The King's Crown Jewels

Not too long ago, our friend Kevin at The Diamond King had a little contest. I shouldn't call it little when there were many chances to win. I decided to get in on a second entry and won that day's loot. I went for it because it had two cards I thought would be hardest to ever get to finish off my Mariners collection. The two biggest Mariner RC's:

I guess I won't have to pay some LCS top dollar for those cards to go in the binder. Also in the winnings was a 1981 Topps Nolan Ryan in all his Astros orange glory. The fourth card might be desired by some fans of the HOF'er or just Cubs fans in general. I would be open to trading Ryne for some Mariners I need if you got them.

Big thanks again to Kevin for his great contest, and for getting them up the I-5 corridor in time for Christmas.

Donruss Diamond Kings 1992-2002

With much thanks to Wrigley Wax, I found out yesterday that Donruss did make Diamond Kings from 1992 until 2002. They were no longer part of the base set of cards, but now made as inserts. Here are the Mariners versions of the Diamond Kings for them.

If anyone has any of these, I'm open to a trade for any of them.

1992 Randy Johnson

1993 Ken Griffey Jr.

1994 Ken Griffey Jr.

1995 Ken Griffey Jr.

1996 Edgar Martinez

1997 Ken Griffey Jr.

1998 Randy Johnson

Can I just say, this has got to be one of the most scariest looking cards I've ever seen.

1998 Alex Rodriguez

1998 Ken Griffey Jr.

2001 Alex Rodriguez Retro 2000

2001 Ken Griffey Jr. Retro 1999

2002 Ichiro 

Trades are welcome for any of these. Also I'm always looking for cards to finish the Super Set.

Again, I want to give a shout out to Wrigley Wax for the heads up on these. If you want a good read on cards, and Cubs in particular give him a read.  

Donruss Diamond Kings 1982-2004

One of the things Donruss did starting in their second year was to start the Diamond Kings series. They would take a drawing of the star player from the team, and give them their own special card. Donruss started this in 1982, and continued it through the 1991 series. They then did it again in 2003 and 2004. Here is a look at the Mariners players that were deemed to be "Diamond Kings."

1982 Richie Zisk

If anyone has this card, I'm open to a trade.

1983 Floyd Bannister

1984 Matt Young

If anyone has this card, I'm open to a trade. This is one of my Prime 9 cards.

1985 Alvin Davis

If anyone has this card, I'm open to a trade.

1986 Phil Bradley

1987 Jim Presley

1988 Mark Langston

1989 Harold Reynolds

1990 Ken Griffey Jr.

1991 Edgar Martinez

If anyone has this card, I'm open to a trade.

2003 Ichiro Suzuki

2004 Ichiro Suzuki

There you have the short, but beautiful run of Diamond Kings from Donruss.

As a side note, I can already tel it is going to be a long season in the Emerald City. This team is going SUPER YOUNG, and will struggle to win much. It is hard see our superstars like Felix, and Ichiro have to put up with year after year.