MiLB Madness: Looking back, looking at card backs & more

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. 

IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW ... AGAIN
The Cards: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2020 Choice Lansing Lugnuts 25th Anniversary set (nine)
The Buzz On This: The second MLB All-Star to be found in this one is Vladdy 2.0 (after Bichette 2.0 last month). This one is a cheap set I found on sale in the official MiLB Store ... so I did a bulk buy. Why? I want to slab some stuff in this one and the price was right for doing some cherry-picking. As I noted last time, if you don't dabble in the MiLB realm, there are some affordable ways to find top names in old unis without breaking the bank and this set shows off notables from this team's past -- a solid alumni set. Another type of cheap MiLB team set that can be loaded are the league "top prospects" sets and similar all-star team sets that can be sold by all teams in a league. My nine sets here were cheaper than pretty much all MLB hobby boxes so far this year.

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

IT STARTED SIMPLE ...
The Card: Carlo Olivas & Landon Brandes 2005 Grandstand Vero Beach Dodgers
The Buzz On This: My first reason for grabbing this one for pocket change was the two-for-one special on team roles that make MiLB sets more unique in their oddball scope. But then I looked closer ... the last line of Brandes' section is some Cooperstown-caliber trivia for a strength coach ... but then I noticed the design quirk that made me chuckle. Olivas clearly works for the Dodgers, but Brandes' team? That sponsorship logo placement is funny ... cheers!

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THE CARDBOARD CREW!
The Card: Victor Madrigal 2018 Grandstand Bradenton Marauders
The Buzz On This: The grounds crew isn't elusive when it comes to MiLB team set cards -- I have seen a handful when looking -- but this guy's the Superintendent of Grounds as well as "The Dancing Dominican" ... so there's a lot going on here. One apparently ties into the other per that card back and there's a lot more there to learn about him, too. That's a lot of info packed into a card and I dig it.

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LET'S GO CRAZY ...
The Card: Crazy J 2012 Grandstand Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
The Buzz On This: Another quirky inclusion in a few MiLB sets out there are the on-field mascots of a different sort -- more of an emcee or in the case somebody dubbed an "on-field host." There's not much said here other than it's his third season and a mention of some "wacky dancing, section cheers and general craziness" .... though the corporate sponsor also got a logo plug here. (That, too, is common in MiLB sets.)

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ROLL TIDE!
The Card: Assorted Andy Phillips, G.W. Keller and Roberto Vaz cards from 1998-2002
The Buzz On This: Buzz did some school ties collecting recently with this trio of players who played college ball at Alabama before their shots in the pro ranks that produced these cards. Phillips was a seventh-round pick of the Yankees in 1999 and played parts of five seasons in MLB with the Yankees, Reds and Mets (and with roster time with others) with a lone RC in 2001 Topps Stadium Club, while Keller was an 18th-round pick of the A's but never made it past advanced-A ball in four MiLB seasons. (This is one of just three MiLB cards for him.) Vaz was a seventh-rounder with the A's and did seven years in the minors but never got past Triple-A ball ... but he did appear on some Topps MLB cards and has RCs (1999 Topps Traded and its Chrome version). Why are these here? Well, they're a bit of a reminder to check those school sections over on Baseball Reference and cross-check those names online ... you might find a lot of stuff you can collect. They might occasionally be challenges to find but they're not likely going to cost you too much.

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REMEMBER ME?
The Card: Some assorted former big-league cardboard names of the past -- Tony Gwynn Jr., Jonny Gomes, Greg Vaughn, Cory Lidle, Ryan Anderson and Gary Varsho
The Buzz On This: These weren't singles pick-ups but rather notable former MLB names (or top prospects found on MLB cards long ago) that popped out of some random-lot team sets I landed -- and they're all in unis that perhaps aren't the first things that come to mind. Pre-MLB career cardboard is probably more collected, but there are a lot of MLB names that can be found later, too ... either as journeymen near the end of their runs or stints as coaches or managers perhaps aiming to get back to The Show in different ways.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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