Buzz Break: 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter X baseball cards

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter X baseball cards
Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one as well as a gallery of highlights.

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 142
Base set completion: 
115 of 300 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Charlie Sheen, Rachel Balkovec, Danny Glover, Kendall Toole, Kate Brownell, Ken Griffey Jr., Jonathan Taylor, Jeremiah Paprocki, Landon Donovan, Rob Riggle, Chipper Jones, Johnny Bench, Ernie Banks, Rogers Hornsby, Duke Snider, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Feller, Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Larry Walker, Lou Gehrig, Nolan Ryan, David Ortiz, Frank Thomas, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, Willie Stargell, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr.

RC logo cards (25) – Julio Rodriguez, Wander Franco, Seiya Suzuki, Spencer Torkelson, Joe Ryan, Diego Castillo, Luis Gil, Nick Allen, Jack Suwinski, Tony Santillan, Royce Lewis, Hunter Greene, Juan Yepez, Gabriel Arias, Ernie Clement, Otto Lopez, Heliot Ramos, Josh Lowe, Josh Winder, Gavin Sheets, Brendan Donovan, Aaron Ashby, Richie Palacios, Vidal Brujan, Ethan Roberts

Insert cards: 27 (all in gallery below with some base)
Short-prints (9) – Bert Blyleven, Lou Piniella, Geoff Jenkins, Luis Urias, Luis Castillo, Kevin Gausman, Dallas Keuchel, J.P. Crawford, Gary Sanchez
Mini parallel (16) – Bo Bichette, Roger Maris, Rod Carew, Drew Rosenhaus, Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, Ronny Chieng, Pedro Martinez, Jack Flaherty, Charlie Blackmon, Lorenzo Cain, Sean Murphy, Byron Buxton, Tim Anderson, Jose Altuve, Alex Rodriguez
Mini short-prints parallel (2) – Kenley Jansen, Jorge Soler

Autographs/Memorabilia: 2
Black Framed A&G X Autographs (1) – Colton Welker (/25)
Silver Framed A&G X Autographs (1) – Will Clark (/50)

What's Buzz-worthy: Ginter X is an online-exclusive staple and I bit on a couple of boxes during the short time they were live to the public on Topps.com, figuring the ink made them safe for the price and that they wouldn't last long. Yes and yes in the case of this box as it over-delivered with two autos (one in 39 and one in 67 for the other) while also delivering the run of the rookies that one would hope for ... which was not the case on that front in my other box you'll see here at some point. For the first time in pretty much the life of the product (2006-forward) I didn't see anything I'd reasonably want to chase from the standard Ginter at its price without guaranteed ink but I suspect I might at some point. But with these at a lower initial price, ink guaranteed (and on the rarer side volume-wise) you have to wonder if Ginter X is a model of how a refined regular Ginter might be a bigger hit by making some simple adjustments across the board in the future. (This one sells out, the other doesn't ... at least quickly.) Don't get me wrong, I like the brand -- it's easily among my top five of the last 15-plus years -- but the ink just seems to be too long of a chase for the typical finds ... so I have ripped less. There's plenty more in the standard edition to chase beyond that, of course, too. This one? It's base, minis (both with SPs) and then mini Silver and Red parallels and then the ink. The ink lineup includes these two sets for both baseball players and non-players and then a gold-ink version that's far rarer. It's super simple. The only drawback here? The black ink on the stock can make one corner per card stand out more than one might like with some white showing. Here's me wondering out loud if black card stock has ever been considered ... just a thought ... though the backs would have to be tweaked to print there. I'll perhaps offer more thoughts on this one with my second box ... but this one was the big winner of the two for sure.

Product Grade: A (for Ginter X ... not sure how I'd grade the standard release just yet)
Box Grade: A+ (two hits and two notable newcomers all in one spot)
Fun Grade: B+

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