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 Topps Pro Debut
The Buzz On This: Last time, The Schwarbino was in the leadoff spot here and he’s back as I’m still on a kick ... but this month it’s him in some less-familiar threads. This one has the Pro Debut logo -- meaning its his first from Topps for the MiLB ranks -- while it uses the MLB look of that year with the minor-league unis and logos getting the ride. The team? The Boise Hawks all way up there in Boise, Idaho, and a lot has changed for them since then though the name remains the same. (The Hawks became an independent team back in 2021 when MLB restructured the MiLB ranks.) I like the early big-league looks for Pro Debut as part of the continuity for a player’s cards -- his Rookie Card arrives and MLB run starts in 2016 -- but a collection of his Topps flagships should include this if you ask me.

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

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.

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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. 

JUST CALL HER SKIP
The Card: Ronnie Gajownik 2021 Choice Hillsboro Hops
The Buzz On This: I picked up a couple cards from this team set for the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate at some point last year while going through oddball MiLB singles for a couple reasons. First, this design is a pretty non-traditional look for most sets -- though it is from one of the companies that teams use to pick their looks for their sets each year -- and for a player it incorporates a smaller cut-out action photo and a facsimile auto (see one here). I picked off this one since you don't see many "video coordinator" cards out there in many sets but what made this one more interesting this season is that she was the team's manager in 2023. She is MiLB's first female High-A manager as Rachel Balkovec's Tampa Tarpons are in Single-A ball. In between this and her new role this season, she was a coach for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. Her team went 56-76 this season in the Northwest League. Read more about her here.

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

Continue reading →