Ron Emch graciously provided this wrap-up of the Toledo Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament IV. Congratulations to Tucker McBride!!
When I was talking to Tucker McBride at the 2018 Linda B. Schulz APBA tournament in early July, he wasn’t sure he would be able to make the Glass City Tournament scheduled for Saturday, August 25th, but said he would consider. Fortunately, Tucker was able to commit a couple weeks later, and he’s sure glad he did.
Tucker guided his 1975 Cincinnati Reds to garner this year’s championship trophy by defeating Randy Egan’s 1997 Seattle Mariners in the best of 3 finale. This was Tucker’s first APBA tournament championship. Tucker is the nephew of Ken and Darren Schulz, who run the Linda B. Schulz tourney in Slippery Rock, which just concluded in early July. The 75 Reds won that tourney also.
36 Teams/Managers started rolling the dice at 9:00. There were 6 divisions with 6 teams each, and 8 divisional games were played using a 2-1-2-1-2 schedule. After divisional play was concluded, 6 division winners and 2 wild card teams moved on to the playoffs.
The teams were seeded as follows:
- 1930 Cardinals 7-1 Mgr. Jeff Boeding
- 1961 Yankees 7-1 Mgr. Bob McCurdy
- 1982 Brewers 7-1 Mgr. Norm Zavela
- 1997 Mariners 6-2 Mgr. Randy Egan
- 2004 Red Sox 6-2 Mgr. James Scherf, Jr.
- 1975 Reds 5-3 Mgr. Tucker McBride
- 2017 Nationals 5-3 Mgr. Ken Schulz
- 1937 Yankees 5-3 Mgr. John Roels
Note that Tucker won his division with a 5-3 record. There was a 4 way tie at the end of the divisional play. Tucker’s winning pct. in face-to-face games with the other 3 teams was the best at 3-1. After that, there were 9 teams with 5-3 records where run differential in all games determined the 2 wildcard teams.
Quarterfinals
#4-97 Mariners squeaked out a 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth against the #5-2004 Red Sox for the closest game of the round.
#6-Tucker McBride’s #6-75 Reds blasted #3-82 Brewers 13-4.
#7-2017 Nationals crushed the #2-61 Yankees 15-2. This would set up a 2nd round game between Uncle and Nephew.
#1-30 Cardinals dispensed the #8-37 Yankees 7-4 in a game between the 2 oldest playoff teams.
Semifinals
———-
#4-97 Mariners (Randy Egan) took an early lead, lost it, tied it and finally pushed a couple more runs across to beat the #1-30 Cardinals (Jeff Boeding), 6-4. This would set up a chance for Randy to become a 2 time winner of the Glass City tourney.
In the other semi, #6-75 Reds (Tucker McBride) won a close battle with his Uncle Ken, #7-2017 Nationals 3-2 with a walkoff double in the bottom of the ninth.
Championship
————
Game 1
75 Reds jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st, with a 2B, 2B, BB and a Johnny Bench HR. The Mariners got one back in the bottom half on a 1B and 2B by Sorrento. Johnson settled down after the shaky first inning and only allowed 2 hits/2 walks the rest of the way.
A HR by Sorrento, and a 1B by by Cora after a 3B by Ducey pulled them within one in the bottom of the 4th. The Mariners then gave Mr. Johnson all the cushion he needed by scoring 3 in the bottom of the 7th. With 2 outs, Wilson homered. Martinez reaches first on a error by Concepcion. Griffey Jr. made it hurt with a blast to RF. The ended the scoring, 6-4, and put the Mariners one win away from the championship.
Game 2
The Reds liked being home in the friendly confines of Riverfront Stadium. After the Mariners put a run on the board in the top half of the first, and after the Red’s first 2 batters made outs, 9 straight batters reached base on 4 doubles, 3 singles, a HBP and a BB. The result was 6 runs and just the beginning of the carnage.
In the bottom of the 2nd, and again after the first 2 batters made outs, the Reds plated another 5 runs on a HR, BB, 1B, BB, 2B, and 2B. At this point, the game was pretty much over. Final score, 15-2 evening the best of 3, one game apiece. Although battered, the Mariners were going home to the Kingdome looking for the home field advantage and crowd.
Game 3
The Reds silenced the crowd early when Johnny Bench hit a 2 out 2 run HR in the top of the first. The Mariners tried to shake it off, but the bats (dice) were cold, and they could only manage 3 hits and a couple of walks over the first 5 innings. Meanwhile, the Reds had opened a 4 run lead during this time.
In the top of the 6th, the Reds dealt a death blow with a 1B, BB, 2B and a 2 run HR by Driessen for a commanding 8-0 lead. The Mariners managed to get a couple back in the bottom half on a 2 run HR by Sorrento, but it was too little, too late. Final score, 9-3. And Tucker McBride earned his first APBA Tournament championship.
Some other notes.
5 of the managers, Rich Zawadzki, Ken and Darren Schulz, Kurt Bergland, and John Roels each run their own tournament or at least assist heavily.
7 of the attendees were previous Regional Tourney winners: Randy Egan, Dick Butler (twice), John Roels, Rich Zawadzki, Jeff Boeding, Bill Lilley (plus the 2017 National Convention runner-up), and Aaron Radlinski.
There were managers from 6 states, WI, IL, KY, MI, PA, and MO as well as Ohio.
Finally, there were 6 Father/Son attendees, with one, the Silvis’s from PA, a father/mother/son attendee. This is good for the future of APBA.
Date of the 2019 Glass City APBA Baseball Tournament is scheduled for August 24th.
Ron
