As mentioned last time, my first Diamond Giveaway order (of four full 25-card orders total) arrived last Friday. It was the free one, and contained most of my Diamond Die-Cuts. So here they are now. Enjoy.
Shin-Soo Choo..
They are nice & shiny all over. The only thing that could make them better is if they were in the much prettier blue or purple Walmart or Toys B Fun versions. They are great as is, but red doesn’t do it for me. Give me the darker, cooler colors any day.
Andrew McCutchen..
The diamond in the background glows almost as much as it shines. This is especially true of the black diamond. But we’ll get to that in due time.
Big Papi..
I ended up with most of what I was after, but I never was able to land Ernie Banks, and I’m still a little tweaked by that.
Dave Winfield..
There were way too damn many Yankees in this set, but it’s hard to argue with most of them. Only Swisher and Teixeira are really debatable, and the latter only because he’s sucked in 2012. Still, I’d have taken out both of them and either Maris or Munson and a few of the lesser Braves and added Johnny Bench, Joey Votto, and Matt Kemp, amongst others.
CarGo..
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with CarGo and the others that aren’t players I specifically collect or are otherwise spoken for. Ya better bring it if you want one though.
Longo..
I’d like one of the few of these I still want or need in return (Ernie Banks, Carlos Marmol, Tyler Colvin, Jackie Robinson, and Reggie Jackson, amongst others I potentially accept). In lieu of that, make a specific offer of something pretty darn nice. I sunk way too much time into this and I’m not just going to accept any ol’ thang for these bad mamma-jammas.
Chris Sale..
Alexei..
These are the two White Sox I picked up for my dad’s little collection of things I pull or pick up cheap. I miiiiiiiight be able to let one go if you have the ammo to deal, but I’m not moving both.
Adrian Beltre..
2012 All-Star starter, future Hall of Famer? After the unspectacular-yet-steady early years and lone monster contract season with the Dodgers and somewhat awful stretch with the Marinerds, he’s really turned it on since leaving the M’s and seems to be getting better with age. The numbers are starting to look Hall of Fame quality for 3B.
Aramis..
Speaking of guys closing in on Hall of Fame numbers at the hot corner. Aramis maybe isn’t aging quite as gracefully (or perhaps it’s just the Brewers relative irrelevance when not in the playoff hunt), but he’s still playing fairly decent up there in Milwaukee. And if the Brew Crew completely fall out of playoff picture, look for Aramis to catch fire and look and make people take notice of his offensive prowess again. It’s what he does, kinda.
Ichiro Suzuki..
To hell with that one name BS. It doesn’t matter if how amazing someone is, this ain’t soccer! And “Fred” ruined it for soccer anyway.
King Felix..
And now the pitching half of what was a two man team for most of the last few years, King Felix.
Vlad..
Why is this guy not in the majors right now?! He had his worst season last and still hit .290!
David Wright..
One of two die-cuts likely bound for Long Fly Ball. Don’t worry though Wright fans, because I have another on the way. For the same reason I couldn’t get Ernie, I’m a little tweaked to still have the second David Wright. I tried EVERYTHING to deal the second Wright for Ernie, but no matter how ridiculously lopsided in whoever the offers were going to’s favor, I got jack and diddly to show for it.
RickyRo Black Diamond #’ed 48/60
Check the black diamond’s dark, ominous glow. This is what made this order free, and the other die-cut most likely bound for Long Fly Ball.
Starlin Castro..
Goin’ bigtime with the last two. 2011’s NL Hit (and error) King, Starlin Castro!
Ryno!
Finally, one of the only two die-cuts I actually hit myself (though I guess I only unlocked 34-ish cards total), Ryne Sandberg! Although, come to think of it, I hit this and the Black Diamond Gaby Sanchez that eventually became RickyRo in just 30-some shots, so I actually did incredibly well, I guess.
That’s it for this one, sports fans. The Diamond Giveaway (which I keep wanting to hash tag and not space…) is over, so please make your final selections and proceed to checkout. Thank you for shopping your local Diamond Giveaway.
Until our next…
Life and Baseball Cards 