Four Years Late - Sending Free Cards, Finally!

 Back in 2020, I made a post that was meant to kick off the holiday season with surprise gifts for those who filled out the form. Well, that time came and went four times over. It is now 2024, and I am FINALLY in a place where I have been sorting, filing, and packing cards to be mailed out!

The photo above shows Dodgers being separated into boxes based on the number of folks who requested that team (There were 5 folks, for the record). Below, I have a handful of packages ready for shipping:

It's been a very slow process because I have WAAAAY more cards than I ever realized. The crazy thing are the years that these things cover - From about 1975 to 2024! Yes, there's a lot of Junk Wax era stuff. I am trying to not load the boxes down with those, though. Below, my team drawers for sorting all these cards:

I am trying not to put dupes in the mailers, but I am not promising anything. In fact, I know there are dupes of some just because I had so many of certain specific cards. Again, though, I am trying to limit dupes. 

These will be mailed out over the next few weeks as I sort and pack. I am excited for you to receive your packages! There are definitely some surprises in there that I didn't even remember having - autos, swatches, oddballs, and more! It has been a blast sorting these out for everyone!

So, Merry 12 Days of Christmas - about 4 years later!

Cards From Co-Workers

When you collect baseball cards, word gets around the workplace pretty quickly. Soon, colleagues ask about your collection, how long you've been collecting, what keeps you collecting, etc. And, yes, many give you the sideways glance of a disapproving parent.

Often, at least in my experience, they are quick to come to your for advice about cards they still have or cards their kids are collecting. "How much do you think this is worth?" "What do you think of these?" and other similar questions.

Sometimes, co-workers bring you a stack of cards and say, "I've had these for a long time and I don't collect. Would you like them?" I always take them. Always. It doesn't matter to me if the cards are worth $1 or $100. It doesn't matter if they are players I collect or players of whom I have never heard before. What matters is that this person thought enough of me and my hobby to offer something to help the cause or to find a new home for cardboard bits that were collecting dust. The cards in this post are just that: cards given to me by co-workers. Most of these will find their way into trades/giveaways, off to find a more permanent home.

The "Pudge" card came from my organization's Director. I'll keep that one, mainly because she understands what my hobby means to me and this was a very cool gesture. The other cards came from one co-worker, cleaning out her closets one day. They are all from 1987.

There are some very well-known folks in here: Jim Rice and Tony Gwynn jump off the scan from this first group. Am I the only one that thinks of the song "Come on Eileen" when coming across a Johnny Ray card? "Poor old Johnny Ray..." We also have Otis Nixon, Triber!

 The next scan finishes out the 87 Fleer with players like Oil Can Boyd, Cecil Cooper, Ron Guidry and more. These are the players of my youth - er, okay, I graduated High School in 87...

Next up, we have a stack (most likely a single pack) of 1987 Donruss. Dale Murphy, Tim Wallach, and Jorge Orta (former Triber) stand out for me. Which ones grab your memory?

Finally, we end things with some 1987 Topps. Again, probably from one pack. Roger Clemens, Dave Kingman, and Leon Durham jump out for me, along with several others.

Trick-or-Treat!

Oh, yes, it is time.  It is that time of year in which you knock on my door and say those magic words ("trick or treat!").  And what do you get in return?  You get either a trick or a treat sent your way, just in time for Halloween!

All you have to do, if you dare, is respond to this post with the magic words.  If I don't know where your house is, I won't be able to send your tricks or treats, so please make sure I have your address!  I would venture a guess and say that I have most of the address of my victims, er, readers.  But, to be on the (un)safe side, you might want to drop me a noose, er a line, at davidinark@yahoo.com or davidinark@gmail.com and I will add you to the list of victims, er, recipients.

Trick or Treat gifts will be mailed near the end of the month, as all hallow's eve approaches......  Make your request at your own risk!

The Randomly Random list of packs for 7/26/2009

Here is the list of pack recipients for this wave of giveaways. Sure, I could have just reached in picked packs, but where's the fun in that?

Now, I am going be able to check off names as I just reach in and pick packs. You se the subtle difference, right? Right? Yeah, I'm a bit... eccentric.. let's go with that. The list includes the requested packs and the 'bonus' packs determined by the roll of the die. If you do not see your name listed, leave a comment here and I'll get ya some packin' action! Wait, I should reword that...

---

Source: Random.org

List Randomizer
There were 121 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.tim
2.erin
3.diamondking
4.baseballdad
5.gcrl
6.motherscratcher
7.baseballdad
8.metsmaniacinnh
9.diamondking
10.bo
11.bo
12.brian
13.capt canuck
14.thejaw
15.metsmaniacinnh
16.lonestarr
17.thejaw
18.erin
19.thejaw
20.capt canuck
21.dayf
22.motherscratcher
23.thejaw
24.baseballdad
25.jacobmarley
26.brian
27.lonestarr
28.dayf
29.rod
30.thejaw
31.nightowl
32.beardy
33.motherscratcher
34.brian
35.nightowl
36.diamondking
37.lonestarr
38.tim
39.gcrl
40.nightowl
41.gcrl
42.dayf
43.jacobmarley
44.dayf
45.baseballdad
46.rod
47.joe-s
48.joe-s
49.gcrl
50.motherscratcher
51.diamondking
52.joe-s
53.nightowl
54.capt canuck
55.nightowl
56.thejaw
57.thejaw
58.jacobmarley
59.thejaw
60.don
61.diamondking
62.gcrl
63.bo
64.diamondking
65.joe-s
66.dayf
67.rod
68.don
69.lonestarr
70.lonestarr
71.thejaw
72.baseballdad
73.joe-s
74.dayf
75.tim
76.nightowl
77.motherscratcher
78.diamondking
79.nightowl
80.diamondking
81.metsmaniacinnh
82.jacobmarley
83.nightowl
84.gcrl
85.joe-s
86.erin
87.erin
88.beardy
89.bo
90.rod
91.jacobmarley
92.bo
93.dayf
94.baseballdad
95.erin
96.gcrl
97.diamondking
98.dayf
99.beardy
100.dayf
101.metsmaniacinnh
102.lonestarr
103.nightowl
104.lonestarr
105.rod
106.lonestarr
107.thejaw
108.metsmaniacinnh
109.tim
110.metsmaniacinnh
111.gcrl
112.erin
113.bo
114.dayf
115.jacobmarley
116.gcrl
117.joe-s
118.don
119.bo
120.capt canuck
121.diamondking
Timestamp: 2009-07-26 21:49:57 UTC

A Randomly Random Update

Whew! I gotta tell ya, putting these randomly random packs of random kindness together has been a blast so far! So far? Well, yes, you see, I am taking a break from the assembly line to give everyone an update on how things are going, and I wanted to fill you in on the process of creating packs of cards that are filled with all kinds of weird (er, interesting) stuff!

First of all, once I started gathering the cards together to make packs, I quickly realized that I had grossly underestimated the number of cards I had for some teams. The idea came to me that I should set some of those aside and do some more team-based random packs, but then I thought, "nah, let's just roll with it!" The downside to having many more cards of certain teams than I realized is that 'random' was becoming too heavily biased toward one team or another. So, I devised a plan.

I found a large plastic storage bin and randomly tossed cards into it, selecting cards from a 5000-count box and about half a dozen or so 800 count boxes. There was no rhyme or reason to my grabbing handfuls of cards and one-by-one (though very quickly) dropping them into the box. Cards scattered everywhere, especially those that managed to find a draft in the room and miss the box completely. When I was at about the halfway point of getting the cards into the 'randomizer' (as I had dubbed it), my wife came in. She displayed a look of shock, wonder, disbelief, and puzzlement. I explained the method to my madness, and she basically said, "madness is right." Ah, the things I do in the name of spreading the good word about card collecting!

After the cards were in the Randomizer, I set out four 10-count sorting boxes and began picking up handfuls of cards and randomly (of course!) putting cards into the bins. Once all the bins were filled to the top (or close enough), I grabbed one bin at a time and broke each bin into random packs of about 30 cards each. There is no exact number of cards per pack. I grabbed a stack and shuffled through, counting each pass from one hand to the other, counting as I went along.

If you're having trouble picturing that, think of a stack of cards in your left hand. You want to count them, so you quickly shuffle them to your right hand, counting each card as you go. Only, I wasn't counting EACH card. I was counting each PASS/SHUFFLE. If you've been collecting for any amount of time, you know how cards tend to stick together during the counting process. Well, if 3, 4, or 5 cards happened to be stuck together (not like glued or anything, just not willing to be counted separately), those were counted as ONE pass. What I'm getting at is that each random pack has at least 30 cards, and most of them have far more than that. Why 30? Because 30 cards (or thereabouts) fit nicely into a 4x6 bubblope. Not all gift packs will be sent in 4x6's, I know. But, I went with the lowest common denominator (and I thought I wasn't going to need any of that 'math stuff' from school - HA!).

Once I had my stack of 'about 30' cards, I rolled a die. If the number came up ODD, I randomly selected a card from the "hit" pile (some have been known to call it 'mojo'). What, exactly, is a 'hit' card? Hit cards are serially-numbered, autographed, material-infused, or some combination thereof. "Hits" also include some types of oversized items (5x7 cards, DuoTang folders, buttons, etc). Other oversized items (or odd-sized, I should say) were just randomly inserted into gift packs.

Now, for clarity sake, a LOT of oddball items (non-sport, minis, micros, stickers, etc) were just dropped into the Randomizer and included in the general sort. If I were to guess, I'd say every single pack has at least SOME kind of oddball and/or non-sport item in it.

All the names of requestors will be put into an online randomizer (like what is often used for group breaks), with each name being entered as many times as packs requested. Of course, that's not "good enough" for me, so everyone also gets a random number of "bonus packs!!" That's right, in addition to the number you specified in your comment, you also receive a number of packs based on the roll of the die. I told you, this is the randomly random edition!

These will go out during the week (July 27-31), plus the Rangers, Brewers, and other team packs will also go out this week. This is not the "end" of the giveaway, but rather just this part of the mailout phase. All packs will be given out eventually, and then I will "close" the giveaways that get filled up with requests.

If you've made it ths far through the post, THANK YOU! I know this was a long one, and unfortunately did not include any photos. I really hhave to remember to take pictures as I go along in these things...

Random Packs of Kindness (Randomly Random edition)

Okay, here's the deal. I have basically exhausted the teams for which I have more than 800 cards. Those were broken down into the team packs listed on the right.

The rest of my cards are not particularly organized into teams at this point, so I thought it would be fun to create "Randomly Random" Random Packs of Kindness!

So, how do these work compared to the other packs? The same way as the others with one catch - you can ask for more than one randomly random pack! Ask for 1 pack, ask for 5 packs, whatever. You decide how much "kindness" you'd like to receive.

All I can say is that each pack will have a randomly random assortment of players, teams, oddball stuff, serial/auto/patch, etc. The contents of each pack are not limited to baseball, either. I will be including whatever I have around here: non-sport, basketball, football, whatever!

Oh, I know, you're asking yourself, "why on earth?" Because, despite my previous efforts to get a handle on the cards floating around the house, I still have massive amounts. Yeah, there's the whole selling on eBay thing, but honestly, I enjoy this much better!

So, step right up and feel free to ask for 'randomly random' Random Packs of Kindness!

NOTE: All teams listed on the right still have whatever available packs according to their individual posts.

Remember, if I don't have your address, please email it to me!

A few updates

First of all, THANK YOU to those of you that have sent me your own gift packs/trades! I am hoping to post pictures later today, but with the cleaning and packing to do before the trip to NYC, I'm not sure I'll get to scan anything.

Secondly, THANK YOU to the McNabb's for the Asdrubal Cabrera Bobblehead!! It's weird, but in the last week, I have gone from ZERO Indians bobbleheads to having THREE!! I now have Cabrera, Sizemore, and Sabathia!

And, lastly, I wanted y'all to know that gift packs will not go out until after we get back from NYC. I was hoping to ship them out before we left, but there are too many other things that have to be done in preparation for our week-long vacation to the city that never sleeps.

I know, very few people are sitting on the edge of their seats anticipating the arrival of their gift packs, but I believe that it's the right thing to do in letting you know your packs will be coming, just a tad later than I had hoped.

Oh, that reminds me, I got one gift pack returned to me: Kevin Mattson's. I think you had sent me an updated address, but, naturally, it has found its way into the cracks of the ethernet... Please send me your latest dwelling location and I'll get yours back in the mail.

I have no idea how much posting will be done during the vacation (in all honesty, probably little to none), but ya just never know with me!

Random Packs of Kindness (Pirates Edition)

I grew up in the heyday of Black-n-Gold dominating the sports scene. Those were the days of "We Are Family" with Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, and the rest of the gang leading the way. That really has nothing to do with the giveaway, since the cards/items included this time are very widely aged up to current releases.

I am giving away TEN (10) packs of Pirates! Respond here, and I'll put your name on a free gift pack of the Bucs. Please remember, only one request for Pirates per person.

Who's Up Next? (Random Packs Update)

(image from: http://www.shawnmodersohn.com/)

I had no idea just how "popular" the Random Packs Program was going to be!! I am very excited about the emails I've been getting, asking when I would be announcing the next team in the giveaway.

I had fully planned on releasing that information every couple days, even while I am in Chicago. Unfortunately, I left the list of teams that are "eligible" for the giveaway at the house... That's what I get for a) not packing it in my suitcase and b) getting up at 430am for the flight!

The next team to be announced will be posted on Sunday evening/night after I get back home. I appreciate everyone's understanding! Like I said, I had no idea just how popular this was going to be!

(side note: I used the word "eligible" above. What in tar-nation is THAT supposed to mean?? Well, it means that I have some teams with very little to no cards yet because they all went out in the last giveaway. Then again, I may decide that those teams get a 'first-to-respond' single pack. Probably not though.... Y'all should know me well enough now that I am all about getting as many free cards into as many hands as possible!)

Stay tuned and/or keep your feed readers on alert! The next team will be announced Sunday evening/night!

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

If you haven't heard about it yet, you need to get your browser over to Wax Heaven between 8am-8pm on SUNDAY, JUNE 14!

Why would you want to do that, you ask? Because he is giving away a Razor Cut Signature card. So what, you say? How about HAMMERIN' HANK AARON!? Yes, you read that correctly. Mario is giving away the card as part of agreement with Razor.

How do you get in? Stop by the link below and keep on watching Wax Heaven for details!

http://completist.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/2009-sports-icons-review/

Random Packs of Kindness (Angels Edition)

By luck of the draw, the next *FREE* Random Packs of Kindness come to us from California - The Angels. I am not picky about Angels cards. If the logo is the haloed "A" then it's an Angel in my book and thus goes into the pot!

As in previous Random Packs of Kindness, REPLY HERE if you want free cards. Only one request per team per person (yes, if you've asked for another team, you can still request these too!).

There are TEN (10) packs to be given away, so sign up quickly to secure your gift pack!

An update to the update and then I'll shut up about it

As of Saturday, March 7, 2009, at about 8:30pm CST, I believe 99.99% of all the requests have been fulfilled!

I cannot tell you what a difference it makes to have all those cards (and more to the point the boxes those cards were in!) gone from the home office! Thank you all so much for helping me out with this!


I have learned a few things while going through this process, and I thought I'd share. Why? Heck, I dunno.

First, despite my eternal belief that the Indians are the 'farm team' to the MLB, I have discovered through sifting among tens of thousands of baseball cards that actually, there are a TON of players that have played for many different teams.

Second, baseball is not quite the 'family' team sport I had always imagined in my head. In truth, referring back to my first point, a TON of players have played for many different teams. It blew me away to see players on teams I didn't know they played for. And, of course I had an example in my head before I started typing and wouldn't you know it has left the space between my ears completely. All I do know is that it was a pitcher on the Astros that I didn't know played for the Astros ever. I looked through the all-time Astros roster and nothing jumped out at me. Man, I must be getting old or tired or both.

Third, some of the team-only oddball sets are very cool. I happened to have several White Sox cards from Dannon (I assume Yogurt). They are very cool looking. Dannon produced them in honor of the Sox 90th Anniversary of the 1906 World Series win:


Fourth, which should probably be listed as Number 1, is the patience I have seen exhibited in the card-trading blogging community. I have two people that had emailed TWICE with requests, and both times I managed to miss them in my giveaways. Each time, though, those folks have given me the nod and let me get things right. So far as I know, they haven't slammed me for my oversight. And, there is still one person who requested cards and I cannot find the email to save my life. If you happen to be reading this, you'll know I'm talking about you because your screenname is in reference to a beloved pet that passed away... Please shoot me another email and I'll get ya fixed up!

Finally, I really should make use of the technology I have access to. Even though I am in IT and work with amazing applications like SharePoint everyday, I somehow would rather keep all my notes with a pen and paper. This, of course, is how the oversights came to be in the first place! Heh-heh, one day... one day...

So, now I'll shut up about this particular giveaway. Er, almost. I've had a couple folks ask me about the choice to use Priority Shipping. The main reason: It is cheaper to do that than it is to drive to the not-so-local card shop for card boxes. :-) And, yeah, I've bought from BWC many times, but the main goal here was to get the cards out as soon as possible! Talk about your hot-moving inventory!

Stick a fork in me.

---

Free cards mailout update

I am sure I have said this before, but I am not really all that organized. I am trying, but it is kinda hit or miss at best. Thus, I feel the need to give a status update on the free cards giveaways. Mainly to make sure I haven't forgotten anyone!

I sent out another large batch of cards on Friday and I still have one more batch to go. I think the best way to do this is to list the folks that I believe I've sent cards to and then folks that will be getting cards soon. Please be sure to check the "not sent" and the "Not Sure" lists, too. If I have you on one of those last two lists, but you have received your cards, please drop me a line. Also, some of you on the "already sent" list are ones that were mailed out on Friday, so you won't have them yet but you know they are coming!

I want to thank EVERYONE on the list for taking part in my housekeeping efforts!!

Of course, if you would like a "surprise" pack, feel free to drop me a line (use ARE YOU CRAZY!? as the subject, even if you've already received cards!)

Cards already sent (or so I believe!):
MDA - Diamondbacks
Thorzul - 'unsolicited' cards
Dayf - 'unsolicited' cards
Jasnbit - Cubs/Twins/Surprise
RickeyHendersonCollectibles - A's
TasteLikeDirt - A's
NightOwl - Dodgers/Surprise
JackPlumstead - Red Sox
TraderCracks - Expos
Greg M - Phillies/2008 A&G Minis/Extras
Justin B - Surprise (new collector bonus - ha!)
Jon M - A's
Bo R - Yankees
Larry B Jr - Cubs/Trailblazers
Don S - A's/Expos/Tigers
Adam E - Red Sox
Kevin B - Orioles/Surprise
Jon D - Expos
Ed S - Orioles/Vintage
Joe C - Reds/Angels
Kevin M - Cardinals/Yankees/Surprise/Mariners/Rockies/Rays
Paul E - Phillies
ChucksUsedCards - Hockey
Arfmax - Minors
Matt M - Basketball/Tigers
Ben K - Braves
Duane G - Blue Jays
JC H - Orioles
Lo M - Yankees/Padres
Bay Rat North West - Rockies
Sooz - Yankees/Jeter
Casey B - Broncos
Rod R - Padres
PunkRockPaint - Padres
Mario - 'unsolicited' cards
Infamous Tatiana - 'unsolicited' cards
DingedCorners - 'unsolicited' cards

Cards yet to be sent:
Jasnbit - Whitesox/Brewers
Eric S - Indians
Andrew K - Indians
Tim H - Expos/Steelers/Indians
BaseballDad - Astros/Surprise
Jeremy N - White Sox
Billy S - Surprise
Harrison L - Rays/Giants
Don S - Surprise
Steve P - Cubs/Rays
Kevin M - Surprise
Mark M - Mets
Chris M - Phillies
Sam R - Twins/Rays/DBacks


Cards I'm not sure about:
ChucksUsedCards - Red Sox
Captain Canuck - Football
Casey B - Surprise/Vintage

Stacks O' Wax from the Packs in the Back! (more free cards)

(update: As of 6:00pm on Feb 19, 2009 CST, I had forgotten that Padres are done, too!! Rays/DBacks/Rockies are all spoken for. I will update this post as needed. Thanks!)


To say I've been busy with my latest brainchild would be the same as saying the Tribe hasn't won a World Series in a while... And, much like that analogy, the end result is still a lot of fun along the way.

I still have several packages to put together, but I have to buy some more card boxes before that can happen. In the meantime, I've decided to take a step back and survey the results thus far...

First, I am not going to supply a photo of the boxes going out because I don't want to ruin the fun. Okay, maybe it wouldn't ruin the fun for you, dear reader, but rather for me. Having said that, I realize it probably makes no sense, since I am the one looking at the treasure trove right now, but in the space between my ears, it makes sense.

Second, this has been quite an amazing experience from a collector's point of view. Think of it this way: You are faced with tens of thousands of cards randomly placed in massive 5000-count boxes. Your task is to sort through them in order to pick out the teams that represent the requests that have come in. Once that task is complete, next comes the divvying up the cards for the packages to be mailed out. all the while, you see images of players present and past rush by: Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Pork Chop Pough, Bip Roberts, Carlton Fisk, Lou Boudreau, Randy Ready, Bo Jackson, Randy Jackson (not the Idol guy), Chase Utley, Pronk, players you know, players you don't, players you long forgot about.

Third, which is really an extension of number two, I found myself pulling out cards that appeal to very specific collectors. For example, catchers in uniform, players in midair, players signing autographs, photos of night games, etc. I have to admit, at times I was switching focus between the teams I was supposed to pulling and the 'bonus' type cards I was finding.

Fourth, the 'surprise packages' are actually harder to pull together than I had ever imagined. How is that possible? I mean, there are no guidelines, no rules, just grab and go right? Maybe for some. For me, I did that a few times while pulling packages together, but even for those few times, I would stop and rifle through the cards. I know my readers are going to get duplicates, but since I am a collector at heart, I wanted to make sure that I cut down on the number of duplicates as much as possible. I also wanted to represent the widest range of cards as possible in the surprise packages - players, years, brands, etc. Only time will tell if I was successful in that.

Fifth, which is an extension of number four, is coming to terms with duplicates. Honestly, just how many Donruss 1992 Randy Readys could there actually be in the world? I don't know the production run, but I can tell you that I must have personally handled half of the total ever made. Here is what I will say about duplicates: If you get them, it means that everyone who requested that team also got duplicates of the same cards, and in some cases I had to pull out a stack of duplicates and keep them here. I'll use them in later giveaways - perhaps as a trick-or-treat...

Sixth, and final point for today: I still have a TON of cards to give away. Seriously. Below is a list of teams that NO ONE claimed. And while many of these teams have found their way into 'surprise' packages, the simple truth is that I still have lots to give away if I am to keep my wife in a happy mood. :-)

So, if you collect these teams, feel free to ASK FOR THEM! Just send me an email with the subject "ARE YOU CRAZY!? Send me some cards!" and tell me which team (or combination) you'd like:

Astros
Giants
Royals
Rockies (as of 1:00pm 2/19/09)
Marlins
Padres
Rays (as of 9:00am CST)
Pirates
Diamondbacks (as of 1:00pm 2/19/09)
Mariners
White Sox
Brewers

The Marlins do not have as many as the other teams, but I think you'll be happy if you choose them.

And, as before, you'd like a 'surprise' package, just let me know and I'll build you a surprise.

As always, thank you for stopping by and reading!! I appreciate the time you take to come here and see what's on my mind. Giving away 'stacks of wax' is just one way I feel I can express that gratitude.

More "12 Days" packs are heading out!

Perhaps next year, I'll find another name for the "12 Days Giveaway" since this 2nd attempt has also run WAY over the projected date of shipment. Well, there's always next time, right!?

---

Joshua K - On the 12th day of Christmas, Tribecards sent some.. Tribe Cards... :-) 12 Sandy Alomar Jr, 11 Cliff Lee, 10 Ryan Garko, 9 Bartolo Colon, 8 Travis Hafner, 7 Albert Belle, 6 Josh Barfield, FIVE PAUL BYRD, 4 Larry Doby, 3 Shin-soo Choo, 2 Kobayashi, and an '07 Sabathia eTopps card!

---

Keith K - On the 12th day of Christmas, Tribecards sent Tribe Cards to Keith K: 12 Kenny Lofton, 11 Len Barker, 10 Roberto Alomar, 9 Bartolo colon, 8 casey blake, 7 joe carter, 6 josh barfield, FIVE BOB FELLER, 4 buddy bell, 3 travis fryman, 2 rick manning, and an '04 eTopps Tribe team card!

---

Eric S - On the 12th day of Christmas, Eric got some Tribe cards, too! 12 sandy alomar jr, 11 travis hafner, 10 albert belle, 9 bert blyleven, 8 bartolo colon, 7 julio franco, 6 josh barfield, FIVE AARON BOONE, 4 tim drew, 3 jack brohamer, 2 rico carty, and a Russell Branyan Milestones Baseball Bat card!

---

Kevin M - On the 12 day of christmas, Tribecards sent some cards to Kevin: 12 marty cordova, 11 kirby puckett, 10 dan gladden, 9 rick aguilera, 8 kent hrbek, 7 todd walker, 6 latroy hawkins, FIVE ERIC MILTON, 4 jacque jones, 3 rod carew, 2 christian guzman, and a harmon killebrew collect-a-book!

---

Sam R - On the 12th day of christmas, Sam R got some cards: 12 kirby puckett, 11 paul molitor, 10 greg gange, 9 allan anderson, 8 kent hrbek, 7 chuck knoblauch, 6 scott leius, FIVE BERT BLYLEVEN, 4 frank viola, 3 brad radke, 2 joe mauer, and a justin morneau game-used card!

---

Don S - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards gave some tigers to don: 12 cecil fielder, 11 bobby higginson, 10 alan trammell, 9 travis fryman, 8 lou whitaker, 7 dave bergman, 6 kirk gibson, FIVE DAMON EASLEY, 4 tony clark, 3 juan encarnacion, 2 jeremy bonderman, and a Briggs stadium Phil Rizzuto card!

---

Jason B - On the 12th day of christmas, Jason got some cubs sent to him: 12 shawon dunston, 11 andre dawson, 10 ryne sandberg, 9 kerry wood, 8 greg maddux, 7 joe girardi, 6 terry adams, FIVE ARAMIS RAMIREZ, 4 moises alou, 3 george bell, 2 derrek lee, and a mark grace gallery masters card! (sorry, was the only grace card I had...)

---

Believe it or not, I still have a few more gift packs to go. :-) It's funny how "done by Monday" suddenly becomes "shipped a bunch on Thursday and try for this weekend!" Oy, Vey!

More "12 Days" action!

Picking up where I left off yesterday, here is some more "12 Days Giveaway" action:

Casey B - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent some 'cards' away: 12 Bernard Gilkey, 11 Joe Magrane, 10 mike perez, 9 geronimo pena, 8 brian jordan, 7 luis alecia, 6 ken dayley, FIVE REX HUDLER, 4 royce clayton, 3 andy benes, 2 brian barber, and an etopps albert pujols!
-----
Lo - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent to lo: 12 wade boggs, 11 david cone, 10 mariano rivera, 9 ruben rivera, 8 tino martinez, 7 mel hall, 6 roger clemens, FIVE STEVE FARR CARDS, 4 knoblauchs, 3 mariano duncan, 2 joe giradri, and a babe ruth 500 club card!
-----
Bo - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards offered up to bo: 12 wade boggs, 11 pat kelly, 10 jorge posada, 9 david cone, 8 roberto kelly, 7 jim leyritz, 6 orlando hernandez, FIVE JASON GIAMBI, 4 dwight gooden, 3 matt drews, 2 don mattingly, and an '83 tcma spud chandler!
-----
Joe S - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards realized something odd: he had sent cards to Lo, Bo, and Joe! :-)

Oh, and tribecards sent to Joe: 12 wade boggs (yes, I had a LOT of boggs cards!), 11 derek jeter, 10 kevin maas, 9 bernie williams, 8 jimmy key, 7 hideki irabu, 6 darryl strawberry, FIVE RUSS DAVIS, 4 steve balboni, 3 cecil fielder, 2 roger clemens, and a babe ruth 'called shot' card!
-----
Bailey - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards gave to bailey: 12 will clark, 11 barry bonds, 10 jeff kent, 9 kevin mitchell, 8 matt williams, 7 rich aurilia, 6 robb nen, FIVE OSVALDO FERNANDEZ, 4 brett butler, 3 ellis burks, 2 jt snow, and an '07 etopps barry zito (zee tow)!
-----
Greg - On the 12th day of christmas, greg got some dodgers sent his way: 12 hershiser, 11 shawn green, 10 raul mondesi, 9 eric karros, 8 scioscia cards, 7 brett butler, 6 kal daniels, FIVE KARIM GARCIA, 4 billy ashley, 3 todd hundley, 2 jeff kent, and an '05 ud origins jd drew old judge! (yeah, you kinda have to squeeze that one into the melody...)
-----
Jim - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent dodgers/twins to jim: 12 kirby puckett, 11 adrian beltre, 10 knoblauch, 9 paul molitor, 8 torii hunter, 7 kevin brown, 6 hollingsworth, FIVE HIDEO NOMO, 4 grudzielanek, 3 eric davis, 2 latry hawkins, and a jackie robinson etopps national promo card (it's a mini!)
-----
Gerald S - (sorta to the tune: we three kings): Gerald's three sons collect the sports cards. so tribecards sent them gifts to afar. Dodgers, lakers, not all takers, but they'll enjoy them, that's for sure... Okay, so it fell apart there at the end... :-)
-----
Kris - Kris collects Dodgers, Rangers, Royals, and Orioles, so I put together a gift pack that was spread across the spectrum:

On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent these cards to kris: 12 kevin brown, 11 steve finley, 10 assorted orioles, 9 nolan ryan, 8 melvin mora, 7 kevin appier, 6 charlie leibrandt, FIVE DARREN DREIFORT, 4 hubie brooks, 3 players signing autos, 2 carlos febles, and a nomar garciaparra co-signers card!

Oh, kris also collects players signing autos, so that's why those are in there. I tried to find more than just three, but the process was taking longer than I had thought it would. easy to look for, just hard to find. :-) So, i'll be pulling together a set of auto-signing players and send them off later. :-)
-----
Zach - Unfortunately, I had no mamay's for ya, and for the purposes of thee 12 days giveaway, it was hard to come up with current royals. no worries, though, I'll have a stack of current guys ready to send to ya later! in the meantime:

on the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent royals off to zach: 12 kevin appier, 11 gubicza, 10 jeff montgomery, 9 bo jackson, 8 david howard, 7 jim eisenreich, 6 wally joyner, FIVE GEORGE BRETT CARDS, 4 david cone, 3 gregg jeffries, 2 mark quinn, and a luke hochevar royals card!
-----
Joe M - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent these cards to joe: 12 jose canseco, 11 mo vaughn, 10 dwight evans, 9 jody reed, 8 garciaparra, 7 tom brunansky, 6 roger clemens, FIVE ELLIS BURKS, 4 tim wakefield, 3 mike stanley, 2 josh beckett, and a curt schilling national pasttime card!
-----
Scott C - (i think this will fit the '12 days' melody...) Although no gabbard's were found among the red sox cards i have, tribecards found a bunch of greenwell cards to send. so, on the 12th day of christmas, tribecards sent away to scott: 12 mike greenwell, 11 mo vaughn, 10 wade boggs, 9 john valentin, 8 jim rice, 7 trot nixon, 6 oil cans, FIVE AARON SELE, 4 ellis burks, 3 vaughn eschelman, 2 bobby doerr, and a johnny damon ud origins card!
-----
Adam E - Believe it or not, I still have the wrapped packages you sent me! I wanted to open them on christmas, but I was afraid they'd get mixed in with the other cards I got from my mother-in-law, and I was taking no chances! So, I will be opnening those this weekend! WAHOO!

On the 12th day of christmas (although, really, I should change that to something else, since the 12th day has long come and gone, eh), tribecards sent some sox to adam: 12 ellis burks, 11 rogeer clemens, 10 mo vaughn, 9 mike greenwell, 8 marty barrett, 7 jeff suppan, 6 scott cooper, FIVE TONY PENA, 4 yastrzemski, 3 man-ram, 2 kevin youkilis, and a garciaparra etopps card! (Sorry, I only had two Youkilis that I could round up quickly... I'll set aside others I find and sent them later, though!)
-----

Those are the '12 days' giftpacks that have been assembled. some of those have already been sent off and some are going out VERY shortly!

If your name/giftpack was not listed, please do not fret! I am working hard to get those together for ya and have them sent out Monday. :-)

i appreciate your patience with the gift packs. Next year's offering will not be so delayed if I can help it!! :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!!!

12 Days. And then some (To the land of the living...)

I knew it had been a while since I lasted posted ANYTHING on here, but I had no idea it had been nearly two whole weeks! AUGH! The original plan for "12 Days" was to post the "twelfth day" list of each gift pack as I went along. As you are more than aware, this did not pan out. I am still putting gift packs together, but I thought it would be kinda fun to show the twelfth day for all the packs that have gone out and that have been recently assembled (if you don't see your name here, it just means I amm still getting those done and will have them done by the end of the weekend). So, without further adieu:
-----
White sox cards - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave away: 12 Ozzie Guillen, 11 Ray Durham, 10 Wilson Alvarez, 9 Harold Baines, 8 Scott Radinsky, 7 Marc Buehrle, 6 Carlos Lee, Five JERMAINE DYE, 4 Chris Singleton, 3 Steve Sax, 2 Jeff Abbott, and a Frank Thomas 5x7 Card!
-----
Brian R - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave away some more: 12 Ron Gant, 11 Mike Stanton, 10 Tom Glavine, 9 Fred McGriff, 8 david justice, 7 errell Wade, 6 Sid Bream, FIVE LONNIE SMITH, 4 Jeff Treadway, 3 Darrell Evans, 2 Chipper Jones, and a 1970 Bob Aspermonte Topps!
-----
David - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave steelers and somee Braves: 12 Pittsburgh Steelers, 11 Mark Lemke, 10 Javy lopez, 9 Steve Avery, 8 Jeff Blauser, 7 Kent Merker, 6 andres Thomas, 5 OTIS NIXON, 4 jerome bettis, 3 kordell stewart, 2 time hudson, and a Steelers Courtney Hawkins serial! (112/500)
-----
Mark - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave some mets to mark: 12 doc gooden, 11 todd hundley, 10 keith miller, 9 paul wilson, 8 bobby bonilla, 7 kevin mcreynolds, 6 edgar alfonzo, FIVE HOWARD JOHNSON, 4 isringhausen, 3 carlos beltran, 2 pedro martinez, and an eTopps Mets team Card!
-----
Joe S - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave some more Mets away: 12 david cone, 11 howard johnson, 10 john franco, 9 keith hernandez, 8 ron darling, 7 mark carreon, 6 lance johnson, FIVE DARYL BOSTON, 4 jose reyes, 3 baerga, 2 moises alou, and a cliff floyd ud flyball card!
-----
Paul H - On the twelfth day of christmas, tribecards gave some mets to paul: 12 gregg jeffries, 11 sid fernandez, 10 kevin elster, 9 rey ordonez, 8 aguilera, 7 gary carter, 6 jeff kent, FIVE DAVID CONE, 4 tim bogar, 3 mookie wilson, 2 mike hampton, and a kaz matsui ud flyball card!
-----
Paul E - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Tribecards gave a variety of cards: 12 assorted football, 11 boston celtics, 10 assorted basketball, 9 new orleans saints, 8 new england patriots, 7 minnesota vikings, 6 aaron brooks, FIVE JOE HORN CARDS, 4 NY sixers, 3 antoine walker, 2 philly eagles, and a dustin fox spxciting card (814/1499)
-----
Rod - On the twelfth day of Christmas, Rod's gift pack was made of these: 12 tony gwynn, 11 trevor hoffman, 10 san diego chargers, 9 phil nevin, 8 benito santiago, 7 joey hamilton, 6 fred mcgriff, FIVE JAKE PEAVY, 4 tim flannery, 3 eric owens, 2 xavier nady, and a derrick lee classic best rookie express card!
-----
Erin - On the twelfth day of christmas, Tribecards sent some Cardinals Erin's way: 12 pedro guerrero, 11 todd zeile, 10 felix jose, 9 different smith cards, 8 andy benes, 7 willie mcgee, 6 ray lankford, FIVE KEN HILL CARDS, 4 rick ankiel, 3 jd drew, 2 mark clark, and a mark mcgwire etopps card!
-----
Kerry B - On the 12th day of christmas, tribecards created a variety pack: 12 portland blazers, 11 jose oquendo, 10 tom brunansky, 9 terry pendleton, 8 omar olivares, 7 ray lankford, 6 vince coleman, FIVE JUAN AGOSTO, 4 tim jones, 3 jim edmonds, 2 jack clark, and an oregon ducks football card!
-----

There are still more to come that have already gone out, but it is getting close to New Year's Eve PARTY TIME!! :-)

Ho-Ho-Ho!!

The first "round" of gifts is getting mailed off tomorrow!! The scan above is only a sampling of the ones going out. I still have plenty to catch up on, but have no fears! If you asked for a gift pack, Tribecards will get one out to ya!

Also, please know that these are not being completed in any order. All requests will be filled, and everyone "should" get them before Christmas Day. :-)

If I don't blog much between now and then, it's mainly because I'm fillin' up those "12 Days" stockings! :-)

"12 Days" List is g-r-o-w-i-n-g!

Wow! I've got a lot of fun ahead of me! There have been 21 people request gift packs so far, and hopefully more to come!

If you're holding back out of fears that I might not have enough cards to go around, you can put those fears aside! I've recently acquired a TON of cards (have to sort them still), so I should have no problems fulfilling requests!

On that note, are there any A's fans that would like a gift pack?? How about Pirates fans? Maybe Reds? Blue Jays? Mariners?? Or for that matter, if you're a fan of ANY team and want a free stack of team-related items, feel free to ask! Wait a minute! Did I just say "items!?" Yeap. This year's "12 Days" is not just limited to cards! I have all kinds of doo-dads that will be included with many of the team and/or player gift packs!

Some of you may be worried that you'll get the same things you got last year. I really doubt that would happen, just because my 'trade fodder' has changed out at least a couple times during the year for many teams/players (or has severely grown since last year for others).

I don't think I spelled this out in the original "12 Days #2" post, but these will all go out starting around December 10th. Remember, the cut-off date for requests is December 20th.

Thanks to everyone that's reading along (whether you ask for a gift pack or not)!! I really appreciate all the comments, personal notes, and each of you that hangs out in the background, just checking things out! I've been having a LOT of fun with the blog and I am hoping the Good Lord keeps me around for a long time to continue doing it!! I am very thankful for everyone that brings their browser by here or subscribes in their feed reader. I hope y'all have a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!

2nd Annual "12 Days Giveaway!"

Last year's "12 Days of Christmas" giveaway was a huge success! It all started with an idea born from one of dayf's posts and then went wild from there. The whole thing was a great adventure that served to accomplish several things: First, it helped get folks in the holiday spirit; second, it helped collectors get more cards in their hands; and, third, it helped clear out a LARGE chunk of cards I had laying around!


Last year's giveaway consisted of football, basketball, and baseball cards. This year will mostly be filled with baseball cards, though I do have some football and basketball I will try to get in there as well (depending on responses, etc).


I am getting an earlier start than last year because I am taking my own advice from the lessons learned: 1) As you have seen from my "Bat Around" post, the cards are sorted by team; 2) I plan to scan in (or take pics of) the gifts before they go out, and 3) I am stocking up on Coke and Mt. Dew. :-)

Now, for those of you that are new 'round these parts since last year, let me tell you how this works:

1. ANYONE can request a gift pack!
2. Send me an email (from my profile) with the subject "12 Days Giveaway;"
3. List several of your favorite teams, players, etc from baseball. You can also list football and basketball, but know I am limited on what I can include from those sports and only list teams for non-baseball,
4. Be sure to include the address where you want your gift package sent. Use an address that you will be able to receive things during the holidays (packages may not actually go out until closer to Christmas, depending on the number responses),
5. What do you get? 78 cards!(see below)
6. Gift packs may be requested to be sent to someone else on your behalf, but those will take second priority over folks asking for themselves. I cannot promise that '2nd party' gifts will be fulfilled. I will let anyone who requests one of these know the fulfillment status as we get closer to the cut-off date.
7. All requests should be sent to me before December 20, 2008. This gives me time to assemble the gift packs and get them mailed off in time for Christmas (hopefully!).

The scans/pics I take will not reveal too much about the gifts; after all, part of the fun is not knowing what you're getting! :-)

I have several packages going out as part of other trades. These do not count in the 12 Days Giveaway!


The 78 cards will be chosen in the fashion of the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas." So, each gift consists of 12 similar cards, 11 similar cards, etc until we get to the 1st day of Christmas! So, let's say someone requests Indians... That person might get 12 Jim Thome, 11 Sandy Alomar, 10 Bob Feller ... down to 1 Game-Used Jersey... (just an example, who knows what will actually end up in the gift pack!!).

You can get an idea of what last year's was like by checking this link.

So, let's get in the holiday spirit! Yes, I know it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but if the stores can bust out the holiday decorations, I can start busting out "12 Days Giveaways!!"