I am sitting in Orlando writing this column on my 60th birthday wondering where all those years went from when I was first introduced to APBA at the age of twelve years old. That is why these APBA Regional Face-to-Face Tournaments are so great as they take us all back to a simpler and more carefree time in our life. Now for this week's report as I am to darn tired of trying to blow out 60 candles on my birthday cake. (Is it true the smoke alarms were triggered by the candles?)
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT REPORT
This week provided for two Regional APBA Baseball Tournaments. The first, The Old Dominion APBA Baseball Tournament in Richmond, Virginia under the direction of Jim Saska. The second, Florida's Spring Break From Reality APBA Baseball Tournament in Ocala, Florida under the direction of Tony Stevens.
Old Dominion Baseball Tournament Summary
While winter returned to a large swath of the Midwest today, it turned out to be a beautiful Eighty-degree day in the Old Dominion for some APBA tournament action in Richmond, Virginia. Fifteen APBA enthusiasts descended upon the home of Jim Saska to partake in the Old Dominion APBA Baseball tournament. The theme of the tournament was any MLB team from the 1950s and 1960s. The participating teams were divided into four divisions (Gene Alley, Justin Verlander, Johnny Grubb and Granny Hamner divisions, named after MLB players who hailed from the Old Dominion) of four teams each. Each team played six games each against other opponents within their division and another division within their league (Colonial and Commonwealth leagues). At the end of regular tournament play, four division winners were determined-Jim Saska's 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (3-3; Gene Alley Division), Mike Cook-1951 Brooklyn Dodgers (5-1, Justin Verlander division), Mike Whitener-1958 Milwaukee Braves (5-1; Johnny Grubb division), and Ed Jones - 1961 Yankees(5-1; Granny Hamner division). In the playoffs, Ed Jones's Yankees faced off against Mike Whitener's Braves and prevailed in an 8-0 triumph. Meanwhile, Jim Saska's '53 Dodgers faced their earlier version, Mike Cook's '51 Dodgers. In that matchup, Jim's squad took early leads of 2-0 and 4-2, only to see Mike Cook's Dodger squad prevail in a tightly-fought contest, 6-4 to advance to the finals against Ed Jones's Yankees. In the championship game, Mike's '51 Dodgers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. But the '61 Yankees fought back with a three-run ninth. However, with bases-loaded, they could not score again and bowed to the '51 Dodgers by a final score of 4-3. Congratulations to both squads for a well-played tournament and a special thanks to the tournament director Jim Saska on another successful event.
Florida's Spring Break From Reality APBA Baseball Tournament Summary
Having to move the tournament within two weeks of the date, Florida's Spring Break from Reality APBA Baseball Tournament 2018 lost some players, but enough showed up to have tons of fun with two new players joining the tournament. The field was 11 teams, which made for a nice 10 game tournament.
Struggling to get something going all day was Al Billups' 1961 New York Yankees. Maris popped a few long balls, they finished the day in 11th place with a 3-7 record. Sorry we couldn't get you a few more wins for your birthday Al. Maybe you'll have better luck in October.
Five teams finished with identical 4-6 records. The '54 Indians, '69 Orioles, '61 Reds, and '67 Cardinals were competitive enough at various times of the tournament to get a sniff of winning, but we're not able to maintain any kind of streak to move up into the next level of the standings.
Another group of 3 teams; the '60 pirates, '69 Mets, and '64 Phillies finished 5-5 and all had hopes of finishing in the top 4 teams near the end of tournament play. Only the '60 Pirates, after a horrendous 0-4 start found gold having the tie breaker over the other two teams.
The tournament saw seven teams within one win of the other six teams. Some teams ran hot while other teams separated streaks with dead dice. Yet there were three teams who managed to finish above .500. John Cody's 1963 Chicago White Sox, with strong pitching, but weak hitting lead by Canadian Pete Ward and old man Nellie Fox found just enough offense to squeak out a 6-4 record. Good enough for 3rd place on the day.
Having a strong day from start to finish and being the only team to beat the other over .500 teams, Tommy Minton's 1968 Detroit Tigers finished in second place with a 7-3 record.
But, the tournament team to beat, Art Spark's 1950 New York Yankees, took home the 1983 Minnesota Twins team pack, with an autograph John Castino card for having a consistently strong day from the first roll to the last, with an 8-2 record.
A special thanks goes to John Cody for finding and funding a place to play after we got bumped from our usual place at the last minute and to Rob for bringing a platter of Chick-fil-A for all to enjoy some breakfast before the tournament.
Florida's Great RollAPBAlooza 2018 is penciled in for Saturday, October 13th, 2018 (the date could change to the 20th or the 27th) in Palm Harbor, Florida (north of Dunedin and south of Tarpon Springs). Tony Steven's is hoping to have 25 teams from the 1980s registered for this Fall's event. A special thanks is extended to Tony Steven's on another successful tournament event.
The next APBA tournament offering is The Prairieland III APBA Baseball Tournament to be held in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday April 28, 2018. The tournament theme is The Golden Years 1920-1960's. No world Series teams or 1941 Boston Red Sox are permitted. Contact Tom Nelshoppen
atnelshopp@gmail.com or register on-line at
www.apbablog.com if interested in participating.
The 2018 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 brotherhood and gaming experience.
Saturday April 28, 2018 - The Prairieland III APBA Baseball Tournament, Springfield, Illinois (Ramada Inn, 3281 Northfield Drive). The theme is The Golden Years 1920-1960's (No W.S. teams or 1941 Red Sox). Contact Tom
Nelshoppenatnelshopp@gmail.com or register on-line at
www.apbablog.com.
Thursday June 21 through Sunday June 24, 2018 - The APBA National Convention and Tournament, Alpharetta, Georgia. Register at
www.apbagames.com if interested in attending APBA Utopia.
Saturday July 7, 2018 - The 4th Annual Linda B. Schulz Memorial APBA Baseball Tournament, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Contact Ken Schulz at
schulzka02@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 14, 2018 - The Chicagoland Summer APBA Baseball Tournament, Des Plainies, Illinois (at the Comfort Inn O'Hare in Des Plainies, IL). Contact Rob Spatz at
robspatz@gmaill.com.
Saturday, July 21, 2018 - The Second Annual Lancaster World Series , Landisville , Pennsylvania. Contact Dale Shreiner
atdashreiner@gmail.com.
Friday through Sunday August 17-19, 2018 - Las Vegas APBA Tournament, Las Vegas, Nevada. The site will be the Flamingo Hotel. Contact Chris White at
CWHITESPORTS@YAHOO.COM.
Saturday August 25, 2018 - 4th Toledo Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament, Toledo, Ohio. Contact Ron
Emchatrjce@emcher.com
Saturday October 6, 2018 - The Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament, Maple Grove, Minnesota. Contact Jim Fraasch at
jwfraasch@mchsi.com.
Saturday November 3, 2018 - Inaugural Furniture City APBA Baseball Tournament, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Legends Sports & Games, CenterPoint Mall on 28th St. SE). Contact GF Korreck at
gfk1949@yahoo.com.
If your tournament is not mentioned above and you are planning a Regional APBA Tournament in 2018 please forward me your tournament and contact
informationatapba66nyslp@yahoo.com 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 has began 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. This past weeks guest was Fritz Light, long time APBA employee and former game company owner following the death of Dick Seitz in 1992.
Fritz was first introduced to APBA in 1953 at the age of seven by his uncle who was a friend of Dick Seitz. Once Fritz began to play the game it consumed him through his early teen years. His first memory of Dick Seitz was receiving box seat tickets at Connie Mack Stadium from Mr. Seitz in 1957. Following service to his country in Vietnam, Fritz had the opportunity to go to work for Johnson and Johnson or APBA. Fritz followed his heart and went to work for Mr. Seitz at The APBA Game Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Fritz and Dick worked well together which eventually lead to Mr. Seitz's decision to have Fritz take control of the company upon his death. Although APBA had many employees he considered Veryl Lincoln and Skeet Carr "The Guts of the Company" and began to add more responsibilities to their role in the company. Fritz took over the company at a time when computers and software applications were an emerging market. The company decided it needed to be active in this market and worked with Random House and Miller Associates on a computerized baseball game. Miller developed a very clean software application but Random House failed to market the product effectively thus sales were not as projected. Also the fact that the application lacked a statistics package hurt its marketability. Other efforts to market the game on radio, television, and through retail outlets were expensive and met with limited success. The decline of board gaming combined with an unsuccessful campaign to market APBA through different outlets and the inability to draw younger individuals to the game lead the company into Chapter 11 proceedings in 1997. These circumstances were unthinkable and crushing to Fritz and the game company. Although Fritz never thought that APBA would die, he knew changes would be required to save the company and the games he loved. Fritz also discussed lefty/righty splits, card making formula changes, the Master Game, and his Journal column entitled, "Light from APBA". Today Fritz lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina and still consults with John Herson upon request. The APBA Community owes a debt of gratitude to Fritz for his stewardship of the company through changing and difficult times. It was his love for the company and its games that fueled Fritz to save the company and the games we love. Thanks Fritz from all of us!
John's Asalon's scheduled guest for the April 19th live show is former Major Leaguer Darrell Evans . Mr Evans will share stories of his APBA and MLB experiences. Mr. Evans, along with Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson each hit 40+ homeruns in the 1973 season. Be sure to tune in for this discussion with Darrell and other current APBA topics.
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 or five weeks. I will be glad to run them longer if you contact me at
apba66nyslp@yahoo.com. Openings or individuals looking to join leagues are as follows this week:
April 15th Opening
The Northern Virginia APBA Baseball League - The NVABL is looking to immediately fill a vacant manager's slot for the 2018 season. The NVABL is a 12 team Master Game league that plays mostly online via Google Chat and phone. They have roots in the DC suburbs but currently have players as far North as New Hampshire and West as sunny California. More about the league can be found at
https://sites.google.com/site/apbanvabl/. ; The open team is the Downington Abbots; an incredibly competitive team with current and future star power including Kris Bryant, Didi Gregorius, Stephen Strasburg, Charlie Blackmon and Trea Turner. If you're interested in finding out more about the league and taking over the Downington franchise, please contact Chad at
chadwik66@gmail.com
March 11th, 18th, and 25th and April 1st and 8th Openings
No openings these weeks.
March 4th Openings
O.Z. League Opening - The O.Z. League, an APBA Baseball group created in 1982, is looking for a N.J. addition to their league. They currently have 12 teams of which 3 hail from Jersey so getting another would give them the opportunity to create a N.J. Division. They play a mixture of BBW, MG, and the hybrid Paul Marino Boards. They were featured in the N.Y. Daily News in 1988 and play 162 games from February to October. Their draft is held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ronkonkoma every February. If you are interested send an e-mail to Dom at
NYAPBA@yahoo.com.
Louisiana/Mississippi League Formation - David is interested in reaching out to all members in Southeast Louisiana, Southern Mississippi to arrange a face to face conference for the purpose of exchanging ideas and perhaps forming a league or tournament in the area or possibly even forming an online league. If interested contact David Carry at
dcarry1@cox.net.
ABL League Opening - The American Baseball League (ABL) is looking to add one or two managers for their 2018 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 area and are interested, send an e-mail to
gregsch4867@gmail.com.
League Openings - The Cal Ripken Junior League which is AIM playing the 2015 season and The Kirby Puckett Memorial League playing 2014 season has openings. If interested contact Gene at
apbagene@yahoo.com.
Roger Lawson Memorial League - The RLML, a well-run 20 team BBW AIM league, has two openings. Both teams are in pretty decent shape, unlike most orphaned teams. The league draft is starting next week, so email commish Rick at
rdmull_33@yahoo.com if interested.
February 25th Openings
APBA MLB Opening - APBA MLB (BBW, 14 teams, continuous ownership, currently 2017 disk) is looking for a manager in their 13th season. They play from April through October. The Annual Draft also includes players who changed leagues in the previous major league season, such as J.D. Martinez and Yu Darvish this past season. They limit position players to actual games played and pitchers to innings and starts. The league plays a 162 game season with DH, 40 man rosters, 7 team American League, 7 team National League, and interleague play. Please e-mail
Duaneatcub23@comcast.net for a rules page or questions. The league is very well organized and operated and has very good people involved, some of them friends for 35+ years.
Canadian Player Expressing Tournament Interest - Alan Lipman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada has been playing APBA Baseball for over 40 years and would be interested in playing in a local tournament. If any area tournament offerings please contact Alan at
alanb.lipman@yahoo.com.
February 18th Openings
The International Master APBA League Opening - The IMAL, in it's 7th season, is looking for a manager of their 2017 Championship winning team. The league is a C&D based league, there are only 8 teams in the league. Most of the members are living in Southern California and play some of their games FTF. The IMAL uses the Master Game with modifications and the CMBA Pitching System. They have a 108 game schedule. This year's draft starts in March and the season around the beginning of April. They only use the 30-man National League rosters from the current APBA season. There is a 3-tier draft, Auction (player's coming from the AL), Free Agent, and finally a Waiver Draft. If interested or for more information, please contact David Breeden
atdavidbreeden13@yahoo.com.
February 11th Openings
BBW League Openings - This BBW league has two manager openings in their 14 team, continuous ownership BBW league that is in it's 13th year. One of the teams has the first overall pick in the draft on Saturday, February 17. Great league, great members, and great rules. Some of the members have been together in leagues since 1980. Please contact Duane at
cub23@comcast.net with interest and/or questions and he will send you a copy of their league rules.
I trust this column is continuing to bring many APBA players together be it in regional tournaments or league play. Everyone have a great APBA week.
2018 APBA CONVENTION SCHEDULE