Buzz Break: 2018 Topps Big League baseball cards (hobby)

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 Big League baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 240
Base set completion: 
199 of 400 (50 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Alex Rodriguez, Paul Goldschmidt, Pedro Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Cody Bellinger, Ted Williams, Carlos Correa, Johnny Bench, Ernie Banks, Anthony Rizzo, Frank Thomas, Giancarlo Stanton, John Smoltz, Rickey Henderson, Sandy Koufax, Kris Bryant, Alex Bregman, Corey Seager, Nolan Ryan, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Albert Pujols, Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi

Rookie Cards (20) – Shohei Ohtani, Brian Anderson, Francisco Mejia, Luiz Gohara, Richard Urena, Franchy Cordero, Nicky Delmonico, Gleyber Torres, Felix Jorge, Rhys Hoskins, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Dominic Smith, Clint Frazier, Austin Hays, Sandy Alcantara, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Andrew Stevenson, J.P. Crawford, Brandon Woodruff

Insert cards: 40 (all inserts and some base in gallery below)
Players Weekend variation (8) – Jose Altuve, Mike Trout, Yadier Molina, Matt Olson, Francisco Lindor, Rafael Devers, Jacob deGrom, Jose Abreu
Star Caricature reproduction (3) – Mike Trout, Khris Davis, Yadier Molina
Ministers of Mash (4) – Kris Bryant, Cody Bellinger, Miguel Sano, Nelson Cruz
Yellow parallel (24) – Ernie Banks Statue, NL Walks Leaders, AL Saves Leaders, AL Home Run Leaders, AL Slugging Leaders, NL RBI Leaders, Keon Broxton, Brad Miller, Christian Yelich, Clint Frazier, Andrew Cashner, Jose Urena, Tim Beckham, Brandon Drury, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Anthony Rendon, Brandon Woodruff, Zach Britton, Victor Robles, Byron Buxton, Kyle Schwarber, Marcus Stroman, Zack Cozart
Rainbow parallel (1) – 2017 NL Doubles Leaders (/100)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Rookie Republic Autographs (1) – Brian Anderson

What's Buzz-worthy: The autograph here was a surprise -- that's a one in 102 packs find -- but this one really isn't about the inserts or hits. It's a throwback that's all about the base set. It's made up of 400 cards with veterans, rookies and a few subsets -- Stat Kings (leaders), All-time Greats and Ballpark Landmarks. (The Bark at the Park cards didn't make the cut. Woof.) The printing here is gloss-free and foil-free and is quite clean and crisp, giving it a strong simple feel. This one is a big set, meaning you may not have an easy time pulling one particular card, but the blasters carry a $9.99 suggested retail price and these hobby boxes are also affordable (see link above.) In theory you would be able to build a set out of a couple hobby boxes and maybe a blaster. There are Players Weekend cards that have a totally different design and are a variation since the card numbers are the same while there are a number of intentional error variations where images are completely different, some images are printed upside down or flipped backwards, while other cards have simple Photoshop manipulations to change small details in images -- you can see a number of them discovered so far in the gallery right here. The error variations are one in 507 packs (just like at retail) in these boxes. For the price, this is a fun rip with potential like Opening Day (but without the flagship repetition), though it's lean on inserts that aren't parallel cards so it could be a little more exciting. Some oddball inclusions (woof!) would help make this one a fun no-brainer more than it is.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A
Fun Grade: B+

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