Issue #1, January 2013, Part II
**
Commissioner's Corner - Part I - Notes from the Commish
**
(by Marc Wasserman, Commissioner of the Cyber
Baseball Association {CBA} )
(Note from the Wolfman:
- this article begins a new column for our newsletter that will
deal with what is it like to be a League Commissioner and the
various challenges that come with assuming this responsibility
for your league. I have known Marc since 2004 when he
found me on Strat-o-matic Fan Forum and invited me to take over
a team in the CBA. So from personal contact with Marc and
many conversations over the years, if there is anyone who can
give you a good perspective about being a League Commissioner it
will be Marc. He is very dedicated to our league and spends
hours upon hours to make sure everything is handled properly.
Enjoy this new column.)
Draft Leagues,
Retro
Leagues, Play by Email, CM Leagues
(Computer Manager), Salary Leagues,
Hometown Hero Leagues, NL Only, AL Only,
Face to Face, Dice
n Roll (Card & Dice), Draft Tournament Leagues,
All Star Leagues ... Strat-o-matic
is the perfect game to develop so many types of leagues. It's
conducive to be THE social experience. The paradox of it's
simplicity and it's sophisticated complexity make
Strat-o-matic Baseball the perfect
bridge between all type of age groups. The game captures the cerebral
intensity of chess, the fun and interaction of dice and game
play, with the modern statistical data analysis of the pastime
(Baseball) that
the world has come to love.
This (simulated) game brings the fan to baseball while
"Baseball" brings the game to the fan. I feel our game
should be included in the
Hall of Fame, Nuff 'Ced. But the game of Strat-o-matic has
developed into something more -- something wonderful that perhaps
couldn't be envisioned by most gamers. Something that transcends
the mere competition of a single game and the rolling of dice
to move forward with your game play. And this is "The Strat-o-matic
Community."
It's this community, this fellowship of amazing people that have
been attracted to his game which is perhaps Strat-o-matics greatest
achievement and strength from which everything all begins. Hal
Richman and his colleagues have developed and fostered a
community where lifetime friendships have been generated and
continue to happen. The
personal stories told by members of this community and how
this game has impacted their lives are wonderful and well documented by many on video,
TV and articles. And especially, and in a great book you can read like
Glenn Guzzo's book
about Strat-o-matic . Thus, since the Strat community is so
important for many of us and enriches our game playing, it
then follows that the Strat-o-matic
Leagues are perhaps one of the most important aspects of this Community.
Of course, many gamers have a
different approach towards Strat-o-matic Baseball. There are so
different variations of how a person can play this game and
manage their team. We have gamers who are "stats or
statistic only guys" who enjoy the recreation of a
particular season and to discover their results. On the
other hand, we have gamers who's primary interest is to play face-to-face.
Then there are the "Collectors" of the baseball cards, who don't even play the game but
only buy the product
(Ugh).
Many "Strat-o-matic" Fanatics spend a majority of their time
researching, creating and analyzing data related to Baseball
and the real life players. However, there are many other
gamers who play the game very differently and in their own
unique way. For example, what about the father who
plays Strat with his children as just a board, dice and card
game (C+D)? Perhaps the parent, family member, or a friend
of the family not only play the game for fun, but use it to
teach their children as well. I have a friend who is a
parent that bought the football game in combination with the
baseball game just for the enjoyment but also is teaching
his child as well by introducing him to probability and
statistics. Providing for his child an understanding of the
math of the game. "Why did I hit a Homer this time, but not
before" which illustrates to a degree the Math operations
that take place with a motivation.
Often that same child
will comes back to Strat-o-matic at a later time in their
life. They will play during their teens, stop and then
resume in adulthood for generations now. Yes,
it can be that long of a period of time for a person to be
linked to the game. Many gamers I know have played in
various phases of their life too. Somehow they always come back to Strat-o-matic
Baseball.
Something about the game catches fire in their soul, and
then this person
seeks out a competitive outlet to resume playing the game in
a way he was familiar with before.
So this person will hit the worldwide web and through this
search he will discover various Strat-o-matic Leagues that
are in operation.
And it's
the league commissioners who are organizing and devoting
their time to the
members of their league who want the experience of league
play. For the competition, or to be recognized amongst their peers,
for the sportsmanship, or to develop one's own unique strategy
for game play interaction that Strat-o-matic leagues do
indeed provide.
To be a League
Commissioner is a
responsibility. To own or run a league should not be taken
lightly. Although it's a fun endeavor, to keep the league
running smoothly should be regarded by a person who is entrusted with the
responsibility as a serious endeavor. Trust -- the entire operation and it's structure depends
completely upon trust. Commissioners must first earn
the trust of their clients, the General managers. It is the
primary function of the commissioner to advance and
enhance the gaming experience of the league, and its GM's.
The GM's (general managers, members of your league) must trust in you
as they don't 'work' for you.
Asking
the league members for their trust, is not the way. Earning their faith is what
it takes. They must believe in your ability to administer
your system for the league
and how you are delegating league operations. Your GM's must believe
that you will be completely fair and unbiased
in your ability to lead them into their gaming experience
which if you do, they will gladly spend countless hours
taking care of their personal teams and following the league
rules if you do it right.
You must make this a fair and happy experience.
There are so
many components to running a league, so many elements. Faith and then
strength comes from following the proper procedures and routines which
when are
followed by all the members, to the letter of your constitution
will ensure the development of a great league. Being a Commissioner often means
becoming a
good facilitator and even a judge who sets down a 'legal and due
process' to keep the league like a well oiled machine.
For a league to be
polished, there has to be one person (the commissioner) who
has the definitive word on any difficult situation and there
is no avoiding this, just do your best to be fair to all
parties. Strat players (the GMs) are very sharp and wont
tolerate favoritism or shenanigans in the league, nor
lengthy delays to receive important decisions. You want to
have active gamers as your members, but the GMs will not
stick around if the league doesn't have it's 'stuff''
together. Stability, Reliability, Structure and
Procedure are the keys to a good league ... And by the way here's
another concept that might stir the pot up a bit which
differs completely from my personal belief about a government.
And that is, not all
good leagues are true democracies!
So what does a
successful league need? In future articles for this new
column, I hope to explore various aspects of a league
covering many
different topics and issues as we move from one issue to the
next. I'll
share some of my personal observations and discoveries along
with some interesting
stories and statistical observations. Hopefully this column will bring
to the readers some of the inner workings of how to truly
run a successful Strat-o-matic league. And my insights are based
upon many years of
experience founding and co-founding different leagues; as
well as designing their constitutions
and structures. I have also set up a number of statistical
databases, encyclopedia's, web presences,
recruitment, networking, filing, mailing lists as well as
acted as a psychologist for various league members, you name
it ...
So stay tuned for future
issues of this newsletter as I
will share my many years as a commish with you! Till the
next time,
Marc Wasserman
(Note from the
Wolfman:
If you have a particular aspect
about being a League Commissioner or some questions you would
like Marc to cover in the future, feel free to contact him via
his email at:
)
Other Sections to view in this exciting issue :
(to view the interviews, articles and special sections click on
the links {underline} and this will take you to the appropriate
webpage)
♦
RETURN TO NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE
♦
INTERVIEW with GLENN GUZZO author of "Strat-o-matic Fanatics",
SOM columnist.
(Part II of his amazing interview)
♦
ARTICLE with MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN --
moderator/administrator from the Stratomatic Baseball Village,
an SOM baseball forum and partner for the newsletter discusses the great
George Shuba.
♦
COLUMN with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO --
editor of "The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" and 2012 CBA Champion.
Wolfman takes us back to the first national Strat-o-matic
Convention in 1972 as he was present. This column will be based
primarily upon the articles
from the Strat-o-matic Review that covered the national
Strat-o-matic conventions from 1972-1980
(including the ones organized by the Wolfman and his friends
from Chicago). We will continue to share one new convention in
this issue forward till all are shared.
♦
QUIZ
& POLL ABOUT THE SOM BASEBALL CARDS
submitted
originally by Marc Wasserman with a new poll from the Wolfman.
The quiz questions about the Baseball Cards and unique ones were
not answered before so we will try again before we give the
answers.
♦
RECOMMEND
ON-LINE SOM RESOURCES
-- other
on-line strat-o-matic websites that offer amazing information
(all sports), special tools and products to improve game play
which we have been in personal contact with and agree with our
idea to help cross promote each other.
Contact Us for Questions or Submissions:
Wolfman Shapiro
Founder/Editor, the
Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter
email:
wolfmanshapiro@gmail.com
facebook:
www.facebook.com/wolfman.shapiro
twitter:
@StratBaseball4U
To Sign Up and Become a Member of this Newsletter
http://www.UltimateStratBaseball.com
(this provides direct emails when our bulletins
and next
issues come out)
