apba baseball | The Baseball Zealot

Some APBA good ones… articles, I mean

A couple of very interesting articles over at The APBA Blog. Interesting, that is, if you play the tabletop sports game, APBA.

Dusty Welsh did a guest post on the history of the actual APBA game boards. Very fascinating (again, if you play the game) as he researches the game back to its roots in 1951 and follows it to modern day. He documents all the changes throughout the years.

And just today, an interview with the CEO of the APBA Game Company was posted. John Herson agreed to answered some of my questions. The good news is that he might make it a regular feature.

Why Graig Nettles was called “Puff”

With help from my buddy Brando, I did an APBA baseball replay of the 1984 NLCS last night. Results aside (ok, the Cubs won. Yay. As a Cub fan, I feel vindicated), a question arose.

On San Diego thirdbaseman Graig Nettles’ APBA card, it show his nickname as “Puff”. Neither Brando or I knew why or how Nettles how he got this nickname. “Puff” seemed to me such a feminine name for such a hard-nosed player like Nettles.

So I looked it up. According to Baseball Reference’s Bullpen:

Graig Nettles was given the nickname of Puff by his teammates. "Puff" referred to the way Graig disappeared after playing a practical joke or starting trouble.

Another interesting aside… Nettles, who played the bulk of his career with the Yankees before being traded to San Diego (for Dennis Rasmussen), was a San Diego native and attended San Diego State University. Perhaps he wanted to get closer to home.

Around the Zealot horn: Lou Boudreau and APBA

I’m feeling lazy on this cold Saturday night so here are a couple good articles from the Zealot network from the past few days worth reading:

As you may have already read, I took part in the Kiwanis Sports Trivia Championship last weekend. What I didn’t mention in my article was that there was only one University of Illinois baseball trivia question asked all day. Being a huge UI baseball fan, you would think I would have gotten it right but Murphy’s Law took effect here.

Sheepishly, I’m learning all I can about the question’s topic and writing about it. It’s all there in Lou Boudreau and Darrin Fletcher: not a trivial mistake at the Illinois Baseball Report.

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If you are an APBA Baseball fan, you might want to check out The APBA Blog’s 10 Tips for Trading in an APBA League. It’s getting to be that “hot stove” time of year for our league not to mention many other APBA leagues around the nation. It’s not rocket science but some of us (myself included) need to be reminded of some of the basic tips and suggestions on how to deal with others when trading in an APBA league.

Though this piece is geared toward the APBA game, I’d wager that 90% of it applies to traditional fantasy leagues as well.

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Speaking of APBA baseball and APBA leagues, our Illowa APBA League is finishing up its 35th season. I’ve finally redone and updated our league web site. IAL awards winners have just been announced and playoff spots determined.

If you’re a fellow APBA player, check us out.

APBA’s disk is shipping!

It’s cold as heck out there but it’s a good reason to celebrate baseball. The APBA Game Company has begun shipping their disks for the 2009 Baseball season.

While our APBA league (and many others) play the dice and cards version, the disk gives us an idea what the cards will look like. Those of us in leagues all around the country have been waiting with bated breath to see how our teams will shape up for the coming year.

Rob Moore has an article celebrating the fact over at The APBA Blog.

Finding a lost treasure: a George Brett autograph APBA card

I found my long lost George Brett autographed APBA card last night.

There’s an interesting story behind it, I posted about it at The APBA Blog.

Illowa APBA League convenes for All-Star weekend

I spent this past weekend with the Illowa APBA League as we had our All-Star get-together in Naperville, Illinois

Check out photos and summary of the festivities on The APBA Blog.

The Illowa APBA League is a 10-team keeper league that is in its 35th year of existence.

Four years and still Zealotin’

Four years ago today, I wrote the first post for The Baseball Zealot.

Four years goes pretty fast but we got a lot done. We managed to put out a audio podcast for over a year (they’re still there if you want to listen to them). I have a pretty impressive photo gallery if I may say so myself.

I’ve spun off two websites because I thought the attention they were getting on the Zealot deserved it. The APBA Blog focuses on the tabletop game APBA and the many leagues that play it.

Also, I began Illinois Baseball Report after covering the University of Illinois baseball team for a couple years on the Zealot. I finally realized that the topic deserved their own site. While the topic interest may not be as broad, I think it’s a website that well put together and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.

By the way, not only is it The Baseball Zealot’s birthday but it’s also my good friend and co-blogger Teddy Ballgame’s birthday. That’s how I remember his birthday. Or maybe it’s the other way around.

I couldn’t do the Zealot without Teddy and those aren’t just nice words. I really couldn’t. Especially during the college baseball season when I’m off to every home game covering the Illini, Teddy’s there writing about the MLB. thanks, Tedd.

Happy Birthday to you and us!

-TBZ

APBA Fans: Check out The APBA Blog

I’ve launched a new blog centered around the sports tabletop game APBA.

If you play APBA (either in a league or solitaire), please take the time to go to The APBA Blog. With the help of Teddy Ballgame and Cluke and probably others in the the future, The APBA Blog will hit topics like leagues, replays, APBA product releases and innovations to the game.

I’m excited about the project that deals with the game I’ve played since I was a kid. The site is in its infancy so check back often for updates.

The APBA Blog

-tbz

Illowa APBA League’s 34th annual All-Star Game this weekend

This coming weekend is our annual All-Star weekend for the Illowa APBA League. It’s one of the most fun weekends of the year for me as the ten managers in the league gather from 3 different states, play some APBA baseball. The climax of the weekend, of course, is the IAL All-Star Game. The league history dates back a while as this will be our 33rd All-Star Game.

Above you see my team’s entries for the West Division for this year. I’d like to say there are more but seeing that we are keeping the cellar warm in the Illowa League this year, we are only sending two. Albert Pujols will be a starter and for that I am glad.

I have a favorite story to tell that illustrates the fun we have at the All-Star weekends. It goes back a few years when we got my friend Brando into the league (a great find, in my opinion!). On our drive up to our destination, Brando expressed his confusion about his first All-Star Game. Why was everyone was getting so excited about watching two managers play an APBA baseball game? It didn’t occur to him that at least in our league, we roll for our own players when they are up to bat. That simple change in perception changed everything. The All-Star Game in the Illowa APBA League is a loud, raucous affair where every member is part of the game. Yes, rolling for their players but also voicing strategic suggestions to their manager, high-fiving on any success and even a little trash talking across the table.

The 34th annual IAL All-Star Game will take place this Saturday in Naperville, Illinois.

Let’s Go West Division! and Go Twin City Thunderchickens!

What is APBA and What is the Illowa APBA League?

APBA is on MySpace

Go figure.. APBA has a MySpace page now. And it’s a 57 year old male… and its zodiac sign is Aries.

Well, at least under heroes they put "Dick Seitz" (may he rest in peace).

Anyway, take a look and if you are a MySpace user, maybe you can befriend the tabletop game.