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Vol. IV, Issue #4 - May 2016

Strat-o-matic Personal Replays Part I

** "The SOM Replay World of Bart Ewing" **
      (One area we have not covered at all yet, in our newsletter are "Personal Replays".
With the power of the computer game you can replay many different past seasons
or combine all type of teams to play each other from over many Eras.  This is what
Bart has come up with, his own system of replays, which we think are quite unique!!)


(Notes from the Wolfman:
 I first met Bart at the National Conventions we use to hold in Champaign-Urbana, IL from 1974-1979.  There were a group of us who would see each other each summer and we became like an extended family who had this chance one a year to visit with each other and play the game we loved. Our readers can go back to earlier issues of the newsletter to read the reports of these conventions I submitted to the SOM Review that we re-published here.  Bart, of course, is a key member of our newsletter and has been a true blue SOM gamer for many years.  I rediscovered Bart on the SOM Fan Forum and most recently I found him on Twitter sharing about the various replays that he does so I thought it was time to have my old buddy share about his good stuff with our members.

Now, Replays are one area of playing the game we haven't been able to cover yet. In my own way right now, as you will read in my report on Baseball Daily, I am doing a kind of replay of the current season for the Chicago Cubs.  I know on many of the SOM on-line Baseball Forums, their members are constantly discussing their individual replays so hopefully this interview / report from Bart might spur some new sharings from our members going forward.  What I found the most interesting when I was chatting with Bart via our emails was what he calls his Championship Tournaments that he has been running for some time now and this is what he was sharing on Twitter about. Anyway, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Ewing, one of the mist dedicated SOM gamers I personally know. Take it away Bart!)
 



Wolfman:
  As I mentioned in my introduction, Bart and I go way back, to the time of the National Conventions that a group of us organized at the University of Illinois in the 1970's.  In this interview, you will have a chance to not ony meet Bart but also learn about these very unusual replay tournaments he has been running.  At the end of this interview, I have also reprinted a detailed email that Bart sent to me discussing how he decided which teams to include in each of his unique tourneys and which team has won the tourneys that he has completed.

So Bart, welcome to the Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter and nice to finally have you included in an issue of our newsltter.

Bart:  It's an honor for me. I'm glad to be here with other people promoting such a great hobby!

Wolfman:   Bart, I initially ask my guests some personal questions about themselves to give our members a chance to meet you and know a little bit about your background before we move on to discuss Strat.  So first, which part of the world do you live in right now and is this where you grew up?

Bart:  I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and I never really left. I live just over the state line now in Kansas and spent some time in Lawrence, Kansas hanging out with Bill James (or actually going to college).

Wolfman:  When you were younger - did you actually play baseball and if so what was your best position?

Bart:  Yes of course I did and I was terrible at it as I was actually afraid of the ball. But like the kid in the story, the Bad News Bears, I had the ability to calculate all the baseball stats thanks to Strat. I was just a 4th grader with a slide rule and with that old book Strat put out entitled "Earned Run Averages"  so I stuck with playing baseball. I eventually became a decent defensive player but never had any power. Like aging players of today, I moved gradually right on the spectrum of positions from 2b - 1b - rf.

Wolfman:  What about which MLB team did you root for when you were younger and are you still a fan of this team?  Are there any ball players you really followed or who were your favorite when you were young?

Bart: The K.C. Royals of course. My first baseball team were the K.C. A's when my dad took me to their games when I was quite young as well as doing BBQ parking on peoples lawns who were just outside Municipal Stadium too. This was quite the education for me in many ways. Municipal Stadium was such an interesting place as the players went up a long walk way on each side of the park to get to their locker room. We were on the 3b side - the visitors side but this was a great autograph perch where I had many great players give their autographs. My favorite player was Harmon Killebrew who said he would come back to do an autograph between games of a doubleheader once. The players had to go do something but he promised to get back to me between the games. My dad and brothers kept telling me he wasn't coming back, that he was just saying this but I insisted he would. I waited in my spot for him and sure enough he returned. 

It was easy to love the Royals as well right from the start. I was at their first game, their first game in Kaufman Stadium, also the first World Series game too. AO -- Amos Otis was a big number one for me but Tony Solaita was my all time favorite. He was my first Samoan player (that 1975 card man) but he never could catch a break in the majors. He was a prodigious power hitter in the Yankee farm system but he was blocked there. Jack Mckeon brought him over when he became manager of the Royals, as he had managed him in the Yankee farm system and he knew what he could do. Tony delivered but again he had bad luck as the Royals had also just picked up John Mayberry the year he came over and they added Killebrew in 1975. So there were not many ab's for Tony, but he did pretty well in what he got.

A group of us started a fan club for Tony -we all worked at a local pizza place and invented the Samoan Special pizza (canadian bacon and pineapple, they still serve it today even though they do not know the origin). One day, he came out with The Angels and met us at the pizza place. He was a great guy- so nice- a friend joked about Tony hitting a homer for us and he didn't want to commit. So, I let him off the hook and said, "Steal a base then" (he was not fast) and the rest is history as he had a great game and stole his first major league base that night. You can look it up!

Outside the Royals, I was a Mays and Conigliaro guy- Strat educates you about players and I played oldtimer basic a lot and fell in love with those guys. 

The Royals became such a poorly run team after Ewing Kaufman died however. I was a season ticket holder like my dad before me, but they were so badly operated I gave up and for a few years boycotted them. Their resurgence these past few years have changed that of course, I guess I'm a band wagon guy. During their 2014 season, I never bought in the full boat as they seemed lucky to me but they were exciting. Last year they won me back with how they played their games. This was the Best Royal's Team ever in 2015 over the 1977-1980 teams. 

Wolfman:  How did you hear about SOM Baseball?  When did you first begin to play the game?

Bart:  I watched my 2 older brothers play at first. I would sit at the table and watch them play- I was about 5 then (1964). I received my first SOM Baseball set, the 1920-30 oldtimers basic teams a year or two later. Man I played that set all the time and then I added more old timer teams plus the current seasons, etc ... And it all went crazy I guess after that as I became the Strat guy. 

Wolfman:  What is your history participating in leagues (face-to-face or computer based)?

Bart:  There are not many people in my area who play in a face to face league. I was in one league for 2-3 years about 20 years ago but we couldn't keep it going. I've been in mail and now computer leagues since I was a teenager. I'm in Tracball (a tough AL only league ) for almost 30 years now. I'm also in a 1962 Retro league and a current NL league, I also just joined a 1923 Retro league that added Negro League players for the era which is so far a blast and a real challenge. 

Wolfman:  Do you have any special memories when you participated in the National Conventions with us in the 70's?  Do you still participate in any type of SOM Baseball Tournaments?

Bart:  Those Urbana tournaments were so great. As you know I took a greyhound by myself at 15 for the first one. It was amazing to be playing real live gamers that shared my love. I remember Willie McCovey stealing home to win a game (only had Russ Gibson left to pinch hit). I remember the lucky Dr. Pepper bottle I carried around and the marathon first version games of Strat basketball (more like chess). Mainly I remember the people I met - great people

(After the Urbana Tournaments ended) I tried other Strat Tournaments for awhile - the competition was fantastic but frankly the personal aspects were lacking, there were some unpleasant people (often running the tournaments) who would belittle people, mock them and just be very arrogant with certain participants. For example, making fun of a 12 year old for drafting his favorite player - just some guys who's social awareness did not match their IQ. 

Wolfman:  Ok Bart, now lets move into the replays you are doing, a type of tournament with teams from many eras.  Is doing personal replays something you have done over the years?  Is there a certain way how you play your replays?

Bart:  I love projects that start with a "What If?" premise. I try to play a season tournament when the cards come out every year, a progressive format where teams are seeded 1-30 based on their records. The first round is 1 game at the lower seeds parks, then a 3 game series, 5 game series and finally a 7 game series. There are are always lots of upsets in the first rounds which creates some intense games.

I also do played replays - right now, I'm recreating the Royal's history using "as played" -up to 1974 half way. 

I also do mixed era leagues that I call Championship Leagues -based on how the European soccer leagues are played where the best of the best teams go into a super league. I try and create interesting story lines or matchups for each of these Championship Leagues.

Wolfman:  Now, what is the purpose of these Championship Leagues? How do you decide which teams to use?  What is the logic for determining who becomes the champion team of your league or tourney?

Bart:  A lot of these tourneys are a mix of what would be interesting team match ups, often just based on the new sets that are coming out. I often have a theme. For instance, I just did a league of near miss teams such as the 1961 Tigers and similar teams like this. I have 2 favorites leagues I setup in one tourney where I set up the 8 greatest teams of all time using my own criteria along with Rob Neyer's book about his thoughts about what were the greatest baseball teams ever. He made cases for the teams he thought should be acknowledged and I tweaked it. For example, I added the 1941 Dodgers because they won my first super tournament years before. I then created a 2nd division of the 8 most undeserving champions ever such as the 1985 Royals, the 1973 Mets, 1919 Reds, etc. One was called the Skill division and the other the Luck division, There was some interleague play just to add a wild card element. At the end the winners of each division would play in a WS which saw the 1939 Yankees kill the 1919 Reds.

The next championship tourney I just started feels like it's going to be very exciting and a tight one. I am having a decade tournament of all the league champion teams that had not been in any league before - if you win your decade tournament then your in this league, the AL and NL versions.

This resulted in a very even group with very few underachieving teams. I just love the match up possibilities such as Babe Ruth of the 1916 Sox against The bash brothers of Oakland A's of 1988? That stuff just blows me away. (At the time of this interview) I' m about 10 games in for each team and everyone is about .500 except 1916 Sox who are at 0-8. They had some tough injuries early on you see.

I also have added Japanese and Negro League teams to this tourney to make it interesting as well. 

Wolfman:  So how would you do your tourney with the 2015 based teams just released?

Bart:  In the 2015 tourney I am doing, K.C. is seeded #1 against #30 Phillies with the winner advancing then. Then #2 seeded St Louis would play against the #29 seed, etc. At the end of round 1 there will be 15 teams so I do have to play a second chance game for teams who lost in a tough fashion in round 1. This year the #3 seeded Pirates lost to Atlanta where the Pirates had 2 runners thrown out at the plate (1 in 9th) and a home run that was robbed. The Tigers lost in last inning of their game. Verlander had a 2 hitter and 2-0 lead going into the 9th but Teixieria's 3 run homer wins it, so they may get a second shot. The 2nd round is two out of three with the higher seed getting 2 home games and that's how it progresses into next round and so on.

Wolfman:  Can share any stats linked to this tournament you have discussed?

Bart:  I don't have a website Just Files on the computer. Follow my Twitter for game by game notices of my active leagues lol (@Stratewing) Chris Sale this weekend in the current tourney did an amazing thing as he struck out 15/15 batters to start the game. There was a run and 2 hits in there somewhere but that was as amazing a feat as I've ever experienced. He ended up with 16 k's in 8 innings, a little bit of a downer though. 

Wolfman:  Why do you like doing these replay/tournaments? What is the satisfaction you receive from doing them?

Bart:  I am such a baseball history guy, it keeps the sport alive for me. It's just interesting to see how different eras played the game. I love learning about different guys as well as appreciating the skills of lesser players pertinent to that era. In 1911, you gotta have a minus arm catcher to survive. In my 1923 league I realized Bingo Demoss has great value as a "1" fielder with a 23 error at 2b despite having a bad bat. Then there are players like Topper Rigney who have had their brief moments in the sun and how some other players keep showing up on winning teams with such great names like Crush Holloway. I also noticed I need some time to appreciate or judge each era of baseball I have lived through. The 90's used to bore me when I was playing in leagues, I mean draft leagues are fine then but I didn't do any replays. Now it's 15-20 years later and I'm enjoying playing the 1993 Toronto in my Championship 6 league and I can see how special they were as a team. 

Wolfman:  Is there any tips you can give to our readers about doing replays to make them more enjoyable?

Bart:  Well that's the beauty of Strat, you can do whatever you want. There are a lot of great league ideas on various forums that I have read. I've even stolen some. I would say the key is to start off with what you love whether it's a certain player or a team and then build it from there, or ask one of these "What If" questions. Like, what if this team had this one added bonus (I once did a replay of the 67 White Sox giving them Joe Morgan of the Astros at 2b and they won).

A lot of people get put off by the long seasons. They don't have time to get 162 games done for each team in your league. But then, you can have short seasons, or tournaments which is why I play several leagues/tournaments all at once is because I do tire of a particular league and I need another distraction. I've been playing a 1962 As Played League for over a decade and I am finally into September. I also read books about the Era I want to play to make it come alive more for me. The Pitch that Killed - 1920 Crazy 08 for 1908 -I'm fascinated by 1908 and that lead to the 1908 Pirates getting into my near misses league as no one talks about this team and that they were right there for the pennant. The player pictures and ball park pictures add a lot to the game, so I owe those members of Len Durrant's team a lot of gratitude for their help with this. 

Wolfman:  We always ask those we interview if they have any tips or advice for our members that could help them with success with their own game playing?  Are there certain strategies you use that bring you more success with your teams?  What is the key to building a winning team in your opinion?

Bart:  I lean towards defense up the middle but I'm not afraid to put defensive eyesores on the corners. The new hold rules make a good defensive 1b nice -these are the teams I manage best that I've found. I think there are lots of ways to win though, balance is very important though. Obviously your talent needs to fit into the ball park you selected. In general does your whole team fit together?  Can you maximize your lesser players by accenting their strengths? Don't get caught with a mish mash of different skill sets that interferes with the flow of your team.  

Don't be afraid to zig when everyone else is zagging ....

I often use unconventional lineups. I've learned to put a low DP (double play hitter) player second even if not a typical #2 hitter.

If your SP's (starting pitchers) are not elite but good move them down to 3/4 spot and go with your 3rd-4th starters against other team's aces. 

I'm not afraid to go with a closer below a 3 rating- I will pitch a reliever with a good card rated 1 or 2 at closer over a bad 3 rated guy. You be surprised how rarely it impacts. 

I hate high + hold pitchers.

Wolfman:   Have you ever tried to play the on-line baseball leagues that Strat-o-matic Offers now known as Baseball 365?

Bart:  Not yet, I'm not against this type of play but for me I don't need the challenge of paying for more games when I've got all these cards and computer seasons already. I could do another one off season maybe. 

Wolfman:  Have you had any special experiences (certain games that stand out in your mind that you played or series you played) whether done in your replays or in leagues or face to face play? Memorable games let's say.

Bart:  Besides the game I had with Chris Sales, that I mentioned before there was John Maine of N.Y. Mets  in the final 2006 Tournament series who no hit the Tigers while being at a fatigue level 8 for the last out. I've had 28 no hitters including 2 perfect games so far. I only count games I manage and not auto played games. Steve Busby was my first perfecto with the 1975 set that I played in my bedroom at age 17. My 2nd one came 2 years ago in my Tracball League, a terrible Ryan Dempster (Tex, his card) against me.

The Most Hr's in a Season: Babe Ruth 1920, 73 in my first Championship League

Best Batting Average: Ted Williams (41) and Al Simmons (27) both hit .400

Most Wins: Wilbur Wood 1972, 29

Best ERA: Don Sutton 1972, 1.36

Wolfman:  Why do you personally like playing SOM? What is there about this game that you like and appreciate?

Bart:  I love sports board games - I have collected them for a long time and I like to play different ones but nothing compares to Strat's combination of accuracy and playability. I've been playing another computer game where you can be a GM and or manage There's a lot to like there with all the things you can get into building a team but the actual game play suffers greatly as the results come off as forced or artificial, there are too many games won or lost in last inning. My gut says this game isn't very authentic. I'm so old school that those cards (from SOM) feel so good in your hand and just looking at them sometimes is so much fun. 

Wolfman:  So thanks Bart for spending time with us. Good Luck in your replays and your Champion Seasons ..

And if a member of the newsletter wanted to contact you or had some questions for you, is this possible and if so what is the best way to do it?

Bart:  They can either contact me via Twitter at my Twitter Address I gave before or my email is: gbewing@sbcglobal.net  Thank You Wolfman

Wolfman:  All the best and thank you Bart.

============================

(Wolfman:  The following is the original Email I received from Bart describing his current replays including a summary of the Championship Replay Tournaments he conducts with the various sets of teams as he described in his interview, to give our readers more examples of what Bart's various tourneys are based upon, enjoy ...)

March 2016, email from Bart:

I play a lot of tournaments and seasons as played replays along with what I call Championship seasons based on a soccer terminology - basically mixing a bunch of interesting teams from different eras often linked upon a specific theme.

My season tourneys use 1 game live or dye with teams seeded 1-30 (or whatever) for the first round, then a best of 3 game series, 5 games and finally 7 games.

One of my current projects are played replays currently managing the K.C. Royals 1974 (I am recreating all Royals seasons from 1969 on. This is not a great team but surprisingly they are 5 games up in June which is kind of shocking ….).

I am also nearing end of a 1962 and 1968 replays.

Championships Tourneys: -I just started Championship Tourney 6 (actually there are 7 tourneys I will be playing, one is out of order)

This current one is looking like a very good one. The premise I had each decade playoff for a spot AL and NL. Caveats- couldn't duplicate a team I played in previous championship.

Teams are from the 1910’s: the 1916 Boston Red Sox and 1916 Brooklyn (beat out 1915 Red Sox and Philly and 1911-1914 teams)

the 20's: 1924 Washington and 1927 Pittsburgh

the 30's: 1934 Tigers and 1935 Cubs

the 40's: 1942 Cardinals and Yankees

the 50's
: 1958 Yanks 1957 Milwaukee

the 60's: 67 Red Sox and Cardinals (62 Giants won but I am sick of playing them with the 1962 season so the 1967 Cards beat 1960 Pirates for the spot and I think it will work better). Cards won the preseason tourney.

the 70's: 1976 Royals 1970 Reds (1975 Reds won but I realized they would dominate league and I just bought a 1970 set on ebay -very under-rated team so I replaced them with the 70 Reds who should be strong)

the 80's: 1988 A's and the 1987 Cards

the 90's: 1993 Toronto and the 1993 Phils

the 2000's:  2008 Angels and the 2004 Astros


I just finished Championship 5 which was based on theme of forgotten teams that were better than credited. The 1961 Tigers and 1961 Reds will face each other in the WS, other teams who participated include the 1908 Pirates (everyone thinks about great Cubs-Giants rivarly but the Pirates were right there); 1983 Braves, 1956 Cleveland -Herb Score and a Japanese team Orix-1994 (Ichiro rookie year) they finished 6/8.

Championship 7 (played before this one) was the most interesting for me. I pick top 8 teams in history from the Rob Neyer dynasties book and my own opinion - this league proved him wrong on some (Cleveland 1995 not elite). I had these 8 in 1 colossal division called the Skill Division. This is also the order of finish:

1939 Yankees
1976 Reds
1927 Yankees
2001 Seattle
1998 Yankees
1970 Baltimore
1995 Cleveland
1941 Brooklyn

1941 Brooklyn got in because they won my first ultimate tournament which had 128 team and started in the 1 game do or die format.

The other division was called the Luck Division which included the most undeserving champions of all time. These teams included in order of finish

1919 Cincinnati Reds
2010 SF Giants
2001 Arizona (they lost to Brooklyn in that first ultimate tournament)
1973 Mets
1985 Royals
1988 LA Dodgers
1914 Boston Red Sox hitless wonders
2006 St Louis Cards

there was limited inner league play just enough to make losing a game to the Luck division was a killer for a skill team. The 1939 Yankees met the 1919 Reds in WS and swept.

Championship 4 had my closest finish 1984 Tigers beating the 1948 Red Sox and the 1957 Yankees by 1 game, the 1975 Red Sox by 3 games and in NL the 1992 Pirates went to a one game playoff vs. the 1992 Braves to win. The 1984 Cubs were 2.5 back. The Tigers won the world series.

Championship 3 had the Negro League team, the Birmingham Barons beat the 1934 Yanks out by a game. The 1930 Barons lead by S Paige were enhanced with a few ringers from the 1930 Negro league. The 1908 Giants true to life fought the 1908 Cubs tooth and nail for a 1 game win and beat Birmingham in WS.

Championship 2 had the 1948 Cleveland run away with it winning by 11 games over the 1980 KC in the AL. In the NL the surprising 1959 Giants beat the 66 Dodgers by 1 game as both teams won  over 100 games whereas no other team was over .500. SF swept Cleveland in WS.

Championship 1 in their league playoffs saw the 1920 White Sox win in AL but lost to 1954 Tribe in playoffs.

Bart
 


(
Wolfman: Dear members, if you would like to share with our members about an exciting replay you are currently doing or have played in the past and have this appear in a future issue of our newsletters, you will find my email address below.  We would like to do our best to report in this newsletter all the various ways in which people are playing Strat-o-matic Baseball. Once again I thank my old friend Bart for helping us to open up the newsletter in this new manner with REPLAYS!!)
 



Contained inside this exciting issue of Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter:
(to view the various interviews, articles, columns and special sections click on the links {underlined} and this will take you to the appropriate webpage)
 

  RETURN TO NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE

  INTERVIEW with DON AUGUST, Ex-MLB Pitcher, Don August was a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers for four seasons. He talks with the Wolfman about his insights on the game of baseball and what experiences he had during his major league career, as we continue to interview more ex-MLB players, those who we recognize their names from their Strat-o-matic cards in past seasons.

  ARTICLE with MATT EDDY, Matt returns with his first article for USBN discussing ten keys how to set your playoff roster.  Matt is a key editor for Baseball America as well as helps his SOM baseball league with their blog and website.

  ARTICLE with CHUCK TINKLER, The next article at the "Chuck Stop" by Chuck, one of our contributing writers, as he finishes his series about the "Strat Master".

  ARTICLE with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO, Wolfman takes a good hard look at the new "Baseball Daily" game play with SOM Baseball as he decides to manage the 2016 Chicago Cubs day by day.  He discusses how this new level of the computer game works.

  SOM BASEBALL LEAGUE REPORT with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO -- the editor of "The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" and 2012 CBA Champion, talks to members of various Strat-o-matic Baseball Leagues that he has discovered on the internet about the history of their league and their experiences. This is the first time we get to speak to a League Commissioner of a Baseball Retro League and how these leagues are different than the normal draft league.  To read the interview, click on the link below:

INTERVIEW with Vinny Manchini, EGML Commissioner, P-VII (Computer)
 

  BASEBALL BOOK REVIEW with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO, editor of "The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" takes a peek at the 2016 Prospect Handbook published by Baseball America and tells you why this book is needed for SOM League Managers using the latest card sets.

  RECOMMEND ON-LINE SOM RESOURCES -- On-line Strat-o-matic and Baseball related websites
that offer amazing information, special tools and products to improve your game play that we strongly recommend. In most cases, we have had personal contact with these sources who agree with the principle to work together and help promote each other.

  BOOKS TO DIE FOR and Become a BASEBALL GURU -- This page is specifically about special books we are finding that either will expand your insights about the game of Baseball, help you in the creation of your current league teams or with your replays and learn more about the Strat-o-matic Baseball Game and Game Company's history.  We have a special arrangement with Acta Sports, who is a publisher of a number of great baseball books (including Bill James Handbooks) to offer for our members a 10% discount. We will continue to add more books to this page in the future as we uncover other gems our members should know about.


 




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