MLB dominator Roy Halladay dies in plane crash at age 40

One of baseball’s most-dominant pitchers of the 2000s has died.

Roy Halladay, a two-time Cy Young award-winner in a 16-season career with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, died Tuesday afternoon when a plane he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. He was 40 years old.

The right-hander from Arvada, Colo., was the 17th pick in the 1995 MLB Draft by Toronto and made his big-league debut three years later. He went 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA and 2,117 strikeouts in his career.

Army’s first MLB arm Chris Rowley waits for in-pack card debut

When Toronto Blue Jays rookie Chris Rowley made his debut on Saturday he became the first graduate of the United States Military Academy to pitch in MLB.

He’s also the first Army product in nearly a century to set foot on a big-league field for an official game as he’s just the second MLB player ever overall to come from West Point.

What he doesn’t have right now? Any type of in-pack baseball card (or even a Topps Now card), meaning his only options for military-minded collectors or Blue Jays fans are just a few team-issue minor league cards.

Eric Thames’ surprising start prompts look back at key cardboard

A new season’s new emerging names are doing just that.

Your MLB home run leader right now is Eric Thames of the Milwaukee Brewers, who has smacked seven longballs so far. The latest came as part of a 3-for-4 day Monday against the Cubs in Wrigley Field.

The 30-year-old entered this season with 21 homers in his previous three big-league seasons — his last being in 2012 with the Mariners. He hit 12 of those homers as a rookie with the Blue Jays in 2011 but struggled with a career average that’s up to .259 with his .405 start this year. How far off the radar was he? Thames spent the last three years playing in Korea’s KBO League — where he hit 124 homers in 390 games.

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

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.

Edwin Encarnacion’s big moment sparks new Topps Now cardboard

The Blue Jays’ big win yesterday means big cardboard from Topps Now today.

Edwin Encarnacion‘s extra-innings homer is the key for today’s newest baseball cards available for only 24 hours via Topps’ online card program. He’ll be signing cards for the moment and there is a Relic also available from the American League Wildcard win.

Buzz Poll: Who do you see winning the World Series?

MLB’s postseason begins tonight … and we simply want to know who you think wins it all.

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Don’t flip out … Jose Bautista’s 2016 Topps baseball card is hot (for now)

Don’t flip out, but there’s a pretty hot base card in 2016 Topps baseball cards because of a great (and controversial) moment and some mainstream media coverage.

It’s Jose Bautista‘s card No. 96 in the set and it’s sold on eBay pretty well.

How well? How about $20 well and that one’s not alone. There are also bulk lots that are getting attention because it’s a memorable moment captured on cardboard. Rarer parallels of the card also are commanding good cash.

The card was shown at the close of MLB Network’s Hot Stove morning show and that means it will probably pop up elsewhere, too. Will it continue to be expensive? Of course not — but the appeal, especially with Blue Jays fans, probably won’t diminish.
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Topps readies 2015 World Series baseball card sets for champions

Update: Topps canceled this set following the Royals’ victory.

The 2015 World Series lineup isn’t set yet, but the details of the world champions’ commemorative baseball card set from Topps are here.

Whether it’s the New York Mets against the Kansas City Royals or the Toronto Blue Jays, the champs set will include 40 World Series-branded baseball cards with 15 highlights from the team’s postseason run. Atop that, there will be cards for 25 key players on the team as well as cards for the Championship Series and World Series MVPs from the team.

Each case of these will include 16 sets.

>>> Click here to pre-order sets on BlowoutCards.com once a link is available