REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
We had about 7 inches of snow with 2 more inches forecasted for this evening. I really do not like this stuff anymore but our roots and family are here so i have to live with it. I hope all is well with you and your family. Off to get a Christmas tree this morning and my daughter's this afternoon. [This is what the APBA tournament director has to deal with] Stay warm Randy. Remember that white stuff will melt on its own.
REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
All scheduled 2018 Regional Tournaments have now concluded for the year. There is a chance that Percy Ashcraft could still conduct an APBA GO Tournament prior to years end but I have not been apprised of any other scheduled events. It was a great year for which I will provide a capsule summary in the next week or two, but be assured that the number of tournaments and tournament participation continues to grow.
Upcoming Tournaments
The next scheduled tournament is The Inaugural 2019 Scenic City Shootout in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This will be a wide open team selection tournament with a $20 entry fee to cover cost of location, food, and trophies. Contact Steve Ryan at
[email protected] or Mike Kehrer at
[email protected].
In tournament news this week, Earle Shamblin announced The 2019 Heartland Apba Tournament in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday March 30, 2019. Details and contact information is provided below.
I would like to remind everyone that APBA informed me that they are planning to conduct APBA GO Baseball Tournament featuring 2018 regional tournament winners. This tournament would be held late in the year and winners would be provided the APBA GO baseball team that they won a regional tournament with. Remember APBA GO if free. Therefore, with APBA GO, the new APBA GO tournament function, and your APBA GO team you will be able to participate in this inaugural event. APBA is working out the details and any restrictions and will share them in the coming weeks. Be sure to stay tune for further information.
The 2019 (through June) APBA Regional Tournament schedule is as follows. Please mark your calendars accordingly and be sure to attend and participate in one of these fine events. You will not regret the experience of face-to-face gaming and APBA brotherhood.
Saturday February 23, 2019 - Inaugural Scenic City Shootout, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Location yet to be determined. This will be a wide open team selection tournament with a $20 entry fee to cover cost of location, food, and trophies. Contact Steve Ryan at
[email protected] or Mike Kehrer at
[email protected].
Saturday March 2, 2019 - 2019 Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament, Jackson, Michigan. Contact Pastor Rich Zawadzki at
[email protected].
Saturday March 23, 2019 - Inaugural Southern California APBA Baseball Tournament, Westminister, California. Contact Steve Radtke at
[email protected].
Saturday March 23, 2019 - The Charlie Fouche APBA Wisconsin 2019 Spring Tournament, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (Wauwatosa Public Library, 7635 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa, WI, 53213). The theme will be "Steroids? What steroids?" Any team from the 1980 through the 1999 seasons may be used. Contact Kurt Bergland at
[email protected] before March 1 to register.
Saturday March 30, 2018 - Florida's Spring Break Reality APBA Baseball Tournament, 4700 Kilt Court, St Cloud, Florida 34769-1607 (southeast of Orlando). Any team issued by The APBA Game Company created (regular season, GTOP, World Series) or Skeetersoft team is eligible. There is a $10 entry fee (No food or drink is being provided by the tournament organizer). Contact Tony Stevens at
[email protected] (preferred) or call 352-600-0974 .
NEW POSTING - Saturday March 30, 2019 - The 2019 Heartland Apba Tournament, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Any non playoff or World Series team from 1950 to present (excluding 1994). There is a $10 entry fee. Contact Earle Shamblin at
[email protected] for more details.
Saturday April 6, 2019 - Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament (TCABT-XI ), Maple Grove, Minnesota. Contact Jim Fraasch at
[email protected]. Note: This is NCAA Final Four weekend which is being held in Minneapolis so please plan accordingly.
Saturday April 13, 2019 - Richmond's Old Dominion APBA Tournament, Richmond, Virginia. The theme will be Disco 70's/Yuppie '80s. Jim Saska will provide more information soon.
Saturday May 4, 2019 - The Inaugural Mason-Dixon APBA Baseball Tournament, Hagerstown, Maryland. The theme will be "Between the World Wars 1919-1939. Cost is $20 and participation is limited to 24 players. Contact Bill at
[email protected].
Thursday June 20 - Sunday June 23, 2019 - The APBA National Convention, Alpharetta, Georgia. The convention cost and registration information will be posted on the game company web site
www.apbagames.com. Contact John Herson at
[email protected].
If your tournament is not mentioned above and you are planning a Regional APBA Tournament through June 2019 please forward me your tournament and contact information at
[email protected] and I will be sure to promote your event in APBA's company electronic newsletter. Remember all APBA game tournaments are welcome.
THIS WEEK IN APBA RADIO SHOW
APBA continues to sponsor a weekly broadcast offering insights into the game of APBA and players within the APBA community. The host is John Asalon, who offers a extremely professional broadcast. Please join John Asalon and his guests every Thursday night at 8:00 pm (Eastern) for THIS WEEK IN APBA radio show.
As of Sunday morning there was no broadcast posted for this week and the author of this column had a family commitment on Sunday. Therefore, there is no summary of a TWIA broadcast for this week.
With no broadcast posted this week, John's guest for next week is not known but be sure to tune in for an always interesting and informative discussion with an APBA community member.
APBA LEAGUE INFORMATION
I am pleased to report that this column continues to assist leagues in finding new managers and pairing individuals looking for leagues. Beginning in January 2018 and to better manager newsletter volume, I will run any of your league opening or requests to join leagues for a period of four to eight weeks. I will be glad to run them longer if you contact me at
[email protected]. Openings or individuals looking to join leagues are as follows this week:
November 18th Opening
The Iowa Baseball Confederacy (IBC) Opening - The IBC has two openings for their upcoming 32nd season that starts in March. The IBC is a 24-team, present-day BBW draft league utilizing full AIM. The IBC features 42-man rosters, minor league drafting, live internet play via TeamViewer, and a great group of managers. The drafting of minor leaguers and the live internet play are the heart of the IBC, and that does mean devoting a bit more time, it usually takes 2 to 3 hours to play a series live and they play one series a week from March to September. Obviously not everyone can play every series live, but they do try to encourage it as much as possible as opposed to using micromanagers. Their draft is held in January/February so if you join now you'll have plenty of time to prepare for the draft and to start making trades. The league is a very active trading league, averaging about 100 transactions per year over the past 10 years. The IBC has a web site with rosters and lots of IBC history, records, draft results, and pictures. The web site is
http://ibc-apba-baseball.com/ibc_index.php. The available teams are Mile High City and Pocket City. If you are interested in joining please send Bob Scharnberger an email at
[email protected].
November 4th Opening
Hang In There Baseball League (HITBL) Opening - The HITBL currently has 2 openings. The open teams are not disasters. They are a 20-team basic game league that has been in existence 40+ years, with league history and stats back to 1983, and a HITBL Hall of Fame. They have 4 divisions with 6 teams making the playoffs. They play an 162-game season that runs from March through September, with playoffs in October. The league has 35-man rosters, cut to 27 in November, and draft back to 35 in February. The 14 non-playoff teams go in an unweighted lottery for the first round. That's unweighted except no team can draft more than 3 spots later than they deserve. So the worst team gets no worse than 4th pick, but tanking doesn't guarantee the top pick. Ability to follow instructions, ability to meet deadlines, and familiarity with Excel are all required. Please e-mail Mike at
[email protected] if interested.
Looking for a League in Orange County California - Lewis is moving from New York to Orange County California and is interested in finding an APBA Baseball league(s) to join. Anyone with a league in Orange County with an opening please contact Lewis Myers at
[email protected].
October 28th Openings
ABL Opening - The American Baseball League (ABL) is looking to add one or two managers for their 2019 season. The ABL has been in existence since 1982. It is a face-to-face basic game (w/ modifications) league. If you live in the Butler County, Ohio or greater Cincinnati area and are interested, contact Greg at
[email protected].
TRABL Opening - The TRABL has two openings. 24-team current-day BBW league with no DH and no wildcard. The league has 46-man rosters, no offseason cuts, no salaries, and uses official disk with Merlin run on pitchers. The league web siteiswww.strovel.com/trabl. ; The league has been in existence since 1998 with stable ownership. One six-team division has no owner with less than 18 years in the league. The league draft is conducted through a web app beginning on or around 12/1. Please contact Chris Strovel at the website above if interested.
October 21st Opening
JABLUSA Opening -JABLUSA is a BBW 5.75 League which has been in continuous operation since 1988. The current season is based on the 2017 disk is underway and each team has played approximately 24 games. The league has experienced an unexpected opening. If you would be interested in joining, please contact David Wilson (Commissioner) at (207) 480-9089, or at
[email protected].
Looking for BBW League - Individual is looking to join a BBW retro league. He has been playing APBA since '72 and has been in several BBW leagues over the years. Please contact Bobby at
[email protected] if you have an opening.
October 7th Openings
Manager looking for a Retro Baseball League - Individual looking to join an APBA Baseball League from the 1960's - 70's - 80's. If your Retro league has an opening contact Kevin at
[email protected].
O.Z. League Opening - The O.Z. League, an APBA Baseball group created in 1982, is always looking to add new members to their family. Currently the league is at 12 Franchises; if you live on the East Coast and want to join a fun but dedicated League this is one you should inquire about. They use BBW, MG, and the hybrid Paul Marino Boards as preference of the Home Team. This league was featured in the N.Y. Daily News in 1988 and plays a 162 game schedule from February to October. The Annual Draft is held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ronkonkoma every February. If you are interested contact Dom at
[email protected].
September 16th Opening
The Twenty-First Century Baseball Association - The TCBA is a stable 24-team BBW league in existence since 1975. Openings are rare in TCBA, but we do have one team available now. The TCBA features continuous ownership of a 35-man roster, a written constitution, and an informative league web site (
www.TCBA.info). Both a rookie auction and free agent draft are conducted at the annual TCBA meeting held in March, typically in Harrisburg, PA. The TCBA plays a full 162-game season, with an 8-team playoff culminating with the final rounds played during the annual meeting. The prime directive of our constitution requires us to promote "friendship and competition." To that the TCBA has been fully successful. Long-standing friendships, intense rivalries and mutual respect are given qualities of the TCBA experience. While twenty-two of our managers have been TCBA members for at least ten years, five of us are in the 25-to-40-year old category. It is from that demographic that we wish to add a new member. Pleasevisitour web site
www.TCBA.info to get a fuller idea of what TCBA is all about. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Bob at
[email protected] or Mike at
[email protected].
August 18th Opening
Vast Horace Baseball League Opening - The Vast Horace Baseball League is a computer based league approaching its 40th anniversary this November with its annual meeting to be held this year in Cooperstown on November 8-11. The league is expanding and in need of new managers!
The league features permanent ownership of 40-man roster teams, with face to face play strongly encouraged/rewarded; several mid- season gaming sessions occur annually in the MD/PA/VA/OH regions. With a 162 game schedule, the league is currently expanding from 12 to 16.
Four team openings - 27 of the 40 man roster 'skeleton' has been selected with some pretty decent talent on the rosters. Expansion managers will enjoy free agent drafting advantages, as well as league awarded money for the closed bid of rookies! First task of the new managers will be to fill out the roster to 40 players at the drafting table. The trading of players, draft picks and money has become a highlight of ownership over our 40 year history - come join the fun! If interested, please contact Rick Judd at
[email protected] and/or Mark Shelley at
[email protected].
August 11th Openings
The Bob Alexander League - The Bob Alexander League a continuous ownership BBW League, which has been in existence for over 40 years is looking for some good managers. Experience in APBA is a must and experience with BBW is preferred , but not required. While many of the league members are based in NJ, that is not a prerequisite as managers often play via Team Viewer. The league plays an 80 game season, broken down into 10, 8 game series with playoffs and World Series. If interested , PM or email Steve at
[email protected] for a league directory (including available teams) and our current rule book.
Manager looking for a Retro League - Randy is looking to Join an APBA 1920's - 30's - 40's - 50's or 60's RETRO Baseball League. If you have a Retro league opening contact Randy at
[email protected].
July 29th Opening
The SEATO APBA Baseball League - The SEA TO APBA Baseball League in Lancaster County PA. is looking for 3 new managers. One opening is available immediately and two openings are to begin next season, possibly sooner. SEATO is a FTF league, playing the basic game plus some additional league rules. They have been in existence for almost 50 seasons and are a 16 team league, drafting each February and playing a 162 game season. Anyone interested or having any questions may contact John via e-mail at
[email protected].
July 22nd Opening
Franklin County Football League - A face to face league founded by the late APBA Hall of Famer Howard Ahlskog in the early 1980's. The league is based in Western Massachusetts (Greenfield). They also have members in Southern Vermont. The league plays a 16 game schedule. Their annual draft is conducted in August and they start play in October. Playing the game is half the fun as you build your team from the draft, trades, and waiver wire. If interested contact Tom Conway at
[email protected].
I trust this column is continuing to bring many APBA players together be it in regional tournaments or league play. I am glad that we can continue to provide this service to the APBA community.
