Buzz 8 in 8: Busting 1984 Donruss baseball cards (Hour 8)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is our finale for today.

The pack: 1984 Donruss baseball cards
The cost: $9 (click here for new MLB boxes)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Cards per pack: 15 (see all in gallery below)
Base set completion: 
15 of 660 (2 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ozzie Smith, Harold Baines, Tony Perez

Inserts: 1
Duke Snider Puzzle (1) – Duke Snider

Autographs/Memorabilia: Not for a few more years.

What's Buzz-worthy: This set has always been one of the most-popular releases for Donruss in the 1980s but it's only because the design is a bit unique for its time and one truly big card, the Rookie Card for Don Mattingly. Donnie Baseball's RC was a truly huge card in its time -- and one I still don't own -- and this card was heavily faked, too, once it got pricey. The pack price seemed cheap enough to rip into one here, though I didn't have high expectations considering you have a one-in-44-pack chance at any particular card. The Diamond Kings here have variations to look for and two cards are found with and without card numbers but otherwise this one is all about RCs and key stars, tough the stars aren't as pricey as they used to be -- slabbing is a key here, though, with new wax being a good source of fresh cards. RCs of note here beyond Mattingly include Darryl Strawberry, Joe Carter and a few other names who were big at times in the past but are ultimately closer to common status now. (Even the better RCs aren't that expensive if not Mattingly.) This was my first time opening one of these packs. The 1980s Donruss sets are full of solid cards with every year having memorable Rated Rookies in the years coming after this one. This set isn't as colorful but it's solid. Other notables to look for include second-year cards for Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg as well as 1980s notables such as Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. to name a few. They weren't in this one -- neither was Donnie Baseball -- but I did land three Hall of Famers on base cards. It wasn't great but it probably could have been worse. Two of my commons are perfectly centered and could be easy PSA 10 candidates but I'm not feeling it on those just yet. Maybe I'll have a different idea if I check the pop report. All in all, I see why this one still has plenty of appeal and it's a clean design that's hard to argue with.

Product Grade: A
Pack Grade: C+
Fun Grade: B

What's next? We'll be back next month with another marathon -- and plenty of Buzz Breaks before then, too.

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

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