FROM OUT IN LEFT FIELD
League News and Storie
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November 20, 2007
FIRE ANTS VS DEPRESSIONS IN THE WORLD SERIES. The powerful Fall Lake Fire Ants and the Tropical Depressions have advanced to the inaugural LBL World Series. Both teams advanced by winning their respective series six games to four. By virtue of their better record, the Fire Ants have the home field advantage in a 2-3-2 format. Congratulations to both Jim and Ralph, who will be getting their CMs out in the next few days and scheduling the games. Wow, our inaugural season is finally winding down. The MVP, Cy Young and other player awards will announced in the upcoming days. Plaques to the Division and World Series winner managers will be forth coming as well.
September 26, 2007 Congratulations to the Falls Lakes Fire Ants (Jim Galloway), Frequent Flyers (Eric Stern) and the Tropical Depression (yours truly) for winning their respective divisions in the LBL’s inaugural season. Cudos are also in order for the Newport Gulls (Mike Tuttle) and the Julington Journalist (Glenn Guzzo/Willy Dominguez) for grabbing the two wildcard spots. As per our constitution, the two wild card teams play a series to determine who joins the 3 Division winners. I would imagine that Willy and Tut will be hooking up to net-play. More to follow on the play-offs and MYP and Cy Young voting. FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 90 72 .556 ---- *WON* 2007 Julington JUL 85 77 .525 5.0 *WILDCARD* 2007 Jacksonville JAC 74 88 .457 16.0 2007 Mickies MIC 68 94 .420 22.0 Stars & Stripes WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Frequent FLY 87 75 .537 ---- *WON* 2007 Melbourne MEL 82 80 .506 5.0 2007 Deland DEL 81 81 .500 6.0 2007 Loafing LOF 80 82 .494 7.0 PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 98 64 .605 ---- *WON* 2007 Newport NPT 93 69 .574 5.0 *WILDCARD* 2007 Kennesaw KEN 83 79 .512 15.0 2007 Cincinnati CIN 51 111 .315 47.0
Thanks for a successful first season guys. Ralph
August 8, 2007
CINCINNATI REDS NAME NEW MANAGER
Please welcome Jeff Ptak to the league as the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He says “rebuilding is a good challenge to undergo.” Jeff is 34 years old (way, way young) and lives outside of Pittsburg. He has been married for 12 years and has 2 daughters age 6 and 9. He grew up in Cleveland and began playing strat in the mid 80s. He will net play if time allows, but understands that many can not. His favorite strat memory is one of his friends tearing up Alfredo Griffin’s card when he got caught stealing to end a play-off game – Jeff sounds like one of us already. Here is Jeff’s contact information:
e-mail: [email protected] IM: ptakbucs Phone: 724-766-7801 LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL - STANDINGS THRU 8-22-2007 FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 74 51 .592 ---- 30 2007 Julington JUL 63 59 .516 9.5 2007 Jacksonville JAC 60 71 .458 17.0 2007 Mickies MIC 55 76 .420 22.0 StarStripe WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Frequent FLY 62 47 .569 ---- 47 2007 Melbourne MEL 61 54 .530 4.0 2007 Loafing LOF 60 64 .484 9.5 2007 Deland DEL 62 68 .477 10.5 PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 69 46 .600 ---- 40 2007 Newport NPT 71 54 .568 3.0 2007 Kennesaw KEN 69 59 .539 6.5 2007 Cincinnati CIN 35 92 .276 40.0
July 26, 2007
CINCINNATI REDS MANAGER RESIGNS - LBL charter member Darrel Fitzwatter has resigned from the league cited increased family and employment responsibilities. I have wished him the best in his future endeavors. Now the task is to find a solid manager, who is looking for what appears to be a total rebuilding project. Any ideas guys?
After four months of play, the division races still remain alive in the Stars & Stripes and Patriot Division. The Melbourne Wildcats hold a slim 1 game lead over the fast charging Frequent Flyers, while the Falls Lake Fire Ants are doing their best to hold off the Newport Gulls. The Tropical Depressions appear to have built a commanding league in the Freedom Division. The Cincinnati Reds, who recently fired their manager, have been the odds on favorite from day one to take home the Rum Trophy presented to the last place finisher. Not necessarily the 1st over-all pick however, as the 4 teams with the worst records will be in a lottery to determine next years 1st over-all pick in the Rookie/Free Agent draft. Remember, in subsequent rounds won/lost records solely determine the draft order. Updated League Standings LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 63 43 .594 ---- 48 2007 Julington JUL 54 52 .509 9.0 2007 Jacksonville JAC 50 56 .472 13.0 2007 Mickies MIC 44 65 .404 20.5 Stars & Stripes WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Melbourne MEL 60 46 .566 ---- 56 2007 Frequent FLY 59 47 .557 1.0 2007 Deland DEL 53 56 .486 8.5 2007 Loafing LOF 48 58 .453 12.0 PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 63 43 .594 ---- 55 2007 Newport NPT 61 45 .575 2.0 2007 Kennesaw KEN 57 49 .538 6.0 2007 Cincinnati CIN 27 79 .255 36.0 Attached and on the website is the latest Restore League file to make your Blk 5 (August) CMs. New CMs are due NLT 07/31/07, and I should have the Playball File out on 08/01. Thanks, Ralph
June 26, 2007
Block 3 has ended and all games have been reported. In the Freedom and Patriot Divisions, The Tropical Depressions & Falls Lake Fire Ants both have comfortable leads. The Stars & Stripes Division is another matter, as 3 teams; The Melbourne Wildcats, Frequent Flyers & Deland Dynasty look to make it a dog fight the rest of the way. The Wildcats used a killer month at home to take a ½ game lead in that division. LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 42 30 .583 ---- 86 2007 Julington JUL 37 35 .514 5.0 2007 Jacksonville JAC 37 38 .493 6.5 2007 Mickies MIC 31 44 .413 12.5 StarStripe WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Melbourne MEL 40 32 .556 ---- 89 2007 Frequent FLY 41 34 .547 .5 2007 Deland DEL 38 37 .507 3.5 2007 Loafing LOF 31 41 .431 9.0 PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 48 27 .640 ---- 82 2007 Newport NPT 42 33 .560 6.0 2007 Kennesaw KEN 38 34 .528 8.5 2007 Cincinnati CIN 16 56 .222 30.5
Mickies Mantles’ Albert Pujols leads the way with 45 dingers, and oh yeah, 96 rbis already. The recently traded Andruw Jones, now patrolling centerfield for the Loafing Legends is a distant 2nd with 32 taters. Speaking of trades, there were 2 this month which will be effective the upcoming block. 1-The Depressions sent the afore mentioned Andruw Jones to the Legends for Aaron Rowand and the Legends’ 2008 #2 pick. 2-The Cincinnati Reds have sent Adam Dunn to the Kennesaw Braves for Mike Cameron & the Braves 2008 #1 pick. Remember, block 4 CMs are due in the league office NLT than 06/30/07. Thanks, Ralph
CDROM Baseball - Version 12.02b Patch
PITCHERS HAVE OWN BATTING CARDS NOW
By Glenn Guzzo Now, Strat-O-Matic computer-baseball players can see what a great hitting pitcher Mark Mulder was last year. They can see what type of card 1955 Don Newcombe earned with a .359 average and 7 home runs. And they can come up with their own batting cards for Babe Ruth’s pitching days. It’s all possible with the new feature in the Version 12 patch that supports individual pitcher-batting cards, one of the most-sought-after features on gamers’ wish lists. The v12 help file describes how gamers can create their own pitcher-batting cards with the game’s fringe-player module. However, that is unnecessary for most pitchers who batted in 2006, 1971 and 28 other seasons.
They are available free online at
They were created by Len Durrant and Gary Simonds, with assistance from Ken Wenger, Ed Williams, Jon Grauer, and Joe Freitas. These guys and others are part of the Update team – the part of the Strat-O-Matic user community that has provided a bounty of add-ons. They include, among many other things, seasons updated with super-advanced features (error ratings, balks, wild pitches and more) not available at the time of their original SOM release. They include the 19th-Century seasons Strat-O-Matic has made available the past two years. And they include individual pitcher-hitting cards, once just for board gamers. Now, all can use them. “We
think this feature is a godsend, particularly for the earlier years of Also from the blog:
“What we have made so far are all SAdv sets. They cover most team pitchers “Over time we'll be adding many more sets.”
Here are the 30 seasons now available on that site: 1900, 1897, 1895, 1894, 1889, 1887 All gamers have to do to use these free files is download them into their SOMBB/CDROMBB/ROSTERS folder, and then restart the game. You ought to see a new league with the year name followed by 99. That league will have a free-agent pool of all the pitcher-batting cards. That pool will work with all seasons you have with the same year name. So if you have, say, a 2006-season draft league, a replay league and something else, you download just once and have the use of the pitcher-batting cards for all leagues. To activate the feature for any league, just check the “Use Actual Pitcher Batting Cards” item on the “Lineups and Usage Options” dialog. That way, you can use the feature with one league, but not another, if that’s your pleasure. If a pitcher doesn’t have his own batting card, the game will default to the regular, generic 1-8 pitcher batting cards. A sample of the cards shows these long-desired results: -- Different cards for players with the same general SOM rating. For instance, Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo and Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano would have the same 6N batting cards in regular Strat-O-Matic. But
with their own cards, Zambrano is Mr. Home Run Derby – it’s either a homer or an
out. None of the singles found on the 6N card. Arroyo has some doubles, but not
as many homers as Zambrano.
-- Lefty-righty differences. Arroyo can’t get a hit on his own card vs. right-handed foes. Schmidt hits righties, with no chance against lefties. Zambrano homers well both ways, but much more against lefties. -- True value for pitchers who used it to help win (or cut their losses). Mark Mulder can hit all types of pitching. Why, he’s even got a card with more on-base and power than his pitching card yields! -- History lessons. 1955 Don Newcombe is a truly great hitter vs. right-handers. He’s not bad against lefties, but has “W” power there. May 28, 2007 Happy Memorial Day to all. I still remember receiving my “Greeting from the President” letter in late 1967, and saying goodbye to mom and dad on 02/13/68, wondering if I’d see them again. In retrospect the service was probably one of the things I needed back then. I was fortunate during my 4 years stint never to have been placed in harms way. Now, forty years later, the jungles of Nam have been replaced by the sands of Iraq. So, for those of you who also served, or have friends and relatives who did…some, who paid the ultimate price, I offer up a toast, God bless America. Block 2 has concluded, the standings are below. All the stats you need can be accessed on the website links. LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL Thru Block 2 FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 27 16 .628 ---- 112 2007 Jacksonville JAC 22 24 .478 6.5 2007 Julington JUL 19 24 .442 8.0 2007 Mickies MIC 20 26 .435 8.5 StarStripe WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Frequent FLY 26 20 .565 ---- 117 2007 Deland DEL 25 21 .543 1.0 2007 Melbourne MEL 23 20 .535 1.5 2007 Loafing LOF 19 24 .442 5.5 PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 33 13 .717 ---- 108 2007 Newport NPT 24 22 .522 9.0 2007 Kennesaw KEN 21 25 .457 12.0 2007 Cincinnati CIN 11 35 .239 22.0
Block 3 CMs need to be received by the league office NLT May 30th. I believe all series in the upcoming block actually end on June 30th, with no series carrying over into July. The block 3 Playball file will be sent out once all CMs are received and imported. Thanks, Ralph Monday, 4/30/07 Block 2 runs from 05/04 through 06/01, as several teams have series that end on 06/01. Please remember to chose the appropriate lineup when beginning each game. Included in this file are the stats from the Julington @ Newport series of 05/27-05/29 which was net-played earlier. Just a friendly reminder, all Block 2 game files need to be submitted to the league office NLT than 05/25/07 or they will be autoplayed.
After
talking with the Wisemen and other league members, the following rule has been
implemented: There will be a
24 hour window from the time you receive your game files/boxscores from your
opponent to review them. If there is a legitimate complaint, speak then or
forever hold your peace. The league office will also wait 24 hours prior to
import stats into the LBL master game file. Once game files are imported into
the master league file, they will be official.
Have fun, Ralph
04/23/07 – Dateline Jacksonville, FL.
Liberty Baseball League completes Block 1 early! Wow, what a great way for a new league to commence its inaugural season…block 1 finishes up early, no need for the commissioner to auto-play games here – Good job guys. Check out the website for more stats than the standings listed below. http://www.geocities.com/liberty_baseball_league/
BLOCK 1 LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 LBL
FREEDOM WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Tropical TRO 11 6 .647 ---- 144 2007 Julington JUL 9 8 .529 2.0 2007 Mickies MIC 7 10 .412 4.0 2007 Jacksonville JAC 7 10 .412 4.0
STARS & STRIPES WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Deland DEL 11 6 .647 ---- 144 2007 Frequent FLY 9 8 .529 2.0 2007 Melbourne MEL 7 10 .412 4.0 2007 Loafing LOF 7 10 .412 4.0
PATRIOTS WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2007 Falls Lake FAL 11 6 .647 ---- 146 2007 Newport NPT 11 6 .647 ---- 2007 Kennesaw KEN 7 10 .412 4.0 2007 Cincinnati CIN 5 12 .294 6.0
There were only a couple instances that I am aware of where, an incorrect visiting line-up was used – please make it a habit to pick the right line up prior to starting to play, not just using whatever the computer throws up there.
Once the trade deadline for Block 2 has passed, 04/25/07, I will send out a new restore league file which needs to be used to create your Block 2 CMs. Meanwhile, enjoy the Block 1 final stats.
Strat has a new patch, (Version 12.01i) which can be downloaded from the strat website. Maybe Gandy can put a new link for it on our site as well? Since several of our members are in other leagues that use the patch, I feel we all need to download it as well prior to beginning Block 2 play. The new interface is pretty cool…you will like it!
Thanks again for everyone’s help in getting the league off to a good start. Later, Ralph
April 15, 2007 The LBL website has been updated with standings and stats as of April 14th. Due to the difference in the number of games teams have reported, stats are somewhat skewed. Division leaders are the Tropical Depressions 4-3, Deland Dynasty 11-6 and the Kennesaw Braves 2-1. Teams having completed all their block 1 games are the Falls Lake Fire Ants and Deland Dynasty both at 11-6 and the Loafing Legends 7-10.
Albert Pujols (MIC) lead the league with 8 dingers,
followed closely by Carlos Lee (LOF) and Lance Berkman (DEL) both with
7. On the skewed side, Chase Utley (MEL), leads the league in hitting
.462 (3 games played). Well, you get the picture...Only one team has
zero stats reported.
Dave Gandy has once again has tweaked the website. It
now allows access to the actual strat game generated stats. He has also
added a new link called Sport Center a/k/a: SC,
which links to special events that have
occurred in the LBL so far. Check it
out, its really cool - did I just date myself
with "cool". Kudos again to Gandy - seem to have been saying that a lot
so far.
April 4, 2007 The Play ball file is out! The MLB season has started! Time to play some ball! We would like to thank Glenn Guzo for offering an autographed copy of his new book The New Ballgame as a prize to this year's World Series winner. Below is a recent review of the book from the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.
March 30, 2007 - I’m expecting to send out the Block 1 restore league file this weekend with everyone’s CM imported. Just a couple notes when playing against another manager’s CM. Please remember to select the appropriate lineup form the drop down box to match up with your pitcher, we should all be able to figure out the backward pitchers that some managers have made separate line ups for if needed. Also, reset the rest days for each new series. Although the actual start date for the LBL is April 17th, you may begin your games once you have the new file. Save the game files and box scores for each series and put them in a zip file. I would prefer the series zip files are labeled TROatCIN blk1, as an example…something that makes sense to me anyhow. Game files and box scores for each series should be sent to your opponent and to me. There is a link on the website with a separate e-mail address for sending this information to me. Also, I would prefer you send your the files for each series after you play them instead of waiting till the end of the block. This will allow us to frequently update the stats on the website. Spring Training Outing Ralph, Mickie and David attended the Washington Nationals vs. the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training game in Viera, Spring home of the Nationals. A great time was had by all. Maybe next year we can all get together!
Miller Time at the ballpark!
David (Loafing Legends), Mickie (Mickies Mantles) and Ralph (Tropical Depressions / commissioner) enjoying the game!
Nationals bullpen in action!
David and Mickie are all smiles after the game.
Top of the Class - First Round Draft Picks
January 17, 2007 Spring Training schedules in the newspapers, projected lineups on various sports websites, can the LBL inaugural season be far behind? Well, we have established some key dates: Monday, January 22, 2007, will be the Florida Lotto PICK 3 day to determine out initial draft order. As indicated several weeks ago by e-mail and on the website: “We will… use the Florida Lotto PLAY 3 number as a base. Everyone will select a 3 digit number. The manager who picks the number, or number closest to that winning lotto number will be slotted 1st, next closest 2nd, etc., until all 12 teams are ranked 1-12. Then, adding a slight twist; in descending order, the highest ranked team will have the option of keeping that draft slot or selecting another position. Example, lets say that Eric/James are slotted #1 & Mike is slotted #2 - they both want to stay keep those slots. Norm ends up initially slotted #3, but elects instead to go 12th. Whoever was slotted #4, now moves up to #3. Once the initially slotting takes place, going from top to bottom, you will each have 2 hours to either stay or move’ Several managers have already provided me their 3 digit number. For those who haven't submitted their number yet, now is the time. You may pick any number from 000 - 999. Any number(s) not received by me by Noontime on 01/22, will be assigned using my old random number generator Lamanna hooked me up with years ago - hope the battery is still good. Also, our inaugural draft will commence on Saturday, February 10, 2007 - more to follow. Strat-O-Matic has announced: Opening Day for new 2006 baseball will be on Friday, January 26th at 1PM. All customers planning to come and pickup products on Opening Day need to place a Pickup Order and receive a Pickup Number. To place your pickup order please phone SOM at 516-671-6566. Orders will be mailed thereafter. Finally, the LBL play-offs have been expanding to 5 teams, the 3 Division winners plus 2 wild card teams. The format is really simple, and easily explained in the Constitution. Last, but definitely not least, Glenn Guzzo will be awarding the LBL Champion with a personally autographed copy of his latest book. Later, Ralph
DRAFT NEWS 1 - Setting the draft order: We will pick a day in the very near future and use the Florida Lotto PLAY 3 number as a base. Everyone will select a 3 digit number. The manager who picks the number, or number closest to that winning lotto number will be slotted 1st, next closest 2nd, etc., until all 12 teams are ranked 1-12. Then, adding a slight twist; in descending order, the highest ranked team will have the option of keeping that draft slot or selecting another position. Example, lets say that Eric/James are slotted #1 & Mike is slotted #2 - they both want to stay keep those slots. Norm ends up initially slotted #3, but elects instead to go 12th. Whoever was slotted #4, now moves up to #3. Once the initially slotting takes place, going from top to bottom, you will each have 2 hours to either stay or move. 2 - Draft format: It will be a serpentine draft, followed afterwards by the ballpark draft. The ballpark draft will be in the reverse order or the free agent draft. I would like to hold the draft in the Melbourne, FL area, as eight managers are actually within 2 hours of that location. Realistically, I would expect 4-6 of us could attend. Those that are unable to attend, will be involved by chat room, e-mail or telephone. Yes, we will have time limits on selections. 3 - Draft date: The cards & game should be released in the next 3-4 weeks; hopefully everyone has placed their strat order, or will be doing so shortly. All that being said, the two best weekend dates appear to be Saturday 02/10 and Saturday 02/24. Daytona 500 weekend is 17th-18th, so that weekend is out. I plan on starting the draft at 9:00 am EST, thankfully we have no time zone problems to deal with. I would like to get at least the first 15-20 pick in before we call it a night, then finish up by e-mail, starting the next day. Hope that helps, Ralph
January 05, 2007 Then there were twelve – The LBL now has its initial 12 managers lined up, and divisional alignments set. So, here is what we start with: Freedom Division Jacksonville Sharks, Mike Morgan, Jacksonville, FL Julington Journalists, Glenn Guzzo, Jacksonville, FL Mickies Mantles, Mick Cooksey, Jacksonville, FL Tropical Depressions, Ralph Billings, Jacksonville, FL Stars & Stripes Division Deland Dynasty, Walt Perry, Deland, FL Frequent Flyers, James & Eric Stern, Melbourne, FL Loafing Legends, Dave Gandy, Vero Beach, FL Melbourne Wildcats, Norm Swift, Melbourne, FL Patriot Division Newport Gulls, Mike “Tut” Tuttle, Newport, MA Cincinnati Reds, Darrell Fitzwater, Dayton, OH Falls Lake Fire Ants, Jim Galloway, Raleigh, NC Kennesaw Braves, J.M. “Blake” Blakely, Kennesaw, GA I went with what I had, so please feel to change your team name if you chose. The initial draft will be held serpentine fashion, the guy that picks 12th, also picks 13th, heck, y’all already know that. I would like to set the draft order approx 2 weeks or so before draft day – I’m open to suggestions on how to do that: i.e.-draw names out of a hat? Maybe Walt and I, or others, can do that at Hooters like in “them good ole days”. S-O-M and Lamanna’s ratings should be coming out soon. The ballpark numbers are already posted. Check them out on the site links. The constitution has been completed and posted on the website. If you would like your telephone number listed in the Managers Directory, let me know. We will not need a separate website, such as yahoo groups for stats & CMs. I have set up a separate e-mail of [email protected] specifically for this purpose, which is a link on the website. Dave Gandy has also created a forum/league message board on the website. You will need to create a log in name – for simplicity make it your team name and then whatever password you may chose. It can be a good way to communicate with the league, post trade offers, comments, etc. Once again, trying to keep the league simple by having everything you need on a single website…can you say goodbye yahoo groups? Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. Ralph
December 27, 2006 HAPPY HOLIDAYS – The Liberty Baseball League’s first season is fast approaching. Spreading their Christmas cheer, Strat has already posted the range ratings. In the NL: Matheny & Ausmus got the “1”s at catcher; Adrian Gonzalez at 1b, Hudson at 2b; Rolen & Zimmerman at 3b; Vizquel & Everett at ss; Jones, Cameron, Duffy & Rowand in cf, & Endy Chavez in lf. Strat is already taking orders for the new version 12 game, to be released I think they said in late January. Regarding our draft, I would like to set it up sometime pre-spring training, say late February if possible, maybe in Melbourne as that would be centrally located for a good number of us. It would be kinda cool to get together again like in the “pre-James” days. Ideas (volunteers) where to host it are appreciated. Hopefully we could at least get the early rounds out of the way, and finish up by e-mail. Internet has sure changed things since them good ole days. So, wonder who the first pick will be in our inaugural draft? Sir Albert, Andruw, Zimmerman, a pitcher maybe? The Jacksonville contingent of Morgan, Guzzo, Cooksey & Billings (sounds like a poor excuse for a law firm – NOT!) are fired up and ready to go. Down Melbourne way, will Norm look for Wright as a belated Christmas present; will the Stern Bros, oops, that’s a NY store, I mean the Stern Family be drafting to fit their name (Frequent Flyers). In the cold frozen northeast, “King Tut” Tuttle is still thinking “go Pats”, it’s too early for baseball. Galloway in Raleigh is thinking hoops, and rightly he should. In Vero, Dave is mourning the future loss of his Dodger blue spring training, hoping some team will fill the void. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, it looks like Walt Perry! Are the Deland Dynasty near? We still have 2-3 managerial spots to fill. I would rather fill from y’all’s referrals than just get a guy, some guy, any guy… Constitution is almost complete; it’s on the website as is the Managers Directory. There are also several links listed to make your life easier as well. Hey kudos to Dave Gandy for the website. www.geocities.com/liberty_baseball_league. See you in 2007, Ralph
October 2, 2006 WHY WE PLAY STRAT - The Good Ole Days – First time I met Eric Stern was in he mid 80s. His team was the Frequent Flyers. He had three daughters then. (Sorry James, but you weren’t even a glint in your mom & dad’s eyes back then). I had joined an N.L. only league, called the SSSL that Eric was already in. We both lived in Melbourne area back them and Eric still does. Anyhow, one summer Saturday, we left at 5:00 a.m., thankfully he drove, traveling to Daytona Beach to meet several other SSSL members, and the 6 us played our block games against each other rolling them ole dice – I made my first (of many) SSSL trades that day acquired Gary Templeton a SS-2. Now if I can only find that picture of Paul Green (God rest his soul) and I holding up his strat card…I think I gave him a 3rd round draft pick. Hopefully Eric will later share his story of recently getting James into strat and accidentally finding me online. In the late 80s, we used to set the draft order (breaking ties, etc) at Hooters in Melbourne, FL, and draft a few rounds there as well. OK, so you had several grown men at Hooters with funny looking “baseball” cards drinking beer and checking out the hooters, oops, I meant the wings…and what is wrong with that? Obviously, some of the cards ended up stained by the hot sauce. During that time I made the two plus trek from Melbourne to St Pete to roll 8 games against Norm Swift. Being the perfect host he was, I got all the splits…and to think he actually fed me that Saturday. I got back to Melbourne late that night with a “sweep smile” on my face. One year, I met Walt Perry and his two sons at his mom’s house in Melbourne to play the 1st LBL World Series, the old fashion way, with dice. Being the good son he was, Walt had pulled into town the night before, just to visit mom – yeah right! When I pulled up at her house the next morning, Walt had hung signs and, hand-made pennants all over the front yard, touting the virtues of his team, and taking jabs at my division champs. Something about the home field advantage came to mind. Anyhow, the series goes to game 7, with yours truly leading by a run going into the bottom of the ninth. Just think home field advantage here, ok. So, naturally my stud closer is in, and I put Brady Anderson (remember him) and his 1e3 as defensive replacement in left. Walt gets 2 guys on and has Paul Sorrento (41 Abs w/a monster homerun card – Walt always has a thing for those “small” cards. So, Sorrento hits a fly ball X to left, and I’m running around the table, celebrating like the village idiot. Heck, Brady is a “1” for Christ sakes. Then I roll the fielding charts for the “x” factor. Yeap, you guessed it, a 3 base error by Anderson and Walt wins the inaugural World Series. I don’t miss them old fielding charts one bit! It’s good to have Norm Swift, Eric Stern and his son James back in “my” fold so to say. Good memories, highlights or otherwise, are appreciated to help pass this long off-season. Ralph
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