Pre-Tournament Season Thoughts on Strategy

Here we go, the most wonderful time of the APBA year: Tournament Season!

Regionally (Upper Mid-west), we start in Michigan, go to Minnesota, back to Illinois, and then Chicago. 

I will do an extensive blog entry on each tournament I am attending in the near future and a recap of each tournament after I play. Today, I want to chat about getting a team ready for tournament play. 

Team selection.  It seems there are two ways to go:

1. Play to win

I eased in and out of this approach.  I took the 2004 Minnesota Twins to Chicago for Doug's tourney and had a fantastic time.  Intimidated at first as I was a rookie but the group of guys are fantastic so that was quickly put to rest. I did better that I thought with that team and got a feel for tournament play. I then started to select teams that may actually win it: I took the 1919 Wt. Sox to TCABT III and the 1908 Cubs to TCABT IV.  The progression started, I was reading a ton of books on Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox and took that team, but I am not a White Sox fan.  I then studied the 1908 Cubs and took them to the Twin Cites, as a Cardinals fan, this was heresy.  I did well but did not win it all.  I then changed tack to...



2. Play a team you love

I grew up in West-Central Minnesota, and from a baseball family that loved the Twins.  My Dad was a huge fan of Killer, but thought he hit into too many double plays, and he was right.  I moved to Kansas for graduate school and followed the Royals, then here to Illinois and became a Cards fan, but always in a clear order, with the Twins first.  I now only play Twins, Royals, or Cards teams in tournaments, with one exception (the 1990 Reds). 

I really think the 2006 Twins are a great APBA team and the '65 and '69 Twins are solid also, as are the 1977 Twins.  I am playing a few of these teams this spring ('77 and '69 Twins) and I am taking the 2015 Royals to TCABT V. 

I would like to give the 1987 or 1991 Twins a run, but I fear a 0-8 record and lots of bench time watching others roll. 

Practice! Just like the Big Show. 

I have played hundreds of games with the 1977 Twins, I know them very well.  I've played my own line-up and the actual, so they are my base.  

When I am selecting a team for a tournament, I pick a few options and play them against the '77 Twins to get a feel for them.  How do they hit?  What is the fielding like?  Hit and run?  Lots of Ks?  Good Pen?  Are the slow? Fast? You can see all this with a glance at the cards, but playing them against a known quantity really helps.  

Take a close look at your competition.  Not everyone picks studly teams to tear-up the tournament. You may face a guy like me playing the 1991 Twins because I love them, .

Example: 

You see that in the brackets you first face Berg with the 1991 Twins and play two games.

You will face:

Jack Morris a B y and Kevin Tapani a B yz for your first two games.

In Round 2 you play the 1995 Indians, a tough tournament-tested team.  

Think about your rotation.  Do you need your #1 and #2 against the 1991 Twins?  Should you save your ace for the Tribe?  I think you should.  The Twins do not hit well and they pitch Bs, with one A in the pen.  You should save the top of your rotation for Cleveland, after that you must play the 4 in order, but you may get 2 wins against the Twins with the bottom 1/2 of your order and give you a better chance against the Indian's #3 and #4. 

Be ready to use your bench.  Moving to that tier 1 defense makes a difference, especially with suspect pitching it can save a game. Do the math at home.  If you can move up a notch in defense later in the game, think about doing that.  Keep at least one fast runner on the bench, and do your defensive math.  I also keep an extra catcher and a utility infielder (could also be your fast runner) ready in case of injuries.  

It is also possible to make a double switch.  Try and upgrade either the outfield or infield with a F runner.  If you find a late situation and you want a fast runner on, he also may help the defense in a tight game.  It is hard to give up some offence, but fun to see that roll change when the defense is upgraded or only a F runner scores.