Recently, a discussion occurred over text among my fellow Illowa APBA League members prompted by Dennis Jennings. The topic? The critical and heavy issue of pitchers’ fielding ratings. Dennis got things going: Okay my APBA query (from a Cub fan): how can Jon Lester be rated as a 2 (good…
Hard to believe this 1904 Napoleon Lajoie APBA card hasn’t been featured on Monday yet. Thanks to Scott Fennessy for suggesting it. As baseball historians know, Lajoie was so good, they named the team after him. This card is from the Cleveland Naps. In 1904, his .376 led the league. …
Well, my first 21st century regular season is in the books. A lot of things happened in the just over 2 years since I rolled the first game between the Blue Jays and the Yankees, which saw New York win 3-2. I joined my first ever league, had my biggest…
Like most fathers who love baseball, I’ve tried to pass my love of the game to my children. I’m privileged to have one child, Viola, who we adopted from China in 2006. Though I can’t say she’s taken to the game like I did, she’s been a good sport…
If you wore a polka dot bow tie to work every day, people might have some opinions about you. If you were a Major League umpire, they might have even crazier thoughts. John Bertrand “Jocko” Conlan wore such a bow tie and made himself into a Hall of Fame…
I’ve always had a soft spot in my baseball heart for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Even though he was ignorant and probably took money from gamblers, I still wish he was in the Hall of Fame and had gotten the chance to finish his MLB career. It’s reasonable to think…
Ryan Morrison wants to play this 2004 Jeremy Reed card… he’s just not sure where. Seattle Mariner Reed is rated as an OF-2 but according to the Master Game symbols up top, he has ratings appropriate for a pitcher. Reed is rated as a WP1, BK0, MF+1, L and Q3. …
It started with twenty people and it came down to one game. And what a game it was! Last Saturday, at the Prairieland 3 APBA Baseball Tournament in Springfield, Illinois, Joe Schall’s 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers fended off Kyle Daniels’ 1928 Philadelphia Athletics in hard fought championship game by…
The first thing I noticed about Joe Morgan‘s APBA cards was his height. Being on the shorter side myself, I loved that Morgan was a power-hitting, base stealing, Hall of Fame second baseman. One of the great things about baseball is that great players come in all sizes and…
Prairieland 3 is almost here! On Saturday, over 20 participants will take part in the third Prairieland APBA Baseball Tournament. This year, it’s the Golden Era tourney with non-World Series teams from 1920-1960. April 28th, 2018 9:00am Location: The Ramada Inn, Springfield Illinois 3281 Northfield Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62704 Conference…