REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
This past Saturday, two regional tournaments were contested; Florida's Spring Break Reality APBA Baseball Tournament under the direction of Tony Stevens and The 2019 Heartland APBA Baseball Tournament under the direction of Earle Shamblin.
Florida's Spring Break Reality APBA Baseball Tournament
It was a great day for 13 tournament participants and the New York Yankees franchise. The 1927 New York Yankees and the 1998 New York Yankees met in the finals of Florida's Spring Break from Reality APBA Baseball in St. Cloud, Florida this weekend. In a tight 3 game series, the 1998 version pulled out a 13th inning 6-5 victory to take home the day's prize. Several teams had hoped to drink from the unique trophy and some started off the day as if they should be considered the favourites. Phil Blinn's 2018 Boston Red Sox jumped out to an early start in the Davey Johnson Division, but couldn't continue the run support as his day wore down. In the end, Anthony Orlando's 1998 New York Yankees went 6-2 to capture the division. Visiting from Grand Rapids, Michigan, John Roels, spending two weeks in southern Florida helping rebuild a house destroyed by a hurricane, took time to relax and enjoy some rolls using the 1927 New York Yankees. Although they had a similar record (5-3) with John Cody's 1999 Atlanta Braves, Roels team advanced on Head-to-Head run differential and captured the second playoff seed. In the Buck Showalter Division, Tom Battiato's 2001 Seattle Mariners proved to be a formidable team who's record (5-3) was duplicated by Al Billup's 1998 Atlanta Braves. The Mariners and the Braves advanced with Seattle taking the #3 seed and the Braves slotted into the #4 seed as the Wild Card team. The first round of the playoffs saw the 1927 Yankees sweep the 2001 Mariners. All Tom could do was watch game 3 of the 1998 Braves vs 1998 Yankees match. Billups' 1998 Braves fought hard, but just couldn't hold off "Derek Jetah" (as manager Orlando says) and his teammates.
The weekend was a lot of fun with APBAholics getting re-acquainted during what has become a Florida tradition, the Friday Night pre-Tournament meal. Florida's next tournament is RollAPBAlooza 2019. After being removed from it's hopeful initial location and rejecting returning to the smallish Brooksville venue, a new home is hoped to be found in Clermont, Florida at Lake Hills Church. The tournament theme is 100 or more loss teams and will be held on Saturday, November 9th, 2019. The cost will be $20. There will be a team selection draft lottery. Email Tony Stevens at
AandTStevens@Gmail.com for more details.
Congratulations once again to Anthony Orlando and his 1998 New York Yankees on their tournament championship and a special thanks to Tony Stevens for directing this very successful annual tournament.
The Heartland APBA Baseball Tournament
The 2019 Heartland APBA Baseball Tournament with eight attendees was a great time! There were several returning managers and a couple of new ones. There were two divisions with the 2011 Giants managed by Earle Shamblin winning one division and the 1974 Reds managed by Don Wegley winning the other division, both receiving byes in the first round of the playoffs and able to reset their pitching rotation. The 1977 Pirates managed by Roger Gilbert faced off against the 2002 Red Sox managed by the defending Champion Jason Kersey. The 62 Dodgers managed by Blake Wegley and the 1972 Cardinals managed by Steven Thorp went at it on the other side of the bracket. The 1977 Pirates advanced to face the 2011 Giants and the 1972 Cardinals moved on the play the 1974 Reds. The 1977 Pirates running thin on pitching started Bruce Kison (D) and took down the 2011 Giants and Bumgarner as the Giants bats went cold. The 1974 Reds team beat the 1972 Cardinals to advanced to the Championship against the Pirates. They couldn't have asked for a better Championship as the Reds were down one run in the 9th with Gossage on the mound, but Concepcion stepped up and hit one deep into the night to take it to extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Morgan singled and stole second then Driessen singled and Morgan scored the game winner. Congratulations to the Champion Don Wegley and his 1974 Reds! Fun fact - Jason Kersey played out the entire tournament on Apba Go before hand and the same two teams were in the finals and the Reds won the Championship by the same score, 5-4. Amazing! A special thank you goes out to Earle Shamblin for directing a fun-filled tournament which was enjoyed by all attendees.
The next tournament is scheduled this coming Saturday April 6th; The Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament (TCABT-XI ) in Maple Grove, Minnesota under the direction of Jim Fraasch. Good luck and have fun guys; I know you always do!
Upcoming Tournaments
The 2019 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 April 6, 2019 - Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament (TCABT-XI ), Maple Grove, Minnesota. Contact Jim Fraasch at
jwfraasch@mchsi.com. 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 (any APBA issued team 1970 through 1989 except GTOP). The tournament will be held at Jim Saska's home ( 9921 Wenatchee Court, Richmond, Virginia 23236) beginning at 9 am. Team selection will begin with this announcement. If interested contact Jim Saska at
jamessaska@gmail.com.
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
williamsagle@aol.com.
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 website
www.apbagames.com. Contact John Herson at
custsupp@apbagames.com.
Saturday July 20, 2019 - The Third Annual Lancaster World Series Tournament will held at the Millersville Brethren in Christ Church. The cost is $20 and includes lunch. The theme is "World Series Losers." Contact Dale Shreiner at
dashreiner@gmail.com for more details.
Saturday July 20, 2019 - 2019 Chicagoland APBA Baseball Tournament will be held at the Comfort Inn O'Hare in Des Plaines, Illinois. Additional information can be found at
Friday and Saturday August 9 and 10, 2019 - The 2019 Vegas APBA Tournament will be held at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entry fee is $50 with a 10 game guarantee. For more information please contact Chris White via email at
cwhitesports@yahoo.com.
Saturday August 24, 2019 - The 5th Annual Toledo Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament (GCABT-V) will be held at the Maumee-Bowling Green Elks Lodge #1850 137 W Wayne St, Maumee, Ohio 43537. The cost is $15.00. The theme is "Second Place Teams". Only teams from 1930 through 1999 that finished second in their league/division will be eligible. A 3-man rotation, DH, Unusual Play and Error Distribution play chart, and advanced fielding will be used. On June 1st, Ron will randomly determine a draft order for coaches who have already signed up and you will be able to pick a team at that time. Please email Ron at
rce@emcher.com or send him a message on Facebook with your name and cell phone number if you wish to participate.
Saturday October 5, 2019 - Twin Cities APBA Baseball Tournament (TCABT-XII ), Maple Grove, Minnesota. Contact Jim Fraasch at
jwfraasch@mchsi.com.
Saturday October 12, 2019 - The Linda B. Schulz Memorial Apba Baseball Tournament V, Slippery Rock Township Building, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Entry fee is $15. Contact Ken Schulz at
schulzka02@gmail.com.
Saturday October 26, 2019 - The Second Furniture City APBA Tournament will be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Legends Sports. Any team from 1920-1972 is elegible; 25-man rosters, no XCs, plus one player from the dead ball era (1901-19). Draft for team seelction begins on August 31, 2019. For more details or to register, contact GF Korreck at
gfk1949@yahoo.com.
Saturday, November 9, 2019 in Brooksville, Florida at the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham, 6298 Nature Coast Blvd., Brooksville, FL, 34602 from 9am to 5pm. The theme is is 100 losses in a single season teams (1903-present). The cost is $20 (bring or buy your own food and drinks). Please contact Tony Stevens at
aandtStevens@Gmail.com or call (text preferred) 352-600-0974.
If your tournament is not mentioned above and you are planning a Regional APBA Tournament in 2019 please forward me your tournament and contact information at
apba66nyslp@yahoo.com and I will be sure to promote your event in APBA's company electronic newsletter. Remember all APBA game tournaments are welcome.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENT - For planning purposes, The 2020 APBA Scenic City Shootout will be held on February 22, 2020 in the Hamilton Room of the Embassy Suites by Hilton located at 2321 Lifestyle Way Chattanooga TN 37421. Details for 2020 tournaments being held January through June will not be posted in the tournament schedule until the June/July 2019 timeframe.
APBA LEAGUE INFORMATION
NEW - We have received a number of requests asking that BBW and APBA GO players share or post user guidelines to assist those new to these applications. Accordingly, under the League Match folder in the APBA Delphi Forum Site "Between the Lines" we have set up a thread where individuals or leagues can post items which may be of interest to those beginning to use these applications.
I am pleased to report that this column continues to assist leagues in finding new managers and pairing individuals looking for leagues. I will be glad to run your league opening, if you contact me at
apba66nyslp@yahoo.com with a brief and concise write-up. Openings or individuals looking to join leagues are as follows:
March 31, 2019 Openings
The Jackie Robinson League - The Jackie Robinson League, a BBW continuous ownership league, has three immediate openings. The available teams are Billings, Redding, and Sawdust City. The league has played continuously since 1998 beginning with the 1947 season. The league is now preparing for the 1971. League off-season roster limit of 24 players. League communications through groups.io. If interested contact Chris Strovel at
www.strovel.com.
New League Forming - Joseph Whitbeck is starting a new email league. A Basic Cards and Dice Retro Keeper League starting with the 1960 season and going backwards through time. The Summer league will consist of 12 teams and play games from May thru September. The season will consist of 76 games of which each manager playing 38 games. If interested contact Joe at
deadball274@gmail.com.
March 24th Openings
The Canadian Baseball League Opening - The Canadian Baseball League is a 24-team league that began in 1974, and uses real MLB affiliations. They play the computer game but without AIM. They send instructions, or send micromanagers for our road series. There are managers from the USA and Canada, most of whom have been in the league for 15+ years (several have been participating for 30+ years when it was a cards and dice league). They recently had a manager unfortunately pass away, and his team is in need of someone to pick up the reins. The open team is the Philadelphia Phillies. This team has a lot of solid players: Miles Mikolas, Gerrit Cole, Jack Flaherty, Marco Gonzales, Blake Treinen, Matt Carpenter, Ryan McMahon, Jed Lowrie, Paul DeJong, Stephen Piscotty, Kike Hernandez, Chris Taylor, David Dahl, and more. If interested, please email Jim at
jimreid1334@gmail.com.
APBA Player Looking to Join a League - Lew lives in Laguna Niguel, California and would like to join a basic C&D league. If you have a C&D league opening, contact Lew at
glen571944@gmail.com
March 17th Openings
No Limits APBA league - The NLAL is a new league forming. The NLAL is a different format playing from September to April and is setting up now. Basic is used for all hitters set to 930 batters faced unless already higher, starting pitchers to 1000 batters faced, split grades to 700, and relievers to 300, also unless already higher. The NLAL plans to use AIM control with full injuries. The experiment is to see if the injury issue will actually control player use. Injury factors will not be changed for low use but a great card could be susceptible to injuries and thus undependable. Manager input into actual rules will be welcome as they set up the league. if interested contact Robert at
robertjacobus@frontier.com.
Player Looking for a Computer League - Individual looking for a computer league opening. he has played the regular board game for years, but would like to delve into the computer game and get into a league. If you have a league opening please contact the gentlemen at
pstul@aol.com.
March 3rd Openings
DBL League Opening - The DBL has the 1931 Philadelphia Phillies available. They are just starting the season. If interested, please contact Gene Knauber at
meaner53965@hotmail.com for more information.
February 24th Openings
APBA GO League Looking for Managers - A newly forming APBA GO League is forming and they need a minimum of two more managers to start the league. If interested contact Jeff Heagy at
heagmeister@verizon.net.
The Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League - The Boys of the Summer APBA Baseball League, an APBA BBW (Computer) League is looking for a owner. They have an opening for their Vancouver Storm franchise, seeking for a competitive owner who has good knowledge of the game of baseball, as well as with the APBA Baseball for Windows and its League Manager and Advanced Draft applications. The league is a 16-team league, as they prepare for their 7th season. The league draft is in early March. If interested please contact Shawn Baier at
bosbaier@yahoo.com.
February 10th Openings
The COBL APBA Baseball League Opening - COPL is a modern day salary cap league finishing its 17th season and looking for a couple new GMs. The league is a contract league that signs players through an auction process. Each team gets a certain amount of money and contracts range from 1 to 5 years in length. The available teams include the World Series champion - new mangers will do a dispersal draft from the three available franchises. (One has already been filled.) Top players include Jose Ramirez, Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Story and others. Contact John at
johansonj@hotmail.com if you are interested.
The Northern Virginia APBA Baseball League (NVABL) Opening - NVABL is looking to immediately fill a vacant managers 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 their roots in the DC suburbs but currently see 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 isthe Holiday Stingrays - a competitive team with current and future star power including Kris Bryant, Didi Gregorius, Stephen Strasburg and Trea Turner. If you're interested in finding out more about the league and taking over the Holiday franchise, please contact Dwight at
dwight4007@hotmail.com.
USBL Opening - The USBL is a BBW 5.75 continuous ownership league that allows you to draft up to 4 never before carded players and retain their rights. They currently have three openings. The league has new managers draft from a supplemental pool made up of all players from teams that are managerless. If interested, please contact Phil at
apbaphilip@gmail.com for more information.
February 3rd Openings
True Franchise Baseball league Opening - The TFBL is a league in which each team owns all of his minor league players affiliates from rookie league to AAA. The TFBL plays BBW, in is in its 3rd season only, with aim. The TFBL has 24 teams and four 6 team divisions. The four Division winners and two Wild Card Teams qualify for the playoffs. The league has a 40 men roster with 28 active and 12 on the farms. The available team is the Washington Nationals. If you are a National's fan, this is the perfect occasion to manage a team with your favorite players, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Scherzer, Strasburg etc. and all of its minor league affiliates. If interested or for more info, please contact Alain at
dumontar@videotron.ca
LLB League Opening - The LLB League is in it's 8th season. The LLB has 20 teams, 4 divisions, and is a full Aim Salary League based on MLB salaries. The open team owns Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Dallas Keuchel, George Springer among others. A keeper league, they have an annual June Amateur Draft. The FA draft is coming soon. If interested or for more info, please contact Alain at
dumontar@videotron.ca
January 27th Opening
FABL League Opening - The Fantasy APBA Baseball League (FABL) is a modern day BBW league finishing its 22nd season. Its a 20 league team with 40-man rosters and 2 openings. Each team is associated with an MLB team, and have first dibs on that team's rookies. The prospective owner would take over the Diamondbacks or Rays roster franchises, but next year can switch to the White Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Angels, Nationals, Mets, Braves, Reds, or Giants. Contact Kevin at
krupp12w@ptd.netwith your APBA or sim experience and questions.
January 20th Openings
Non-AIM Nation League Opening - The league has 1 opening in a 19 year old Non-AIM National League 12 Team League. Theye usually draft face-to-face (attendance is highly encouraged) Presidents Day weekend near Hackettstown, NJ. They also get together each summer for a stadium tour (non-mandatory). If interested, please email
bergmrl@comcast.net or phone 770-689-7847.
The North American Pro Baseball League - The NAPBL is a 16 team BBW based league starting it 41st season. Their 2019 Winter Meeting is scheduled for February 9th in Northeast, Ohio. Approximately 8 to 10 managers will attend. They are in need a couple managers! The league was founded in 1978 Cards and Dice. In 1999 the league switched to the Computer game. They are a mail league, but there is a lot of face to face play. The league features permanent 40 man team rosters with multiple opportunities to play computer games face to face the 164 game schedule during the year. The league is centered in the eastern states, CLEVELAND, OHIO, TORONTO, CANADA, BUFFALO, NY, HARTFORD. CT, and ST. LOUIS MO. The 7 month season runs April-October. playing 2-3 series a month. The draft, the trading of players, money and draft picks has become a yearly highlight and has made the NAPBL very competitive. - they invite you to enjoy the fun! Please contact the John M. Wilson Jr. or Steve Lawrence with questions and inquiries:
stats66@aol.com or
coopdet@gmail.com or call 216-789-3764.
Cooperstown League Openings- Current 2017 season running second half thru March 2019. Looking for GM's/Coaches to come join in the fun of this modern day 24 team (12 AL/12 NL, 3 - 4 team divisions) BBW 5.75 league. It is a fantasy roster league where AL players play in the AL, NL players play in the NL, no interleague play until the WORLD SERIES. This league is currently in its 7th season under construction, has 40 man carded rosters plus prospects to let GM's put their stamp on the organizations. Seasons run from late September thru March, 160 game schedule-played in MLB STYLE series, with Home and Away games...every team has their own Stadium assigned to the organization, play with 27 man active roster throughout the season (up to 40 for final month)..OFF-SEASON cut-down... uses official disk.. FULL AIM.. minor league draft.. Playoffs with 3 division winners plus next best 2 records in each league playing a 1 game Wild Card play in game.. Weekly line-up scheduled, daily e-mailed results, game also uses micromanagers as fall back-but teams are eligible to make line-up changes if an injury was to affect their weekly line-ups (daily team status report.. sent as part of daily results package). Obviously not everyone can devote a lot of time to this, that's where the micromanagers assist in the season moving forward. AL leagues play with the DH, not so in the NL. Organizations are tied to ACTUAL MLB player movement.. meaning if players become free agents, then Cooperstown will follow suit, every off season player movement is tracked ..the organizations player list updated (sent to GMs) and the off-season begins (Cut-downs-Free Agents draft -2 phases**those with draft picks attached** and those without picks attached), then an open claim on remaining carded players. Once the season is final and standings have been established.. a rookie DRAFT of prospects will take place. If interested you can e-mail Tracy at
Ratbo68621@aol.com and note as Cooperstown Interest. Come join the fun to finish out the 2017 season, and see if your interest is peaked to continue permanent ownership of your organization. The league has been set up with written constitution rules, so if interested I can send a package of the rosters and rules out as soon as possible.
I trust this column is continuing to bring many APBA players together be it through regional tournaments or league play. I am glad that we can continue to provide this service to the APBA community and further promote brotherhood within our beloved hobby.
