MiLB Madness
MiLB Madness: Beggar boards, MLB stars, envisioning a tape attack, cardboard weights and ... a totally informational card?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
A BEGGAR BOARD FOR A MASCOT ... AND CAUGHT ON CARDBOARD!
The Card: Boomer 2015 Choice Trenton Thunder
The Buzz On This: I get that MiLB games are fertile ground for autographs nine times out of 10 -- the 10th perhaps being the big-time phenom bonus baby or a re-habbing MLB star -- but there was always one thing I knew was not a good thing when it came to hounding ... the beggar board. It's a genuine no-no to present a page of stuff to a Hall of Famer for sure, but I'd also suggest that maybe two or three cards might be OK presented mounted on a page for a player to sign each card ... but nine? That's not even cool for a mascot, though from the looks of this card all nine cards there did get signed. Somehow, this super-controversial scenario got captured on a card ... though maybe Boomer is the nice guy about it all like the card back suggests.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: MLB All-Stars, talking heads, mascots & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
HIS FIRST FIRST
The Card: Justin Turner 2006 Grandstand Billings Mustangs
The Buzz On This: This MLB veteran, All-Star and World Series winner has played for four teams in 15 years but it all started off with a different franchise as he was a seventh-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2006 -- and other than the basic bio stuff that's about all this first card even says. I had this one bouncing around in my small stash of MiLB sets for some time as the Mustangs were about the only team I knew about as a kid in the real world -- in the reel world the Durham Bulls, of course, were big in the early 1990s after Bull Durham. I recently flipped back through some of my old sets and was surprised that I knew this name and it was him. Turner never actually played for the Reds in an MLB game and he's well-known for that big crazy beard but that's not here. His first Bowman Chrome card came two years later -- his only Reds card (I think) -- and his RCs are in 2010 releases when he was a Met. This one is an easy first ... and I'm not even sure he has much more MiLB cardboard. Turner is perhaps not as high-profile on cards as he was as a Dodger, but this card being a first makes it a lot more interesting to me than even his RCs. It's also so clean I might even slab it at some point, too.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Weighty cards, trios, name games & mascots
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
PUMP IT UP!
The Card: Ben Chadwick 2019 Grandstand Portland Sea Dogs
The Buzz On This: A card of a strength coach isn't all that unusual in the world of minor-league cardboard, but a deep squat with a good amount of weight on there, too, isn't the norm at all. That gets this one into the lead-off spot ... it's just stupid and that's what I am here for when it comes to MiLB cards. (Shrug.) I actually stumbled upon a few cards of trainers recently but this one really is the oddest one visually and as far as I can tell, he's still banging and clanging in the Red Sox organization a few years after this one arrived.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Spot the MLB stars, MiLB on wheels, a Wings mystery, dance teams & plenty more from down on the farm
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
SPOT THE MLB STARS ...
The Card: Portland Sea Dogs 2005 Grandstand team card
The Buzz On This: Player collectors might be the only ones to care here besides an occasional MiLB Maniac like me, but team cards like this can often be home to some big-league cameos. This one is a gem with a number of future big-leaguers in play -- Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Jon Papelbon are probably the biggest names but they aren't the only ones. In fact, there are that many more big-leaguers here all on one super-cheap card. To me this is some oddball fun ... and while team cards aren't some exclusive-to-MiLB thing, they are more common in team sets than MLB sets.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Stars, sponsors, mascots & where's Verlander?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
SAME SET, THIRD STAR ...
The Cards: Bryce Elder 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: I'll have this third card from this set bat lead-off just like last time and the time before as Elder is off to a very respectable (though not absolutely dominant) start with the Braves this season. The previous strong names I mentioned from this set are Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II and this guy, whose draft pick cards trump this but not much else (the 2021 season was his first as a pro), might be the next one up here in terms of some cardboard success. He pitches tonight but coming into this one he had a 2-0 record with a 2.17 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 29 innings for the Atlanta Braves and he's gone at least five innings in all five of his starts. In some ways, those numbers look better than his three MiLB seasons where he had 256 Ks in 248 innings. As I noted last time, the print run on sets like this -- where there are multiple stars -- might not be on the low side for MiLB releases, but in comparison to packed-out MLB stuff there's no chance that the print run is in the same galaxy. I still like that.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Spencer Strider before Atlanta, Uvalde Strong, MiLB cheerleaders and ... Dale Earnhardt had a baseball card?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
SAME SET, SECOND STAR ...
The Cards: Spencer Strider 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This month's item leads off just like last time with a key single from a team set that has a current big-leaguer who had a heck of a rookie year in Atlanta last season. Unlike Michael Harris, Strider had a number of Rookie Cards in big-league sets last year and he also had a lot of prospect cards (also unlike Harris) so cards like these have a lot of competition. But, I like this one as he looks like a big-leaguer other than that cap and the set was relatively cheap, too, vs. a lot of in-pack stuff by the pack or box right now. The print run on sets like this where there are multiple stars might not be on the low side for MiLB sets but in comparison to packed-out MLB cards there's no chance that the print run is in the same galaxy. I like that.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Money Mike, MLB managers, mascots & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
GOING OFF THE RADAR ...
The Cards: Michael Harris 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This guy is likely to be on my collecting radar quite a bit this year after a near-cardless 2022 that saw him take home the National League Rookie of The Year honors with the Atlanta Braves. Before that, "Money Mike" had some prospect cards in packs and minor league cards count there, too, but his Rookie Cards were held to appear in the full 2023 lineup. With basic stuff like 2023 Topps figuring to the plentiful and prices all over the place right now, I opted to pick up a lot of these -- as team sets -- as he's in there and so are others (you'll see them in later months here) instead ... and I did it without breaking the bank. He has other MiLB cards -- but not a ton -- but this one looked good to me for the price. I'll probably grade some of these, too, as you can probably guess based on the cases they're in right here.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Park pigs, mascots, throwback stars & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
"WINNER OF A PIG PICKIN' CONTEST"
The Card: Parker 2011 Grandstand Richmond Flying Squirrels
The Buzz On This One: The back of this card pretty much says it all (click for a closer look) and I think that makes this Parker's "Rookie Card." Is it the only baseball card for a team pig? Believe it or not ... no. Parker had a pretty good run with this team and a few baseball cards after this one and there are others. Why a ballpark pig? Read the card ... and welcome to Minor League Baseball. This isn't a "deep" post per se ... just some prime oddity cardboard, which is what this series is all about.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Sarge, Swish, diamond dogs and ... a dietitian?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
TWO SURPRISES, ONE CARD
The Card: John Lannan & Katrina Mangieri 2021 Choice Trenton Thunder #5
The Buzz On This One: I'm always on the hunt for cards with unusual position players on them as part of this series and this time it's a double-whammy with a mental performance coach and a dietitian sharing a spot on the checklist. I'm 99.99 percent sure nothing like this has ever shown up in an MLB set and it's the weird stuff like this that can make MiLB team sets stand out from the rest. Why do they have cards? Well, they're part of the team. Why don't they have cards at the next level? Probably because those off-field teams are big as it is ... and a lot of players don't get cards or lesser names that do prompt "value" complaints from collectors. (I'm sure of that.) It's inevitably not valuable here -- pocket change -- but it's definitely oddball ... and it's not alone this time.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Joey Votto, men of mystery, Moneyball & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
NEXT STOP, COOPERSTOWN?
The Card: Joey Votto 2006 Grandstand Southern League Top Prospects
The Buzz On This One: Votto's Rookie Card comes way back in 2002 Bowman Draft -- years before the RC logo cards and him having those, too -- but since he didn't rocket to The Show immediately he does have a few MiLB cards fans can track down that have him in familiar colors and unis but not those he has worn for his Hall of Fame-caliber MLB career. (Note: Why a lame photo? I had this in a semi-rigid for picture time since I contemplated grading it -- just for fun -- but a different one made the cut.) Why go here? These team set cards -- this is from a more-plentiful prospect All-Star set -- are overlooked and cheaper than a lot of stuff. There's also a lot less was likely made, too, vs. stuff in packs. Obscure, cheaper and more unique all make my cardboard collecting radar go off a little more 15-plus years later.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Space Ham, Veterans Day, Club Man & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
NOT EVEN THE COOLEST SAINTS CARD ... BUT CLOSE?
The Card: Space Ham 2021 Choice St. Paul Saints
The Buzz On This One: When comedy icon Bill Murray is among the team owners and has at least one baseball card out there, it's hard to have any one card for this long-running team grab any kind of added attention or carry cool-card status beyond that ... but this one probably does command some attention despite it not, I repeat not, being the only minor league card out there showcasing a pig. So, what's the deal here and is that a Space Jam jersey worn by Space Ham? Why, indeed it is ... and it's teased here and explained more in-depth on the card. (Click for a closer look.) Oh, and don't forget that Murray was in that movie alongside that failed member of the Birmingham Barons.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: The Tooth Fairy has a baseball card ... really
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
YOU'RE NOT IMAGINING THIS PART I ...
The Card: Tooth Fairy 2016 Choice Reading Fightin' Phils Mascot Set
The Buzz On This One: Buzz did a double-take when spotting this card with a single word on my mind after seeing this ... why? Well it's a sponsorship spot for a mascot of sorts who cleans the bases and has a child from the crowd work with her to get the job done at games -- and she's also part of a mascot group while having a message to everybody, of course. The weird part? She's not alone ... keep reading.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Mike Piazza, A-Rod, Rudy, mascots & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
A HALL OF FAMER'S OLD SOX
The Card: Mike Piazza 1999 Arizona Fall League #29
The Buzz On This One: No, the Hall of Famer wasn't crafting his game on the side while playing for the Mets. This one is a flashback piece included in a 30-card set for the AFL where prospects get to work on their game in the off-season. I think I found this one -- the full set -- in a bulk lot that, for the most part, wasn't all that eventful ... so this one stood out. Who else was in this one? A who's who of "Who?" Maybe, maybe not ... Ryan Anderson, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Michael Cuddyer, Jack Cust, Jason Grilli, Jim Morris (The Rookie!), Corey Patterson, Vernon Wells and others ... actually, quite a few big-leaguers but not a lot of card-value guys all these years later. I bet there are some Piazza fans who might not have even seen this card before -- at least I hadn't -- so that's why it bats lead-off this time.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Bubble Boys, Dayton mascot-mania, News Team assembles, ballpark pups, good design & a QB's baseball card?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
IT'S BUBBLE BOY! (PART ONE)
The Card: Dan "Bubble Boy" Jones 2018 Grandstand Erie SeaWolves
The Buzz On This One: What's the deal here? Well, what you see on the baseball card is what I know ... he's a first-round draft pick, a Knockerball champion who went undefeated and, well, has a baseball card. (Yeah, yeah, something about tickets, too. Must be a side job.) Is this the only Bubble Boy baseball card there is? Well, maybe for this kind ...Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Young stars, fans' cards, cosmic mascots, cheesy pics ... Jerry Lawler & Mr. Belding have baseball cards?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
PRE-ROOKIE CARDBOARD
The Card: Bo Bichette 2019 Choice International League Top Prospects #2
The Buzz On This One: With Bowman and other prospecting brands giving players cards as early as possible -- and stuff like USA Baseball and Perfect Game getting us cards before guys are even pros -- pre-rookie MiLB cards like this don't have as much oomph as they used to (though they may not have ever been super-popular) ... but I still like them. This one comes from an All-Star-style set that includes many more other notables like Bichette here and they're actually among the easier sets to find most often as most teams in the leagues sell the sets ... so there are likely more of these made than your typical sets. Nonetheless, I like grabbing anything for notables in MiLB team sets as they're easily tougher (or at least less plentiful) than anything Bowman. That's why I have this one batting lead-off ... the rest of the stuff you'll see this time is on the oddball side of things.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Mick Foley's baseball cards lead way this time
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
FACES OF FOLEY
The Cards: Chris Mudd 2009 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #28 & Reading Phillies Update #34
The Buzz On This One: Between all of his personas -- Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love -- pro wrestler Mick Foley has a lot of cardboard appearances but there are others out there that, well, might surprise you. These surprised me as they're from nowhere near a wrestling ring and they're more than a decade old -- and yet I had never seen them before. This card of a minor-league team trainer has a cameo for Foley who was at the Reading game for a guest appearance with his TNA championship that year -- April 22, 2009, to be exact -- and it's actually not even the only Phillies card to show wrestlers or others of note. Why are there two versions? One is from early in the year and toward the end of the season the team opted to release an update set with more players (hence the card number changes) and to change the typography. So, really, there were two Mick Foley baseball cards I didn't know about. You'll see more of Mudd here next month.Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Whitney Houston, epic hair, mascots & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The Card: Brian Span (with Whitney Houston ... sort of) 1989 Sport Pro Spokane Indians #15
The Buzz On This One: If you're a regular Buzz reader, then you may remember my deep dive into this epic MiLB team set that, well, showcases how the team went to the mall to make their annual card set. No, really, each player and some coaches plugged various stores at the mall with some having funnier cards than others. Span went to DJ’s Sound City, a chain described as "a fixture in Spokane's Music Market for almost 20 years" and made one of the weirdest cards ever made. (See the rest of them at that link.) I had the chance to pick up two more of these and I did ... and you can bet I'll probably grade one -- it's just too comical not to.Keep reading for more examples of some weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Ballpark pups invade on National Pet Day
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
LEADER OF THIS PACK ...
The Card: Rookie 2015 Choice Trenton Thunder #34
The Buzz On This One: Today is National Pet Day, everybody, so Buzz doesn't have to wait for the dog days of summer to unleash this one -- a pack of dogs on baseball cards you won't find in packs of baseball cards but instead some big dogs you'll find down on the farm in MiLB team sets. There are actually a ton of team dogs and baseball cards and, to a degree, a leader in that pack (at least in the non-mascot variety) is the Trenton Thunder. Their dog days started with Chase That Golden Thunder back in 2000. (Buzz doesn't have a degree in ballpark pup history so I don't know which team was first. Watch this for a full story from Derby, his dad.) Rookie is a current star for the team as part of a lineage of bat dogs putting bat boys out of business ... at least at this park. He's not alone ...Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Pioneers, stars, park pups & Ziggy Stardust?
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
A BASEBALL PIONEER
The Card: Ila Borders 1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids card #768
The Buzz On This One: OK, this is the rare inclusion in this series that wasn't found in a traditional MiLB team set, but with a lot of women making baseball headlines in recent months (and years) I figured I'd revisit a key name from the past. Borders was the first woman to get a win in a men's minor-league game back in 1998 when she was a pitcher for the Duluth–Superior Dukes. You can read more about her career -- which included more than this first -- right here. She doesn't have a ton of baseball cards and if you search her name here on The Buzz you can see where I previously picked up her lone traditional MiLB team set card. I figured I'd grab this to go with it. Meanwhile, (tip time) these cards from sheets in magazines seem to be capturing a lot of attention from some buyers in some instances. If you have interests in names who don't have traditional cards, you might try a search for SI for Kids singles or full magazines, which included nine cards per issue for a long, long time.Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: A Roady, a team owner, a camera-loving mascot, Missile & more baseball cards to make you go nuts
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
A LIFE IN THE GAME & A LOT GOING ON HERE ...
The Card: Ron "Roady" Plein 2011 Perfect Game USA Cedar Rapids Kernels #31
The Buzz On This One: There are a lot of guys like Ron Plein out there in the baseball world -- on MLB payroll and not on MLB payroll -- who have a lifetime spent in the game but never, ever appear on baseball cards ... except maybe in MiLB releases. This card? It's not his first as he was 67 years old here and in his 37th year in baseball. (Learn more about him here.) Check out that card back -- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Random fact about this team? One of its players the previous season was Mike Trout ... this guy probably made him sandwiches and fixed his gear quite a bit after all those stolen bases that season.Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Mascot cards that may drive you wild
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
THE BULL BATS LEAD-OFF
The Card: Wool E. Bull 2015 Choice Durham Bulls #30
The Buzz On This One: You may know the team and mascot from Bull Durham -- technically it's not the same bull as he has a name now and only arrived in 1992 -- but this furball's card leads off here for another reason. That Daytona 500-style grip on the wheel got me looking at mascot cards I had stockpiled and I noticed a trend ... they really like to drive. Whether it's ripping around the warning track in a Frontier-branded kart like this one, or some heavy hardware like you'll soon see, there are a lot of baseball cards in minor-league team sets out there just like this ... and it's all pocket-change stuff.Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Odd baseball cards from down on the farm
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness.
MONEYBALL DOWN ON THE FARM?
The Card: Amanda Brady 2021 Choice Hudson Valley Renegades #34
The Buzz On This One: When was the last time you saw an "advanced scouting analyst" baseball card? This is a first for me and I've seen quite a bit of oddball cardboard in my time doing this series. Brady is an analyst in the Yankees organization and this card is "exactly what I always dreamed my first baseball card would be," she tweeted. There's a pretty good chance there are other analyst cards to come as the MiLB checklists continue to include the non-traditional but, right now, this is the only one I've ever seen.Keep reading for more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Five baseball cards foodies & fans can devour
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item.
BATTING LEAD-OFF ...
The Card: Double Balonironi Burger 2021 Choice West Virginia Power #30
The Buzz On This One: This edition of the series is all about food and this one is arguably a Rookie Card -- though MiLB cards don't really have RCs -- for a burger apparently a big enough deal that it made the team's annual card set. Why? Well, it's probably not tied to the set sponsor -- Thomas Health hospitals -- but this ballpark "belly buster" seems like it might be an All-Star down on the farm -- check out this video. (Oh, and note the typo on the card front ... an uncorrected error, I think.) I've seen my fair share of cardboard in my day but other than one insert set done at the MLB level a few years ago I'm not sure if I have seen specific food items get their own card before in a MiLB set where, as the point of this series goes, you can see a little bit of everything. Given how much ballpark emphasis there is about food, I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more. The ingredients are on the back, the fact that it's two pounds is interesting and it's ironic they mask the calorie content. Perhaps the next card will have something to say about that.Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Bo Bichette, a bat dog, Grover! & some mascots
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item.
BO BEFORE THE SHOW
The Card: Bo Bichette 2017 Choice Midwest League All-Stars
The Buzz On This One: I've found myself buying more cards of this guy than any other lately and some of the more-obscure stuff like this can be right up there on my radar more than second- or third-year Bowman stuff. Why? MiLB team sets and then loaded All-Star team sets like this one are inevitably a lot rarer than a lot of the basics for popular prospecting releases. Are they pricey? Oftentimes, no, but they simply have to be far more limited. (All-Star sets are likely the more plentiful of the two types as they are often sold by every team in a league.) You can find big names from the past in All-Star sets and they can be loaded with talent while standard team sets can be pricier but really only for a card or two. Now ... on to some weirder cardboard like I always have in hand for this series.Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
MiLB Madness: Tyler Gilbert's debut, Chico, tacos & more
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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item.
BIG DEBUT ...
The Cards: Tyler Gilbert 2016 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws (in team sets)
The Buzz On This One: Gilbert arrived in the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation on Saturday as a 27-year-old rookie and struck out 10 in his first start -- a no-hitter. That's something just three other players have done in all of MLB history, instantly making him a big name for the moment and that moment led people to look for his baseball cards. With all of the prospect releases that arrive seemingly weekly, he'd never appeared on anything found in a pack, just MiLB team sets. (And then a Topps Now card on Sunday.) Rather than grab the new card -- 5,791 copies sold -- I opted for what may be his first MiLB card at a lower cost. I landed three of these team sets for just $4 apiece as they were on clearance via the team's site. (Meanwhile, on eBay? It was insanity ... I'm sure they all get paid for.) He pitches again tonight so we'll see how start No. 2 goes.Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.