Issue #3, April 2013
(Help us keep our newsletter Free,
visit our on-line Collectibles, Baseball & Athletic Gear Store)
**
Interviews with Strat Baseball Players linked
to Professional
Baseball
**
(interviews conducted by the Wolfman with Jim
Callis of Baseball America and
Ken Davidoff, baseball columnist of the New York Post)
(Notes from the Wolfman:
It has been my desire to include in
our newsletter information related directly to the game of
baseball. While I am not necessarily looking for people
linked to all the forms of baseball who are linked to this
professional sport that have played the baseball version of
Strat-o-matic, in April I discovered as I was exploring Twitter,
two such individuals. I think by understanding all aspect of
Baseball, including all the levels from high school to MLB, it
benefits us in our ability to play the game better. Plus as
armchair managers or GMs, we get curious to know the people who
are involved and want to hear their stories.
So I
thank Mr. Callis and Davidoff for permitting me to interview
them and as I am typing these words there are others I have
spoken to via email/twitter/facebook who have agreed to be
interviewed that I will be sharing in the future. I hope
one or more of these individuals might consider to do a periodic
column and possibly participate in the weekend of tournaments we
hope to hold in the fall of 2013 with our partners. If any
of our members has access to other people linked to professional
baseball - an ex or current player, manager, coach, scout, GM,
sportscaster, etc - who might like to be interviewed, please
contact us.)
Jim Callis
Executive Editor, Baseball
America
Wolfman:
Today we have a chance to speak to
Jim Callis who works for Baseball America.
For those of you not familiar with Baseball America (and if you
are in a league that allows you to draft young players before
they hit the majors, you should definitely visit their website
often), it is the premier organization for knowing about the
best young players in the country. As I shared I met Jim on
twitter and he becomes our first official person that actually
makes a living working with professional baseball that we are
speaking with. But as it turns out, not only did Jim work at
STATS, Inc. which helps Strat-o-matic with the statistics they
need to
create their baseball cards each year but he is also very
familiar with the game we love as well.
Jim thank you for giving us this chance to speak to you. My
first question is, have you always been interested in baseball,
even when you were very young?
Jim:
Yes. My family would visit my
grandparents on Cape Cod every summer when I was young, and my
grandfather was a baseball fan and we'd watch Red Sox games. I
started collecting baseball cards seriously when I seven years
old--I still remember the 1975 Topps set vividly.
(FYI, I was involved in helping SOM while I was at
STATS.-- Wolfman - we will ask Jim more about this
later then.)
Wolfman:
Did you play baseball, like in
little league or for your school? Who is your favorite
team or teams, and your favorite ball players?
Jim:
I played through Babe Ruth League,
but I wasn't good enough and my high school (Oakton High, in
Virginia) was too big for me to have any chance to make my high
school team. Because of my grandfather and our visits to Cape
Cod, I was raised as a Red Sox fan. I don't know if it's because
of my job, but I wouldn't say I have favorite players as much.
I'm interested in prospects, and it's always fun learning about
new guys before they get hyped, but I wouldn't say I root for
them.
Wolfman:
Now how did you become involved with
Strat-o-matic?
Jim:
I started playing at a young age. I
always loved games, so playing baseball games was a natural. I
remember playing All-Star Baseball (a game with player discs and
spinners; pitchers didn't matter beyond how well they hit) when
I was very young. After that, I graduated to SherCo, this game
where you plotted out batted balls on a 28x28 grid. I loved that
game, and the players were rated based on their stats, but not
in the same detail as SOM. I started playing
SOM as a teenager. I remember in college setting up NCAA-style
brackets that included all the teams and playing them out.
Wolfman:
Have you ever played in any leagues
or tournaments? How do you rate your managing abilities? Do you
have any tips you could share with our members how to play the
game better?
Jim:
I have. I've been in a couple of SOM
leagues over the years, and I recently won a league that
Seamheads.com ran (though
I didn't really have to do much managing in that one). I usually
did well in my leagues. Don't think this is any secret, but I
always thought being able to break down the cards to understand
the probabilities was key.
Wolfman:
What is it about Strat-o-matic that
you like the most?
Jim:
It's fun on a number of levels. It's
a fun game, plays relatively quickly yet there's a lot of
strategy involved. When I was younger, I always liked finding
guys with crazy platoon splits who could be deployed as serious
weapons.
Wolfman:
Can you share with our members how
you were able to work for STATS, Inc. and now Baseball America?
Did I share correctly what Baseball America is about? What type
of products and services do you offer? If our members want to
visit your website, where should they go?
Jim:
Baseball America covers baseball
from every angle: majors, minors, college, high school with an
emphais on player development and talent rankings. We publish a
magazine that comes out every two weeks, maintain a website (www.baseballamerica.com)
with even more
content and publish several books, most notably the Prospect
Handbook.
I had an internship with Baseball America while in college,
working on a book detailing the history of the draft, and
parlayed that into a full-time job when I graduated from the
University of Georgia in December 1988. I've worked there ever
since, save for a three-year period (September 1997 to May 2000)
where I worked for STATS, Inc. after my family moved to the
Chicago area.
Wolfman:
Did Strat-o-matic Baseball help you
in any way to be more efficient in your job? Do you still play
the baseball game?
Jim:
I think SOM gave me an appreciation
for game strategy and the decisions you have to make during a
game. It also added to my love for the game. I haven't played in
a few years, mostly because I have four kids from ages 11 to 17
and just don't have much spare time.
Wolfman:
Now turning to our members who are
in leagues that allow the ability to pick or draft young players
in the minors or college - what would be the best way to work
with your website?
Jim:
We have several prospect rankings
and reports on our site (many require a subscription). We break
down prospects in just about any way imaginable, providing lots
of information that would help a SOM player.
Wolfman:
If you can, could you remember some
of the good young players coming up we should pay attention to
as potential young super stars or good solid players?
Jim:
I would just direct your readers to
our site at
www.baseballamerica.com. For instance, this is the link to
our overall Top 100 Prospects list for 2013:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2013-top-100-prospects-list/
Wolfman:
What is it like working at Baseball
America - it this an enjoyable work, how are the people you work
with, are they also very interested in the game of Baseball? Is
it a very intense work you do? How does Baseball America come up
with their rankings?
I would say that both those adjectives apply: "enjoyable" and
"intense." If you didn't love baseball, you wouldn't want to
work at Baseball America, because we're diving into every aspect
of the game. It's not a 9-to-5, 40-hour-a-week job, but that's
OK with me. I get up every day and I'm working in baseball,
which is terrific. We have an extensive network of scouts and
player-personnel officials that provide us with information,
though the rankings are
solely the opinion of Baseball America. We see some players in
person but also rely heavily on scouts.
Wolfman:
So
you say you are an executive editor at Baseball America. Does
this mean you are overseeing a great deal of the day-to-day
activities within your company? Can you share a bit more
about what exactly your job as this editor entails?
Jim:
My executive editor position may be
a little different than you envision it. When I worked in our
Durham headquarters from 1988-97, I rose to the position of
managing editor and ran the day-to-day operations of the
magazine (we only had a fledgling website at the time). I moved
to Chicago with my family in 1997 and worked for STATS, Inc.,
until 2000, when I went back to Baseball America but stayed in
Chicago. So I'm not responsible for the day-to-day operations at
all. My main duties include editing our annual Prospect Handbook
and overseeing our draft and prospect rankings.
Wolfman:
I know John Dewan who started STATS,
Inc. also played SOM (we hope to interview him soon) but have
you met other people involved with the real baseball who have
played this game?
Jim:
I can't say I've discussed SOM with
people in the game, but I've seen several articles over the
years that suggest that many played it growing up. It's a great
way for anyone, especially a young kid, to further his/her
understanding of the game.
Wolfman:
Jim, you mentioned briefly before
that while you worked at STATS, INC (when John Dewan was there)
that you helped SOM in someway, I guess providing statistics to
help them develop their cards. Can you expand a bit more exactly
what work you were doing at STATS, INC to help the game company?
Jim:
Sure. STATS had detailed breakdowns
of numerous statistics that would be used to help determine the
rankings (such as catcher caught stealing percentage, how often
runners took an extra base, range factors, etc.). We'd use those
stats to help determine recommended SOM ratings for catcher
throwing, baserunning, defense, etc.
Wolfman:
If any of our members would like to
contact you to discuss Baseball or Baseball Amerrica, what is
the best way for them to do so?
Jim:
Via Twitter at @jimcallisBA.
Wolfman:
Thanks Jim for taking time out of
your busy schedule to share what it is like to work with
Baseball America and your experiences with Strat-o-matic.
Truly your group provides great great information about the
potential great young players coming up in Baseball. All the
best.
Ken Davidoff
Baseball Columnist at New York
Post
Wolfman:
For this interview I
am proud to introduce Ken Davidoff who is a Baseball Columnist
for the well known New York Post, which means he lives in the
area where our beloved game is located. I met Ken on twitter and
doing my normal friendly greetings, asked if he would like to be
interviewed and he agreed.
Ken will provide you at the
end of this interview, his columnist webpage on the New York
Post where his articles about Baseball, the NY Yankees and Mets
are shared. But also this young man has a very impressive
background as a baseball columnist that I wanted to share, how
fortunate we are to have such a writer allow us to interview
him:
Ken Davidoff joins
The Post after completing a nearly 11-year run at Newsday,
where he covered the Yankees from 2001 through 2004 then
became their baseball columnist. Prior to that, he worked at
The Record from 1994 until 2001. He has been honored twice
by the Associated Press Sports Editors, once for breaking
news and once for enterprise reporting. He can be seen
regularly on "Sports Xtra" on FOX 5 in New York. Ken
graduated the University of Michigan in 1993.
Ken, I would like to welcome
you to the Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter.
Ken:
Thanks for having
me. I was a huge Strat-O-Matic player as a youngster - football,
basketball and hockey in addition to baseball.
Wolfman:
Ken, have you always
loved baseball, even when you were young?
Ken:
Yes.
Wolfman:
Were you born in the
NYC area?
Ken:
Yes. I was born
in Queens.
Wolfman:
When you were
younger, what was your favorite team and who were your favorite
players?
Ken:
While growing up
in the '70s, I rooted for the Yankees, and then I jumped on the
Mets' bandwagon in the '80s. Back then, it wasn't a big deal to
root for both teams. My favorite players were Don Mattingly and
Dave Winfield.
Wolfman:
Did you yourself play
baseball when you were younger, little league or in high school,
etc?
Ken:
I played Little
League and didn't possess the skill to play at the high school
level or beyond.
Wolfman:
Do you consider
yourself an expert on the game of baseball?
Ken:
That's a good
question. I guess I'd say yes, but I certainly am always trying
to learn much, much more about every aspect of the game, on and
off the field.
Wolfman:
What did you have to
do through school to have to become a writer / reporter?
Ken:
I wrote for my
college newspaper at the University of Michigan. That gave me
real-world experience in reporting, writing and deadline
pressure. It also gave me real-world writing samples that played
a major role in getting my first job out of college.
Wolfman:
What skills and
knowledge must one have to be a columnist?
Ken:
Writing and
reporting, naturally, but I think being a columnist requires the
ability to analyze things in a reader-friendly way.
Wolfman:
Is this a regular 9-5
job or due to night games, you could be working at all hours?
Ken:
I do work at all
hours.
Wolfman:
How does one get a
job as a Baseball Columnist for a well known newspaper as the
New York Post?
Ken:
Hmm...I'm not
sure that's my question to answer. If you're asking me what my
experiences were leading up to this, here you go:
I got a job with The News Tribune in Woodbridge, NJ out of
college, covering high school sports. Then I moved up to The
Bergen Record, also in New Jersey, starting out with high school
sports and climbing the ladder through college and then
professional sports, and I became The Record's Yankees beat
writer. Then I became the Yankees beat writer at Newsday, and
after a few years, Newsday promoted me to baseball columnist.
Then I took that job at The Post last year.
Wolfman:
Can you define for
our members what your life is like as a columnist - how do you
get your stories?
Ken:
Really from
myriad ways. Sometimes it's from talking to people, be they
players, managers, coaches, front-office officials, scouts, etc.
Sometimes I'll read someone else's column, and it will give me a
tangential idea.
Wolfman:
So you are you able
to meet the players of the two New York Teams? (Ken:
Yes.)
What are the players like then?
Ken:
Just like any
large group of people, they range from not great to great.
Wolfman:
Are they friendly to
the press - do you have certain players that are on more
friendly terms with you?
Ken:
Some are
friendly, some aren't, and sure, I am friendlier with some
players than I am with others.
Wolfman:
Are you able to get a
free seat at the game?
Ken:
There is a press
box, as per Major League Baseball requirements, designed
specifically for the working media.
Wolfman:
In the movies and on
tv, we see reports have like a portable computer they use to
type in their story or article - what tools do you use to help
you with your column.
Ken:
I have a laptop
computer.
Wolfman:
Is being a columnist
for baseball and enjoyable profession - is it a well paying job?
Ken:
Yes, it is
enjoyable. I suppose everyone has his or her own definition of
"well paying," don't you think?
Wolfman:
At the beginning of
this interview you mentioned that you were familiar with
Strat-o-matic Baseball of which our newsletter is strongly
connected with. Can you share with our members about your
experiences with this game?
Ken:
I played S-O-M
baseball probably most prominently in the 1984-86 range. We had
a five-team league among my neighbors in Edison, New Jersey. I
was the commissioner and statistician. We had a draft every
year, and from '85 to '86, we were each allowed to hold over one
player. I held over Don Mattingly, easily my finest hour as a
baseball executive. I would draw up a schedule, but we would
never make it to our postseason because it would get too nice
outside so we just gave up every year.
Wolfman:
What would you say
has been some of the most memorable, remarkable, enjoyable days
you have had as a columnist? Can you share one or two of your
favorite stories?
Ken:
That's a good
question. I have been a columnist for nine years now. Off the
top of my head...
1) Are you familiar with George Mitchell and the Mitchell
Report? George Mitchell is a former U.S. Senator and a pal of
Bud Selig. In 2006, Selig appointed Mitchell to look into
baseball's past concerning illegal performance-enhancing drug
usage. I thought Mitchell, who had a job with the Red Sox, was a
foof who was just carrying out a witch hunt on Selig's behalf
and wasn't taking the job seriously. So I was delighted when I
caught him at a Yankees-Red Sox game, wearing a Red Sox cap and
jacket and getting players' autographs for his son. I
interviewed him about it and wrote about it, in an exclusive
story.
2) I'd say the most emotional moment I can recall is
being in Philadelphia for a Sunday night Mets-Phillies game, and
during the game, President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden
had been located and killed. Suddenly, a huge "USA! USA!" chant
broke out among the fans. It was really cool talking to the
players afterward about what they were thinking when they heard
the cheers.
Wolfman:
When you write your
column, are you reporting about the games you attend and/or is
it interview with the players? is there a webpage from the NY
Post that we could show our members an example of your column?
Ken:
It could be any
or many of these things, depending on the night. Here is my
column page on the Post's website:
http://www.nypost.com/columnists/kendavidoff
Wolfman:
If any of our members
would like to contact you about some aspect of this interview or
your work as a baseball columnist, what would be the best way
they could do so?
Ken:
Anyone can write
me at kdavidoff@nypost.com.
(or follow Ken on twitter at @KenDavidoff)
Wolfman:
Thank you Ken for
giving our members a chance to know the life of a baseball
columnist. We appreciate you taking part of your busy schedule
to share with us. Have a great day.
Ken:
My pleasure, and
you, too.
Contained inside this exciting issue of Ultimate Strat
Baseball Newsletter:
(to view the various interviews, articles, columns and special sections click on
the links {underlined}
and this will take you to the appropriate
webpage)
♦
RETURN TO NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE
♦
INTERVIEW with JEFF POLMAN,
Writer, SOM Website Columnist, Replay Expert.
♦
EARLY SOM
CONVENTIONS COLUMN with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO --
editor of
"The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" and 2012 CBA Champion.
Wolfman takes us back in
this article to the third national Strat-o-matic
Convention in 1974 held in Champaign-Urbana, IL, at the
University of Illinois as the Wolfman and his buddies organize
their first convention. Wolfman will be
our guide through the first nine conventions going through 1980
of which he was present at each one. We now begin the era from 1974-1980
when the conventions moved
to Illinois. We will continue to share one new convention in
each future issue till all of these
early ones are published.
♦
INTERVIEW with PETE
NELSON, (STAR),
Board Member of the Star
Tournaments Association, discusses what the Star Tournaments are
all about.
♦
INTERVIEW with WILLY
DOMINQUEZ,
January 2013 STAR Worlds
Champion
♦
INTERVIEW with TERRY
BARTELME,
SOM Gamer, Discusses his
experiences with the Negro and Japanese Players working with
private developers.
♦
INTERVIEW with BILLY SAMPLE,
Ex-MLB Player (TEX,NYY,ATL),
Sportscaster
♦
COMMISSIONER's CORNER with MARC WASSERMAN --
commissioner of the Cyber Baseball Association (CBA) continues
his column about what it is like to be a League Commissioner. In
this article he discusses the early development of a League's
Constitution, League Themes and Economics.
♦
SOM BASEBALL CARDS QUIZ
- our test of your knowledge of the SOM Baseball Cards,
questions and answers provided by Marc Wasserman. In this issue
we give the answers to
Quiz #2,
explain our new format for this column, introduce some early SOM
Baseball cards from the 1960 and 1961 seasons thanks to Tom
Nahigian who is also interviewed in this issue in his own
section.
♦
INTERVIEW with
TOM NAHIGIAN
--
SOM Gamer, Baseball Card Collector
♦
RECOMMEND
ON-LINE SOM RESOURCES
-- On-line Strat-o-matic and Baseball related websites that offer amazing information, special tools and products to improve
your game play
that we strongly recommend. In most cases, we have had personal contact with
these sources who agree with the principle to work together and help promote each other.
♦
BOOKS TO
DIE FOR and Become a BASEBALL GURU
-- This page
is a new page we are adding for the newsletter that is
specifically about special books we are finding that either will
expand your insights about the game of Baseball, help you in the
creation of your current league teams or with your replays and
learn more about the Strat-o-matic Base Game and Game Company's
history. At the time of the release of this newsletter we
have a special arrangement with Acta Sports to offer our members
a 10% discount. We hope to add more books in the future.
Contact Us for Questions or Submissions:
Wolfman Shapiro
Founder/Editor, the
Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter
email:
wolfmanshapiro@gmail.com
facebook:
www.facebook.com/wolfman.shapiro
twitter:
@StratBaseball4U
To Sign Up and Become a Member of this Newsletter
http://www.UltimateStratBaseball.com
(this provides direct emails when our bulletins
and next
issues come out)
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