MiLB Madness: The off-season ain't stopping this series ...

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. 

MANNY BEING MANNY ... ADMITTEDLY BEFORE MILB
The Card: Manny Ramirez 1991 Little Sun High School Prospects
The Buzz On This: OK, OK ... this isn't MiLB cardboard but it's thisclose to it as this card comes from a small set of players who were quickly on their way to pro ball when this one arrived from a small card company that released a number of small yet interesting sets. In this case, Ramirez was fresh out of George Washington High School in New York where he hit .650 with 41 hits, 40 runs 15 homers and 40 RBI in just 22 games as a senior. His career stats there? A mere 35 homers, 28 doubles, 17 triples, in 67 games where he hit .630. Oh and he stole 76 bases out of 78 attempts. Sure, you can look up his MLB stats -- that's easy -- but this card is all that numbers-wise and more. (Too bad I forgot to take a pic of it when I found this set in a bulk lot of MiLB sets months ago.) There are a few other MLB players in the set but none come close to Manny Being Manny.

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

'TIS THE SEASON ...
The Card: Ike The Spike 2013 Grandstand State College Spikes
The Buzz On This: I liked this one as it's a reminder that Toys For Tots is out there doing some good in the world -- and this might be the time to think of them -- but it's actually not one of those corporate sponsor plugs that one can often see in MiLB sets.

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THREE OF A KIND ...
The Cards: Jimmy Van Ostrand 2018 Grandstand Arkansas Travelers, Samantha Gilmore 2019 Grandstand St. Lucie Mets, Dave Williams 2019 Grandstand Columbia Fireflies
The Buzz On This: I'm not sure I previously noted the presence of mental skills coaches in MiLB team sets in past months here -- I might have but I need some coaching on remembering to research stuff even more when I prep these (but I'm busy on other stuff) -- but in a recent grab of interesting and odd singles I found not one, not two, but three cards for that position. It's a reminder that MiLB sets showcase some other members of teams that MLB sets don't ... and I'm sure MLB squads have some of these. In fact, here's one story taking at look at them, actually.

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REMEMBER ME?
The Cards: Darin Erstad, Travis Lee, Willie McGee, Jack Cust, Ellis Burks & Ben Grieve assorted past MiLB cards
The Buzz On This: I did a deep dive of some past sets from that same bulk deal I mentioned earlier and picked out a lot of the past MLB names that popped out -- some were around for a long time, some maybe not ... but they got there. MiLB sets can be off a lot of radars and include names people do collect ... it's just a matter of finding them in a lot of instances. (Big, obvious names like Mike Trout or Ronald Acuna Jr. will be tougher and probably cost you ... and at the same time might be worth it with a lot less of this cardboard going around than the Bowman stuff and other in-pack prospect releases ... but there's no upside here with autographs, memorabilia or parallel cards in nearly all instances. But ... not always with newer sets.)

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NOT A BIG FAN OF THESE ... BUT HERE THEY ARE
The Cards: Cosmo 2011 DAV Las Vegas 51s, Robbie The Redbird 2011 DAV Palm Beach Cardinals, Hornsby 2011 DAV Tulsa Drillers, Archie 2011 DAV Reno Aces, Hamilton R Head 2011 DAV Jupiter Hammerheads
The Buzz On This: The furballs are one constant in a lot of MiLB sets come and go over the years and I'm fine with that ... the thing that I don't like about these team sets that were made for maybe a decade or so with these stadium giveaway team sets sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans group is just their simplicity. The card backs are all the same -- like a gaming set -- with no info about the player (or furball) on the card. The backs are info about the group every time, which is fine, I'd just add a small part for some stats or name/team/etc. (That's definitely a lot more work for somebody.) You can find a lot of these sets and notable players with some looking ... I'm fact, some MLB teams did sets. I landed a number of these sets in my bulk lot and figured the off-season was a good time to pop them all in here.

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