It’s been a while since I’ve done a fan profile and there’s probably no one more deserving than Chicagoland APBA Tournament organizer Rob Spatz. If you have met Rob, you’re probably his friend. He is that kind of guy. He’s humble, self-effacing yet at the same time, has made the…
Mel M. noticed that I had yet to feature Ken Griffey Jr. in a Monster Card Monday column. With his help, I am about to rectify that. Here is Junior’s 1997 APBA card. The Donora, PA native had one of his best seasons in 1997 helping the Mariners to a…
The Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League (16-team, BBW) has started their draft for the 2019 season. And well, it should not be too much of a surprise how the first round is going. It’s the usual gang of usual suspects. Ronald Acuna has gone first, a solid pick by…
In the “Because-it’s-fun-to-watch-guys-talk-about-APBA-cards” department, here’s a couple videos submitted by Steve Stein of the Transcontinental Baseball League. The TBL is a 24-team play-by-mail league and its name is no misnomer. Members of the league span the continent from New England, Midwest and the West. These two videos were recorded after…
Darren Schulz provided this fun 1969 Joe Morgan for our viewing pleasure. It’s a wild one! I actually remember this one as a kid. My brother bought this original set and I inherited it. Well, let’s say that I “appropriated” it from him. Before diving into the card itself, let’s…
Saturday, February 16, 2019 seemed to be a day of transactions for the Illowa APBA League. It was kind of an unplanned, impromptu Winter Meetings conducted over email, text and phone. I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything like it before. Within eight hours, a total five trades involving 14 players…
There are two APBA baseball drafts I keep an eye on each year. One is the Transcontinental Baseball League which had its draft a couple weekends ago. The other is the Roberto Clemente Memorial Baseball Association (RCMBA). Because of our similar drafting rules, both are good indicators of how the…
After much deliberation, the Prairieland IV date and theme has been announced! Springfield will host Prairieland for the second year in a row and thanks to Eric Berg, Todd Daniels, and Dave Rueck, we have an original idea for a “modular” team draft. First, the important details: Date: April 13,…
With a 0.78 ERA, there was no doubt Oakland All-Star reliever Blake M. Treinen was going to have an ‘A&something’ card. While he is no Ed Walsh, Blake Treinen (9-2, 38 saves) still received a Master Game grade of 26 which translates to a deserved Basic Game grade of A&B*.…
The Transcontinental Baseball League held their online draft Saturday. Two outfielders went first and both went to the same manager, the Nationals’ Juan Soto and the Braves’ Ronald Acuna were chosen by Joe Auletta of the Brobdingnag Barbarians. Per Steve Stein’s correction in the comments section: Warrenton had traded the…