Buzz Break: 2008 USA Baseball box set

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 box: 2008 USA Baseball box set
Where to buy: Click here (when available) -- get newer USA Baseball boxes here

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

Cards per box: 69
Base set completion: 
60 of 60 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Eric Hosmer, Randal Grichuk, Rob Refsnyder, Brett Wallace, Ryan Flaherty, Justin Smoak, Brian Matusz, Mike Minor, Robbie Grossman, Mychal Givens, Danny Espinosa, Joe Kelly, Tyson Ross, Pedro Alvarez, Lance Lynn, A.J. Cole

Inserts: None

Autographs/Memorabilia: 9 (see all with some base in gallery below)
National Team on-card autographs (1) – Josh Romanski
Junior National Team on-card autographs (1) – Tyler Wilson
Battleground Autographs (1) – Tommy Medica & Petey Paramore
Today and Tomorrow Autographs (1) – Jordan Danks & L.J. Hoes (/295)
National Team autographs (1) – Josh Romanski (/249)
Junior National Team autographs (1) – Tim Melville (/249)
Junior National Team Red autographs (1) – Riccio Torrez (/50)
Japanese Collegiate All-Stars jerseys (2) – Ryo Sakakibara, Takeshi Hosoyamada

What's Buzz-worthy: Here's a rare seriously low-grade box -- one that I might normally just punt but I present as a reminder of how much better the USA Baseball stuff is now vs. back then. Boxes of both generations can always be hit and miss but this one was so big of a miss I was double-checking the box's security seals after I opened them. (They were fine ... a dud.) I busted a ton of these back in the day -- USA Baseball was one of my must-rips for the money for a few years around this timeframe -- but this box was brutal. A number of the players made it to MLB here -- and both of the Japanese guys ended up being pro players, too -- but there's nothing big in this box and the player crop has not delivered well beyond perhaps Eric Hosmer. I got this one at about half of its original price -- less than two blasters this time -- but I probably should have skipped it and just gone with two new USA blasters. This box was a big bummer but USA Baseball stuff can deliver big without a big price tag -- hit that link above to find shots at the newest MLB draft picks and plenty more before they were big-leaguers. The scope of inclusions in this year's set is wider than it was back in 2008 with nods to past USA Baseball stars, too.

Product Grade: B (good potential in terms of what was created ... but player crop hasn't aged well)
Box Grade: D (only "highlight" might be the Battleground auto)
Fun Grade: D (hit and miss = a big miss this time)

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