THE TALK SHOW

Host: Glenn Guzzo

You can submit your question or insight on any Strat-O-Matic game to SOMTalkShow@aol.com. When you do, kindly include your name and town. Other gamers like to see that. And the display format below works better that way.

Reminder: Send us your “Great Moments in Strat” – your playing experiences that you just have to share.

BOBBY ABREU’S “3”

I am amazed at the controversy swirling around Bobby Abreu’s fielding prowess, or lack thereof.  Early in his career he was rated a “2” in right field and then slid to a “3” and, most recently, a “4”.  Why and how did his stock plummet so drastically?  I’m sure there are conspiracy theories about this topic, especially in light of his Gold Glove.  Something is rotten in the state of Philadelphia.  Who has it in for this guy?  What did he do to merit this treatment?

The 1973 Bill Buckner and Steve Garvey of the Dodgers were both “4’s”, but miraculously morphed into “1’s” in 1974.  Dave Parker’s 1976 “4” was changed to a “1” in 1977.  All of these players enjoyed strong fielding ratings for several years thereafter.  The Gold Glove voting played a large role in these cases, I would suspect.

     The greatest travesty I have endured in forty-plus years of Strat was the “1” handed to Davey Lopes in 1978.  That rating was beyond ludicrous and not reflective of that man’s ability or performance.  Lopes received his tarnished Gold Glove in 1978, and Strat-O-Matic fell into lockstep with the decision.

Mr. Parker was not the best defensive outfielder on his team, let alone the Gold Glove and “1” right fielder.  Bill Robinson was fundamentally solid in every aspect of his defensive play, although his arm was best suited for left field.  Robinson, of course, lacked Parker’s flare and star aura, so he never received his just due, somewhat like the ongoing Doug Glanville song.

I maintain a database of Strat ratings that spans many seasons, and I see consistency in fielding ratings, by and large, from year to year for individual players, which reinforces the credibility of the system that is used to assign the ratings.  For someone to be all over the map like Abreu really is unusual, and this bears deeper scrutiny.

Rick Zaborsky, Dublin, OH

Abreu hasn’t really been “all over the map,” nor have his defensive ratings “plummeted drastically.” He was a 3 in 2001 and 2002 and a 4 in 2003 and 2004. And his case is not analogous to Garvey-Buckner or to Parker-Lopes. Garvey (1B) and Buckner (LF) were full-time players at a single position for the first time in 1974 – they had not established defensive reputations there, nor had they reached their 30s (Abreu turned 31 before the 2005 season). When Parker (1977) and Lopes (1978) received their surprising Gold Gloves, SOM had a way to deal with that – award the traditional 1 but add high e-ratings, which debuted in ’77. Parker was an e16, the worst possible at that time. Abreu is a different case because he earns a low e-rating at a position where he had a significant history of mediocre/poor range ratings.

One analysis suggests that the myriad tools SOM has today for judging defensive ability has bypassed the Gold Glove voting. Those include scouts, more analytical statistics and vastly more reading material than earlier eras when the Gold Glove voting seemed to be the Gold standard. My observation is that the lack of an accepted standard for evaluating defense allows each of us to choose the standards we prefer to make our case for or against a player. We’re each going to disagree with SOM on a player or six, but the game company’s credibility in this area is strong. And I find that its research almost always is more extensive than that done by the people who challenge SOM’s judgment.

A MID-SUMMER’S DREAM

I am about to play the 1941 All-Star Game as part of my season replay. I don't want to lose my accumulated season statistics for the season since I've been at it for three years. How do I play the game without messing everything up? Thanks your help is greatly appreciated.

James Micek, Staten Island, NY

Assuming you are using at least Version 10, use SOM’s “Create All Star Game” feature (located in the League menu). As stated in the Help file, it works like this:

“You define two leagues (or two subleagues) and it will determine the All Stars, create a new league, add two teams and program the computer manager for those two teams - all with the click of a mouse! The only thing left for you to do is the fun part - playing the All Star game!

“When you run this function the "Create All Star Game" dialog will appear. Here are the components of the dialog:

“FIRST LEAGUE - Select the League (and subleague if appropriate) for the VISITING all-star team.

“SECOND LEAGUE - Select the League (and subleague if appropriate) for the HOME all-star team.

“ALL-STAR LEAGUE DISPLAY AREA - When an All Star game is created it is placed into a new league. This display area shows you the information that will be used to create this league. You can override the information, but be sure that you don't use a year/abbreviation combo that is already in use. You can alter the name of the teams and their abbreviations.

“OK - Create and save the All Star Game league. You play the all-star game at a later date by selecting either playing a league or non-league game.

“PLAY - Create, save and play the All Star Game league.”

If you want to choose different players than the computer would, you can create your own new league of two teams, draft the players you prefer and play that game separately, outside your 1941 league.

DIVISION 1-AA HAS A STRAT FAN

This may sound crazy but I am a huge 1-AA college football fan since I live in an area that is home to the SIU Salukis. I plan to buy the computer disk next fall when it comes out and may buy the current one soon to get my feet wet.

Q – Will you continue to keep 1AA as a part of the computer disc each year?

Q – Is there any way for it to come out earlier than late September/early October? Like late August to early September?

Dave Dollins

Doesn’t sound crazy at all. My next-door neighbor is from Minnesota and he’d much rather follow Division II and Division III teams than Division I. I-AA is still in the plans for next season. With the annual college football season kicking off in August, Strat-O-Matic would love to have its game out by then. The folks at SOM work under intense pressure to get their games out as soon as possible. The challenge here is the number of computer games the company is producing in that time – NFL and college football, hockey and basketball, with baseball hot on the heels of those games.

WILT

I read your article on Basketball strategy, and in it you stated that the knock on Wilt was that he only won two championships, especially since the only quality centers he played against were Russell, Thurmond, and Bellamy.

It could be argued that up until the ‘65-66 76ers, Wilt never played on a team that compared to those Celtics. Furthermore, Wilt DID dominate all those guys. The record book is filled with page-after-page with his stats. And even more remarkable, is that Wilt's teams came so close, so often. I could look it up, however it isn't that critical, but Wilt's TEAMS had several close game 7 losses – several by less than 4 points. His ‘64-65 76ers team (that went 40-40) lost a game 7 by a single point when “Havlicek stole the ball.”

His ‘66-67 76ers team (many experts tab them as the greatest team of all time) completely demolished the Celts, 4-1, and then beat the Warriors, and Thurmond, 4-2. In both series, Wilt completely outplayed those guys. His ‘67-68 76er team had a 3-1 lead over the Celtics in the playoffs, prompting even Auerbach to say that the shame of it was the fact that many people will not realize how great a player Russell was. The Celts did stage a great comeback, to win game 7 by 4 pts. But Billy Cunningham did not play in that series due to an injury, and Luke Jackson did not play in that game due to an injury. When Wilt was traded to the Lakers in '68, everybody assumed that LA would be unbeatable. However, they gutted much of their team in that trade, and Baylor was just a shell of his former self. It was basically Wilt and West, and when one had to go out (the only time Wilt left was if he was in foul trouble), the Lakers were in trouble. They did manage to lose a game 7 to an aging Celtic team by TWO pts in the finals.

And, you mentioned the advent of other great centers later on like Kareem, Unseld, and Cowens. Well, Wilt played against those guys, too, and his 71-72 Laker team won a championship, too. He wasn't the offensive player he was when he was younger, but he held Kareem to around 40% shooting, and in the final game 5 of the championship series, playing with TWO fractured wrists, he scored 24 pts, with 29 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots.

How great was that guy? Well, he holds the NBA record for rebounds in a regular season game, with 55, and 41 in the playoffs – both against Russell. His high game against Russell, whom some call the greatest defensive center of all time – 62 points. The great writer Leonard Koppett wrote that had Wilt and Russell traded teams (and assuming they played all 13 years together), that Wilt would very likely have gone 13-0 in Finals, instead of Russell's 11-2. George Kisida, a well-respected writer in the ‘60's and 70's, stated that when Wilt and Russell played head-to-head. Wilt outplayed Russell one-third of the time, Russell outplayed Wilt one-third of the time – and Wilt completely dominated Russell one-third of the time. We know that Wilt could score, rebound, and even pass (he led the NBA in assists in '67-68), as well as his remarkable FG % (in 66-67 he shot .683 (the second place guy shot .521, the biggest gap in history). Meanwhile, Russell's career FG% is .440, and he was even worse in the playoffs at .430. Do you think Russell could have carried those early Philly teams like Wilt did?

And Tom Heinsohn even admitted, some years later, that when the Celtics played Philly, that they swarmed Wilt on defense with everybody, even intentionally fouling him, figuring that the refs wouldn't call everything, and if they did, his poor FT shooting would be preferable to a FG attempt. At the other end, Wilt had to not only guard Russell, and keep him off the offensive glass, he had to help out against the other Celtic players.

Many people remember the ‘69-70 NBA championship game 7, when Willis Reed staggered onto the court, and hit a couple of shots early to lead the Knicks to a title. However, very few people remember that Wilt had a horrible knee injury that year, and it was feared that he would have trouble walking again, much less ever playing again. He stunned the basketball world when he came back that same year, and guided LA to the Finals. And, that Knick team, which won 60 games, would have been favored anyway. Yet, it was Wilt's fault that the Lakers did not win the title, even though he played much better than his teammates.

The greatest center of all time? It is not even close!

Jeff Lauber

Statistically, Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest center ever. It’s not even close. His individual achievements are so tall and numerous they simply cannot be assailed. The rules of the game were changed because of him – and that is a true mark of greatness. I would add that Wilt accumulated his stats against largely incompetent competition. Yes, he had great numbers against everyone, but it’s not like he had to take a beating night in and night out. For most of Wilt’s impressive seasons, he went up against only one strong offensive center (Bellamy) and two great defensive centers (Russell and Thurmond). And in the NBA, one great player can turn an otherwise so-so team into a champion. Witness the effect on the Bucks when it added Jabbar, on the Bulls with and without Michael Jordan, on the Lakers with and without Shaquille O’Neal, on the Rockets with and without Hakeem Olajuwon. Didn’t happen with Wilt. His teammate forwards were wimps, but guards Guy Rodgers and Hal Greer were a tandem probably second only to Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman/Sam Jones on Boston. Wilt had more than West in LA – Gail Goodrich and Happy Hairston were more than role players.

But none of this was the point of the article, which simply said that Shaquille O’Neal is a dominant center in this year’s cards – not because of great ratings, but because of weak-sister competition at center that is reminiscent of the NBA in the early/mid ‘60s, when Wilt’s numbers were at their best.

Arguments aside, I think your letter is great NBA history, Jeff. We’re all better informed for reading it.

MORE LONGSTANDING LEAGUES

I really appreciated your recent article on basketball centers.  As a hoops fan I've been feeling terribly neglected lately.

In response to your leadoff question in September, I participate in a league that matches your example for longevity.  The Empire State Strat-O-Matic League (ESSOM) also began in 1974 with a 10-team NL draft based on the 1973 NL cardset.  Its AL counterpart (which competes in the fall) was inaugurated one year later.  The leagues were both founded by Larry King (not THAT Larry King) and have been in continuous operation since then.  King abdicated his crown in the early ‘90s, but the Spring and Fall Leagues have maintained a close affiliation (with numerous managerial overlaps) despite now being led by separate commissioners.  The leagues control for crossover of personnel, for instance, and also stage an annual King's Trophy series pitting the winner of each. I get a kick out of the fact that I've been in the ESSOM Spring League since 1980 and am still THIRD on the seniority list.

Glen Sarvady, Atlanta

The Mid-West Baseball Association (MWBA) had its beginning back in 1972 when Rick Van Haitsma signed on with a league led by Rick Shapiro from Illinois. The following year –1973 – the official drafting for a new league resulted in what is now known as the MWBA, based in Michigan. Since 1973, the MWBA has run continuously right up to and including today's date. Presently the league features a 12 team-two division, 162 play-by-mail game schedule that includes off-season rookie drafts and trading, playoffs, World Series, All-Star Team selections, end-of-season team and individual player recognitions, as well as an MWBA Hall of Fame. Complete league stats of every team, player, and pitcher has been archived since 1972! The league has been recognized as perhaps one of the longest running leagues of its kind, but the more important thing is that everyone has fun.

D. Van Haitsma, Holland, MI

ADD THIS ONE TO THE LIST OF TEAMS WITH FIVE “1’s” 

I managed the1986 California Angels in an '86 replay.  It was comforting to look over the defense and see: Bob Boone (C), Wally Joyner (1B), Dick Schofield (SS), Gary Pettis (CF), and Devon White (RF) - all "1"s.

Douglas Zaner, Atlanta

CHECKLIST

What years (in the baseball card sets) are in the super advanced version?

Duane Powell, Kansas City

Super advanced features have developed gradually, so some seasons have more than others, but all of these have at least some super-advanced features (ballpark effects and clutch hitting are in all): 1911, 20, 27, 34, 41, 48, 54, 55, 59, 60, 63-67, 75, 78 and 85-present. The forthcoming 1957 season will be, too. (1930, 50, 56, 61, 62, 68-74, 76, 77, 79-84 are not).

FREE KICK RETURNS

I have a problem with the free kick on s.o.m. football. The return used in such cases is the punt return, and I don't think the average return is long enough. Should there be a separate return column or even use the kick return column?

Jim Perkins, Mantua NJ

In my judgment, this is one of those ‘tweeners. NFL teams use their punters in these situations specifically to limit returns. And a whole team of tacklers is heading downfield without having to stay back to block. But you never see a Fair Catch or a 1-2 yard return in these situations. There aren’t enough safeties to justify a new column on the cards, but if you wanted to say that any return of X or fewer yards gets converted to a return of X+ yards, I think that would be a good innovation.

WISH LISTS

I understand all the issues re: producing accurate Negro League Teams, but I sure would love to see the 1946 Newark Eagles (Larry Doby, Leon Day, Monte Irvin) play against their contemporary MLBers.  I may be wrong, but I believe the 1946 Negro League season is one of the better recorded ones in terms of stats. 

Lee Margolis, Edison, NJ

Is Strat going to reprint the 1961, and 1962 baseball seasons? And if so, will they do it in the multi-color for the advanced version, and the blue screen for the basic, so it will conform with the other reprints of past baseball seasons?  I would think there would be a great demand for this; for collectors, and because these are two very popular years, in Strat's history.

Phil, Passaic NJ

If any seasons have enduring demand it would be these two. It’s a tough call for the game company. Are there enough new customers for 1961 and 1962 who have not already played these seasons? So far, SOM has updated only two advanced-format seasons into super advanced (1975 and 1978). While Hal Richman said then, more than a decade ago, that he expected to update more, those sales didn’t encourage the company to rush to do more.

Many of us are really more interested in quality teams and not 16-team recreated seasons, which are great in accuracy and detail, but who really cares about .350 8th place teams? I would die for the teams below as basic, old card pattern old-timer teams – much more than a single year with a couple of good teams and a few good years by all-time greats.

1,2) 1903 Boston and Pittsburgh First World Series
3) 1906 White Sox to replay upset of 1906 Cubs
4) 1914 Braves Miracle Braves
5) 1916 Red Sox Ruth #1 pitcher on World Series Winner
6) 1917 White Sox Last World Champ before 2005
7) 1918 Red Sox Last World Champ before 2004
8) 1919 Reds fix? they had highest win % by any NL team that decade
9) 1923 Yankees first WS champ
10) 1926 Cardinals Alexander vs. Lazzeri
11, 12) 1928 Yankees and A's .641 and finish second?
13) 1929 A's considered top 5 team of all time
14) 1931 Yankees runs, runs, runs
15) 1932 Yankees Ruth calls his shot
16) 1933 Senators last pennant winner
17) 1939 Yankees considered top 5 team of all time
18) 1942 Cards and Dodgers .675 and finish second?
19) 1944 Browns only pennant winner
20) 1945 Cubs last pennant winner
21, 22) 1949 Yankees and Dodgers – Jackie MVP, Casey first of 5 straight
23, 24, 25) 1951 Yankees, Giants, Dodgers need I say more?
26) 1953 Yankees to replay vs. 1953 Dodgers Casey 5^th in a row
27, 28) 1958 Yankees and Braves fill in missing year

Cary A. Cardinale

Demand for great teams in all of SOM’s sports remains high. And your list is impressive. But in asking for basic-only teams in the super advanced era, you are asking SOM to take a step back in its card-making technology. That really doesn’t happen in any industry. You do sense, correctly, that basic is the only way SOM could crank out these individual teams efficiently. The work for single teams in advanced/super advanced isn’t much less than what has to be done for a whole league.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

LIVING, LOVING 1911

Fellow gamer Mark Frobom (Talk Show, October) hit the nail on the head. The 1911 Strat-O-Matic season re-creation is like entering a parallel universe. Dead Ball-era play is anathema to a modern, Tony-LaRussa-armed-with-a-computer-stat-printout-style manager. In 1911, it was all intuition and bravado. Even though baseball had been around for at least a century, to be truthful, there were no boundaries. In terms of strategies, they were still “making it up” as they took the field each day.

First, there was almost no platooning, so righty-lefty breakdowns are (nearly) irrelevant. Managers didn't have those stats in hand, so players played regardless. Roster sizes may have something to do with this, as well.

Bullpens? Hah! Most teams had maybe four or five primary starters and a couple of mop-up men. Closers? “Get Alex (or Matty, or Three-Finger, etc.) loose,” would be the regular call with a game on the line. As a rookie in '11, Grover Cleveland Alexander not only started 37 games (every fourth day in a four-man rotation), he completed 31 of them, plus made 11 relief appearances (4-2, 3 saves). Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown compiled 27 starts and 26 relief appearances, good for 21 wins and 13 saves. ealistically, the save stat is useless, because it didn't exist in 1911. What you see in the official records is, really, retro-saves. The stat gurus combed the records years later and assigned them where applicable.

Offensively, you had better run. And don't stop. It's a tough row to hoe for a modern-thinking Strat gamer, who might not want to run with less than a 55-65% chance of succeeding. Unless you play in the Baker Bowl, a leisurely trot around the bases was a rarity. And many of the homers that were actually hit elsewhere were inside-the-park jobs in cavernous stadiums. My HR leader after 44 games is Cincinnati's Doc

Hoblitzell, with 7. On the other hand, my leaders in triples is Giant second baseman Larry Doyle, with 17.

On base stealing, Ty Cobb is easy, with 17-16 lead numbers. But then there are all of the Billy Purtells, who run with reckless abandon (1 of 8 stealing, but he has an asterisk to go with 15-1 lead numbers and 5-11 automatic outs). Were they straight steals, or botched hit-and-run plays? Another thing that’s strange about the 1911 season is that all of this running is done with relatively few speed burners. Most of the asterisked base stealers are no more than 1-10 or 1-12 base runners. And many are catchers! Cubs backstop Jimmy Archer already has 7 steals in my replay. He just happens to be on base in running situations.

On the other hand, I still can't get past my modern-era sensibilities. It's tough to play on instinct and do things that defy common sense, especially when you have the statistical breakdowns right in front of you on the cards.

I had done couple of short-season replays with advanced format Strat sets (1950, '56, then back in time to 1930). Then I tried the super-advanced 1934 in a 56-game season. By that time, I had acquired '11 and '20 and the thought occurred “Why not play them all, in sequence? What a trip through baseball history that would be!”

When I turned my attention to 1911, I realized I needed to do a lot of research. I combed the local bookstores for books pertaining to that era: The Glory of Their Times (must reading, anyway), bios of Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Addie Joss, and others. Incredible! I discovered so much more than baseball stories.

Imagine Sam Crawford reminiscing about when his hometown of Wahoo installed its first street light. Read about the Wahoo nine getting together, hitching up the mules to the wagon, and riding off to the next town to play their team. Then, hit the stratosphere (for real) when you actually listen to Wahoo Sam tell the story on the CD compilation of

Lawrence Ritter's original Glory tapes. Like I said, it's not just baseball, it's history. I'm planning for my 1920 replay with a copy of Mike Sowell's The Pitch That Killed. My

MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia is my constant companion at game time.

Since development of the minor league system was still almost 30 years away, your hopes of Big League stardom depended on a network of scouting connections. If you looked good in Wahoo, for instance, someone who knew someone back East might wire a message. Then, you could get a return wire, a train ticket, and an audition in, say, Chicago or Detroit or New York (“Let's see what you can do”). Maybe you'd get a contract. But many times your home club was paying you more if you were the town's star player. Since the Majors had not expanded past St. Louis, other leagues had become local powerhouses in their own right, like the old Pacific Coast League. Some players had to consider taking a pay cut to move "up" to the Major Leagues!

That leads me back to the games and something I touched on before: rosters. Despite research into sites like the excellent Retrosheet, I have yet to find definitive information on roster sizes and routine player movement, beyond trades and waiver deals. Release dates, call-up-dates and data of that nature seem to be generally unavailable.

From what I can find, it appears that teams employed an expanded Opening Day roster, with cuts to follow.

In his Glory interview, former Giant catcher Chief Meyers made reference to a smaller roster size when he said “They only let us have 17 players.” Whether the number varied team-to-team, I don't know. But Meyers makes reference to pitchers being tried out as backup position players. One of the things I'll always do is check the Baseball

Encyclopedia when the last available player at any position is injured, to see what other player ever played there, including pitchers.

In my e-mail to the Talk Show that followed Mark Frobom's, I brought up the case of Roger Bresnahan's playing time and how to dole it out. While the AB evidence shows that he had less than full-time starter status, the Baseball Encyclopedia says he caught at least parts of 77 games, or exactly half. Was he starting more frequently and running into the injuries, whch eventually resulted in his being sidelined for longer stretches of time? This is a precipitous drop-off from the 139 appearances he made behind the plate as recently as 1908. His reduced playing time, interestingly enough, also coincides with his being named manager of the Cardinals in 1909. It's easier to rest those weary bones when you're the one filling out the lineup card.

Making the issue even murkier is anecdotal evidence of players just leaving, frequently up to several weeks before the end of a season. Cobb himself would pack his bags before the campaign ended, make a few exhibition appearances in out-of-way places (for the extra money), then head home to prepare for his winter hunting trips, according to the Charles Alexander bio. Then there are players like Mike "Turkey" Donlin, who reportedly just up-and-left the Giants for several months of the theatre circuit with his actress-wife, before returning home to roost. When setting your roster, these can be important things to take into account if you want a realistic experience.

And looking ahead again to 1920, do I just pro-rate Ray Chapman's at-bats into my season? Or to I target a date in my schedule to kill him (cruel as it sounds) and make plans to bring up rookie infielder Joe Sewell? And who are my replacement players when Chicago's Eight Men Out are suspended for life?

There are a few tweaks I have inserted into my 1911 play that could help. First, throw the Strat reliever system out the window, except as a broad guideline. Since most relievers were long inning mop-up men, I use the relief-out standard much like the starter weakness-inning rule. Common sense should cover the rest. Frontline starters-as relievers (like Alexander, or Brown) generally get no more than one inning, unless I back up their next starting date, even though they frequently started and relieved on consecutive days. I've been using starters with 30-35 starts every fourth day, with an occasional missed turn, which is an opportunity to use a spot starter. During his missed rotation cycle, he becomes available as a spot reliever. The innings pitched totals cover the rest.

I have a three-HBP's-starts-a-brawl rule. One happens. Two happens. But three gets one's dander up. It could be one pitcher headhunting. It could be a retaliation shot. Either way, benches cleared much more frequently, with real fights, not the dancing around you see today. I use a die-roll calculation to determine random ejections, followed by suspensions for multiple violations.

Another tweak deals with catchers' throwing errors. Given the tawdry condition of most playing fields back then (your Little League kid probably has a better playing surface), pocket-sized gloves and what-the-Heck-is-on-those baseballs, I roll against the appropriate outfielder's error rating to see that he made a smooth pick-up and throw back to the infield. About six or seven times (at the 40-game mark, covering both leagues), an error (could be a bobble or hurried throw) has resulted in a steal of second, third on the catcher's bad throw and home on the outfielder's miscue. I don't know if it's accurate, but it feels right.

I streamlined for my use the Strat wp-passed ball-balk rule. Each has its own separate 20-sided die number (1-3). On the catcher's error charts, there are no more automatic passed balls or wild pitches. This is to allow for catchers and pitchers who have “0” ratings in those areas, so each is rolled against the appropriate rating. A 20-sided “4” invokes a pickoff attempt, if a runner who is being held on tries and fails to get a good lead. Roll a six-sided die to follow up. An A stealer is nailed with a roll of one, a B gets it on 1 or 2, etc. E's are dead meat 1-5. And “6” is a rare play nugget: Bad throw gets past the targeted base. All runners advance one base on the error. Once again, it feels right.

Nothing in the game, though, can match the sight of Ty Cobb racing toward second base on a bunt play, slowing down slightly as he makes the turn to see if the throw was made to first, then kicking it into overdrive in a mad dash for third, daring the first baseman to beat him with a hurried (harried?) throw.

What about Cobb's Tiger teammate Germany Schaefer on first, taking off for second, trying to draw a throw that would allow a runner to come in from third on a delayed steal. The throw never comes, so, on the next pitch, he heads back to first! Still, no throw, so he tries it again. This time, the bewildered catcher does throw through, Schaefer is safe, and the runner trots home from third. You guys thought it was tough trying to figure out how to deal with guys who have no HRs or steals in a season can get one (or two, actually, in both cases this year) in the postseason.

As Indiana Jones famously said, “I don't know. I'm making this up as

I go.”

The idea of replaying the recreated seasons sequentially has me tingling. What a trip! From deadball to the Ruthian era; Ted Williams versus Joe DiMaggio; the '50's epic Giants-Dodgers and Dodgers-Yankees wars; and back to the pitching-and-speed late sixties, in my mind the last great Golden Era of Major League Baseball. Mays, Clemente, Koufax, Gibson, the Impossible Dream, the rise of the former-doormat Brownies in Baltimore.

I play my Strat games in a souped-up stadium-like gameboard ballpark, cobbled out of an old Frito-Lay chip box. Inside, on the right field wall, is signage made up of a string of player photos – Wagner, Mathewson, Cobb, Speaker, the Big Train, Sisler, Ruth, Hornsby, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mays and Aaron – and the tagline: "STRAT-O-MATIC: Where the LEGENDS Play." I also have a Jackie Robinson tribute on the

left field wall.

Good luck to Mark Frobom, and good gaming to everyone else. Get the

most out of the experience. It's a doozy!

To the good folks at Strat headquarters: More thanks than I could ever amass. It's started me on the baseball trip of a lifetime. If you ever get around to it, the 1917-'18-'19 and '24 seasons would be great.

Jeff Woodhouse, Seattle, WA

A little help, Jeff: Check out Clifford Blau’s web site (http://mysite.verizon.net/brak2.0/rosters.htm) for rules on roster limits by season. The 25-man roster debuted in 1909. It was 16 before that. The Baseball Replay Guides I sell have specific transaction dates for many players. For the really old seasons, those dates generally are restricted to multi-team players. More recent seasons have comprehensive roster moves, including call-ups, demotions, disabled players, suspended players, etc.