I almost hate to admit it, but I do spend a fair amount of time on Facebook.
As a sports fan, I use it to keep up with the San Diego Padres and its minor league system - El Paso Chihuahuas, San Antonio Missions, Ft. Wayne Tincaps and Lake Elsinore Storm. I also follow a couple Green Bay Packers groups, as well as the page for the Iowa Wild Hockey Club.
As a former San Diego resident who's hoping to possibly move back to "America's Finest City" upon retirement, there's a few groups there I stay in touch with. The way I look at it, if we do move back there, I want to be aware of what's going on in that particular neighborhood.
As a sprint car fan, there are racing groups. As a writer, there are groups I belong to in order to find possible story ideas. And of course, there are a few friends that I keep in touch this way.
Recently, the Lake Elsinore Storm, San Diego's Class A California League affiliate, ran a Facebook contest entitled Back in the Day Card Giveaway. Each day, for 10 days, they gave away autographed cards of former Storm players -- Dirk Hayhurst (10 cards), Jose Lobaton (9 cards), Logan Forsythe (8), Evan Meek (7), Cody Decker (6), Zach Britton (5), Rick Renteria (4), Josh Collmenter (3) Mike Moustakas (2), and Corey Kluber and Buster Posey (1).
After numerous entries, I was finally drawn in the Evan Meek giveaway. It wasn't long before I received a rather cool envelope from the Storm, which included this notecard.
Inside was my autographed Evan Meeks card.
Meek didn't actually spend that much time with the Padres, or the Storm, for that matter. Originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 11th round of the 2002 draft, he was released in June 2005 and then signed as a free agent by San Diego in September 2005. In August 2006, his Padres career ended, as he was traded to Tampa Bay, along with Dale Thayer, for Russell Branyan.
He then bounced back and forth between the Rays and the Pirates. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Rays in the 2007 Rule 5 draft, returned in May 2008, and then purchased by Pittsburgh in May 2008. He was then signed as free agent by the Texas Rangers (Dec. 2012), Baltimore Orioles (Feb. 2014) and the Washington Nationals (Jan. 2015).
His main claim to fame, however, was being named to the 2010 All-Star game as a Pirate.
They also enclosed a team decal, which is definitely going to find a home on my red Toyota Rav 4. you have to admit, that's a totally way cool logo.
That's cool! I only entered (on Twitter) for the Cody Decker autograph. Didn't win, but it was a pretty cool giveaway, I know a few other Padre fans who won a card.
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