Rolling back into the past
Totally by chance I came across this website called Tabletop Sports. It is devoted to sports related dice games. Gamers upload their own games or provide stats for existing games. Some people have even posted spreadsheets for keeping score of your favorite game.
Browsing through the site a little got me to thinking about when I first really became interested (obsessed) with sports statistics. It happened in 1986 the spring after the Toronto Blue Jays won their first pennant. I was flipping through the pages of my copy of Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball Annual when I saw the advertisement that would change my summer. Strat-o-Matic claimed to be a game based completely on statistics. You could endlessly replay baseball seasons based on probabilities generated from player performances. I had to have this. I would replay the 1985 season and this time the Jays would win. I convinced my Mom to lend me the money and I frantically filled out the order form. Now all I had to do was wait 4-6 weeks.
That wait was excruciating. The Jays got of to a terrible start and even worse the Red Sox were leading the division (The Red Sox Suck!). Finally one June morning a package was at the post office for me. I could hardly contain myself as I carefully opened the box and found the playing board, rules and hundreds of player cards with crisp, freshly cut corners. It wasn’t long before the Blue Jays were leading the division and the Red Sox (Who Suck) were where they belonged, firmly in last place.
I hardly left my room that summer but I visited Exhibition Stadium, Candlestick Park and countless other places I had only dreamed of. I got to see the still unhittable Dwight Gooden strike out sixteen Cardinals only to have Willie McGee break up his no-hitter in the 9th. I watched Dave Steib dominate the American League East. I learned what a pesky hitter Rick Manning was. I was puzzled why the Giants sucked so much in real baseball. I couldn’t figure out why the Dodgers were winning. I have never since experienced the kind of imaginary wonder that I felt when playing that game. Until now I didn’t realize how much I miss that feeling. As adults we don’t allow ourselves to experience it.
I never did finish the season. Between school and growing up I just never devoted the time to it again. Now that I am old(er) and have a fancy computer to help me along I think I will do some searching for a game that will help me find a little bit of that feeling again, and share it with my son.
Browsing through the site a little got me to thinking about when I first really became interested (obsessed) with sports statistics. It happened in 1986 the spring after the Toronto Blue Jays won their first pennant. I was flipping through the pages of my copy of Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball Annual when I saw the advertisement that would change my summer. Strat-o-Matic claimed to be a game based completely on statistics. You could endlessly replay baseball seasons based on probabilities generated from player performances. I had to have this. I would replay the 1985 season and this time the Jays would win. I convinced my Mom to lend me the money and I frantically filled out the order form. Now all I had to do was wait 4-6 weeks.
That wait was excruciating. The Jays got of to a terrible start and even worse the Red Sox were leading the division (The Red Sox Suck!). Finally one June morning a package was at the post office for me. I could hardly contain myself as I carefully opened the box and found the playing board, rules and hundreds of player cards with crisp, freshly cut corners. It wasn’t long before the Blue Jays were leading the division and the Red Sox (Who Suck) were where they belonged, firmly in last place.
I hardly left my room that summer but I visited Exhibition Stadium, Candlestick Park and countless other places I had only dreamed of. I got to see the still unhittable Dwight Gooden strike out sixteen Cardinals only to have Willie McGee break up his no-hitter in the 9th. I watched Dave Steib dominate the American League East. I learned what a pesky hitter Rick Manning was. I was puzzled why the Giants sucked so much in real baseball. I couldn’t figure out why the Dodgers were winning. I have never since experienced the kind of imaginary wonder that I felt when playing that game. Until now I didn’t realize how much I miss that feeling. As adults we don’t allow ourselves to experience it.
I never did finish the season. Between school and growing up I just never devoted the time to it again. Now that I am old(er) and have a fancy computer to help me along I think I will do some searching for a game that will help me find a little bit of that feeling again, and share it with my son.
posted by The Silver Fox at 13:17
2 Comments:
was it the game itself and baseball that got you interested or was it the mathematical approach to the game in general?
Foremost it was my love of baseball that got me interested in the game. Having the ability to "manage a team" really appeled to me too. The math appealed to be in the sense that I am a geek about compling and analysing stats.
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