MiLB Madness: Kyle Schwarber, a ballpark pup cameo, some blazing baseballs, Harry Potter, Savannah baseball & more

Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... sometimes stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new fun cards and oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

AT THE BEGINNING ...
The Card: Kyle Schwarber 2015 Choice Iowa Cubs
The Buzz On This: With USA Baseball, other prep showcase sets and NIL deals these days, it’s not uncommon for players to have cards sometimes several years before their pro debuts -- if they even have a debut at all, In some cases, minor-league looks can emulate the big club and that’s what got me to bite on this early (but not first) card of The Schwarbino. He’s seen in a Cubs uniform -- an Iowa Cubs uniform -- but you wouldn’t probably know the difference here if those logos didn’t have a little extra attached. The helmet logo is partially obscured, too, but I liked the simplicity here so I grabbed it. Schwarber is going to go down as one of the better power guys of this generation and he’s already got a firm place in baseball history with his Cubs World Series run and All-Star Game heroics. This was an easy grab for $6 in my book.

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

STEALING THE SHOW?
The Card: Britton Bartholo 2025 Choice Pensacola Blue Yahoos
The Buzz On This: The Blue Wahoos' new video coach might have been working with a team bat dog here -- call it a hunch -- but that team superstar isn’t mentioned by name. The card back is basic and more on Bartholo’s background, so it’s a bit more business despite that unusual photo on the front. You won’t find bat dogs or video coaches on all your MLB cardboard ... so that’s why this one appealed for this series in a couple ways.

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RED-HOT CARDBOARD
The Card: Dan Ortiz 2025 Rocky Mountain Vibes (team issue)
The Buzz On This: This card set is a well-crafted one with many players seen with a studio portrait and some fire effects in play -- and that super-strong approach is ironic since the Pioneer League team folded after last season. This one got a good ride with its corporate sponsor on front and back, a team logo on the bottom left and the player’s position on a home plate on the front along with a facsimile signature each time atop the dybamic photos. This card is for the clubhouse manager who’s seen grilling some equipment -- easily one of the most-unique cards of the bunch.

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TRADITIONAL CARD ... NON-TRADITIONAL MiLB LOOK & LOGO
The Card: On-field staff (Adam Spolane, Dennis Publow, Gene Albertson & Josh Guterman) -- 2011 Choice Casper Ghosts
The Buzz On This: The radio guy, the clubbie, a coach and a trainer walk onto a card ... a card with a really strong look to it with a unique logo and a slice of that logo applied to part of a stripe/border on the front. Simple yet strong. This was the final season the team was known as the Ghosts as it was sold, moved from Wyoming to Colorado and then re-branded the Grand Junction Rockies for the following season.

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POTTER POWER?
The Card: Damek Tomscha 2017 Choice Reading Fightin’ Phils Theme Night
The Buzz On This: Theme nights are super common in MiLB with the jerseys being easy money-makers and ways to draw a few more fans to games -- and this team took its cardboard a step further, too. The Fightin’ Phils created a set showcasing its players in the various looks -- with game-specific photography -- from all of their gimmick games throughout the year. This one? Harry Potter. Others? Star Wars, Go Green, the Crazy Hot Dog Vendor’s Birthday, Military Night, Harley Night, Superhero Night, Stars & Stripes (July 4) and so on.

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SETTING THE SCENE
The Card: Arm & Hammer Park 2018 Choice Trenton Thunder
The Buzz On This: Ballpark cards aren’t super common -- but also are not unheard of -- in MLB sets, but they don’t look like this one when it’s a stadium on the biggest stage. Some MiLB venues are remarkable little cathedrals to the game and this aerial shot shows the riverside venue that opened in 1994.

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BEFORE THE BANANAS
The Card: Savannah Sand Gnats logo (header card) 2011 Multi-Ad Sports Savannah San Gnats
The Buzz On This: This former team’s logo is so strong I once picked off a game-used batting helmet from the team as this was its decal. So good. This team existed from 1984 to 2015 before it was renamed and moved to Columbia, S.C. to become a different insect squad, the Fireflies. The following year, the Bananas arrived as a collegiate summer squad but didn’t go full Banana Ball until 2020. I picked off one of these cards as a potential novelty slab -- I like the logo that much -- but those corners weren’t going to cooperate. (If it’s not an elite grade, I just can’t do it.)

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