1980 TCMA HAWAII ISLANDERS

 

I generally don't collect minor league cards.  In the past I've simply turned my nose up to these, if only because they are...well...minor leaguers.  I came across this set online recently and threw in a $5 bid and to my surprise this 25 card set arrived on my doorstep not long ago.  The cards are in really great shape and the red border and white stripe add to the eye appeal.

Looking through the set, I began to recognize a few names.  Probably because a few of these players made the bigs and ended up on a real baseball card.  Craig Kusick is one player I remember because he played for the Twins and I pulled many of his cards from Topps packs.

Tim Flannery is another name I recognized.  I pulled way too many of his cards in the 80's.  He actually had a lengthy career with the Padres from 1979 - 1989.  Even though Tim appears in this set, according to this website he wasn't listed on the roster in 1980.  Perhaps it was because he split time between the minors and big league club.

This guy also made the majors but his career was pretty short compared to Flannery.  He played with the Padres, Mariners and Mets.  I don't remember pulling cards of him with the Mets.

Then there's this guy.  He's got a name that matches a few big leaguers but this Tony Castillo had a career that last a whopping 5 games.  While looking this player up I came across a nice little post by fellow blogger WTHBALLS. 

Here's a look at the backside of the card.  Very simple and not much to it.

If you were a manager, coach or trainer TCMA left a whole bunch of white space for you.

For me, the appeal of this set is looking into the history of these players and because the set was issued back in a time when I was actively buying packs of cards, its fun to make the big league connection for those players that made it (especially for a guy like Kusick who played with the Twins).

As I stated previously, I don't go out of my way to collect minor league cards, this was purely an impulse purchase.  However, should I chance upon another set I probably won't turn it down for $5.