Minor League Baseball Cards: Knocked Out of Bunch, But Many Remain
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Unless you are one of the three people who read my blog, you might not know that one of my central collecting focuses on Cleveland Minor League baseball cards. This includes the team sets from the organization’s affiliates and the first cards (normally MiLB) of notable players who have put on a big league uniform in Cleveland. I have 60 team sets and 248 single cards, so it’s a nice little collection. Of course, with rumors of Fanatics putting the screws to team sets, who knows how much of a future this collection holds. But it can get in line with the rest of the hobby falling apart around me.
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Over the last couple of months, I have managed to get many of the Guard’s new players:
-2022 Jupiter Hammerheads #26 Khalil Watson
-2022 Choice Bowling Green Hot Rods #14 Kyle Manzardo
-2007 Grandstand Princeton Devil Rays #43 Matt Moore
-1990 Diamond Cards Tampa Yankees #25 Shane Spencer
-1997 Best San Antonio Missions #15 Alex Cora
-2007 Winston Salem Dash #4 Zack Collins
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Most were easy. Shane Spencer took a while since his set also included the first card of HOF closer Mariano Rivera, so finding someone selling a single of just Spencer took some time. Cora’s card was tough to find, but I was able to get this signed version rather cheaply. I normally prefer unsigned, but I will take what I can get on these rare cards.
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But, it seems like I am starting to hit a wall, and certain holes in my collection are getting…tough…to fill. There are a couple of Akron sets from the mid-2000s that are a challenge, as well as some mid-2010 Lynchburg sets. When it comes to singles, there are more than a couple that have eluded me. The big ones are:
-1984 Spokane Indians Newspaper #22 Sandy Alomar Jr. (YEARS looking, and I have never seen one for sale)
-2005 Grandstand Everett AquaSox #15 Luis Valbuena
-2014 Greenville Astros #15 Ramon Laureano
-2011 Bluefield Blue Jays #27 Noah Syndergaard