It's Just in the Cards

Just Minors baseball cards closely resemble your father's baseball cards or the cards from your childhood. In an industry rife with technological advancement, simple in-action or portrait photographs on a medium card stock are the manufacturer's signature. Just has become a big hit with rookie card collectors because it offers debut cards of future major leaguers.

Just Minors is not competing with the major league baseball card manufacturers targeting investors. Company president, Scott Jordan, a career minor league baseball player who enjoyed a cup of coffee with the Cleveland Indians in 1988 (he has a 1998 Donruss rookie card), targets baseball fans at the grass-roots levels -- people who go to games, study the players, and collect baseball cards as a hobby.

The minor league manufactuer offers basic baseball cards with low production numbers and high-quality photography. You won't find any game-used memorabilia cards, bust most Just sets include autograph cards of the day's rising stars. Among players who have signed for Just are Alfonso Soriano, John Elway (he was drafted by the New York Yankees), and Joe Mauer.

Most minor league ball players are excellent autograph signers at the ballpark and through mail correspondence. Just cards are ideal for autograph seekers because they do not contain a high gloss surface that often smudge autographs. Red Sox collectors can expect pitching prospect Jon Papelbon, to respond to mail autograph requests within 10 days.

Just Stars, the first of three products to be released this year, will be released this month. The series will include the 30-card "Road to the Show" subset featuring Hanley Ramirez, the Florida Marlins top prospect, and Seattle Mariners 19-year-old minor league prospect Felix Hernandez, "the most anticipated pitching prospect since Dwight Gooden," according to Jordan. Because collectors can purchase directly from Just and avoid the secondary market, sets are very much affordable. For more information, click on www.justminors.com.