MINOR LEAGUE CARD INFO
Types
of Minor League Cards
Two types of minor league cards exist. The most common are Team Set Cards, which I specialize in. A team set is a group of
cards, usually about 25-30, representing most or all of the players who played
for a team in a particular year. So, for instance, you could buy a team set for
the 1998 Charleston Alleycats and expect to have cards of most Alleycat players
from that year. In recent years several
companies have specialized in producing minor league team sets – including
Multi-Ad, Grandstand, and Choice Marketing.
Team sets are sold by the teams themselves and by a few dealers who
specialize in selling them.
The other type of minor league cards are sometimes
called Wax Pack Cards, but are basically just any minor
league card not issued as part of a team set.
These may be sold in packs or sometimes as complete sets. They are often collections of “hot prospect”
type players or high draft pick players.
The first of these cards were issued in 1989. In recent years these companies have produced
wax pack minor league cards: Just Minors, Bowman, TriStar, and
Justifiable. I have a good selection of
wax pack cards from 1989 through 1995, but lost interest in them and have none
after 1996.
Who
Collects Minor League Cards?
My customers have quite varied collecting interests. I have many autograph collectors who enjoy getting
cards signed by players or coaches at the ball park, or sometimes by
mail. Many report that the players
really enjoy seeing their minor league cards – and sometimes ask the collector
to obtain additional cards for them.
I have a large contingent of customers who collect cards
of players who attended their college.
These “alumni collectors” are typically trying to obtain every card
issued of players from their alma mater – sometimes from all sports, sometimes
just baseball. As an alumni collector
myself (Colorado State
U.), I especially enjoy working with this group.
Other customers have these collecting interests:
Players from their state or local area.
Jewish Players
Cards of “star” or hot prospect players
Cards of players who are related to other players (often
father/sons or brothers).
All players who have played for a particular major or
minor league team.
Players with the same birth date as the collector.
All players whose first or last names begin with the
letter “Z”
Cards of personal friends or relatives.
I sell some cards to the players themselves.
Cards of players who are playing in Japan.
Players from other countries – I currently have
customers collecting cards of players from Canada, Italy, Holland, and Australia.