Maintain your distance!
I don’t want to turn this into a “Covid-19” blog and I promise it won’t (there are a couple articles already on their way) but the virus and our society’s response will definitely impact our enjoyment of the game. For some context, I and most of my league live in Illinois which is currently under a “shelter-in-place” order. I work in IT for the University of Illinois and have been working from home this week. I have been pretty productive but I miss seeing people at work and really enjoy the routine of “going” to work.
With the reports of delaying the MLB season including postponing the All-Star Game till the end of the season, the Illowa APBA League has been contemplating what-if scenarios. What if the baseball season never gets off the ground? Even if does, do we play the full season? The consensus is that yes we do. It was pointed by our commissioner that in years that there were labor disputes, we played the full 162 schedule.
Good call, commish.
And in the unthinkable scenario that baseball was not going to happen this year, there was even talk of reverting to a retro-league format at least temporarily. I have to say that idea has its merits with or without the current outbreak.
No touching your face!
Even our own league’s functions may need to be modified. For decades, our league’s weekend get-togethers have been held at hotel conference rooms. If this issue extends into the summer, hotels may be forbidden to rent out conference rooms. If we decide to go through with our June weekend, it will be “old-school” as in being hosted at someone’s house. However, I don’t think Don Smith’s back could take sleeping on the couch. :)
On top of all that, tournaments have been canceled left and right. Jim Saska reluctantly postponed the Richmond, VA tourney till June 6th. The popular tournament format to play APBA have taken a back seat to caution, rightly so. So far, the Chicagoland and National APBA tournament and convention which are in more distant future, are still on.
Meanwhile with all caps, the APBA Game Company emphatically assures us they are open for business…
MARCH 25th, APBA IS OPEN. WE ARE PROCESSING YOUR ORDERS, PACKING AND SHIPPING THEM. AS LONG AS THE USPS AND UPS ARE MAKING DELIVERIES AND WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET PRODUCT FROM OUR PRINTER, WE WILL TAKE YOUR ORDERS. AT APBA, WE OFFER BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, HOCKEY, SOCCER AND GOLF GAMES. IF YOU ARE HAVING WITHDRAWALS FROM ONE OF THESE SPORTS, CHECK APBA OUT. GET IN THE GAME TODAY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT US AT . WE ARE NOT TAKING PHONE ORDERS AT THIS TIME.
IF YOU WANT SOMETHING FOR YOUR BASEBALL WITHDRAWAL IMMEDIATELY, CHECK OUT APBA GO. THE LINK TO APBA GO IS JUST A FEW LINES DOWN. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.
Check out APBA GO here. The on-line version of the baseball game you love!
Stay safe, keep your distance, and roll 66s!
Love being a poster boy!