Beau Lofgren rolls his APBA dice in the cold, frozen town of Hawley, Minnesota. When he’s not playing APBA Master Baseball Game replaying the 1989 Oakland A’s season or writing about it on his new blog, Minnesota APBA, he coaches baseball at the local high school. Beau loves sports and being from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, he loves the Twins and the Vikings… a lot!
He also apparently loves playing games. Fortunately for us, APBA is top of the list. I asked him if he was willing to answer a few questions for The APBA Blog. Being a Minnesotan, he was humbled by the prospect but totally agreed to do so.
Here he is, ladies and gentlemen… Beau Lofgren!
The APBA Blog: Beau, tell us a little about you who are outside of APBA.
Beau Lofgren: Well, I’m the one and only Beau Lofgren from Hawley, MN. I’m a proud husband and father. My wife, Tonia, and I were high school sweethearts from Hawley, and we’ve been married 12 years. Our three boys keep us very busy (Jonathan-5, Carter-2, Luke-2 months). Having children has lent me to be somewhat of a hermit during my downtime, and I thoroughly enjoy that! From reading books, to games of Sorry and Uno, to watching Octonauts and Thomas The Tank Engine, my wife and I love and live to be at home with the boys! We also attend church at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Hawley (I’m a converted Catholic).
I graduated from Bemidji State University with a bachelors degree in elementary education. I absolutely enjoyed Bemidji! Someday, I’ll return to school for my master’s degree and pursue either curriculum and instruction or administration. Life is just too busy and too good to go back to school right now! I taught 3rd grade at Atkinson Elementary in Barnesville, MN, for 7 great years before landing a 3rd grade position in my hometown of Hawley in 2012. Teaching is such a powerful profession, and I don’t take it lightly, although I probably have a little too much fun with the kids! It’s a treat to work with 20+ children that just can’t wait to see you every day! I have been the only head varsity baseball coach at Hawley, as our program began in 2003 and I was lucky to get my dream job while still in college! This will be year #13 for me at the helm, and I can’t wait to get started this spring as we will have another strong team. I coached American Legion ball in Hawley for 10 summers. The Highlight of my tenure as coach was qualifying for the state legion tournament in 2011. It was our program’s first state berth since 1928!! We’d been the bridesmaid so many times, so it was unbelievable to finally win a District Tournament on behalf of our legion. I’m on hiatus for now, enjoying my summers with my family, and I do some youth coaching to get my summer fix of baseball. I also coach 8th grade football, coached 7-8 grade basketball for a number of years, and PA Announce football and basketball games in and around Hawley.
My hobbies include reading, camping, canoeing, hiking, trivia, history, traveling, board games, video games, and music. I’ve been to over 30 MLB Ballparks, 45 US States, and parts of Europe and Mexico. However, my all time favorite place on Earth is right in my home state, which is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, located in the arrowhead region of Minnesota. If you are seeking solitude, and you love nature, I recommend the trip to the BWCA.
TAB: It’s obvious that you love sports and sports games. What did APBA baseball have to offer to you? What made it different?
BL: What makes APBA different than anything else I’ve ever played is the ability to play with classic teams and players without having to plug anything into a wall, without having to wait for loading time, I can pause it for as long as I need to, and that I can take the game with me wherever I go! I played baseball video games for years, all the way from Nintendo to the PlayStation 3, but no video game matches the variability and team and era selections that APBA does.
I am a big baseball history buff, especially my childhood (80’s-90’s), and I’m just having the time of my life reliving all of these great players, from the superstars like Boggs, Gwynn, Puckett, and Ripken…..to the platoon/backup guys like Al Newman, Jamie Quirk, Rance Mulliniks, and Lance Blankenship. No other game covers all of modern baseball history (1901-2014) like APBA does, and no matter what era you pick to play from, or cross-eras for that matter, the game itself plays the same! I can’t believe I had never heard of APBA until I was 30! I’m a ripe 34 now, by the way!
TAB: I see that you coach baseball at the high school level. I know that watching baseball close up and personal is so very different than watching it on television. What is one thing you personally take away from being so close to the game?
BL: Two things I take (sorry!).
1. Baseball provides an excellent opportunity for young men to learn how to control what they can control. Baseball builds mental toughness, makes you humble, but gives back to you like no other form of competition. Just like in life, you sometimes can’t control who you work with, what you have to put up with, when you have to get things done, etc. You can’t control what the umpires will call, what the weather will be like, or how the other team will play. You can, however control your preparation, communication and trust with teammates, effort, character, hustle, passion, and desire to do at least the very best that you can. I always tell my players, “You never know who might be watching you for the first time. Control what you can control!”
2. I take away just how much fun it is to go to the park every day, and what you experience on and around the field. It’s hitting buckets of grounders day after day to a hopeful freshman third baseman that leads his team to the school’s ever first state tournament berth, earning a spot on the state tournament All Tournament Team his senior season. It’s the countless sessions of batting practice you throw, praying that you’ve got one more batter in you before your arm falls off. Putting on the uniform, hearing the dugout chatter, deciding whether to bunt, hit and run, or steal, waving in the go ahead run as the runner rounds third and heads home, sliding safely under the catcher’s tag. There’s a constant cycle as the seasons go by, but each particular season differs from the one previous and one that lies ahead.
TAB: You’ve been playing the APBA Baseball Master Game now. What are your impressions of it? Are you going back to the Basic Game? Give us the highlights of your current project.
BL: I sort of did this whole APBA-thing backwards by mastering the “Master Game” before mastering the basic game! I just love the decision-making involved in the MG, the pitching variability with the MG ratings and board results, the running/fielding/throwing options. I could go on. It doesn’t bother me one bit to sit for 30-40 minutes to play one game, because compared to all other simulations I’ve experienced, none give me a truer feeling of being a manager than the APBA MG. I want to become more familiar with the basic game. It’d love to replay an entire season with all teams, so I think that’s when I’ll return to the basic version.
I am currently replaying the 1989 Oakland A’s season. This is my 3rd replay in my short APBA history. I replayed the 87 and 88 A’s as well. In both replays, Oakland beat Detroit in heated 7-game series in the ALCS. I lost to the SF Giants in 5 games in the 87 World Series, and blew a 3 games to 1 lead to the Dodgers and lost the 88 Series in the 12th inning in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. I still think about Mike Marshall’s bloop two out single off Gene Nelson that scored Steve Sax to send me into misery! It was the most intense gaming experience of my life!
My 89 A’s are currently 37-27, 1.5 GB of Kansas City. My replay goes slow, but I’m content! I use actual lineups most of the time, but will tweak them if guys are hot/cold/etc. I use baseball reference to obtain most of my info. The games have been very tight for the most part, and if it weren’t for Oakland’s deep and rich pitching staff, they’d likely be 27-37 instead. I have been shocked to witness how weak this Oakland lineup really was, considering Jose Canseco missed the first 90 games (which I’m doing, too). I’m a big Dave Parker and Mark McGwire fan, and they’ve been my saving grace offensively. I have to really thank Kevin Burghardt, for helping me with getting me all the XB and XC cards for my replays! It’s fun to use the carded guys who maybe played in like 3 games all year! I look forward to those games big time! My hope is to win it all in 89! After this season, I’ll either continue and do the 90 A’s, or do the 2008 Twins.
Rapid Fire questions!!
| Your favorite player of all time… not necessarily best but favorite? | Mark McGwire. I know I’ll catch heat for it, but he was my boyhood idol. I don’t agree with his alleged PED use, nor with how he handled the issue post his playing career, but I don’t blame him for the lack of MLB testing, rules or regulations in regards to PEDs during his playing days. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and no one knows for sure what they would’ve done if they were in his shoes. It was the Wild West, and like others, McGwire did what others did to gain an edge. I loved the late 80s, early 90s A’s, watching him come to the Metrodome, launching home runs in BP.No one entertained a baseball game like McGwire, bar none. I met him once in 1996 before a game, and he was so humble and kind, signing my brother’s Beckett magazine, even shaking my hand! He was so gracious to be a part of the HR chase in 98 that has now been all but forgotten. I’ll never forget that, nor the excitement I had watching teams he played on. Of all the PED users, he’s one of the select few today making a positive impact in the game. |
| Your name is Lofgren and you’re from MN… Swedish or Norwegian? Do you eat Lutefisk? | Ha ha! I’m both Swedish and Norwegian! Eating lutefisk once was enough for me I’m afraid, and I’m sure I’ll be in the doghouse of my ancestors in my afterlife for admitting this! |
| Your opinion… Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame or no? | Rose should definitely be in as a player, and barred from managing or coaching based on his betting habits while managing the Reds. It’s too bad, because Rose could’ve been one of the great managers, and you know darn well, he’d still be managing today! |
| How does Beau Lofgren roll? Dice cup, hand roller, or dice tower? | Hand using dice from the game company. |
| As a coach, what past or present MLB manager not named Tom Kelly do you admire? | Whitey Herzog. In my time watching MLB, I believe no one did more with less than Herzog. Jim Leyland is another I admire! |
TAB: I hear there’s an APBA Tournament happening up your way in Minnesota this Spring. Do you plan on attending?
BL: I’m really hoping to attend, as I’ve never been in a tournament! I’m hoping it will work out for me to be a part of it! I’ve enjoyed reading about Doug Schuyler and the the Chicago Tourneys and I’ll be anxious to see how Pastor Rich’s Michigan Tourney unfolds!
TAB: Finally, your website Minnesota APBA is new. You integrate a lot of personal stories around baseball and APBA. What’s your ultimate mission for the website?
BL: My ultimate goal is just that : to share personal stories tied to baseball, my memories, and APBA in perspective from a Minnesotan just trying to make his way through the universe. I used to journal quite a bit, but don’t now, so this will also satisfy my craving to write. Reading The APBA Blog, and blogs by Shawn Baier, Kenneth Heard, and Kevin Burghardt have inspired me to share experiences, ideas, and opinions. I have no real general direction or time frame with my material, and that’s just fine for now. To start, I wanted to give a little of my baseball background and what led me to APBA to get started, and we will see what happens. I appreciate all the positive comments received and discussions it’s spurned as its resonated with more people than I thought that it would. I think our Facebook page is truly one of a kind! A virtual baseball haven! Too bad we all didn’t live in the name physical neighborhood!
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One of my favorite things about doing The APBA Blog is doing the APBA Fan Profile feature. This one is certainly no exception. I feel like I reach out and make a new friend every time I do one. Thanks Beau for doing this! Oh and go Nuggets!
Tom, nice profile on Beau. I contacted him about a week ago, letting him know about our TCABT. He is included on our updates now, and since his varsity baseball coaching takes priority in April, we hope he can make it next October. – Jim
Check out Beau’s blog site. It’s really well written and he talks about life in Minnesota and his newfound love of APBA. It’s a great combination of his life, the youthful excitement of discovering the game and sports.
He has a busy life, what with a new kiddo, but I hope he can write frequently on his site!
My turn to comment. :)
First, Beau is one of few that learned APBA with the Master Game. That’s fantastic!
I read with interest his answer about coaching. I watch every home University of Illinois baseball game usually standing 10-20 feet from the dugout. Beau hit the nail on the head. Players go through so much from practice to team building to fan relations. It all culminates in the play (pitcher to batter to fielder) but there is so much more behind the scenes.
and Beau, you won’t get too much heat from me about McGwire. He was my 1B on my league team for his whole career. What you didn’t say was that he went through a rough time personally during his time with the A’s (a nasty divorce) but didn’t find it necessary to make it public. It did take a toll on him though. He recovered and like you said, had a very positive impact in St Louis.
thanks again, Beau!
PS give Lutefisk another try :)
great article!! Beau and I have become friends on Facebook and have traded many stories of our replays. I like that we are both products of the same era (1980’s and 90’s) and are focusing our replays on that era.
As always, keep up the good work!!!
Excellent stuff, I really enjoy Beau’s blog & have enjoyed his Oakland Athletics replays & look forward to many more stories & APBA projects.
Shawn
SUPER INTERVIEW, Guys!!!!