APBA Blog fan profile: Rob Spatz

It’s been a while since I’ve done a fan profile and there’s probably no one more deserving than Chicagoland APBA Tournament organizer Rob Spatz. If you have met Rob, you’re probably his friend. He is that kind of guy. He’s humble, self-effacing yet at the same time, has made the Chicagoland tourney into what it is today. Nowadays, Chicagoland consistently brings in over forty participants from all over the Midwest.

Rob had his share of tournament success as a player too. At the 2018 Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament, he won it all with the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays.

Rob was (of course) nice enough to answer a few questions for The APBA Blog.

Tell us a little about Rob Spatz. Who is the man behind the Chicagoland APBA Baseball Tournament?

Wow, where to start.

I am someone who has a passion for what we will call tabletop gaming. I’ll get into more of it later, but any opportunity I get to love out my sports fantasy is a good day. I am in a football, horse racing, and APBA baseball league.

Outside of gaming, I spend my time trying to be the best husband I can be to the best wife ever in Kathy. While she will never sit and “play clickity clack” as she calls it, she does understand it is an important part of who I am, and lets me indulge for sure

What was your APBA journey like? Who or what introduced you to the game? Which APBA games in particular have you tried and which ones stuck with you?

One of my earliest memories ever was having the man many of you on the tournament circuit have gotten to know as “Pops” (my dad, Bob) showing me the different things to look for on a card, how to read the dice and interpret the cards. I must have been 5 or 6, taking his original 1950’s and 1960’s sets and creating our own fantasy teams out of them and rolling.

Never would do tournaments, but just play. The beauty of that time was teaching me the love of baseball at an early age, and giving me a great history lesson. Not many 6 year olds in the mid 70’s from Chicago would have any idea who Clemente, Aaron, Musial, or Claude Raymond are, but thru this great game I did.

The only APBA game I have played is baseball. I have never delved into a full on master game until I have played the BBW computer game. I have tried to find a fairly inexpensive bowling game on line, and will (when I eventually get some time) try and give the hockey and soccer games a whirl.

You have been very successful as an organizer with the Chicagoland tourney. What is your motivation in putting each one together? What goes through your mind those minutes just before the doors open?

Tom, you (like all those that have attended in the past) are far too humble in your praise. When I agreed to take over Chicagoland from the great Doug Schuyler, I did my due diligence. My goal when I took over is the same as it is now, create an environment that those of us that love this game can do so, make some friendships that have become great, and have those that attend want to come back.

I know it is difficult time-wise for those that do attend to commit literally an entire precious weekend (or more) to travel to the event, which is why I moved it to a more central location (The Comfort Inn, Des Plaines). Having it at a hotel gives those that attend the ease of knowing that once they are there, all they need to do is enjoy themselves. I try to make it more of an event as well. I try and coordinate an event that Friday night (usually attending a minor league game nearby), as well as a post tournament dinner.

Additionally, I went from playing an opponent multiple times to playing multiple opponents one game. The reason being for me is simple, meet as many different people as you can. I want people to see that the time I put in (it is, from April to July a part time job as far as the time and effort I put in) is done for the participants enjoyment.

What do I think when I open the doors? First off, please let people be here, get here safe, and have no last minute cancellations. After the initial anxiety, is everyone enjoying themselves.

Rapid Fire questions with Rob Spatz

Rob, if you could change one thing about the APBA Baseball game, what would it be?

I really like them way the game is played. The only thing I would consider changing would be add an error randomizer for the 53 result.

On a side note, two things as a tournament head I would like to see Shohei Ohtani have a DH indicator on his card, and get a clearly defined rule on playing it safe. Do runners get picked off? Do runners steal/get caught stealing? Things like that.

Finally, what is something you want to communicate to The APBA Blog audience that you haven’t already said?

I want to thank the Blog for the opportunity again. It truly is a humbling opportunity. I want to thank those that have made Chicagoland what it is, hopefully an event on anyone that attends a tournaments bucket list.

For those of you that may have reservations on attending a tournament (just learned the game, play too slow, not sure I am playing the game right) I will tell you this. I was in your shoes when I first attended Chicagoland. After a few games, I was hooked. Everyone in attendance wants everyone to enjoy themselves, and will be there to help should it be needed. Hope to see you at a tournament soon!

Thanks to Rob Spatz for taking the time to share his thoughts! On a personal note, I think Rob is a great tourney organizer (I go to Chicagoland almost every time) and an even more awesome guy!

You can see what kind of fun happens at Rob’s Chicagoland tourneys photos below.

If you don’t already know Rob Spatz and would like to be involved in future Chicagoland tournaments, leave a comment or check out the Chicagoland APBA Baseball Tournament Facebook page.

Read past APBA Blog Fan Profiles here