Buzz Break: 2020 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: 2020 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

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

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 – Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger, Buster Posey, Nick Senzel, Christian Yelich, Trevor Story, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Tom Glavine, Barry Larkin, Carlton Fisk

Rookie Cards (2) – Bo Bichette, Kyle Lewis

Insert cards: 20 (most in gallery below along with some base)
Short-prints (Nos. 351-400) (4) – Billy Williams, Orlando Cepeda, Bobby Doerr, Miguel Tejada
Mini parallel (2) – Ivan Rodriguez, Austin Meadows
Mini SP parallel (2) – Phil Niekro
Mini black parallel (1) – Howie Kendrick
Mini Allen & Ginter back parallel (2) – Christian Yelich, Andre Dawson
Behemoths Beneath (1) – Great White Shark
Citadels & Safeholds (1) – Alcazar of Toledo
Reach for the Sky (1) – 432 Park Ave.
Down on the Farm (2) – Horse, irrigator
Digging Deep (2) – Garnet, Painite
A Debut to Remember (1) – Luis Tiant
Longball Lore (1) – Mike Piazza
Field Generals (1) – Jorge Posada

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Framed Mini Baseball Player Autographs (1) – Bryan Reynolds (one in 247 packs?!?!!)

What's Buzz-worthy: Ginter blasters aren't the best way to explore this long-running brand that arrived back in 2006 as a modern-day reboot of 1880s tobacco cards of the same name with all of the past quirks for subjects but with today's inclusions of autographs and memorabilia cards, too. (And no smokes.) This one beat the odds by delivering a younger player's auto ... but I'll take it given the odds. I also liked the RCs I landed here and it didn't hurt that I found a mini SP (one in 13 packs) that can have some quiet demand if there's a better name attached. (Probably not this time.) The mix of inserts and minis was solid here -- almost half of the box -- and the mix of past and present players is good here. I'm not as sold on this year's crop of non-baseball inclusions but there are some I'd want to find among the autos ... not this time. The design of this one is different -- I think it works well for the minis but I don't think I'd want to sort a bunch of base cards for this one. They do look better in-hand than in photos, though. This is a brand that's best busted by the case -- so you get the good boxes as well as the lesser ones (three hits per, some Relic-heavy) -- or perhaps with the bigger blaster case size this one might offer some good volume ripping that direction. I've been a buster since 2006 so newer versions may not always grab me as much but some of the touches here and many of the surprises make this one a brand to always consider ripping for an MLB collector who doesn't mind the variety and weird stuff -- those are often the types of cards that can pay for more baseball stuff, too.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: A (ink isn't guaranteed and two key RCs)
Fun Grade: B (blasters just need something different added to mix every time)

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