Buzz Break: 2021 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (hobby box)

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The box: 2021 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview: Click here

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

Packs per box: 25 (24 standard, one Chrome)
Cards per pack: 14 (four in Chrome)
Cards in this box: 334
Base set completion: 
307 of 350 (88 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Randy Arozarena, Kris Bryant, Corey Seager, Ozzie Albies, Giancarlo Stanton, Vladmir Guerrero Jr., Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr., Pete Alonso, Yu Darvish, Stephen Strasburg, Kyle Schwarber, Noah Syndergaard, Gary Sanchez

Rookie Cards (59) – Notables include Jazz Chisholm, Alex Kirilloff, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Ryan Weathers, Mickey Moniak ... not the greatest crop (at least right now)

Insert/short-print cards: 26 (all in gallery below with some base)
Photo variation (1) – Nolan Ryan
Home Run Challenge (1) – Gleyber Torres
Holofoil parallel (3) – Josh Fleming, Cincinnati Reds, Didi Gregorius
Gold parallel (2) – C.J. Cron, Matt Foster (/2,021)
Green Foilboard parallel (1) – Edwin Diaz (/499)
Black parallel (1) – Chad Wallach (/70)
DH Debuts (1) – Marcell Ozuna
70 Years of Topps (3) – Michael Conforto, Shane Bieber, Ryan Mountcastle
1986 Topps (3) – Ian Anderson, Yu Darvish, J.D. Martinez
1986 Topps All-Stars (3) – Ted Williams, Chris Sale, Ichiro Suzuki
Platinum Players (1) – Carl Yastrzemski
Significant Statistics (1) – Devin Williams
1986 Chrome (4) – Francisco Lindor, Nate Pearson, Ryan Jeffers, Lewin Diaz

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
1986 Topps Relics (1) – Sam Huff

What's Buzz-worthy: This isn't a wham-bam flashy box but this was a pretty good one with a notable player and memorable  piece of trivia on a photo variation card (the Texas Rangers used to throw footballs to help arm strength), a Green parallel (one in 54 packs) and a Black parallel (one in 155). The rest was pretty much the norm here and it's a series that feels lean on non-pitching stars among the base and perhaps lean (for now) on top RCs despite a pretty big crop -- so those rarer cards are needed. The leaner lineup now should mean a strong Topps Update this year. One oddity to look for? One of my Golds was printed without gloss on its front -- so every other card that was on that sheet out there can be found this way. (No, I'm not serious about it being a variation ... but it is one to a degree.) My run of inserts here was pretty lean on star power, too, so it probably would have been a B box without that Ryan (one in 40 packs) to help things out here a lot. I also liked the look and feel of the 1986 Relic but not the best player to land there. As I said before, I think this design will look really, really good on Chrome and I think jumbo boxes are your definite way to go here with a guaranteed auto and two other hit-level cards (a Relic or manufactured Relic) along with plenty more. The release isn't perhaps as meaty as Series 1 for the base card basics but the overall inclusions here are still pretty impressive -- rip a jumbo box for the best experience.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: A-
Fun Grade: B- (relatively dry break -- some packs with no inserts ... still needs more)

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