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A trio of top-tier players enters Diamond Dynasty this Friday, and while two are somewhat duplicative, the third was one of a kind.
Outfield Assist Program Drops Eric Davis, David Justice
After weeks of enormous and hype-heavy programs in Diamond Dynasty, Friday's new Outfield Assist program is a smaller one, and a bit of an odd echo of a just-released program. But the headliners -- especially Eric Davis -- are probably worth the program's existence.
Ostensibly designed to provide players that could produce outfield assists based on the 99 Arm Strength bestowed on David Justice and the 90 in the same stat given to Eric Davis, the program, of course, presents offensive moments and offensive stat-based missions rather than tasking players to ring up runners from the outfield. The 25,000 Inning XP available in it is also nice, but what we're here for is clearly the two players available for 40 Stars (Justice) and 75 Stars (Davis) of program progress.
The former makes sense on paper as a 99 OVR card from Justice's early days with the Braves -- it's a Silver Slugger card tied to Justice's 1993 season -- that is solid at everything in right field and has that aforementioned 99 Arm Strength as the best possible tool for a defender in right. And Justice swatted 40 homers and finished third in National League MVP voting in 1993, so those offensive stats are a fine basis for this fine card. But while Justice had a quite good nine outfield assists in 1993, he also had seven errors in 1991, eight errors in 1992, and 11 in 1994, all of which were league-leading totals at the position.
Remembering Justice fondly as a fielder seems a bit at odds with at least the name of the program -- and that's before also considering that he's a Braves right fielder, thus playing the same position as the player, Ronald Acuña Jr., who may have had the most remarkable outfield assist of the last decade just weeks ago. It's true that some Braves right fielder being made redundant program when Acuña just got a 99 OVR card was probably unavoidable if Acuna was always set to get a card in the Speedway Classic program, but it's also true that Sony San Diego knew well before this week that it had Acuña, Justice, and Hank Aaron to play with at that position, and that it really should not have had to release three cards at 97 OVR or better for that same team and position in the span of a month.
The inclusion of Davis, a star for the other team featured in the Speedway Classic, is at least the inclusion of a standout at a position for a team that doesn't really have any others. This might be as good a Davis as we're likely to get, a Milestone series card honoring his 80 stolen bases in a 1986 that has the obligatory 99 speed trifecta but also still gives him much of the power that would lead to a 37-homer, 129-game performance a year later and that 90 Arm Strength that is maybe more valuable at his secondary positions of center or right field than his primary in left.
And while the Braves are overindexed in right, the Reds were due for another excellent outfielder, with the Draft series 95 OVR Mason Neville being their only 95+ outfielder of any type prior to this release. Davis does play the same primary position as Reds legends Adam Dunn and Ryan Ludwick, both of whom have 93 OVR cards and could get better ones, but it's easy enough to shift him elsewhere on the roster on a Reds theme team -- and he is at least an average defender, something that would be a stretch to say of either Ludwick or Dunn.
While there are five moments worth 25 of the Stars for the Outfield Assist program, the best way to attack it will be with outfielders, players with 85s or better in Fielding, Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy, Reaction, and Speed, and versions of the five players -- Davis, Justice, Roberto Clemente, Oneil Crus, and Willie Mays -- whose Parallel XP can grant Stars in the program.
Ryne Sandberg Gets Tribute Program After Passing
Just a day after the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Sunday, the baseball world lost an icon, as legendary Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg died on Monday after a recurrence of the prostate cancer he announced he was diagnosed with in 2023. This Friday, after some in-game messaging celebrating his life, Diamond Dynasty gets a Sandberg program and 99 OVR card that is fitting tribute to his superb career.
That card is smartly a Hall of Fame series one that can capture all of what made Sandberg great -- the five-tool versatility and excellence that allowed him to win Rookie of the Year, MVP, a Home Run Derby, nine Gold Gloves, and seven Silver Sluggers -- as best as possible in a video game, with one set of attributes that represents his myriad gifts. And playing through the moments in the accompanying program, including both of the game-tying homers off Bruce Sutter in 1984 in what would come to be called simply "The Sandberg Game" does a fine job of telling the story of Sandberg's career while also giving players a taste of just how well Sandberg -- whose swing is a marvel, year after year -- can play in Diamond Dynasty. (Players will need to both complete the moments and all of the stat missions -- tied to second basemen and Cubs, mostly -- to fully complete the program's Star requirements.)
Sandberg's power numbers on paper -- 90 against righties, 87 against lefties -- are maybe a bit low for a player who hit 282 career homers and had 40 in 1990, but his swing really does make up for that in my experience with Sandberg cards year over year, and his lowest contact stat being 111 against righties feels far more fair. With no defensive or speed stat under 80, this Ryno should also never be an issue at second -- just like he was, for so many years, for the Cubbies.
And given that just a few days have passed between his passing and this program's arrival (in the Player Drops section of the Assorted Programs tab, next to all the Cornerstone Evolution players), it feels like this is close to the perfect way to honor a legend departing from this life in Diamond Dynasty.
Ryne Sandberg was my mom's favorite player. This program, if she were ever to pick up these sticks, would make her smile. And that is a high bar cleared.
Other News and Notes
- I joked earlier this week about Nick Kurtz meriting Spotlight player cards for multiple weeks and the month of July, but July Spotlight Drop 3 may have short-circuited that plan by putting a 99 OVR Kurtz in as a three-player collection reward in the July Spotlight program collection. That Milestone series Kurtz is arguably a little underwhelming even with 125 Contact and Power against righties and 125 Batting Clutch to go with it, as he's got just 61 Vision and is also part of a release that had a Shea Langeliers who is in many ways a mirror image of Kurtz despite not putting up 19 total bases and four homers in a game and also playing the far more valuable position of catcher, but it's hard to say any player had a July more deserving of Lightning love, so we'll see what may or may not come to pass early next week.
- Friday's post-MLB trade deadline roster update swapped the affected Live series players into their new threads and positions -- Mason Miller, for example, is now both a Padre and a relief pitcher, rather than a closer -- and did little to ratings. Miller was also the only Diamond-level player to switch teams, meaning any impact on what Live series collections cost is marginal at best.
