Alright, so the other day I got this crazy idea stuck in my head. Found my old box of MLB Showdown cards from way back in 2004. You know that green box? Covered in dust, hiding at the bottom of my closet. Figured, hey, why not? Wanna see if I can actually build some decks that don’t suck.
Digging Out the Old Stuff
First thing, I gotta see what I’ve even got. Dumped that whole box right onto the living room floor. Cards everywhere. Total mess. Started grouping them like with like. All the hitters together. All the pitchers together. Commons, Uncommons, foils… felt like sorting laundry nobody wanted to do. Took forever.
Saw names like Barry Bonds, Pedro Martinez, Pudge Rodriguez. Man, brought back memories. But I’m not just looking at the big names, gotta see the numbers. Pulled out the rulebook too – felt like reading ancient scrolls trying to remember how this all worked.
Going Through the Big Players
Okay, deep breath. Time to actually check the ratings. Started with the hitters. Bonds? Dude was insane. His card has this massive On-Base number. Like, 20? Crazy high. That “Best Hitter” icon ain’t lying. Then there’s Albert Pujols. Guy could hit anything. Power numbers way up there.
But it ain’t just the famous ones. Flipped through tons of commons and uncommons. Looking for:
- Anybody with a decent On-Base or Speed who costs peanuts.
- Left-handed pitchers? Gold dust against certain lineups.
- Relief pitchers who don’t blow up instantly.
Found this Lance Berkman uncommon that felt like stealing. Good pop, decent OB, didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Finding the Pitchers Who Don’t Suck
Pitchers, man. Choosing these is scary. Pedro Martinez? Absolute monster card. High Control, awesome stuff… but oh boy, does he cost points. Almost the whole budget sometimes. Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson too? Total bosses.
But the bullpen! That’s where most decks fall apart. You find some guy with good stuff, then bam, 2 Control. Recipe for walking the bases loaded. Took me ages to find a few relievers that didn’t look like ticking bombs:
- Billy Wagner? Fast as hell, hits hard.
- Mariano Rivera? Closer gold, if you can afford him.
- Some lefty specialist? Can’t remember his name now, but solid against lefty batters for cheap.
Shuffled them around trying different combos.
Actually Trying to Build Stuff
Got my piles. Time to make something playable. Grabbed a lineup sheet first. Tried building around Bonds. Expensive, but man… the threat. Stacked the middle with power like Pujols. But then the points ran out so fast! Rest of the lineup was filled with these junk guys. Tried again. Focused on speed and getting on base cheaper. Had this Ichiro card? Speedster, hard to double up. Felt quicker.
Pitching staff next. Went with Halladay as the ace. Tough. Filled out with cheaper starters like Mark Mulder. Bullpen was mostly mid-range guys. Wagner closing. Counted the points… cut that one card to afford a better bench bat. Always tight. Tried building something with Pedro. Awesome pitcher… but the rest of the team felt super weak. Like, one injury away from collapse.
Does Any of This Actually Work?
Tried play testing against myself. Terrible at shuffling. Flipped a coin for who was home. First game, my Bonds deck loaded the bases… then some scrub grounded into a double play. Felt about right. Pitchers sometimes got hammered. That cheap reliever? Yep, walked two, gave up a dinger. Classic.
My “speed” deck got some weird wins. Stole bases, squeezed out runs. Against the big pitcher? Pedro shut them down hard. No contest. Learned:
- Gotta spend on at least one real ace.
- Bullpen WILL give you ulcers.
- Don’t ignore bench players, sometimes they gotta pinch-hit.
- OB is king, but speed steals wins.
- Too many cheap guys? Deck falls apart like wet paper.
Played a few more games. Lost track of time. Fun? Yeah. Perfect deck? Nope. But closer than I started.
Guess What I Learned (The Hard Way)
Honest thoughts? Old game, broken sometimes. But digging through those cards was a blast. Saw what made players back then tick. Building a deck ain’t just about picking the shiniest cards. Gotta balance it all: stars, role players, cost, lefty-righty matchups.
Best cards? Bonds, Pedro, Pujols, Randy Johnson… they live up to the hype. But finding those sneaky good cheaper guys? That felt like winning the lottery. Game’s tough! Point limits force tough choices. Tried to build something nasty? Probably spent too much on a pitcher and forgot to buy a shortstop.
Dusted off the rules. Wasted a whole afternoon. Learned stuff I didn’t know back when I was a kid just collecting. Made something I think can win games? Maybe. Need to find someone else crazy enough to play against me now. Cards are back in the box… mostly sorted. For now.
