Packages on their way!

 The packages for the 2020 "12 Days of Christmas" have mostly been shipped. As I write this, on Friday Aug 2 2024, I still have a handful (if you call half a dozen 550-count boxes a handful) to send out and those will go out today!

As a general heads up to everyone who took part: These will be mostly baseball cards. You may recall the original "12 Days" asked about your non-baseball preferences as well. Those are still on the list and I will be putting together those surprises in the future and those probably will be Christmas Gifts, as I have been completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of bits of cardboard I had scattered throughout my house.

My wife thanks you for taking part in this endeavor, by the way. Haha! Actually, she can't wrap her head around why I would do such a crazy giveaway in the first place. And, it is a bit crazy, but I woud rather share the cards I don't collect with folks who do in the traditional "old school" fashion: hand them out to those who will appreciate them. Or, at least appreciate the thought behind it.

Not gonna lie: there's a lot of junk wax in these. It's the nature of the beast. But, there are also some VERY cool inserts, oddballs, autos, material cards, etc etc. Going through the sort process, divvying up the cards, and reflecting on certain players, certain specific cards, and re-discovering cards I had long forgotten I even had, has been an incredible journey so far. Being able to "spread the wealth," as it were, means these cards won't just sit around taking up space and wasting away in cardboard boxes, plastic tubs, and binders stuck on shelves. 

I was genuinely shocked by some of the cards I came across, and I hope you will be, too!

By the way, if you missed out on the "12 Days" of 2020, have no fear. Even after putting together more than 20 packages or cards, I still have THOUSANDS of cards left over. So, that means I will be opening up another round in the future! And like Gump says - you never know what you're gonna get.

Happy collecting! See you on the wrapper backs!

PAD Circus Revisited, Update of sorts

The Pack-A-Daily Circus (PAD Circus, for short - PAD even shorter) was a fun event I ran for several years here on the blog. In a nutshell, I opened one pack of cards for every day during the regular baseball MLB season. Readers could choose teams or players, depending on the rules of the given season, and then those would be assigned to the participants.

The original premise was that each participant would get all the cards they "won" during the season. It was a LOT of fun to do! But, the sticking point came in that last bit: they were SUPPOSED to get the cards they pulled during the season. As it turns out, only the very first season or two actually netted anyone getting any cards. There is no one and nothing to blame but myself for that, and that is where we pick things up.

While cleaning out the home office today (Feb 2, 2019), I came across a BUNCH of cards from the  old PAD Circus programs. They are unsorted and are completely mixed together. A responsible handler of such things would dutifully go back through all the posts and figure out which cards belong to which participant. Alas, I am not such a person.

Instead of going back to figure all that out, I am taking the "beg forgiveness, take another route" approach. You see, my revised method of giving these cards away is this: Use the GOOGLE FORM HERE to request a team! Please only one team per person so that everyone gets a chance.

That's right - pick a team, get a BUNCH of cards! Not only will there be cards from the PAD Circus years, but I am including whatever cards I happen to have sitting around. This includes my charity A&G Hobby Case Break, any packs I've opened during the last few years, etc.

ALL FOR FREE!! Yours for the asking! Use the google form link above!


NOTE: I will attempt to go back and refund any money given to me from PAD Circus. I know some of you donated money to help with shipping etc. I apologize for dropping the ball on these.

Commence Shipping Phase!

What you see is a photo of the packages ready to ship from the 182 Packs of Baseball giveaway. Finally, right?! I am still missing a lot of mailing addresses, so if you took part please send me your mailing address.

Those that have provided an address will be getting their packages soon!

Thanks to everyone that played along. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I cannot wait for next season's daily pack-busting giveaway.

A slight rain delay in the 182 Packs of Baseball

4/20 UPDATE: I mistakenly had Kary listed as Dodgers. She actually asked for Brewers. The list has been adjusted!

4/19 UPDATE NOTE:  Remember, folks can respond to *ANY* post with a request (I get emails when someone does), so they may not appear on *this* page.  No, actually, I have an idea.  I will post the most up-to-date TEAM list here. Players, weird cards, etc will not be updated here, but you can see those on the "Registered" page above.  So, at the BOTTOM of this post, you will find up-to-date team requests/participants.  Thanks for playing along!

---

The response for trades/cards opened during the 182 Packs of Baseball has quickly reached a point where I need to come up with some kind of system.  So, here's my plan:

I get all singles and first doubles of Indians cards/players.  The rest are up for grabs.

Captain Canuck gets any single of any Braves that I pull, if he wants them. Doubles will moved into another pile (to be explained in a moment).  It's the reward for responding first. :-)

The Lincecum and Kershaw inserts from Day 001 go to Adam. He asked first. That's how I roll.

All singles of Mark Grace and Stadium Clubs (1993 and up) will go to Andy (unless they are Braves, then Andy gets single cards of any doubles).  Doubles will be moved into another pile (again, explained in a moment).  He asked first.

All singles of Tony Gwynn, Kerry Wood (unless in an Indians uni), and Frank Thomas will go to Jon if Jon says he wants them. If not, then they will go into the "other" pile(s).

Now, on to "the other" piles.  Pick players or teams. Don't get greedy.  I say a limit of THREE TOTAL is more than fair.  That is any combination of teams/players up to THREE TOTAL.  (Ex: Mets, Dodgers, Mark McGwire.  Or, Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols, Pirates. You get the gist).  And, your request can also be for things like "players signing autographs" or whatever.  I will have to individually evaluate any of those kinds of requests, though. Sorry, but a lot of times, I can't tell if a photo is a night game or not, so "Night Games" probably won't be an option.  Well, I suppose it could be if it is blatantly obvious that it's a night game.  Haha, and if you're thinking of something like, "All cards with BLUE on them," uh, no.

I am giving these away at the end of the regular season.  You can send me Indians cards as trades if you want, or you can send a little money to cover postage if you want, or you can say, "Wow! Thanks for the cards," if you want.  Those of you that have followed along with me over the years know that is exactly how I operate.  I expect nothing in return, but I never pass up a gift of Tribecards!

Your request will be lined out in the order I receive it. So, if I get two requests for Yankees cards, the first person gets dibs on all singles and first doubles.  The second person gets dibs on singles from the remaining doubles, and so forth.  Basically, no one should end up with doubles.  Of course, if someone requested a certain player from the Yankees BEFORE the Yankees team request, the player-person would get the first copy of that player.  This sounds way more complicated than it is.

All unclaimed teams/players/cards will go into some big pot to be given away during the World Series.

Oh, and the LAST DAY to sign up for free cards is the last day of the regular season.  So, theoretically, you could wait until the end to decide which player(s) and/or team(s) you'd like. I wouldn't do that.  First, you risk the chance of losing out on cards you want. Second, it is way more fun to watch your collection build before your eyes each day. :-)

So, respond to this post (or any of the 182 Days posts, really).  First come, first served.  I maintain the right to limit folks/reject requests if I need to.  My goal is to spread the joy of collecting cardboard.  Everybody into the pool!

PS - Once you're on "the list," please send me your username (that you responded with) and your mailing address.  My database is woefully out of date, so I need everyone's address that wants to play along. Thanks!

We now return you to the 182 Packs of Baseball program... Er, well, almost:


CURRENT TEAM SELECTIONS (05/03/2012):



Angels
Athletics - Backstop Cards,
Rangers - PlayAtThePlate, Cool Breeze,
Mariners - Padrographs,
White Sox - JeffL, JeffW
Indians - Tribecards, TSHenson,
Royals - JoshD,
Twins - Kary, gcrl,
Tigers - Don,
Red Sox - Capt Canuck, AdamE,
Yankees - Johnathan,
Blue Jays - Roblw1980, Martin S,
Orioles - Kevin,
Rays - Roblw1980,
Cubs - CubbieBlue1984, Jafronius
Cardinals - Matt
Brewers - Kary
Pirates - Billy Suter,
Astros - JoeC, Cool Breeze,
Reds - FanOfReds, JoeC (Post-1992),
Padres - Padrographs, Backstop Cards,
Diamondbacks - MarkA,
Dodgers - NightOwl, gcrl,
Giants - MatthewR,
Rockies - Hiflew,
Braves - Capt Canuck,
Nationals - Backstop Cards,
Mets - Jacobmrley, Roblw1980,
Phillies - dawgbones,
Marlins - Jafronius
Expos - MarkA, Jacobmrley

The 800th Post!

This is it! No, that's not a reference to Coke nor is it a reference to the DVD released by the Michael Jackson estate following his passing.  It is, however, reference to the Tribecards blog!

In some respects, I should have hit 800 posts about a year and a half ago easily.  But, as life has a way of working things out, the 800th post appears now.  There should be some kind of hoopla or fanfare or something, I'm sure, but I am saving that up for my 1000th post.  Well, that is a bit of a stretch, really.  I mean, come on, who really plans such things this far in advance, right?  Hmm, I suppose, though, if I get on the ball this coming year, I could hit 1000 before the World Series next season.

The one thing I want to communicate fully and completely in this post has everything to do with the time of year this post finds itself: Christmas.  For the past several years, I hosted a "12 Days of Christmas" event with TONS of cards given away to anyone and everyone that asked.  This year saw some hard times for the Tribecards family and that was met with some amazing generosity from my friends and readers!

This will be the FIRST and LAST year without a "12 Days Giveaway."  The giveaway brought me more enjoyment and satisfaction than I ever realized before not being able to host it.  I plan to acquire cards in small stages throughout the upcoming year in order to be able to hold the rebirth of the "12 Days Giveaway" next year.  It is so much fun putting together the packages for everyone with favorite teams, players, and surprises - and then to hear about the reactions from each of the recipients!  Yeah, a lot like being Santa Claus.

I have a LOT to accomplish for the Tribecards site: I still want to get that "Best all-time Tribers by Uniform Number" done!  I also want to get all the cards posted in my "From the Collection" series.  I don't know what the next year holds, but starting with post 800, I can tell it *will* hold a "12 Days Giveaway." 

The Great Junk Wax Giveaway

One of the blogs that I've been a contributor to for quite a while is "A Pack to be Named Later."  The site's goal is to open at least one pack of cards ever made.  Not just baseball cards.  We are talking baseball, football, Power Rangers, Zorro, Saved by the Bell, soccer, hockey, anything and everything!

Well, in celebration of the one-year birthday of the site, there's a contest!
http://apacktobenamedlater.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-junk-wax-giveaway-contest.html

Guess how many cards there are and how many packs are from 1990.  What do you win?  Well, all the junk wax pictured, of course!

Hurry, though! Contest ends Tuesday, July 13, 2010!

Cards My Mom Threw Out!?

I have been, er, fortunate enough to pull two "Cards Your Mom Threw Out" code cards from 2010 Topps packs so far.  What you see above are the two cards I have been alotted.  Are these cards my mom threw out?  Heck no, these are cards *I* probably threw out - though, in my world "threw out" means "gave away."

I have not been following which cards have made it into collector's hands with this promotion, so I have no idea what other junk Topps is trying to "give back" to its customers.  Oh, sure, their splash page boasts of Strasburg and a couple other high-profile cards, but one has to wonder how many people are simply throwing out the code cards themselves. 

By the way, if you want either (or both for that matter) of these cards, create a trade in which you offer up some Indians card(s) and these beauties are all yours.  Just let me know about the trade so I can find it.  I have a feeling many of these cards our "mothers threw out" will end up "the cards Topps vault threw out."

Tribe-O-Matic Classics vs. Currents Tourney is OPEN!

QUICK UPDATE: I want to say a BIG "Thank You" to Eli over at OneMorePack for the cards he sent!  I will be posting those as soon as the giveaway is over! Awesomeness!

Register HERE! (closed)

Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!  Have we got a hot potato here for you coming up!  Tribecards and Strat-O-Matic are teaming up for a great giveaway contest!  The winner of the tournament receives his or her choice of the Start-O-Matic board game (shown below) or a Strat-O-Matic computer version (Windows only) of the game!  Both games ship with the 2009 season stats ready for play!  Anyone else that joins in the tournament but gets eliminated will be entered into a random drawing for the version of the game not chosen by the winner!  That's right, folks!  The winner chooses first, then one of the eliminated players wins the other!

So, how does the "Classics vs Currents" tournament work?  Well, thanks to the fine folks at Strat-O-Matic, I worked out a deal so that anyone wishing to play in the contest can choose from the 2009 season *or* the 1909 season!  We're talking 100 years of baseball here!

If you wish to participate, follow the "Register HERE (closed)" links found in this post and elsewhere on my site.  Participants are required to provide their name and email address.  Then, type in your TOP THREE team choices.  Please make sure you indicate AL or NL when you make your selections.

Team choices are first-come, first-served, so jump in quick!  And, please only one entry per person/per household, only one winner per person/household.  We want to give everyone a chance to get in on this!  There is no automated way to share who picked what without dilvulging email addresses, so I will contact anyone that manages to pick three teams already selected.  I will also "cross out" teams as they are selected to help make it easier to see what's still open.  The contest is open to United States and Canadian residents only.

My goal is to have at least 32 people sign up.  Once I hit 32 valid registrations (or the registration deadline hits), the tournament will start.  Registration ends Monday, May 10, 2010 at 7:00pm CST.  There will be a fully random drawing for a computer version of the game at a later date.

The entire tournament will be run using the computer version of Strat-O-Matic!  Specific details will be posted once all the spots are filled. (ONLY 2 slots open!)

Here are the teams to choose from:

1909 AL Teams	1909 NL Teams
1909 Boston (AL)(adam) 1909 Chicago (AL)(thaner) 1909 Cleveland (AL) 1909 Detroit (AL)(don) 1909 New York (AL)(cam) 1909 Philadelphia (AL)(david) 1909 St. Louis (AL)(brianf) 1909 Washington (AL)	1909 Boston (NL)(capt) 1909 Brooklyn (NL) 1909 Chicago (NL)(andrewh) 1909 Cincinnati (NL)(joec) 1909 New York (NL)(casey) 1909 Phildelphia (NL) 1909 Pittsburgh (NL)(travis) 1909 St. Louis (NL)(rob)

2009 Teams
2009 Arizona 2009 Atlanta(sarah) 2009 Baltimore(kevin) 2009 Boston(davidp) 2009 Chicago (AL) 2009 Chicago (NL)(brianj) 2009 Cincinnati 2009 Cleveland(tim) 2009 Colorado(keithm) 2009 Detroit(rogerl) 2009 Florida(charlesN) 2009 Houston 2009 Kansas City 2009 Los Angeles (AL)(danr) 2009 Los Angeles (NL)(robert)	2009 Milwaukee 2009 Minnesota(andy) 2009 New York (AL)(jack) 2009 New York (NL)(sean) 2009 Oakland 2009 Philadelphia(mark) 2009 Pittsburgh 2009 San Diego 2009 San Francisco(mattr) 2009 Seattle 2009 St. Louis(kevin) 2009 Tampa Bay(mike) 2009 Texas(BrianS) 2009 Toronto 2009 Washington

Register HERE! (closed)

Here is an image of the Strat-O-Matic board game:

Since 1961, Strat-O-Matic has created the most realistic simulation of statistically accurate baseball. Every player is rated by Strat-O-Matic’s unique rating system with statistical precision in each phase of the game – batting, pitching, defense and running.


Strat-O-Matic Baseball is played with the exact same rules as professional baseball. Each major leaguer has his own Strat-O-Matic Player Card based on his overall stats from the 2009 season. The gamer controls every aspect of each play from determining the starting line-up, stealing, hitting and running to replacing the starting pitcher. Instead of a bat and ball, the gamer uses dice, player cards and charts to play the game.

I think that covers it! Good luck!

Tribe-O-Matic Update #356

I am still awaiting the arrival of the prizes for my own Strat-O-Matic Giveaway.  Does that mean you have to sit there twiddling your thumbs, sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for me to announce the official launch of my tournament/giveaway?  Heck no!

WhiteSoxCards also took up the fine folks at Strat-O-Matic to give away some games, and he and I decided our collective readers would be better served by not competing against each other for prize handouts!  Head over there and keep watching, as his contest will run THIS WEEK!!

In the meantime, after I get my prizes in the mail and work out the "deets" of my own contest, you still have chances to win copies of the board game or the computer version from Steve @ WhiteSoxCards!

Just be sure to check in here for more updates.  BTW, did you know you can call Strat-O-Matic? Yeap: 1-800-645-3455.

Saving the USPS, one "Great Giveaway" at a time...

I found it funny that on the day the USPS was asking Congress to cut back on their working days, I managed to mail off enough packages (many of which went Priority since I had gobs of those little boxes) to cover the daily pay of at least one postal worker and part of another's.

The trip required me to visit my vehicle twice.  Rather than unload everything at once, I opted to break the mailout into two purchases.  This helped get folks that had very little USPS business at hand to conduct their transactions between my trips.  I saw no reason to tie up the line for 30 minutes all by myself in one fell swoop.  Many patrons were appreciative of my arrangement.

As it turns out, Phoebe (my boss) happened in during my second load of packages.  To say the sheer number of items I was sending out overwhelmed her would be something of an understatement!  And while that was not anywhere on my radar when I came up with the idea of the "Great Giveaway," I have to admit that watching people's faces (especially that of the clerk behing the desk processing each of these packages) really brightened my day.

I've said all of that to say this: Everyone's packages have been mailed!  Except for the APO and my friends in Canada, everyone should get theirs by the end of the week, I would think. 

Thanks to everyone who helped me get all those cards out of the house!  Now, I just need to clean up the aftermath of sorting, packaging, etc, and my better half will be a much happier camper.  I will say, she has taken all of this in stride.  After all, my card habit is on par with her shoe habit... Well, not in number, of course, but in the amount of space they take up. Okay, maybe her shoes dont' take up QUITE as much space.

Happy collecting, everyone!  Tribecards is officially "back on the air!"

George Strait and the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Some of you may be reading the title of the post, checking the title of the blog to make sure you are in the right place, then scratching your head as to how this all connects.  Others of you, however, made the connection right away.  So, what does all of this have to do with baseball cards?  Well, the time has come to "Give it Away!"  Er, well, grammatically, "Give THEM Away," but that's not the title of the song sung by the two performers mentioned.

A long time ago, in a blog post far, far away, I offered up ALL the cards I had that were not part of my collection (or were not yet entered into my database).  During the process, it occurred to me that I should snap a picture of the "Last Great Tribecards Giveaway" in action:

 

Above, you see a part of the process.  On the left, stacks of cards with the teams I was not looking for at the time this was taken.  Basically, I had several boxes of unsorted cards which I went through 5 or 6 teams at a time.  If the cards were of the teams I wanted to pull out, they got put into the sorter you see in the upper right.  Otherwise, they were relegated to the stacks on the left until I was ready to repeat the procedure.  The 10-section sorter in the middle top area is where I sorted the selected teams based on each person that wanted that team.  It's either not as complicated as it seems, or is way more complicated than it probably needed to be.  I'm not really sure anymore.  Everything is something of a blur.

Once everything was sorted, each person's cards were placed in other sorters (in the photo above, one such sorter is seen mid-right).  After I completed each person's requests, I packaged the cards up for shipping.  Well, that was the theory anyway. In practice, I ended up with many, many stacks of cards divided by requester.  Once everything had been sorted and distributed, then I packaged them up:

 

The photo above does not do the sheer number of packages any justice.  The upper right portion is actually a large box that contains roughly 20 packages alone!  Now, what you may notice right away is differing sizes in packages.  Here's how that breaks down (for those interested... well, and for those not interested but who are reading along anyway):

First and foremost, the number of cards each person gets was determined by the number of cards I had for a given team.  Next, the number of people asking for particular teams affected the number of cards each of those folks receive.  Makes sense, right?  If 15 people ask for Yankees, each person (theoretically) will get fewer cards than if only 2 people ask for Pirates.  Another factor that comes into play is the number of teams requested.  Generally, most people received at least SOME cards from each team they asked for.  There are exceptions, of course, but I tried to spread the wealth as best as possible.  The one main exception to that was the "12 Days" requests.  The folks that had asked for cards during the "12 Days" giveaway were given extra cards because they have been waiting MUCH too long for their cards (in my opinion. As is turns out, you all are a bunch of amazingly patient and forgiving folks!!).

I only have three addresses that I'm missing, and those folks have been contacted.  What does that mean?  That means *ALL* the packages should go out Monday!! WAHOO!!

THANK YOU to everyone that asked to participate in the "12 Days" and "Last Great" giveaways!!  I hope you enjoy your cards as much as I enjoyed putting these together.  It's a lot of work, but knowing these cards are going to the folks that collect them makes it all worth it!  And those that asked for "anything" or "random oddball cards," you have no idea what you've called upon yourselves!

Poetic Justice Note: After I had sealed up all the packages, my son walks in with a binder full of cards he had been collecting.  He drops the folder on the floor and says, "Hey, you can give these away, too!"  AUGH!  Well, I'll save those for trading or some other giveaways later.  Who knows what will become of those yet.

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!?

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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...)

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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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)!
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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...)
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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!)
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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... :-)
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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. :-)
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!)
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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:
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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!
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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!
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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)
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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)
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!!"