2013 Tribecards Giveaway from Outer Space Thingy

Josh D asked a great question:

Can you please confirm how the claiming DURING the season would work? If I leave a spot open and you pull a Yogi Berra card from a pack, can I then claim/scream "Yogi Berra!" and get that card?

Or do I only get the Yogi Berra cards that are opened after I claim?

Though I am still working on the rules themselves, this question has a couple of aspects that can be explained with certainty.

#1 - "If I leave a spot open..." - First, you do not need to leave spots open to participate or to lay claim to cards or hold a place.  The "Top 20" is merely a way to kickstart the season.  So, even if you fill up your initial 20 spots, you will still be allowed to claim players during the season.  So, by the end of the season, some people may have claimed 30 players and others only claimed 6.  It's all about what YOU want to collect (and how the initial draft plays out, of course)!

#2 - "Can I then claim/scream 'Yogi Berra!' and get that card?" - Yes. That is basically the way I envision this happening. And, you wouldn't just get THAT card. You would get EVERY Yogi Berra card we come across during the season.  The advantage to claiming Yogi in your "Top 20" of course is that you lay claim now and don't have to wait.  Well, assuming someone else didn't get him in the initial draft... It's a risk either way. After all, what if you claim him and we never see one, right?  I haven't worked out the details on how the "name it/claim it" system will work, but that is the gist of it!

#3 - "...opened after the claim?" - No, if you lay claim to a player that is unclaimed, you will get EVERY card of that player during the break.  So, even if you manage to wait until the very end to claim a player (that no one else has claimed) that you want, you will get EVERY one of his cards presented during the break (depending on "multiple players on one card" rules, etc).

As mentioned before, all unclaimed players at the end of the regular season will be randomly distributed among all the participants.

The important take-aways here:
1) You will be able to claim players throughout the season, no matter how many of your "Top 20" spots you fill.
2) You will be able to claim an unclaimed player during the season and will receive ALL of that player's cards.

As I said, I am still ironing out details of the rules, so questions like this help me do just that!

Great questions.
--David

Wrapping up loose ends from last year's break

Hey everyone!
  Boy, what a procrastinator I turned out to be, eh!?  Everyone's packages from LAST SEASON'S 182 Packs contest has been mailed as of today (Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013), EXCEPT:

Nathan (Blue Jays)
Jon (Kerry Wood, Frank Thomas, Tony Gwynn)
Tim (Cardinals, Yankees, Twins)
Andy (Mark Grace, '93+ Stadium Club)

For whatever reason, guys, I cannot find your mailing addresses.  Please shoot me your address (again!) and I'll get these sent pronto!

One other note: There is a 99.9% chance I sent AdamE two packages by mistake. I think one was for AdamS. If so, let me know and I will help get the package to the right person!

Well, on that note: If *anyone* gets the wrong cards from the 2012 break, let me know. I'll do what I can to fix it. I learned a LOT from last season's break.  This season should go much better.

Thanks!
--David (Tribecards)

The initial draft is now open!

Hey everyone!  The 2013 Tribecards Giveaway Draft is now OPEN!!

If you have signed up *AND* you have received the "Welcome" email from me, you can enter your initial draft picks using the form linked below.

When you fill out the form, please include the same email address you used when you signed up (er, well, except for Greg Gay. haha, use the 'corrected one.') or else I cannot match drafts with participants.

You must pick at least one player to collect (or else why would you even sign up, right?).

The remainder of the 20 slots are optional, but remember that you stand a chance to miss out on your player picks if you don't even list them at all.

This will work just like a fantasy draft: You list your picks, the draft order will be randomized, and then players will be dolled out according to their rankings.  Players will only be assigned to one participant, so if you choose "Pete Rose" and you draft him, the you get ALL Pete Rose cards pulled during the 2013 regular MLB season in this giveaway!

Draft results will be posted as soon as the draft is over.  The draft itself will take place after March 1, 2013 (the closing date for sign-ups).  If you are not signed up yet, You still have until March 1!! Just look through older posts to find the sign-up form.

Remember: You will have ample opportunity to add players throughout the season as we bust open more and more packs!!

Here is the Draft Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AG2BJJmGmGmwABThOmDGoPKpFlN6sMLY76imwYTZo4o/viewform

A few things to ponder:

• I have already secured a couple packs of cards from the 70's. Though they are sealed (in fact, a little TOO sealed in my eyes), they appear to have been opened, repacked with different cards, then resealed, as is often the case with such older packs. I don't know this for a fact, it is merely speculation given the conditions. The point is: We'll see some pack-fresh cards from the 70's!
• I am working on securing other older packs as well. I was VERY surprised to find that my readers prefer older sets of cards. 
• Naturally, there will be a mix of packs, brands, years, etc.

Prepping for the 2013 Giveaway Season!

I know I still have packages to send from the 2012 season, and I promise those are getting out there bit by bit.  Thanks to EVERYONE that played along last season!

Now, we are gearing up for the 2013 season and I want to try something different than last year.  As I've posted previously, this season, I will rip open at least one pack of cards for each day in the regular season (same as last season).  This season, however, instead of having your pick teams, this time around we will choose players!  Yeap. You choose a player and you get any/all cards drawn throughout the season with that player on it.  Of course, multi-player cards will have special rules.  Non-player cards will have special rules, too.  But, in general, I think this will be a lot of fun!

I managed to find two spreadsheets (one for batters, one for pitchers) that appears valid from 1800's through the 2012 season.  I will create a Google Docs form/spreadsheet for the "draft" as it were.  Here is my vision:

Each week, participants will submit their pick (one player per participant per week). Choices can be ANY player: Babe Ruth, Bobby Abreu, Reggie Jackson, Mike Trout, etc etc etc.  Players will be "drafted" on a first-come/first-serve basis based on the Google Form. Duplicate choices will be deleted. As the Commish of this craziness in the making, I will watch the picks and try my best to communicate with everyone as to where things sit.

Anyone will be allowed to join at any time during the regular season, unless you'd rather have a sign-up/cut-off period.  I am certainly open to that!  We could limit the number of participants (I would cut it off at 40 people if we did it that way).  Or, keep it wide open.

The thing to remember is that all participants will keep EVERY card of their player choices: base, insert, auto, material, duplicates, etc. You get everyone of the player cards for your chosen players.

At the end of the regular season, all unclaimed players and non-player cards will be randomly distributed among all participants.

I am still fleshing out rules, but I'm adding a poll to the site for the next week: Would you prefer an open-ended participation or a fixed-participation size giveaway this season?  I will go with majority rule: whichever side has the most votes by Saturday, January 26, 2013, I'm going with it.

The options are:
1) No limit: Any number can join, and they can join anytime during the season.
2) No limit: Any number can join, but we set a cut-off date- no one enrolls after cut-off date.
3) Yes limit: Limit the number that can join (40), but open enrollment until all spots filled.
4) Yes limit: Limit the number that can join to 40, AND have a cut-off date to enroll.

With option 4, I would set a cut-off date. If we reach 40 folks before the cut-off, the enrollment ends. If we reach the date before we hit 40 folks, enrollment ends with the number signed up.

Give me your thoughts! Feel free to comment below as well.  Let's get ready for some pack-bustin!

Address Update

Hey everyone!  Now that I am putting pen to package, I would like updated addresses from the following folks (if your name is *NOT* on this list, I either have your address already or I sent you an email for verification).  I have known some of you for MANY years, and at one time I had everyone's address in a file. That has since vanished, so I appreciate your help.  You can send me your address to davidinark at either gmail or yahoo.

Need addresses for:

Adam (Lincecum Insert and Kershaw insert from pack 001)
Andy (Mark Grace, Stadium Club)
Jon (Kerry Wood, Frank Thomas, Tony Gwynn)
FanOfReds (Reds)
JoeC (Post-92 Reds Doubles, Astros)
Baseball Card Snob
roblw1980 (Mets, Blue Jays, Rays)
Stealing Home (Yankees, Cardinals, Tigers)
Tim (Cardinals, Yankees, Reds)
Nathan (Blue Jays)

For clarification, these are the folks that are ready for shipping (I have your address at the time of this post and your package has been addressed!):

Johnathan
Matt R
James H
Don S
Padrographs
Josh D
Kary
Jeff L
Night Owl
GCRL
Cool Breeze
dawgbones
Billy S
Jeff W
Matt
CubbieBlue1984
Jafronious
Backstop Cards
TheToppsCollector
Martin S
jacobmrley (Max)