Chicago was fantastic. I can't express what a gracious host Doug Schuyler continues to be for the APBA community. I am very happy that I managed a fantastic photo of this future APBA Hall-of-Famer. Below is a shot of Doug and his famous throwing motion-note the dice in the air!
Who won? We all did-it was an APBA tournament! Well, technically Bob Eller and his powerful 2015 Cubs won. I had the privilege of playing Bob and his Cubs in Division play. We had an awesome set of three games, with a walk-off win by the Cubs and my go-ahead run being gunned down by a throw from center field to home. Not just a roll of the dice with this guy, many wise managerial moves to get to victory. But you still need a dose of the old "Me hit ball hard" to win.
Here is a shot of the Championship game between Bob and Craig's 1979 Brew Crew.
How did my 2006 Twins do? Not so great, but I still believe in them: 2-7.
MVP: Joe Mauer
He hit a studly .424 for the tournament.
Over 9 games he collected:
9 Runs scored
6 Walks
3 Home Runs
3 Doubles
Stole 2 Bases
and knocked in 12!
Runner-up:
Rod Carew
He hit .432 for the Tourney
Over 9 games:
10 runs scored
2 Home Runs
3 Doubles
2 Stolen Bases
Carew DH'ed so I can't give him the MVP when Mauer worked every inning behind the dish as an 8.
Special Mention:
Bautista was a great pinch hitter!
Tom Kelly gave him the nod three times and he hit 2 doubles in 3 plate appearances. All late in games. I used Tyner (F) as a pinch runner for him and Tyner scored twice. A deadly combination.
Two problems that lead to 7 losses: Outside of Carew and Mauer, the team hit under .250 and I gave up a ton of 8th inning runs in two games.
In division play I faced Doug's 2015 Royals, a squad I managed in the TCABT in Minneapolis, the 2009 Yankees, and the 2015 Cubs. My team was the oldest team in my division dating all the way back to 2006.
Here are some shots of the action that I did not post via Facebook while in Chicago.
I look forward to seeing all these people again and the next tournament in Chicago.
Chicago is the 23rd of July! What a great venue, and an even better set of managers at this one.
I am taking another run at at trophy with the 2006 Minnesota Twins. I think they are one of the best Twins teams on APBA paper. PLUS, and it is a big plus, I added the 1977 Rod Carew to this team.
Doug Schuyler is the organizer of this APBA tourney and it is very well run, to say the least. This year, for the summer tourney he added a great twist. You can add one player from the history of your franchise.
Thus, the 1977 Carew added to my 2006 Twins.
I have been running the numbers and I think I will hit the team this way:
1. Rod Carew DH (F) .388/.570/.449
2. Joe Mauer C-8 .347/.507/.429
3. Justin Morneau 1B-4 .321/.559/.375
4. Torii Hunter CF-3 .278/.490/.336
5. Michale Cuddyer RF-3 .284/.504/.362
6. Luis Castillo 2B-8 (F) .296/.370/.358
7. Jason Bartlett SS-8 .309/.393/367
8. Nick Punto 3B-5 (F) .290/.373/.352
9. Lew Ford LF-2 (F) .226/.312/.287
Defense 1
ROTO:
Santana A xyz
Bonser C xz
Liriano A k
Radke C z
I have decided to stagger the good pitching, so each team I face sees an A in every series. Thus splitting Santana and Liriano from the traditional #1 and #2.
The pen is STACKED so I hope to get a solid 5 out of Bonser and Radke, then turn loose the cannons in the Pen.
The Pen:
Reyes A&B* xy
Nathan A&C* kxz
Neshek A* kxz
Crain B* yz
Crain can get the one time boost to an A*if needed, but Reyes and Nathan will throw a whole bunch of innings 6-9.
The Bench:
Jason Tyner (F) OF-2 Pinch runner
Michael Redmond (S) C-8 Extra catcher
Luis Rodriguez 3B-3, 2B-7, SS-7, 1B-3 Utility Player
There is not as much speed as I like on a team here, so Tyner may play an important role late in tight games.
Granted, I am facing great teams with great players added like: Ruth, Koufax, Frank Thomas, and Brett, but this time of year is our spring training, and as a manager, I look at this team and think: "We have a much better than average chance!"
