GWB - League Semi-Finals

1998 ATLANTA v. 2000 SAN FRANCISCO

Greg Maddux took the mound for the '98 Braves to face Barry Bonds and the '00 Giants.  Neither the Braves or Giants have had a team qualify for the Tournament of Champions, comprised of the league winners from the 8 tournaments with teams ranging from 1961 to 2000. 

The 1969 Braves made it all the way to the National League Championship of the Lyndon B. Johnson bracket.  Along the way, Hammerin' Hank and his boys knocked out the young '70 Expos as well as two World Champions: '69 Miracle Mets and the '67 St. Louis Cardinals.  In the NLCS, Phil Niekro allowed only 2 runs over 8 innings.  But Gary Nolan bested him, hurling 8 innings himself, and giving up only 1 run to Atlanta before Wayne Granger closed out the 9th.  Both teams opened up the offense in Game 2, and were tied 7-7 after 5 innings.  The score held until the 9th inning when Johnny Bench and Bernie Carbo both doubled home runs.  In the bottom of the inning, the Braves continued fighting, scoring a run themselves and managed to get both the tying and winning runs on base.  Gil Garrido bounced back to Wayne Granger to end the game and the Braves' hopes of advancing into the championship.

San Francisco hasn't fared quite as well.  For the 5th time, the Giants have made the National League Semi-finals, but have failed to advance to an NLCS in their four prior tries.  The 1962 team was bounced by eventual John F. Kennedy champion, '63 Cardinals.  The 1971 G-Men were eliminated by the 1975 Big Red Machine, who were on their way to claiming the Richard Nixon Championship.  The 1989 squad was sent home by a much smaller version of Barry Bonds and the 1990 Pirates in the George H.W. Bush Invitational.  And finally, the 1993 team (this time with Bonds), were shown the door by Biggio, Bagwell and the 1994 Houston Astros.  At least a different franchise has ended their run in these instances.  The '98 Braves would attempt to be the 5th.

Barry Bonds got the Giant fans on their feet in the first inning when he blasted a Maddux offering for a solo home run and give San Francisco a lead before the Braves took their first swing of the bat.  The lone run held up until the bottom of the 6th, when Walt Weiss and Gerald Williams doubled back to back to tie the game.  The Ice Man scored when Chipper Jones followed with an RBI single in a stadium full of Tomahawk Chops.  Maddux struggled in the 8th, giving up base hits to Bonds and Burks, but was able to retire the side and strand both runners.  Kerry Ligtenberg saved the game in the 9th, and Atlanta took the opener 2-1.

The series moved to San Francisco, where the 2nd Braves ace, Tom Glavine, would face Russell Ortiz.  The Braves 1-2 Hall of Fame starting rotation presents as much of a challenge for teams in APBA play as it did two decades ago in real life.  Glavine, like Maddux, surrendered a solo home run to Barry Bonds, but little else.  Gerald Williams again factored prominently in the Braves offense.  In the 5th inning, Williams walked and later scored on a Jeff Kent error to put Atlanta ahead 3-1.  In the 7th, Williams singled Walt Weiss from 1st to 3rd, then stole second base.  Back to back sac flies by Chipper Jones and Andres Galarraga gave the Braves a comfortable 5-1 lead.  Ellis Burks took John Rocker yard with a 2 run shot in the 8th, but the Giants could get no closer, as Ligtenberg again closed out the 9th without allowing a base runner.

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1999 CINCINNATI v. 1999 ARIZONA

The '99 Reds shocked everyone by sweeping over the '98 Astros in the Quarterfinals, and felt pretty good about things when they chased Randy Johnson after only 1 1/3 innings, scoring 7 runs on 7 hits against the Big Unit.  The DBacks didn't lay down, and made a game out of it, but ultimately lost 9-5. 

Moving back to Riverfront Stadium, the sight of many great Reds victories in this project, the locals hoped to draw on some of the good fortune of the past.  It was not to be.  A 2 run home run by Jay Bell and 3 doubles from Matt Williams proved to be too much as the Snakes evened the series with a 7-6 win.

In Game 3, Greg Vaughn hit his 2nd home run of the series, while Mike Cameron and Eddie Taubensee added solo bombs of their own in the 3rd and 4th innings respectively.  Tony Womack collected a 2 RBI single in the 3rd inning, and Greg Colbrunn added a bases loaded walk later in the frame to tie the game 3-3 at that time.  Cincinnati scored another run in the 5th inning when Mike Cameron trotted home on a sac fly by Dmitri Young to give the Reds the lead.  Scott Williamson held Arizona scoreless in the 6th and 7th innings, before handing the ball to Danny Graves for the 2 inning save.  It was not to be.  With Greg Colbrunn on first base in the 8th, Steve Finley's 22-5 gave Arizona its first lead of the game at 6-5.  The Reds, reeling from shock, could not answer the Diamondbacks in the 9th, advancing Arizona to the NL championship in their first (and only) tournament appearance.

*     *     *     *     *

1994 BALTIMORE v. 1996 CLEVELAND

The project has developed some very interesting story lines, as it nears the end of the 8th bracket.  The Orioles have reached the ALCS in 4 of the prior 7 tournaments.  The 1964, 1969, 1971 and 1994 teams all made it to the doorway to enter the final Tournament of Champions.  Only the 1971 team was able to punch their ticket.  Along the way, the #1 seed 1969 Orioles eliminated the 1968 Indians in the Lyndon B. Johnson tournament.  Fortunes reversed, and in the Bill Clinton Invitational, the two franchises faced each other again, but this time with the '95 Indians holding the #1 seed. 

The firepower the mid-90s Indians possessed made them an easy pick.  Unfortunately, it would not be the correct one.  Mike Mussina faced off against Dennis Martinez in one of the most memorable games of the entire project.  For 9 innings, the two aces continued to mow down the other teams batters.  At the end of regulation, neither team had scored, and both starters remained on the hill.  With one away in the 10th inning, Martinez finally gave way to Paul Assenmacher in relief.  But on the other side of the diamond, Moose continued to throw darts and once again held the Indians scoreless.  Things finally broke in the 11th, when Rafael Palmeiro connected on an Assenmacher offering for the game's first and only run.  Big Lee Smith took the ball for a scoreless 11th and collected the save to give the 1994 Orioles a 1-0 lead in the series.  The powerful Indian offense had managed only 4 singles against Mussina in 10 innings of work.  In Game 2, the Indians showed up pounding the O's 13-2.  Orel Hershiser pitched Game 3 for Cleveland, and gave up only 1 run on 5 hits over 7 innings of work. 

If Cleveland had known they would get that kind of pitching performance from its #3 starter, they would have made hotel reservations in advance for the next round.  They would have needed to get refunds.  Jamie Moyer (5 2/3), Mark Eichhorn (2 1/3) and Lee Smith (1) combined for 9 innings of shutout work, again holding the powerful Cleveland team to no extra base hits as the Birds enjoyed their 2nd 1-0 win.  In the 3 games, Cleveland outscored Baltimore 13-4 and was going home.

As the teams prepared for their rematch, I couldn't help but think about this series in the prior tournament and wonder if this second clash would provide as much drama.  Orel Hershiser again pitched well in his appearance, allowing only 1 run over 6 2/3 innings.  But Baltimore plated 4 runs in the 8th and 9th innings against the Indian bullpen, and won the opener 5-2.

In Game 2, Mike Mussina again toed the rubber for the Orioles and would face Charles Nagy.  Inning by inning, Moose again sat down the likes of Thome, Belle and Ramirez.  Kenny Lofton managed 3 hits off of Mussina, but the remaining team could find only 1.  Mussina went the distance, going 9 innings with a beautiful 4 hit shutout.  In 19 innings of work over two appearances against the 95 and 96 Indians, Moose had given up 8 hits, 5 walks, and no runs.

*     *     *     *     *

1998 NEW YORK YANKEES v. 2000 CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The Yankee Boy was coming off a sweep of the Blue Jays with his #1 Seed, 1998 New York team.  He would face the 2000 White Sox, who were a much better team than I realized.  Not being a big follower of American league baseball for most of my life, and still reeling from the 1994-1995 players' strike at the turn of the millennium, I had given the '00 White Sox little to no attention in real life.  When I pulled the 50th APBA Anniversary cards from their envelope, I realized just how strong this group was.  But did they have enough to knock off the Boy's favorite team, and a squad he has now competed with in the Chicagoland World Series on two different occasions?

Jose Valentin got the Chisox on the board with a solo home run in the top of the first inning of Game 1 against Andy Pettitte.  Scott Brosius and Joe Girardi went back to back with RBI doubles in the 2nd inning to put the Bombers on top.  Jose Valentin answered again with his 2nd home run in as many at bats, this time with Ray Durham on base, and Chicago jumped back ahead 3-2.  The Yankees were in for a fight.  When Bernie Williams singled in the 6th, lefty Kelly Wunsch was summoned from the bullpen to face Darryl Strawberry.  Straw drove the pitch deep into the Yankee Stadium seats to give New York a 4-3 lead.  El Duque, Mendoza, Lloyd and Rivera combined for 5 scoreless innings in relief and the Yankees took the opener, 4-3.

In one of strangest games of the entire project, the Yankees crushed the White Sox #2 starter, Jim Parque, for 7 runs, all earned, over 1/3 of an inning.  Cal Eldred was called on in emergency work, as Commiskey Park fell silent.  Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee both homered in the 2nd inning to allow the Sox to reclaim 3 of the runs.  Ordonez singled home another in the 3rd.  In the 4th, the Sox hit for the cycle when Konerko, Perry, and Lee, singled, doubled and tripled (in order) for two runs, before Chris Singleton's sac fly brought home a 3rd.  When Ray Durham hit Chicago's 3rd home run of the game to complete the cycle for the inning, the score was tied 8-8 after 4. 

The hits just kept on coming.  Herbert Perry added a 2 run homer in the 5th, Jose Valentin picked up his 3rd of the series, and by the time the dust settled after the 8th inning, Chicago had scored 13 unanswered runs for a 13-8 win.  After scoring 8 runs in the first, the Yankees managed only 4 singles and 0 runs over the last 8 innings.

Like it often does, the Sox big offensive outburst was followed with a disappointing showing in the next game.  Charles Johnson homered in the 2nd, and Ray Durham singled home another in the 6th, but it would be all Chicago could get.  Tino Martinez had a 2 run bomb in the first inning, and the Yanks added 4 runs in the 5th (highlighted by a 3 run Scott Brosius blast), to take the air out of the southsiders.   David Wells pitched 8 strong innings before handing the ball to Mo' to close the door.  In the end, the Yankees proved the '98 team is stacked.  Shane Spencer was 0 for 2 in limited use.  After a great performance against the Rangers in the Quarter-finals, the biggest disappointment was Frank Thomas.  The Big Hurt was a dismal 0 for 10 in the Yankee series with 2 walks and a HBP.  He only managed to get the ball out of the infield one time.

The Yankees move on to the ALCS and will face the Orioles for the 5th time in tournament play.  In the prior 4 meetings, Baltimore has enjoyed a 3-1 record against the Evil Empire.

Clinton Ends With a Gusher

If there is one thing we can count on, it's that the Presidential Tournament All Star Games will provide some interesting times both on and off the table.  If you remember, while the former stars of baseball were battling each other in their world during these things in the past, we were battling yellow jackets, fat kids and construction crews with power equipment in ours.  It's been quite an experience.

The Yankee Boy managed his American League Clinton Tournament All Stars to a wins in the first two games to give the 1995 Red Sox the home field advantage in the championship series against the 1994 Astros.  They put it to good use, as the Sox swept the 'Stros 9-2 and 6-1 in a less than dramatic series.

But left unfinished was the third and final game of the All Star series.  One thing for sure about this tournament director, Bill Clinton.  He doesn't like to stop something once he's started.  So, we agreed to Clinton should be brought to an end.

We loaded up the truck and headed out to Pulaski Park on Lake Cumberland, found a nice quiet picnic shelter, and set up shop.  It was truly a tranquil and beautiful spot for an early morning APBA baseball game between father and son.

The game wasn't particularly necessary.  We do use the 2 out of 3 format to determine home field in the championship, but that was accomplished in the first 2 games.  Instead, this was for bragging rights and to honor a legend.

We always seem to add a little something each time we do these.  For this event, we elected to add two honorary players to each team.  We would pick two favorite players from each league who retired during the time frame (1991-1995) and add their last card to that team.  After reviewing my options, I chose Gary Carter and Dale Murphy to join the National League, while Yankee Boy added George Brett and Dave Winfield to the AL.  These last year cards appeared to provide only a hint of the former greatness that each possessed earlier in their careers. Our goal was to try to get these players into a game at some point in the series.

In Game 2, with the AL taking a 5-4 lead in the top of the 8th, George Brett blasted a Steve Bedrosian offering and drove it deep into the Rockie Mountain sky and over the outfield fence, to put the AL team up 7-4.  Brett would single later in the 9th for a perfect 2 for 2 night.

Just as Game 3 started moving into the middle innings, the bulldozer and front end loader fired up and began their assault on our peaceful APBA environment.  By now, we are old pros at playing through adverse conditions.  Leaf blowers blowing debris have no effect on us.  We laugh at men in bucket trucks working over our heads with chain saws cutting limbs down on top of our picnic shelters.  Little nosey kids who want to interrupt our games with stories about skinned knees and Hostess snack cakes are met with cold shoulders and icy stares.  We are APBA men.  We play in all types of adverse conditions.

But as the heavy equipment kept working closer and closer to our location, beating, banging and screeching their way along, moving dirt and transforming the landscape, the Yankee Boy looked at me and said, "Is this picnic shelter scheduled to be demolished?"  Being the wise father and needing to bring sage advice to this potentially disasterous situation, I answered, "Probably not.  Let's play on."

With only bragging rights (and general humiliation) left, the Yankee Boy had started both of his legends.  George Brett batted 3rd and played first base, and Dave Winfield batted cleanup and played left field.  With this handicap, I was sure to blow out the American League squad.

In the bottom of the first inning George Brett doubled home Kenny Lofton to score the games' first run.  In the bottom of the 3rd, Brett led off the inning with a base hit to run his Clinton All Star batting total to a perfect 4 for 4.  The hit streak ended there, as Brett failed to get a safety in his final 3 at bats, but his heroics did not.

In a further attempt to humiliate the Nationals, the American League manager vowed to use every single player on his roster in the game.  This was a good strategy except for one thing.  As the game headed to the late innings, the score was close and extra innings would ruin his plans.

Just as suddenly as the equipment had started, it quit.  Looking over the opposing managers' shoulder, I saw the reason.  The dozer had dug a little too deep in the wrong spot, hit a water line, and just like that, we had a squirter!  Water was shooting out everywhere, but our game trudged on in the muck and the mud. (Well, actually, there was no mud or muck anywhere near us or our cards, but you get the idea.) 

Rick Wilkins of the Cubs blasted a solo home run in the 7th to break the tie and give the Nationals a 5-4 lead.  Ken Griffey, Jr. returned the favor with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the 8th, and the game headed into the 9th inning knotted 5-5.  

With no plans of saving any pitchers, Jeff Nelson, Dennis Eckersley and Jose Mesa were intended to split the 8th and 9th innings.  * Relievers have a 1 inning pitch limit under out All Star game rules.  Nelson, Eckersley and Mesa each worked their 2/3 of an inning as planned.  However, the AL could not score in the final frame of regulation, sending the game into a 10th inning.  Now the plan looked bad.

THAT MOMENT WHEN
YOU REALIZE YOU'VE
COACHED YOURSELF
INTO A BOX

Reality set in on the young manager.  His evil plan had backfired!  With no one left in the bull pen, Yankee Boy allowed Mesa to get his full inning by retiring Bagwell with a fly to right field for the first out of the 10th.  Faced with no graded pitchers, George Brett was sent to the mound to pitch.  Why not?  The 40 year old had already dominated me in the batter's box; why not the pitchers mound?  He coaxed a pop out from Vinny Castilla and Dante Bichette took a called strike 3 to get out of the 10th inning.  Geez, Brett was killing me.  He couldn't retire fast enough.

When the AL failed to score in the bottom of the 10th, Brett climbed the mound again.  Larry Walker ended Brett's fun with a 11-1 home run that broke the tie.  Greg Jefferies followed with a double and moved to third on a base hit by Ryne Sandberg.  

A boat was coming out of the lake, and the boy noticed an odd situation.  The guy in the boat had his hands on the wheel and appeared to be trying to "drive" the boat on the trailer being pulled by a truck.  I told the boy, "I think he's gaining on him."  You see a lot of interesting sights around the lake.

With the water line still spewing water at high volume, with people driving their boats down the road, and with my National League team having a lead and a rally going, Barry Larkin's 61-23 (Game called because of rain) finished the Clinton project suddenly, unexpectedly and prematurely.  But that was ok.  With a 1 run lead, I had won.  I'll take what wins I can get.

In all the tournament games we've played, there has not been a single rain out.  Of course, there were no water lines broken in the process of any game before either.  It certainly was not the way we anticipated it wrapping up, but Bill was relieved with knowing he finally had a happy ending without needing to go to the cleaners.

Chicago Retro World Series

It was another amazing weekend for Matthew and me in Chicago.  There was so much that happened, and so many wonderful memories made, it's hard for me to believe it all took place in less than 48 hours from the time we left until the time we got back.

In the first game of the day, my Reds were "lucky" enough to face Steve Carlton and the '77 Phillies.  Lefty struggled with his control (A-X), walking at least 1 batter in the 7 innings he pitched.  But in the 2nd, he walked Bench, May and Concepcion to load the bases.  With one out, I said, "If he's going to give me the bases full, I've got to score in this situation."  Jim Stewart (nicknamed Jimmy all day because It's a Wonderful Life), strolled into the box.  I had elected to take his 30 extra points of batting average and 60 points of on base percentage upgrade over Tommy Helms, in trade for the loss of 2 fielding points.  It turned out to be a pretty good idea on the day.  Stewart rolled a 66-0, 33-1 Grand Slam to put the Reds up 4-0.

Lee May busted what would be his only homer of the day in the top of the 6th for a 5-0 lead.  Sparky and I were feeling pretty good about things.  In the bottom half of the inning, the McBats (McBride and McCarver) got together for a single and double to get the Phils on the board.  With Schmidt coming up, Captain Hook nudged me to bring in Wayne Granger (B-Z).  I did and Sparky was right.  Grangers' grade bump to an A turned Schmidt's 9 into an out.  McCarver would later score on a Dave Johnson double, but the out prevented the Phillies from turning the inning into a game changer, and the Reds led 5-2.

Big Klu gives Jimmy Stewart some tips before the Chicago Retro World Series - they worked

In the 8th, the Phillie bats came alive.  Dave Johnson's second double of the game plated pinch runner Terry Harmon.  When Jay Johnstone followed with a 66-1, it was a tie game 5-5 after 8.  In the top of the 9th, the Reds had 8-9-1 due up. Concepcion whiffed to lead off against Tug McGraw (A-X).  Jimmy Stewart stepped back into the box.  I kept thinking, "Walk Jimmy, walk!  Just a little 14 and get back to the top of the order."  Jimmy had a better plan.  His second 66-0, 33-1 of the game sent the Reds into orbit on the field and both managers at the table into shock!  His second homer of the game gave the Reds the lead, and when Clay Carroll closed out the 9th, the Reds had taken their first game of the tournament. 

I lost the 2nd game to the Phils 5-0, and split with the eventual NL Champion Bradd Romant's '77 Dodgers in my first two series.  Heading down the stretch, I had series with the '73 Braves and '77 Cubs, and I thought my chances were decent.  My guys just had to hit.  In Game 1 against the Braves, they didn't.  Bob Spatz's '73 Braves gave the Reds the two hardest games I played all weekend. Carl Morton and Jim Merritt both went 9 innings of scoreless baseball in Game 1, before handing things over to the bullpens.  In the top of the 15th inning (yes, I said 15!), Johnny Bench led off with a double.  Bob elected to walk Lee May and face light hitting Dave Concepcion.  The rookie shortstop, with little pop in his card (0-7-7), smacked a double into the gap scoring both big sluggers in front of him.  The Reds held on in their half to win the marathon.

Aaron, at Crosley Field, awaits one of the few pitches
Cincinnati would throw to him over the weekend.

Both teams reserved their hot dice for Game 2.  Ralph Garr and Dusty Baker each homered, while Paul Cassanova (1-6-7) reached the seats TWICE for the Braves.  Bernie Carbo and Johnny Bench busted one each for the Reds, and going into the bottom of the 9th the Reds trailed 6-5.  Carbo led things off with a double and was brought home by a base hit from Tony Perez.  When Bench and May both whiffed back to back, I could feel any chances I had of making the playoffs start to vanish.  Again stepped up little Davey Concepcion.  The Big Red Machine's entire fate lay in the hands of a someday great player.  But in 1970, he wasn't so much.  Dave showed his worth by smashing a single to keep the Reds hopes alive and moved Perez into scoring position.  Now, things would get interesting.  2 out, the winning run on 2nd base and Jimmy Stewart stepping into the box.  Is this even possible outside of an old Black and White Christmas movie???  I took a deep breath, relaxed, shook the dice in the cup and rolled to see Stewart get a 66-0, 25-2 triple to sweep the Braves and lead the Reds to win a game they had to have in order to reach the playoffs.

In the two games, Aaron was 2 for 8 with 3 walks, ALL intentional.  He had no RBIs.  I refused to let him beat me.  The 4-5-6-7 hitters of Evans, Johnson, Lum and Perez (2 for 37 combined) made the decision work out.

I swept the 77 Cubs in two blow out games (8-0 and 14-6).  I hated running up the score, but was trying to catch those pesky Dodgers who refused to lose to the Phillies.  If we finished with 8-2 records, the tie breaker would be run differential.  It wouldn't matter as his 19+ beat my 14+.

My Reds did go on to face my friend Jim Welch in the NLDS.  The Reds stayed hot and won 6-0 on a 2 hitter by Jim Merritt.  But in the NLCS the Reds' bats went cold, while Monday and Yeager went yard as Bradd Romant's '77 Dodgers beat me again.  I lost 3 games on the day, and 2 were to the Dodgers!! 

 Words really can't describe the fun of playing a game I played as a kid, against guys, many of whom, have played longer than myself.  The Yankee Boy had a chance to pilot his 81 Yankees into the playoffs in his last series.  But instead of winning the two games he needed, he dropped both in a sweep by the 79 Orioles.  I knew we were facing 8 hours of seat time to get home, and it was already getting late into the evening.  But after I lost, and the day of rolling dice was over, Matthew still wanted to stay and watch Brad and Gary battle it out in the final game.  As a dad, and fellow APBA lover, how could I say no?

LBJ, Bicycles and Bombs

There are times when a good story needs to be told the right way.  Many of you will remember, in our prior tournament, we conducted our first ever Fan-Vote to elect All Star teams made up of the players participating in the Lyndon B. Johnson Invitational.  Members of the APBA Facebook Group voted the starting lineups for Game 1, including the starting pitchers and one relief pitcher for each league.  My son and I picked 8 more position players and 8 pitchers, with each team having at least one representative.  The position players not starting in Game 1 would start in Game 2.  In Game 3, any player could be selected to start by the manager.

In Game 1, we tried to find an interesting place to play the game.  My son traveled with me on a working road trip, and we stopped at Fort Boonesboro State Park to roll the first game.  In a very tranquil setting and with no other people around to bother us, one of the picnic shelters worked great.  Well, except for a wasp who decided to plant a stinger into the American League manager's back during the game.  On the field, Johnny Bench led the Senior Circuit going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 6 RBI as the Nationals stomped the American's 11-3.

In Game 2, Frank Howard had a 3 for 3 night, with a home run, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.  The AL evened the series with a 5-2 win in a game that we played at home.

I think it rained in Kentucky the entire months of June and July.  Those rainy days delayed and postponed the American League manager's real life baseball participation in the State Babe Ruth Tournament in Lexington.  Every day was monopolized with it.  Finally, we had a day that I could arrange my schedule so that he and I could have some quality time to finish the LBJ All Star Series.  But where? 

Peace, quiet, solitude and a table are all we needed.  Mill Springs is the location of a series of Civil War battlefields with a very nice museum.  There are actually several different locations set up as a driving tour where you can visit and read about the different battles fought in this area.  There is also a national military cemetery there.  What says "peace, quiet and solitude" more than a cemetery??  And there are some covered gazebos that I thought might work for us to play our game.  This would have been fine, except on this morning that we chose to visit, the maintenance crew was working in full force to mow the grass to maintain its perfect manicured appearance.  Lawn mowers and weed eaters were not what we had in mind.

The Yankee Boy's mom and I used to go out to a little park in this area when we first got married.  We would pack a picnic lunch and travel to Cumberland Point where we could enjoy a peaceful summer day, before we had children.  The Boy and I decided to try that.  Upon arriving, I could tell it was almost identical to the last time I had visited, probably 15-20 years earlier.  There are camp sites, a couple of play grounds, a nice boat launching ramp, fish cleaning station, breath taking views of Lake Cumberland and a large, covered, unoccupied picnic shelter.  Perfect!!

We set up the game, and honestly, it could not have been more ideal.  The only sounds anywhere were the birds singing, the leaves rustling gently in a light breeze, Lake Cumberland's water gently crashing into the shoreline, and the dice being rolled on our table.  This was APBA heaven. 

During the game at Fort Boonesboro, Yankee Boy had mentioned the wasp nest above our heads.  I told him, "Don't worry about them, and they won't bother us."  When one of the vicious little winged devils started buzzing around him, I said, "Don't bother him, and he'll go away."  When the wasp stung him in the back, I said, "Hmmm, maybe not."  In the first inning of Game 3, a small but formidable yellow jacket came to inspect our table.  This time, knowing Yankee Boy would not trust my advice, with hat in hand and quick reflexes, I swatted the little stinging pest to the ground, found my prey squirming on the concrete floor and mashed him into eternity.  Don't mess with APBA players during a game.  We had learned how to identify things that might interfere with our game play and we knew how to eradicate them.

The game itself was a good one too.  Tom Seaver matched up against Sam McDowell.  If nicknames are any indication, there is little doubt who did better with the ladies: Tom Terrific or Sudden Sam.  Frank Howard connected on his second long ball of the series in the 2nd inning, and Bill Freehan added a 2 run shot to put the AL up, 3-0.  Hank Aaron and Glenn Beckert doubled home runs in the bottom of the inning, and Dick Allen's pinch hit single brought home another to tie the game 3-3 after two complete.

After the invasion by the yellow jacket, the piece and quiet of our scene was short lived.  From the corner of my eye I saw movement across the parking lot, coming from the direction of the campground.  A bicycle.  A small bicycle.  A small, pink bicycle.  This was not good.  This could be a serious problem to our peaceful game play.  A bicycle indicated another person, the size of the bicycle indicated a small young person, and the color of the bicycle indicated a small, young, female person.  None of that sounds peaceful or quiet.  Those normally like to talk.  As it approached the picnic shelter to investigate us, I considered using my hat again.  My better judgment told me, "No."

We continued to roll.  Boog Powell singled home Rod Carew in the 3rd, Freehan continued to rake singling home Frank Robinson in the 4th.  Neither manager mentioned the small person who had navigated and abandoned the pink two wheeled apparatus into the landscape of the picnic shelter.  We made no eye contact and no attempt to communicate with it.  We made no comment or reference of it to each other.  We made only silent and expressionless eye contact with each other that spoke more than any words we could say about the matter. 

But this lack of acknowledgment by two people at a picnic table, combined with the rolling of dice, calling of numbers, looking at pages in a book, and writing on paper intrigued this small person to the point that she walked slowly around the parameter to listen and inspect further.  She was scouting.  I considered the hat one more time.  Nope, not gonna do it.

Then, without warning or provocation, the small, previously quiet rider of pink bicycles took off in a full sprint across the parking lot as fast as her little pink tennis shoed feet could carry her toward the campground.  At full volume she screamed, "Justin!!!  Justin!!!  There are people over here!!!"  I should have used the hat.

In the top of the fifth, Powell smashed a solo homer and Freehan connected on his second two run blast of the night (5 RBIs), and the Boy's AL squad was pulling away, 8-3.  Johnny Bench picked up his third homer of the series to cut the margin to 4.

I knew he was coming.  With my concentration firmly on the game, and with the 5th inning passing which allowed for starting position players to come out, my attention was mostly on what managerial moves I needed to make next.  But in my peripheral vision, I saw him coming.  The bike was a little bigger than the pink model the first intruder had abandoned in the wood chips and azalea bushes.  The rider was much larger than his younger blonde predecessor.  Maybe he wasn't a lot taller, but was certainly much bigger around. Yankee Boy and I again said nothing of the impending invasion of our sanctuary.  Just knowing eye contact, dice rolls and results.

"What are you guys doing?", came the first question from the possible new poster-boy for Hostess snack cakes.  I considered my options carefully.  If I engaged in conversation, this would only encourage Kid Twinkie to ask more questions and further interrupt our father - son APBA time.  But to ignore him would be rude. 

"Playing a strategy game" came the answer, without eye contact, along with another dice roll and called play result.   "He'll get the hint," I thought to myself. 

"Have you ever been in a bike wreck?"  Dang it.  I should have used the hat.

Where to go from here could be tricky.  Our game was already running longer than most because of scoring by hand, a lot of offense and the large number of substitutions commonly made during an All Star contest.  The time we had to play and finish this project was running low.  I had no time for conversations of bike wrecks or to be asked if I had any Ho Ho's in the cooler.  Which I did not.

"I had a bad one when I was youn-"

"I crashed REALLY bad!  It got me all over!" he interjected.

For the first time, I looked directly at our newest pest.  His arms and knees were scraped, bruised and scabbed.  Even his jaw was discolored and darkened from the crash.  He was also too far for me to reach with the hat without getting up from my seat.  I reasoned that the best way to deal with this more aggressive intrusion, was to give him some attention and see where it went. 

"It looks bad," I said, hoping to let him get out the story he obviously wanted to tell.  I don't remember the details.  He was on the bike; he fell off the bike; he was on the blacktop.  Not a good combination, but one which most of us can relate. 

As he continued his rendition of a bike wreck that he probably thought worthy of a Steven Spielberg production, I returned my attention to the game.  At the time, we were somewhere in the middle of a stretch of 5 innings where Juan Marichal, Larry Dierker, Phil Regan, Don Gullett, and Bill Hands would face the minimum of 15 American League batters.  The wind was starting to pick up some.  Something rumbled and it wasn't Chief Big Wheels' stomach.  Even if a rambling kid couldn't stop our game, wind and rain just might.  I'm not one to take any chances on getting our APBA items wet.

As I monitored the sky, concentrated on the game, and generally ignored Justin's play by play of the world's greatest transportation disaster since the Titanic, I became aware of more movement entering the area.  These were not bicycles.  Trucks.  Two white ones.  One was a traditional 3/4 ton model Ford with an extended cab (4 doors).  The other was a bucket truck, similar to a model used by service men for a utility company.  Why a bucket truck?  There are no telephone lines in the park.  There aren't any electric lines in the area near us either.  Even the camp sites with electric service have under ground utilities.  This latest development concerned me far more than bike riding elementary school kids or even the impending rain.

Almost as soon as the wheels on the trucks stopped moving near the shelter, doors opened and eight men in work uniforms piled out of the vehicles on a mission.  Orders were yelled, equipment grabbed from the bed of the truck, pull cords yanked and the smell of 2-cycle oil filled the air.  Chain saws, weed eaters, hedge trimmers and an infernal deafening leaf blower all opened up their melodious tones in real life surround sound as the workers cut, blew and removed every low limb, weed and leaf within a 100' radius of our APBA table.  I momentarily considered the hat again, but there were too many of them, and these were pretty big guys.

Again, no words were spoken between APBA managers.  Eye contact only.  We both knew.  We were playing on! 

The equipment roared, and blared, and screamed at full throttle all around us.  "42!!  13!!  15!!  11!!  BASE HIT!!" we yelled to each other across the 3 foot distance of treated lumber that separated us.  Willie Mays homered in the 8th with Tony Perez on base.  Hoyt Wilhelm committed an error which led to pinch runner, Dave Concepcion, scoring.  8-7 after 8 innings.  The National League was coming back strong. 

With the "eight" horsemen of the apocalypse attacking, cutting and killing every growing thing in sight, and with us yelling out dice rolls and play results at full volume to each other, it became more than portly Justin could take.  He hurriedly made his way to his bike, mounted it and peddled as fast as his chubby little legs would take him back toward his family's camp site.  I could hardly blame him.  Just like the cliff hanger in the old Batman TV series, I could almost hear the voice in my head, "The worst is yet to come!"

Behind me I heard the distinct sound of the diesel engine of the bucket truck groan as the driver applied more fuel.  Then the familiar "BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP" as the large truck engaged reverse and began backing up.  It stopped at the entrance of the picnic shelter, only feet from where we sat.  One of the workers with a chain saw mounted the vehicle from the back and climbed into the bucket.  Up he ascended out of our line of sight.  This couldn't be good.

With significant desperation managerial changes having been made by me for pinch hitters and pinch runners, my bench and defense were becoming depleted.  In the 9th inning, I moved Johnny Bench to first base as Tim McCarver entered to catch.  With Joe Morgan already burned, and Concepcion (F) running for Beckert in the 8th inning, Davey was called upon to stay in the game and play Second Base. 

As the unseen man in the bucket blared his chain saw from somewhere above us, limbs suddenly started crashing against the metal roof of the picnic shelter.  Debris hit and slid down, falling onto the surrounding grass, landscape, pink bicycle and black top.  Other workers were there to scoop or blow these new found wooden fragments from the area.  2-cycle smoke and saw dust filled the air.  Men, near and far, yelled to each other.  The ceiling above us was bombarded by falling tree limbs.  Equipment roared.  My partner and I strained our voices to communicate over the pandemonium.  It reminded me very much of a battle scene from an old war movie.  We would not surrender, we were playing on!

McCarver walked and scored on a double by Tony Perez in the bottom of the 9th as Eddie Watt struggled on the mound.  The noise was likely distracting him.  With first base open, one out, the winning run now in scoring position, and Willie Mays up, the Yankee Boy signaled in the direction of first base indicating an intentional walk.  Good move.  And with his voice already strained, it was a nice reserve of his vocal resources too.  Concepcion wiffed.  With Willie Stargel due up, Yankee Boy brought in lefty Gary Peters.  With the platoon numbers, Stargel is killed by lefty pitching.  To the bench, and Lee May was called upon to hit to counter.  Chess requires no more strategy than our APBA games.  In a daring move, Yankee Boy again signaled for the free pass.  Two intentional walks in three batters!!  When Maury Wills hit into a 6-4 Fielders Choice to end the inning, the Boy breathed a sigh of relief.

We were going extras.  With the noise, distractions, potential rain and tree limb bombs going off all around us, more sensible players would have packed it up and finished another time.  For us, by now, this was a quest.  Similar to Clark W. Griswold leading his family to Wally World in California, we were on a trip that we would not abandon even if we had to tie a dead relative to the roof of the car or smack some kid with my hat.  Oh no.  We would finish.

Kaline walked to start the 10th, but was quickly picked off.  Boog Powell and Brooks Robinson made routine outs.  Bill Freehan's home run in the 5th inning was the last A.L. hit.  The noise and carnage around us continued.  A boat was now backing down the launching ramp and directions were being yelled from a helpful wife to her husband who was trying, and failing, to back the rig into the lake to her satisfaction.  You could only hear her during lulls in some of the equipment noise, which wasn't much.  Her off key, finger nails on a chalk board, screeching did little to help matters for us.

In the bottom of the 10th, Hank Aaron and Johnny Bench singled to put the winning run in scoring position.  Tim McCarver strolled into the batters box.  When McCarver delivered the third straight single of the inning, Hammerin' Hank streaked home with the winning run.  Almost as if on cue, something happened in the campground and an alarm went off with a sound so loud that it eclipsed even the Stihl equipment ensemble that we had enjoyed for the past 30 minutes or so.  The constant WOO-WOO-WOO-WOO of the alarm was a fitting end to a great game and a very strange day.

For the first time in what seemed like hours, I uttered completely unnecessary words.  "Let's go home."  The ride home was sort of quiet, as my passenger and APBA buddy took advantage of the first peaceful moments we had enjoyed in a long time.  I wonder if she ever came back for the bicycle?

Curses and grudges

In the world of APBA baseball, sometimes it recreates more than just stats similar to real life.  Sometimes, it creates the same drama, tension and rivalries as real life - even curses.  Maybe.

In the American League Semi-Finals of the Richard Nixon Invitational (best team from each franchise between 1971-1975), the 1974 New York Yankees faced the 1975 Boston Red Sox.  This is the fourth such tournament played by my son and me.  He insists on managing only the New York Yankees in order to keep all of his good APBA fortune and luck saved up for the boys in pin stripes.

He has one championship to his credit, as he led the 1986 Yankees to a perfect 10-0 record in the first tournament.  He got close with the 1985 team, winning the American League Pennant but falling to the '85 St. Louis Cardinals in the Championship.  His best team by regular season record, so far, was the 1980 Yankees, but they failed to make it out of the Semi-finals.  With that, and knowing the Yankees of the late 60s and early 70s were not extremely successful, I took comfort knowing I was likely safe from another Yankee title at the hands of the Boy, at least until the 1961 M&M boys take the field.

His '74 team beat Frank Robinson and the 1975 Cleveland Indians in the first round, which was not really surprising.  His next match up was the #2 seed, 1971 Oakland A's and their 101 wins.  Yankee Boy and this light hitting bunch of Bronx Bombers (more accurately Bronx Bloopers) rolled over Charlie O's group, sweeping Oakland in 2 games.  Next up was the #3 seed, 1975 Boston Red Sox.  This would be the first Yankee - Red Sox series of any tournament so far.  With the '75 Reds working their way through the National League bracket, I just knew a rematch of the 1975 World Series would be waiting on me at the end of the tournament road.

The Red Sox were excited to have home field advantage and looked forward to making quick work of the Yankees.  But in Game 1, New York ace Pat Dobson continued to be masterful, pitching his second complete game in 3 starts.  The Snake gave up only 2 earned runs over 9 innings and saw his ERA climb all the way to 1.01 for the tournament, as he stayed undefeated at 3-0.  The Yanks never trailed in the game, getting out to a 6-0 lead in the 5th inning, and winning easily 8-2.

The Yankees got out early again in Game 2 leading 3-0 after 5 innings.  But The Sox pulled even in the 6th, as Dwight Evans singled, Cooper Tripled, Doyle singled and Lynn doubled, back to back to back to back.  Bill Lee and Doc Medich hurled scoreless 7th innings as the teams remained deadlocked.  Carl Yastrzemski (who did not have a particularly good card in 1975) slammed a solo home run in the 8th to put the Sox up 4-3.  Reggie Cleveland and Dick Drago gave Lee the relief he needed in the 8th and 9th innings, and Boston pulled even, setting up a Game 3 finale.

Boston fans outside Fenway

Boston fans lined up outside the stadium waiting on tickets to Game 3 and a chance to witness first hand the elimination of their rival Yankees.  Those fans greatly anticipated their pitching advantage, as the Sox 3rd pitcher was Rick Wise (B-YZ) against the Yanks Dick Tidrow (D-Z).  

Tournament rules dictate that the pitching rotation for all teams consist of the 3 pitchers with the most inning pitched in the regular season.  A starting pitcher must pitch 3 innings or allow 5 runs before he can be removed.  The Red Sox could feast on Tidrow's D grade for at least 9 outs, and, they took full advantage.

Jim Rice and Carlton Fisk started the 2nd inning off with back to back singles.  Yaz popped out to Jim Mason at short, but Sandy Alomar boooted a Rico Petrocelli ground ball, loading the bases.  Rick Burlson's fly ball to right field would have ended the inning if Alomar had successfully played the grounder, but with 1 out instead of 2, Rice was able to tag and trot home with the games first run.

Tidrow entered his last frame of work by striking out Cecil Cooper and getting Denny Doyle to ground out to Jim Mason.  With 2 out and no one on base, the Boy and Yankee fans everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief - but too fast.  Lynn walked and Jim Rice's 66-1 over the Green Monster in left field gave the Sox a 3-0 lead.

With Tidrow's mandatory sentence served, the Boy went to the pen for lefty Larry Gura (C-Z).  The future Royal was not much better than Tidrow, but any improvement gave New York fans a little confidence.  The 4th inning was a simple 1-2-3 event with only routine plays.  Dwight Evans singled to lead off the 5th and Cecil Cooper was hit by a pitch to get the first two Red Sox on base.  Lynn followed one batter later with an infield hit to load the bases and bring the Fenway fans to their feet, as Jim Rice strolled to the box.  Sweat formed on the boy's upper lip.  The dice rolled and Rice's 44-7 scored 2 more and gave Boston their biggest lead of the series at 5-0.

My APBA buddy, Doug Schuyler, was getting text updates throughout the game.  In his 1983 Tournament, my terrible '83 Reds are playing well beyond their abilities and advancing through the competition.  With that kind of APBA luck rolling my way across hundreds of miles, I had this game and series in the bag.  But in the 6th, Thurman Munson doubled home Blomberg and scored on a Bobby Murcer base hit as New York entered the scoring column for the first time of the night.  Doug's advice to the Yankee Boy: "Think like a winner Matthew!" The Red Sox Nation and I would like to thank Doug for those encouraging words to the dice rolling, leader of the Evil Empire.

In the top of the 8th inning, Rick Wise remained in the game but was tiring.  In house rules require a 1 grade drop to any pitcher after his 32nd batter faced.  It's not an official APBA rule, but one I've observed for 30 years of play and one I find generates a little more realism into games with teams from the modern era.  Nettles (batter 31) grounded out to third base for the first out.  Munson's 55-8 turned into a fly out to center field against Wise's B-Grade.  But now with 32 batters faced Wise dropped to a C.  The Sox were 4 outs away from advancing.  

Roger Moret laughs at my goof of
burning the only graded long reliever
in the Red Sox bull pen.

The biggest weakness I see with the '75 Red Sox is their bull pen.  It's thin.  Drago is a B*-Y closer, but beyond that, there isn't much quality there.  Another in house rule is a 1 grade bump for a reliever against either of the first two batters they face where the pitcher maintains a platoon advantage, in the inning where they make their appearance.  With lefties Murcer and Chambliss up, I called on lefty Roger Moret (C-Y) to get the grade bump and get me out of the inning so I could hand the ball to my closer, Drago.  Moret walked Murcer.  No problem.  Chambliss is also a lefty and Moret maintains the grade bump against him in this inning.  Chambliss' 35-37 got Murcer thrown out at 2nd base and ended the inning.  The Red Sox fans erupted with joy.  

Boston failed to add to their lead in the 8th, but they needed only 3 Yankee outs.  Moret stayed in to face Chambliss, although the grade bump was gone since he was now working in his 2nd inning.  A walk to the New York first baseman resulted in a call to the pen for closer Dick Drago.  Sandy Alomar hustled out an infield hit to bring the tying run to the plate. After counting 1's on cards, Yankee Boy called upon Bill Sudakis to pinch hit for Jim Mason.  But a pop out to Fisk put Boston to within 2 outs of their goal.  Elliott Maddox flew out to Jim Rice in left field for the second out and Fenway Park swayed under the excitement of its fan base.

Lou ponders Yankee Boy's moves

Yankee Boy called Piniella back from the on deck circle - WAIT - WHAT???  Sweet Lou leads New York in hits in the tournament with 15 and RBIs with 11.  Why would the Boy want to pull him??  Apparently, there are old grudges existing between the two.  Piniella failed to produce in prior BBW projects for the Boy dating back 6-7 years ago.  Now that's a grudge.  But upon looking down the inept hitters populating the New York bench, Yankee Boy sent Piniella back out of the dug out to the batters box.  This form of open and public humiliation made the volatile and explosive Piniella go off.  Anger showed openly in his face as Drago delivered the pitch.  Piniella only has 2 first column "zeros" on his card, and 66 is one of them.  Many thoughts went through my head.  I'm up 3 with 2 on.  Lou has only 9 second column "ones".  I have a 3 in 4 chance of it being something other than a home run and can still hang on to win this.  55 is one of the ones.  Tie game.

In the 10th, the Boy and his band of pinstriped minions continued their attack on the good and decent Boston team.  Sandy Alomar's triple scored Murcer and Chambliss and Fenway Park fell silent.  Closer Dick Drago had given up 4 runs all earned in 2 innings of work.  

But the Bosox were not done.  With lefty Rudy May on the mound for New York, Juan Beniquez pinch hit for Denny Doyle and drew a walk.  Fred Lynn did the same, and the tying run was now on base.  Rice lumbered to the box.  A 66 would win it!!  But a strike out swinging produced only the first out instead.  But now Fisk was up.  Again, a 66 would win it!!  Carlton produced a ground out to third base that moved the runners into scoring position.  Yaz came through with a base hit that plated both and tied the game at 7-7!

Late inning replacement and
bearer of the Curse - Gene Michael

We move into the 11th and Drago, having pitched 2 innings in relief, was done.  The only remaining options for Boston had grades of D.  Reggie Cleveland (D-Z) was called upon to work and try to maintain the tie.  A 1-2-3 frame had the crowd back on its feet cheering again!  Suddenly, no one remembered the long wait for tickets earlier that day.  All the Sox needed was a run.  Burleson walked and the tension mounted.  But suddenly, as if the curse itself were present in the dice and cards, Evans grounded to Gene Michael, who started a 6-4-3 double play erasing the runner.  Cecil Cooper's 11-4 would have been a game ending triple with Burleson on first; but as it turned out, it was a double.  Beniquez (who stayed in for Doyle) lined out to Gene Michael (curse bearer) at short to end the threat.

With 1 away in the 12th, Munson and Mercer combined for back to back singles.  A Chambliss fly out put hope into the Boston faithful that they could dodge the bullet and take another shot at the win.  Alomar beat out his 2nd infield single of the night to load the bases for - you guessed it - curse bearer, Gene Michael.  The good news is, Michael is a very light hitting player.  No power.  A .260 hitter in real life.  But his 42-36 did produce a wild pitch that allowed Munson to cross the plate and moved the other runners into scoring position.  (Curse??  Nah)  Michael's 44-8 singled home Murcer and Alomar and New York led 10-7.  Back to back singles by Maddox and Yankee Boy's new favorite player, Lou Piniella, scored Michael and set the score at 11-7.

Lynn walked to lead off the 12th for Boston, but Rice and Fisk struck out and Yaz grounded out to 3rd to bring an end to this version of the Boston Massacre.  Was it the curse?  I'm not sure.  Does Yankee Boy hold an old grudge against Piniella and did that affect the outcome of the game?  I don't know.  Was it a fantastic way to spend an hour with my son playing a game and reliving great old baseball rivalries?  Absolutely!