Vol. II, Issue #5 - December 2014

** Matt Beagle - Here is a True Baseball Guru!! **

(Throughout the existence of our newsletter, we have introduced our members to what we believe are
some of the finest Strat-o-matic Baseball Gamers and Strategists.  However, in this interview, we are
honored to introduce you to Matt Beagle, who is considered to be one of the most skilled players on the
planet as well as is a student of the game of baseball.  He also is the official video blogger for
Strat-o-matic as well as a writer and analysis for Baseball HQ.  So, sit back and listen to what Matt shares!)

How we linked with Matt and a brief bio --  It is through my newsletter partner, Marc Wasserman's efforts, when he discovered Matt's SOM Baseball strategy videos on-line, that we first had contact with Matt. I recall stumbling unto Matt myself one day when I was perusing the game company website.  Matt is no ordinary Strat Baseball Manager as he is a multi-talented gentlemen that excels at interpreting all types of statistics linked with Baseball which helps him to  excel in his game play.  When you listen to Matt speak (or read what he writes) its like listening to a "Military General" who knows all the expert tactics to use in battle or in our case to be a superior Strat strategist.

Below you will find a brief bio about Matt, which I found on-line thanks to his guidance, which will provide for you an idea of just who he is and why we were so excited to have this chance to do this interview with him.  Matt has told us in the near future (later in December) he will be doing a video along with a written report to discuss which players you should pay attention to linked with the new 2015 cards coming out next year. Since, we know that many of our members are involved with such draft leagues who will be giving these new cards a very thorough investigation in order to figure out which players to add to their teams, we hope to share in the next newsletter how to view Matt's upcoming video and report.  Anyway, here is Matt's bio:

Matt Beagle is the Strat-O-Matic expert for BaseballHQ.com. Matt's articles have been published in
USA Today and he has appeared on the Cleveland Indians TV and Radio Network in addition to speaking
and radio engagement across the country. He has been playing Strat for over thirty years and has won
titles in the Capital Baseball League, Major Strat-O-Matic Baseball League, and Universal Baseball
Association. In 2008, Matt won The Sporting News Strat-O-Matic Bevy of Experts League. He was selected
for Strat-O-Matic's 50th Anniversary League. Matt also participates in the weekly BaseballHQ Radio
podcast, writes a weekly column called Market Pulse, and contributes to Somworld.com. Matt graduated from
Wake Forest School of Law and Babcock School of Management after receiving his undergraduate degree from
Ursinus College.

Matt Beagle exemplified the depth of fanalytic commitment as a true Strat GM when, appendix bursting, he coerced a hospital release to retrieve his Strat-O-Matic materials to draft from the recovery room. Matt obtained his JD/MBA from Wake Forest after attending Ursinus College, near his beloved Phillies.  He now follows the Indians as closely after a Jacobs Field wedding. A bank Vice President and Instructor at Bloomsburg University, Matt brings thirty years of experience from Bloomsburg, PA.

It was in 2008, as mentioned above, Matt added the Strat-O-Matic Bevy of Experts League to his numerous titles. This league includes fantasy experts from ESPN, Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, STATS, Inc., The Sporting News, Rotowire, and several other sites. Representing BaseballHQ, Matt's Capitol Steps finished with the second best regular season record despite a league leading +106 run differential. The second best team run differential was +63, the third +23.  In the opening playoff round, the Steps swept Joe Sheehan's (from Baseball Prospectus) Inwood Landfills by outscoring them 32-6. Then the Steps defeated Dean Peterson's (from STATS, Inc.) Chicago team in the World Series 4-1 outscoring them 35-18.  The Steps hit .344 in the playoffs with a .549 Slugging percentage and a 2.88 ERA. Derek Jeter hit .471 and Jorge Posada .448. Hanley Ramirez and David Wright each slugged four home runs. Rafael Perez only gave up one run in nine postseason innings. Jon Garland had a 1.78 ERA in two playoff starts.

If you would like to watch on Youtube, his SOM Strategy channel, head over to:
https://www.youtube.com/user/StratOMaticStrategy

 

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Wolfman:  Today I have the great honor to interview and introduce for our members Matt Beagle. I am not sure if all of our readers  have heard of Matt - I wasn't that familair with him until I saw him once on a Youtube video giving some great advice how to manage your personal SOM baseball team. Prior to doing this interview, I had a chance to speak to Matt over the phone and listen to his thoughts and ideas linked to the baseball game and dear members, he is the real deal.  He is a champion of various leagues along with the game company anxiously awaiting for him to create his next strategy video.  I think we all can learn a bit from this gentlemen who has been playing Strat for over 30 years.

So Matt a warm welcome to the Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter.

Matt:  Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to growing the Strat community.  I enjoy supporting all kinds of efforts promoting the game and those who love it like I do.

Wolfman:  Now Matt, have you always been interested in baseball since you were young? Where did you grow up and which MLB teams did you root for? Who were your favorite MLB players while growing up?

Matt:  I live and grew up in central Pennsylvania, at least 2 hours from any major league stadium.  We got 4 channels on TV, so every night my dad grabbed a Schlitz & a pack of Kents and we headed to the patio to  listen to the Phillies through the radio static.  The late Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas was my idol, painting pictures in my mind through his dulcet baritone voice rising and falling with excitement as the crappy Phils teams of the early seventies struggled to win.  The late seventies and early eighties were so  rewarding when the Phightin' Phils made the playoffs and won a title.

MIke Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Steve Carlton, and Randy Lerch were my favorites.  Lerch beat the Dodgers on Monday Night Baseball May 16,1977.  I had to write a poem for English class so I wrote one about him while watching the game.  He sent me an autographed picture and a letter inviting me to visit him in the dugout some time.  Several weeks later on a group bus trip I took him the letter and he knew me (don't think he had many fans yet) and gave me an autographed ball.  What a thrill for a 12-year-old.   Too bad his Strat cards
were never very good.

I also became a fan of the Indians while living in Cleveland in the nineties.  Jim Thome remains my favorite modern day player along with Troy Tulowitzki and Hunter Pence.  I just love watching those guys play.

Wolfman:  What about playing the game of baseball? Did you play in little league or high school? If so what was your best position?

Matt:  I played shortstop and pitched throughout Little League and Teeners.  There I was a ss-3e0 without a stick but lots of walks.  A 1-8 running rating hampered my ability to take advantage of the walks. I was a good, not great pitcher who racked up the innings and limited the walks.  In high school I also pitched in a Bill Gullickson card kind of way - no walks, plenty of hits and homers allowed.  I was a 3b-1 e0 but you would probably have to use a pitcher's hitting card to emulate my hitting stats.

Wolfman:  Prior to becoming involved in SOM Baseball, were there any other simulated baseball table games you tried?

Matt:  I played my own game in my basement with my baseball cards, splitting up the players into teams, majors and minor league systems, and keeping stats.  The stats were generated by the results of my baseball practice throwing a rubber ball against the wall.

Desiring more realism, I researched every simulation game on the market through their brochures I requested and picked Strat over SherCo-II Baseball Simulation.  I tried Strat and never looked back.

Wolfman:  When did you first hear about SOM?  Tell us your story of getting your first game?

Matt:  I first mail ordered the 1975 season.  I was only 10 and couldn't figure out why Pete Rose had such a poor steal rating.  He was slow but he hustled!  I later realized his running rating reflected his hustle while he wasn't a huge base stealer.

Wolfman:  What is there about SOM Baseball that you really like?

Matt:  It's intuitive to play, very realistic, and gives you enough variables without creating so many you can't make a good decision.  It's the decision-making of whether to bunt or hit and run, when to bring in a reliever or pinch-hitter...that's what makes if fun.

I'm not a pro basketball fan but I did try Strat Pro Basketball and was amazed how much fun it is.  You make the reliever/pinch-hitter decision all game long with defensive matchups, player fatigue, and substitutions.  It is really a lot of fun although I don't have time to play it much.

Wolfman:  How did you get to be such an expert in play and strategy?

Matt:  I would never call myself an expert.  I think humility represents the most desirable trait a person can have.  It keeps you grounded and allows an open mind to keep learning.  I've adapted many strategies from other great managers in leagues I've played in.  When you have good competition you pick things up over the years. My creative and analytic sides makes me want to keep searching for new ways to win and tweaking strategies.

For example I just joined a retro league a year ago and it's given me a new appreciation for the bunt and hit and run.  I rarely ever bunted before that and I used plenty of bunts vs. Clayton Kershaw in a recent playoff upset.  My opponent, an expert and great contributor to the Strat community through his website/databases,
was shocked I pinch hit Chris Tillman for the current pitcher with one out and a runner on third but I had a better chance to score squeezing with Tillman vs Kershaw than with my mediocre pinch hitters and the subsequent leadoff guy who lost a ton in the clutch.

Similarly, an opponent of mine once clicked the hit & run by mistake with a guy on second and 2 outs. Before he clicked "No" I noticed that the guy's hit chance was actually 25% - much higher than his paltry hits minus clutch hit losses.  Alas, another strategy was born - hit and run with 2 outs, runner on 2nd, and a poor clutch
hitter with B Hit and run.

With nearly 40 years of experiments, experience, and adaptations, your base of knowledge keeps growing - especially when you have good opponents.

Wolfman:  Is your success in the leagues you have played due to a special strategies you use in building teams and managing?

Matt:  I think Strat players preceded the majors with many strategies like on base being more important than batting average.  I have been always been an advocate of strong middle relief being more important than most consider it to be.  They cost less and their cards are so much better than starters.  In the playoffs, you can use them every game. You use them more innings than your closer.  So I spend a higher pick on middle relief than a starting pitcher that will only pitch once in a playoff series.

I've had success but also plenty of mediocre teams.  The luck involved in the sport makes it a constant challenge.  I tend to go for it all or rebuild.  A .500 team begets another .500 team.  If I can win, I go all out for the championship because you can rebuild any year, but you can't go for the title every year.  If I can't
win, I seek to trade guys currently at their peak, especially injury prone starting pitchers and inconsistent relievers, for future value.  Not just this year's prospects that everyone overvalues, but proven veterans with off years and most importantly future draft picks.

Future draft picks give you an asset you can use later when you need to trade or draft with them when you get good.  They also provide additional roster depth because they are not considered when determining roster limits.  So if my team is not going to win, I don't care how many games I win now, I need to build for the
future.  Getting a #2 next year, for example, gives me future value and flexibility to draft or trade for what I need then, when another year has elapsed and my needs and player performance are clearer. And it doesn't count against my roster limit this year,  So it's another chance to get a good player - like having an enlarged roster because we don't know who will be good or what I will need when my team gets good again  

Meanwhile, I get someone cheap to play now who could also become a contributor next year, as well.  Also you can normally trade current picks for a round higher next year.  If  I'm not good next year, I continue the process by gathering picks the following year, one round earlier, until I am in a position to win.

I do NOT advocate dumping players for less than fair value and just stacking up future picks and prospects..  You need to get fair value for your players to ensure the long term health of the league.  It's just that you are valuing players/picks based on future value while your trade partner is valuing him on current value.   You need to be aware of your player's current value to know how much you can get for him and maximize the future value to acquire.

You do not trade good players simply to tank a season and get a good pick.  That harms your league and your team's ability to eventually be good.  You trade maximum current value for maximum future value.  That often results in a bad team now, but you are doing it to build a team for the future, not simply to get the #1 pick.  There's a different intent and goal there.  It really doesn't matter where I draft the following year if I have truly garnered more future value in my trade.  I am gathering a quantity of good future pieces, wherever that draft position may end up. So my rebuilding strategy would be the same whether I received the first pick for my efforts, was in the lottery, or had a randomly selected spot in a serpentine draft (a concept I have occasionally suggested in a few of my leagues that tradition has rebuffed).  The point is I am getting more future value than current value, wherever those picks end up.

Wolfman:  Tell us about some of the leagues you have played in and what type of teams did you build?

Matt:  Most of my leagues are 18-24 team leagues, although I play in a 30 team league which presents quite a challenge, as does the salary cap league.   I also have joined a retro league, which is a lot of fun. I tend to build the core with hitters for my early picks  and take my chances with many young pitchers later. It tend to overvalue power, on base, and middle relievers compared to most and undervalue defense, speed, and closers.

Wolfman:  Do you recall any special games you played in that were extraordinary or some world series games that you will never forget that were truly amazing?

Matt:  Brian Harper lost a series when my opponent stole third with 2 outs and Harper threw the ball into the outfield to lose game 7.  Jeff Reed lost a game 7 when he rolled an 18 on a homer 1-17 in the bottom of the 9th.  One year I had Pedro, Maddux, and Smoltz and threw shutouts in all four games to win a series and proceeded to be undefeated through 3 rounds of the playoffs.

One league allowed any card to be used in the World Series under the theory of surprise unsung heroes being realistic.  I hated this rule so in the first year of the computer cards, I drafted Juan Pena who pitched 3 perfect innings and he hurled 12 shutout innings in relief to help win the series.  D'Angelo Jimenez was 3-4  that year and had 75 hit chances that way.  I finally got the rule changed to have minimum at-bats/innings pitched the next year.

My favorite memory was playing my best friend Bob face-to-face one evening the first year of the rare play rule.  We started the final game around 1:00AM figuring it would take a half hour.  After 18 innings, we were still tied.  As we struggled to stay awake, I had a man on first with one out.  My battter hit a cf(x) to Gary Pettis, a cf-1e0.  With Rob Murphy on the mound with a perfect card against lefites and Eddie Milner on deck, who couldn't get a hit against lefties, Bob was already looking ahead at his batters in the 19th, as was I..  But I rolled the rare play in which Pettis caught the ball, hit his head on the wall, and all runners advance 3 bases. An unbelievable victory but one that left me with mixed feelings.  I like games that the win is based on the cards - good players beating you.  I hated winning on such a fluke play when the odds were against me.  I like Strat justice. Beat me with your stars, not the flukes.  But that's baseball and that's Strat.  Adding the split roll was a genius move by Hal.

Wolfman:  I know on the phone you told me that you are more focused upon the stats linked to the individual players and interpreting the value of each player from their real-life stats or the type of cards they receive from the game company. Can you share a bit more about how you work in this area?

Matt:  When you are going for a title, the card chances are more important than the name of the player.  We tend to judge players by their name and get attached to guys we like.   But the card numbers determine the value of a player.  Joe Carter, for example, was a great player in real life, but could never get on base enough to be an elite Strat player.  You can get more in trade for players in big markets and can get better bargains on players in a secondary market with the same stats.

When looking at prospects, their stats can tell the real story, especially with pitchers.  Strikeout rate, batting average on balls in play, and strikeout to walk ratio tell more about future pitching success sometimes than a scouting report or prospect ranking.

Wolfman:  Your strategy videos have been supported by the Game Company - how did you get this chance
to be linked with the Game Company? What type of relationship do you have with the game company?

Matt:  Strat asked for submissions of videos to select their video bloggers.  They selected mine on "Memento Theory of Lineup Construction" as the best in the strategy category.

Strat has always been supportive of my efforts but as my kids get older and my job as a Financial Planner gets busier, I have had less time for video blogs. I am also particular about selecting topics that will be interesting and add value to the Strat community instead of a regular monthly contribution with nothing to say.  So I
have done less lately and I'm sure Strat wishes I would do more.  If there are topics people want me to address, I would be happy to do so.  I tend to only do topics which I think are unique and different.  I am sure your readership has some topics they would like to see that would spur me to do more videos.  I don't want to
be the Master of the Obvious but the guy who opens your mind to new ideas or saves you time and gives you another perspective on the draft pool, for example.

Wolfman:  Also you work with Baseball HQ as an analyst and sports writer - how did you get this job? What are you duties? Would visiting the Baseball HQ website and reading the analysis done by the analyst on the game of baseball help our members by providing special information to help them build their league
teams?

Matt:  HQ was recommended to me by Michael Hunnersen who wrote the Baseball Yardstick.  He said Ron Shandler was the best at evaluating young pitchers.  Ron has dedicated himself to sabermetric evaluations of
players for Rotisserie baseball.  His projections are incredible and he made me look at all players differently.  After subscribing for several years, I answered a writing/analysis contest in a search for new writers.  After writing for a few years, Ron selected me to write my own weekly column analyzing waiver wire trends and
potential pickups.  But my unique niche on the site was discussing Strat strategies and analyzing the online version of the game.

There is no question that sabermetric analysis helps Strat managers evaluate players when building teams.  It helps show you who is a flash in the pan and who will have a solid year next year.  His Baseball Forecaster is always the first book to provide both sabermetrics and pithy descriptions of the player's skills and future prospects.  The humor makes it fun to read and it's mid-December release makes it my favorite Christmas gift every year.

The difference is that Ron hires very educated analysts as opposed to guys who just love to play fantasy.  A quick look at the Experts page on BaseballHQ.com reveals a staff of attorneys, financial analysts, and a guy who worked on the Hubble Telescope!  These educated minds naturally look deeper than some guy in his basement telling you what he thinks. USA Today purchased the site a few years ago after publishing many of our articles over the years.

The unique insight of HQ analysts really help with drafting and trading.  They don't just say every guy is great. In fact, they tend to take a negative tone more often - showing why a guy isn't as good as everyone thinks.  So when they are positive, you know the player is buy.  This is the opposite of an industry where we have to read
through the rosy picture of every player to find out the true story. If you read the Baseball Forecaster or subscribe to BaseballHQ.com, I promise you will never look at individual players the same way again.

Wolfman:  In your resume it mentioned about a league called the "SOM Bevy of Experts League".  I have never heard about this league before.  Can you explain to our readers what this league is about? Does it still exists? How was a person invited to join? And how did you become the champion in 2008?

Matt:  I believe JP Kastner from CreaTiVeSports started the league.  He invited industry writers from ESPN, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, STATS, Inc., and many other publications were invited to participate in a league in Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online.  I was invited due to my association with BaseballHQ..  After losing in the playoffs in my initial foray, I managed to win my second year.  The organizers got busy with other projects as the fantasy industry grew and we failed to get the league back together again.  I have considered trying it again but have simply been too busy.

Since the salaries tend to keep the teams close, I tend to like pitchers parks to keep the games even closer.  In close games, little things can make the difference between winning and losing.  The big things, power, 1's on defense, and starting pitching are all expensive in the online game.  Since it operates with a salary cap, I focused on hitters with many hit chances who are balanced and didn't lose in the clutch.  I focused on players
who play multiple positions for roster flexibility and focused on 2's and 3's in the field.  I avoided expensive players who were injury prone because you can't afford to lose your best players for a long period of time.  I would rather take the injury risk with a cheaper player with a nice card that wouldn't kill me if he was gone.  Macier Izturis was good defensively at several positions, got on base, was cheap but a 5 injury so he helped but didn't hurt much if he got hurt.  I again focused on middle relief as relief outs are cheaper than starter outs.  You can always find a cheap 2B-3 with 35 on base chances, for example.  I also valued speed there since I was using a pitcher's park and playing for low scoring games where speed has more value.

Wolfman:  Now we ask this particular question of all those that we interview for this newsletter who play SOM.  As a person who has had great success with the various leagues that you have participated with - what are the keys to your success? For example what type of teams do you like to build and why?  Is there any type of players you are looking for? What strategies do you use? In other words, you must have certain strategies that you have found that work for you quite well that have helped you win all of these leagues so anything you can share with our readers, we know they will be quite interested.

Matt:  As I stated earlier, you can rebuild any year, so if you are in the playoffs, go for it all the way.  There are hot prospects every year and many of them (especially pitchers) don't pan out.  When you get the good card now, odds are better that he will have a  good card next year than that prospect.  If you are not going to make the playoffs, trade players at their peak value.  Don't be stupid and trade a proven good player for a prospect just because you want a good pick next year or you fall for the hype of a prospect.  Trade those certain to decline for multiple prospects and future draft picks to spread your risk and maximize future value and flexibility.

I tend to focus on hitters for my core and supplement with pitchers due to their inconsistency and higher injury frequency.  I don't normally draft a pitching prospect-only early but prefer the quantity of them later.  Once my team is good, I then pay up for good pitchers for the current year with pitching prospects and picks.  When I'm good I don't mind older pitchers as I am playing for the current year.  My rosters include guys like  Tim Hudson, Bartolo Colon, & Hiroki Kuroda but they each keep pitching well long  after others gave up on them.  Your best buys tend to be pitchers in their thirties who know how to pitch.  Rebuilders are afraid they will get hurt and lose all value so they represent bargains for good teams.

I probably overvalue offense and undervalue defense compared to the well-known Strat players.  It's much easier/cheaper to find a fielding replacement than find a power hitting bat.  I won a title with Mike Sweeney as a c-5 +3 arm and almost won another with Brian Harper c-4 +3.  Horrible defense doesn't hurt as much in Strat as it does in real life, especially when you can sub in an inexpensive defensive replacement for the final few innings if you lead.

I usually have a great, deep, killer bullpen.  As I think I mentioned earlier, great middle relievers are more important in the playoffs than a starting pitcher who will only pitch one game in a series.  I usually have at least 3 great, not just good, relievers in the pen with 2 more good ones behind them.  That is like having a
Cy Young winner pitching the last 3-4 innings of every single playoff game.  ]Pinch hit whoever you want because half those rolls are automatic outs on my pitcher cards.  And those cards often only take second or third round picks to acquire compared to the cost of the great starting pitcher who costs 3 times as much.

I have never won a league (other than the salary cap game online) with a speed-based team although I have seen it done.  I just don't tend to draft those guys high enough compared to others.  Since the supplemental steal system was introduced, I value speed less.  Now you have to get a lead AND get the split roll without getting picked off.  So 3 things have to happen for you to successfully steal.  So I don't mind high hold ratings on pitchers and poor catching arms because +5 is the maximum impact and it entices non-stealers to try
for a lead, get picked off or thrown out stealing.

Wolfman:  Matt have you ever participated in any of the live or on-line tournaments that have been held with SOM Baseball and if so which ones, how did you do?  Also what about the tournaments with the SOM Online Baseball System started with the Sporting News?  Are you also an expert with this version of play as well?

Matt:  I have not played in a tournament format, although I think it would be fun.  I have considered starting a league that redrafts every year like your redraft every tournament, but don't have the time to do so right now.

I don't know what makes you an expert.  I have written articles & done the podcasts on the online game.  I have won a high percentage of the leagues I've played in and won that Bevy of Experts League, so I guess yes.  I also recognize there are many, many regular successful players of that game that know much more than I do.

Wolfman:  In your bio it said USA Today printed one of our articles, how did this happen? Also that you have
appeared on TV and Radio linked with the Cleveland Indians, that is quite interesting, how did this take place?  It seems you have a special link with the Indians, is this correct?

Matt:  BaseballHQ is now owned by USA Today, but before it was they printed an article by HQ staffers each week so I have had several articles published in SportsWeekly.  I have had less time to do those types of articles the past few years.

I actually wrote SportsTime Ohio, the Indians network, when HQ scheduled a First Pitch Forum (our Spring Training live tour) there.  I contacted several outlets in the Cleveland area and SportsTime Ohio's talk show producer for All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan was an HQ subscriber.  I appeared as a guest there several
times and filmed a fantasy baseball series of interviews that aired throughout March.  Through those appearances I met Andre Knott from WTAM, the Indians network, and was a frequent guest on his show,
including a pregame show appearance.  I lived in Cleveland for several years in the nineties and my wife is from there, so it was natural for me to spend time there.

Wolfman:  If someone was to ask you to define yourself as a SOM Baseball player - how would you answer this question?

Matt:  I enjoy the team building more than the game....Fair in trade negotiations - let's both get closer to our goal and do it with honest communication and no hardballing... competitive but not cutthroat... I enjoy the better team winning, even if it's not mine...so beat me with your best, not a lucky roll, and I hope to do the same...expect the unexpected when you play me - with lineups, strategies, and team building that don't conform to traditional baseball assumptions....you better beat me early because my deep bullpen will shut you down...I want the known player compared to the overvalued prospect.

Wolfman:  Would you say that due to your strong knowledge of the game of baseball, its strategies, being aware of the potential of the new young players who are coming up along with the contacts you no doubt have developed with people within the game of baseball, that all of this has helped you to become, what some consider to be, a true expert in all facets of SOM Baseball?

Matt:  I think that's for someone else to conclude. I don't normally list or brag about titles unless required by an employer for marketing purposes or challenged by someone.  Remaining humble enables me to keep an open mind to see how others do things and continually refine my strategies.  I never allow myself to think I know it all because you can't.  By studying other strategies I constantly adapt or reinforce what has brought me previous success the past 30+ years or so.   I enjoy the process more than the end result and enjoy being
the best I can and use that as a measure of success regardless of the outcome of a short playoff series.

At HQ we used to offer a Personal Advisor service that I really enjoyed. Some of us were in essence personal consultants to Roto or Strat managers for their team all year.  The problem was that it took so much time and was expensive.  I've had several requests by people to resurrect that service so if someone is interested in
that, I would be willing to discuss that.

Wolfman:  If any of our members wished to contact you to ask you some questions, is this possible and what
is the best way to do so? 

Matt:  Sure, my email is MattBeagle@aol.comMattBeagle@aol.com.  If you have video  blog ideas, that would be the place to send them.

Wolfman:  Matt we discussed before in the introduction about the possibility of giving our members a chance to be one of the first to see your new strategy video that you hope to share later this year. Is there anything you care to say about this video at this time?

Matt:  I hope to have an article and subsequent video outlining this year's draft class sometime in December.

Wolfman:  Matt, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about yourself, your background or your expertise with Strat, that I didn't cover in my earlier questions?  (Note: we did this interview just before Thanksgiving)

Matt:  It's Thanksgiving time so it's a great time to be thankful that Hal invented this game 50+ years ago. Thanks that my parents and current family permit me the time to spend doing something I really enjoy.  I am thankful for some of the great friends I've made in Strat leagues over the years.  I am thankful that we have a growing Strat community featuring things like this newsletter, Somworld, John LaManna, Bruce Bundy, & others that help save us number crunching time so we can spend more time developing strategies.  Please support them so they can keep going and make enough money to justify the time they spend.

Wolfman:  Matt, I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share some of your tremendous insights about SOM Baseball with our members. We all look forward to hear about your thoughts on this next year's class of players who will be available in our league's drafts linked with the new cards coming out in a few months.  Have a great day!


(Special Note: As was stated in the interview, Matt is a contributor for Baseball HQ, which is a website that provides all type of information and insights related to MLB and Fantasy Baseball.  Matt has helped us to speak to the editor of Baseball HQ, and they have offered to our a members a free newsletter you can sign up for that comes out each week.  If you would like to receive this free newsletter, it easy to sign up, just head over to: http://www.baseballhq.com/som - this will give you an idea what type of information is available via Baseball HQ that can give you insights about MLB and help you with your leagues.)