An old friend who once owned and operated the minor league Utica (N.Y.) Blue Sox, recently sent me a card set that his team issued back in 2000.
        The set includes  Miguel Cabrera’s first-ever baseball card.
        I opened the pack and was immediately struck by how young Cabrera looked, his bat cocked in the classic sideline batting pose.
        I was struck by how skinny he looked, too.
        The card lists Cabrera’s weight at 203. He looks lighter than that. The 2008 Tigers media guide lists Cabrera’s weight as 240.
        The card lists Cabrera’s height as 6-foot-1. Today, he stands 6-foot-4.
        There are no statistics on the back of the card. The Utica Blue Sox were Cabrera’s second professional team in his first season after signing with the Florida Marlins for a then-record $1.8 million bonus on July 2, 1999.
        Cabrera only played eight games at Class A Utica at the end of the year after being promoted from the Gulf Coast League Marlins, where he led all shortstops -- that’s right, shortstops -- in fielding while batting .260.
        Cabrera hit just .250 at Utica, the lowest average of his professional career. Three years later, he was in the big leagues with the Marlins.
        The set also includes current Tigers set-up man Denny Bautista’s rookie card, too, as well as that of San Diego Padres star Adrian Gonzalez.
        At the time, in 2000, Bautista, was an up-and-coming young pitcher in the Marlins’ organization, as highly regarded _ if not higher _ than Cabrera. The two became close friends.
        Next summer, the Oakland County Cruisers -- formerly known as the Slippery Rock Sliders -- are scheduled to commence play in Waterford in the independent Frontier League.
        I wonder how many future major league stars we will find in their card sets.