IAL continues online amid Covid-19

In the first time in recent memory, there will not be Illowa APBA League Summer weekend. While there have been times that individuals (including myself) have missed any of IAL’s three annual weekends, this is the first time I can remember that we won’t be getting together as a group. This is happening because of the risks due to the Covid-19 virus.

The games must be played though. I just played Dennis Jennings who I have known since I joined the league in 1980. We played via Zoom. Dennis suggested that we use an online dice roller geared towards APBA (and Strat) fans and I have to say I liked the result. Like many, I do like the feel of the dice roller in my hands. However, the issue of accountability comes into play.

Let me be clear. I totally trust EVERY member of the IAL. The reason I like an online dice roller is a situation when I roll a 66-1 with the score tied. While I am sure I am come off as a trustworthy guy, I can totally enjoy that 66 and that win.

If you’re wondering, the online dice roller that Dennis suggested was Baseball Dice Roller. The dice are designed just like APBA dice. For me, BDR works well because it is so simple. Go to the link and click “Roll”.

If you want to roll with someone else, Zoom allows a screen sharing feature and an additional “Request Control” so your opponent can click on your your screen. For Dennis and I, it worked great.

One feature I liked was the history of dice rolls in case one of us dropped off the call (yes, that happened).

I reached out to Andrew Gehman who developed Baseball Dice Roller and guess what? He grew up in Lancaster, PA! Andrew got back to me with some information about Baseball Dice Roller:

I am a web developer by trade and the baseball dice roller site started as just a fun project to add to my portfolio. I grew up in Lancaster PA playing APBA in the early 80s. I also got ino Strat-o-Matic when I was in college. I had been away from both games for quite a while before a couple of friends got me involved in an APBA mail league maybe 6-8 years ago. That’s around the time when I built the site. I played in that league for 3 seasons. The funny thing is I never actually used the site to roll any actual games when I was in that league!

I really had no idea if anyone would even use the site. I just put it online and figured if people liked it, they’d use it.

There aren’t any specific plans for it going forward. I do get requests via email for additional features from time to time. I added the previous dice rolls because a few people suggested it. Another requested feature I’ve considered is adding a way to track men on base. The most requested feature over the years has been a way to play online where the opponent can see the dice rolls. I’ve always suggested video conferencing and screen sharing apps as a solution as building my own solution into the site isn’t realistic. Most of the country has probably become familiar with Zoom and other such applications over the past few months so perhaps I won’t get that request anymore!

Thanks for offering this free Baseball dice roller, Andrew!