At the same time, I’m also keeping my eyes open for cards that I can easily connect to my travel adventures. Perhaps it’s a certain player I saw live or a team I watched in their home ballpark. Pulling these cards, even if they have little to no financial value, is a win for me because of the memories they conjure up. This can particularly be true when I open minor league cards, given how many MiLB ballparks I’ve visited over the years. Recently, I opened a hobby box of 2018 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball, and its contents didn’t disappoint — even if I didn’t pull a card that retails for more than a few bucks.
I thought it’d be fun to choose one notable card from each of the 18 packs and offer a brief explanation of why that card stands out to me.
Pack 1: Carter Kieboom (Potomac Nationals)
A photo card with a facsimile autograph of Fernando Tatis Jr. got my heart pumping for a moment, but my favorite card in the first pack of the box features shortstop Carter Kieboom with the now-defunct Potomac Nationals. I made just one visit to Potomac’s “memorable” G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium; I say it’s memorable because this is easily the worst affiliated facility I’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoyed the experience, largely because of how unique it was, but this ballpark was more akin to a neighborhood/community baseball field than a High-A MiLB park. Aluminum bleachers, no walkaround concourse, virtually no shade, and unfriendly signage didn’t do much to enhance the gameday experience for fans. Still, I’m glad to have experienced this facility, the likes of which won’t be seen again in the minor leagues.
Pack 2: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (New Hampshire Fisher Cats)
This pack featured a number of teams I’ve seen in action, but nothing stands out as much as card #3 — one that depicts Toronto star (and new $500-million man) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in his New Hampshire Fisher Cats uniform. I’ve seen Vladdy in Toronto on several occasions, and have pleasant memories of also watching him in Buffalo about a week before he made his major league debut. Apart from Vladdy, I always smile when I see a Fisher Cats uniform. The team’s Delta Dental Stadium is, hands down, one of my very favorite MiLB facilities. (There are many reasons for this, including the on-site hotel that I’ve written about many times over the years.) This is one card that’ll hold a special spot in my collection.
Pack 3: Luis Garcia (Hagerstown Suns)
I hate to once again bring up a defunct MiLB club, but given that this set was released before MiLB’s 2021 contraction, there are plenty of cards that feature teams that are no longer in operation. One such team is the Hagerstown Suns. When I look at the card of infielder Luis Garcia, I immediately remember the fun I had at Hagerstown’s Municipal Stadium in 2011. That evening was all about the then-18-year-old prospect Bryce Harper — who has since won a pair of National League MVP titles. Although Harper wasn’t in action on the night I visited, I enjoyed observing the buzz he created throughout the ballpark. And, best of all, I managed to track him down in the parking lot after the game and get his autograph on a baseball I’d snagged earlier on my trip.
Pack 4: Ryan Mountcastle (Bowie Baysox)
This is a pack that wasn’t all that riveting for me, but I can’t complain about this card that features current Orioles infielder Ryan Mountcastle suiting up for the Bowie Baysox at the age of 20. Bowie has since rebranded to the Chesapeake Baysox, which I think is an improvement. I’ve seen the franchise in action three times over the years, including at home in 2011. I remember three prominent things from that day: I snagged a batting practice baseball behind the outfield fence and then got yelled at by a member of the grounds crew; I had an outstanding Old Bay pretzel; and it was team photo day, so I got the whole team to sign my baseball in the concourse before the game. Good times.
Pack 5: Leody Taveras (Down East Wood Ducks)
I’ve seen all but one of the teams featured in this pack at home, so it was hard to narrow down my favorite card. While the card that features Tim Tebow in a Binghamton Rumble Ponies uniform is cool, I have to choose the first card in the pack — one that depicts Leody Taveras in the Down East Wood Ducks leafy camouflage alternate jersey. (Another defunct team, boo!) I was fortunate to see the Woodies, as they were commonly known, in their second-last season prior to the franchise rebranding and relocating from North Carolina to South Carolina. The entire evening was perfect — tasty barbecue and drinks, watching the game from numerous vantage points, and snagging a home run baseball to cap things off. Kinston’s Grainger Stadium really impressed me, and while it no longer hosts affiliated baseball, I’d love to return for another game.
Pack 6: Mike Baumann (Delmarva Shorebirds)
The Delmarva Shorebirds will forever hold a special place in my heart, so the card featuring pitcher Mike Baumann in the team’s white jersey with orange and black accents is my favorite card in this pack. If you’ve been reading my posts for a long time, you might recall that during a 2011 visit to Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, I retrieved a baseball that was hit by Delmarva’s Jeremy Nowak. The baseball turned out to be his first South Atlantic League home run. I returned the ball to him, we became friends, and I even attended his wedding. It will forever be one of my very favorite baseball stories, so whenever the Shorebirds cross my mind, I think back to this memorable tale that began on a hot, humid evening in 2011.
Pack 7: Ryan Vilade (Asheville Tourists)
I’ve been lucky to get to all 10 of North Carolina’s MiLB ballparks in recent years, but I see Asheville’s McCormick Field as the one that kind of got away. That’s because the game I was scheduled to see at this historic venue was rained out. I still spent a couple of hours walking around the park and taking in the sights, but I never got to see a single pitch thrown. One day, I’ll surely get back to Asheville — a town that I quite enjoyed checking out when it wasn’t pouring — and spend a game or two at McCormick. The card that features shortstop Ryan Vilade in his eye-catching blue Tourists jersey is a reminder of my need to return to Western North Carolina.
Pack 8: Justin Williams (Durham Bulls)
If you’re no stranger to this blog, you’ll know that I love taking in games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. This means that it was a no-brainer for me to highlight the card that features outfielder Justin Williams in his white Bulls uni. I’ve seen games at DBAP four times since 2019, and it’s one of the parks that I’ll never tire of visiting. Seeing the jersey and helmet on this card makes me think of the warm North Carolina evening air, enjoying the bird’s-eye view atop the 32-foot Blue Monster in left field, taking a scenic stroll around the park’s top-notch 360-degree concourse, and watching the sunset from the concourse high above the first base line.
Pack 9: Dylan Cozens (Lehigh Valley IronPigs)
I was excited to see another Fisher Cats card — this one, featuring infielder Cavan Biggio — but I’ll highlight the final card in the pack. It belongs to outfielder Dylan Cozens, whose name always amuses me because there’s also a Dylan Cozens who plays in the National Hockey League. Anyway, the baseball-playing Cozens is suited up for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, who play at the impressive Coca-Cola Park. It’s a park I’ve only visited twice over the years, and I often think of how I want to return before too much more time passes. Coca-Cola Park is just about perfect — a true major league feel at a Triple-A facility. (And, to pay homage to the team’s name, lots of bacon-related products are available at the concession stands.) Maybe 2025 will be the year I return.
Pack 10: Michael Kopech (Charlotte Knights)
I have to tip my cap to the Michael Kopech card in this pack, as he’s depicted as a member of the Charlotte Knights. Charlotte’s Truist Field is another of my favorite MiLB ballparks, in large part due to the absolutely sensational view it offers from behind home plate. If I had to make a choice, I prefer it to the view at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, but I suppose that’s a debate for another day. You can see some of the Uptown Charlotte skyline in the background of this card’s image, which is a nice touch. I have a magnet on the filing cabinet beside my desk that shows the view from Truist Field, so it’s a sight that’s never too far out of my mind.
Pack 11: Jeisson Rosario (Fort Wayne TinCaps)
With players from several teams I’ve seen — including the Rochester Red Wings, Erie Seawolves, and West Virginia Power — the 11th pack in this box gave me plenty of choices. I’ve opted to highlight the pack’s first card, which features outfielder Jeisson Rosario from the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Anyone who has visited Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field knows that it’s one of the top facilities in the minor leagues. Regrettably, I’ve only been there once, but it was a night I still fondly recall. A memorable private tour of the ballpark from the team’s GM, a great game-used bat for my collection, and a delicious serving of apple crisp out of a TinCaps batting helmet cup were some highlights from my evening in Fort Wayne back in 2011. The icing on the cake for this card is that Rosario is holding a Sam Bat maple bat; I’ve been lucky to tour the Sam Bat factory twice over the years, and was even gifted a replica Barry Bonds bat after my first visit. If you look carefully, you’ll even notice the maple leaf on the knob of his bat, which represents how Sam Bat is a Canadian company.
Pack 12: Cionel Perez (Corpus Christi Hooks)
For this pack, the easy choice is the card of pitcher Cionel Perez, shown as a member of the Corpus Christi Hooks. I’m always pleased to have a reason to think of this franchise. Not only does it have one of my favorite MiLB logos, but I also fondly remember my 2016 visit to this Texas city, which sits on the Gulf of Mexico. I was thoroughly impressed by Whataburger Field, which I visited twice — once for a game, and once for a game that ended up getting rained out. On top of the fun I had at the ballpark, I loved taking in the warm, humid sea air as I walked on the beach, toured the U.S.S. Lexington Museum just a short distance from the ballpark, and walked past numerous shrimp boats moored at docks near my hotel.
Pack 13: Corey Ray (Biloxi Shuckers)
A handful of the cards in the 13th pack conjure up travel memories for me, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t draw attention to the box’s first hit. (In this case, however, “hit” could appear in quotation marks.) It’s a memorabilia card that features a jersey swatch from Corey Ray of the Biloxi Shuckers. I haven’t yet visited Biloxi, although I once had a trip planned that I had to cancel. The orange jersey swatch caught my attention because the Shuckers don’t wear orange apparel. I did a little digging, and I feel confident that the swatch is from Ray’s 2017 MLB Futures Game jersey, which was orange with black sleeves. He earned a spot in the game midway through his solid campaign with the Carolina Mudcats, his team before he joined the Shuckers.
Pack 14: Hunter Greene (Dayton Dragons)
Hunter Greene, who was drafted second overall by Cincinnati in 2017, was once a prospect who got a lot of buzz because of his triple-digit fastball. He spent one minor league season with the Midwest League’s Dayton Dragons, and that’s the uniform he’s wearing on this card. I spent a day in Dayton in 2013, sandwiched between days in Columbus and Louisville. Dayton, which is known for having a sellout streak that spans well over 1,000 consecutive games, has a nice ballpark that didn’t blow me away, but that provided a pleasant evening’s experience on a fun baseball trip.
Pack 15: Randy Arozarena (Memphis Redbirds)
Randy Arozarena has earned several accolades in his big league career, but in 2018, he was a member of the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds and still a year removed from his first taste of The Show. I haven’t yet seen the Redbirds at home — although I had a Tennessee trip booked in 2020, and we know how that year turned out — but I have seen Arozarena in action with the team. The game in question was the 2018 Triple-A Championship Game, which was held in Columbus. Attending this game had been on my baseball bucket list for years, and I was glad to finally check it off in ’18 on the way home from spending three days in Milwaukee.
Pack 16: Sean Murphy (Midland RockHounds)
A few days after I was in Corpus Christi in 2016, my trip through Texas continued with a couple of days in Midland. For this reason, I’m highlighting the Sean Murphy card in this pack. Murphy wasn’t a member of the RockHounds when I saw them in action at home; he played parts of the following two seasons with them. I easily remember my Midland visit. It rained on the first day, resulting in a postponement of the game I’d planned to attend. That wasn’t terrible, as it was the seventh day of my road trip and afforded me a bit of downtime. And, even better, it meant I’d get to attend a doubleheader the following day, and it was a blast to spend so many hours at the ballpark. I was one of just a handful of fans during the first few innings of the first game, giving me about as close to the experience of an empty ballpark as I’ll probably ever get.
Pack 17: Ryan Borucki (Buffalo Bisons)
The best card in this pack is a blue parallel (numbered to 99) of outfielder Brent Rooker, who was a Silver Slugger Award winner for Oakland in 2024. The card that best makes me think of my travel adventures, however, is a base card of pitcher Ryan Borucki of the Buffalo Bisons. I’ve visited Buffalo’s ballpark (once known as Coca-Cola Field, now called Sahlen Field) four times over the years, and I’ve seen the Bisons as the visiting team on several other occasions. For most of the years that I’ve been traveling, the Bisons have been affiliated with the Blue Jays, which automatically makes them one of the teams I enjoy following. Sahlen Field is another park for which I’m well overdue a return visit.
Pack 18: Jordan Humphries (St. Lucie Mets)
I had to wait until the last pack of the box to pull an autograph, and it’s worth noting here. It’s an autograph card of St. Lucie Mets pitcher Jordan Humphreys. He’s no longer in pro baseball, which makes this card a little underwhelming, but I’m happy with the look of the card and always appreciate pulling an auto. It’s a bit of a stretch for me to draw any connection to St. Lucie or Humphreys, though; I’ve yet to visit this Florida State League city, and I don’t think I ever saw Humphreys in action during his career. The best I can do is note that I’ve enjoyed several past and present Mets affiliates over the years, including Buffalo, Syracuse, and Binghamton.
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