30
November

A sneak peek into my ballot for my league’s Hall of Fame

In the Illowa APBA League, it’s time for our annual IAL Hall of Fame vote.  We started our Hall of Fame back in 1996 when IAL legends Mike Schmidt (career numbers 535 HR, 1468 rbi, 1400 runs) and Steve Carlton (214-148, 3.50 ERA, 2506 K) were obvious charter members.

Since then, we’ve inducted 18 more including luminaries such as Rod Carew, Gary Carter, Joe Carter, Mark McGwire. and Orel Hershiser.  Even Barry Bonds (we simply couldn’t ignore 655 HR, 2060 runs and 1709 rbis). 

Our rules for the Hall of Fame selection are simple.  A one-year waiting period after retirement is required before nomination.  A two-thirds majority is necessary to be inducted.  If a player receives five votes, he can be voted on the next year. 

Here is our ballot for this year:

 

Pitcher G GS  CG Sho W L Sv IP  BB K ERA
#D. Eckersley 1065 322 91 14 168 183 208 3103” 987 2100 4.04
E. Loaiza 504 261 42 13 113 105 17 2193’ 715 1584 5.24
Brad Radke 340 340 61 22 147 112 0 2228 537 1503 4.18
F. Garcia 249 248 42 15 103 86 0 1635’ 557 1135 4.36
Name H R RBI 2b 3b HR SB AVG
#Ozzie Smith 2278 1245 693 408 62 29 589 0.249
#R. Alomar 2455 1503 965 488 62 215 462 0.273
#Barry Larkin 2064 1269 961 395 82 199 376 0.277
Larry Walker 2044 1364 1343 506 62 407 233 0.291
Vinny Castilla 1396 782 930 297 14 304 15 0.259
Javy Lopez 1267 614 836 204 19 259 2 0.263
R. Sanders 1342 931 790 305 49 282 247 0.257      

 

Before I tell you who I voted for (and who I didn’t vote for), let me say this.  The first thing I look at for hitters are runs and rbis.  Any hitter who racked up 1000+ in both category is looking good to me. 

I know, stat freaks are recoiling in horror because those are situational statistics.  That may be but I don’t look at averages so much since our league has historically been a pitching-rich one.  The same can be said in reverse about pitchers. 

Of course, like real baseball, there’s more than stats.  What player carried a team and if a player really had a difference on a playoff team. 

We have seven votes to use but I make it a point never to feel obligated to use all of them unless it is warranted.  This year, I used just four votes. 

Those four votes went to:

Dennis Eckersley

He would be the first pitcher with a losing record but you and I know that’s not where his value lies.  Not only was he a quality starter, he turned into a fantastic reliever in the second half of his career.  He accumulated 208 saves and 2100 strikeouts.

Larry Walker

Productive hitter all-around plus great fielder to boot.  He knocked 407 dingers, drove in 1343 and scored 1364 runs.  Six 100+ rbi seasons.  Hitting .291 over a career in our league is quite a feat.  Hit 56 homers in 1996.

Robbie Alomar

This vote is contingent on whether Alomar spit on an Illowa APBA League umpire.  Let’s assume for his sake he didn’t. 

Alomar has the advantage of being a middle infielder with a decent glove, having good speed (462 SB) and even a bit of pop (215 HR).  This translated into some good numbers (1503 runs and a surprising 965 rbis). 

Ozzie Smith

Finally, since Ozzie was a long time player of mine, this is my sentimental vote.  It does come with some merit however.  Don’t look at his .249 batting average, that’s not where is value is.  I don’t need to tell anyone about Smith’s glovework. 

Smith does come with some offensive goodies too.  His 589 stolen bases is fourth all-time in our league and 1245 runs scored ain’t bad either.

 

Those are my votes submitted today to our vice-president.  I’ll let you know what comes of it. 

Go Ozzie!

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18
November

Follow-up on the Ebay Sale of 1956 original set

1956apba[1]

I’ve been in contact with Pete, the man who bought the 1956 original set of cards on Ebay I wrote about a few days back.

We initially got talking because he wanted to clarify my erroneous statement that the set was bought by a Sport Memorabilia shop.  My bad!  It was my error (though for some reason Ebay showed it as such). 

Once that was cleared up, I found out Pete also has the the original 1957 set as well.  If memory serves, that was a pretty fun set.  I think I have the reprint somewhere. 

Pete hadn’t actually received the cards at that point so I asked him to shoot me an email when they arrived to give me his impressions of the set.  

Sure enough, I got his email last night and this is what Pete had to say:

 
I received the cards.  I’m very happy.  They all have either the batting average or pitching record written neatly on the top of the card but other than that the cards are close to mint.  I think they may have been handled by me more in the last day than in the previous 50 years.  Included with the cards came XC’s (I think), about 4-5 extra cards.  The only negative as described in the Ebay ad is the Reds set.  It’s  in pretty bad set, looks like some water damage as they are all warped but certainly could be played with.  Of course I knew they would be in bad shape but again, with the condition of the other cards, overplays the Reds team.  As I said, I’m very happy with what I got.
 
That’s too bad about the water damage.  The important thing is that you are happy with what you got. 
 
Anyway, thanks for sharing, Pete.  What’s next?  1955 original set??
 

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18
November

Platoon wins 2009 OAPBA championship

Rod Caborn writes in with a 2009 final season update for the Orlando APBA Association:

 

Platoon wins second straight OAPBA championship in 2009

Joe Passiatore earns seventh league title; Platoon beats Beefers in World Series in five

The 2009 OAPBA season featured one of the league’s greatest pennant races between two great teams and a surprise performer in the ’09 World Series.  When the dust had cleared, however, Joe Passiatore’s Platoon (56-30) had won their second straight OAPBA championship.  The series victory gave Passiatore his  OAPBA seventh title, more than any other manager in league history.

 Platoon, Taz Devils 56-30 records far surpassed the rest of OAPBA; Platoon captures Red Barber Division after fierce battle with Devils

Dominating the league in 2009 were the Platoon and Dave Larson’s Tazmanian Devils (56-30).  Both teams dueled in razor-thin pennant races in both halves in the Red Barber Division.  The Platoon and Devils wound up with identical records in both halves, necessitating a one-game playoff in each half.  The Platoon won the first half playoff, topping the Devils 5-4, with an improbable late-game comeback that took the first half title out of the Devils hands.  In the second half playoff, the Devils gained revenge with a 7-2 win.

In the Red Barber divisional playoff, the Platoon finally broke the deadlock, rolling over the Devils in five games, and advancing to the defense of their 2008 title in the ’09 World Series.

 Beefers (42-42) surprise winner in Harry Caray Division

In the Harry Caray Division first half race, perennial powerhouse, Walt Taylor’s Whatevers (48-36) won a spirited battle with Dave Mitchell’s Titans (36-48).   The Whats won nine of their final 11 games, including a three-game sweep of the Gashouse Gang to end the half, to give them a 24-18 record, two games better than the Titans.  It was the fifth straight half-season title won by the Whatevers.

The Harry Caray second half saw Rod Caborn’s Beefers (42-42) rebound from a disappointing first half (16-26)  tog 26-16 and capture only their second half-season title in the team’s 20-year.  The Beefers then surprised the Whatevers in the Harry Caray playoffs, winning in six games as 2b Jose Lopez and longtime Beefer 3b Chipper Jones led the way.

 

Platoon dominates World Series; rolls over Beefers in five games

In the 2009 World Series, the Platoon’s combination of clutch hitting by Series MVP 1b Mark Texeira, two-game winning hits from 3b Alex Rodriguez, and four saves from ace closer Mariano Rivera were too much for the Beefers.

The Platoon won the opener 1-0 and Texeria and Rodriguez lifted the Platoon to a 6-4 Game Two win.  After Texeria hit a devastating bases-loaded triple in the ninth inning to win Game Three, the Beefers were all but done.  After the Beefs exploded for an 8-1 win in Game Four, the Platoon ran away in Game Five with a 5-2 win and their seventh league title and second OAPBA crown in a row.  Series MVP was Texeira, whose key hits in Games Two and Three were critical to the Platoon’s Series win.

 OAPBA’s 22nd season featured great races, new features

OAPBA’s 22nd season ran smoothly with no managerial or franchise changes in the league.   Now one of the longest-running leagues in the U.S., OAPBA is regarded as one of the most stable leagues in the entire country.

The divisional setup for the league changed for 2009 with the Whatevers and Beefers moving to the Harry Caray Division and Steven Korb’s Turfbeaters and Joe Passiatore’s Platoon moving to the Red Barber Division.   The divisional changes were determined at the league draft in February as part of the league’s decision to re-draw divisions on an every-other-year basis.

The Harry Caray Division consisted of Rod Caborn’s Beefers, Walt Taylor’s Whatevers, Marc Bostrom’s Road Warriors, and Dave Mitchell’s Titans.  The Red Barber Division was comprised of Dave Larson’s Tazmanian Devils, Joe Passiatore’s Platoon, Kris Stenger’s Gashouse Gang, and Steven Korb’s Turfbeaters.

OAPBA maintained the 84 game format matching inter-Division opponents against each other 30 times and non-Division opponents nine times for 42 games in each of two halves.   The playoffs continued as a best-of-seven format.

The fifth annual inter-division All-Star series matching the best players, based on season performance, from the Harry Caray Division vs. the Red Barber Division in a best-of-three series, provided an end-of-season incentive to managers of last place teams.  The Red Barber Division, guided by Kris Stenger (Gashouse Gange) won the 2009 Series 2-1 with Ryan Braun, Devils, who hit .384 with a pair of home runs, named the Series MVP.

Details about the 2009 season, including 2009 leaders,  can be found at: http://web.me.com/rcaborn/http___web.me.com_OrlandoAPBA/2009_leaders.html

Thanks for the update, Rod.  Congrats to Joe and his Platoon!!

 

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15
November

Tips on trading

Advanced Fantasy Baseball has “Ten Fantasy Baseball Trade Secrets”.  It was posted last May and admittedly is geared toward fantasy baseball not APBA.  However, most of the tips still apply. 

Like #9:

 

Concern yourself with the end result more than the price. You may think giving up a certain keeper for a collection of players you would never keep is madness. However, if that collection of players would guarantee you a championship it would be a very small price to pay.

 

This one is a big one that a lot of us in my league seem to face.  Ok sure, in a vacuum, the shortstop you’re letting go is more valuable than the outfielder you’re getting.  But you already have three shortstops and are desperate for outfield help.  Getting that extra outfielder will save you from picking one in the draft and essentially free that pick up to use for something else. 

Maybe for a young prospect.

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10
November

Original 1956 set (most of it) goes for $338 on Ebay

1956apba

 

Interesting auction on Ebay that just finished (here’s the link for as long as they keep it up).  The seller was auctioning off the original 1956 APBA baseball card set. 

Here the description of the set off the Ebay page:

 

This set has 15 of the original 1956 teams (Reds are missing). Those 15 teams are in very good to excellent condition. However, each card has either the batting AVG or ERA of the player written at the top in pen. The envelopes are in good shape but, again, each has the year written at the top in pen. In addition I have included a set of the 1956 Reds team from a loose collection I purchased. The Reds cards have no writing but are in poor shape, as you can see by the scan. They have no original envelope. There is no lineup sheet. The cards look better than the scan except for the Robinson card, which like the rest of the Reds is in poor condition. 

Don’t bother getting your wallet out.  The auction just finished.  It sold for $338.  The buyer was a Sports Memorabilia Cards & Fan Shop an individual who already had the 1957 set.. 

The cards (at least the ones in the scanned image) look in good shape all things considered but they are marked up.  And there is one team missing. 

Anyway, your opinion??  Was a bargain?  Did he pay too much?  Do we care?  :)

 

 

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6
November

I found my George Brett autographed APBA card!

Baseball: 1985 World Series: St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals George Brett AB. Credit: Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated SetNumber: X32250 TK6 Yesterday, when cleaning out my office I found a treasure.  After being lost for at least 10 years, I found my George Brett autographed APBA card.  And there’s a pretty cool story that goes with it, too.

In the early 90’s, after I graduated from college and before I could find a job in my field, I made ends meet by working as a custodian at a church here in Urbana.  The receptionist at the church was a very nice lady named Jean who also happened to be the mother of Kansas City Royals trainer, Nick Swartz.

Jean would make a couple trips down to KC during the season to visit Nick and had a chance to meet a few of the Royals players.  Not only that, she would get periodic updates from Nick over the phone on how the team was doing.  Knowing I was a baseball fan, Jean would fill me in on some of the Royals gossip.

I didn’t want to take advantage of my friendship with Jean but I asked her if it would be ok if she would be willing to take something for a player to autograph for me.  She, of course, said yes.

George Brett was an obvious choice.  Well, he WAS George Brett.  It was 1992 and it was pretty established that he was a future Hall of Famer.  There’s that.

But it also that he was on my Illowa APBA League team.  I had acquired him for his last season in 1993.  I thought about giving him my IAL card but opted for a more suitable card befitting Brett’s hitting prowess.  I decided on his 1990 card when he hit .329.

So she took the card and was off to Kansas City.

When she came back, she had my APBA card signed.  And this is how it went down (told second hand through her son):

scan0002 scan0001

When Nick Swartz gave Brett my APBA card, he turned over a few times, looking it over.  Then he noticed the nickname that APBA had given him all these years, ‘Mullet’.  He said aloud, “That’s not right!  My nickname is ‘Lou’!  With a black sharpie pen, he proceeded to cross out ‘Mullet’ on my APBA card.

According to his mom, Nick Swartz, who witnessed this, said “Umm, I’m not sure you’re supposed to do that”, probably not knowing exactly what these APBA cards were or how they were used.

“Ehh, it’s okay”, Brett said.  And wrote ‘Lou’ next to the crossed out name.  He turned it over and signed his name on the back.

Back in Urbana, when Jean asked me about it, I said, “Are you kidding?  George Brett adding that little touch makes it that much more valuable to me in my opinion.”  I always cherished that card for that reason.

Then a few more years later, when I moved my office down to the basement, I lost track of it and couldn’t find it despite hours of looking (believe me, I moved file cabinets looking for it).

Last night, however, during a cleaning of my office, I looked in a packet of old APBA cards.  Lo and behold!  There he was!  So glad he’s back.

Let’s see, where did I put him again?

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