19
April

What exactly is an APBA league?

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The IAL begins its 2013 season

On my post about the IAL draft weekend a few days ago, Scott Fennessy (who writes the fantastic write-ups on his 1905 replay on this blog) left a comment asking  “Just wanted to know how a league like this works as I have only played solo”.  

That’s a big question but probably deserves an answer.  I’ll be honest.  When I started this blog a few years ago, I came from a very league-centric perspective.  Oh, I’ve done (or at least started) my share of replays, most recently in conjunction with my friend Brando, but a lot of my APBA time and energy is spent on the Illowa APBA League. 

I realized I started this blog a few years ago with two incorrect assumptions:

1) Everyone plays in leagues-  Okay, I didn’t really think that but I had the idea that most APBA players had a good idea what they are all about.  While I think most have a faint idea of what happens in an APBA league, there certainly are some concepts regarding leagues that might be good to explain.

2)  All APBA leagues are run exactly like ours- I suppose that’s human nature to believe that if you’re doing something one way that works for you, you would assume everyone else would do it the same way.  That’s simply not true.  There are different methods of playing, modifications of the game, drafting and roster changes, schedule differences… you name it.  It’s amazing how diverse the leagues are. 

So what is an APBA League, already?

Now, to get this right, I don’t want to blow point #2.  I’ll be as general as possible in my definition of an APBA league. 

Generally speaking, an APBA league is a group of APBA players who play an APBA tabletop game in an organized fashion with a competitive aspect.  Games are usually scheduled in advanced and statistics are kept. 

The biggest factor in APBA leagues is each league member taking on the identity of their team.  They become the general manger, field manager, PR person, journalist, you name it.  They influence the outcome (hopefully, for the better) by making trades, drafting players and of course, managing the game in a competitive fashion. 

How do APBA Leagues differ?

There are many different types of leagues out there.  Each time I hear from one, I am reminded of that.  Here are some of the different ways they play:

The sport they play:  There are APBA leagues for pretty much every sport that the Company puts out.  Most prevalent are baseball and football leagues but I know there are leagues for hockey and soccer, maybe even golf. 

The game version they play:  There are Basic Game leagues, Master Game leagues as well as Baseball for Windows leagues.  The Basic and Master Games are also subject to various forms of modifications ranging from minor ones to revamping the pitching system (a post for another day). 

How the games are played:  Some leagues are played Face-to-face (F-T-F) while others are “mail” leagues with basic instructions sent to the opposing manager to be played.  Still others use the latest technology of the Internet and play via Skype.  A lot of leagues use a mix of what works. 

What seasons are played:  A lot of leagues use the current (i.e 2012) MLB season.  That said, retro leagues are becoming quite popular now.  Retro leagues are those that use sets from seasons from past years. 

What players are used:  Many leagues are draft leagues which initially draft players using some sort of draft to choose their players.  These leagues may be “continuous ownership” or “keeper” leagues in which the teams keep the same players from one year to the next.  Others may just use stock teams using the players on their actual MLB team.  I’ve even heard of retro league keeper leagues which start out as stock teams but through trades, rookie drafts the teams become unrecognizable and take on an identity of their own. 

How long their seasons are:  Some leagues play a full 162 game (or 154-game depending it’s a past retro league) season schedule.  Others because of time constraints or scheduling issues, agree to a shorter schedule such as a 100 games or 62 games. 

But what about Tournaments?

Tournaments are a great way to get a feel for competitive play.  They’re also a good way to meet other APBA players that you wouldn’t normally play.  APBA tournaments such as the one held at the annual APBA convention can be set up in a multitude of ways.  Normally though, it’s a one-time event as compared to a league which hopefully is set up with a long lasting goal in mind. 

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The Illowa APBA League circa 1983 (that’s me in the back with the orange shirt)

A few questions answered

In my conversation with Scott, he asked me some good questions.  I’ll say right now that I’m answering from the Illowa APBA League’s perspective since every league is different.  Hopefully, we’ll get some comments from others who are leagues, too

“How often does your league get together?”

It depends on the league’s schedule and geography.  Some leagues have members who live pretty close together.  Others are spread out across the country.  The IAL gets together as a whole three times a year.  Once for our draft/postseason, once for the All-Star Game, and one more time during the late spring where all we do is play APBA. 

“I was wondering how long your gaming sessions are?”

Again, this varies depending on the league, how their schedule is set up and how often they get together. 

The IAL plays 6 games series during our inter-league weekends.  For our intra-division series that are played in between, they are 9 games apiece.  The logic being that with a limited time in one weekend and five teams to play, 30 games is about our limit.  Also, some of us travel a bit for our intra-division series so it’s nice to get 9 games in for our effort. 

“Do you do these via email as well, or say even phone a game in (not like Piniella did that last season)?”

LOL… Yes, many do use Skype or even put the the other manager on speaker while playing.  In my opinion, it’s not as fun as face-to-face but more fun than doing them by mail.  The interaction is so key for me.  Also, computer leagues have used screen sharing software so that both managers can see and play BBW at the same time. 

“How do you work with rookie managers regarding say games allowed limits and other "break in" type stuff?”

That’s a good question.  Our new manager, John Heneghan could probably answer how well we did with that.  There are a lot of rules and regulations to keep in mind.  It helps to have them spelled out in a league constitution (here’s a link to the IAL’s) in case there are any questions.  That said, the veteran managers are pretty helpful with the new guy explaining the many nuances that wouldn’t necessarily be obvious to a new person coming on board.  That and we don’t try to rip him off in a trade either.  :)

 

Is an APBA league for everybody?  Probably not.  There are some good reasons to join (or form) a league but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. 

Why would you join an APBA League?

Because of the people!  Quite honestly, this is one the biggest reasons for me.  I’ve been in the IAL since 1980 and I have formed friendships and bonds with the members of the league.  We may have come together to play APBA but sometimes we get to jibber-jabbering that playing the games comes in second place.  

Because of the competitive aspect:  It’s one thing to play APBA solo or as part of a replay project.  It’s something totally different when the objective is to take a team and try to make it better and win with it while your opponents are trying to do the exact same thing.  That changes the goal of playing the game in a lot of ways. 

Every league is different.  The IAL is pretty laid back.  As I said, the social aspect is important to us but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to win either.  In my opinion, a fun, competitive atmosphere is conducive to a good time as long as every member is on the same page and understands the dynamics. 

Learning the game of APBA (and baseball):  There’s a lot to be said for the sharing of knowledge that happens between ten guys.  I’ve learned a lot about the game of APBA and the sport of baseball (the stories I’ve heard from the ‘old’ guys). 

Why would you NOT want to join a league?

2011 ial draft 216Because of the people!  Okay, I sort of threw that in there as a joke but it’s true.  If you are kind of person who likes to do things your way and needs to have control of your project, a league is not the best option.  Much of operating in a league is compromise and working towards a mutually acceptable solution. 

And yes, sometimes you may have to deal with people and situations that are not to your liking in leagues.  Fortunately, that hasn’t been a big issue with the leagues I’ve been in but I’ve heard stories.  My advice:  if you’re looking for a league, try to find a long-standing league with members that are committed to integrity. 

Adherence to logistics and regulations:  Some leagues require travel.  Almost all leagues require that games get played on a schedule.  Put simply, you need to follow the rules and conventions of the the league so that the league can run smoothly.  Unlike a replay where you have total control and call the shots, you must adhere to some (possibly strict) regulations or rules. 

Cost:  Similar to above, if occasional travel is necessary, you may need to pull out your wallet more than you would like. 

Summary

Personally, I like the back and forth that goes on during league play.  It’s not so much the competitive aspect though that appeals to me as well.   To me, it’s the organized banter, the re-creation of a new league rather than a replay of an existing one.  Don’t get me wrong, I certainly see the appeal of both.

I guess the biggest reason I like league play is that it takes Dick Seitz’ old PR statement “YOU BE the Manager” to the hilt.  As I said, when I become manager of the Twin City Thunderchickens, I take on many roles, from GM, manager, PR person, scout (even concession manager when I provide snacks :)).  With a league team, I am ultimately responsible for this team when it fails and I have bragging rights when it succeeds.

I realize I have only just started to scratch the surface for covering what it’s like to be in a league.  A lot of this is probably old hat to those of you already in leagues.  Or maybe you’re thinking, “No, that’s not how we do it!” (see Point #2 above).  Feel free to share your thoughts and/or experiences as though you were explaining it to someone who has never been in a league before. 

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10
March

2013 IAL Draft weekend in sight: April 5-7

Many of the APBA Baseball leagues have already conducted their 2013 drafts.  Not me league.  The Illowa APBA League is having ours very late this year.  No fear, the IAL postseason/draft weekend is soon approaching.  We plan to meet up in the first weekend of April in Downers Grove, Illinois.   We really do tend to pack it for the first of our three yearly get-togethers.  Not only do the four playoff teams battle it out till none are standing, we have our league meeting and draft.  To top it off, we play 30 games of the season.  To be sure, we don’t a whole lot of sleep for the weekend. 

ial all-star 021-001I should say a formal welcome to new IAL manager John Heneghan.  John has been a friend of the Illowa APBA League for a couple years now and can now say he owns his own team in the league.  I enjoy John’s appreciation of baseball history as he is quite knowledgeable of our favorite pastime.  Welcome John!

We’ve been discussing the outcome of league drafts lately on The APBA Blog.   It seems every league does it differently so it’s hard to compare apples and oranges sometimes.  Ours is a rookie draft but that’s a bit of a misnomer.  A few years back, we declared players under a certain limit (125 at-bats for players and 21 games or 50 innings) are not eligible for the draft (in other words, they can retire). Players already on a league team who are under these limits are eligible to be dropped for a draft pick as well. 

Case in point, Mike Trout.  Many of you in leagues already have him in your league.  Not the IAL… he’s eligible for our draft and will most likely go very high.   He didn’t hit the 125 at-bat ceiling in 2011 so he had to wait an extra year.

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Our 2010 draft:  Funny how I always seem to have the first pick

As to our method of drafting, our ten-team league uses a simple, reverse order draft.   Last to first and start back up with the last place team again. 

Note:  back when we had eight teams and four playoff spots, we have used (successfully, I think) a method which went 5,6,7,8, 4,3,2,1.  At the time, we felt that order gave the bottom division more incentive to win so they would be situated for the draft.  I have to admit, it was interesting to watch two races; one for the playoffs and the other for the first pick.  We’ve abandoned that idea when we expanded to ten teams.

A couple more points on our draft that may be unique:

-draft order can be affected by penalty points which can be accrued by lateness or overuse of players

-if a team returns all their players above the eligibility limit, the team can drop one player of their choice and receive a first round pick

-a manager may keep an non-eligible card on their roster instead of taking a draft pick for him (welcome back, Stephen Strasburg!)

I have five picks to play with in the coming draft though none of them are in the first round (see penalty points above :( ).  I do have most positions covered and only need a decent outfielder and some good arms who can pitch some innings for me. 

April 5th can’t come fast enough. 

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7
February

Pulling the trigger on a deal

Usfa-LVPD-RRight now, it’s the off-season in the Illowa APBA League.  We officially finished the 2012 campaign in January. Don’t ask how my Twin City Thunderchickens did.  Let’s just say losses were in the triple digits.  It’s the second year in a row that we’ve finished in last place and though I’m not a competitive person by nature, I made a promise to myself that it wouldn’t happen again.

And it won’t.  It helps that my pitching staff is bolstered by long awaited starter Stephen Strasburg (BXY).  When Strasburg was injured all 2011 in the MLB, I had the option to just receive a rookie draft pick for him in the 2012 draft just like every other uncarded player on my team.  However, I chose to keep him on my roster as an uncarded player sitting on the bench all year.  Seeing how he performed in real life in 2012, I believe it was right move.  Heck, he’ll even have a good hitting card too (four 0s and a 44-7).

But my 2013 team would still have weaknesses. Troy Tulowitzki my former first round draft pick and star shortstop was injured for most of the year in the majors.  Both of my catchers (John Buck and Geovany Soto) have 25-22 on their cards.  And I still am woefully short of innings on the pitching staff as well as at-bats in the outfield.  Fortunately, I have five draft picks to take care of those needs.

Sometimes rookie draft picks can’t take care of those needs and if I can help with my needs from a trade, I will.  I made my first trade in two years a few days ago.  My trading partner in the deal was my friend/rival across town, John Brandeberry who manages the Rising Bamm Beanos.

Let’s get the principal details out of the way:

I traded:

  • Troy Tulowitzki (1-4-5, 44-7 and 181 ab in league that restricts player usage)
  • Tommy Hanson (CY)
  • 12th pick in the draft

for

  • Jose Reyes (2-5-6, two 11s)
  • Jonathan Papelbon (A*YZ)
  • 18th pick in the draft

First of all, this deal was made by Thunderchicken management with the intention of getting us to the playoffs in 2013.  Tulowitzki will no doubt make a comeback and I’ll regret it come 2014.  That said, this deal does a couple things for our team.  One, it frees up two picks for us.  We won’t have to shopping for a shortstop in the draft nor looking for help in the pen.  It also bolsters our already stable bullpen (we already have two B*s in Chris Perez and Aaron Crow).

I won’t speak for John but my guess is that this is a futures trade for him.  He’s getting a potential franchise shortstop in Tulowitzki and a possible future B starter in Hanson.  It doesn’t hurt that he’s moving up in the draft either.  More power to him.  The best trades are the ones that help both teams.

While we lowered our standing in the draft a bit with the trade, we can now use our current picks to cure our ailing outfield and add some innings to our staff.  Having pulled the trigger on this trade today, I still feel good about it knowing why we did it.

Funny enough, the biggest sticking point for me was Tommy Hanson who was another first round pick of mine.  Grade CY or not, it was hard for me to let him go. I knew what I was letting go in Tulo … for Hanson, not so much. Could be risky.

Now if I could do something about Buck and Soto and their light-hitting sticks, we could really contend.

[Photo Credit]

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17
December

League Talk: The stove is getting hot

With the APBA-Between the Lines disk chats going on, I’ve been looking forward to next year’s season more and more.  Indeed, my Thunderchickens look to improve in the pitching department with four Bs and two Cs in the rotation and two Bs in the pen (assuming Chris Perez is one, I haven’t confirmed his grade).

Hitting and defense seem to be up and down throughout the roster.  Next year, I won’t be able to relish in having a SS-10 and a 2B-9 in my lineup (sigh).  But overall, we look better and this is before my draft which includes five picks.

As I look towards next season, I sent out my annual ‘Let’s talk trade’ email to my league.  To make it easier, I listed my needs (shortstop, please!  Tulo’s injury really hurt me).  I also put in what I had to offer.  I admit, that was a little harder.  In the game of negotiations, you have to give up something of value to get something of value (but I’ll be damned if you’re getting Stephen Strasburg).

I’ve re-posted the following article for a couple years now this time of year but it’s still relevant especially if you are in an APBA league.  It’s my Top Ten Tips for Trading in an APBA League.  It’s not baseball-specific really and for that matter, there are a lot of principles that are germane to day-to-day life.

1.  Know your strengths and weaknesses.

Before the off-season, before you even think of making trade offers or consider anyone else’s offer, take stock of your APBA league team.  Get a good sense of your team’s strengths and be honest about your weaknesses.  If you’re serious, a depth chart would be nice.

If your league imposes player limits, then definitely fill out a spreadsheet with your team’s limits so you know what you need to cover positions.  This is a must.  You don’t want to be scrambling post-draft trying to fill positions via trades.  When you are in a position of weakness, other managers know it.

2.  Understand your goal

Some teams are rebuilding.  Others are “going for it”, thinking they have what it takes to make the playoffs, championship, whatever their particular league structure allows.

With each goal comes a totally different strategy of approaching your team drafting and trading.  That bum B starter isn’t going to be much worth to you if you’re rebuilding and next year, he’ll be a DW.  Consider trading him for high pick.  What about that position player that had a career year?  Same thing.

And if you’re a top rung team, consider trading a player with loads of potential but little short term value to a rebuilding team for a low risk short term player (see above).

3.  Know your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses

Just as important as knowing your own team is knowing the other teams in your league.  In the game of trading, it doesn’t help knowing your own team if you don’t know who you are trading for.

At the very least, know the other teams’ weak points, strong points, areas of depth and areas of need.  If one team needs a shortstop and you have three, there might be a good match for a trade.

4.  Make offers that help both teams

It might be tempting to contact a team manager and a say “What do you want for Nick Markakis?”.  If I got that, I might give it a thought or two but no more.  Be more specific.  Like I said in #3, learn your opponent’s team and find out what he needs.  When you come to him with a more concrete deal like “I have Nick Markakis.  Would you give me your #1 pick for him?”.  He’ll at least be more willing to come back to the table and talk.

5.  Leave room for negotiation

Despite what I said in #4, don’t give away the farm.  No one says you have to make an offer that your trading partner will accept right off the bat.  If I made a deal that a manager snapped up without thinking about it, it would certainly make me wonder if I offered too much.

Leave some room for a little room for give and take.  Don’t be afraid to be flexible either.  If he wants that B* instead of that C* out of your pen don’t dismiss it out of hand.

6.  Don’t burn your bridges

Everyone has ideas of that one big trade that puts one over on the other guy.  But don’t go into trade discussions with that mindset.  If you get the reputation of a swindler, other managers aren’t going to want to trade with you in the future.  Be a fair trader and they’ll come back and more importantly, they’ll have a equally fair attitude toward you.

7.  Discretion is prudent

When you get into a protracted trade discussion over a blockbuster deal, keep the deal under wraps especially if the other manager requests that you do so.  Nobody likes a tell-all who replies-to-all over email.  Some managers have needs or wants that they would prefer to keep quiet.

This is especially true when other managers confide their draft pick preferences.  For example, I wouldn’t want my buddy Brando to tell the other managers in the IAL that I’m interested in picking David Price with my first pick of the draft (oops!).

8.  Get advice

Ok I know, this goes counter to # 7.  If you’re in the middle of trade negotiations and ready to pull the trigger but just not quite sure, get a second opinion.  If there’s another manager who’s not affected by the deal and whose opinion you trust, run it by them.  Even if their opinion runs counter to your gut instinct, it’s good to get their feedback.

9.  Electronic is good, Talking is better.

In the old days, we in the IAL used to run up phone bills talking trade.  Thank goodness for email.  It makes thing a whole lot easier not to mention cheaper.  I think I even made a deal via texting last year.  That said, if it’s a complicated trade, the novel concept of TALKING doesn’t hurt either.  It removes some of the miscommunications that can occur with email.

10.  Announce your completed trade.

When you and your trading partner finally pull the trigger on your deal, announce it to your league.  Your commissioner will need to know, of course.  The other managers will too, if they are interested in any of the player involved in the deal.

Why not have some fun with the announcement?  Sometimes, IAL managers will format their email announcement like a press release MLB-style.

I hope this helps.  It comes from being in a league for 32 years.  Joining the league at the tender age of 16, I would never have guessed that some of life’s best lessons could be learned from 10 guys playing APBA.

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13
December

League Talk: What to do when Face-to-Face isn’t feasible

I got an email from reader Chris D about how leagues get their games played when they can’t play face-to-face:

I play the game solitaire but interested in league play. how does play by email league work?

First of of all, back in MY day, we didn’t have email.  We used postal mail and we liked it.  :)  Man, how technology has changed our life.

Seriously, Chris raises a good question.  While many of us have the luxury of playing face-to-face, sometimes that’s not an option.  Either travel costs are too much or quite simply, managers live on the other side of the country so travel isn’t even an option.  So what does a general manager of an APBA league to do? 

There are a couple options:

Skype (or other online audio/video voice and video service)

This is a favorite with the IAL when F-T-F isn’t possible (here’s a post about fellow IAL manager Tedd and I playing APBA over video Skype).  When we need to play a series of games and can’t get together, the two of us meet virtually on Skype and can play that way.  Sometimes we use the video feature, sometimes we don’t.  It works real well for us and allows for the back and forth banter that occurs during a F-T-F series.

Over the phone

With cell phone plans, this is a realistic option especially if you can use a speakerphone.  Believe it or not, we would occasionally do it in the old days with long distance charges and all.  It was cheaper than making the trip. 

Play by mail/email

To get to Chris’ original point, sometimes it works best to send instructions via email and have the opposing manager play a portion of the games.  In the IAL, our series are broken up into home and away games.  In these cases, the home manager simply plays his home games. 

With no interaction from the visiting manager, there needs to be set of comprehensive instructions sent before the series so the home manager can play the team the best he can.  This includes:

  • A lineup (some will include separate lineups for different pitcher grades)
  • A starting rotation
  • Bullpen instructions (listing closer, mop-up man etc)
  • offensive instructions (when to pinch hit, pinch run, hit and run etc)
  • defensive instructions (when to play close, defensive substitutions)

And usually, the instructions end with “in other cases, use your best judgment”. 

When the series is over, the stats are sent back to the opposing manager along with copies of the boxscore if possible.

I’ll be honest, the play by email method is not as popular in our league anymore.  The prospect of playing against your opponent even if it’s online over Skype, is much more appealing.  If we do play by email, we usually find a local person to help out by managing the team for them.  It’s just more fun that way. 

Anyway, that’s my take on it.  I’m interested in how other league members do it.  Thanks for the question, Chris!

2 comments

21
November

League Talk: How do you reward your winners?

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Chuck Lucas (right) receives the IAL World Championship trophy in 2009

I got an email from my friend Dom Provisiero who is the commissioner of the O.Z. League in New York.  He’s trying to get some ideas for trophies for his league.

For most of us, bragging rights is reward enough for being the victor in an APBA league.  That said, I like the idea of something tangible to hand to someone for a job well done.  It’s symbolic, yes but it shows the winner that the league values their hard work and talent (and maybe lucky dice).

I’d thought I’d share what our Illowa APBA League does in terms of managerial awards.  If you have certain ways to show your appreciation, feel free to tell us about it in the comments.  At the end of the article, there’s a link to submit a photo IMAG0200of any trophy or plaque if you want to share it.

Each year, the IAL hands out two physical awards to managers.  The first is a trophy to the manager of the World Championship team (the winner of our World Series).  It’s a simple trophy that they get to keep.  The trophy you see at right is the one I won for winning the 1999 IAL World Series (thank you, Mark McGwire!)

The second is a plaque which goes to the winner of the Manager of the Year winner and is voted on by all managers.  The full name of the award is the “Dale Smith Memorial Manager of the Year Award” named after an early member who was taken from us way too early (the Smith dynasty lives on though.  Two of his brothers are currently in the league).

PART_1353344463041The difference with the Manager of the Year plaque is that it is a “traveling” plaque.  When a new winner is announced, the new winner’s name is engraved in the next empty spot and it’s passed on to him to be kept for the year.

Side story:  Recently, we had a three-way tie for Manager of the Year.  That year, the plaque indeed became a “traveling” plaque.  Fortunately, we all meet three times  year so each manager kept it for roughly 1/3 of the season. 

One final thing we did… we inducted our commissioner Mike Bunch into our League’s Hall of Fame.  THAT was a special one-time event.  Mike knows APBA inside and out but the reason we put him in our HOF is because of his dedication to our league and how well he keeps our organization running.  Anyone who knows Mike and our league knows how deserving he is of the honor.

 

Some trophy/plaque tips: 

  • You can order trophies/plaques online but when it was our turn to buy it, we just went to a local trophy shop.   I guess I felt better about knowing what I was getting.
  • Even if you are filling out a written form, print out what you want it to say.  Spelling mistakes look tacky.
  • A “traveling” plaque or award should last you a while as long as you leave enough spots to engrave (just avoid 3-way ties in any votes).

So what do other leagues do for awards?  Do you award other categories besides championships and manager of year?  What about gift certificates (or better?).

Let us know!  If anyone has any cool trophies or plaques you want to share, you can post the photo on The APBA Blog Facebook page or submit to me at this page.

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7
October

Statistically, gearing up for 2013

I did a slight double take the other day when my daily kilg.us email with the stats of my team’s ballplayers came.  All goose eggs for every player.  Then two seconds later, I realized it was the day after the season ended.

I then thought that there was no time like the present to work on next year’s limits.  Currently, the Illowa APBA League works with a 26-player roster and pretty strict usage limits so getting a sense where I’m at will help in trade talk.

The set up I have is pretty basic.  I put together an Excel spreadsheet for each batter with their games played, at-bats, and column which calculates at-bats per game.  A separate column lists secondary positions.  I do the same for the pitchers with games started, games relieved, innings pitched, and IP/G.

A quick look at a few of the players’ entries:

Limits  G AB AB/G Sec POS  
Buck, J. 106 343 3.24
Soto, G. 99 324 3.27
Pujols, A. 154 607 3.94 3b-10
Descalso, D. 143 374 2.62 SS-40 3B-40 1B-10

 

AB/G is useful for indicating how the player should be used.  My outfielder Nick Markakis has 4.04 AB/G which means when he plays, he’ll play the whole game.  Another “outfielder” of mine, Eric Hinske on the other hand, played 91 games but accumulated only 132 at-bats for a 1.45 AB/G mark.  No doubt, I’ll be pinch-hitting with him. 

For the time being, this spreadsheet is a handy guide. When the 2013 season rolls around though, I’ll integrate it into a master spreadsheet so that when I input my team stats, it will automatically deduct from each player’s usage limits stats.  That will give me a ‘games left’, ‘at-bats left’ and so on for each player.

As it turns out, limits-wise, we’re in fair shape.  Troy Tulowitzki’s injury throws a monkey wrench into things as I I’ll have to trade for or draft a shortstop to make sure I have someone to play.  With only a 26-man roster and no reserve system, I only have his 47 games plus 40 from Descalso at the moment.  On the other hand, my 2012 pick of Jason Kipnis looks like a genius move given Orlando Hudson’s slight demise in the MLB.

Getting my stat limits in order got me thinking about my 2013 season and what I needed for a successful season.  An APBA league team’s needs going into trade season and draft can be divided into two categories.

Short Term

There a couple examples that fall into Short Term needs category.  The obvious is when you need a body to fill a position.  As in my case with Tulo’s injury, I need a shortstop to play 80-some games for 2013.  Fortunately, there are some quality shortstops in the rookie draft.

Another example of a short term need is a one-year fix.  The most common one is a good reliever.  At least in the IAL, there are always A* relievers aplenty in the rookie draft who are available to step in and fill in a role.

Of course, there’s always the situation where a B starter comes in handy.  Occasionally, there are times a bum pitcher gets lucky and gets a B.  Those are times when playoff contenders will trade for them or draft them (probably lower than a standard B would go) for that extra boost.

Long Term

I have five outfielders on my team and could probably do with one more.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that my outfield is full of players like Jose Tabata and Eric Hinske.  Tyler Colvin is actually looking pretty good right now and that’s probably not a good sign. I’m looking to upgrade my garden with a future franchise star.  Someone who will be around for a while, play every day, and perhaps even be a star.  Case example:  Jason Kipnis from this year’s draft.  I didn’t need him.  He only played 36 games and I already had Hudson and Descalso.  I picked him in the second round simply because I thought he was the best player in the Majors available.  This coming season, he’ll be my starting secondbaseman, winning the job from Hudson.

I do have the advantage of having the first pick of the 2013 rookie draft.  The exploits of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout have not escaped my attention.

You can see that my two catcher are Soto and Buck who have hit below .230 the past two years.  If I have a spare pick, catcher may be a position where I may want to to upgrade as well.

The point is this:  you don’t really need this player but you really need this player to win.

One last point

As a general rule, pitchers are generally untrustworthy when it comes to depending on them year in and year out.  There is too much risk from injury.  This especially goes for young pitchers and relief pitchers.  And ESPECIALLY young, relief pitchers.  Yes, I know there are exceptions (Andrew Bailey was one until his 2012 season).  However, if I’m looking for prospect to last for more than a couple years, I tend to stay away from hurlers.

Time for some trade talk with my esteemed fellow managers.

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23
August

Meeting YOUR Players

Dom Provisiero of the O.Z. League crafted this guest post for today:

As some of you already know; I created the O.Z. League (APBA BASEBALL) in 1982.
So for 30 years I have been drafting and acquiring MLB players for my Ozone Outlaws team. And every once in a while you get an opportunity to meet the "card" that graced your roster.

Such was the case last night when I went to a book signing by Frank Catalanotto in Smithtown NY.

I have to tell you I enjoyed every minute of his talk and his Q&A session. Boy what I would give to sit and talk to him minus the crowd and kids…..lotta stories that he probably could not tell in front of an audience. He played for a number of teams in his career and a diverse group of teammates.

I came away having even more respect for him as a person……he’s a great guy. A good ballplayer but even more so a good Dad, son, and husband.

And I am proud to say he was an Outlaw and always will be……at least in my heart anyway.

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10
January

One for Five posts a manifesto for a draft league

Paul Dylan over at One for Five is already thinking about his endeavor to organize his APBA Soccer league.  He’s giving it lots of thought and has posted a manifesto of a successful league.  In my opinion, it’s not specific to any sport and can be applied to any APBA League. 

His manifesto includes sections on “Why Have a League at all?”, “What makes a League Successful?” and “What are the Fundamental Components of a Draft League?”.

A definite read for those thinking of starting a league or even those of us who are in an existing league. 

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10
October

APBA Baserunning: not having our cake anymore

ialjunesat 007A few years back when APBA went through their board changes, our basic baseball game league made some pretty radical changes in retrospect to how we play the game.  In short, we decided to play the game “out of the box”  with just a few exceptions.  No error chart, no unusual number card… play APBA baseball the way it was “meant to be played”. 

Right now, we have just three minor changes to the current APBA boards:

1) The Pitchers Hitting Card for pitchers with less than 10 at bats 

2) a 2B-9 and SS-10 don’t make an error with the bases empty

3) no rainouts.

To be sure, it’s a lot easier.    No extra rules to remember. 

But here’s the rub… some managers in our league are discontented with the way the boards handle baserunning.  See in the past, before the changes, our league allowed managers to coach baserunning and stealing separately.  You could coach a runner to not steal but let him fly like the wind on hits.  This sounds a bit like having your cake and eating it too but they do have a legitimate gripe.  More than one manager has invoked the time honored saying, “You just don’t make the first or third out at third base”. 

I, for one don’t like it when my runner gets caught stealing third especially when it’s my number one hitter, Jose Tabata on second and it’s Ryan Zimmerman whose at bat.  I could base coach Tabata but that would take away Zim’s juicy rbi hits.

This whole issue goes back to the accuracy vs realism dichotomy.  Is it realistic that Tabata would try to steal third with two outs?  Maybe not.  But it is probably more accurate in terms of numbers of caught steals in the context of the full season.

This much is for sure.  It is neither realistic nor accurate with our former method of coaching on hits and stealing separately.  Let’s face it, we never let our runners steal (outside of the 11s and 10s, of course) unless we had runners on first and second or a runner on second with a batter with a 22 on his card.  Talk about “playing the boards”.  We rarely had a runner caught in a steal unless it was during a hit and run play. 

One of our managers put it this way.  Playing it safe with the current APBA boards means that since the runner can’t get a good lead off the base.  That being the case, he’s not going to be able to take the extra base. 

To end, I will say this, there is one manager in our league who will base coach a non-Slow runner when there is a batter up with a 39 on his card.  Is he over cautious?  Or just a prudent manager?  Before you answer, he’s won more championships than anyone in our league. 

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