I am doing something a little different with this series. I have mentioned before that the Diamond Kings subset is one of my favorites of all time. The purpose of the subset is to highlight one player from each team who has made a big impact on the team. It is also true that sometimes the choices were a little suspect. I wanted to go through and look at the choices each year and determine which are the strangest choices. Then I will grade the picks in the context of the team, only. For this series, I only want to examine the years when there was one pick per team. In the mid 1990's, the set kind of went off the rails.
1987 introduced a new concept to the Diamond Kings: repeated players!
CALIFORNIA ANGELS - WALLY JOYNER
In his rookie season, Joyner was an All Star and finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote and eighth in the MVP race. He hit .290/348/.457 with 22 home runs, 100 RBIs, 82 runs scored and 172 hits. He led the team in hits, RBIs and batting average and was second in home runs.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Mike Witt was the Angels' best player. Witt finished third in the Cy Young vote when he was 18-10 with a 2.84 ERA and 208 strikeouts versus 73 walks in 269 innings pitched. Witt was the team's WAR leader. Among hitters, Brian Downing had a better OPS as he hit .267/.389/.452 with 20 home runs and 95 RBIs, walking 90 times, more than his 85 strikeouts.
GRADE: B+. It is kind of hard to fault Donruss for selecting Joyner, who made a big splash in his rookie season. But both Witt and Downing would have been better selections.
BOSTON RED SOX - ROGER CLEMENS
Clemens won both the A.L. MVP and the Cy Young Award and started the All Star Game. His biggest moment was recording the first ever 20 strikeout game. Clemens led the league in wins, winning percentage (24-4) and ERA (2.48). He struck out 238 batters and walked 67 in 254 innings.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Definitely. Clemens had a huge season, culminating with winning two major awards. He was also the team's WAR leader (8.8). His nearest competition was Wade Boggs who had another terrific season by hitting .357/.453/.486 with 207 hits. He led the league in average and on-base percentage.
GRADE: A. This one is just obvious. Clemens had a monstrous season and was easily the best player on the team.
ATLANTA BRAVES - DALE MURPHY
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Eh, maybe. Murphy was fourth on the team in WAR, behind David Palmer, Ken Oberkfell and Gene Garber. Palmer was 11-10 with a 3.65 ERA and 170 strikeouts versus 107 walks in 209.2 innings. Oberkfell hit .270/.373/.360 with five home runs and 48 RBIs, and must have been a hell of a defensive player. Garber, the closer, was 5-5 with 24 saves and a 2.54 ERA. None of the three really had outstanding seasons. Murphy is more impressive from a traditional stats standpoint.
GRADE: B+. I don't know, this one is fine. He didn't have the high WAR, but the guys that did were not that great. Maybe Garber should have been the Diamond King, but this is fine. Murphy is, by the way, the very first repeat Diamond King.
NEW YORK METS - DARRYL STRAWBERRY
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Probably not. Strawberry was a very impressive player, but he was not the team's best player. The team's WAR leader was Keith Hernandez, who also led the team in OPS+. Hernandez hit .310/.413/.446 with 13 home runs and 83 RBIs and played a stellar first base. Another player with an outstanding season was Bob Ojeda, who went 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA and 148 strikeouts versus 52 walks in 217.1 innings pitched.
GRADE: B. Strawberry was very good, he just maybe was not the best choice. Personally, I would have given it to Ojeda.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS - OZZIE SMITH
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? By WAR, yes. Smith was a decent contact hitter, even though he possessed virtually no power, and an exceptional defensive player at a premium position, which leads to a high WAR value (5.6). The Cardinals were pretty mediocre. Cases could have been made for Andy Van Slyke (.270/.343/.452, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, 21 stolen bases) or Vince Coleman (107 stolen bases). The best competition though was probably 1986 Rookie of the Year Todd Worrell who was 9-10 with a 2.08 ERA and led the league with 36 saves.
GRADE: B+. I would have probably considered Worrell over Smith, but this is probably the right choice. Just not by a significant margin. Smith is another repeat Diamond King, though he was a Padre the first time.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS - JOSE CANSECO
The 1986 A.L. Rookie of the Year, Canseco led the A's in RBIs (117) and runs (85) and was named to the All Star team. He hit .240/.318/.457 and was second on the team in home runs (33). He had 144 hits, 29 doubles and 15 stolen bases.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? It is close enough by WAR to use the Rookie of the Year award to push him over the edge. Technically, several players, including Tony Phillips, Carney Lansford, Mike Davis, Dwayne Murphy, and Alfredo Griffin, had higher WAR values. But Canseco had the higher OPS and OPS+. Dave Kingman hit 35 home runs and drove in 94 runs.
GRADE: A. Extra credit here because Canseco was such a huge player in the hobby at this time.
TEXAS RANGERS - CHARLIE HOUGH
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Hough was pretty good in 1986, but using a combination of WAR and traditional stats, it looks like Pete O'Brien was Texas's best player. O'Brien hit .290/.385/.468 with 23 home runs and 90 RBIs. The team's WAR leader was actually Scott Fletcher, who hit .300/.360/.400 with three home runs and 50 RBIs, but was a very good defensive shortstop.
GRADE: B. Hough was fine. O'Brien would have been the better choice though.
CLEVELAND INDIANS - BROOK JACOBY
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. I am not really sure how Joe Carter was missed. Carter was the team's WAR leader and hit .302/.335/.514 with 108 runs, 200 hits, 36 doubles, nine triples, 29 home runs, 121 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. He led the team in all of the mentioned stats except batting average and on-base percentage.
GRADE: C. Missing Joe Carter is a pretty big mistake. Jacoby was good, just not nearly as good as Carter.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES - FRED LYNN
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Lynn missed too much time. The team's WAR leader was Cal Ripken Jr., who of course was in the midst of his consecutive games streak. Ripken hit .282/.355/.461 with 25 home runs and 81 RBIs.
GRADE: C+. Ripken was better and was much healthier. Lynn maybe would have been a better pick had he played more. Lynn is a repeat Diamond King, but was a Tiger the first time.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES - RICK RHODEN
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Rhoden was the top Pirates player by WAR. Third-baseman Jim Morrison had a decent season, hitting .274/.334/.482 and led the team in home runs (23) and RBIs (88).
GRADE: A. The Pirates were pretty awful in 1986, but Rhoden was definitely a bright spot.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - CHRIS BROWN
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Once again, Donruss picked a player who missed quite a bit of time. The best pick, and one I would think would be obvious, would be Mike Krukow. Krukow was a 20 game winner, going 20-9 with a 3.05 ERA and 178 strikeouts versus 55 walks in 245 innings. Krukow was an All Star and finished third in the Cy Young vote.
GRADE: D. How do you miss a 20 game winner in favor of a guy who missed a third of the season? Brown was decent, but Krukow was great.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - VON HAYES
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Hayes got MVP votes, but the N. L. MVP was teammate Mike Schmidt. Schmidt led the league in most power categories, including home runs (37) and RBIs (119), while hitting .290/.390/.547.
GRADE: C. I could have been much meaner, but Hayes was very good. Still, Schmidt was better. And Donruss was repeating players now. There is no excuse not to repeat Schmidt.
DETROIT TIGERS - JACK MORRIS
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Possibly not. It's very close between him and shortstop Alan Trammell. Trammell was the WAR leader, hitting .277/.347/.469 with 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Trammell also scored 107 runs.
GRADE: B+. Trammell was probably slightly better, but Morris had one of his best seasons and was a 20 game winner. It is kind of hard to argue against this one.
SAN DIEGO PADRES - KEVIN MCREYNOLDS
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? This one is pretty close with Tony Gwynn. Gwynn was the team WAR leader as he hit .329/.381/.467 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs while stealing 37 bases. McReynolds had more power, but Gwynn was the better hitter.
GRADE: B+. This one is fine. Gwynn was better, but it is so close that it does not make a big difference between the two.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS - GEORGE BRETT
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Brett tied for the WAR lead, and if he played the full season, it would have been an easy choice. Frank White though has a pretty good argument. White hit .272/.322/.465 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs, 154 hits and led the team with 37 doubles while playing outstanding defense at second.
GRADE: B+. I might have given this to White personally. Brett was great, as usual, but White played more.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS - TED HIGUERA
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Higuera led the league with a 9.4 WAR. The Brewers were not very good in 1986, and Higuera was the big bright spot. Robin Yount had a decent season, hitting .312/.388/.450. Rob Deer was the big power hitter, knocking 33 home runs and driving in 86, but hitting .232/.336/.494.
GRADE: A. This one is easy. The Brewers did not have a lot of standouts, but Higuera was definitely a big one.
MONTREAL EXPOS - HUBIE BROOKS
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Brooks was really good. Even great. But he only played half the season. What does Donruss have against Tim Raines, who was once again the best player for the Expos? Raines hit .334/.413/.476 with nine home runs and 62 RBIs while stealing 70 bases. He won the batting title and led the league in on base percentage.
GRADE: F. This one is pretty bad. Sure Brooks won the Silver Slugger and was undoubtedly great, when he was healthy. But he missed half the season. Raines won the batting title and had never been the Diamond King before. This makes no sense.
HOUSTON ASTROS - MIKE SCOTT
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? By far. The Astros won their division and Scott was the biggest reason why. The only players with reasonable arguments were Kevin Bass (.311/.357/.486, 20 home runs, 79 RBIs, 22 stolen bases) and Glenn Davis (.265/.344/.493, 31 home runs, 101 RBIs).
GRADE: A. Scott was a head above anyone else on the team.
MINNESOTA TWINS - KIRBY PUCKETT
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? I'm going to go with yes. Technically, Gary Gaetti was the team's WAR leader (5.8 to 5.7), but Puckett was the more dynamic player. Gaetti hit .287/.347/.518 with 34 home runs and 108 RBIs.
GRADE: A. This one is very close, but I am giving this one to Donruss. Puckett was terrific in 1986, Gaetti's defense might have carried him slightly above Puckett.
NEW YORK YANKEES - DAVE WINFIELD
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Winfield was decent, but this was not one of his better seasons. Don Mattingly was still the Yankees' best player as he hit .352/.394/.573 with 31 home runs and 113 RBIs. Mattingly finished second in the MVP vote as he led the league in hits (238), doubles (53) and slugging percentage. Rickey Henderson also had a good season (.263/.358/.469, 28 home runs, 87 stolen bases).
GRADE: C. Winfield was fine, but Mattingly was much better.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS - LLOYD MOSEBY
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No, he was the team's third-best outfielder and finished eighth on the team in WAR. The best player was Jesse Barfield, who hit .289/.368/.559 with a league-leading 40 home runs and also drove in 108 runs. George Bell hit .309/.349/.532 with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs. Mark Eichhorn had an incredible season in the bullpen, going 14-6 with a 1.72 ERA and 166 strikeouts versus 45 walks in 157 innings pitched.
GRADE: F. Moseby was basically an average player in 1986. Barfield was significantly better and led the league in home runs. Bell was also great. Even Eichhorn would have been a better choice.
CINCINNATI REDS - ERIC DAVIS
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Davis led the team in WAR (5.3). Other impressive seasons belonged to Dave Parker (.273/.330/.477, 31 home runs, 116 RBIs) and Buddy Bell (.278/.362/.445, 20 home runs 75 RBIs).
GRADE: A. Davis was a very good, exciting young player and was the best player on the team, despite missing 30 games.
SEATTLE MARINERS - JIM PRESLEY
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Probably not. Phil Bradley led the team in WAR and was second in OPS+. Bradley hit .310/.405/.445 with 12 home runs, 50 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. The OPS+ leader was Ken Phelps, who hit .247/.406/.526 with 24 home runs and 64 RBIs.
GRADE: B+. Ultimately, this one is pretty close. Bradley had the better analytical stats, but Presley had more home runs and RBIs and was an All Star.
CHICAGO CUBS - KEITH MORELAND
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Not even close. Jody Davis was the team's WAR leader as the catcher hit .250/.300/.428 and tied for the team lead in home runs (21) and was third in RBIs (74). Ryne Sandberg hit .284/.330/.411 with 14 home runs and was second on the team in RBIs (76) while leading the team with 34 stolen bases. Lee Smith had another impressive season, going 9-9 with a 3.09 ERA, 31 saves and 93 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.
GRADE: F. Most of Moreland's lead in runs and RBIs can be explained by his ability to stay on the field. But Moreland did not even rate in the top ten in WAR for the team and had an OPS+ of 90. That is not good. He was a below-average regular player.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX - GREG WALKER
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. The White Sox were pretty bad in 1986 so despite missing more than half the season, Walker was third on the team in WAR. Donruss should have gone with Harold Baines though, who hit .296/.338/.465 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 88 RBIs.
GRADE: D. Walker had decent numbers, but played less than half the season. Baines was better.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS - STEVE SAX
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No, but he's close. Fernando Valenzuela was the Dodgers' best player in 1986. Valenzuela led the league in wins (21-11) and complete games (20). He struck out 242 batters and walked 85 in 269.1 innings. He finished second in the Cy Young vote.
GRADE: B+. Sax was damn good. Valenzuela was just a little bit better.
RECAP:
BEST PICK: Roger Clemens. I am going with the guy who won the Cy Young Award, MVP and All Star Game MVP all in the same season. He was the Sporting News Player of the Year and set a record when he struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.
WORST PICK: Keith Moreland. Moreland was a below-average player with a 90 OPS+. His numbers were very ordinary, especially for a corner outfielder. I debated between Moreland, Hubie Brooks and Greg Walker. While Brooks and Walker only played half the season, they were pretty good players. Moreland was not a good player.
BIGGEST SNUB: Don Mattingly. I debated this one between Mattingly and Mike Schmidt. While Schmidt was the MVP, the Phillies choice was Von Hayes, who was a better player than the Yankees pick, Dave Winfield.
WEIRDEST PICK HISTORICALLY: Chris Brown. I did not want to pick on Moreland twice. Brown only lasted two full seasons in the Majors. He was good during those seasons and was even an All Star, but he simply did not last. I doubt many people even remember him.
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