Buzz Break: 2020 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hobby box)

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 Series 1 baseball cards 
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

Packs per box: 24 (plus one 1985 Chrome pack)
Cards per pack: 14 (four in Chrome)
Cards in this box: 336
Base set completion: 
310 of 350 (89 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Pete Alonso, Eloy Jimenez, Mike Soroka, Ramon Laureano, Austin Riley, Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Chavis, Nick Senzel, Tommy Edman, Jeff McNeil, Chris Paddack, Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Olson, Luis Castillo, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Cody Bellinger, Manny Machado, Gary Sanchez, Buster Posey, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Andrew Benintendi, Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rendon, Carlos Correa, Gleyber Torres, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Christian Yelich

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

Rookie Cards (45) – Aristides Aquino, Bo Bichette, Yordan Alvarez, Dustin May, Nico Hoerner, Gavin Lux, Seth Brown, Robel Garcia, Andres Munoz, Kyle Lewis, Bubba Starling, Tony Gonsolin, Aaron Civale, Randy Arozarena, Danny Hultzen, Mauricio Duron, Dario Agrazal, Jake Rogers, Brendan McKay, Josh Rojas, Patrick Sandoval, Sean Murphy, Jesus Luzardo, Bryan Abreu, Jose Urquidy, Isan Diaz, Anthony Kay, Nick Solak, Adbert Alzolay, Tyler Alexander, Austin Nola, Michael Brosseau, Yordan Yamamoto, Sam Hilliard, Abraham Toro, Adrian Morejon, Travis Demeritte, Trent Grisham, Lewis Thorpe, Logan Allen, Jacob Waguespack, Jaylin Davis, Rogelio Armenteros, Zack Collins

Insert/short-print cards: 25 (all in gallery below along with Chromes and some base)
Photo variation (SP) (1) – Gerrit Cole (first Yankees card)
Gold parallel (2) – Robbie Grossman, Carson Kelly (/2,020)
Rainbow Foil parallel (2) – Tyler White, Christian Vazquez
Home Run Challenge (1) – Manny Machado
2019 Topps Now Review (1) – Pete Alonso
Decade's Best (3) – Felix Hernandez, Pedro Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Decade's Next (1) – Brendan McKay
Decade's Next Blue (1) – Shohei Ohtani (Odds: One in 530 packs?!)
Decade of Dominance (1) – Mike Trout
Topps Choice (1) – Ichiro Suzuki (1965 Topps design)
1985 Topps (6) – Mookie Betts, Sandy Koufax, Nick Senzel, Wade Boggs, Jake Rogers, Alex Young
1985 Topps Blue (1) – Clayton Kershaw
1985 Topps Chrome Mojo Refractor (bonus pack) (3) – Keston Hiura, Bo Bichette, Mike Trout
1985 Topps Chrome Black Mojo Refractor (bonus pack) (1) – Ichiro Suzuki (/199)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
1985 Topps Relic (1) – Juan Soto

What's Buzz-worthy: This year's edition of the hobby's flagship product isn't perfect -- it could definitely use a lot more color -- but its overall feel is one that's not the traditional and the norm and that helps propel it to an A mark in my book. (I'd rather it swing big and come up short of the HR than do the predictable.) Gone is the mis-0rdered split name, oddly emphasizing the last name of the player as it did last year and the cloudy outside edges of photos where some parallel coloring could be found. This one does the same thing on the name emphasis while keeping things more naturally readable and the photos are a clean full bleed here but that does affect the colorful feel within the design. That all works on a really good photo and there are many. (Some don't work as well, too.) One big drawback? The Gold parallels really do not stand out from the pack this year -- the color is limited to the area on the outside edge of the nameplate graphic. The overall feel of the basic cards is solid and modern ... they just feel like they needed some secondary striping/framing element to add a bold bit of color. (The design should look pretty sweet when the area is colored in for Chrome Refractors.) Early chatter for the odds breakdown seems like hobby jumbo packs and retail hangers might deliver some things more generously, while this box felt a little more quiet with almost an insert in every pack -- but at times none at all. That hurt the fun grade here. One big plus this year over last year is the Rookie Card crop -- there are some key names in here, including the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, Yordan Alvarez, as well as Aristides Aquino, Bo Bichette and a few others who had moments last year. The concept this year is clean -- a look back at the past decades of baseball -- and that lets you get new looks at past greats while the 1985 Topps design gets a new run here. I'm not that much of a fan of the 1985 cards, but the 1986s and 1987s to come will be solid. (They can nix it for 1988-90 if you ask me.) My topper pack was a really solid one -- A+ names -- but with some retro centering that dampened it a bit. One of the solid finds here was a photo variation showing Gerrit Cole in his Yankees uniform for the first time -- a standard SP (one in 43), not a rarer one (one in 1,272) -- see the ongoing SP gallery here. All in all, this is a pretty solid start for the year -- a definite upgrade over last year in a few small ways -- and it makes me think I should have ripped a jumbo box to start. You'll see more breaks of this one here soon.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A (thanks to the SP, a rare Blue parallel insert, a strong Chrome pack and Soto)
Fun Grade: B

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