Buzz Break: 2023 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (blaster)

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The box: 2023 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

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

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 14 (one with extra manufactured Relic card inside)
Cards in this box: 99
Base set completion: 
84 of 330 (25 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., Mookie Betts, Pete Alonso, Oneil Cruz, Yordan Alvarez, Julio Urias, Fernando Tatis Jr., Freddie Freeman

Rookie Cards (15) – Adley Rutschman, Brett Baty, Christopher Morel, Oswaldo Peraza, Brandon Hughes, Josh Winckowski, Josh Smith, Zack Thompson, Brayan Bello, Kyle Stowers, Graham Ashcraft, Michael Massey, David MacKinnon, Darick Hall, Jermaine Palacios

Insert/short-print cards: 15 (all in gallery below with some base)
Home Run Challenge (1) – Kris Bryant (expired)
Stars of MLB (7) – Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr., Christian Yelich, Nolan Arenado, Riley Greene, Nolan Arenado, Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Chrome Stars of MLB (1) – Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Greatest Hits (1) – Paul Goldschmidt
Blue parallel (1) – Manuel Margot
Welcome To The Club (1) – Willie Mays
1988 Topps (2) – Vinnie Pasquantino, Julio Urias
Commemorative Team Logo Patch Relic Card (1) – Oneil Cruz

Autographs/Memorabilia: None (manufactured Relic)

What's Buzz-worthy: My last of these from the bargain bin, it was pretty much the same as my other pick-up ... some names and a decent mix but ultimately nothing that wowed me or got this one to an A-level box. ... I bought an all-time (35-year) low for this one last year -- a hobby, two blasters and one of those retail packages -- but now that this one is in the bargain bin I bit again ... still the same. This one has bells and whistles for sure -- I graded it an A then so it's an A now -- but this one won't go down as a favorite of mine at all. ... The retail-only insert that's found relatively heavily here, the Stars of MLB cards, are nice with a kind of pearlized/matte foilboard feel and I got a run of top names for the most part as well as a Chrome that looked even better -- a drawback is that I got nearly all the same cards as last time. ... The manufactured (not a hit) Relic is the norm but some do arrive with ink at high odds. ... As I said before, I'll be the first to admit I was a bit skeptical about the base design of this one at first -- especially that gray bar on every card -- but this is a definite scenario where cards feel better in hand than they did on Photoshopped mocks. ... All in all, though, this one does have a busier design than some recent years but I think it feels tighter and more cleanly printed than some flagship sets. It wasn't perfect but nothing dramatically rough in terms of centering and stock -- and that has been an issue at times off and on of late. The array of inclusions here is good -- and jumbo boxes break with a lot more color and flash than hobby with guaranteed ink and more -- and about the only other thing I'd want to see would be a little more insert/parallel power in every pack in both hobby and here. That doesn't add cost ... just got to add to lineup to add some value here for boxes where the names aren't popping.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: B+ (some key names popped in decent spots)
Fun Grade: B (needs more non-base stuff)

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