News from APBA Games

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Miss Me?

A newsletter on Wednesday? What is this heresy? I know you were all panicking when the newsletter didn't arrive yesterday. We had hundred of emails and social media messages and calls and visits and letters and smoke signals worried about the newsletter. And that really touches my heart. ... Okay, so no one commented on the fact that the newsletter was missing, but I'm going to assume that's because you were too busy panicking to reach out. Well, here it is so crisis averted! (Apologies for missing yesterday, I was busy hanging with my buddy Andy Roddick at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament.)

Okay. Baseball. More specifically: Atlanta. (I said I'd go after Atlanta eventually.) Here's my question: will the Bravos have any major leaguers left on the team at the trade deadline? Probably not. Let's face it - the ATL (pronounced eh-tee-el) is known for fielding teams (sometimes reasonably good ones) without major star power (the 1995 Bravos being the exception). And no matter how high our hopes may get seeing these underdogs rise to the top (see: 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks)....our hopes are always crushed because these underdogs fall back down to the bottom (see: every season in Atlanta ever). And then the teams are taken away (see: every Atlanta NHL franchise). And we would cry. But we don't. Because we're too desensitized. I mean, the last time a major league team in Atlanta won was 1995. And before that... well the Hawks won in 1958...when they were based in St. Louis... and the Falcons won in....oh...right... But that's okay, because the Atlanta United FC soccer team will win, right? (Just as long as the competition isn't based on team name creativity...)

I seem to have strayed a bit from my point. Let's just say some of the MLB trades have been...questionable... Why don't you join in the conversation on Facebook and share the trade you think is the most surprising, disappointing or just plain suspicious!

Anywho, a lot of new stuff this week and many announcements... so enjoy:

APBA 5.75 Update

(Corrected) Update 17 Posted

APBA Baseball for Windows 5.75 Update 17 resolves some recently, and some not so recently, reported issues with the computer game. You can download the Information Packet and Update Setup from the APBA 5.75 page on our website (or by clicking the links in this sentence!). The updates are cumulative and do not require installing previous updates.

APBA 5.75 does not come with Update 17, so we recommend installing this new update.

APBA Baseball Version 5.75 Setup Guide v4.0

We've released the new version of the APBA Baseball for Windows 5.75 User Guide: Version 4.0! Why? Because Microsoft Windows 10 is coming real soon! Here's the lowdown:

The 5.75 User's Guide v4.0 adds Windows 10 as a supported operating system. It also contains instructions for installing Data Disks, Managers, and Ballparks.

Pre-Order Football 2014

Yup. You Read the Headline Right.

It's time to pre-order the 2014 pro football sets! Here's what you need to know about pre-ordering the sets:

2014 Pro Football Season

750 Cards + Rated Players

$60

Pre-order here

2014 Jumbo Pro Football Season

Every player to play

1994 Cards

$125

Pre-order here

Just like with the Jumbo College set, for us to print the Jumbo Pro set we need to reach a certain pre-order baseline. We'll take pre-orders for the set through the Friday after we release the regular set. If we have the numbers by that point, we will charge all credit cards, finish and release the jumbo set. Otherwise we will stick with the regular set. So get to pre-ordering!

New Soccer Sets

2015 Women's World Cup

APBA is excited to release the 2015 Women's World Cup card set. The set comes with the four semifinalists: England, Germany, Japan and the United States.

I, personally, wanted to include as many teams as possible. And I'm sure there'll be some people upset about the lack of the full tournament (or at least the lack of more knock-out round competitors). Unfortunately there just aren't enough stats for most of the teams and players. 7 games for the semifinalists was barely enough to go off of, anything less is just impossible to pull together a realistic set with. Hopefully at this point in four years, women's soccer will have a few more stats recorded and we can do a full set...but until then, hopefully you'll enjoy playing with the top four teams of the tournament.

Anyway, the 2015 Women's Soccer World Cup set comes with 92 player cards (all 23 players per team) and costs $10. Check out the roster and then head on over to the store website to earn your third star! Available now.

2015 European Champions Set

Wait. What? We're being smart and releasing the champions set before releasing each season? It's like Graham's learning or something...

Anyway, we're excited to announce the second-annual European Champions set. The set includes the champions from 7 of Europe's top leagues and, as a special non-European surprise, the Brazilian champion from the 2014-15 seasons.

Teams include: Barcelona (Spanish La Liga), Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga), Celtic (Scottish Premiership), Chelsea (English Premier League), Cruzeiro (Brazilian Brasileiro), Juventus (Italian Serie A), Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1) and PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie).

The 221-card 2014-15 "European" Champions soccer set ( roster) can be found on the store website for $25. Who will you choose to claim the title of 'best in the world?!' Available now.

1998-99 Hockey

New NHL Set Now Available

If you're a fan of the Dallas Stars, then this is the set for you! This new sets celebrates the season the Stars won their only Stanley Cup to date. Also noteworthy: the goal crease size was decreased and no player reached the 50-goal plateau. Hey, Buffalo fans: remember that controversial triple overtime goal that sealed the deal for the Stars? Want revenge? This is your chance! Who will take home the Cup in your 98-99 replay? You can only find out when you take home the 728-card 1998-99 Hockey Season card set ($50/ roster)!

2016 APBA Tournaments

Hockey Tournament

The 2016 APBA Hockey Tournament is set. Good luck to all of the competitors!

Golf Tournament

We will now open the call for the 2016 APBA Golf Tournament. The tournament will be done through match play. See below for more information on signing up!

Soccer Tournament

We are also opening the call for the 2016 APBA Soccer Tournament. The tournament will be played in a series of home and away knockout rounds. See below for more information on signing up!

Football Tournament

And, of course, we are opening the call for the 2016 APBA Football Tournament. We will be hosting this tournament with pro teams only. See below for more information on signing up!

Signing Up for Tournaments

Any team set offered by APBA except Great Teams, All-Time Greats and Franchise All-Stars is eligible.
The first round will be face to face.
Finalist teams' coaches must agree to coach the finals at the 2016 APBA Convention

If you are interested, send an email to [email protected] . We're already looking forward to the tournaments!

APBA Mailings

Thank You To Our Contributors

APBA would like to express its enormous gratitude to those who have already contributed to our collection of old APBA mailings. We really cannot thank you each enough.

For those who might have missed last week's newsletter (scandalous!):

We are currently trying to build our collection of old APBA mailings. We have a few, but are missing more than we'd like. If you have any old APBA mailings you'd like to donate to the collection, we'd love to take them off your hands! Our hope is to compile all of the old mailings into a book of great historical importance. Thank you in advance for helping us in any way you can with this project.

Joining a League

Resources for You

Recently we've had several requests to help match players up with leagues. Now, while I'm sure there are some of you who think we just sit around on our cabooses all day playing the game and chatting with friends... we're actually very busy people. These card sets don't build themselves, the boxes don't pack and ship themselves, and these newsletters certainly don't write themselves. In other words, we just don't have the time available to match players up with leagues.

So, how can you find a league?

Our first suggestion is to check out the League List on our website's Fan Zone. We keep this page updated with leagues' websites and news
Fan Forums...primarily APBA Between the Lines on Delphi Forums.
Facebook. There are plenty of leagues with information on Facebook.
Build your own! There are plenty of players and league admins who would love to help you out (if you ask nicely!).
And, if all else fails... there's always The Google. The Google knows all the things. (Well, almost all the things.) Just go to The Google and search something like "APBA baseball leagues" (maybe adding in your location). A general search gave me over 11,000 results from The so-very-helpful Google.

So, here's the only time you will ever see me do this: Mr. Danny Kirkendall of Kentucky is looking for a league to join. He has the most recent card set and boards. If anyone is looking for an additional manager, you can contact Mr. Kirkendall at [email protected].

If you have a question about your order or if APBA has made a mistake, please contact us at 1-800-334-2722 or [email protected]. Remember all prices listed do not include shipping and handling charges.