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. 

WAIT, WHAT?
The Item: Kerry Wood 1998 Best Player Of The Year - Best Possibilities promo card
The Buzz On This: This card is one that I'd apparently never seen until just recently and it really threw me for a loop as Wood was a fireballer who only played for the Chicago Cubs back at this time as part of a 14-year MLB career. Why was it weird? Well, on 1998 cardboard, Wood was firmly a Chicago Cub and definitely not a Tampa Bay Devil Ray as they were known then and this logo is theirs for sure. But ... this card shows Wood as a member of the 1997 Orlando Rays and most MiLB cards of him from back then -- the ones I pulled -- used road unis, so the Rays name and the logo weren't as obviously seen like they were on MLB fields that year. The Orlando Rays were the Cubs' farm team until 1997, switched to the Mariners in 1998 when the Rays arrived in Tampa Bay that year, and then worked with Tampa Bay's prospects from 1999 until the team moved to Alabama to become the Montgomery Biscuits. Wood, of course, was a Cub from 1998-2008 (and a Cub on cards even longer than that) before he finished his career with stops in Cleveland and New York as a Yankee before a return to the Cubs. Somehow, I'd never noticed this 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. 

CHICO IS THE MAN
The Card: Chico 2018 Choice El Paso Chihuahuas
The Buzz On This: This totally was going to be a Making The Grade novelty slab -- a high-mark graded card because as it's something different -- showing off a favorite mascot. Why? It's a card that showcases not only the furball on the field but the team's logo, which I think is one of the best in the game and that can't be said enough. But ... it looks like this is the back card in every set as that line you can see running down the back of the card is on all of them here and likely more. It's probably from the seal of the pack ... or machinery that handled the cards during packaging. Woof. Part of me wants to slab it anyway but maybe I'll wait until I have collected them all and them sub all of the Chicos together in a pack like a big-dog collector would. Something like that.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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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 BIG DOG
The Card: Chico "Man's Best Friend" -- 2021 Choice El Paso Chihuahuas
The Buzz On This: MiLB mascot cards always get a slight look from me, but since there are simply so many -- they are apparently a staple of team sets these days as they are one of only a few sources of continuity from year to year -- not that many actually stand out ... or, really, only the best-looking ones stand out to me. And like this guy, I'll bite. Chico is a bit different, though, as I've actively picked off most cards for this mascot with one of the baddest logo appearances in all of MiLB and also an appearance on one of the best caps. This card had eluded me but I think it's a solid one with a simple design, a clean at-the-game photo, and the basics.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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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.

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