July 23rd Chicagoland tournament a fantasy? You bet!

Frisch

Frank Frisch is like “Big Mac who?”

Y’all know the comedic plot device used on TV where the local town baseball team brings on a “ringer” from the pros to help them win the big game?  I remember seeing that on ‘Cheers’ once. Well, that’s kind of what Doug Schuyler’s next Chicagoland Tournament is like. 

Held on July 23rd in Grayslake, Illinois, participants can choose any Major League team they like.  But here’s the kicker… they also get to add any player from any year in history as long as he’s from the same franchise.  Doug is billing it as the Summer Fantasy World Series. 

Imagine the 2015 Chicago Cubs with help from 1930 Hack Wilson.  Bob Eller won’t have to because that’s who he’s bringing.  How about Dick Butler who is enlisting 1938 Hank Greenberg to help his already nasty 1984 Tigers?  Or Rob Spatz who will tell his 1919 White Sox that 1994 Frank Thomas will supply the power? 

It’s a great concept and even a scary one except everyone gets a ringer.  So who am I bringing?  My team is the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals.  They don’t have much pitching but they hit .300 as team and have 7s all over the place. 

98-mac (1)My fantasy player?  Logic would dictate that I would pick Bob Gibson to shore up the rotation.  But hey, you can’t hit homeruns with an A pitcher!  With the Cardinals chosen, my choice was obvious for me.  I have a connection with 1998 Mark McGwire and his 1-1-1-5-5 power numbers.  Hitting 70 homeruns, he helped me make the Illowa APBA League postseason and win the World Series that year. 

It will be interesting to see how my lineup will shake out.  Will Jim Bottomley stay at first and Big Mac bat as DH?  Will I be able to find a way play both George Watkins AND Showboat Fisher?   And what of famed Monster Card George Puccinelli, a J-4 who will be limited due to tournament rules?  Will he make the cut?  I’ll be doing a roster preview since this is a fun team to work with. 

Only two weeks away!  Needless to say, the 32 participants are all excited.  Stay tuned for more details. 

Thomas Nelshoppen

I am an IT consultant by day and an APBA media mogul by night. My passions are baseball (specifically Illini baseball), photography and of course, APBA. I have been fortunate to be part of the basic game Illowa APBA League since 1980 as well as a frequent participant of the Chicagoland APBA Tournament. I am slogging through a 1966 NL replay and hope to finish before I die.

3 Comments:

  1. Scott Fennessy

    Hi Tom,

    Will the rules be made available on the site? I know Doug is probably posting them on Facebook, but I am the last holdout without it. I am really only concerned about roster size as I am familiar with the other rules.

  2. Is Domingo Ayala carded for a team? I would use him!

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