Buzz Break: 2021 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hobby box)

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The box: 2021 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

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

Packs per box: 25 (24 standard, one four-card Silver Chrome topper)
Cards per pack: 14
Cards in this box: 340
Base set completion: 
318 of 350 (91 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Fernando Tatis Jr., Andrew Benintendi, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Eloy Jimenez, Cody Bellinger, Austin Riley, Pete Alonso, Luis Robert, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Albert Pujols, Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer, Brendan McKay, Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Kyle Lewis, Bo Bichette, Aristides Aquino, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper, Shane Bieber, Corey Seager, Aaron Judge, Walker Buehler, Gavin Lux, Nico Hoerner, Yordan Alvarez, Max Fried, Justin Verlander ... and others

Rookie Cards (49) – Daulton Varsho, Joey Bart, Sixto Sanchez, Bobby Dalbec, Edward Olivares, Deivi Garcia, Jo Adell, Andres Gimenez, Isaac Paredes, David Peterson, Albert Abreu, Tarik Skubal, Daniel Johnson, Nate Pearson, Nick Heath, Beau Burrows, Monte Harrison, Humberto Mejia, Ryan Mountcastle, Anderson Tejeda, Kodi Whitley, Evan White, Tyler Stephenson, James Kaprielian, Brady Singer, Ryan Castellani, Cristian Javier, Cristian Pache, Brandon Bielak, Nick Madrigal, Luis Patino, Blake Taylor, Dane Dunning, Kris Bubic, Ian Anderson, Santiago Espinal, Spencer Howard, Keibert Ruiz, Leody Taveras, Jesus Sanchez, Mitch White, Alec Bohm, Dylan Carlson, Luis Garcia, Codi Heuer, Triston McKenzie, Casey Mize, Nick Neidert, Eddy Alvarez

Insert/short-print cards: 21 (all in gallery below with some base)
Rainbow foil parallel (2) – Kris Bubic, Yu Darvish
Gold parallel (1) – Steven Matz (/2,021)
Black parallel (1) – Hands up! Masks up! (Mookie Betts & Cody Bellinger) (/70)
70 Years of Topps (3) – Rickey Henderson, Clayton Kershaw, Will Clark
1986 Topps (6) – Ken Griffey Jr., Josh Donaldson, Gerrit Cole, Jack Flaherty, Andrew McCutchen, Nate Pearson
Home Run Challenge (1) – Jorge Soler
Platinum Players (1) – Brooks Robinson
History of Topps (1) – Topps is Born
Stars in Service (1) – Aaron Judge
1986 Topps Chrome (3) – Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Austin Meadows (box-topper pack)
Purple 1986 Topps Chrome (1) – Keibert Ruiz (/75)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Topps 70 Years of Baseball Autographs (1) – Eric Davis

What's Buzz-worthy: My ink here? One in 140 packs. That Black parallel? One in 175. Those may not sound like impressive finds in the big picture but finding both in a box with 24 packs isn't going to be the norm here ... and I'll go out on a limb and guess that some of you who ripped into hobby boxes of this one were a little on the bored side at times, too. (I was ... but only in part since I had opened a blaster where I liked the 1952 inserts appearing in every pack ... some packs here didn't have inserts of any kind ... something that I think shouldn't happen these days. If anything, these packs need more insets -- the years of alleged "insert bloat" need to return in flagship. I said it. As I noted last time, sure, the names are small -- I've noted that a few times on Twitter -- but they are not as un-readable as I had feared and this design feels a little crisper (and a tad less boring than last year) when in hand. Beyond that? This one is going to be a beast in Chrome with Refractor stock, etching and colorful parallels. ... There are a number of nods to the mask-wearing MLB world of last year with cardboard cutouts in the stands  and other views you can see early on in the gallery below. There are a lot of horizontal cards in this one and I think those are actually the home to some better photos in this one. Overall I think this one is better than last year and last year was popular. If we get a standard season of cardboard and the cards to show for it, then Series 2 and Update could be scorchers following this one's strong start. I'd rip jumbos if you can swing it for the guaranteed stuff or blasters if you want a little more variety on the cheap. If you're somewhere in the middle of those two this format works ... but I'd also keep in mind we might see a number of additional series based on how these look through the year. Dig in now but leave room on your plate for more versions to come.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A- (not flashiest box but ink and rarer pulls help out this time)
Fun Grade: C+ (need a lot more parallel volume and more inserts in this)

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