Buzz Break: 2022 Panini Diamond Kings baseball (blaster)

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The box: 2022 Panini Diamond Kings baseball cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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

Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 36
Base set completion: 17 of 75 (23 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Roger Maris, Tony Gwynn, Honus Wagner, Cool Papa Bell, Charlie Keller, Sam Crawford, Alex Rodriguez, Max Scherzer, Yordan Alvarez, Joey Votto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Francisco Lindor, Shane Bieber, Paul Goldschmidt

Insert/short-print cards: 19 (all in gallery below with some base)
Base Rookies I (Nos. 76-100) (3) – Luke Williams, Josiah Gray, Curtis Terry
Short-prints (Nos. 101-140) (3) – Lou Gehrig, Nicholas Castellanos, Larry Doby
Rookies II (Nos. 141-160) (2) – Jose Siri, Greg Deichmann
Rookies III (Nos. 161-180) (1) – Matt Manning
Blue Artist's Proof (1) – Corey Seager
Blue Artist's Proof SPs (1) – Buck Leonard
Blue Artist's Proof Rookies II (1) – Riley Adams
Red Frame parallel (1) – Christian Yelich
The Art Of Hitting (1) – Mel Ott
Artist's Palette (1) – Cedric Mullins
Gallery of Stars (1) – Nolan Arenado
Maestros (1) – Miguel Cabrera
Modern Strokes (1) – Whit Merrifield
Aficionado (1) – Tim Anderson

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: This brand is one that I ripped a lot of after its Panini America return -- admittedly too much -- but at least it was regularly producing hits and then a strong mix of past and present stars across its inserts. This time in this box? Not so much -- it's an average box at best. Too many "on-field potential" guys in this crop of inserts vs. hobby value or established on-field  for me. That'll happen with small boxes. ... This one isn't quite as clean visually as past years but they do offer up a somewhat firmer frame for images that some may have wanted from the base design. (I like the others better.) That slips this one's grade down a tick for me, though I still think the heavy mix of past legends here helps and with the lower price this one is a fun rip for a collector. A flipper? They might try something else. The rookies here are in three tiers and there are some SPs (not unusual here) as well that look like base cards. The insert lineup also is a familiar one ... about my only criticism here might be the stock and some of the color choices. The corners on the standard rookies are dark and they showcase their corner flaws well. (I think the "canvas" texture happens after a roller is applied to the surface and then it frays easier when the cards are cut.) There's a lot to find here for sure and some good up-side for stuff if you find big names from the past. They really just didn't show up in any substantial volume this time.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: C (by this one's standards even average might be nice this time)
Fun Grade: C+ (good variety but not a good box at all)

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