April was a bit of a dull month for me as a modern card collector. Bowman, Gypsy Queen and Opening Day aren't especially my favorite products, so I really had no use in getting any of them. But still, I was in Target, and there was a box of Diamond Kings staring me in the face.
So...here's the thing. I've always been a fan of Donruss' earlier incarnations of Diamond Kings. By that, I mean the insert set from 1981 to 1998, which was always a chance for artists, especially Dick Perez, to be showcased in inserts, also a leg up D'russ had on Topps. I also enjoyed the high-end sketch-based set that Donruss released from 2002 to 2005. Granted, from the 2004 on the set became a bit excessive, being more expansive and less about design. But still, I try to get 02-05 base cards of all the players I collect, simply because it's a good totem for their mastery in that era, even if the 2005 set was basically 25-man rosters.
This current version of Diamond Kings? It's...only nominally DK. It's sketch cards as a base set, has a mix of legends and stars, and has framed parallels and similar inserts, but...the purpose is different. This is now Panini's obligatory 'legends' set, and has a base set predominantly of obscure retired players, which is welcome but jarring when compared to the originals, where legends were relegated, rightly, to Short Print status. Now the SPs are all 'good' players from current standings, so there's not a ton of base cards that can satisfy casual collectors.
2018 DK is no different. I bought a blaster simply because I hadn't gotten cards in a while. Let's see what we got:
Each box comes with a special pack of inserts, which included:
An Artist's Proof, Name-Variation (Sultan of Swat) of Babe Ruth.
A Black-bordered base card of John McGraw
And a Mickey Mantle Collection insert of #7 himself. Nice to see Panini's continuing the tradition of excessive Mantle cards.
Pack 1-
52- LUIS SEVERINO. Hell of a way to start the pack.
ANNNNNNNND A DK Materials Relic Card of...Anthony Santander, of the Orioles. The card is nice, and there's two jersey swatches, one of which is orange, but Santander, while starting, isn't off to a particularly great start this year. An okay hit, I guess.
PORTRAITS insert of Ty Cobb. Kind of boilerplate for a DK insert, but not bad.
2- Honus Wagner. The base design is very scaled back this year, and I'm not sure if I love how...Panini it feels.
60- Sam Crawford
Pack 2-
76- SHOHEI OHTANI! FINALLY, MY FIRST OHTANI CARD!
33- Tony Lazzeri. Poosh 'em up.
Trophy Club insert of Bryce Harper, which is better designed, and a bit cooler than the other insert.
84- Luiz Gohara RC. A Braves rookie that...hasn't exactly factored into this season.
41- Goose Goslin
Pack 3-
90- Tyler Mahle rookie. A rare decent Reds pitcher.
48- Johnny Pesky
The 500 Insert of Albert Pujols. This insert, at least, has more originality behind it, instead of just being a boilerplate Topps insert
98- JP Crawford RC. Not a great start by Crawford, as he would have been demoted had it not been for the DL stint.
56- Max Scherzer, one of the best pitchers in the NL.
Pack 4-
6- George Kelly. Panini seems to have become the #1 George Kelly card supplier.
64- Anthony Rizzo
Past/Present insert of Craig Biggio and Jose Altuve, which would have been great in an earlier incarnation of DK, but now looks like a slightly-sketched version of a Topps insert
14- Luke Appling
71- Corey Seager. Sad what happened to him.
Pack 5-
22- Tommy Henrich
79- Buster Posey. Still the best catcher in the game right now.
128- Erick Fedde. I believe this is a short print. Yay.
28- Jackie Robinson. Always great to pull a Jackie.
85- Max Fried RC
Pack 6-
36- Carl Erskine. Panini is also great at producing cards of lost Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Giants.
Gallery of Stars insert of Joey Gallo. I love this design, but I wish I had gotten someone other than Joey Gallo.
8- Harry Hooper
43- Hack Wilson
1- Babe Ruth. We end where we started, with the Babe.
So...this is another admittedly deviant addition into the DK family. I mean, there's still effort put in, and the emphasis on more obscure legends is definitely appreciated, but it's still a far cry from a lot of the better Diamond Kings sets, and even better Panini DK sets (like 2015 and 2016).
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