Buzz Break: 2007 Topps Update baseball cards

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 packs: 2007 Topps Update baseball cards (two hobby)
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for other Retro Rips

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Cards per pack: 10
Set completion: 14 of 330 (4 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Carlos Beltran, Trevor Hoffman, Justin Morneau ... and a whole lot of forgettable.

RC logo cards (1) – Jesse Litsch

Insert/short-print cards: 6 (all cards in gallery below)
Red-letter parallels (4) – Alex Rodriguez, Mike Zagurski, Dustin McGowan, Orlando Hudson (names and Topps logos in red on backs)
Generation Now (2) – Curtis Grandson, Kenji Johjima

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: I remember the design well -- this one stands out -- but I think it was all because of Series 1 and its roster of inclusions that had Derek Jeter with some other famous cameos included. This series? It had some gimmicks (Poley Walnuts!) and some forced variations (reversed negatives!) to chase, too, but, well, I don't think anything has aged well here ... and this pair of hobby packs should have been thrown back and not a throwback break for me after opening them. A big part of the chase back then was the rookie crop ... how do these top names feel now? Tim Lincecum, Jacoby Ellsbury, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Gomez, Dallas Braden, Joba Chamberlain and Justin Upton. Yes, some solid reliable MLB names for years in there ... but few might rise above common interest now. Throw on skinny stock, black ink on both sides to showcase flaws really well and a lackluster parallels approach -- the red-ink backs (at right) truly carry no real weight here -- and then you're looking at the Now countdown cards (a short-lived trend of pumping out parallels) as your better (they're not) finds here. This pair of packs = nothing here worthy of even a penny sleeve. There are some rare and big cards to land in this release -- you'll need luck -- that include Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Mickey Mantle in their own showcase sets. There are also the typical rarer parallels and typical hits, too, but buying by the box or jumbos is the best way to do it ... if they can be found. (This pair of packs $5 ... still not good at that price.) I wouldn't overpay on either format, I'd just chase the biggest stuff if it pops up as singles. While box volumes drop for everything daily -- people will rip -- and prices can and will of up as that supply drops not everything always ages that well. (A lot of this one is long gone by now, too.) While this design is more unique than some of the years around it this one has, in my mind, not aged well at all.

Product Grade: B- (rookie crop has not aged well ... plus skinny stock and all-black edges)
Lot Grade: C-
Fun Grade: C- (if you beat some long odds some big stuff is still possible here)

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