What is it about Runners on First and Second board that makes it so unusual? It seems to be full of so many anomalies and strangeness. A 12 isn’t a double play no matter how good the defense is and an 11 won’t get you steal, either. Not only that, a 13 is a strikeout even against an R pitcher and there are no results affected by the X or Y rating. Then of course, there is the 41- Triple Play.
Like the game of baseball itself, APBA Baseball is full of patterns and consistencies. For some of us, that is why we like the game so much. The 66 dice roll is always the best. Fielding One usually makes the better play than Fielding Three. Thirteens are almost always strikeouts and ones are always homers (unless you decided to call the bunt or hit and run of course!). Then we run into the Runners on First and Second board and it throws us into a loop.
We use the new boards in the Illowa APBA League and I think that most of us are pleased with them. There is still a learning curve when it comes to the pitchers’ ratings though. I recently played Rob Moore who had Yu Darvish, a BK starter, which made that very evident.
This article started out as a simple way to remember where the K ratings are with the Bases Empty and sort of grew from there. Below you will find some helpful tips and quick guides to help memorize some of the more difficult result numbers to internalize. I hope it’s helpful.
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A simple way to remember the K Rating with the Bases Empty |
| Let’s start with the K rating with the bases empty. Just remember the numbers 26 and 31 and it’s easy. |
The K rating converts all standard out result numbers (numbers 24-34) into strikeouts with the Bases Empty UNLESS:
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Remembering the R rating |
| The R rating is a slightly easier to memorize since it only affects just one result number, the 13. It doesn’t take effect in every base situation though. |
The R rating converts all 13 result numbers from strikeouts into batted outs EXCEPT:
It’s worth mentioning that all results converted from strikeouts by an R rating are outs that do not advance the base runner(s). |
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Key plays affected by the K rating (with result number and original play result that gets changed to a strikeout) |
| While the K rating is desirable for the pitcher from a stat perspective, it can also prevent a run via a sac fly in some situations. Alternatively, the offensive may happily accept a K-SO instead of the default double play result. The 25 with a runner on first is one to keep an eye on. |
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Key plays affected by the X rating (with result number and original play result that gets changed to a strikeout) |
| As with the K rating, the X rating has its advantages and disadvantages. |
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W rating |
| By now, you would think I would know where the W lies with the 35 and 12. I was surprised to find that the 12-W shows up in only two base situations. |
The W rating converts the 35 result into walks in all situations EXCEPT:
The W rating converts the 12 result into walks ONLY in these situations:
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Sacrifice Flies on 33 and 34 |
| Ahh, the joys of a Y pitcher! If I recall correctly, these results have changed since the newer boards. The pop fly numbers of 33 and 34 have the potential to drive in a run. |
Note: In both of these situations, no other runners advance. Also, if a pitcher has a Y rating and the result is a strikeout. |
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Steal numbers |
| Another obvious one but it doesn’t hurt for a reminder. I find myself checking occasionally with the less common base situations. |
| An 11 is a single and a steal in all base situations EXCEPT with Runners on First and Third
A 10 is a single and a steal ONLY with:
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Miscellaneous Strikeout Rating Info |
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Final note: Throughout this document, I’m not including the sacrifice and hit and run booklet results for simplicity’s sake.
This has been my one gripe with APBA that Strat seems to address a little more appropriately. I’d like to think that baseball players perform pretty consistently regardless of the pitching situation. That’s why I never bought into the idea of the closer. I like to think that if a guy can throw three strike outs in the 7th with bases empty, he can do the same, or at least pretty darn close to it, in the 9th with bases load and a one run lead. Regardless, APBA keeps throwing these “curveballs” into the board results, particularly the 8/9 numbers. Why is an 8 a hit with bases empty, but not with a runner on first? The same can be said for the 9 in certain situations. Even more confusing are those plays with runners on where a fielding rating of one or three results in a score, but a fielding rating of two does not. I know performance isn’t a straight line from worst to best, but I refuse to believe it’s nearly as situational as APBA makes it out to be.
You can always change this if it seems inconsistent. Fpr example you can make it where A 3 gets the out with no advancement, a 2 splits necessitating a re-roll (1-3 run scores, 5-6 does not) and a 1allows the advancment. I’ve made a number of adjustments like this.