John Odom is 655 times better than Jason LaRue

I think the independent leagues exist solely for ridiculous things like this. John Odom, formerly of the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League, was traded to the Laredo Tigers of United League Baseball. In exchange, Calgary didn’t ask for a player-they asked for 10 maple bats. The 10 maple bats cost $65.50 each, so this makes John Odom worth $655.

“I don’t really care,” he said Friday. “It’ll make a better story if I make it to the big leagues.” -John Odom

Hey! That’s the spirit John Odom. Maybe some day, you and C Jason LaRue can make up the cheapest major league battery in history. Of course, LaRue was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2006 for $1 and a bucket of baseballs. An Odom-LaRue battery is such a bargain that even the Marlins and Rays would float an offer their way.

Minor Leaguer traded for 10 baseball bats (Yahoo!)

The Best Baseball Mugshots of 2008

As you might or might not know, the new baseball mugshots came out Saturday. And boy are they more awesome and unprofessional than years past (I guess Darren Daulton is right that the world is going to come to an end in 2010). Let’s count down the funniest mugshots.

5. Chris Denorfia, RF, Oakland A’s

The former Red and right field contender for Oakland has facial hair disaster written all over it. If he really wanted to look cool, he would wear a Jeff Kent ‘stache.