Top 25 Donruss Diamond Kings Baseball Cards

From 1982-1996 the Donruss baseball card company ran the Diamond Kings series. Each year, the series would feature a player who starred the previous season from each MLB team and Donruss relied on artist Dick Perez to captured the players' likenesses.  After rummaging through my old baseball cards, I decided to formulate a list of my favorite Donruss Diamond Kings cards by using a combination of aesthetic value, player's performance, and most importantly, did the card make me laugh. 

25. 1982 - Pete Rose: 

What better place to start this list than with the first ever card in the Diamond Kings series and the all-time hits king.  The series got off to a great start with "Charlie Hustle" as card #1 in the 1982 set.    

24. 1985 - Alvin Davis:  After winning the A.L. Rookie of the year in 1984, Davis was featured in the 1985 set.  Davis wins the award for "best smile" in the series.  He clearly was a big fan of the Diamond Kings Series and couldn't hold back his feelings of joy for being included. 

23. 1986 - Dwight Gooden:  In 1986, Gooden was coming off a statistically dominant Cy Young Award winning season for the Mets.  I particularly enjoy the single straight line in the background of this card.  An unfortunate but simple foreshadowing of how Gooden's career flat-lined soon afterwards. 

22. 1987 - Rick Rhoden: 

Where to start with this card?  How about the terrible stripped Pirates hats?  Perhaps the mustache?  How about the colorful specs of confetti sprinkled around him?  Rhoden appears to be the guest of honor for a party in his name and he couldn't be happier. 

 21. 1987 - Jose Canseco:  This card falls under the category "Best of the Worst."  Canseco comes off looking like a 5'2'' Italian guy named Sal in this depiction instead of being the imposing 6'4'' Cuban-American slugger.  In a youth filled with collecting Jose Canseco baseball cards, I somehow never stumbled across this Diamond Kings card.  Just to set the record straight, it was worth the wait.            

20. 1986 - Willie McGee: 

In 1985 Willie was the N.L. MVP.  So fittingly he was featured as the Cardinals representative in Diamond Kings.  For those who never saw McGee, this is a very accurate and well represented painting of him.  McGee wasn't known for his movie star good looks, but he could definitely hit and was a major component of "Whiteyball" for the St. Louis Cardinals.

19. 1996 - Juan Gonzalez:  At first glance, this portrait appeared to be a simple and straightforward depiction of Juan Gon.  On closer examination however, I noticed the subtle difference in color behind his ear and that his mullet was within view.  Well played Mr. Perez.  Well played.   

18. 1996 - Larry Walker:  Without question, 1996 was a great year for mullets.  Walker's mane was second to none in the mid-90s as you can tell from this card.  I have to think they chose a side profile just to incorporate the full breadth of Walker's mullet.  The pure volume and extent of this mullet can only be described as intense.  

17. 1983 - Rollie Fingers:  Fingers appears deep in thought while looking to the distance, perhaps contemplating the vastness of space and time or pondering over the human search for meaning.  It's conceivable that Fingers was determining what do to with his free time knowing he would miss the entire 1983 season.  More accurately though Fingers was giving his, famous waxed handle bar, mustache  the best possible angle to achieve greatness on this card.   

16. 1984 - Wade Boggs:  After his massive 1983 season, Boggs was selected as a Diamond King.  The 1984 set was the one year from 1982-1993 that strayed away from the ribbon like template and used a design similar to MLB playoff bunting.  The one thing I took away from the 1984 series, besides that, was that it was, without a doubt, the peak of the polyester pull over jersey in the MLB.  I wish a couple teams would bring the look back full time today. 

15. 1988 - Ivan Calderon:  What exactly is going on behind Calderon in this pic?  Not sure if something exploded or if he's supposed to be on a bad drug trip.  He does appear to be a bit uncomfortable.  Much like the murder of Calderon, it appears this mystery will remain unsolved.  On a more positive note though, the Diamond Kings from 1987-1990 featured some great background art, none better however than the radiating Ivan Calderon.

14. 1990 - Bo Jackson:  Jackson was a two sports star who was nothing short of a revolutionary athlete before flaming out due to injury.  Luckily Bo left us with some amazing material, such as commercials, hand held games, and cartoons to forever remember him by.  While it is debatable where Bo falls on the list of greatest athletes of all time, without any doubt Bo will forever be known as the greatest video game athlete of all time.   

13. 1991 - Roger Clemens:  During my years of collecting baseball cards, the 1991 Diamond Kings collection was my favorite subset from any of the major card producers.  This is the first of a few entries from the epic 1991 series.  1991 was the first year that Perez switched from the standard portrait model to include action shots into the series.  The action shots used in the 1991 Diamond Kings set, such as this one of Roger Clemens, are the type of paintings you'd hope for when preserving the history of baseball.     

12. 1988 - Andre Dawson:  Once again we have a player coming off of a MVP season looking absolutely ecstatic in his portrait.  "The Hawk" had just escaped the career shortening astroturf of Olympic Stadium in Montreal and won the MVP during the 1987 season, his first with the Chicago Cubs.  Dawson surprisingly is the third of four Hall of Famers on this list.  That number will more than likely double in the upcoming years however.   

11. 1990 - Dave Stewart:  There were few pitchers in baseball as good as Stewart in the late 80's and early 90's and by looking at the smirk on his face, he knew it all too well.  Stewart put together four straight 20 plus win seasons from 1987 to 1990 for the Oakland Athletics, finishing in the top 4 of the Cy Young Award voting each year but failing to every win the award. 

10. 1990 - Ken Griffey Jr: From the outset of his career, Griffey Jr. was looked upon as the player who would pass Hank Aaron as the all-time Home Run King, that was until personal injuries and the mass use of steroids throughout baseball derailed that.  There was no hotter baseball cards to collect during that time period than a Griffey Jr card, due to the fast start  of his career and speculation of its trajectory.  I remember purchasing the 1990 Diamond King series from a dealer simply because of the inclusion of this card.   

9. 1982 - Gorman Thomas:  Thomas was a bit before my time with his last season, 1986, corresponding with the first season I can remember following baseball and also having this card of his.  After looking over his career stats, I've drawn the conclusion that, at best, he was a poor man's Pat "the Bat" Burrell.  Frequent strikeouts, low batting average, and an abundance of home runs are key components in reaching cult like status with MLB fan bases.  No surprise why he was popular in Milwaukee.   

8. 1991 - Rafael Palmeiro:  Palmeiro came off a solid campaign in 1990, but his career had not taking the step to the next level yet.  I'd like to think that Palmeiro saw this card and said, "Look at the anticipation in my eyes.  Look at the confidence I have to make the play."  That was all it took.  Palmeiro knew he had to do whatever it took going forward to become the player on this card no matter risk to body or reputation.  The rest is history. 

7. 1989 - Chris Sabo:         If we've learned anything throughout the history of baseball it is that solid play combined with a unique style or look will allow said player to amass a large following.  As you can tell Sabo's goggles were 90 percent of his allure to fans.  Dick Perez is no fool either.  Clearly he decided to use visible rays of light that have refracted off of Sabo's goggles as a background.   

6. 1992 - Jeff Bagwell & Frank Thomas (Tied): 

Two iconic players from the 1990's highlight the 1992 series.  Bagwell and Thomas are forever linked for being born on the same day and now they can add this countdown to that bond they eternally share.  You're welcome gentleman.   

5. 1991 - Craig Biggio:  From 1982-1990 Perez experimented with different art styles throughout the individual series but in 1991 settled on the use of a solid color with fading for the background.  The 91 series also included some of Perez's most profound and detailed works with none more exceptional than this portrait of Hall of Famer to be Craig Biggio.         

4. 1993 - Ryne Sandberg: In the 92 and 93 series, Perez continued the progression of the Diamond Kings by removing the border surrounding the cards.  By making such a simple change the Diamond Kings series went from looking like a simple baseball card to a work of art worthy of accompanying a player such as Ryne Sandberg in the Hall of Fame.    

3. 1994 - Don Mattingly:  Affectionately known as "the hitman", few players looked better at the plate and more prepared to bat than Donny Baseball.  I've been a Yankee fan my entire life and have had the privileged of witnessing five championship teams but there have been few moments when Yankee Stadium has been rocking quite like this.  The image of Mattingly at the plate brings back fond memories of a youth long gone by.   

2. 1996 - Mark McGwire:  Throughout the 15 year series, no portrait captures a player essence better than this painting of Big Mac.  A modern day Paul Bunyan, McGwire traded in the ax for a bat in this tall tale.  1996 started a four year tear where McGwire hit over 50 home runs each season and in 1998 set a then Major League Record of 70 home runs in a season.  Like any other tall tale, it turned out elements of McGwire's exploits were exaggerated and loom large over his accomplishments.     

1. 1994 - Dick Perez:  Taking the top spot is the master himself, Dick Perez.  Previously Perez had been featured on checklists for the Diamond Kings series but in 1994 he added himself to the collection.  This card is a fitting tribute to the man responsible for one the signature baseball card series throughout the 80s and 90s.   

I hope you enjoyed the countdown.  Feel free to check out all of the cards in the Diamond Kings collection right here and continue your trip down memory lane.  Apologies to the 1995 set which was the only year that failed to be featured in the countdown.  I suppose Perez is granted a one year hangover period after having included himself in the 1994 series.