Trans-Atlantic Triple Break: 2020 Diamond Kings

Matthew and Kevin and I have been sharing hobby boxes for a few seasons now give or take, and one box that always proves to be a fun break is the Diamond Kings brand from Panini/Donruss. Matthew did the honors and broke a 2020 box, with each of us taking two divisions. 

I selected the NL West and the AL Central (gotta chase those Twins!). Diamond Kings comes with a base set of 100 cards and an additional 70 short print base cards. all have the canvas texture and oil painting treatment seen above. As is common for Panini, there are no MLB team logos as the Topps Company has exclusive rights with MLB. The cards are all most likely based on existing photographs, then photoshopped to create that distinct look. 

The card backs this year eliminate the stat line completely - no yearly or career totals are provided. Instead, each card has a short paragraph about the player, usually providing some statistical information along the way. 

 

Diamond Kings is known for vibrant and inserts, usually featuring a theme that celebrates the visual arts. "The 3000" is a series all about members of the 3,000 hit club. 

I always say a successful break is when we can send all the hits away to each other. I was the lucky winner of the relic in the hobby box, and it is none other than the early front runner for World Series MVP and two-time Doritos Locos Taco Champ, Mookie Betts! Bat Kings is a very matter of fact name for this insert set, which features Bat relics for players in the Diamond Kings set. Bat + Kings = Bat Kings. 

And of course, I have to share the Twins! This is "late career Twins" Bert, with the thick beard he grew in  Pittsburgh and kept throughout the 80s. His first several seasons in MN in the 1970s featured a fresh face. Also, each team in the league had an "All-Time Diamond King," and this year it fell to Harmon Killebrew, who was previously featured as the puzzle in 1991 Leaf packs. They might consider bringing the puzzle back, that might be fun? Or even as an insert set- they could be regular cards, but with jigsaw designs superimposed like a completed puzzle? Overall, I like Diamond Kings, and I just wish they would take these concepts a little further. Sometimes the ideas for the set and the inserts seem unfinished, like the bottom left corner of all of the base cards... All in all a fun break!

Matt never stops there though,  and this time he brings out the big guns, helping me build my fledgling Barry Sanders collection with this awesome patch card! LaDanian Tomlinson is great too. The last time I won a fantasy football league he was on my team...

Last but not least - Big Papi! Sorry for the blurry image, I scanned this without taking it out of the one touch holder. I have lots of autos of "little Papi" (fellow former Twin Kennys Vargas) - but this is my first solo David Ortiz signature. Big Papi will be on the HOF ballot starting in 2021, and it's too early to tell if the rumors of PEDs will keep him out, or if the % of his career spent solely as a DH will hurt his candidacy, but he certainly will get a lot of discussion!

Thanks Matt for another great break!

Do you like 2020 Diamond Kings? If you were making an insert set for Diamond Kings (or Topps Gallery), what would it look like?

Thanks for reading!

TransAtlantic Triple Break Dips into the Archives!

We won't allow a little global pandemic to come between friends. Admittedly, this mailer arrived well before the ominous music and the slow pan out from a monkey's eye to a crowded market where innocent citizens were completely unaware of the danger that surrounded them. Matt, Kevin, and I have kept the Triple Break going for several years now, and I'm hopeful that this too will pass.

Kevin did the honors this time and opened a box of 2019 Archives. I went with the AL Central and NL West for my teams. I'm sure Tim Anderson and Brad Keller are ok with a little social distancing after their 2019 dust-up.

Archives is home to classic designs, as well as classic players. Always fun to see some Hall of Famers in your set!

Of course, I'm always interested in the Twins that are in each break.

Five Twins total found their way across the ocean to me, and just a reminder that I want your 2020 Topps Eddie Rosario cards - trying to build a ROSIE RAINBOW!

These were my "hits" from the box, but the truth is that if any of us win, we all win - And this time? Oh man, did we ever win! Matt had the AL West and that meant he is the proud owner of an Ichiro Autograph! One of the cooler things we've pulled so far since we started.

Kevin tossed in some extras, like these Twins and a Roger Clemens card - I am actually light on Clemens cards with the Blue Jays, so this was a nice surprise!

Kevin is an Upper Deck fan, and with cards like these, that should come as no shocker.

Last but not least, an "IDES OF MARCH" eBay 1/1! Josmil Pinto was going to fill in for Joe Mauer behind the plate for a hot second, but he never really took off for the Twins. This card is pretty awesome though!

Kevin, thanks again for the Triple Break, I hope things are well with you and yours as we all try to ride out this crazy time in our history. 

Transatlantic Triple Break Joins the Club

Stadium Club has been out for some time now, I picked up a hobby box to share as my contribution to the Transatlantic Triple Break with Kevin of The Card Papoy and Matthew of Bob Walk the Plank.

Each of us get 2 divisions. We each chose our home town team divisions this time, so I had these parallels from the AL Central, Fulmer on the left is a holofoil card numbered to just 25 copies.

I also picked the NL West, which afforded me this sweet Trevor Story insert.

Just a pair of Twins in the box, Buxton and Sano. The biggest name rookie pulled was Eloy Jimenez. We were robbed of a Vlad Jr card! Sorry Kevin.

Before I forget, here are the backs. The sooner I forget Buxton's 2018 season, the better. Yikes! He's doing much much better this year.

Stadium Club went hard after horizontal shots this year. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw, but they appeared to be more than half of the base cards. At that point, I think they could have just gone all in with the horizontal shots. Happy to a new bat rack card with Justin Turner!

I didn't pull this one from the box - both autographs and the box topper will be going out in the mail, just the way I prefer it on the breaks. But I saw that La Tortuga was on the auto checklist, so I made a special addition off of eBay of this card, and since the autos I pulled are going elsewhere, I figured I would share this one now.

Overall, the base cards still bring home the bacon, and like years past I feel like the parallels / inserts are unnecessary - I'd rather have more variety of base card images, as they are the best part of the set! Have you picked up any Stadium Club yet this year? What are some of your favorite cards in the checklist?

A Proud Heritage of TransAtlantic Triple Breaks

Matt Olson is fired up because it's time for another Transatlantic Triple Break! We've been doing this since November 2015 and it's still a big hit at the 'ol Arbitrary. Along with Matt from Bob Walk the Plank, and Kevin from The Card Papoy, every few months or so we take turns getting a hobby box and splitting it three ways. We roll the dice looking for autographs / relics and short prints, but more than that, it's an opportunity to keep a round-robin trade going. This time, Matt busted open a box of 2019 Topps Heritage.

The backs are all super bright compared to the 1970 Topps cards in my collection, but they retain all the design elements that marked the original set.

We divvy up the cards by division- I went out West panning for Gold(schmidt) and hooked a Trout!

We also keep our home teams, Twins for me, Pirates for Matt, and Blue Jays for Kevin.

Just like the original set, the playoffs get their own subset.

New Age Performers - Heritage has been running this insert annually, merging the Heritage style with a modern touch. Khris "Khrush" Davis was the MLB home run leader in 2018. The back makes that point and compares him to Johnny Bench, the 1970 MLB HR leader. Neat!

The 1970 Topps set had this insert as well, a scratch off game to play with your friends.

Rules on the back - play nine full innings! The rules are the same as baseball, but do they have a DH or not? Is Instant Replay allowed?

Here's a handful of my favorite base cards from the break.

Matt also tossed in some extras in trade, and per usual they were stunners. This Bonds card is numbered to 66, a 2003 Leaf card that kinda sorta resembles Exhibits.

Glen Perkins is a local hero, coming from Brooklyn Park / Park Center and attended the University of MN. He got the save in the last All-Star game hosted in MN and played his entire career for the Twins. He drops in every now and then to the Twins' booth pre-game and post-game.

Kennys Vargas checks in with a Gold Signature - Kennys is having himself a rough one across the Pacific, he was demoted to the Chiba Lotte Marines' minor league affiliate. His last appearance in the Japanese major leagues was on May 30th. It's early, he's got time to work it out.

I always save the best for last - this card, like Kennys, is also numbered to 25, and includes an autograph of Hall of Fame Twins' legend Harmon Killebrew! The scan is a little blurry as I didn't want to take the card out of the one touch holder.

Thanks again, Matt, for another successful Triple Break! I'll be on the lookout for our next box.

Back to Back Triples!

A good idea is worth doing twice! Matt from Bob Walk the Plank also had a box of 2018 Diamond Kings for the Transatlantic Triple Break. I picked AL West and AL Central for Kevin's break (shown in yesterday's post) so this time I went with NL West and the AL East.

Past and Present was a new insert for me - I think Lynn is a good comp for Benintendi, not just because they both played for Boston.

Just like yesterday, it's the best of today and the best of yesteryear.

My personal faves from the batch - Catchers always get the most interesting cards in these sets.

The only Twin? The Killer in a 500 HR Club insert set.

I was also the lucky guy to get the hit this time - Clayton Kershaw! My Dodger luck continues, I pulled a Bellinger relic from Diamond Kings last year.

Matt included some extras as well! I had a fever, the only prescription was more KUBEL!

Buxton wound up on the Disabled list again, now in AAA, for a wrist strain. There was concern early on that he may have broken a bone in his hand, so a strain is much better news. Sano was promoted back to AAA tonight too, both guys will be knocking on the door soon.

Purple Eddie Murray! This is serial numbered to just 99.

Probably impossible to see the imprint, but this card is stamped on Larry's right arm with "2002 National" for the annual card convention.

The card was just one of five stamped and handed out at the card collector's convention.

Thanks again for the break Matt!

A Panini Press Triple Break!

The hype train is making stops at Arbitrary Nation thanks to another Triple Break, headed up this time by Kevin from The Card Papoy. Kevin shared 2018 Diamond Kings and also tossed in a box of 2016 Donruss Optic.

Diamond Kings has found a comfortable niche with their inserts-  each one exploring elements of different art movements - It would be cool to see them take that even further like some of the older 90s Topps Gallery sets, for instance. Now that Topps brought back Gallery, however, it might be a missed opportunity. The texture of Diamond Kings cards has a canvas-like feel. I think the Aurora insert is my favorite style.

The base cards again alternate between all-time greats and current players, including a handful of rookies. They seem to have a steady checklist from year to year now, Luke Appling fans rejoice! Jokes aside, it is refreshing to see some of the lesser known Hall of Famers in new sets.

Just one Twin in the bunch, but he's a good one!

On to Optic! Panini's answer to Chrome.

I do like the vibrant colors on these parallels. Fielder is numbered to /299 and Sale to just /99.

Beyond the base cards, Optic has the same inserts as the regular set. I was happy to get the Juan Gonzalez card, he was one of my favorite players of the 90s.

These were the most interesting base cards in the bunch - It's not just that the logos are gone, but it seems like Panini is reluctant to even show the player's faces on most cards! Escobar and Perez were the only position players that weren't shown in the batter's box.

Optic was much kinder on the Twins, however! There were 10 total, including a Purple Dozier parallel. Overall, Panini does a decent job of making the most of a difficult situation.

Thanks for the break, Kevin!