GREAT MOMENTS IN STRAT
Have
you experienced a game of Strat-O-Matic so thrilling, unique or bizarre that
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WHEN SCORES – AND EMOTIONS – RUN HIGH
This game
was played with so much intensity that the loser of the game,
ripped up the SOM Board and walked out of the house! The year was 1978, my
STRAT buddies all agreed to coach a team for one year. There was a 16-game schedule, we were re-playing the 1977 schedule of the team
that we chose to coach. At the end of the season we held a playoff and Super
Bowl for the champions.
My buddy
and I were coaching the hapless New Orleans Saints against my other friend's
team, the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys were the Super Bowl Champs of
1977, and they were a powerful team. We built up a 35-7 lead at halftime with
the ‘Aints. Archie Manning was picking apart
the mighty
He was
speechless. At halftime, he couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed the SOM board,
ripped it right down the middle, told me that he wasn't paying for it and
walked out of the house. We were stunned! We couldn’t believe that we had
gotten to him that bad!
Needless
to say, he came back after lunch and we made up and finished the game. The ‘Aints won, 42-17. The
Cowboys went on to finish 11-3 that year, and they wound up winning the Super
Bowl for the neighborhood STRAT league. It is a memory that we will never
forget.
Kelly Hibbs,
SEEING DOUBLE, Part I
I have
finished replaying the 1967 baseball season of my favorite team, the
Braves. I used exact lineups as provided
by the Retrosheet website. On June 18 of that year, Don Wilson of the
Houston Astros tossed a no-hitter at the Braves in
the Astrodome. The score was 2 to
0. I replayed that game and the outcome
was the same. A no-hitter by
Ron Van Berkum,
North English,
SEEING DOUBLE, Part II
I introduced
my girlfriend to Strat-O-Matic this month (October 2006). In our first game, she was playing the ‘27
Yankees versus my ‘61 Tigers. Both teams
battered the opposing starters (Waite Hoyt for the Yanks, Jim Bunning for the
Tigers). In a see-saw game that saw
several lead changes, the Tigers finally went on top in the 12th inning, taking
a 7-5 lead, thanks mainly to a two-out fielding chart reading off Yankee SS
Mike Gazella’s card that lead to a two-out SINGLE*,
starting a rally. This is the same Gazella my girlfriend substitued
for Mark Koenig earlier (and about which I remarked at the time, “You might not
want to take him out”).
So, it was up
to Terry Fox, who I had brought in in the 10th
inning, to close things out. Fox managed
to allow a run, then put men on 2nd and third, with
Ben Paschal due up, and two outs.
Paschal had already homered twice, so the
intentional walk seemed to make sense.
Who did that bring to the plate?
Mike Gazella.
Needless to
say, Gazella doubled, plating two runs and leading my
girlfriend to chant his name over and over again. What a great introduction to a great game!
Charles Eichman,
PADILLA DOESN'T DISAPPOINT THE FLOTILLA
My dad and I
are playing through the Orioles 2005 season and I play as the opponents. A few games ago we had the Phillies at the Orioles, Vicente Padilla vs. Erik
Bedard. The Phillies won
6-0 behind Padilla’s 1-hit complete game shutout. Not only was that the closest we had come to
seeing a no-hitter during our replay, it was ironic because I am good friends
with and graduated from high school with the guys who started the Padilla
Flotilla fan club (which was on ESPN by the way). Also, the only
away games they could travel to were those at
rowing, saluting, and bowing in unison as they watched Padilla’s gem
of an outing. Pretty
awesome stuff.
Scott D.,
25
YEARS, AND GUESS WHICH TEAM GETS NO-HIT
I will always
remember Columbus Day 2006. After 25 years of playing SOM baseball, I had my
first no-hitter. I sent the lowly 1978 Mets up to Fenway
to face the hard-hitting 1978 Red Sox. Jerry Koosman,
with 3 wins all of 1978, no-hit the Red Sox. Besides Fred Lynn being out with
injury (Gary Hancock replaced him in CF), all other regulars were in the
lineup. I don't know what was more bizarre: the no-hitter or Bruce Boisclair getting 2 SBs in the
game.
Mark Simpson, Colonia, N.J
AN 8-YEAR-OLD’S JOY
My oldest son
(8 years) finally started to show a real interest in baseball this summer (much
to my relief), so I figured it was time to introduce him to Strat-O-Matic,
which I haven't played in 15 years or so.
I dug my old game and all of my cards (many sets) out and we put
together an 8 team league using players mixed from all generations in one
league and a mixture of stars and more pedestrian players ... like real
baseball. We are playing the basic game
with a mixture of advanced rules we’ve mixed in, a very fun way to play.
Our first battle featured
My son’s lone run also came in the 3rd on a Kelly Gruber solo blast.
Dave Boswell went 6 2/3 and Mark Littell did a
nice job in 1 1/3 innings of relief, bringing my son’s team up in the bottom of
the ninth. Dick Hall attempted to finish the game for the save.
Imagine my son's excitement as Phil Bradley doubled to open the bottom
half of the inning and Mickey Mantle followed with a walk. Gruber again came through, following with an
RBI-single scoring Bradley and sending Mantle to 3rd.
Lonnie Frey popped out and Dwight Smith ended the game heroically with
an RBI-single, scoring Mantle to win the game with Mike Marshall picking up a
nice win in relief.
As Joel ran around the house yelling and screaming in victorious joy, I
knew at that moment that Strat-O-Matic Baseball had just added another lifelong
fan to the ranks.
Thanks, Strat-O-Matic ... the game simply rules.
Rochester - Randy Ready, Chili Davis,
Eric Davis, Don Mattingly, Carlton Fisk, Danny Tartabull,
Lee Lacy, Ozzie Smith, Jim Gantner
Todd and Joel Colegrove
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