Filed under: In the minors, just for fun, MLB | Tags: baseball cards, Cal Ripken Jr., Fernando Valenzuela, Gary Carter, Hideo Nomo, Michael Phelps, minor league baseball cards, MLB, Oil Can Boyd
By CHRIS OLDS | BECKETT BASEBALL EDITOR
Another of the charms of collecting Minor League Baseball cards are finding cards of players you perhaps once loved, once hated or once thought were going to be a much bigger deal than they were in the hobby.
Sometimes you’ll find relatives of those players. Or perhaps you’ll find cards from aborted comebacks made by players like Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, who pitched in the minors from 1994-97 before coming back yet again — at age 45 — to pitch for the Brockton Rox in 2005. (He went 4-5 with a 3.83 ERA in 17 games, even throwing a complete game.)
Sometimes you’ll find familiar faces on rehab assignments or in managerial stints. We take a look at some of these unusual cards in this edition of In The Minors …
In 2006, Hideo Nomo pitched a single game for the Charlotte Knights — three innings, four runs (one earned) on two hits — but that didn’t halt his appearance on a Knights card. That star power probably sold some team sets (and tickets). We’d bet that this one’s a bit tougher to find than others out there, too.
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Baseball’s Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr., may have retired but that doesn’t mean he still can’t add to his baseball card listings — this time as the co-owner/CEO of the Aberdeen IronBirds. He’s appeared on more than 12,100 different cards, but only a very few in this fashion.
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Boom! I bet you didn’t know John Madden had a baseball card and played for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wizards (who are now known as the TinCaps.)
… Oh … wait … it’s not him? Well, at least it’s an interesting design.
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Many baseball fans know all about the Lake Elsinore Storm and their unusual caps and uniform styles. Most might not know that Fernando Valenzuela Jr. played for the team — or even that he played minor league ball at all.
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Remember Curtis Pride? If you collected baseball cards in the early 1990s you probably do — he made his big-league debut in 1993 with the Montreal Expos and was the first deaf MLB player since the 1940s. What makes this card unusual? Well, Pride was still playing in 2006 with the Salt Lake Bees — 20 years after he was drafted. He actually continued playing until last season and is now a college coach.
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We’ve told you before that there are always unusual inclusions to be found in minor league sets. How about Vince and Larry, the Crash-test Dummies? Smashing!
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Minnesota Twins fans have to have a special place in their hearts for Frank Viola. Unfortunately, Frank Viola III didn’t make it past rookie ball — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a baseball card. (Dad has 380 cards, while he’s apparently only got just this one.)
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New Yorkers definitely know the name, but this Mel Stottlemyre pitched just 13 games for the Royals in 1990. But he spent several seasons in the minors as a coach before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks as pitching coach in May. Like father, like son.
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It’s not his managerial Rookie Card so to speak, but Hall of Famer Gary Carter’s cardboard career hasn’t stopped since he joined the Cooperstown ranks. (Not like it would with the constant flow of retro sets, but … ) Carter has appeared on more than 2,500 cards — but not many as a manager. These days, he’s managing the Long Island Ducks. (Click the link — just for the big-league sound effect that will welcome you.)
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We hear that this guy is a training phenom — despite his affinity for McDonald’s. We hear he’s driven and loves round shiny gold objects with ribbons, too. (Wait, what? You mean he’s not a swimmer? It says Michael Phelps — it’s got to be Michael Phelps. Who do you think it is, anyway?
That’s all for now, but we’ll take another look in the minors soon.
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AND WHILE YOU’RE HERE, CHECK OUT THESE STORIES …
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Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
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