Buzz Break: 2020 Topps 52-Card Baseball Series 2 cards

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The box: 2020 Topps 52-Card Baseball Series 2 baseball gaming cards
First Buzz preview (Series 1): Click here
Where to buy: Initially via Topps.com

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

Cards per box: 54
Base set completion: 
52 of 52 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables in set – Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cody Bellinger, Ronald Acuña Jr., Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Miguel Cabrera, Walker Buehler, Shane Bieber, Shohei Ohtani, Gleyber Torres and many other MLB stars.

Rookie Cards (10) – Luis Robert, Bo Bichette, Gavin Lux, Yordan Alvarez, A.J. Puk, Aristides Aquino, Brendan McKay, Jesus Luzardo, Nico Hoerner, Dylan Cease

Inserts: 2
Variation booster cards (2) – Mariano Rivera, Mike Schmidt

What's Buzz-worthy: Late last year, Topps teased the first series of this one -- a baseball card game created by ESPN personality Kenny Mayne -- and somewhere in all of those months since it dropped a second series with new photos and players as well as 10 rookies added into the mix. Why did I grab one? The rookies -- this set just feels like a long-term sleeper of sorts with those RCs in there for this one. (The RCs in the first version do sell pretty well.) When you pop the lid here, you'll find a bright green playmat and checklist, a shrink-wrapped deck and then two of 26 booster cards in a penny sleeve together. These are sold via Topps' site for $19.99 for a deck and then $4.99 for five-card variation booster packs if you want to chase the set without buying the main deck. (The main deck is the winner in my mind but there are variations to be found for Ichiro Suzuki, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson, Robert Clemente and Derek Jeter to be found -- you can see the full list in the gallery below along with the entire deck. Card backs for both series are the same, save for the copyright line of 2019 or 2020. Not all cards will get you a good chunk of your $20 back but over time I think the notables here could add up and some of the key ones could get more than you might think. These had no announced print run and are still available but I still think they can carry some appeal to the retro-minded collectors out there and there are probably a lot who don't even know they exist. And (gasp!) if they aren't ultimately pricey over the you could (double gasp!) you know, play the game.

Update: If you're into grading, this set won't be your buddy -- at least based on my set -- as the card backs around the corners have either cracked/missing/chipped gloss or have cracked/misshaped cardboard from however the rounded corners were done. I have lowered its grade from an A- to a B+ because of this. It was on all cards in the standard deck for me. Still like the feel here.

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

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