COMC order #8 - Minor league cards

Maybe going down the COMC rabbit hole has just not been a thing for me - but maybe a few times I have done so with store credit added, I've end up with some odd cards I didn't realize I needed, but impulsively had to make keepers of.

1987 ProCards Minor League Jim Morris #261 - maybe it was the same night in 1999 [nearly 30 years ago] where I got Morris to sign an index card [?] after a Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays @ Anaheim Angels game and then also a bigger deal, was getting Jose Canseco to literally scribble on some things [for the first time ever] when he left the stadium.

That 1999 Tampa Bay team also had Julio Franco towards the end of the season, so that was at least three cult favorites types - though I didn't see Franco then and would not quite realize his 'greatness' until he popped back up in the major leagues in his mid 40s.

A couple of minor league cards of a Tom Nicholson - who went to my high school and played professionally, before ending up in the college coaching ranks.

Maybe the lingering sentiment of keeping up with a local guy has faded - but years ago, it was cool to find a college card of Nicholson posted [on another card blog], when he played college baseball at Texas, so it was nice to find two more cards.

Finally, a couple of early minor league cards picked up of Erik Kratz, a journeyman catcher who played in parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues - I occasionally see clips of Foul Territory Podcasts posted on social media, where Kratz gives his takes on current baseball happenings, along with fellow former big league catcher A.J. Pierzynski and sports broadcaster Scott Braun.

Credit where credit is due - Hideo Nomo

I am thinking what little blurb I could whip up for this pick up and how did I even come up to thinking about looking for such a card - maybe it was about 'out odding the odd,' where I want to see if I can top what I might have seen posted on a blog or social media.

The truth is that I saw this card on someone else's post on Twitter / X and went on eBay to see if there was a copy I could snag - there are screenshots on my camera roll of the collector's post on Twitter, where he received this a copy card as part of a mail day, so there you go I guess.

I associate Nomo's big league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers through the late 1990s and the Boston Red Sox and then back to the Dodgers through the early 2000s, before he really was kind of done - there are parts of Nomo's pro career in America, where he was lost in the wilderness.

From looking at his Baseball Reference register, this card was apparently from when Nomo pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers AAA team back in 1999 - it's real odd seeing Nomo immortalized in a stint for a minor league team.

Topps Pro Debut Minor League Legends

I have not paid attention to Topps Pro Debut for a good minute, but these retro themed inserts have caught my eye over the past few years - I found a few of last year's inserts in the quarter bins of a card shop and may have ordered one or two others from COMC.

I decided to pick up the entire 2023 set, rather than hoping random stragglers spill out somewhere - the checklist teases some usual names like Albert Pujols, Cal Ripken Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, but Tony La Russa as card #1 takes the cake.

I like the inclusion of vintage Hall of Fame legends, where unlike the countless retro MLB cards of the same subjects - it's fun seeing the different uniforms and hats on these cards, presumably showing all-time players in their formative years in pro baseball.

There are non-HOF fan favorite types that add some deeper cut names to a 19-card checklist - I'm not sure if I can appreciate them as much the fans of teams they played for through the 1970s and 1980s, but guys like Bill Madlock and John Mayberry get a second look as minor leaguers in this set.

From out of left field loose card pick ups

I was looking to pick up a couple of specific cards [as TTM fuel] on the eBay app and through the late afternoon hours where I was walking at the park - I was looking for a combination of cards to take advantage of the seller's buy 3, get 3 offer.

The seller has a bunch scattered of minor league team set listings that have been otherwise gutted in a pick your card format - I don’t know if there was a card I’d pay a dollar for outright, but there might be the ‘oddball’ player I may need for an esoteric interest or two.

Just a week or so ago, I’d added 12-13 cards to my shopping cart, but eventually removed them - I was going to take screenshots just in case I wanted remember and go back to them, but realized I wasn’t so serious about them anyway.

I may have deliberately wanted to forget the cards that were in my cart - but I wanted to go back to them so I had something to build on already.

It was a challenge to find specific cards buried under set listings - for the most part, I was able to track down the cards [or close to it], but there might be one or two that I’d blanked on.

1996 Best Tucson Toros Minor League Baseball Dave Hajek #10 - someone had him pose with a bat on fire.

2001 Multi-Ad West Michigan Whitecaps Minor League Baseball Brian Saltzgaber #28 - gum card

2006 Inkworks Veronica Mars Season One Busted #3 - is this a Paris Hilton rookie card?

1986 Donruss Highlights Rick Rhoden #20 - I might remember picking up this boxed set for fun at a mall card show 30 years ago because it had rookie-year cards of Jose Canseco, Will Clark and Bo Jackson, though I want to say it was overproduced and really only cost me around $3 at the time.

Back in the day, it wouldn't have registered to me to make the pitcher hitting card of Rhoden a keeper - I don't know what I did with my original copy, but I had to have another.

2002 Multi-Ad Brooklyn Cyclones Minor League Baseball Donovan Mitchell #3 - father of NBA star Donovan Jr.

2001 Multi-Ad Myrtle Beach Pelicans Minor League Baseball Dinger The Homerun Dog #26 - I thought this was from a Yankees’ farm team and I really didn’t know how I could get back to finding this card; just kept looking at the different listings; nice action shot of a dog in his prime, who passed in 2009.

2011 Multi-Ad Peoria Chiefs Minor League Baseball Elliot Soto #24 - this longtime minor leaguer's MLB cup of coffee came with the 2020 Angels.