The "Opening Day for Baseball" at the offices of SOM was quite an
event for Strat fans. Represented by the USBN staff,
another round of videos were shot (Editor's
Note: at the release of the February issue of our newsletter, we have
some of the footage up on our channel, more is
coming - see below ....). The fans who attended
this year's special day were full of smiles and good
times were had by all.
As is this yearly's custom the gamers get to meet and briefly chat
with the staff at the game company. You would think
in today's day and age that most enterprises would
be a bit detached from their customers but this is
definitely not the case with Strat-o-matic. The
Richman family was there and celebrating along with
the gamers. Many of the gamers seemed to have a
unique connection with Hal, of course. This is due
to all the years of meeting and chatting with the
Strat Gamers that Mr. Richman has done. And
you can tell he thoroughly enjoys this as you watch
his facial expressions when he speaks to us, the
very loyal and happy managers/players of this game.
Adam Richman (Hal Richman's son) along with Adam's mother, also seemed
to be having just the greatest time talking to the
people who were all too happy to meet them as well.
All day there was plenty of laughter and positive
vibes to go all around. The mood while standing in
line outside the game company, till the doors
opened, was very much the same. For those who made
the pilgrimage this day, our USBN Johnny On The
Spot could easily see from those who came from far
and wide, it was well worth the trip.
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The new 2015 Card
Based Set - My early evaluation
This years set is looks really good. Although Strat, as we all know
will make some minor adjustments to cards, its
really not too hard to figure out who would get the
very best cards, the players you want to have on
your league teams. I love the new WAR statistic
sort (which is shown in the computer game, when
viewing a player's card on-line, underneath the card
image). I just had to play with this new statistics
we are able to see. I guess a WAR with a value over
5 is pretty much top shelf. Above the 2 point mark
is the benchmark.
Now, looking over the new set, I've listed in order below, the
players who received some of the best baseball cards
in this years set. My list below comes from looking
over the cards and doing some manipulations of the
new statistical sort features we received in the new
version of the computer game while just having some
fun. Thus, I came up with a short ranking by the
card value I calculate. Of course, you too can
create all types of sortable lists and rankings
within the new computer edition, so see what you can
come up with. I'll have to look back later in the
year and see how these players perform in our
leagues.
Wass' List of Top players
1. Paul Goldschmidt. Not hard to figure here. What doesn't he
do? He does drop 7 points in the clutch however but
he has a very balanced card with a 1e5 fielding
rating. Too bad he's not a SS. Play him as your #3
hitter, and you can't go wrong.
2. Bryce Harper. Goldschmidt has the better all around card,
but Harper playes CF and RF (LF). He has a cannon
of an arm (-4), but he's absolute devastation vs
Righties. High OBA, and low DP's. Also drops -9 in
clutch, so this could be troublesome. Because of
position difficulty, I give Harper my slight nod for
team value, but Goldschmidt has the best overall
card period. Bryce is also suited for the 3 hole.
3. Zack Greinke. When was the last time you saw a card such
as this one? Greg Maddux comes to my mind. The move
to Arizona should inflate the numbers a bit but this
is the ace of the starting pitchers. The bonus
nacho here is he has a #7 hitters card, is an A
bunter, and a fielding rating of 1e13 so he even
turns the DP. This is your winning card, so you
should go get him.
4. Mike Trout. Not many weakness in the game. Also -9
clutch. His arm WILL get a lot of OF assists
(since runners may take a chance on his arm being a zero). Should keep runners from moving as a
defensive "1". The SBs have slowed down, consider
that in trade decisions. Weakness? -- 158 K's.
5. Jake "The Snake" Arrieta. This card yields very little OBA
and no homers, but when a runner gets on, he just
can't hold 'em with a +6 holding rating. Unlike
previous years, he's a reverse righty instead of
strong righty.
6. Joey Votto. "Poor man's Goldschmidt" card. He doesn't
steal. He doesn't have variables, less power than
Goldy, but boy howdy, can he get on base. Another
#3 hitter. Balanced card, but -12 clutch. You have
to get clutch cleanup hitters behind them at #4 in
the order though.
7. Clayton Kershaw. He suffers from the psychological hex of
being lefty, but that's an old story put to rest.
He is the best kind of Strat lefty, a reverse one.
And his weak left side ain't no marshmallow
either. Kershaw gets 'em out, but the reverse
lefty could take him deep with the 3 HR diamonds vs
Left handed hitters. What I love is how he stops
runner movement with his strikeouts and not allowing
runners to advance, only 13% and 12% L-R according
to the game.
8. Josh Donaldson. Defensively he is a 1e20 at 3B. Although
it appears slighty more meaningful with the 3B X
rating, than 1st base or rightfield, It seems that a
3B rating has more impact. Perhaps the ability to
start DP's is a reason that 3B defense shouldn't be
overlooked. I've heard some say 3B isn't too
important for the X rating. I say that a 1 or 2
defense rating does makes a huge difference. Those
DP's kill rallies and win games. Donaldson is
fairly balanced, but powers up vs lefties more
with big homer and double chances. GM's will need
to walk his bat vs LHP. He clutches 'em too +8 on
the left side opposed to +2 for RHP.
9. AJ Pollock. This card is super valuable. He has all the
variables I want in a CF. Defensively he is a 1e3
-1 (arm) and a AA stealer at 1-17 running. He has
power and on base, just a cut under McCutchen in
power, but his speed may put him over the value of McCutchen.
10. Anthony Rizzo. He falls into the super 1B category and is another
"Poor
mans Goldy". He has a high OBA and good power vs righties
with 8
diamonds but only 4 diamonds vs lefties. Rizzo just consistently gets
this type of card. You can count on it year to year
which is what I love in a player for my teams.
11. Andrew McCutchen. He seems to be slowing down a bit but he
is still pretty awesome. His
OBA is good, but his power has dropped. The speed has
dropped also so therefore his total value is lower
than before. Defensively he is a 1e2 with a "0" arm
which is
Terry Puhl like, but not the stud he was. Still
this is a great card and if you can get him you
should.
12. Dallas Keuchel. He has a seriously good card but he's a lefty. Teams do
stack up their hitters with lefty killers. Don't go by balance ratings,
but Keuchel does get the righty hitters out too.
13. David Price. He 'struggles' against the lefty
hitters letting them get a few extra on base, but no homer problem so he should
be a consistent winner. I
love the reverse lefty pitchers, so Price gets a nod.
14. Manny Machado. Defensively he is a 1e20 and plays SS in a pinch. His power and hitting
card is awesome. Should compete for MVP and homer
titles in your league. He destroys the righty
pitchers. Runners advance
48% of the time from 1st. He has 8 HR diamonds. Machado dips
a little vs Lefties but is still super tough so it doesn't really pay to throw lefties at him if it will
hurt your team.
15. Chris Davis. Davis has too much power to ignore. Also
he gets on base, and has
some hits as well. He is defensively solid.
Davis slams RHP and must be walked because the homers are too
high. His impact on the game will trickle through
your lineup.
16. Yoenis Cespedes. His card is super too. He plays CF 3 -5,
but gets
a "1" rating in LF. He has a gun with a -5 arm, and we know that the
guys at Strat debated about his defense ratings. Forget
the playoffs, Cespedes can play CF. His card is
super, though not in the Goldscmidt, Rizzo, Votto
range, because of his slighlty lower on base
percentage. But
he is a cleanup hitter who will drive 'em home.
17. Nolan Arenado. Big time card because of his defense, and his
devastating power vs righties. But his other numbers
especially against lefties aren't so superman like
with a
25% OBA vs LHP? Colorado red.
18. Buster Posey. Still has a great bat. Still has great defense.
This is the
toughest position (catcher) to get offense and usage out of
and he does it well and is the best overall catcher
in the set.
19. Gerrit Cole. Cole has an ace's balanced righty card. "Man o man" he could
be under valued in some leagues. This is a great
card, check it out.
20. Lorenzo Cain. He is a big time leadoff hitter in CF,
defensively a "1", -2 arm but an e12. He steals, gets on
base, and has great clutch hitting. An excellent option for the
top of your lineup.
Honorable mention
Max Scherzer
Miguel Cabrera
Dee Gordon
Jose Altuve
Jose Bautista
(Vote
from the Wolfman: - what about Wade Davis card in relief and as a closer, he's
virtually unhittable??)
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The
USBN Youtube Video
Channel
As always, we are adding new videos to our Youtube
channel. As we move further into 2016, we
believe the combination of our on-line newsletter
with the video channel is going to provide for our
members the very best way to cover SOM Baseball,
plus also a chance to meet in person (in a way) some
of the best Strat gamers on the planet. Here
is a list of the key videos we share this month.
Strat-o-matic
Opening Day
(if you missed our earlier bulletins with
more videos to come ...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04I8oa-O-yU
(an early
trailer of what is coming up from our video footage
at "Opening Day", February 12th)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFbT-ewv55Y
(Part I of the
actual video footage from "Opening Day", February
12th, we will continue to share bulletins with our
members when other parts of the videos from this
special day is ready)
Oh My God - Our Editor Speaks out - it's the Wolfman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIABEklS3Wo
(curious to meet
our editor, listen to this interesting and
entertaining video as the Wolfman speaks out!)
Bud Podrazik - Shares his famous song from SOM's
50th Anniversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Da1xRt1KUE
(we are granted
permission by Bud to add his famous, "SOM Baseball
Rally Song" he composed after attending the 50th
Anniversary of Strat-o-matic in NY in 2011 -- also
we had a chance to interview Bud about the song, to
read his interview on our SOM Baseball News page,
click
here)
Ricky Royal from England - Explaining how to Play
SOM Baseball
(last month we shared a video from a SOM
Baseball gamer in England describing how to play the
game, Mr. Royal gave us permission to share several
of his videos, so if you enjoy Mr. Royal's first
video we mentioned last month, here are the other
videos he did - some of just how to play the game
and others have more strategy suggestions. Ricky
Royal is a popular gaming master, if you enjoy his
video be sure to sign up for his Youtube channel ...
enjoy ...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DQjUhj3cbY
(In this video,
Ricky Royal explains how to play Strat-o-matic basic
game baseball.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc38AwjKGeE
(In this video,
Ricky Royal discusses how to play the advanced
Strat-o-matic game baseball.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUlS6P6m7c
(The final video
in this series by Ricky Royal focuses on Advanced
Baserunning in Strat-o-matic baseball.)
Once again, as
always, we
want to encourage any submission that our members wish
to make as well to our video channel. Even if your baseball league has
some
cool series happening that are going on, shoot us a video.
If you feel like you want to
share something with all of our subscribers, this is a
perfect forum to do so or just to make a test video
to see how people might respond if you
wish to continue and become a video master. Our channel is open to all ages, just
keep the content family minded of course, and please
don't mention other
baseball games, as we do Strat-o-matic here and only
Strat-o-matic and this is a pretty big focus as it
is.
