Dusty Welsh did a guest post on the history of the actual APBA game boards.  Very fascinating (again, if you play the game) as he researches the game back to its roots in 1951 and follows it to modern day.  He documents all the changes throughout the years.

And just today, an interview with the CEO of the APBA Game Company was posted.  John Herson agreed to answered some of my questions.  The good news is that he might make it a regular feature. 

On San Diego thirdbaseman Graig Nettles’ APBA card, it show his nickname as “Puff”.  Neither Brando or I knew why or how Nettles how he got this nickname.  “Puff” seemed to me such a feminine name for such a hard-nosed player like Nettles. 

So I looked it up.  According to Baseball Reference’s Bullpen:

Graig Nettles was given the nickname of Puff by his teammates. "Puff" referred to the way Graig disappeared after playing a practical joke or starting trouble.

Another interesting aside… Nettles, who played the bulk of his career with the Yankees before being traded to San Diego (for Dennis Rasmussen), was a San Diego native and attended San Diego State University.  Perhaps he wanted to get closer to home.

As you may have already read, I took part in the Kiwanis Sports Trivia Championship last weekend.  What I didn’t mention in my article was that there was only one University of Illinois baseball trivia question asked all day.  Being a huge UI baseball fan, you would think I would have gotten it right but Murphy’s Law took effect here. 

Sheepishly, I’m learning all I can about the question’s topic and writing about it.   It’s all there in Lou Boudreau and Darrin Fletcher: not a trivial mistake at the Illinois Baseball Report.

***

If you are an APBA Baseball fan, you might want to check out The APBA Blog’s 10 Tips for Trading in an APBA League.  It’s getting to be that “hot stove” time of year for our league not to mention many other APBA leagues around the nation.  It’s not rocket science but some of us (myself included) need to be reminded of some of the basic tips and suggestions on how to deal with others when trading in an APBA league.

Though this piece is geared toward the APBA game, I’d wager that 90% of it applies to traditional fantasy leagues as well.

***

Speaking of APBA baseball and APBA leagues, our Illowa APBA League is finishing up its 35th season.  I’ve finally redone and updated our league web site.  IAL awards winners have just been announced and playoff spots determined.

If you’re a fellow APBA player, check us out.

While our APBA league (and many others) play the dice and cards version, the disk gives us an idea what the cards will look like.  Those of us in leagues all around the country have been waiting with bated breath to see how our teams will shape up for the coming year. 

Rob Moore has an article celebrating the fact over at The APBA Blog.

There’s an interesting story behind it,  I posted about it at The APBA Blog. 

I spent this past weekend with the Illowa APBA League as we had our All-Star get-together in Naperville, Illinois

Check out photos and summary of the festivities on The APBA Blog. 

The Illowa APBA League is a 10-team keeper league that is in its 35th year of existence. 

I’ve launched a new blog centered around the sports tabletop game APBA. 

If you play APBA (either in a league or solitaire), please take the time to go to The APBA Blog.  With the help of Teddy Ballgame and Cluke and probably others in the the future, The APBA Blog will hit topics like leagues, replays, APBA product releases and innovations to the game. 

I’m excited about the project that deals with the game I’ve played since I was a kid.  The site is in its infancy so check back often for updates. 

The APBA Blog

-tbz

This coming weekend is our annual All-Star weekend for the Illowa APBA League.  It’s one of the most fun weekends of the year for me as the ten managers in the league gather from 3 different states, play some APBA baseball.  The climax of the weekend, of course, is the IAL All-Star Game.  The league history dates back a while as this will be our 33rd All-Star Game. 

Above you see my team’s entries for the West Division for this year.  I’d like to say there are more but seeing that we are keeping the cellar warm in the Illowa League this year, we are only sending two.  Albert Pujols will be a starter and for that I am glad. 

I have a favorite story to tell that illustrates the fun we have at the All-Star weekends.  It goes back a few years when we got my friend Brando into the league (a great find, in my opinion!).  On our drive up to our destination, Brando expressed his confusion about his first All-Star Game.  Why was everyone was getting so excited about watching two managers play an APBA baseball game?  It didn’t occur to him that at least in our league, we roll for our own players when they are up to bat.  That simple change in perception changed everything.  The All-Star Game in the Illowa APBA League is a loud, raucous affair where every member is part of the game.  Yes, rolling for their players but also voicing strategic suggestions to their manager, high-fiving on any success and even a little trash talking across the table. 

The 34th annual IAL All-Star Game will take place this Saturday in Naperville, Illinois. 

Let’s Go West Division! and Go Twin City Thunderchickens!

What is APBA and What is the Illowa APBA League?

It’s All-Star Game time in my APBA league.  Like the bigs, we all vote for deserving players who have well in our league and those players are used in the All-Star Game which will take place next weekend. 

While all managers vote to pick the starters, the All-Star managers (determined by best record last year) are responsible for picking the subs, pitchers, and determine the lineup.  The rest of us wait to see if any of our players get chosen. 

Usually, when the roster and lineup is emailed to us, it’s pretty standard.  Kudos to Nick, the East Division Manager, though for his clever writeup of his East Division All-Star team.  It made me laugh. 

Here it  is:

Well, at least under heroes they put "Dick Seitz" (may he rest in peace). 

Anyway, take a look and if you are a MySpace user, maybe you can befriend the tabletop game.