April 24, 2023
April 22, 2023
1916 Pittsburgh Pirates @ 1916 Boston Braves – April 22, 2023: Game 2
The Braves struck for two in the second and added another in the third. The Pirates could only manage one in the sixth as they drop the game three to one and the series two games to none. Baldy Rudolph went eight allowing one unearned run on three hits with one walk and two Ks. Tom Hughes got the save posting straight zeros in the ninth. Bullet Miller went nine in picking up the loss allowing three earned on six hits, four walks, and three whiffs. The Braves face the 1914 Giants in the next round.
April 19, 2023
1916 Boston Braves @ 1916 Pittsburgh Pirates – April 19, 2023 – Game 1
The Braves and Pirates had a scoreless duel until the eleventh inning when Sherry Magee hit a one-out single and scored on a triple by Fred Snodgrass. Lefty Tyler pitched an eleven-inning complete-game shutout allowing six hits and six walks while whiffing five for the win. Wilbur Cooper took the eleven-inning loss allowing one earned on seven hits, two walks, and six Ks.
1915 Cincinnati Reds @ 1914 New York Giants – April 19, 2023: Game 2
The Reds picked a fine time to get 18 scoreless innings from their offense. In two games, they had exactly one inning with more than four batters come to the plate and that one inning saw only five batters. These two games were more in line with what I expected as there were only eleven strikeouts over the two games. Christy Mathewson tossed another complete game shutout allowing five hits while whiffing one. The Giants advance and will face the winner between the 1916 Braves & Pirates.
1914 New York Giants @ 1915 Cincinnati Reds – April 19, 2023: Game 1
The Giants got hits, walks and were even hit by a couple of pitches while the Reds only had one inning where more than four batters entered the Batter’s Box. Fred Toney (A&Cy) went nine allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits, and seven walks while whiffing four and hitting two. Jeff Tesreau (Axw) went nine for the complete game shutout allowing four hits, one walk, and fanning five.
April 17, 2023
1914 St Louis Cardinals @ 1914 Philadelphia Phillies – April 17, 2023 Game 3
The Cardinals scored two in the first and matched it with two more in the third. The Phillies cut the lead to one in the bottom of five but St Louis got one back in the top of seven and shut Philadelphia out the rest of the way. Another game with a triple and three stolen bases, so I am enjoying Deadball baseball. We had twelve strikeouts, so maybe that is about normal for this era as we had 37 total for the series of three games. I may even learn to enjoy low strikeouts and much fewer home runs compared to Modern Baseball. I do enjoy complete games and unless a pitcher gives up five runs, much less gets down-graded, I let them pitch the whole game. Cards advance!
1914 Philadelphia Phillies @ 1914 St Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals pushed three runs over the plate in the first. Dots Miller had two triples in a three-for-four game with an RBI and scored twice. There were two errors and three stolen bases with one caught stealing. The three walks seem about right but the eleven strikeouts might be a tad high for a game not pitched by Walter Johnson. The three-game series is tied one apiece so we head back to Philly for the rubber game.
Like visiting an old friend…
This weekend, I was going through as many old BallScore games as I could find to track how many of my APBA Baseball Teams/Seasons I have played games with. I also came across a tournament I started using the 64 teams from 1914-1916 including the Federal League teams. I hadn’t quite made it through the first round, so I figured I could at least play those games to use those teams. The next game in the tournament is the 1914 St Louis Cardinals at the 1914 Philadelphia Phillies. The game was good as the Cardinals led early, but after starter Slim Sallee was perfect through three, the Phillies struck for two then added an insurance run in the bottom of eight on a homer by Hal Irelan. Irelan hit one in 160+ ABs in around 65 games, so it wasn’t a high-probability result. I love this game!
April 9, 2023
April 4, 2023
2023 APBA Cooperstown Tournament
I was excited to be at The National Baseball Hall of Fame for the very first time. We arrived a few minutes early and the doors were locked. Some of the organizers of our group were inside setting up the Learning Center where we played our games.
The first time I have ever been to the Hall of Fame and I had a good time. Several people made this weekend possible, my wife Chastity, Randy Coryer, Geoff Giordano, John Cochrane, and Kim Blackburn – who let me use her car for the trip up and back to Saratoga Springs, then Cooperstown. Several people anonymously paid for meals which was totally unexpected but very much appreciated!
Geoff Giordano had the idea and worked with several other people to carry out his brainstorm!
From bottom left: Randy Coryer – 1981 Expos, Bill Blair – 1970 Orioles, Dom Provisiero – 1958 Yankees, Anthony Orlando – 1998 Yankees, Ray Dunlap – 2022 Yankees, Jim Sce – 1963 Yankees, Dennis St Pierre – 1969 Orioles & John Cochrane – Tournament Director. Back Row from left: Geoff Giordano – Event Creator, Skeet Carr – Event Observer, Gus Kottis – 1954 Indians, Dave Hummel – 1993 White Sox, Dick Moore – 1977 Phillies, Pete Simonelli – Event Observer, Ryan Morrison – 2019 Astros, Steve Ryan – 2020 Braves, Steve Skoff – 1911 Giants & Roy Langhans – 1911 Giants.
I had a blast seeing many of my APBA friends and meeting new friends. My wife helped me come up with the idea of getting everyone in our group to sign a baseball to commemorate my first visit to the Hall. I passed it around the room and was fortunate enough to get all of the players as well as the people who didn’t play in the tournament.
One of the Hall of Fame employees, who was overseeing our group and offering assistance as well as answering any questions, named Adam Halay, (Adam’s Signature is to the right of the logo) also got a very special signature on the baseball the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame – Josh Rawitch. His signature is just to the left of the National Baseball Hall of Fame logo below.
These are just a few of the items on the walls. At the bottom right of the picture, one of the division standings sheets can be seen. I believe it is the other division as the divisions I was in only had six managers and teams.
After the tournament, we had the pleasure of a Zoom call with the author of The Ultimate Handbook for APBA Cards & APBA Hall of Famer Ed Zack. Mr Zack has some health issues, but his smile brightened up the room and he was so gracious as he sang the praises of those who are carrying on the herculean task of updating The Handbook in its current online form.
While I spent most of the day playing my favorite tabletop baseball game, APBA Basic, I did have some time to get pictures of the plaques where the former players, managers, executives, and contributors are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Johnny Bench is one of my all-time favorite players! Did you know he was born on Dec 7 a few years after Pearl Harbor?
Charles Dillon Stengel is my all-time favorite character in the game. Called ‘Casey’ because he was from Kansas City!
At the time of this picture, I thought I was having the highlight of the day. I was down 9-0 against Legendary APBA Ambassador, player, and all-around great guy Roy Langhans in the bottom of the eighth inning when I scored 10 runs and held on to win 10-9!
This is a picture from the tournament finals. I had the honor of playing Steve Skoff, three-time winner of the APBA National Convention Tournament. This was my first time playing Mr Skoff and I am pretty sure I am more nervous than he is at this point. That is my big Unusual Play Card on top of the Basic Manual.
Lifelike statues, which is probably what would be expected in a museum.
I took pictures of most of the plaques and a few individual close-ups of players who I have read about and really enjoyed their stories.
Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth & Walter Johnson.
Some of the men who were enshrined from 1952-1956.
A few of the players who were enshrined from 1956-1964.
Enshrinees from 1964-1971.
The Buck O’Neill Display.
A locker area in the Learning Center with Uniforms, Gloves, Shoes, & Baseballs
A hallway with several of baseball’s Pioneers.
My dream job before I visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame was a bullpen catcher in the Major Leagues. Now my dream job would be working at the Hall of Fame!
I was fortunate to take several pictures and buy a few gifts from the Hall of Fame Shop. This was one of my favorite days and as I said before, I would like to share the experience with my wife. She is much better at video and photography and would do a much better job for those who have never had a chance to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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