by Mike Estep
I guess the older I get, the more I love my APBA cards and game. Now that has got me to wondering why. So I am going to lay out some thoughts after some deep analysis. Please feel free to comment and add your own.
One thing I have always loved about the APBA cards is that they really do seem to have a personality. I mean we can all just look at a card and say to ourselves "hmmmm… an F, good power numbers, I like that 11 and that 14*…" and if they have a good glove on top of that, well that is just gravy. How about pitching? Do you like that BXYZ? I would take him any day! How about that D pitcher that you pulled for in real life and loved him anyway…so you learn to love his APBA card too! Especially rewarding to see that guy get a quality start huh?…
What about a particular season? Do you like 1968? Those who do not play APBA or any other tabletop baseball game can never experience that glorious year again… except in their mind. We get to re-live all that glorious season if we want to! Plus, we are manager, statistician, scheduler, Commissioner… groundskeeper (consists of laying out my boards on the table and hey my field is always green now since I laminated my boards…..no more wear and tear). My point is, what other game lets us go back in history and re-live great moments? Be a part of them? Amazing!
I also love the feel and look of the cards. I admit I get a little smile on my face when I roll those dice… anticipating that 66… hearing them clank in that little plastic yellow container… c’mon now you can hear that sound in your head right? And roll those babies across the table… look at that card… search the board… and…bingo!… the result is there… just like the crack of a bat at a real game. I also like the interaction with the boards and is why I guess I am a cards and dice man.
Here is the best part. Many of my friends love golf and I like golf also. I am terrible but that is beside the point. Now by the time I pay my fee for 18 holes, get a golf cart, buy the golf balls, etc… well you get the picture… lots of money needed! With my APBA hobby once I buy the game, and purchase the cards. There is no fee for me to sit down and play a game or two. No green fees, no cart fees… once I pay my money for the game components it is free for me to sit and play. I can go back in time, to a year of my choosing… and see my boyhood idols in their prime again with the sun shining on the beautiful green field! Transporting myself away from my troubles.Peanuts! Get your peanuts here!
Roll a 66 and smile!
I remember when the 1977 set came out. Bruce Sutter was an A&C*XYZ. That was before the K of course and my brother and I were both impressed.
“He’s got all the letters!”, he said. Back then, it was a big deal.
I have my list of favorite players who never were big stars mostly because they had the privilege of playing on my APBA league team.
Players like Todd Zeile, Jamie Moyer (though he became a pseudo-star later), Don “a good offense is a good defense” Slaught, and Russ Branyan (who only played for my team for one year but I have to like him because I drafted ahead of Lance Berkman) are a few.
I recently decided to have an 8 man all-time great golfer tournament. In the first round Hogan defeated Snead 65 to 68, Jones defeated Palmer on the first playoff hole 71 to 71, Nicklaus crushed Faldo 67 to 74, and Woods defeated Nelson 66 to 67. In the first semi-final Nicklaus defeated Jones 68 to 74 and the next match will be Woods vs. Hogan for the opportunity to face Nicklaus in the final. Should be a great one.
I play with the basic rules because it’s much quicker and just more fun. So far it’s been a blast. As you said, I can picture it all in my head and find myself jumping out of my seat when someone drains a long putt or holes a bunker shot.
Thanks APBA for a great game that combines loads of fun with fantastic realism.
That sounds like an exciting tournament! Too bad we cant view that on CBS on a lazy Sunday. Hmmm…guess I am gonna have to pull the the Golden Bear on this one. I grew up watching Nicklaus pretty much dominate in the 70s. Hey post the results of that tournament ok? Would be interesting to find out who wins that one. Woods vs Hogan should be interesting too.
Thanks
I’ll keep you posted. I work a lot during the week so I’ll wrap up the last two matches next weekend. I’m really looking forward to them. The seeding held up well as I believe that the 3 greatest golfers that ever lived are all still alive in the tournament. Some may question me choosing Faldo in the top eight but he’s one of my all-time favorites and the greatest British golfer that ever lived. I thought he deserved to be there.
I decided to use stroke scoring instead of match play because I wanted to see how low these guys could go and I also wanted them to be able to make a big comeback with eagles
and that sort of thing.
The highlight of the tournament so far has to be Palmer sinking a 20 foot birdie putt on 18 to send the Palmer/Jones match back to the 18th tee and an extra playoff hole. I swear I saw him toss his hat into the air!
I’m really looking forward to the Woods/Hogan match. I hope it lives up to the hype. And the final should be epic.
I do use a few of the simpler master rules but overall I’m keeping it simple and fun. That’s one of the great things about APBA, the ability to use some advanced rules without having to use them all.
Jesus, Nicklaus is a demon off the tee!
Craig, I and I am sure many others, will be looking forward to this next weekend to see what the results will be. Like I said, I am pulling for Jack, but wow this one as you said could be epic! Wow, Palmer with 20 footer with the pressure on! …..that is what makes those guys the best who ever played. Keep us posted Craig and more importantly…..Have Fun!
The last semi-final has just finished. Woods defeated Hogan 68 to 70. It was a great match. The highlight was Hogan on the 507 yard par 5 11. He went driver (300 yards) followed by a 2-iron (no hybrids for Hogan) to 23 feet of the cup. He stood over the putt and I rolled a 66! Right in the center for an eagle to take a 1 stroke lead. Hogan would give the match away on the back 9 with 3 bogeys while Woods parred his way home. Both players birdied 18 but Hogan ran out of holes. This sets up the dream match-up of the 1 (Nicklaus) and 2 (Woods) seeds in the final which will be played on Sunday, naturally.
In other news, I ordered the other 3 courses and the ATG 2 set today so I’ll be putting on more tournaments in the very near future. I think I’ll moves courses as the rounds of the tournament progress. The final will always be held at D.C. Metro as that will be the site of the inaugural final. Here’s my plan:
16 Players: Nicklaus, Woods, Hogan, Player, Jones, Hagen, Palmer, Snead, Sarazen, Watson, Nelson, and Faldo. Like I said before, I love Faldo so he’s in. I’m thinking I’d like to pick the final four players through an on-line vote. I’d also like to take a vote on match play or stroke play. Could you help me with this?
Round 1: Badger Links
Round 2: Empire State
Semi-Finals: Magnolia
Final: D.C. Metro
What do you think?
Craig,
Wow, what a match with Hogan and Woods! Would have loved to have a spot in the crowd to watch that one! So it is Woods vs Nicklaus today? Hmmmm…..almost too tough to call on that one. My personal favorite would have to be Nicklaus though. When you get this done, why dont you email me the writeup of this tournament and we can let you tell the story of this great tournament in an article for the blog?
I think it is great that you are keeping APBA golf alive with this tournament. Has the golf game been fairly accurate in your opinion? Memorable events? Keep us informed of todays great tournament…..and go Nicklaus!
Mike
Mike,
I couldn’t wait and actually finished up the tournament late last night. I think I finished up around midnight. The winner was Nicklaus 69-73 and it really wasn’t ever that close. Neither player played particularly well, there were lots of missed putts. Woods basically lost the match off the tees, he was very wild. Nicklaus finished the first hole with a birdie, Woods with a bogey. At the turn Nicklaus was 3-under and Woods was 2-over. Woods went into the water on 10 (consistently the toughest hole throughout the entire tournament) for double bogey and that was that. Once again Nicklaus was incredible off the tee. I got so confident with him that it was pretty much driver after driver. The 3-wood barely made it out of the bag. Things got a little interesting on 12 when Nicklaus missed a 7-footer and ended up with a bogey and Woods drained a 32-footer for birdie. That put the score at Nicklaus -1 and Woods +2. Nicklaus parred the par 3 13th and then made birdies on 14, 15, and 16 to wrap it up.
I had a great time with this tournament and will be starting another one in a couple of weeks. Thanks for your interest. I sent an email to Tom with the tournament recap and my plans for the next one. I’m hoping he gets it up on the blog. My next tournament is a little daunting as it will require me playing 15 matches but I’m getting a little faster with each match I play and I’m really looking forward to it. It takes me between 1 1/2 and 2 hours to play a match now and that’s using mostly basic rules with the lie charts thrown in for a little more realism.
I’ve really enjoyed sharing this with you and hope to hear from you again soon. I’m loving APBA golf and eagerly awaiting delivery of the other 3 courses hopefully later this week.
Strange note of the tournament. Although he didn’t make it out of the first round, Byron Nelson played a hell of a round. He shot a 67 with 5 birdies and no bogeys but was beaten by Woods who shot a 66 with 5 birdies, a bogey and an eagle. I’m looking forward to seeing Nelson play again. He’s not the first player to run into the Tiger Woods buzz-saw.
Craig