Hi all, I’m starting a new column called ‘Tuesday Tip’ in which I discuss APBA baseball tips and tricks of the APBA baseball game. Realize that on the surface, some might appear basic to long-time APBA fans (that’s okay, we have new players reading the site).
However, I will tend to go on deep dive on these topics. I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is appreciated.
If you are rolling for a player with one 5 (or better two!), you might realize the power it brings to the plate. While a 5 with the bases empty gets you a paltry double, runners on base are a different story. In my mind, it is a ‘clutch’ number.
Why is the 5 so powerful anyway?
I’ve already mentioned the clutch ability of 5. It comes in pretty handy as long as there are runners on base.
These base situations will turn a 5 into home run:
- RUNNER ON FIRST BASE
- RUNNER ON SECOND BASE
- RUNNERS ON FIRST AND THIRD BASES
Additionally, RUNNERS ON FIRST AND SECOND BASES and RUNNERS ON SECOND AND THIRD BASES will turn a 5 into a triple.
If we can accept that the 1 is worth 1.0 homer (per 36 PA) on an APBA card since it is a home run in every base situation (sacrifices and hit & run, notwithstanding), how much is the 5 worth? It is dependent from year to year and league but ranges from .3 to .4. Don’t be misled. That is pretty high. Rumor has it that the play result number 4 is the next highest and it is in the teens.
How does APBA award the 5?
Quite honestly, I don’t know. I do know there is a fine line between a 1-1-6-6 and a 1-5-5-6. Sometimes it is affected by the how many triples the player had for the year.
But here is an example to ponder. It’s first baseman Rhys Hoskins of 2024 who happens to be on my Twin City Thunderchickens this season. ‘Hoss’ has power numbers 1-5-5. No doubt, Hoskins’ fives can be turned into a fair amount of dingers.
Here are Hoskins’ relevant stats for the 2024 season:
| Batt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | PA | HR% |
| 2024 | 517 | 5.0 |
Rhys Hoskins hit 26 homers in 517 plate appearances, good for a 5.0% HR percentage. Not bad. Doing some simple math, we can take Hoskins’ HR% and multiply by 36 which is the total number of possible play result numbers on every APBA card. We then get 1.81. That will give us the total number of ‘1’s on his card.
Unfortunately for me, that’s not quite enough for double ones so the 1-5-5 combination is called for. That said, we can do what we can to help him along.
If you’re wondering, Rhys did NOT hit any triples in 2024 so he may get a few more in APBA-play than he should.
Strategies
So, the 5 is quite powerful. What to do? And not do? How can we convert Rhys Hoskins’ five into home runs? It’s really quite simple.
My opinion is to bat players with a 5 in the middle of the order preferably after someone who gets on base a lot. I like to bat these kinds of hitters after guys with a lot of 14s. In my league, I have seen such players led off but their teams were quite powerful and those players had good on-base potential. I rarely do that.
It’s worth mentioning that a 5 when engaging in the hit and run is a single. It’s bad enough to lose the 1 but to lose the 5 as well would be too much to ask. For what it’s worth, a fast runner will score with a runner on first. Anyway, don’t risk it unless you’re really sure the 31 is on the horizon. In Hoskins’ case, he only has one 31 anyway.
There is one small caveat with the 5. With the bases loaded, a slow runner on first is called out at home on a double. It’s your call whether or not you want to base coach that runner. A lot depends on the grade of the pitcher. I don’t recall ever doing that based solely on the 5. I’m more concerned about the 8 with C or D grade pitcher.
Finally, I will say that the 5 has caused consternation by managers. Mostly because there wasn’t a runner on base.
My feeling? If there was a runner on base, it would have been a different dice roll.
Tom. I think Hoskins will be flailing the air much more often for the thunderous chickens than getting them a double, triple or home run. But best of luck anyway to ya. Erik S.
Erik, you could be right. So far, he has struck out 25 times in 55 at bats and is batting .127.
The real problem with a player with 5’s as the primary HR number is they are heavily dependent on the players in front of them getting on base.
I know in Tom is in a very heavy power/OPS/SLG league and the batting average/OBP suffers due to it also being a very pitching oriented league, so while this strategy may work great on a replay or tournament, it may not play out so well in a league based on how it is set up.
Hi Scott, you make some really good points. That said, we do have a few batters who can coax a walk.
Those are perfect to bat before these kinds of sluggers.
Tom