Minor league team sets are always some of my favorite items to add to my collection. The sets typically have 25-30+ cards in them, and while the top prospects are usually given top billing on the top of the team bags or snap cases, they usually hold all kinds of treasures inside.
After all, where else in the baseball card universe can you get such gems as this Gary Green? Nothing like middle aged men in tight pants stretching it out.
Wait, what?
So I was pretty surprised to see, at the very end of the team set, nestled in with the athletic trainer and pitching coach, local favorite Neil Walker. Right after him, a pre(first)-breakout Steve Pearce. A Ken Griffey San Bernardino card they are not, but they were a nice surprise in a couple team sets that were made almost entirely of guys who never reached AA.
Nice Pearce card! I went to high school with him in, and he was in my drafting class.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool. Despite being pretty large (my graduating class was almost 600), I don't know of a single person from any sport that went pro. I met Pearce a few times at different Pirate events, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
DeleteMinor league sets rock - the photo choices alone and not oft seen subjects like trainers and full coaching staffs seal that deal alone. Plus, it's always especially gratifying to pull a familiar name like Walker out of a stack of nobodies.
ReplyDeleteI love the minor league sets, though I've found it's tough to track down sets that are older than the last couple years. Sooooo many crazy photos, and I always like seeing the players that do make the majors as they progress through the farm system.
DeleteI always liked Pearce and happy he found some success. He could not catch a break in Pittsburgh.
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