Buzz Break: 2024 Topps Stadium Club MLB cards (blaster box)

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The box: 2024 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights from this box.

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 40
Base set completion: 
25 of 300 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – David Ortiz, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, Ted Williams, Jason Varitek, Rafael Devers, Tony Gwynn, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove, Mike Schmidt, Bryson Stott, Aaron Nola, trea Turner, Blake Snell

RC logo cards (8) – Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Jordan Westburg, Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, Tyler Soderstrom, Zack Gelof, Lawrence Butler

Insert cards: 15 (all cards in gallery below)
Black parallel (1) – Sonny Gray
Sepia parallel (1) – Bo Bichette
Red parallel (6) – Christy Mathewson, Vladimir Guerrero, Andre Dawson, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, Pablo Lopez
Chrome parallel (4) – Paul Skenes, Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Pablo Lopez
Chrome Refractor parallel (1) – Clayton Kershaw
Chief Fantasy Professionals (1) – Shohei Ohtani
Power Packed (1) – Fernando Tatis Jr.

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: This one started off strong with the Skenes Chrome in its first pack ... but then things got weird. Check out the run of base cards ... note the teams from card to card. That's only seven teams in 25 cards. The inserts? Better ... but half of the Red parallels were Twins as was one of the Chromes. That streakiness could have paid off well with other teams but at times it wasn't bad here ... but it's also just not good here. The inserts included a few types of cards not found in every blaster -- statistically one in three or four here on a couple cards -- but ultimately nothing out of the ordinary yet with some good players attached. That and the Skenes helped this box avoid a lower grade with its collation issue. I think there's a good lineup of stuff here -- especially among the rare finds more likely to land in hobby -- but beyond more insert volume it seems like this format is again a bit forgotten as big, rarer finds are added to brands but little things that make the smaller boxes mundane or lacking at times across the board this year. An example? No box-topper here. A simple add ... gone. Not a biggie but that was something in recent years to find, too, that might make a rough box better. The design has a late-1990s Pinnacle feel -- not sure if that's a compliment yet or not -- while the washout of color for the parallels is jarring, though perhaps better than recent years where you could barely tell differences. (Parallels should be obvious ... but washing out the backgrounds takes away from the photos.) The cutting and stock still had some issues this time but was perhaps cleaner than recent years for this brand and maybe even for other brands this year. Still could be better. All in all, this one remains one of the more-collectable brands for a fan or beginner who doesn't have the cash to spring for hobby boxes in bulk and still could find something of note without irresponsibly clearing a shelf -- there needs to be more of that. Ink is possible here, though a bit higher odds than retail in some recent years ... but at least it's still in there. The Chrome presence here was better than in past years -- a plus but there are collectors may not like a lot of Chrome so it splits the difference, giving both camps what they like. I'll offer up more thoughts when I rip more ... it'll get at least one more look from me.

Product Grade: B+
Box Grade: A (good box despite some bad collation here if you look at the clumping of teams)
Fun Grade: B+

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