There is no denying that baseball is indeed a strange and bizarre sport. Over the years, there have been some pretty bad trades and free agent signings.

None, however, whether big League, minor League, or bush league can compare to a trade made by the Calgary Vipers. Late last month, the independent baseball team in the Golden State League sent John Odom to the Laredo Broncos, a team in the independent United League for ten maple baseball bats, worth about $650.

The Vipers were forced to make the trade it has been reported after it signed Odom a month ago because he was not allowed into Canada because of a minor criminal record as a juvenile, stemming from a fight he got into when he was 17 years old.

Odom was to be traded to the Broncos for an actual hitter, but no one caught the eye of the Vipers' management and they refused to trade him flat out for cash.

New bats, on the other hand, was too good of a deal to pass up.

It appears that the trade may have had no effect for the Broncos and those high quality bats may not be all that missed. The team has compiled a 7-5 record since the trade.

Odom started on May 31 for his new team, in a 9-5 loss, giving up a run in two innings of work.

This isn't the first crazy trade the Vipers have tried to execute. The team once tried to trade a player for 1,500 new seats when the team's stadium was being renovated.

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