14
February

NMCDL looking for skippers

Christopher Linden of the National Master Continuous Draft League (aka NMCDL aka “N-1450”) contacted me last night.  Though his main purpose was to ask about finding managers to fill spots in his league, he did want to tell me how much he enjoys Scott Fennessy’s Deadball replay updates.  If you haven’t checked them out, do so.  They’re fun and an exit from our droll reality.

But back to Chris’ original request.  I don’t normally put out ‘ads’ per se but I’m making an exception.  I’m seeing requests like this more and more so I’m looking into efficient methods of implementing this into The APBA Blog.  Matching leagues with managers, that kind of thing.

In the meantime, Chris forwarded this from his commissioner.  I’m posting it in case it helps N-1450:

The National Master Continuous Draft League (NMCDL), aka the “N-1450″, is the only Master Game e-mail league in APBA.  We finished up our first season several months ago and are now preparing for Season 2.  We’re looking for a couple of owners who are looking for a good Master Game league where mail play is available.

We use the CMBA pitching system. What CMBA does in a nutshell is to make any pitcher a D or an A pitcher depending on the roll. If anyone has played the Master Game, you know that an “A” pitcher shouldn’t be an “A” on every single roll of the dice. CMBA also addresses HR and walks and fine tunes them to more accurately reflect the pitcher on the mound. We are a National league, so pitchers hit. No DH. I’ve set this league up as fairly as possible to make it as competitive as possible. No more 30 CG by A starters. Fatigue for pitchers is based on batters faced, which is close to real life. With the pitchers hitting, it does make for some interesting decisions in the 6th and 7th innings of our games. If you have additional questions about CMBA just ask, and I will explain it further.

The league right now has six owners with two teams currently on the shelf that were drafted last year. I’d like to get to 10 teams and have a completely new draft, but if we stay between 6-8 teams, we will continue with what we have.  What we have right now is three drafts lined up, an auction first, then a standard free-agent draft, then a waiver draft to cover players who were cut in the first two drafts.  We have it fair for teams losing a Pujols (which happened this year), plus Fielder and Greinke, among others.

Last year our league played a 2/3 season of 108 games. We did this because with six teams we do play each other a lot! The extra games weren’t needed, but also it made playing in the league more enjoyable in that you weren’t swamped with a lot of games each month. We played anywhere from 6-8 games at home each month. If we do expand to a full season, I think we will just add an extra couple months to the season, but this would probably only happen if we expand to the full 10 teams. The maximum the league could expand to would be 12 teams, but that is a long way off, if it would ever happen.

There is nothing a new owner has to do, except play, do stats, send instructions for his road games. The rest of the stuff is provided. We do play FTF online when possible, but it isn’t required. If you are interested, even just a little, please inquire and I will get more information to you and answer any questions you may have. One more thing, the master game doesn’t take much more time to play than the basic game. There is some fear out there that the game takes a long time, which isn’t the case. Yes, some games can take a while, just as they do in the basic game, but I don’t want that to shy you away from giving the master game a try. To my mind, playing the master game feels closer to real ball, something the basic game doesn’t provide. I can be contacted at ginnydon@pacbell.net

Good luck in finding someone, guys!

6 comments

1
December

Chicago-area manager opening: IAL looking to fill a vacant spot

As you may have already heard, the Illowa APBA League is in a state of transition.  A long time manager and friend has resigned and we’re in the process of looking for a replacement.  It’s somewhat unfamiliar territory for the IAL as we have only had one new manager in the past eight years (a testament to the league, I suppose).

So with our current options exhausted, we are opening a search for a new manager.

A few details about the Illowa APBA League:

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  • we play a 162-game season and play 11 months out of the year
  • the majority of our games are played Face-to-Face
  • Founded in 1975 with a rich history and dedication to its heritage
  • Currently a ten-team league with managers in Illinois, Iowa and Pennsylvania
  • we play the basic game with just a few modifications
  • We are structured as a continuous ownership league with a yearly rookie draft plus trades during the off-season

For more details on how we operate, take a look at our constitution!

While we are a competitive league, we play for the fun of the game and the camaraderie between the league managers.  We stress honesty, good sportsmanship and good times.

While we play 162-game schedule, the majority of the games are played during our three weekends.  We have a postseason and draft weekend in early spring, a  late spring/early summer weekend and an All-Star Game weekend in the Fall.

Here are the basic requisites for the manager we are looking for:

  • Must live in or around the Chicago, Illinois area
  • Must have a good grasp of the Basic APBA Baseball Game
  • Must be responsible for playing your team’s games, maintaining its stats and reliably getting them to the commissioner on time each month.
  • have a commitment to the league, show good sportsmanship, and honesty.
  • Show a willingness to travel within the state three times a year to league functions

The team that is open has a rich history in the IAL winning 11 championships in the 37 years of our league’s existence.  Alex Rodriguez, Jose Altuve, Mike Moustakas, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, and Matt Cain are a few examples of the players on this team.  I posted a full roster of this year’s team here.

If you feel you have something to offer the Illowa APBA League and would like to apply to be a manager, just fill out this simple form and we will contact you. 

Update: the manager position has been filled.  thanks!

3 comments

10
February

North East League looking for a skipper

The North East League is running a search for a new manager for an open franchise in their league.  According to contact Dave Studeman, the NEL is the very first play-by-mail simulation league.  They’ve been around for 50 years.  This is their first manager search in 12 years so obviously the NEL is very consistent and turnover rarely happens.

A short summary from the ad:

 

The NEL is a basic game APBA league that is just about to start its 50th season. We use the 1986 version of the boards (the white boards) with very few changes, but we do have a computerized version of the game that allows an 8-game series to be played, complete with stat compilation, in an hour or two. We hold an annual convention (this year in late March in New Jersey), and virtually every league member attends virtually every convention. The available franchise has one of the best rosters in the league, including such names as Johan Santana, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Adam Wainwright, Ian Kinsler, Jose Reyes, Kevin Youkilis, Mariano Rivera, etc.

Famous former NEL managers include Bob Fraser, APBA’s former general manager; Tom Heiderscheit, the former editor of the APBA Journal; and the late Bill Linn, the long-time author of "Linn on Leagues" in the Journal.

 

For more information, see their ad at The Hardball Times.

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28
December

ILLOWA APBA LEAGUE HAS CHICAGO OPENING

The Illowa APBA League has been around nearly 35 years.  It started out as an eight team draft league, fell apart after 120 games in its inaugural season, only to rebound strong.  I urge you to checkout at www.illowaapbaleague.com  In the olden days, there were mail, as well as face-to-face series, but now it’s pretty much all face-to-face.  Currently there are ten teams in the league, 26 players per team, playing a 162 game schedule.

Our managers are spread out across the country.  One manager in Pittsburgh, three in the Quad Cities area, two in the Champaign area, and three in the Chicago area.  We are looking for a manager living in the Chicago area.  It’s pretty much a year round commitment.  We get together at a Chicago area hotel in March for our Playoffs, World Series, Rookie Draft, and to open the new season by playing 30 games.  Then we get together a weekend in May to play 30 more games.  And then one more time in the Fall to play the All Star Game and 30 more games.  These gatherings are when our out of area games are played, hotel fees run no more than $100 per manager, and one of the two remaining get togethers is usually either in the Quad Cities or Champaign area.  Every other month throughout the year, you’ll be matched up with an in-area team to play a nine game series.

You’ll be responsible for keeping your teams statistics and e-mailing them to the league president, along with an article, for the monthly newsletter.  Trades are only allowed during the offseason, at the March league get together.  Players are not allowed to go over their games, at bats, or innings pitched, with the exception of D pitchers who are allowed double their games & innings pitched.  The first position on a player’s card is unlimited, 1-9 games, gets you ten games at that position, 10-39 gets you 40, and 40 gets you all.

The available franchise, the State Street Sluggers, is not a doormat, by any stretch o the imagination.  Ryan Howard, Robinson Cano, Michael Young, & David Wright make up the infield, while the outfielders are Pat Burrell, Carlos Beltran, & Andre Ethier, A.J. Pierzynski & Dioner Navarro are the catchers.  Brandon Webb, Jered Weaver, David Bush, Joe Blanton, & Carlos Silva makeup the rotation, with Takashi Saito & Damaso Marte in the bullpen.

There are so many things I could tell you about the IAL, rule-wise, but the most important thing I can say is, “The IAL is where I’ve met my best friends”, come join us.  If you love baseball, but hate the money, would like to manage your own team, and get together with great guys for friendly competition, this is the place you wanna be!

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