2016 Donruss Baseball features a 195-card base checklist. Included in the checklist are 30 Diamond Kings subset cards and 15 Rated Rookie cards.

Being unlicensed by the league, the cards do not feature any team logos or team names. Instead, cards feature the just the city/state of the team. Base cards are also found in 10 different parallels, from Pink Border (the most common) to 1/1 printing plates.

Donruss has become Panini’s rival to Topps flagship releases. It continues to be the company’s more affordable baseball release. While the cards lack logos, they generally have some good designs. Also, Panini tries to make up for licensing constraints with extra hits. While each Topps flagship Hobby box contains just one relic or autograph, 2016 Donruss boxes contain three hits!

The best rookies in this checklist? Ketel Marte, Aaron Nola, Kyle Schwarber, Corey Seager, and Trea Turner.

2016 Donruss Baseball Box Break 

Cards per pack: 8
Packs per box: 25
Price paid: $100

• Shop for 2016 Donruss Baseball boxes on eBay | Amazon
• Shop for 2016 Donruss Baseball cards on eBay | Amazon | Beckett Marketplace

Pack 1 highlights:

Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Bautista, Goldschmidt 1982 and John Lamb Donruss Signature Series Red Autograph /99

Now, no offense to John Lamb, but when you are really only expecting one autograph in a box and you happen to pull John Lamb in the first pack, it is kind of a buzzkill.

Pack 2:

Adrian Gonzalez, Edwin Encarnacion, JJ Schwarz USA Collegiate National Team and Miguel Sano Rated Rookie Die Cut Blue /999

Pack 3:

David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout 1982, Randy Johnson Masters of the Game and Salvador Perez Test Proof Cyan /49

Pack 4:

Xander Boagerts, John Smoltz, Don Mattingly, Manny Machado 1982, Andrew McCutchen Diamond Kings (DK) and Matt Harvey Elite Series /999

Pack 5:

Cal Ripken, Kirby Puckett, Jose Altuve 1982, Jeurys Familia Pink Border and Jose Fernandez DK Career Stat Line /101

The 2016 season would be Fernandez’s last due to his untimely death in a boating accident in September that year. He finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting following the season.

Pack 6:

David Wright, Dee Gordon 1982 and Dansby Swanson The Prospects

Pack 7:

Adam Jones, Buster Posey, Kris Bryant 1982 and Luis Severino Rated Rookies (RR)

Pack 8:

Zack Greinke, Yadier Molina 1982 and Nick Banks USA Collegiate National Team

Pack 9:

Giancarlo Stanton, Craig Biggio, Sonny Gray 1982 and Mike Trout Power Alley

Donruss does typically have some nice looking insert sets. These Power Alley inserts are not too shabby.

Pack 10:

Mike Trout, George Brett, Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose Nickname Variation, Steve Carlton 1982 and Nelson Cruz DK

Pack 11:

Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Frank Thomas, Pete Rose 1982, David Price Holoview Border /199 and Curtis Grandson Back to the Future Jersey Relic

Pack 12:

Aroldis Chapman, Manny Machado, Ryne Sandberg, George Brett 1982 and Greg Bird The Rookies

Pack 13:

Adrian Beltre, Jacob deGrom, Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez, Carl Yastrzemski, Zack Greinke 1982 and George Brett Bat Kings Relic

There we go! Can’t complain about pulling a relic of a hall of famer!!

Pack 14:

Gerrit Cole, Evan Longoria, Nolan Ryan, Mariano Rivera, David Price 1982 and A.J. Puk USA Collegiate National Team

Pack 15:

Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester, Salvador Perez, Frank Thomas 1982 and Eric Hosmer Power Alley

Pack 16:

Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, Nolan Ryan 1982 and Josh Donaldson DK

Pack 17:

Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Ichiro Suzuki, Kirby Puckett 1982, Aaron Nola RR and Pedro Martinez Test Proof Black /25

Pedro is my largest player collection, and I didn’t have this one yet! Nice one!

Pack 18:

Omar Vizquel, Pete Rose, Alcides Escobar 1982, Corey Seager The Rookies and Brandon Crawford Career Stat Line /313

Pack 19:

Prince Fielder, Clayton Kershaw and Cal Ripken 1982

Pack 20:

Yu Darvish, A.J. Pollock 1982 and Zack Burdi USA Collegiate National Team

Pack 21:

Jose Fernandez, The Famous San Diego Chicken, Eric Hosmer 1982, Mariano Rivera Masters of the Game and Carlos Correa Gold Press Proof /99

The original San Diego Chicken, Ted Giannoulas, does still sign autograph requests through the mail!

Pack 22:

Yadier Molina, Chris Sale, Miguel Cabrera 1982, Evan Longoria DK and Corey Seager Elite Dominator /999

Pack 23:

Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Buster Posey 1982 and Ketel Marte The Rookies Career Stat Line /351

Pack 24:

CC Sabathia, Andres Galarraga, Carlos Correa 1982 and Rafael Devers The Prospects

Lastly, the Sabathia card back. I have never been a fan of limited season stat lines. I prefer to see a player’s whole career on the backs.

No shortage of hits and numbered cards in these boxes! Especially when compared to Topps flagship boxes these days. These cards, in general, do not hold the same value, though.

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.

Protect Your Collection With:

• Penny Sleeves — Amazon | eBay | Fanatics
• Top Loaders — Amazon | eBay | Fanatics
• Binders — Amazon | eBay
• 9-Pocket Card Pages — Amazon | eBay

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