Buzz Break: 2021 Panini Diamond Kings (blaster 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: 2021 Panini Diamond Kings baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby & FOTL)

Keep reading to see a breakdown and gallery of what's in this one.

Packs per box: 7 (six standard, one bonus)
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 35
Base set completion: 16 of 100 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Ted Williams, Mike Trout, Satchel Paige, Honus Wagner, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Joe Morgan, D.J. LeMahieu, Buster Posey, Ryne Sandberg

Rookie cards (8) – Sixto Sanchez, Andres Gimenez, Sherten Apostel, Luis Gonzalez, Clarke Schmidt, Jose Garcia, Nick Neidert (SP), Anderson Tejada (SP)

Insert/short-print cards: 18 (all cards from box in gallery below)
Short-prints (Nos. 101-170) (5) – Rafael Devers, Javier Baez, Jose Altuve, Nick Neidert (RC), Anderson Tejada (RC)
Blue Artist's Proof (3) – Honus Wagner, Sixto Sanchez (RC), Jared Oliva (RC)
Blue Frame parallel (1) – Jahmai Jones (RC)
Debut Diamond Kings (2) – Ke'Bryan Hayes, Shane McClanahan
Aficionado (1) – Anthony Rendon
The Art of Hitting (1) – Joe Jackson
Artist's Palette (1) – Juan Soto 
Elegance (1) – Manny Machado
Gallery of Stars (1) – Honus Wagner
Legacy Lithographs (2) – Rickey Henderson, Joe Wood

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Diamond Kings Materials (1) – Luis Gonzalez

What's Buzz-worthy: The mix of big-time stars from the past and present here meshing with a heavy Rookie Card presence all under an artistic umbrella make this an interesting one to rip into if you can find it out there in the retail wild. Big names from the past are possible here and while hits are apparently not in every box (based on my two) they can drop regularly as I have directly heard of at least one 3-for-3 streak out there ... and that's not always easy to do with retail. Hobby boxes of this one can deliver goods every time in hobby and are a good value considering That Ruth Guy and plenty more are among the potential finds. I bought a bunch of this one last year as an pack-out error led to one chain's boxes being loaded with nothing but SPs instead of base cards along with a solid insert presence. This time? Back to normal but still pretty good results but perhaps without an A-level find beyond a hit (getting a hit, not the subject) and a couple notables in base. (My RCs seemed rough this time.) These are the exclusive home of Blue Artist Proof and Framed parallels and this one actually over-delivered on the stated insert volume on the box's lid. For a collector of the past and present, this one is a good buy for the price with big-time potential without having to fork over too much for a hobby box. There's a good chance you'll see more of this one beyond my other blaster I have already ripped and will have up sometime in the coming weeks.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A- (not flashy, but enough to get to an A ... also not all boxes have hits)
Fun Grade: B+

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