Buzz Break: 2024 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (blaster)

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The box: 2024 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (hobby & jumbo)

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

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 12
Cards per box: 84
Base set completion: 
65 of 350 (19 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Manny Machado, Francisco Alvarez, Cody Bellinger, Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner, J.D. Martinez

RC logo cards (11) – Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kyle Harrison, J.P. Martinez, Connor Phillips, Joe Boyle, Darius Vines, Kody Funderburk, Kyren Paris, Parker Meadows, Carson Spiers, Oselvis Basabe

Insert/short-print cards: 19 (all in gallery below with some base)
Gold parallel (1) – Jackson Wolf (/2,024)
City To City Black (1) – Bryce Harper (/299)
Holiday Hot Dog parallel (1) – Mike Trout & Bobby Witt Jr.
Holiday Statue Of Liberty parallel (1) – Will Benson
Holiday foil parallel (2) – Kyle Hurt, Nick Castellanos
1989 Topps (1) – Matt McLain
1989 Topps All-Star (1) – Satchel Paige
Significant Statistics (1) – Elly De La Cruz
Covering The Field (1) – Paul Goldschmidt
Home Run Challenge (1) – Adley Rutschman
Stars Of MLB (7) – Jasson Dominguez, Sal Frelich, Ceddanne Rafaela, Clayton Kershaw, Manny Machado, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Correa
Chrome Stars Of MLB (1) – Carlos Correa

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

Errant gloss on backs for many cards.

What's Buzz-worthy: This one was once again lean on the veterans front and was still stingy with the rookie volume but did a little better there with one top name in that mix. The higher volume of inserts here was something I noticed right away -- plus there being no manufactured Relic (I skipped Series 1 blasters) also have it a different feel. There are a few rarer finds here -- that City to City card is one in like 2,100 packs here, the Gold is one in about six blasters and the Hot Dog and Statue Of Liberty parallels are one in 22 packs and 56 packs, but all that made wonder ... do they need to be? None of them were that interesting or advanced cards at all for being that rare. Sure, that volume helps perceptions of value -- especially for a Trout-Witt card -- but once ripping gets done plenty of everything will be available. Perhaps making some of them even easier would spark more collecting there? (That same thought really, really applies to Jackson Holliday's Fun Face as I think that one as standard card with variations could have been a hit like 2007 Topps' Derek Jeter card ... and everybody who ripped would have a chance to find one and, you know, have some fun.) ... Blasters are definitely a better option than hangers with more of everything, though one thing I noticed here was errant gloss on the card backs (see above right) and even some foil funk on backs, too. It reinforced my thoughts that this one is perhaps not as clean as Series 1 printing-wise as corners -- especially corners on parallel cards and foil inserts -- showed issues and there were some top/bottom denting issues. (It's somewhat common ... but I would prefer it not be there at all as I'd like to grade good finds here.) I think this one had a good feel vs. my Series 1 rips as there was enough here to not have it feel lacking like the hanger did ... but the mega box rip to come is the one that was truly meaty and the best rip. Stay tuned.

Product Grade: A- (probably only thanks to Fun Face, which is an A+ homage inclusion)
Box Grade: A- (pretty standard lineup but stronger than hangers ... still more corner, edge and back funk vs. Series 1 and I think that hurt here)
Fun Grade: B+ (landed some statistically rarer cards but nothing felt like a big deal)

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