2005 Just 9 Beckett Inserts

Set Size: 9 cards

Design Notes: A player photo appears inside a giant number 9, with the word "JUST" overlaid on the left side. The bottom contains the player's name, position, team logo, and the MiLB logo. The backs use a similar design and include prior year statistics.

Parallels and Similars: None known.

Distribution: Uncut sheets of the nine-card set were included in an issue of Beckett magazine in 2005. The cards are perforated and can be easily separated into individual cards.

Thoughts: I like the idea of free cards and exclusive promos, though like most Just issues the design isn't exactly eye-catching, with a lot of empty white space. The photo is pretty uninteresting as well. Felix Hernandez is the first card in the set, though an intact sheet can be had for $6 or so on eBay.

2008 TriStar Projections Yellow

Set Size: 400 cards

Design Notes: A player photo stands out over a yellow-tinted picture of a baseball, with his name in gold foil near the bottom. His minor league team logo appears at the bottom. The cards are licensed by MiLB and carry the Pro Debut logo.

Parallels and Similars: TriStar Projections contains a base set, with four colored parallels (green #/50, purple #/1, orange #/5, and yellow #/25) in regular and "Reflectives" versions (same print runs as the regular versions). All ten of these sets have autograph partial parallels. Plus, there are four printing plate colors.

Distribution: Yellows are numbered out of 25 and are randomly seeded in packs. Despite the high number of total parallels, any retail packs from TriStar tend to contain virtually no parallels as they're seeded quite highly in hobby boxes. For a chance at parallel and autograph cards, collectors should buy hobby.

Thoughts: TriStar minor league products never really stood out (other than Obak), but minor league cards rarely do. TriStar and similar minor league products are purely autograph products for prospectors hoping to make money when players break into the major leagues, with base cards tossed in. On the other hand, it's a quality card with a nice clean design, perfect for autograph hunters to use (with the right pen) when seeking autographs down on the farm. The white backgrounds will show nice signatures well.

2005 Just Autographs

Set size: 70 cards

Front Design: A color photo is placed on the left side of the horizontal-format card, beneath which is the player's name and team. The right side of the card has the Just Minors logo and the team's logo in grey.

Back Design: A cropped version of the front photo is in a gold frame in the upper left, and the color team logo and player's name is beneath. Biographical and prior-year statistics are on the right.

Parallels and Similars: Several, including printing plates, autographs, colored parallels, and glossy parallels with colored parallels. Most, if not all of those parallels are distinguished by serial numbering.

Distribution: Cards were sold in pack form - four cards per pack including one autograph, and twelve packs per box.

Thoughts: As with other Just Minors products, the focus is on the autographs, so the card design here leaves plenty of room to put the autograph sticker with not much effort put into the design. In fact, it follows some of the same basic principles as another recent set featured here: 2004 Justifiable. It's not surprising that Just Minors has moved away from trading cards to releasing autographed and game-used full memorabilia items. To see an autographed version of this card, see this post.

2004 Justifiable

Set size: 90 cards

Front Design: A diamond-shaped player photo with a white border sits over a light-black (wouldn't that be grey?) team logo. The bottom of the card has the Just logo, followed by the player's name, position, and team in a wide black-bordered diamond.

Back Design: The front photo and diamond crop is repeated on the back with a gold border; the player's name is in the upper left and card number in the upper right. Just beneath the photo is his biographical information and the only notation as to the set, followed by prior minor league statistics.

Parallels and Similars: There are three colored parallels, four printing plates, and four autograph parallels to this base set.

Distribution: Each set-box of Justifiable included one complete set, while foil packs were also distributed.

Thoughts: The Just Minors products focus on autographs of minor league players, so there isn't too much effort put into base set design, as you can tell. There's plenty of room on the front for the autograph sticker, and space on the back for serial numbering. Like most Donruss issues of 2004-2005, the set is an afterthought to the autograph checklist.

1991 Classic/Best Gold Bonus

Set size: 20 cards

Front Design: The white-bordered cards have a dashed line leading from the Classic/Best logo in the upper left corner to the player's name, in gold foil at the bottom. In the bottom border is the team name and player's position.

Back Design: The backs have a thin black frame and the player's major league affiliate logo as a background. The top row has the card number (BC prefix), the player's name in a red oval, and position. Following are the player's biographical stats, prior professional statistics, and information on how the player was acquired. The bottom of the vertical cards have the Classic/Best logo, MLB logo, and minor league team logo.

Parallels and Similars: This set is in the same design as the regular 1991 Classic/Best set.

Distribution: Cards were inserted one per jumbo pack of the Classic/Best minor league full set.

Thoughts: In 1991, only a few sets had gold foil: Stadium Club was the first major issue full set, and the Desert Storm parallel of Topps' flagship issue had a gold foil stamp. 1991 Leaf had an insert with gold foil, and a few of the 1991 Bowman cards had a small gold foil stamp. So this set ranks up there with some of the more "innovative" issues of the year. There are some players in the set that became successful at the major league level, including Ivan Rodriguez, Jim Thome, and Arthur Rhodes. Mike Schmidt, hardly a minor leaguer, is card number 1 in the set.

1980 Columbus Astros TCMA

Set size: 22 cards

Front Design: The cards have a red border around a black and white photo. The player's name and position are in a white band beneath the photo, with the team name in white beneath that. A sponsorship logo for McDonalds is placed to the right of the team name.

Back Design: The backs use the same wavy curved-edge design as the prior year, with an advertisement for TCMA at the bottom. The rest of the card has the team and league name, as well as player's biographical data and prior year statistics, all in blue ink. The manager's card, shown, eliminates most of the information, instead placing an advertisement for McDonalds in the middle of the card.

Parallels and Similars: All 1980 TCMA cards have the same design. Some team sets used color photos instead of black and white. Note that this card is a reprint; the white border on the card front and the use of black ink on the back are giveaways. This card was reprinted by TCMA for use in a collector's kit in the mid- to late-1980s.

Distribution: Team sets were sold through the Columbus Astros, and were available through TCMA and hobby channels.

Thoughts: The Columbus Astros played in Golden Park, a historic stadium that never seemed to draw crowds. The team became the Mudcats in 1989, and in 1991 moved to North Carolina. While I never saw the Columbus Astros play, I have seen a couple games in Golden Park, when the Catfish played through the 2008 season. They moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2009, and became the Hot Rods. As for the cards, they are about as plain as they can be. This is the end of my TCMA posting spree. I am so glad to be finished with this group (though I'm glad to have them in my collection) and now I can move on to more varied releases.

1981 Wausau Timbers TCMA

Set size: 29 cards

Front Design: The very basic design has a black and white photo inside a rounded red border, with a white band across the bottom containing the player's name and position in black.

Back Design: The backs duplicate the rounded border, surrounding the player's name, position, team and league names, biographical information and prior year statistics (when available). The bottom of the horizontal backs has a black band with an advertisement for TCMA cards.

Parallels and Similars: All 1981 TCMA minor league sets have the same design. Some team sets were issued with color photos; those have black borders and red printing (the opposite of this design).

Distribution: Team sets were sold by TCMA, through hobby dealers, and through the team.

Thoughts: Ivan Calderon might be the most well-known of the minor leaguers included in the collectors set this card was reprinted for. He had a respectable .272 career batting average over 10 seasons, and was an All-Star in 1991. Sadly, Calderon was murdered in 2003 in his home country.

These TCMA cards are almost done! One more tomorrow, and it's back to major league releases!

1979 Tacoma Tugs TCMA

Set size: 26 cards

Front Design: The color photos have a thin black border. The player's name and position are beneath the photo in a yellow band; the cards have white borders.

Back Design: A wavy design holds the card number at the top and a TCMA advertisement at the bottom. The player's name, biographical information, and prior year statistics usually fill the remaining space. The backs are printed in black ink only.

Parallels and Similars: All 1979 TCMA minor league sets have the same issue. This card is most likely a TCMA reprint inserted into a collectors set in the 1980s; the only distinction for this issue may be lower-quality printing on this reprint.

Distribution: Complete team sets were sold through TCMA, dealers, and the Tugs.

Thoughts: One of the best names for a baseball team didn't last for too long. They were the Tugs for only one year, between several names based on their associations (Giants, Cubs, Yankees, Twins, and Tigers); they're now known as the Rainiers and are affiliated with the Mariners. The logo wasn't too impressive - the T has an anchor laid over it - which may have hurt the marketing. Granted, 1979 wasn't a good year to market a minor league team, as they were viewed as afterthoughts for small towns that weren't good enough for a major league team.

Additional Links: Matthew has the #5 card from this set, where you can see the darker, bolder inks on an original printing, over at Number 5 Type Collection.

1980 Waterbury Reds TCMA

Set size: 22 cards

Front Design: The red bordered cards have a black and white photo inside a rounded frame. The bottom of the card has a white band with the player's name and position in black; the team name is beneath the band in white letters.

Back Design: The blue and white backs use the same layout as the prior year, with a curving black band framing a TCMA advertisement at the bottom, and the player's name, position, team, league, biographical information, and prior year statistics above.

Parallels and Similars: All 1980 TCMA minor league sets have the same design, and some of the other issues released by TCMA that year have a similar layout. Note that my card above has a white border and a black-and-white back, indicating it was reprinted by TCMA for inclusion in a collector kit later in the decade. Original cards have blue backs, and the red border goes to the edge of the card. Some team sets (other than the Waterbury Reds) were issued in color, though the design is the same.

Distribution: The team sets were sold through TCMA, hobby channels, and team stores.

Thoughts: The black and white photos don't look good surrounded by the red borders. The color cards look a little better. I wonder if Tom Foley was such a bad infielder in the minor leagues that they let him play his position with the batting cage behind him in every game. Foley ended up playing 13 seasons in the majors.

Additional Links: Number 5 Type Collection has images of the non-reprint card #5 (Paul Herring) and a bit on the team.

1981 Wisconsin Rapids Twins TCMA

Set size: 23 cards

Front Design: A red rectangular border with curved corners holds a vertical black and white photo and a white band at the bottom with the player's name and position in black.

Back Design: The horizontal backs are black and white, with a rectangular border holding the team logo, player's name and position, and vital statistics. A big black box across the bottom has an advertisement for TCMA sets.

Parallels and Similars: 1981 TCMA minor league sets all have this design. It looks like some sets use black and white photos and others use color photos. I recall finding information a while back (I can't recall where) showing that TCMA gave teams a choice between the two. Color sets use black borders with red text instead of the red borders with black text seen above.

Distribution: Team sets were sold through TCMA, hobby channels, and minor league teams themselves.

Thoughts: This issue is a step backwards for TCMA, with an extremely uninspired design and no stats - the 1979 sets had stats, even if they were quite limited. That said, I like the inclusion of the team logo on the back. It would have been better on the front, in color, with a color photo, but this is an early 1980s minor league team set, so I can't expect much.

1979 Tidewater Tides TCMA

Set size: 25 cards

Front Design: A thin black frame surrounds the color photo, with a sine-wave line at the bottom separating the yellow-background box containing the player's name and position. The top corners of the black frame are rounded inside the white borders.

Back Design: The wave pattern continues vertically along the left side of the card, ending in a black banner at the bottom above a TCMA advertisement. The rest of the card back contains the player's vitals and very basic 1978 statistics.

Parallels and Similars: All 1979 TCMA team sets follow this same design.

Distribution: About 4000 sets were made, some of which went to the team to be distributed as they wish. The rest were sold directly by TCMA and through hobby channels.

Thoughts: Despite the relatively basic design, this layout is more appealing than many of the 1980s issues TCMA released. I'm wondering - do any professional baseball players wear stirrup socks anymore?

Additional Links: Matthew at Number 5 Type Collection doesn't have the Jeff Reardon from this set yet, but he's featured several other team sets issued in 1979 by TCMA.

1986 Jackson Mets TCMA

Set size: 27 cards

Front Design: The fuchsia border surrounds a color photo of the player, with his team name beneath the photo in the border. A black band at the bottom of the card holds the player's name and position.

Back Design: The plain backs have the team and league names, followed by the player's name, jersey number, and position. Vitals and prior year statistics follow. A sponsorship for Mallette's, a sports card shop, is in the middle, with a TCMA advertisement in a banner at the bottom of the card.

Parallels and Similars: All 1986 TCMA minor league team sets have this design.

Distribution: Cards were sold through team stores, hobby means, and TCMA. I'm sure Mallette's got a nice handful for sponsoring the team.

Thoughts: This authorized reprint meant for inclusion with a collectors kit seems to differ only by the banner at the bottom of the card back: this banner is black and white, while I think banners on original cards have a green tint. Thankfully, this is the last of my 1986 TCMAs for a while, but I have some late-70s/early-80s to wrap up over the next week. Mike Santiago is the only player in the group of 1986 cards that doesn't seem to have made the majors, despite having an acceptable record. In fact, he never got past AA Jackson, despite having a 1.86 record in 1987 as a reliever.

1986 Omaha Royals TCMA

Set size: 25 cards

Front Design: A rectangular purple border outlined in black surrounds a colored photo, with the team name in the bottom of the border. A black banner across the bottom of the card holds the player's name an team name.

Back Design: The plain backs contain the team and league names, followed by the player's name and biographical stats. His prior year statistics follow. A banner advertising TCMA cards sits across the bottom of the card.

Parallels and Similars: All 1986 TCMA minor league issues have this design.

Distribution: Cards were sold through TCMA, the team, and hobby channels such as stores and shows.

Thoughts: I ended up with four different team's reprints from this 1986 set in the lot I purchased from the collectors sets. That is a lot of bright colors. Schuler is an interesting card to reprint, because at the time of this printing, his rookie year was about six years in the past. He was never too successful a pitcher in the majors, and 1985 was his last year in the majors. He would go on to coach for a few teams after retiring.

1986 Jacksonville Expos TCMA

Set size: 26 cards

Front Design: The photo is inside a fuchsia border with black edges; the player's team is beneath the photo in the border. A black band at the bottom of the card has the player's name and position.

Back Design: The white backs have black text with the team and league names, player's name and vitals, and statistics. An advertisement for Golden Glove, a sports card store, is beneath the stats; a dark green banner advertising TCMA minor league sets is at the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: All 1986 TCMA sets have the same design.

Distribution: TCMA sets were sold complete through the manufacturer, hobby channels, and the team.

Thoughts: This card is most likely a reprint that was packaged with a collectors set issued by TCMA. The regular cards appear to have a greenish tint to the banner on the back, while this one is black. The very plain design on the front is the least-creative of all the TCMA minor league issues I'm familiar with, and the use of fuchsia in the border is an odd choice. John Trautwein was pretty much a flop in the majors, and even his minor league record wasn't too goo, but around the time printing was one on the reprint issue, he was probably a fairly promising prospect.

1986 Albany Colonie Yankees TCMA

Set size: 32 cards

Front Design: The white bordered cards have a photo contained in a purple frame with black inner and outer edges; the team name appears beneath the photo in the frame. A black bar across the bottom of the car has the player's name and team.

Back Design: The backs follow the same basic TCMA layout as prior years, with the team and league, followed by the player's name, position, biography, and prior-year statistics. A TCMA advertisement banner is at the bottom of the card.

Parallels and Similars: All 1986 TCMA team sets have this design, and this card is a reprint used for a collector set - the TCMA banner on the back is black, while I believe original issues had the banner printed in a dark green ink.

Distribution: Team sets were sold by TCMA, through hobby dealers, and through the team itself.

Thoughts: Purple is an interesting choice for a trading card border. There isn't much to the design here - even less than in prior years. Prior to owning this card, I was unaware of a team in Albany-Colonie (which, really, is two different cities side by side; the team played in Colonie but Albany is the bigger city). The stadium was located right next to the airport but was demolished a couple years ago - all that remains is an empty field and some blacktop.

1985 Durham Bulls TCMA

Set size: 31 cards

Front Design: The photo is surrounded by a thin black border, while the rest of the card is blue, with the team name across the top and the player's name and position sideways on the left side.

Back Design: Team and league names and the player's name, position, and jersey number are at the top, followed by vital statistics and 1984 stats. The bottom half of the card contains local sponsor logos and a TCMA advertisement banner.

Parallels and Similars: 1985 TCMA cards all carry the same design. Note that this card is a reprint, used in collector starter sets, and can be easily distinguished from regular 1985 TCMA cards by the white border.

Distribution: Team sets were sold through TCMA, hobby channels, and the team itself.

Thoughts: Not all TCMA sets contain sponsor logos, which in my mind add a bit of local flavor to an otherwise nonspecific team issue. Assenmacher is another player who made the majors, which most likely explains all the players who were reprinted - recent callups. He had a decent career, though it mainly came in on-save relief.

1985 Richmond Braves TCMA

Set size: 26 cards

Front Design: The blue-bordered cards have the player's name and position sideways along the left border, and the team name across the top. The photo is surrounded by a thin black frame.

Back Design: The backs are black on white, with the team and league names at the top, followed by the player's name, position, and jersey number. The vitals and 1984 stats are followed by sponsor logos and a TCMA banner advertisement.

Parallels and Similars: All 1985 TCMA minor league sets follow this design. Note that my example is a reprint most likely distributed with collector sets issued in the 1980s. The reprint is distinguished easiest by the white border seen in the scan - originals do not contain the white border. Several TCMA cards were reprinted (many of which I have featured on this blog), but usually there are only a few cards from any given year, and no more than one from any team.

Distribution: Cards were sold in team set form through TCMA, hobby means, and teams themselves.

Thoughts: This is one of TCMA's less attractive designs, with the blocky 45-degree angled borders and excessive use of capital letters on the front. On the other hand, I always appreciate a minor league set.

1985 Syracuse Chiefs TCMA

Set size: 31 cards

Front Design: The cards feature a blue border with the team name at the top, and the player's name and position sideways on the left. The color player photo is surrounded by a thin black frame. (Note: my card contains a white border as it was apparently reprinted by the company for use in a collecting kit.)

Back Design: The backs are black and white, with the team and league name at the top, followed by the player's name, position, and uniform number. Vitals and prior-year statistics follow, with a TCMA advertisement in a banner across the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: As noted, this card is part of the reprinted issue; real 1985 TCMA cards would have a blue border that reaches the edge of the card. All 1985 TCMA minor league sets follow the same design.

Distribution: The team sets were given to teams for sale or distribution at the ballpark; additional quantities were sold through hobby channels and the manufacturer. Approximately 3000 sets were made. The entire set was not subject to reprinting, and I believe only the Tom Filer card should be expected to be part of the reprinted cards.

Thoughts: The black border confines the image a bit more than necessary, as does the big cut taken out for the player's name. The card has about the same feel as any other TCMA issue in terms of design and quality.  I'm not sure why Tom Filer was chosen for reprint, except than he had a pretty good year with Toronto in 1985, going 7-0. He must have had an injury, because he didn't pitch anywhere in 1986 and 1987, and wasn't really successful when he returned in 1988. He's a coach with the Altoona Curve now, according to his sparse Wikipedia page.

1990 ProCards A and AA

Set size: 200 cards

Front Design: a neon orange background surrounds a wavy-cropped, red and white bordered photo and red box with the player's name, position, and team at the bottom. The ProCards logo appears in the upper left. (See Jason's comment below.)

Back Design: The backs are similar to most 1990 ProCards backs, with vitals and minor league statistics.

Parallels and Similars: None known. ProCards team sets feature a woodgrain plaque design, and the AAA sets have white or green borders.

Distribution: Cards were issued in packs and complete set form.

Thoughts: The bright colors make these easily found in most card stacks. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, given the number of players who didn't make the major leagues. There are several standouts in the set, though, including Frank Thomas and Jim Thome.

1990 Best Minor League

Set size: 324 cards

Front Design: A full-bleed photograph contains the player's name, team, and position overprinted in black or white in one of the corners. The end of the set contains "bonus cards" (notated on back, but also numbered sequentially in the set) with black borders and red triangles in the photo's corners.

Back Design: The backs contain a "frame" in black and faded pink, containing the player's name, position, vitals, career summary, and prior year statistics. There is space for an autograph at the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: None known, though the front design (or lack thereof) is somewhat similar to other issues - how many ways can you do "minimal" design? These cards are easily distinguished by the copyright information at the bottom. Note: Best team sets contain a completely different design with white borders.

Distribution: Cards were issued in packs of 12 through the hobby.

Thoughts: The lack of front design makes this set favorable, but the image quality and frequent use of posed shots mean the cards aren't as attractive as they could be. Some cards have action shots. For about $5, this would be a good addition to a collection. Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas (with a regular card and a bonus card) are the only major stars in the set (Luis Gonzalez, Bernie Williams and Ryan Klesko also make an appearance).