Going Postal: Beer tastes better on Draft.

I'm not talking about draught beer. Did you know that equally-fresh identical beer from the tap, cans, and bottles all tastes the same if packaged and poured properly? The key is to always drink beer from a glass, never from the bottle or can.

But this post isn't about beer. It's about a draft. A trade bait draft, that is! I participated in my first trade bait draft earlier this month over at The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame, and I made off pretty well. I made a list based on all the baseball hits in order of priority - cards I needed, cards I didn't - and then I sorted through his non-hit baseball bait for even more.

If you're into stats, keep reading. If not, scroll down to the first scan.

On my priority list, I included 50 hits, 17 of which fit directly into my collection, the rest being cards I figured I could either fit into the collection or trade with (all the other baseball hits). Beyond that, I found 20 other non-hits that fit into my crazy system of collections.

Of those 17 "needed" hits, I picked up eight - including seven of my top eight choices. The only card in the top 8 I didn't get was the Blalock Jersey/Bat.

Out of 20 non-hit baseball cards, I ended up with 15. I missed out on my number one pick, the 2009 Finest green refractor of Lance Berkman. I also lost my '08 Bowman Chrome refractor, '84 Fleer Update, '97 Donruss Power Alley, and '98 Donruss Preferred Great Xpectations. I also had the three 20th Anniversary Retrospective inserts, but I deliberately left those behind for The Dimwit.

That means I had eight hits, and fifteen non-hits off my list. What were the other two cards? Just read and see.

 I know you want to see the hits, but I'm going to make you wait. Or you'll just scroll down to see what I picked up. This is a four-card-sized poster "Preview" card for 1998 Sports Illustrated. Future home: Cardboard Zoo.

 How did I not have this already? Actualy, this is the wrong side. The intended showcase is the sticker itself. But hey, it's the Eck, with that awesome hair! Also headed to the Zoo.

 These three don't go to the Zoo. There's a WBC card and two awards/leaders cards! Pinella was my last pick. I should have picked up that sweet WWE sticker instead.

 More Zoo! McGriff is an Atlantic oddball issue, and then there are a couple minor league cards for good measure.

 Manny and the Crime Dog. Would that make for a buddy-detective/cop show title or what? I have the Comics set completed, but I didn't have a sample for the Zoo. And the same goes for the two McGriffs.

 It's easy to go specimen hunting for the zoo. Especially when there are lots of oddballs like this 1989 Topps Coin of Clemens. Too bad my scanner only focuses directly on the glass.

 I've got a fever, and the only cure, is more oddball! These three cards were the number two, three, and four cards on my must-have list of non-hits. I would have preferred the Griffey instead of Felix, but hey, this is awesome. I really need to get on the fan pack request bandwagon. Seriously.

Last of the non-hits is this OPC team checklist. I like the 2009 O-Pee-Chee team checklists because they have nice stadium pictures. This is one of the stadiums I have yet to visit.

Now let's get some hits!

 My last hit picked was this football autograph from Upper Deck Sweet Spot. I think it's pretty cool. There is a baseball version of this set (2007 Sweet Spot Sweet Beginnings - base card #101-142). I would love to put that together, but there are several SPs and some expensive cards (Matsuzaka for $150, please?) so I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Some day, one day.

There were several Fred McGriff cards available in the draft, and many of them ended up in my hands, including this Game Time jersey.

 I also grabbed this McGriff bat from 2001 Topps Traded.

 Maybe you can tell between the two cards, but the Dening is a Refractor, while the Robb is just a regular Chrome Sterling.

 

 Nomo STRETCH! This is a nice card, even if there is a big chunk of empty space between his armpit and the jersey that covered it.

 According to Wikipedia, Putnam was the USA Today High School Player of the Year in 2001. The page also claims he works for Facebook. He saw action in 11 games in 2007, batting .214, ended up in the Padres organization, and disappeared.

 I talked Johnny out of this Tejada card because, come on, it's Tejada. I ended up drafting the card a couple rounds later when most of my other top choices were taken. In fact, this card was ranked #15 of 17 hits I needed in the draft. It's a nice dual jersey card, though.

Last, and certainly not least, my number one pick in the draft was this Brad Thompson yellow printing plate from 2004 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. Unlike other plates I've shown on this blog, this one is backwards. I was very glad to pick this up, as plates are the most difficult cards to find for the Cardboard Zoo.

Twenty-five cards, all awesome! Every card except the football autograph has a home - but if you want to trade for the football autograph let me know. I'll trade for any of the baseball 2007 Sweet Beginnings helmet cards, no questions asked (other than condition, I suppose), or make me another offer. Thanks to the Mooss over at TGSNHOF for a great break! Hopefully I can join in on another!