Some Replay Inspiration
Every now and then I feel lethargic and uninterested. It’s pretty common to feel like your replay projects are going nowhere, and that it’s all turned into a chore.
When that happens, I tend to turn to past issues of The APBA Journal.
The APBA Journal was an excellent publication for replayers, particularly during the golden age from 1986 to 1992, when Howard Ahlskog was running the show. And some of the old replay reviews are simply fantastic.
Take this Original Franchise All Star project that was reported in the September 1990 issue as an example:
There’s a lot of great stuff going on here, stuff that we’d dream about in any replay project.
You’ve got Shoeless Joe Jackson winning the American League batting title by only 6 points over Ty Cobb. Jimmie Fox managed to hit 61 home runs as he helped the Philadelphia Athletics to a surprise pennant.
Meanwhile, Hack Wilson led the way with 59 home runs in the National League, as the hapless Cubs somehow managed to beat out the Dodgers, Phillies, and Giants in a wild finish in the National League.
The pennant races were great, starting with the National League:
Now, if that excitement isn’t enough to get you interested, there’s also the little bit about the various problems the replay encountered:
A lot of these issues are APBA specific, of course - but it’s interesting to think about the problems you encounter when using a pre-1960 schedule with all of its quirks.
Anyway, those are a few things to think about as you report on your own replays in different forums and other places. Sometimes the most interesting stories only come up when you take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Wishing everyone a fun season full of replaying your favorite seasons with your favorite players and teams. I expect to play my first SOM game of this baseball season with the 1984 Phillies in the coming week.
Great article! I loved APBA's original OFAS set back in the day. I do have to take issue with your characterization of the Cubs as "hapless," however. Back in those cards and dice days it made sense for APBA to design the set based on each player's career year, as opposed to probably the better overall model of a series of peak years or entire career. The latter methods "smooth out" some of the single year aberrational performances - think 1961 Norm Cash. Anyhow, those OFAS Cubs were formidable for two reasons. First, their pitching staff boasted a high number of Deadball Era hurlers who had incredible career seasons (cards were not normalized for real life environment in any way). Second, due to the overwhelming number of A and A+ pitchers on all staffs, base hits could be hard to come by and power became the name of the game. The Cubs had lots of first column 1s distributed among their hitters. I think other than the Braves and Reds, every team in the NL had a fair shot at winning the pennant. The Pirates and Giants won my two replays and the Cubs finished in 2nd place both times. Naturally, the Yankees were the class of the AL, with the A's being a not-too-distant second best. The Indians, Red Sox, and Tigers (probably in that order) all had varying degrees of an outside shot at a pennant. Only a miracle would land Chicago, St. Louis, or Washington a pennant over a full season. Some great memories!!