2013 Inaugural APBA Baseball Series

I had played a handful of tabletop baseball games and owned just about as many but had not settled on a favorite. I took a another chance and bought the 2014 edition of APBA Baseball.

This edition came with all the necessary game parts and pieces as well as complete card sets of the teams who had made it to the AL and NL League Championship series the previous season.

Even though I had invested in the game, I had to find out if I wanted to invest further in the game and purchase a complete season set of cards. If I did not like the game enough I could pass the game on to someone or let it sit in my closet for while. If I did like the game I could then begin the process of deciding which season of cards to buy (fun in itself!).

I did not know what to expect, so I chose the teams i was least familiar with in Baltimore and Boston. I follow the National League much more closely, having grown up a Cubs fan, picked up the Braves in the 80's and 90's thanks again to my Dad, my Mom, my brother and WTBS.

Below are the short write-ups for the 3-game series I played.

Game One
BAL  Chris Tillman hurls a complete game 1-hitter, strikes out 6 and walks none.
BOS  Dustin Pedroia's 1st Inning single is all the Red Sox can muster.
Final: Baltimore 6   Boston 0

Game Two
BAL Nate McClouth goes 2-3 with a home run, 2 runs and an RBI.
BOS Will Middlebrooks has a 2-4 day with a double, RBI and run.
Final: Baltimore 7   Boston 4

Game Three
BAL Ryan Flaherty goes 1-3 with a home run, a run and 2 RBI.
BOS Mike Naopli gets thrown out at home in the Sixth and strikes out with the bases loaded to the end the game.
Final: Baltimore 3   Boston 2

I was liking the game before Game One was over.
By the time Game Two had concluded I was all in.
​I couldn't get to playing Game Three quick enough to find out if Boston could salvage a win or if Baltimore could earn the sweep.

I will go into more detail in future posts (probably elsewhere on this site) about why I like APBA Baseball and why it has come out on top for me above all of the other tabletop baseball games I have played. There are certainly a lot of choices in tabletop baseball games these days, and there is something for everyone. APBA Baseball just works for me.

As for which season set I decided to get - that decision was easier than I had though it would be.
I had to make this decision in 2014 and though the Cubs had made the playoffs more recently the team I was most fond of and heart-ached most over was the 1984 squad. Other contenders were some of the mid -1970's seasons when my family watched them on television and followed them on  radio during those really tough Cubs years. 1908 was in my thoughts, too - the last (at that point in 2014) Cubs World Series Win, Tinker, Evers, Chance, Three-Finger Brown and the crew.

The 1984 Season Set was purchased and those Cubs are chugging along in my APBA World right here.