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., Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Austin Riley, Pete Alonso, Luis Robert, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Albert Pujols, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper, Corey Seager, Aaron Judge, Walker Buehler, Gavin Lux, Max Fried and others.

Rookie Cards (46) – Notables include Joey Bart, Bobby Dalbec, Ryan Mountcastle, Ian Anderson, Dylan Carlson, Triston McKenzie, Casey Mize, Cristian Pache

Insert/short-print cards: 21 (all in gallery below with some base)
Rainbow foil parallel (2) – Shane Bieber, Buster Posey
Gold parallel (1) – Buck Farmer (/2,021)
Retro parallel (1) – Los Angeles Dodgers (/99)
70 Years of Topps (2) – Randy Johnson, Mike Schmidt
Double Headers (1) – Cal Ripken Jr.
1986 Topps (6) – Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Blake Snell, Mark McGwire
Home Run Challenge (1) – Kris Bryant
Platinum Players (1) – Pedro Martinez
History of Topps (1) – Sy Berger
Stars In Service (1) – Justin Verlander
1986 Topps Chrome (4) – Freddie Freeman, Keston Hiura, Yadier Molina, Brandon Lowe (box-topper pack)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Topps 70 Years of Baseball Autographs (1) – Sean Murphy

What's Buzz-worthy: I decided to revisit this one since it was on the cheaper side of things as we wrap up 2021 and it reminded me how remarkably consistent these boxes are with their inclusions. Only a couple card types here weren't found in my last break and I did once again get ink (not the norm) of a younger name but not really a guy who will break the bank. The Retro (vintage stock) card here is a tougher pull at one in 554 packs. My auto is one in 140. ... I think these packs need more inserts -- the years of alleged "bloat" on that front need to return in flagship. ... 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 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. Overall, I think this is better than last year and last year was popular. 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, then this format works. I think Series 2 and Update might have some better potential for the price differences (they are a lot cheaper than Series 1) but flagship always has enough highlights to make it worth the look.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A- (a couple of rarer finds but still not that flashy)
Fun Grade: C+ (need a lot more parallel volume and more inserts in this)

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