On June 12th, nine members of the Illowa APBA League gathered in person to play APBA for the first time in sixteen months. It was part of our traditional late spring weekend. No draft. No postseason. And no All-Star Game. That’s the weekend when we JUST play.
We met in Downers Grove, Illinois just outside of Chicago at our normal hotel. They have gotten used to our quirks and we have gotten used to theirs (over the ten plus years we have met there, the toilet seat in the conference room is still broken!
Over a period of two days, we played APBA thirty games per team (six-game series versus five teams). I even played my Montana-based buddy Brando remotely.
First, it was awesome to see everyone, to be with everyone in the league. It’s been way too long since we’ve rolled together in the same room. It was lots of fun and in some ways, we just picked up where we left off.
After the weekend was over, most teams are at the 78-game mark in the season. It’s looking like two managers have teams to beat. Colona Hustlers manager Dan Bunch however, may be on his way to breaking some league records. That’s Dan in the photo above (probably rolling a 66). After 24 games, he was 19-5 for the weekend. He then had to face Dennis Jennings and his second place Global Glaciers. Dennis sat Dan down with a 5-1 series win. Looks like Dan and Dennis are both a shoo-in for the playoffs.
More on Dan’s Hustlers: his team is leading in runs, average, slugging and on-base. Of course, that translates to a first place standing. It wasn’t until he finished with the Glaciers when he finally hit 20 losses. His current record is now 58-20. At that rate, he could finish season with an IAL record 125-37 season win-loss record.
Please join me in trying to psych out Dan as I have not played him yet. The scary thing is that Dennis is in second place with a 53-25 mark which pro-rates out to a 114-48 record for a full season.
As for me, the Thunderchickens are holding their own. We went 15-15 for the weekend thanks to a 5-1 series win against Scott Fennessy’s Des Plaines Dragons. We own fourth place with a 42-36 record through 78 games. After a hiatus imposed by his manager, Luke Voit is back. He hit 14 homeruns and 27 rbis in 28 games for the weekend. His 23 homers is tied for fifth for the season.
Great to see all you IAL managers! The Illowa APBA League will convene for its 47th All-Star Game in September.
