To some, playing in APBA leagues is a purely academic exercise. It’s an effort to win as many games as possible or perhaps to maintain some realism or accuracy in the process. To many others, we see our assembly of cards as a team and ourselves as the general manager and field manager.
Sometimes we take on affects. Call it embellishment or even superstition but such one manifestation is faux mascots. Here are a few of the mascots I’ve encountered in our league throughout our history.
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Brando, our manager of the Rising Bamm! Beanos has always been a Ken Griffey fan. So much so that he collected Griffey memorabilia. That included this Griffey Beanie Baby. Renamed ‘Beano’ (Beanie…Beano, get it?), he traveled with the Bamm! Beanos and even helped ‘roll’ the dice when Brando needed that extra run. |
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My turn. This is Chuck the Chicken who was the mascot of my Twin City Thunderchickens.
Given to me by Brando (see above), Chuck was a seedy type perhaps fueled by his lack of acceptance in the league. See, if he was squeezed just right, he would play the Chicken Dance song which he would sometimes do after a Albert Pujols homerun.
He has never forgiven the manager of the Three Rivers Gamblers for kicking him across the room. |
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This figurine of John Smoltz is not so much a mascot of Chuck’s Northside Hitmen but maybe an alter-ego.
Don’t get him (Chuck?) mad or he’ll go off on you. His Beavis-like voice goes through your head. |
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Back in the late 80s, we had a manager named Rob who had a team called the Chicago Mercenaries. He religiously brought a 1965 Al Lopez baseball card like the one to the left when he played.
As you see, card has Lopez pretend posing as if calling to his players. Or perhaps he’s calling to his field manager, “Hey Rob! Doncha’ think you better get someone up in pen!”. |
Does any other face-to-face APBA league have similar silliness or is the IAL certified crazy? Let us know!
