10th anniversary giveaway begins now

I haven't done too well finding the right time to start this giveaway. I thought Monday would be perfect as it was a day off and there's no baseball on TV.

But Target decided to complicate things by removing all its trading cards from the store -- from the very spot they've been residing for at least 10 years -- and replacing it with a wall display of gift cards. I was going to the grocery store and thought I'd swing by Target to see if Topps Update had made an appearance. Instead I was greeted by chain restaurant overload.

What the heck?

Needless to say, I was unnerved and quite upset. I immediately headed for the toy department to see if they were stashed there. I went up and down every blasted toy aisle. Nothing.

On the way back to the front I was in such a state that I didn't even bother to avoid the people who act like they're the only ones in the store. You know those people right? It's getting to be an epidemic. My mom taught me to step aside when you're starting to share the same space with someone. Nobody else's mom apparently teaches that anymore. So I clipped the 20-something couple in outdoor gear joking around who should've seen me coming but didn't. I sideswiped the dude standing in the middle of an aisle intersection for no reason. I stepped on an old dude's shoe who didn't move to the side as I stayed in my lane. And I bumped a woman and her baby stroller because a baby stroller is not an automatic sign of the right-of-way.

I didn't care. In the least. Target had taken away my cards. The most consistent source for immediate card gratification decided a discounted trip to Red Lobster was more urgent. Unless they change their mind (and I've already got customer assistance on the line) I'm going to have to go to Walmart more often -- I really hate the thought of that -- for my card fix.

Bleah.

(I've been told that at other stores, Target shifted the cards to other places in the store, such as the electronics section. I'll have to check that out).

So, yeah, Target has trashed trading cards and the Dodgers are in the World Series against my brother's favorite team (his most recent text: "surrender or die"). But I'll get this giveaway going for ya!

So, as you know, this is a card draft and I've already shown the goodies available for the 31 people eligible to participate.

I'm going to try to get this giveaway completed as quickly as possible as this is a content-driven blog and I don't want to drag this out for weeks. So here is how it will go:

I will try to post a new giveaway post as soon it's the next person's turn to select. That person has a full 24 hours to make a selection. They can either select in the comments of the post or email me their pick. But if they don't do it in 24 hours I'm moving on to the next slot.

So, here are the prizes one more time:

In list form:

1. 1978 Topps Nolan Ryan (in fair-to-good condition)
2. 2011 Lineage Andre Ether jersey relic
3. 2017 Topps Hank Aaron short-print
4. 2014 Panini Donruss Kyle Seager jersey relic
5. 2016 Topps Holiday Corey Kluber jersey relic
6. 2008 Topps Babe Ruth insert ('54 design)
7. 1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr.
8. 2010 Topps Ryne Sandberg short-print
9. 2010 Topps Ernie Banks short-print
10. 2010 Topps Cy Young short-print
11. 2016 Topps Allen and Ginter Rod Carew jersey relic
12. 2017 Topps Babe Ruth short-print
13. 2017 Topps Lou Gehrig short-print
14. 2011 Topps Andre Dawson short-print
15. 2017 Topps Charlie Blackmon all-star game jersey relic
16. 2017 Topps Jackie Robinson short-print
17. 2017 Topps Sandy Koufax short-print
18. 1972 Topps Harmon Killebrew
19. 1976 Topps Babe Ruth
20. 2012 Topps Willie Mays short-print
21. 1971 Topps Hoyt Wilhelm
22. 1976 Topps Mike Schmidt
23. 2010 Topps Heritage Russell Martin jersey relic
24. 2017 Topps Johnny Bench short-print
25. 2010 Topps Dizzy Dean short-print
26. 2010 Topps Lou Gehrig short-print
27. 1954 Bowman Don Newcombe
28. 2012 Topps Factory Set Willie Mays insert
29. 1933 Goudey John Henry (Heinie) Sand
30. 1971 Topps 6-card lot
31. 1993 Leaf Series 1 box

To decide what order the giveaway participants will pick, I let the randomizer do the work. I randomized the participants 10 times -- for 10 years of this blog, of course! -- and this is the order for picks:

Jordan gets the first pick of the giveaway!

Once he makes his pick, John Bateman will go next, followed by David and so on.

I'll try to get the next post up so the next person can make their pick as quickly as possible. My daily schedule, though, may interfere (I often schedule posts ahead of time, which is impossible with a "live giveaway" like this).

If someone doesn't choose to select, I understand. We'll just skip that person's turn (if I I have a card not on the giveaway list that I think that person might like, I'll set it aside for them as a sort of consolation prize). If I have prizes leftover at the end of the 31 people selecting, I'll go to the next people on the list. Here are the first few people who will get a shot if there are any prizes remaining:

32. mr haverkamp
33. Sport Card Collectors
34. Bru
35. Fuji
36. Tim B.

And there are others after that.

So is everybody set?

Let's start claiming cards!

Jordan's up! Select by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday!

Thanks for playing!