1998 Fleer Tradition Diamond Ink

Set size: 10 cards

Front Design: These cards were designed as redemptions, and contain no pictures. The fronts have the Fleer logo, a Fleer logo-style Diamond Ink logo, the player's name, year of issue, and a value of 1, 5, or 10 points. The cards are embossed.

Back Design: The backs explain the terms and conditions of the program.

Parallels and Similars: None known.

Distribution: Cards were randomly inserted in Ultra Series 1 and Fleer Tradition Series 1 packs. Collectors could save 500 points for one player and redeem those points for an autographed baseball. Some players are apparently short-printed relative to the overall run, namely superstars like Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez. Greg Maddux was inserted only in Fleer packs.

Thoughts: You won't be seeing me put together this set any time soon. I'm sure it was quite difficult to gather 500 points for any given player - it would take anywhere from 50 to 500 cards to gather up enough points, and they must be of the same player. I'd be interested in knowing how many balls were actually redeemed.

Additional Images: card back

2002 Donruss Diamond Kings

Set size: 150 + 10 cards

Front Design: A painted portrait of the player appears in a "matted" shadow-style border, with gold foil printing at the bottom containing the Diamond Kings logo and the player's name, position, and team. The card fronts have a textured "canvas" style feel.

Back Design: A "crowning moment" highlight in the player's career fills half the vertical back, and other appearances by the player on Diamond King insert cards are honored. The card's illustrator receives a short biography in available space at the bottom of the card.

Parallels and Similars: Although not as bad as the 2005 issue, there are several parallels of this set. Previews of the entire set were released (stamped SAMPLE) in silver and gold foil versions. Bronze, silver, and gold foil parallels were inserted in packs. There are also multiple Hawaii and Chicago parallels.

Distribution: Cards 1-150 were released in traditional pack methods, 24 packs per box, four cards per pack; cards 101-150 were short printed. Cards 151-160 were released with the Donruss Rookies set.

Thoughts: This is the first year Donruss issued Diamond Kings as its own release, after being a subset and insert set in flagship Donruss products since 1982. Most of you already know my love of art cards and Diamond Kings in particular (the first art cards I ever saw). I was more than thrilled to discover a complete set was issued for my favorite series. The cards look great and are a perfect example of what a modern painted set should look like. With a full one-third of the set being SPs, it's tough to complete, especially now. I have cards 1-100 and 151-160, but only 14 of the 50 SPs for my Diamond Kings collection.

Additional Images: card back:

1990 Tacoma Tigers CMC

Set size: 25 standard-sized cards

Front Design: As with all CMC minor league issues that year, the design surrounds a color photo.The team's name appears in the left border, with the team logo in the bottom left inside a home plate. The player's name and position appear in a bottom border. The borders with text are green, while the remaining borders are thinner and yellow. The team set card number is in the middle, above the player's name. The overall CMC card number for that year appears at the bottom.

Back Design: The top of the card contains a sponsor's logo, followed by the team name and affiliation. A cropped headshot, vital statistics, and minor league statistics complete the back. Team sets have green backs, while the larger release has multi-colored backs (see below, thank you Jason).

Parallels and Similars: None known. There is a ProCards team set issued that year for many minor league teams, but that design is different.

Distribution: Most cards were initially released as team sets at home minor league stadiums.

Thoughts: Overall, the cards aren't terribly exciting in design, but there are several qualities which make these aggreable. I appreciate the use of the full team name with location, and the team logo on the cards. Minor league logos are interesting in their own right. I also enjoy the inclusion of the name of the minor league, team affiliation, and complete stats on the back. Pro Debut includes the full team name and team logo, but doesn't include the minor league or affiliation or statistics.

Additional Images: Card back (major release):

Card back example (team set release, thank you again Jason):

1986 Topps Traded

Set size: 132 cards

Front Design: A color photo is surrounded by a border that is black on the top 1/4 and white on the rest. The team name appears in the thick top black border in a team color, the player's name is on the bottom white border, and his position is in a circle positioned over the photo.

Back Design: The red backs contain a black and white box similar in design to the front of the card, with the player's name and vitals and card number. The majority of the back contains the player's complete major league statistics and usually a very short biography or career highlights.

Parallels and Similars: The Traded set follows the same design as the regular issue, except for a T suffix in the card number. A parallel Tiffany set, with a glossy finish, was printed to 5000 copies.

Distribution: Cards were issued in complete set form through hobby dealers.

Thoughts: Continuing a look at '80s set design, the 1986 Topps set is very uninspired. I don't like most of the 1980s Topps designs, and this is most likely my least-favorite set. The black borders chip very easily, and the gray cardboard dulls the image. The set checklist is filled with a strong rookie crop, led by Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Bo Jackson. You don't have to like them to appreciate their importance in this set in the early 1990s.

Additional Images: card back:

1985 Fleer Update

 Set size: 132 standard-sized cards

Front Design: A color player photo sits inside a cup-shaped dual-border design, with the player's name, position, and team logo appearing at the top. The cards have a gray border.

Back Design: The backs are printed in black ink with red highlights, and contain the player's name, team name and position, as well as a small black-and-white photo along the top. The player's statistics fill the middle of the card, and the bottom of the card contains biographical trivia and vital statistics.

Parallels and Similars: The cards are identical to the 1985 regular Fleer issue, except for a U- prefix on card numbers.

Distribution: Cards were sold through hobby stores in a box containing team logo stickers.

Thoughts: When I first started collecting in '89 and the early '90s, Donruss and Fleer sets before 1988 seemed so exotic. They had white card stock and a completely different design feel than Topps. This issue isn't exactly amazing, but even the simple designs can be attractive at times. It's not cluttered but it isn't plain, either. It's not my favorite '80s Fleer design, but it's better than 1985 Topps and at least as good as 1985 Donruss.

Additional Images: Card back: