Buzz Break: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (blaster)

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: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 47
Base set completion: 
26 of 300 (9 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Hank Aaron, Kris Bryant, Jose Altuve, Sandy Koufax, Gary Sanchez, Cal Ripken Jr., Cody Bellinger, Wade Boggs, Byron Buxton, Sloane Stephens

Rookie Cards (5) – Christian Villanueva (SP), Scott Kingery, Anthony Banda, Tyler Mahle, Luiz Gohara

Insert cards: 20 (most in gallery below along with some base cards)
Short-prints (Nos. 301-350) (4) – Christian Villanueva, Josh Hader, Brett Gardner, Hyun-Jin Ryu
Mini parallel (3) – Cody Bellinger, Jim Thome, Stephen Piscotty
Mini short-print parallel (1) – Carlos Santana
Mini Allen & Ginter back parallel (2) – Walker Buehler, Willie Calhoun
Indigenous Heroes (1) – Jim Thorpe
Exotic Sports (1) – Speed stacking
Fantasy Goldmine (2) – Babe Ruth, Rod Carew
World Talent (2) – Luiz Gohara, Gift Ngoepe
World's Greatest Beaches (1) – South Beach
Magnificent Moons (1) – Triton
Baseball Equipment of the Ages (2) – Early catcher's mask, catcher's chest protector

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Full-size Relic Version A (1) – Ryan Zimmerman

What's Buzz-worthy: My first Ginter blaster of the year coughed up a Relic (one in 70 packs) along with a pretty strong run of names in the base cards. Throw in some solid mini finds (and a mini SP) and this one is an A box. It's not super-flashy but it's a pretty strong mix of elements for Ginter, which has been a monster since 2006. This year's base card design feels like a real improvement over last year's ovals (still a strong Ginter set, just not my thing on that photo frame) and the baseball-oriented inserts add a good feel as part of an insert lineup that feels like there's some variety vs. past lineups where stuff could feel repetitive. I'll be ripping into this one a bit this year thanks to some of the solid baseball auto potential among the rookies and some of the oddballs -- and I'll offer more about this one then. For now chew on the gallery and look for one more blaster this weekend.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A-
Fun Grade: A-

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