Yes dear members, Strat-o-matic Baseball, this game has captured the hearts and souls of most of us, yes?  All the countless hours we have devoted to the phenomena.  It's an alternative universe of sorts for the most hardcore gamers.  Somewhat akin to the events staged for comic book people, auto enthusiasts, baseball tailgaters, and festies, Strat-o-matic fanatics are a different breed. 

Strat-o-matic's "Opening Day" is their 'event' of the year.  The meeting and gathering place where all things linked with Strat-o-matic Baseball are a reality, and a satisfying way to meet others, such as ourselves.  "Opening Day" is has it own meaning for each individual or family.  It is a direct connection between this game we love and to baseball.  Each and every attendee is like a MLB pro in their own right.  They are treated as professionals because to have this dedication to attend this special day means that you are truly truly dedicated to Strat-o-matic and all the activities surrounding it and the various ways the game company has given us to play their baseball game.  It is a badge of honor, that not all can achieve.  It is a very intimate day where everyone who attends is equal and its a "hell-of-a lot' of fun.  Everyone, who love SOM Baseball, I believe, has to do their best to attend at least one "Opening Day" at the game company.

Thus, here is my report of what I saw and what I experienced.  So, "Opening Day 2018" was perhaps one of the best attended in some time.  With weather being a factor in previous years, the Glen Head Long Island weather this day was mild and pleasant.  Drivers, fliers, train riders, all converged on this little railroad town on Long Island's North Shore .  The talk was highly spirited with the topics of conversations being generally about leagues, teams, possible cards, ratings, local food and things going on with our Strat-o-matic family. You could hear laughter all day, everywhere and it was quite frequently. All I witnessed during this special day was very happy people, with a happy family they celebrate with, that of course being the Richman family.
 

Special Quest Present at "Opening Day"
Bill Daughtry is a well known sports announcer in the NYC area
as well as a Strat-o-matic Fanatic, who was on hand this day.
He is standing next to Adam Rosen, who was the former
marketing director of Strat-o-matic who always loves the
game and said in his interview (see our Youtube Channel)
that he had to be present to celebrate this day with other fans!!
 

Present as always was Hal Richman (the game creator) with his son, Adam Richman and Adam's daughter. Key employees who run the game company were also there including Len Schwartz and his baseball saavy sons, Bob Winberry, and John Garcia. Additionally, the Strat Mat hosts of Strat-o-matic's Youtube Video Channel were present, Adam and Laura.  Then I also met with and spoke to Bill Daughtry (a fellow SOM fanatic and well known sports announcer in the NYC area) and Adam Rosen (the former Marketing Director for Strat-o-matic).  All in all, it was day filled with smiles and warmth, with a genuine happiness for all who attended to meet the other, what I call the "Pro's", that's you and I, we who make it all happen as SOM fans.
 

Also, I am delighted to report that I met with the SOM computer game designer, Bob Winberry.  Bob is a legend to those who know him.  He created from scratch our computer baseball game.  In my opinion, this was a monumental achievement that he was able to accomplish.  Bob and his team, set out for each season to provide the very best game that they can deliver.  Considering the time and man hours he has put in to get this done, the game is a remarkable achievement in programming.  Bob has pride in the game's baseball details as well.

As baseball simulations and simulators go, there is no better I believe.   If you really dig into the computer game, this game accounts for so many small details of what happens in real baseball. Almost any situation can be recreated, from  interference plays, to inside the park homers and 3 base errors.  Only in Strat-o-matic can you see an accurate recording of rare events, such as RBI's granted on a bases loaded interference play which is more rare than a triple play, super rare indeed.  Bob makes sure that the game can reflect such anomalies.  It was a pleasure to meet and chat with him.  Check out my video interview with Bob, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_UO4U_dX3A

Then, I had a chance to meet the "Strat Mat hosts", Adam and Laura.  A charming and fun team as they provided a positive spirit throughout much of the day's activities and were constantly greeting all those who came for this day.  They were creating some videos as well for the SOM Youtube channel.  I noticed as they were speaking to others, that they were looking for different camera shots, and presented some highly interesting questions to their interviewees.  At some point, I was interviewed by them and Adam tried to get me to comment about SOM, that they were going to make a huge change to the baseball cards and go back to a one sided card with basic, advance, and super-advance, all inclusive on the one side of the card.  In a very polite way, I called this all bunk, stating that, "It just wouldn't happen, SOM would never do such a thing."  Laura, his co-host, she seemed to know this was a bit of a joke as I was gonna laugh, and she tried to keep a straight face.  I did my best to suppress my chuckles; you just can't fool an old Brooklyn boy.  I sure did smile though, and it was so cool. Cool that the game company working with their associates, like the likeable and fun Adam with his spirited and charming co-host, Laura, were actually helping to take SOM into the modern times of today using the technologies we have for the internet.   I am encouraged that they are making things more fun and entertaining via the video broadcasts on Youtube as they reach out more to the viewers.  I am so glad to see SOM is breaking out and becoming more media and social media saavy.  They are more a step in the right direction here in 2018 which I hopes continue. To view our interview with the "Strat Mats", go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxNB8ucsdH0

This day I had a chance to meet some really great people.  There is a longer video that was recorded of these meetings and chats, see below at the bottom of this article, for a list of all the "Opening Day" videos we have setup on our Youtube Channel. Of course, as is our tradition, we did have a brief opportunity to speak with Hal Richman.  I always love talking with him.  I have felt a connection to Hal since I was a teenager, playing the baseball game in the 70's.  It was then that Hal and James (Williams) opened their doors at 46 Railroad Plaza (in Glen Head) to me, as a young teen.  This game, or passion has kept my attention and focus during difficult times.  Their kindness and the welcoming attitudes they shared with me, whenever I could visit the game company have always been genuine.  When I met with Mr. Richman, I just felt he cared. I can't explain this more, just that he cared so much about me and his customers.  I knew then, that Strat-o-matic was the right thing, the right game for me to play. 

And anyone who ever attends an "Opening Day" can easily see how much Mr. Richman does care, and he cares very much as it was clearly evident at "Opening Day 2018".   For years now, every time I make the long trek to Long Island (from New Jersey), I always have a chance to speak with and chat with Mr. Richman, even if it is just to come to pickup my new cards or seasons.  I really enjoy these talks.  And Hal always remembers the things we have discussed before ... and he still does. His kind eyes always held wisdom as it still does now.  He addresses all of his customer friends with a full attention as he gets to know them and speaks to each person.  He always has done this and today, it was no different.  Hal 's positive aura is strong.  He always lights up the "Opening Day Event" as he walks around to greet everyone. To this day when we speak, I feel the same way as always. He remembers, all of his
Strat-o-matic fans.
 

Right now, I have no room in my life for any other game other than Strat-o-matic. I  won't waste my time with any other game.  On "Opening Day", if you were expecting a parade, or for Fox News, Blimps, Rock Stars, or Celebrities to be present, you will be let down.  But if you were there to chill out with some really cool dudes, this is the place to be.  You can see in our videos taken during this special day shown on our Youtube channel, that the SOM community genuinely likes one another.  Really, if you think about this, in the final conclusion its all about the relationships and friendships we build with other SOM gamers. If there would be a friendlier community for another type of sports game, then I'd be totally shocked.  It's really cool for me to see how much material is being posted on-line about SOM now.  Gamers truly can reap the benefits of this new mode as we get to see more game played based channels starting to become so popular on Youtube.  We've met Chris Espo and we met Strat-o-matic Delaware through this video system.  We did a nice little interview and discussion with both channel masters.  I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with them as well as watching their channels.   We as a community are all supporting one another which is good for our community.  There is a new video that will be coming soon that will discuss this.

Once again, I met with that colorful Philadelphia crew of Strat Gamers who were back for "Opening Day".  The rantings about Mark Bellhorn cracked me up from last year. If you watch some of our previous "Opening Day videos" you will discover some hilarious reactions from this "Philadelphia Strat Crew", as I call them including Brian K.  Each year, Brian tells us about the legendary "Steve" and his colorful nicknames and dice rolling rituals.  It is absolutely hilarious stuff we receive each year from Brian, Bob and the Philly Crew.   Check out the 2016 Opener video, to get a few chuckles, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFbT-ewv55Y
 

Time to Pickup Your Teams Once Inside the Game Company
For some people, it feels like an Early Christmas to visit on
"Opening Day" and to have the Strat-o-matic Staff help you
pickup your new teams to prepare for the new season of
strat-o-matic game play.  Here we see a new SOM T-shirt
worn by staff.  Even Len Schwartz, the office manager to your
left is making sure this gamer gets all the teams he came for.
 

This year we also did a special video with a long time fan showing the evolution of Strat-o-matic cards over the years.  This fan had all the SOM original cards in superior condition from the NY Mets franchise from 1962 on. We sampled and showed some of the early cards and years from 1964 and 1967.  We then show examples of the evolution of the SOM card over the years from 1 sided to super advanced and those in between.  Stay tuned for this video, it coming soon to our video channel.  It is fun to be back with all of you, sharing all the great stories and experiences linked to our game via this newsletter and our Youtube channel. We intend to continue to add more great vids for our video channel with updates so you may want to periodically check into the Ultimate Strat Baseball Channel on Youtube and we will have such announcement made via our newsletter and bulletins.  Please feel free to let your friends know about us and invite them to subscribe to the video youtube channel and/or our newsletter. And lastly, don't forget our new 2018 Ultimate Strat Baseball Essential Draft guide we just released, if you want that competitive advantage in your league.  We share more about the draft guide on our "SOM Baseball and World News" page, in this edition, with a link to that page given in the Menu section of this page below.  Or you can jump right here to our webpage which explains this guide more and how to get your copy now, click here.  So dear readers ...