APBA to the masses sometimes gets rolled in with the fantasy leagues ala rotisserie leagues. One difference among many, I think, is the connection to the players. The connection (at least for us board game players), comes from handling and viewing the individual player cards. Corny as that may seem.
Which leads me to this question… I’m just curious how many APBA leaguers out there take more than their players’ stats and performances into consideration when forming their team??
In other words, do players’ personalities and off-the-field actions have an impact on whether they play on your team.
Back in 1983, when it came out that Willie Wilson used drugs, the manager who had it him on his team, dropped him like a hot potato. It was a big deal because Willie was his surprising first pick in a expansion draft. There was no doubt about his action though as he did with quite a fanfare (as was his style).
For my part, I traded pitcher Eric Show when I found out he was a member of the John Birch Society (ballplayers, as a general rule, don’t lean to the left and I’m okay with that but the JBS was a little much for me).
I honestly don’t remember who I got but I think it was a comparable starting pitcher.
So what about you? Whether it be drugs (either the street kind or PEDS), wife-beating, other illegal activity or political beliefs… or maybe just being a jerk, do you have line that can be crossed? Where you say, “Nope, I’m not going to put him on my team” or in the words of Donald Trump, “You’re Fired!”
Or is APBA purely a numbers game to you and as long as your players produce for your team, they stay?
I used to root for the LA Lakers when not cheering for Da Bulls, but will not back them with Kobe Bryant on the roster, even with Phil Jackson as the head coach. Also will avoid all Woody Allen movies, he was one of my faves. Certain lines cannot be crossed, haven’t found that with baseball/APBA. Josh Beckett was traded to the Champions after he was traded in real life to the Red Sox, his APBA manager was a Yankees fan. I traded Matt Kemp to a Dodgers fan in exchange for Nick Swisher, in part because Swish was on the White Sox, next season Nick was traded to the Yanks, wish I still had Kemp.
a little off topic but I was thinking about your Woody Allen comment.
What would happen if we held past respected artists like van gogh and Gaugin (sp) to the same standards that we do our current artists. Not necessarily defending Allen but perhaps food for thought.
Actions like Steroid Use absolutely affect who is on my APBA team. I swapped Ken Caminiti in one trade and Victor Martinez in another because of suspected steroid use. Accusations of Caminiti turned out to be true; Victor, not true.
My Guardian Angel (who I sometimes force to work overtime) had my back in each swap. One trade ended up very good for me. The other turned out to be beneficial to both teams.
One other thing: there is a player presently on my roster that I suspect. If what I consider to be good evidence turns up, he is through on my team.