Mystery Box Buzz Break: Boston Red Sox Publications Grab Bag

Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: Boston Red Sox Mystery Publications Grab Bag
Where to buy: Via Red Sox on MLB.com (find new MLB cards at BlowoutCards.com)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and a gallery of what was in this box. (Yes, it was a box and not a bag ... but that's their image.)

Items in this mystery box: 10
Official Yearbooks: 2009, 2011
Game Programs: April 2021, May 2021, 2023 Second Edition, 2024 Fifth Edition
Red Sox Magazine: Fourth Edition 2004, Fourth Edition 2007
Others: 2023 NHL Winter Classic program, 2018 Harvard-Yale at Fenway Park

Names on covers: Tim Wakefield, David Ortiz, Carl Crawford, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rafael Devers, Kenley Jansen, Kike Hernandez and others

What's Buzz-worthy: With all of the mystery boxes out there in the world these days, I figured I'd branch off with a department for just those kinds of rips -- and they won't only be cards or sports memorabilia mystery boxes -- on occasion here and I figured we could kick things off with something familiar, this mystery pack from the Boston Red Sox. (I've opened this one in the past ... a few times.) Why? Cheap thrills (this was $16.50 shipped after a discount) and atop that you never know what might pop up here -- older or newer -- that might be appealing showcasing stars or fan favorites. I landed some of the usual suspects I've seen before here, but also some new issues and even something from the NHL ice which Fenway Park hosted. Why are these of interest? Memorabilia collectors, player collectors, team collectors, autograph collectors and slab collectors all might have something to draw them in here and the price per issue is good. They're generally all clean, not mangled and clearly unread copies from deep in the Red Sox archives -- I'm pretty sure the return address was from Fenway Park, too, but I threw out my box already before prepping this -- and I really like the look of the two above as well as some of them in the gallery. (Others, I've seen too often.) ... As I noted in the past, the old mystery box listing was a little lean on the MLB mothership, simply promising "eight to 12 different publications that can be from the 1980s to current day" with the thought that "you never know what you'll get." They had me at mystery. There's very little downside to a cheap, different "break" like this from time to time ... other than storage since mags are a little bit bigger than cards. It just comes down to what kind of stock they have left and whether it gets repetitive after you open a few.

Product Grade: A- (good volume and value most times)
Box Grade: B (this one had some nice finds but was a little dryer than some I've landed)
Fun Grade: B

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