Are you actually going to roll out all these games? I sure
am. There is a computer version of
Stratomatic but I have no interest in it.
Part of the appeal for me is rolling the dice and looking at charts and
filling out the box score. I can’t imagine doing it any other way. So what’s this league all about? Glad you asked.
What do the mayors of Philadelphia have to do with this
league? Aside from lending their names to the Divisions, not much at all. Actually, nothing at all other than the
names. The four divisions are
Rendell and Street (that’s the NL) and Goode and Rizzo (the AL).
Who are the teams? There are 3 teams in each league for a
total of 12 teams. The Rendell
Division consists of the 1983 Phillies, 1993 Giants and the 1997 Marlins. The 1986 Astros, 1996 Braves and 1992
Pirates comprise the Street Division.
Over in the AL we have the 1985 Yankees, 1986 Royals and 1997 Mariners
in the Goode Division. The 1992
White Sox, 1987 A’s and 2011 Rangers inhabit the Rizzo Division.
How did you come up with that random bunch of teams? A
couple of factors. For starters
those are all teams that I own and can actually play with. That’s a big one. Older teams are not that easy to find,
especially popular ones. For example,
I really wanted the dominant pitching of the 1985 Royals, but I had to settle
for the hangover year of 1986 instead. But for one reason or another these are
all teams that I find interesting and would like to see how they do in a little
short season action. The 1997
Marlins are the only World Series winner in the bunch, but they are by no means
a great team. They made it into
the playoffs as a Wild Card and then put together a great run. On the flipside is a team like the 1993
Giants, who won 103 games and didn’t even make the playoffs. Maybe this is a shot at redemption for
them. I’m sure that they are psyched about it.
I didn’t want this to be a tournament of super teams. That
doesn’t really interest me at all. These are all real teams that are good at
some things and no so great in other areas. There are definitely favorites, but I don’t think anyone is
going to run away with the MOPS championship.
How is the league set up? Each team is going to play a total
of 18 games. The four division winners will then square off in two League
Championships and then a World Series to follow for supremacy of the City of
Brotherly love. I will then write
letters to the members of the winning team and let them know about their
accomplishments.
I chose an 18 game season for several reasons. For me to actually finish out this
league (which I’d very much like to do) I needed to have a realistic and
attainable goal. I think I can
manage an 18 game season. It works
out to 108 total games (and then the playoffs). I can do that without my life falling completely into a
stratomatic shaped sinkhole. I
also think 18 games is a good enough time for the good teams to emerge, but not
so long that a surprise team couldn’t steal one of the divisions.
Each team will play the other two teams in their division a
total of six games, and also a two game series against the three other teams in
their league. No interleague play
until the World Series. A DH in
the AL, not in the NL. Just like
the real thing. Rosters are 25
men. Four man rotations. Gentlemen’s rules regarding overworking
relievers. I’ll do my best to get players regular rest, but some guys are
definitely going to be out there everyday. There’s a lot at stake here. You tell Rickey that he’s going to sit the game out.
I generally play with Advanced Rules for the most part,
though some of the earlier teams in the league don’t have the info for minor
things like balks and wild pitches, so that gets left out.
Are we ready? Play ball!
No comments:
Post a Comment