2016 Panini Diamond Kings hobby recap

I picked up a box on eBay for $65 and while I bought a few more things so I could use a $15 off $75 eBay promo code - I chose to make believe I applied the discount to this box purchase and just added on the other purchases.

I wanted to see if I could pull a vintage relic card and while it was more likely than finding something featuring Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig - I wasn't looking forward to the reality my actual hits [two per box] being a combination of Brian Johnson, Robert Refsnyder or Richie Shaffer.

Once I got the box in-hand, I busted through the packs in about 10 minutes and spent another few hours formally listing things out - after my anticipation of busting a full hobby box, I wanted to puke.

My first hit was a dual relic of Dalton Pompey [dud] and my second hit was a Miguel Sano dual relic auto - Sano’s certified autographs are a dime a dozen at this point and I'd picked up at least a couple of random ones last year when he was having a big rookie season.

A sneaky good pull may have partially saved this break came in the form of Kirby Puckett Originals Sapphire parallel serial #’d 18/25 - looks like the past four sales of the card on eBay have been $39.99 [May 5], $39.99 [May 14], $7.00 [May 17] and $28.95 [May 24].

Pack one
#81 Jose Abreu
#105 Yoenis Cespedes
#101 Troy Tulowitzki
#37 Harry Breechen
#30 Gabby Hartnett
#MF8 Roger Maris - Memorable Feats insert
#149 Raul Mondesi
#144 Michael Conforto

Pack two
#74 George Springer
#68 Eric Hosmer
#128 Cal Ripken Jr.
#22 Tony Lazzeri
#50 Lefty O’Doul - mini
#A12 Gerrit Cole - Aficionado insert
#184 Trayce Thompson
#180 Alex Dickerson

Pack three
#63 Dallas Keuchel
#59 Bryce Harper
#124 A.J. Pollock
#120 Matt Carpenter
#13 Lou Gehrig - image variation, though not SP’d.
Dummy card
#HC8 Will Clark - Heritage Collection insert
#177 Luke Jackson
#172 Miguel Almonte

Pack four
#34 Bob Turley
#116 Prince Fielder
#112 Jorge Soler
#13 Lou Gehrig
#3 Billy Martin
#DKM-DY Dalton Pompey - DK Materials Silver Set dual relic blue serial #’d 18/25
#168 Carl Edwards Jr.
#164 Jose Peraza

Pack five
#26 Earl Averill
#17 Roberto Clemente
#108 David Price
#93 Nelson Cruz
#38 Heinie Groh - Red Framed parallel, not serial #’d?
#E11 David Ortiz - Expressionists insert
#160 Peter O’Brien
#156 Collin Rea

Pack six
#7 Honus Wagner
#97 Sonny Gray
#104 Yadier Molina
#140 Carlos Rodon
#84 Josh Donaldson
Dummy card
#DK04 Clayton Kershaw - Originals insert
#152 Richie Shaffer
#148 Ketel Marte

Pack seven
#137 James McCann
#135 Bob Gibson
#54 Adrian Gonzalez
#51 Adam Jones
#DK016 Kirby Puckett - Originals insert Sapphire parallel serial #’d 18/25
#MF10 Ted Williams - Memorable Feats insert
#143 Miguel Sano
#183 Kelby Tomlinson

Pack eight
#88 Max Scherzer
#80 Jonathan Lucroy
#47 Jim Gilliam
#42 Johnny Sain
#137 James McCann - mini
#A14 Felix Hernandez - Aficionado insert
#179 Pedro Severino
#174 Jorge Lopez

Pack nine
#73 Garrett Richards
#67 Edwin Encarnacion
#131 Mariano Rivera
#36 Dom DiMaggio
#21 Ted Williams - image variation, though not SP’d.
Dummy card
#HC10 Greg Maddux - Heritage Collection insert
#171 Gary Sanchez
#167 Max Kepler

Pack 10
#62 Clayton Kershaw
#127 George Brett
#123 Vladimir Guerrero
#29 Frankie Frisch
#21 Ted Williams
#RS-MS Miguel Sano - Rookies Signatures Silver Set serial #’d 239/299
#163 Luis Severino
#159 Robert Refsnyder

Pack 11
#40 Jim Bottomley
#33 Bob Meusel
#12 Leo Durocher
#2 Bill Dickey
#82 Jose Altuve - Blue Framed parallel serial #’d 67/99
#E13 Ozzie Smith - Expressionists insert
#155 Travis Jankowski
#151 Greg Bird

Pack 12
#25 Don Hoak
#16 Pee Wee Reese
#119 Corey Kluber
#115 Noah Syndergaard
#92 Mookie Betts
Dummy card
#DK06 Giancarlo Stanton - Originals insert
#147 Aaron Nola
#142 Corey Seager