Buzz 8 in 8: Busting 2003 Topps 205 Series II MLB (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 Hour 8.

The box: 2003 Topps 205 Series II baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: Varies when found -- click here for new MLB boxes

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

Packs per box: 25 (24 plus one sealed 20-card mini box-topper box)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 212
Set completion: 
143 of 165 (87 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Willie Mays, Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz, Johan Santana, Johnny Damon, George Brett, Reggie Jackson, Todd Helton, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell, Chipper Jones, Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera

Inserts/short-prints: 67
Variations (5) – Chipper Jones, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Rich Harden, Hank Blalock
Short-prints (4) – Rickie Weeks, Ryan Harvey, Ryan Hammock, Richard Hoblitzell
Triple Folders (17) – Notable players include Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza, Edgar Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez
Triple Folders Brooklyn (1) – Jason Phillips & Gary Sheffield
Polar Bear minis (24) – Alex Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Schmidt, Kenny Lofton, Roberto Alomar, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Milton Bradley, Esteban Loaiza, Jeromy Burnitz, Adam Dunn, Laynce Nix, Wily Mo Pena, Joe Borowski, Mark Loretta, Mike Hampton, Alex Sanchez, Jorge Julio, Ugueth Urbina, Luis Matos, Kelly Shoppach, Bo Hart, Eric Duncan
Drum minis (5) – Derrek Lee, Hank Blalock, Jason Johnson, Chris Lubanski, Mike Hampton
Sovereign Green minis (5) – Vladimir Guerrero, Jorge Julio, Shawn Chacon, Keith Foulke, Wes Helms
Sovereign minis (5) – Jason Johnson, Alex Sanchez, Woody Williams, Alex Gonzalez, Jason Giambi
Brooklyn Minis (1) – Mike Mussina

Autographs/Memorabilia: 2
Framed Relics (2) – Nolan Ryan, Kevin Brown

What's Buzz-worthy: This is a retro go-to release for me as I've worked on the mini master set for years and really only am one SSP autograph short of that set, too -- Hank Aaron -- that keeps me looking at wax. This one arrived in the years before Allen & Ginter and isn't the flashiest design but it's true to the oldschool tobacco cards that carry the T205 name -- very unique back in the early 2000s. It's a box that's not all that cheap -- typically pushing $100 and it shouldn't be -- and you can see that a lot of the names here simply won't deliver that kind of oomph among the short-prints, inserts or otherwise. It hasn't aged well. There's a mini who's who of guys who didn't pan out in the hobby here like Rickie Weeks, Delmon Young, Dontrelle Willis, Rich Harden and Felix Pie. ... The sealed mini box-topper alone in these is big  -- something Gypsy Queen has used (it also didn't exist back when these arrived) -- helping complete a mini master set and they arrived sealed shut (unlike in Gypsy). As I said last time I ripped one of these, both series of this one are easily eclipsed by a decade-plus of Allen & Ginter and several years of Gypsy Queen so your money might be better focused there -- check out that link above for those. The Ryan Relic is a highlight here -- a Group A Relic one in 79 packs -- but this one still felt closer to an average box and it didn't deliver as many Brooklyn minis (the rarest that I need the most) as it should have. Maybe my next one will make up for it ... we'll see the next time I rip one.

Product Grade: B
Box Grade: B (Ryan Relic is nicer than many here)
Fun Grade: A-

What's next? We'll find out next month.

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