My Diamond King Draft Results!

Recently, I was one of eight bloggers who took part in The Diamond King's first-ever baseball card draft.  The basic premise of the event was that each participant sent Kevin (aka The Diamond King) a PWE with 9 cards in it.  Each person's group of cards was then used to create the draft pool (with some extras thrown in by Kevin for good measure /variety).  A draft order was set and then all participants participated in a nine round snake draft.

I enjoy drafting fantasy baseball and since who knows if that'll even be a thing this year, a baseball card draft is definitely the "next best thing."  

When I said I'd join in, I honestly didn't know what to expect.  What type of cards should I send?  What would other people want?  Inserts?  Base?   Hits?   I had no idea so I sent a package of cards that I thought I'd be happy with if I ended up with them as my nine picks - I figured that was the best option going in blind so to speak.  

Many of the cards I sent in ended up going fairly late in the draft but I was pleased to have been the one to send in the #1 pick in the entire draft - an original 1889 Allen & Ginter fish card (an extra that I had from my set build a few years ago)!

Enough of what I sent in though, let's take a look at what I decided to draft!  Once the full draft list was posted, I was a little bummed to see the only Reds card in the entire batch was a Johnny Bench card that I sent in so I had to pivot to simply drafting cards that were cool for one reason or another - and in that sense, I'd say the draft was a success for me!

Round 1:  Cody Bellinger

I had the 4th pick in round 1 and went with a card design that I find cool for it's craziness - the Unleashed series of inserts from Panini products.  I figured this card wouldn't make it back to me and it was definitely one of the cooler cards in the entire draft (plus it's from a product, Panini Optic, that I don't buy for myself)!

Round 2:  Derek Jeter

The Bellinger was a card that I could see making its way into my own collection (maybe a Frankenset type addition) and that's the same thought process that I had for my next pick - a 2000 Pacific Prism card of Derek Jeter.  If nothing else, I can probably trade this Jeter away for a nice Barry Larkin card that I need from around the same era (and that's a win in my book).  That being said, there's a solid chance this Jeter makes my non-Reds Frankenset!

Round 3:  Mike McCormick

An original 1959 Topps card was still sitting around unclaimed by the time Round 3 rolled around so I felt like I basically had to take it.  I don't imagine I'll ever try and collect a Topps set from the 1950s but if I ever were to the 1959 design is one of my favorites - and hey, I'm one card closer now right?!

Round 4:  Jared Weaver

I've mentioned many times that I love board games, card games, video games, basically games of all types so when I saw this Jered Weaver "Ace" card on the original draft list, I knew that it would be a potential target for me.  I also figured that Jared Weaver wouldn't be much of a hot commodity so I let it slide down my draft board...but by this point I was kind of out of slam dunk picks so I went with the Weaver if for no other reason than to hold it in my hand to check out the card a bit better!  Honestly, it's pretty sweet so I'm happy with my 4th round pick!

All told, despite no Reds to choose from (because I wasn't going to draft my own submission - other than that fish card if no one wanted it by round 4) I was happy with the top half of my draft.  Could I keep up the good times with the bottom half?

Round 5:  Shohei Ohtani

Back-to-back Angel picks, not a lot of Angel fans out there I guess.  Sure, this is another Panini product (thus no logos) but it's still a pretty nice card of one of the best players in baseball right now.  Solid 5th round pick I think.

Round 6:  Chase Vallot

An autograph that sunk all the way to the 6th round.  I can always use hits for prizes for my trivia drafts that I've been running on my group breaks lately so why not.  This one is destined for my own prize pool - who doesn't like free autographs, right?!

Round 7:  Trevor Hoffman

The 1994 Stadium Club set is a set that I should try to build simply because of the happy childhood memories it brings me.  Perhaps this will be the catalyst I need to start trying to build the full set!

Round 8:  Ken Griffey, Jr.

Another Panini product, this time a pretty solid card of "the Kid."  Clearly, most of the people in the draft poo-pooed Panini stuff so I was able to take advantage of that prevailing attitude and grab a second-to-last round Griffey, Jr. for my personal collection.  Score!

Round 9:  Max Scherzer

Alright, this one I didn't really want or have any interest in...it was either take this or else draft one the cards that I sent in that I obviously liked more than anyone drafting since it was still unclaimed by this pick!  It felt a little chintzy to draft my own submission so I took the Scherzer.

In the end, this was a super fun draft and I had a good time.  It was fun seeing what people were into and then trying to shape my own "draft board" accordingly.  I think my best pick was the Round 2 Jeter (I honestly thought that would be a round 1 card).  Only my final pick (probably) has no real use to me though maybe Scherzer can slot in on my non-Reds Frankenset, I'll have to check that later.

Thanks for hosting, Kevin - and if you ever decide to do this again, count me in!