Loved Doug Glanville’s article. I am proud to say that I Glanville was on my
team for my 1997 face-to-face draft league. Have you met other major leaguer’s who are Strat fans? Good luck in 2004.

Rod Jerred, Stat-player since 1967

How often do you play Strat-O-Matic with teammates?  And which Major League Baseball player gives you the toughest challenge?  Good luck this year.  Go Phils.

Frank Giles

It is wonderful to hear your story. Good luck this year. I was wondering if you know any players who currently play the game?

Will Oast,  Portsmouth, VA

Thanks for the wishes, everyone. I have met a few other Strat fans. Although I haven’t checked the radar recently. I played with Kevin Sefcik, Kent Bottenfield, Lenny Dykstra. They all enjoyed the game. When I talk about it, most of the players have at least heard of it, so I think it is well known in the professional circuit. Not sure about who is currently playing Strat, but after the inquiries, I will ask around.

 

Great to hear that a professional ballplayer was also a Strat "junkie!" Just wanted to say, great to hear your story, and as a diehard Cub fan, thanks for efforts last year during that memorable playoff run. I was disappointed we couldn’t keep you here for this year’s run. I’ve always been a big fan of yours, and after reading your article, I’m an even bigger fan! Thanks and good luck to you this season (except, of course, when you play the Cubbies!)  You are truly one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game!

Tom Bianco, Hobart, IN

Thanks a lot for the support. It was a great run in Chicago last year. That is one of my favorite cities in the country as well as a great place to play. The fans are amazing. I did have interest in returning to Chicago, but they had other plans. I was grateful for having the opportunity to go back and contribute to my original organization.

 

I enjoyed reading your Strat biography. It’s cool to know Major League players play the game. I’ve been an avid player for seven years now… one championship and four playoff appearances. It is like an addiction when springtime rolls around each year. We are always so anxious to see the cards! This year I have Javy Lopez, Todd Helton, Bret Boone, Orlando Cabrera, Bill Mueller, Brian Giles, Torii Hunter and Ichiro Suzuki starting with Esteban Loaiza and Mark Prior as my aces. Good luck this good season!

Ev Avara, Amarillo, TX

I have my 2003 set in hand, so I am checking out all the cards. It sounds like you have solid line-up if everyone stays healthy. Hopefully Prior will get back soon. Good luck!

 

Great article. I also remember learning things about players’ abilities by looking at their Strat cards before seeing them play. I’m a Cubs fan and I have a draft league team that should be very similar to last year’s Cubs. I have great pitching (Schmidt, Prior, Brown, Escobar, Peavy, Donnelly, Farnsworth, Tavarez, Stanton), and hopefully enough offense to win (Bagwell, Hairston, Spiezio, Jose Valentin, Geoff Jenkins, Andruw Jones, Wilkerson). I hope to get to the World Series – the last time I came close I lost in the playoffs and you were the starting CF for the opposing team.

I remember that triple you hit in extra innings in the LCS and the homerun you hit off Al Leiter in September. And those fans heckling Gregg Jeffries about his defensive rating was a classic. Keep up the good work.

Linus Pierce

 Glad to provide some Strat flavor into MLB. I enjoyed listening to the fans get on Jefferies. Great stuff!! All the best.

 

1.  Have you ever contemplated taking part in a strat-o-matic STAR tournament?  If you are not familar with them, their website is www.startournaments.com.

2.  What do you think is the most UNrealistic aspect of the game when compared to real major league baseball?

Eric

1. I don‘t know much about the STAR tournament, but anything with Strat and tournament would spark my interest. I will be sure to check out the website.

2.  I consider Strat-O-Matic to be a realistic game. It simulates baseball well. I don’t find too many areas that I would consider unrealistic, although I am sure you can get as detailed as you want to be. If anything, they could add more ratings, but they do that from time to time anyway. I always thought infielders arms could be incorporated because when you hit that cut-off man, it really matters how well he can throw. I played with Mike Young and A-Rod in Texas and those two made a BIG difference in cutting off the lead runner. Great arms.

 

I have been playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball for 23 years. My friends introduced me to the game when I was 11 years old. I play in a great little league called the BVL Strat Baseball league (bvlaction.com). My team is the NY Knights. I want to know from Doug if he still plays and does he use current teams? Does he replay playoff series or whole seasons? Has he tried to get other major leaguers to play Strat, too? I would love to see a charity event where ballplayers from each team get together for a day or two and play a big leaguers Strat tournament. It would be pretty cool. The players could draft teams like the tournament, but they also get to use their own cards, too. It would be so much fun to watch. ESPN could cover the games. Maybe Bob Costas could do play by play. "Glanville picks up the dice, Bret Boone on second with two outs and Larry Walker batting against Octavio Dotel. Glanville shakes the dice …. rolls…. and 3-6…. base hit, Boone comes around to score and Glanville’s team takes a 3-2 lead." … That would be sweet.

Adam Goldberg, Brooklyn

Well, Adam, sounds like some great ideas. I like the thoughts about having a charity event with players playing themselves or against other players. I haven’t been in a formal league in a long time, but I did mess around with the computer version for a long time. At some point, I will get back into the day to day management.