Like I mentioned in the previous, brief post about the day's events, for me it was really cool to finally meet these guys face to face for the very first time -- It felt like I was meeting my brothers that were separated at birth or something, a band of brothers that shared the same love for the game of baseball & APBA Baseball. It was great to see that I wasn't the only kid there, and that there was 22+ other kids there as well; to see that inner-child come out in everyone was something to behold -- or just to get caught in the moment, I looked to my side and Thomas Nelshoppen was suddenly shooting his camera at me, as if we were having a sundown shootout with pistols, and I drew my camera and we started snapping pics at each other -- good times!
It was really cool to see the teams everyone brought, some were your usual big & more famous MLB teams, some were for sentimental reasons, and plenty brought their teams for strategic reasons. Plus to hear why people loved those teams or the strategy they were thinking with those teams, were very interesting. We had three Cincinnati Reds & three Philadelphia Athletics teams, those two franchises alone was 27% of the tournament. We had the expansion Los Angeles Angels & a duck-call to go with it. We had dead-ball teams & we had teams with mammoth power such as the 1995 Indians & the two Big Red Machine repeat teams of the 70's. We had plenty of Christy Mathewson (a no-hitter against the 1959 Braves in the playoff round), both good cards, but two different results: Good for the eventual champ Fennessy & not so good for me, in which Mathewson sported a 8.44 ERA through 16 innings!
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| Clark Eichman (71' Pirates) facing off against Doug Schuyler (98' Yankees). |
In a lot of ways, the 2nd Chicagoland APBA World Series Tournament was a celebration for a long year for me & my wife. Exactly a year ago, we were well over our heads financially -- in which we tried to find anyway possible to keep our heads above the water, and strategically in the end, we failed; Realistically, we should have filed for bankruptcy a good 3 to 4 years before -- in which we would decide in December 2012 to do so, get a lawyer in January, go through the proceedings in which it all became finalized in June 2013. We are glad with all we went through that we stood solid & united through a crisis that would have torn up most married couples, we are actually stronger because of this crisis, and we know that nothing can get in our way. We both now have good paying jobs, live in a beautiful area, and $20 no longer looks like a $100 bucks. My overall cost for the trip (counting hotel for two nights, round-trip bus fair, meals, lap-top bag, gas money) actually exceeded between $350-$400, but let me tell you.. it was all well-worth it! We also have extra income, because we have my brother-in-law living with us as well. We don't have that many bills anymore, and actually are able to save money as well. My wife knows how much I love APBA Baseball, and Baseball itself, so she knew how much I wanted to go, so I can't thank her enough for letting me go hang out with the boys in Chicagoland.
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| What's at stake? The Chicagoland APBA World Series Trophy. |
This whole event would have not been possible if it were not for the wonderful planning by two wonderful gentlemen in Doug Schuyler and Jim Saska. Doug and I, have been friends via facebook awhile now, he is one of guys who first friends from the APBA Facebook Group to friend request me, and we also have many of the same views when it comes to the wonderful game of baseball, from Pete Rose to the 1984 Detroit Tigers & everything in-between. His passion for the game is quite obvious, so it comes as no surprise that his joy for the game & APBA led to the formation of this up-and-growing tournament. Jim Saska has been just as instrumental, I don't believe I have seen him on facebook, so before the event I never had a clue what he even looked like... so when I met him for the first time that was an honor, his calming presence and warm smile was definitely one of the highlights for me. As a Batman fan, I can say Doug & Jim form one dynamic duo that plan to keep this thing rolling, and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so.
I also had the privilege of finally meeting my friend, the Pastor Rich Zawadzki. Rich was kind enough to let me join him on the travels to the Chicagoland tourney, we met up in Kalamazoo, just off of I-94, in which we departed from there to Woodstock & back. I jumped into his van, and we hit it off right away; I think the most remarkable thing is that we actually didn't talk about baseball or APBA right away, but about our families, wives & life in general. Rich is a wonderful person, solid family man, and definitely strong with God. It was really cool picking his brain both on baseball and spiritually, best of both worlds if you ask me & for me it was just as fun as the tournament itself, which speaks volumes of Rich. He has an amazing knowledge of the game & APBA Baseball itself -- he has an amazing eye for a great card, and a great team. I'm glad I have a friend in Rich.
Meeting my friend Tom Nelshoppen for the first time was also a big deal for me, this guy's love for the game bleeds through in his words on The APBA Blog. I love his ideas and articles, from 'Monster Card Mondays' to the cool way he keeps statistics (I really need to experiment with my stat keeping, take a few notes). He keeps the APBA community strong & kicking, and he's just the friendliest person imaginable -- I regret not getting a picture with you Tom. We already have talked about getting a side game in next time, that should be a lot of fun! I was hoping that Tom would have a strong tournament run, since I know he has not had great success with his Thunder-Chickens team.
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| In the midst of a camera war with Thomas Nelshoppen! |
Back to the tournament attendance numbers, there was a few notable local guys on facebook that happened to not make it to the tournament, and to me that's even more encouraging, because that only means more people in the future -- because there is not a doubt in my mind that most of the 22 will likely return. I already plan to definitely plan an annual trip to the winter tournaments for now, and we'll see how my schedule works for the spring/summer editions. The timing of the November tourney could have not been more perfect, just 2-3 weeks after the conclusion of the MLB Season, in time for the MLB Awards to be announced, a good solid two weeks before the Holiday season officially kicks off, perfect timing! It was also encouraging to see many people make the long trip, guys came from as far as Minnesota and east of Cleveland.
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| The new champ Scott Fennessy signs his name on the Champions' ball -- joining Curt Bartel's signature. |
Chicago is the perfect area, I really do believe that the Midwest has something really going on here, and I don't want to sound biased but I believe APBA is truly a Midwest thing, I do know you can make a strong argument for the East Coast as well. The word of mouth was great, with this day & age of new age media via facebook or Twitter & sites such as The APBA Blog to keep people updated about important tournament information, I'm psyched about the possibilities of spreading the great game & our love for APBA Baseball. Not worried about the future of APBA, nor am I worried about it ever disappearing, with all the love & support out there for the game of baseball & APBA, it's difficult to see anything negative coming out of all this.
So here's to the growth of APBA, the Chicagoland Tournament, and to new, long-lasting relationships along the way!
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