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. 

IT'S NOT A '52, BUT ...
The Item: Ryan Mantle 2008 Grandstand Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Update
The Buzz On This: The last line of this card's "Ballpark Banter" gives away the show here -- he's the third cousin of Mickey Mantle -- and there have been a few Mantles to appear on cards beyond The Mick over the years. This one played two seasons of minor-league ball for three teams in that stretch and then 10 final games during his third season -- that one in the Frontier League. The final MiLB stats? Three homers and 38 RBI in 81 games while batting .269. Per Baseball Reference, he's among six relatives of the Hall of Famer to play pro baseball.

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

Continue reading →

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. 

BO BEFORE THE SHOW
The Card: Bo Bichette 2017 Choice Midwest League All-Stars
The Buzz On This One: I've found myself buying more cards of this guy than any other lately and some of the more-obscure stuff like this can be right up there on my radar more than second- or third-year Bowman stuff. Why? MiLB team sets and then loaded All-Star team sets like this one are inevitably a lot rarer than a lot of the basics for popular prospecting releases. Are they pricey? Oftentimes, no, but they simply have to be far more limited. (All-Star sets are likely the more plentiful of the two types as they are often sold by every team in a league.) You can find big names from the past in All-Star sets and they can be loaded with talent while standard team sets can be pricier but really only for a card or two. Now ... on to some weirder cardboard like I always have in hand for this series.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

Continue reading →

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. 

ONE (OF MANY CARDS) FOR THE DOGS
The Card: Chase & Derby -- 2011 Multi-Ad Trenton Thunder No. 34
The Buzz On This One: Dogs appearing on baseball cards is way, way more common than you might think in the minors even though, well, it's not all that common in the world. So, what's the deal? Well, for years Chase was this team's bat dog -- retrieving bats and balls during various times on gameday and bringing water to umpires -- yes, a golden retriever trained to take the place of a batboy. Chase, who died in the fall of 2013, worked with the team for a decade before his son Derby took over until 2018. Derby's son Rookie is still working for the Thunder which is now a collegiate summer league team after being a New York Yankees affiliate from 2003 until last year. (See more about them all right here.) Other pups from this family have actually worked for other teams and there are many more pups in parks beyond that. (I could have done an item showing a dozen ... but you'll see them all here later.) Before his death, Chase even appeared in packs of 2013 Topps Heritage MiLB cards while the rest are found in team sets like this card -- and it's not the only one to show them together.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

Continue reading →

Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Ty France, 2B-3B-1B, Padres — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Baseball America’s highlight line: "In a loaded Padres system, it was France who led the organization in total bases, runs and RBIs last year and tied for the lead in home runs. That performance got him put on the 40-man roster in the offseason, and he’s now on the verge of mashing his way to his major league debut. France extended his hit streak to 14 games during his incredible week, capped by hitting back-to-back homers twice with Josh Naylor on Sunday."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team sets 
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: Still to come
Buzz’s card take: He's been in the minors since 2015 after he was a 34th-round pick, but hasn't appeared on anything more than minor-league team sets despite hitting 22 homers with 96 RBI in 137 games between Double-A San Antonio and Triple A El Paso last season. The 24-year-old is on pace for a career year with nine homers in 18 games this season and that should get him a cardboard look soon.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

Continue reading →

Four homers, one game -- it's something that doesn't happen in baseball often, but a Cleveland Indians prospect pulled off the feat last night.

Lake County Captains outfielder Will Benson went 4-for-5 with four homers and eight RBI. He's the Indians' No. 25 prospect on MLB.com's Prospect Watch list and could be a candidate for some affordable collecting, too, though his stats aren't going to wow you beyond some power.

He was the first MiLB player to put up a four-homer game since 2014 and it's only happened 18 times in MLB history. Two players did it in the NL in 2017, Scooter Gennett and J.D. Martinez. 

Continue reading →

Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. DJ Peters, OF, Dodgers — Double-A Tulsa Drillers
Season so far: Hitting .236 with 23 doubles, 29 homers, 60 RBI and 1 SB in 131 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Peters remains the same balance of pluses and minuses that he was going into last year, but he’s a lot higher profile now thanks to 55 home runs in two seasons. Peters hit 27 home runs in the California League in 2017. Thanks to his furious finish, he finished with 28 home runs in the Texas League in 2018. ... The power is still some of the best in the minors, and there aren’t many center fielders anywhere in pro ball who can crank 25-plus home runs in a season."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 175
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman
One auto to consider: 2013 Leaf Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: He's got fewer than 50 certified autos so that, along with his homers, could spark some competition from bidders. He's only got autos from this season and then his earliest ones from Leaf Perfect Game five years ago. He's also in 2018 Panini Chronicles where you can find some variety in ink.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

Continue reading →