’re a deep-pocketed collector, chasing Ichiro cardboard isn’t easy. He’s been in high demand since his legendary Rookie of the Year/MVP season and there’s plenty of cardboard from that year alone. There’s also been plenty since. And there are also plenty of collectors from around the world who are watching his cardboard just as intently as they are watching the box scores right now.

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Collecting this Boog Powell isn’t as easy as collecting Boog Powell

boog-powellYou should know the name, but you probably don’t know the player.

At least this one.

His baseball name is Boog Powell, his real name is Herschel. He’s not related to John Wesley Powell, aka Boog Powell, but they share the nickname because his dad was a fan of the Baltimore Orioles icon of the 1960s and the 1970 American League MVP.

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Ichiro Suzuki’s 2001 Bowman Chrome RC is at heart of first Topps Authentics autograph offering

ichiroIchiro Suzuki is the newest and biggest name on the Topps Authentics roster and the memorabilia division of Topps revealed his first autographed items on Wednesday and it all starts at the beginning of his MLB career.

Up first? Autographed 8-by-10 versions of his memorable 2001 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card.

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Ichiro Suzuki to hold private signing with Mill Creek Sports this month

ichiro-suzukiIchiro Suzuki will be marching toward 3,000 career hits this season, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be time for a private signing.

In fact, it’s coming up later this month via Mill Creek Sports.

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New Mariner Dae Ho Lee already has Topps cards for fans to consider

DaeHoLeeThe latest member of the Seattle Mariners comes from Korea by way of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan last season after signing a minor-league deal with the MLB team.

His name is Dae Ho Lee and he’s a former member of Korea’s World Baseball Classic squad and a guy who hit 31 home runs last season for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He probably won’t be fighting for a starting spot, but the Mariners are a team with a rich history of international stars that fans have watched closely in the past.

“Dae-Ho gives us another potential right-handed power bat in the first base competition,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a prepared statement. “He has performed at a very high level of production in both Korea and Japan and we are excited to see how that translates to our team.”

How might he translate onto cardboard? We’ve already got cards to watch and see — no matter what happens in spring training.

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

Elite-Extra-Edition-logoCountless 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.

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eBay Buzz: A perfect — and rare — Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Bowman Tiffany rookie scorches at auction

1989-Bowman-GriffeyWe all know which Rookie Card of Ken Griffey Jr. is the most-memorable, but there’s one rarer parallel-type version of one that recently sold for big, big bucks on eBay.

It’s the 1989 Bowman Tiffany card — one printed on glossy, super-bright stock only found in limited factory sets — and a perfect BGS Black copy recently dominated on eBay. With Griffey destined to get the Cooperstown call in a few hours, this one was worth the spotlight.

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Ken Griffey Jr. Topps Vault auction comes with extra twist on contract

GriffeyKen Griffey Jr. is one of baseball’s all-time greats and an icon — the Mickey Mantle of the late-thirty somethings who grew up with the new wave of baseball cards that began with his arrival in 1989.

He’s got 630 homers — sixth on the all-time list — and more accolades than than most fans will ever know. But there’s one thing that a lot of fans may not know.

Just like his dad, his first game is George.

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Topps teases Ichiro Suzuki patch autos coming in 2015 Topps Dynasty

IchiroSuzuki2015 Topps DynastyAdd Ichiro Suzuki to the list of signers for 2015 Topps Dynasty.

Topps teased the inclusion of the Japanese icon and future Hall of Famer on Tuesday with the three 1/1 cards seen here highlighting each of the teams the 15-year MLB veteran has played for.

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