∀ 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.
REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The Card: Brian Span (with Whitney Houston ... sort of) 1989 Sport Pro Spokane Indians #15
The Buzz On This One: If you're a regular Buzz reader, then you may remember my deep dive into this epic MiLB team set that, well, showcases how the team went to the mall to make their annual card set. No, really, each player and some coaches plugged various stores at the mall with some having funnier cards than others. Span went to DJ’s Sound City, a chain described as "a fixture in Spokane's Music Market for almost 20 years" and made one of the weirdest cards ever made. (See the rest of them at that link.) I had the chance to pick up two more of these and I did ... and you can bet I'll probably grade one -- it's just too comical not to.
Keep reading for more examples of some weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
WHAT?
The Card: Darren Jones 2019 Choice Lexington Legends #35
The Buzz On This One: There's maybe some Photoshop work here but it's certainly not on the card back, which I have to also question ... 6-foot-5, 145 pounds. That with the hair? Beyond all that, well, um, uh ... I got nothin' on this card. Next ...
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MARVEL AT THAT
The Card: Alex Sepulveda 2015 Choice Somerset Patriots #5
The Buzz On This One: It's a first card -- likely an only card -- for this, wait for it, bullpen coach on an independent team. That's one thing that got me to notice this card ... the flow there is pretty impressive, too, and it looks a lot different than his college days. One fun piece of trivia here beyond the position, the card existing and all that hair? He actually got an at-bat with the team that year -- a single AB -- where he pinch-hit for somebody and that was that. (Goose eggs on the stat sheet ... but he's in there. Are you?) It looks like he worked as a coach back at his alma mater and a baseball instructor elsewhere in the past, too. You don't see a lot of bullpen coach/bullpen catchers on baseball cards -- even in most MiLB sets.
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CAMERAMAN ... ZOOM IT!
The Card: Tyler Collins 2017 Grandstand Clinton LumberKings
The Buzz On This One: Something else you don't see on a lot of baseball cards? Team video coordinators -- and there have to be a lot of them out there between MiLB and MLB these days. Video guys can have highlights, too, but they're not seen on this card. Among his moments? Check out this nugget from MILB.com. How about that?
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NOT JUST A MASCOT CARD ...
The Card: Pam McCarty 2011 Grandstand Jackson Generals
The Buzz On This One: Buzz loves him some mascot cards -- they can always be found on the cheap and you can get some fun poses and weird card bios on the backs -- but this one I grabbed as part of a small lot actually wasn't a card for an on-field furball. It's a card honoring a Teacher of the Year award-winner in the team's area. Apparently this was something the Generals did many years as there are several others who can be found on their own cards in the set ... but without the mascot. Apparently it's something that started back in 2004 and the winner got cash, some tickets and the valued card appearance.
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EARLIEST CARDBOARD? (ACTUALLY, NO.)
The Card: Todd Helton 1996 Best New Haven Ravens #13
The Buzz On This One: I found this set in a bulk mystery team set lot and it stood out as a fun, early card of a Hall of Fame-caliber guy from the 1990s and that thought was reinforced when I flipped it over to see just a single line of stats with Asheville the previous year. But then I remembered his 1993 Topps Traded USA Baseball card ... then some Best draft picks cards, then Signature Rookies ... well, I still liked it. It's not a super-pricey card and it's not even his only card in a team set from those years ... but his RCs are just one year later so, well, it's still a fun find in a cheap lot in my mind. (On a more realistic note, this one is still tougher to find than a lot of those cards I mentioned that were in packs or widely distributed factory sets.)
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FOUR IN ONE ...
The Card: Chase, Derby, Boomer & Strike 2012 Multi-Ad Trenton Thunder #35
The Buzz On This One: If you know this series, then you know there's a lot of mascot and dog cardboard in MiLB -- they are regulars in this monthly roundup of cheap, odd cards -- but this? This is like the Megapowers of this game with both legendary bat dogs and both of their mascots all in one spot as well as one of the meatiest baseball card backs I have ever seen. It's even got the corporate sponsor nod and the hire-the-mascot plug in there. (Those are important to the biz down on the farm.)
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