MiLB Madness: Cardboard for Froggy & T-Bone, The Kastaways mascot band, Gatorade fans and even a Hall of Famer batboy

Minor league cards 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. 

JUST MARVEL AT THIS ODDITY
The Card: Froggy, T-Bone & Juan Blancarte -- aka the "Team Leaders" -- 2014 Grandstand Bakersfield Blaze
The Buzz On This One: I feel like I need to make some catchy Grateful Dead reference here or something with how this trio sounds  (and the team name) but I'll play it straight and let it speak for itself -- this is a baseball card for a program salesman with an interesting story, a bus driver with a knack for landing free popcorn and a rookie clubhouse manager who makes sure his team is "well-fed, well-buttered and clean." Just read it (click for a closer view) ... it's a perfect minor-league oddity.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

GOING BATTY
The Card: Captain Jack 2014 Rockford Aviators
The Buzz On This One: No, this isn't a Bo Jackson homage -- or is it? -- but what I do know is that it is a baseball card of a radio DJ who said online that his hobby is being a bodybuilder. (Perhaps that explains the bat.) This independent team no longer exists as it folded in 2015 after more than a decade in existence, but the baseball cards live forever. This may seem like an odd inclusion but it's really not all that unusual to see radio announcers who call teams' games get cards.

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HE'S GOT THE GATORADE ... DESPITE THE FLOOD
The Card: Casey Larkin 2018 Grandstand Palm Beach Cardinals
The Buzz On This One: I've found more than a few cards out there of clubbies when flipping through MiLB sets and this one was a walking (not quite talking) commercial for Gatorade. That's apparently one of the dude's duties as a visiting clubhouse manager but apparently not on his list is plumbing or drying out the joint. Get this dude a Squeegee! (I only say that as I didn't spot a grounds crew/stadium crew card in the set.)

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BAND OF BROTHERS?
The Card: The Kastaways 2012 Grandstand Portland Sea Dogs
The Buzz On This One: Anybody can have a mascot or even a family of mascots but what about a mascot band? I'll say I had never seen this one before -- and I've seen a lot of baseball cards in my day -- and you can see their story on the card back. Just so you know,  the lineup included Clarence the Clam on drums, Pete the Puffin on keyboard, Herman the Power Hog on bass guitar and vocals, Spike the Porcupine on guitar and vocals and Sir Nigel Rathbone the Wharf Rat on guitar and vocals. So ... I'll save you the search -- just click here to hear them from their 2012 opening gig. In fact, this card's photo is from that same event ... and the DVM Sports photographer is in there somewhere, too. (Yes, most MiLB cards have photo credits.) The crowd went wild.

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FINISHING WITH A HALL OF FAMER
The Card: Wade Vadakin 2010 and 2011 Mobile Bay Bears team-issue sets
The Buzz On This One: It's not uncommon to see a batboy on a card here and there if you go through enough team sets but if you dig around in Southern League releases you'll find this Hall of Famer -- yes, he's in the league's Hall of Fame as of last year -- on cardboard. He first worked for the team back in 1997 until its demise in 2019 (it moved to Huntsville, Ala.) but joined the Pensacola Blue Wahoos an hour down the coast last season (at least that was the plan before COVID halted play). He's got plenty of baseball card appearances and you can learn more about his life and career at the link. I grabbed the oldest cards of his that I saw -- I should have done the 2012 team set with a Trevor Bauer card alongside him on the checklist -- and I'll probably add one where he's dubbed the "Director of On-deck Operations" the next time I go hunting for some MiLB cardboard. By the way, the other Hall of Fame inductees that went in with him?  Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez and Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker.

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