That is the question. Yo. (Shakespeare and Rocky in consecutive sentences. Only on the APBA Blog.) Wait. Cart, get behind the horse. (That’s better.) I’m guilty of assuming that everyone wants to join a league. I played solo for a long time. Replaying a couple seasons that my team did well or with BATS2. I wondered about league play.
Could I? Should I? Would I have the time?
One of my many bosses (At work, not home. Watch a guy who says he is the boss at home. He will lie about work/APBA, too) used to say, “If you need something done, give it to a busy person”. Yeah, I don’t know how it fits here either. When I spun my tired cliché wheel, that’s the one that came up. I jumped in to a league looking for a new manager. Turns out, having time was not an issue. Most leagues have Excel programs to help score and keep stats.
So don’t sweat the time commitment.
But what is in it for me? If you’ve read this blog before you’ve read articles about the Illowa league. The sense of camaraderie (of course I spelled it correctly. What? Word has an automatic spell check? Who knew?) comes through in Tom’s writings. I don’t know that every league is as tightly knit, but every league does offer the opportunity to develop relationships with guys who have a similar passion. Ultimately, you will get out of it what you put in to it. I am always amazed that there are guys all over the US willing to converse about APBA with me. Even in the offseason (which is always too long).
In addition to the camaradery, there are challenges. Fun challenges. Can I draft the guys I need? How can I find a win-win trade? (I know how to find a win-lose trade, but that is for another day.) How to set my roster up for success, both short term and long term. I couldn’t get this from my solo projects. Even in my solo projects I made win-lose trades. Sigh. In short, (Yes, Tom pays me by the word, why? Of course, its $0.00 per word. But it’s the same as he gets paid, even twice as much. So, there is that.) leagues offer all the fun you get playing solo and more.
There are many leagues out there that offer different variations. Some play the most recent season, some go back in history. Which is right for you? Well, it depends. Most leagues, whether retro or current day, use the DH. That shouldn’t factor in the decision.
Seasons have their own playing style. Contrast 1968, the year of the pitcher, with today’s style. Or any of the seasons the venerable Scott Fennessy has replayed compared to say, 1930. Older seasons offer different, uh, flavors. They aren’t better or worse, just different. Finding a retro league that plays your style of ball might take some time, but its out there. If today’s style is your flavor, its easy to find a league. No right or wrong here.
The biggest difference, in my opinion, between a today league and a retro league is the draft. That is followed closely by trading. Last year I needed an outfielder. I passed on Harris – he was off to a terrible start. Maybe Kwan, nah, too punch and Judy. I’ll take Suwinski. Ha! We know how that turned out. At least so far. I have hopes for Jack. And Henry Davis. But I digress (I did mention that Tom pays me by the word, right?) Compare that to the draft for the ’82 season (retro season). The first four picks were Ripken, Boggs, Gwynn and Sandberg. You can debate who should have been one and who should have been four. But you know you got a Hall of Famer.
Clint Eastwood summed up how a today league draft was different than a retro draft. “Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you?“.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how trading would be different. The future is well defined in one scenario and murky in the other. I haven’t noticed any difference in the ability to make deals in either type league. There is more certainty with the retro league. Not like when I traded for Anthony Rendon knowing that his time on the injured list was sure to last ten days. (Yes, I did. Still on my roster. No, I haven’t joined the Optimists Club, why?)
Which is it, retro or today? For me, its both! Oh, one other similarity. For both leagues, that dang white die will roll off the table, make two hard turns, go under the basement door…
” The sense of camaraderie (of course I spelled it correctly…)”
“In addition to the camaradery…”
Bob, don’t think I didn’t notice that.
Your check is in the mail.
Always funny when Rendon pretends he’s trying to return to prior form. Man literally said baseball isn’t a priority for him.
I would love to cut him, but he is starting to look like one of the healthier guys on my roster. What does that tell you?