Issue #4, June 2013


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** SOM On-line Baseball Convention - Bryan Albin  **
      (interview with Bryan Albin, head of Pure Strat conducted by the Wolfman
       head of the Internet Skype Tournaments for Star and the September weekend)

(Notes from the Wolfman: As we have announced in our bulletin this month in June, we are preparing for a very special weekend with three tournaments in September of this year. Bryan is the head of the Western Division of the Star Tournaments for which this division is known as Pure Strat. Bryan is also the Tournament Director (TD) of the on-line Skype Tournaments, which uses the real cards as the opponents play each other using Skype and an on-line dice roller (three dice and twenty sided). So we thought it would be a good idea for our readers to meet the Convention TD for the Skype tournament as well as get an idea of how this tournament will be conducted in September. Of course, if you want practice, all of our members are welcome to participate in a Pure Strat Skype tournament before but we hope in August to give people a chance to also play a bit to get use to playing in a tournament this way. We are working for early July to have a full blown website for the SOM Baseball Convention, stay tuned to our newsletter and our bulletins as we will being sharing aspects of the convention from the June issue through the September issue of this year. We welcome Bryan to our newsletter. Also check my special article how I participated in the June Skype Tournament by Pure Strat.)
 

Image from the Purestrat website when the SF Giants won the 2012 World Series

Wolfman:  Today we have Bryan Albin of Pure Strat the Western Region Director of STAR and the TD for the on-line Skype Draft Tournaments. So Brayan, as part of your interview we want to ask a bit about how the Skype tournaments work as we will be using Skype for two of the special tournaments we will be playing during the September weekend for the SOM On-line Baseball Convention. But first, Bryan we would like to welcome you to the Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter. Bryan:  Thank you, its a pleasure. (Wolfman's Note - Bryan has been one of our most ardent supporters for the convention within STAR, and has also allowed me to be a participant of the June Skype Tournament. He was very helpful to make sure I had everything I needed to have a fair chance to compete against the veteran players in the Tournament.)

Wolfman:  Bryan have you been interested in Baseball all your life, even when you were young?

Bryan: Yes,  I grew up in Illinois. Loved the Cincinnati Reds. Secretly loved the Cubs also. The Reds were winners. The cubs were on the only channels we had.

Wolfman:  Did you play baseball (little league, high school and if so what was your best position)?

Bryan:  I played baseball From the age of 6 until I finally hung it up at the age of 30. I never was as good as I thought I was. I pitched and had the ability to hit the ball. Even the breaking ball. Again I was never as good as I thought I was.

Wolfman:  Who was your favorite MLB player as you grew up?

Bryan:  My favorite player was Joe Morgan growing up.

Wolfman:  How did you discover SOM Baseball and when?

Bryan:  When I moved to California to the city of Garden Grove at the age of 12 in 1980. I made some friends playing baseball. We would spend our days playing baseball and wiffle ball. After it became dark out many of us would play strat-o-matic all night.  (Wolfman: Did you play in leagues after your discovery?)  I played in leagues in the 80's Once I started a family I put the game away and raised my family. I coached Baseball and Fast pitch softball. Always using the strategies I learned from the game in creating lineups and breaking down the numbers of the game.

Wolfman:  Have you ever had any contacts within MLB?

Bryan: I had a three personal friends that played MLB and Strat. One of my friends actually won a World Series ring with the Mets. Another played a bit with the Yankees and another pitched for the Brewers and in Japan. 

Wolfman:  Before we ask you how you became involved with Pure Strat through the Star Tournaments, for which you are a regional director and the Skype based tournaments, I would like to ask you if they have any tips for our members related to creating a team in a league or a tournament, or other keys that can help your squad perform well?

Bryan:  In creating a good tournament team never underestimate your opposing manager. You may think to yourself that well I am a little weak vs. left handed pitching. If you are it will be exposed quickly. Most importantly to be a top player you need to understand the game. You need to understand that bad things happen and, so do good things. But the bad things seem to drag people down and they make mistakes because of the emotions of the game. You will miss Hrs to 19 and get caught stealing 1-19. You will give up HRs to 1 at the worst times. It is how you handle these situations that will determine how well you play in a tournament. 

Wolfman:  Ok, now moving on to a discussion about your involvement with the on-line Star Touraments using skype; did you participate in the STAR tournaments or other tournaments first before you decided to be in charge of what you call the Pure Strat Skype Draft tournaments?

Bryan:  I played in the TBA (Table Baseball Association organized by John Kreuz) in the late 80's and had success even winning a tournament in SanDiego. It was fun but I began my family and that was just about the end of Strat for 20 plus years for me.  Then I created Purestrat to reach out to players nationally. But secretly I created Purestrat so players like myself wouldn't have to put this game away to raise a family. Being able to play online at your own scheduling is what I missed out on. I am passionate about anything I do. So I was a passionate Dad that raised his family. When my Son and Daughter were in college I began to play Strat again.

Wolfman:  Can you tell us more about the history of Pure Strat and the Skype Tournaments as this is a unique way for people to play SOM Baseball over the internet? 

Bryan:  The idea to start Purestrat was the declining attendance at our face to face tournaments. With the economy crashing and attendance dropping I was looking for a way to keep the tournaments going. So in my mind I pictured tournaments in Texas with 8 or 9 players locally and a couple of players on laptops anywhere in the world participating at the same time. Basically players were traveling 100s of miles to play the game and with money tight who could look their family in the face and say I am going to a tournament this weekend 100s of miles away. Now my original idea never took off. Strat players are very reluctant to change. So my idea was met with heavy resistance. I compare it to the automobile and the covered wagon. All though the automobile was available many people went to their grave driving the horse and buggy. Because they died and never drove the automobile that didn't stop progress. So I continue to push Purestrat to all players until we started to see the success we have now.

Wolfman:  Bryan, now through Pure Strat you offer two different type of tournaments, a live one (face-to-face) and the online one. Why did you decide to offer both types and is this hard to oversee?

Bryan:  Purestrat is definitely difficult to oversee but it has also been a lot of fun. I offer face to face tournaments and also online tournaments because getting together with all of the guys in any location is so enjoyable. So four or five times a year we have these face-to-face tournaments.  

Wolfman:  Are there any rules you use that are changed from the normal Star Rules for the Face-to-Face Tournaments? 

Bryan:  Purestrat uses Star rules with only a couple of modifications.  (Wolfman's Note: For the Skype tournament they usually take a month to finish the regular season which is a four game series against the opponents in your division. ) Our rules are posted on our website at - http://www.purestrat.com(Wolfman:  What is there about running tournaments of this nature that excites you?)  Playing in tournaments is fun. Running tournaments is not fun. But necessary.

Wolfman:  What has been some of the most interesting moments you call during the history of the Pure Strat tournaments?

Bryan:  One thing about the history of Purestrat is that it is 3 years old. All three seasons the Star tournaments World Champion was a Purestrat Player.

Wolfman:  What does a potential participant for the Purestrat Skype tournaments need to participate in this tournament?

Bryan:  Skype is a free program you can download which allows you to participate in the tournament. This program works great as we draft our teams and all the games are played over skype as each manager communicates directly with each other. A computer and a fast internet connection with the card set we are using is all you need along with a chair and a desk of course. I have played a four game series with my cellphone even. It really is that simple. I drafted a tournament with Skype on my cellphone while driving through the desert this year. Sounds crazy but it is that easy. Also the tools to perform and prepare for our draft are available on-line for any player along with a guide that can be used. Then it comes down to the actual game play. 

(Wolfman Note: As far as how the tournament works and what it is like, please see my article about my experiences participating in the June 2013 Pure Strat Skype Draft Tournament. Part I in this issue will discuss what I did to get ready. Part II in the July issue will discuss how our draft team did. This article should help you prepare for the tournaments we will play in September!!)

Wolfman:  Now Bryan, why have you decided to support our joint tournaments during the weekend in September - what is there about this new format that intrigues you?

Bryan:  I want the Strat community to grow and also reach out to the many players that are out there. 
 
Wolfman:  Members: again, Bryan will be in charge of the Skype Draft Tournament with the 2012 based cards for our September convention. We will be following the rules for this tournament exactly.  When the new website for the convention is ready there will be a page that will provide everything you need to prepare for this tournament including the ability to download the rules.

Is there anything else you wish to share Bryan that we didn't ask before that you feel it is important
for the members of our newsletter to know about Purestrat or what we will offer together in September?

Bryan:  Strat players are rare. Hard to find. But there is a community of strat players and I hope to be a part of this community and help it to grow. 

Wolfman:  If people want to contact you Bryan to ask about the current Pure Strat Skype tournaments or have questions about our Skype tournaments in September, what is the best way to reach you?

Bryan:  Go to our website at: www.purestrat.com

Wolfman:  Thank you Bryan for taking time to be interviewed, and we thank you for all your support for our joint tournament weekend in September, which should be amazing!!

(Final Notes from the Wolfman:  As you have read on our main page, working with very good friends and fellow SOM fanatics at Star Tournaments like Bryan and Gene, and Peter who you met in our April issue, we are creating a special weekend in September where three baseball tournaments will be offered via the internet.  If you want to sign up now for the free newsletter for the September SOM On-line Baseball Convention or even go ahead and officially register for the small entrance fee, head over to: http://www.stratalliance.info -- sometime in early July we will update this current page to a full website that will have all the information you will need to prepare for September, but also we are available via email to answer any questions. We thank Bryan Albin of Pure Strat for their help to make the new website for the convention possible.)