Minor League Ballplayer traded for bats....literally

For the first time in baseball history, a player was traded for a bag of baseball bats.

Independent league pitcher, John Odom will, one day, be in the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York - just not for his baseball prowess. The 26-year-old pitcher was traded from the Calgary Vipers of Calgary, Alberta, Canada to the Laredo, TX Broncos of the United League for $655 worth of wooden bats.

Actually it is not as bad as it sounds. According to a Weslaco, TX television station KRGTV-5, Odom was under contract with the Vipers but was stopped by Canadian immigration officials. Not being allowed to get into Canada, Calgary had no choice but to trade their pitcher. They were not entirely enthused with any player on the Broncos' roster so they asked for 10 maple wood, double-dipped black34-inch C243 baseball bats.

Broncos GM Jose Melendez chimed in on the deal and told USA Today "they just wanted some bats, good bats — maple bats."

Good deal for the Broncos; bad deal for the self-esteem of the pitcher.

Odom was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2003 and played 38 games for the Single A affiliate before being released at the beginning of the 2008 season.