2004 Mike Schmidt Redux

In 2004, Mike Schmidt became the first baseball Hall of Famer to agree to manage a minor league team: the Clearwater Threshers are the Phillies' Single A Florida State League affiliate. Outside of the 4 games Cole Hamels pitched for the Threshers, Schmidt was handed a team with virtually no prospects and finished with a 55-81 record. He resigned at the end of the season.

Minor Stars: Dave Parker

A couple of years ago I started creating and posting a series of cards branded Minor Stars. Over time, other projects turned my attention away, as a result, it has been a long time since I have posted one. That all changed this morning after I discovered this superb minor league image of the great Dave Parker.

Here is a 22 year old "Cobra" as a member of 1973 AAA Charleston (WV) Charlies:

This 1973 Charleston team was managed by former Red Sox manager Joe Morgan and stacked with future major leaguers including Art Howe, Ed Ott, Bruce Kison and Frank Taveras. Interesting to note that Parker wasn't the most productive power hitter on the team, as the late Tony Solaita led the team in home-runs, RBIs, and OPS.

Minor stars: Hunter Pence x2

It has been a while since I have made a Minor Stars post. With the excitement surrounding Hunter Pence wearing a Phillies uniform -- I thought it might be fun to show off a couple of images I made of him as he was working his way through the Astros minor league system.

Hunter spent all of 2006 with the AA Corpus Christi Hooks. He finished the season with a .890 OPS, hit 28 home runs and drove in 95 runs. That season he was selected to play in the mid-season All Star Futures Game. He was also selected by Baseball America as a Minor League All-Star and named to the Arizona Fall League All-Prospect Team.

In 2007, after he made a serious run at making the ML roster in spring training, Pence started the season as a member of the AAA Round Rock Express. His time in the Pacific Coast League was short lived, after 25 games he was called up to Houston.

Minor stars: DiamondBacks

Continuing the theme I started last weekend with the players the Phillies are playing against, Here are a couple of current Arizona DBacks I have shot over the last few years when they were in the minors.

Minor stars: Padres

Watching the Phils play the Padres this weekend has made me realize that I have seen (and photographed) many of these San Diego Padres play in the minor leagues with other franchises.

Cameron Maybin with the Tigers

Jorge Cantu with the Rays

Brad Hawpe with the Rockies

Chad Qualls with the Astros

Minor stars: Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman

Minor Stars: Reid Brignac

Jason Castro double play

I took this one at the 2008 College World Series.

I took this one in Round Rock in 2010 before he was called up to the Astros.

I had hoped that I would be able to complete the Jason Castro "triple play" this season when I go to Houston to shoot the Astros, but thanks to a serious knee injury this spring, I will have to wait for 2012.

Minor Stars: Carl Crawford

I took this picture of a young Carl Crawford at the 2001 AA All Star game in Round Rock, Texas. I had completely forgotten about it until I started this minor league series.

Minor Stars: Kendrys Morales

I learned something amazing about Morales this week as I was looking up information on him. He escaped from Cuba on a raft in June 2004, it was his 12th attempt at escape. 11 failed attempts and he still had enough passion for one more. Incredible. Before you ask... Yes, his first name is correct.

Also, that is Astros backup catcher Humberto Quintero blocking the plate.

He was out.

Minor stars: Marlon Byrd x2

Before he was an All-Star with the Cubs, Marlon Bryd kicked around the minors with the Phillies, Nationals, and Rangers.

Minor stars: John Buck and Prince Fielder

I have decided to create a new custom card template to show off some of my minor league images. I have been photographing minor league baseball since 2002 and have captured many current big leaguers. The template is based loosely on the 1983 Topps design. I am a big fan of logo artwork, so wanted to include the logo of the minor league team. Let me know what you think.

The first two submissions: John Buck and Prince Fielder: