EC's State Line League

[Eugene Church]

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times...
Oops, that one has already been used.

To begin again...
It was a dark and stormy night when a young boy came into this world in 1940. He was born at home... not in a hospital... by a mid-wife.

And thus began the long journey into this world of Eugene Church, the infamous creator of the All-Time All-Star Association, the Islandian Pro Alliance and the arguably good radio program, if you could call it one: the DC RC Sippers Association, which ran on the radio from 1971-2002. .. and now the State Line League.

Actually it was a dark and stormy night the night I was born... and it was a good time in my life... the breath of life is a wonderful gift from God, but it was also the worst of times for my wonderful mother. She was only 17 and a half years old with a son born out of wedlock, which was just about the worst thing that could happen to a young girl. Society was very harsh in those days, not as forgiiving as today... it was stigma for life. My father, who I only saw four times in my life, was a 32-year-old married man... a man of the world and quite the dandy... he was a gambler and a bootlegger with political connections in the small town of Florence, located in northwest Alabama. The area was called the Tri-Cities and also encompassed Sheffield and Tuscumbia.

In that day and time families usually sent the daughter to an aunt in a faraway city where she had the baby quietly and it was put up for adoption. But not my wonderful, strong-willed mother. She kept me. This was a tremendous blessing to me. I always had someone who loved me dearly. She was both mother and father to me... as I was a gift from God... she was a gift from God, too. I have been truly blessed in my 75 years of life. I hope and pray the Good Lord will bless me with a few more years.

I hope He is a baseball fan, too.

The State Line League will be a lot about baseball and it will also be a little bit about me and the world I grew up in.

It will be about the best times in my life and the worst times in my life.

I hope you join me and relive my good old days through OOTPB.

[themonk]

I've been waiting with anticipation for your new dynasty since you first mentioned it. I'm sure the State Line League is going to be great like the IPA...

[Eugene Church]

1940 Highlights

Movies, Music and Baseball have been very important in my life.
Music is the only one of them I collect. In the last five years I have bought all the songs I ever wanted. The total is now almost 6000 songs in pristine condition. Strange as it may be, I was a disc jockey for 32 years, but didn't collect records.

The number one song on my birthday was "When You Wish Upon A Star" from the movie Pinocchio... another oddity, I don't have this song.

The number one record of the year was "In the Mood" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra... I do have this one... I love Big Band Music... Glenn Miller is probably the best.

I like country music, too... Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys put country and big band together and created Western Swing music... an example of this was the 1940 hit "New San Antonio Rose"... when the Playboys played you just had to dance and do some lowdown boot-scootin' boogie woogie.

"You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis was one the year's biggest hits. I have lived most of life in Alabama and Louisiana. Davis was the governor of Louisiana and it is the state song.

I can't forget the Great American Pastime... The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Detroit Tigers in the 1940 World Series by 4 games to 3... the Reds' star pitchers Paul Derringer and Bucky Walters won two games apiece, with Derringer winning the decisive seventh game. Walters hurled two complete games, allowing only eight hits and three runs combined. He also hit a home run in Game 6 in the midst of his 4–0 shutout, which sent the Series to a Game 7.

Ever wonder why it's called the Great American Pastime?... because in the late 1800s into the mid 1900s without TV and video games all the kids were busy out playing outside on the diamonds... they were passing time the right way... I'm glad that I got to do that, too,.. yeah, I'm a child of the 50s... that's the 1950s, y'all,.. let's be clear about that.

Whatever was in season... baseball, basketball or football... we played it sunup to sundown, seven days a week... and when it rained we would play a great board baseball game called APBA at Buddy Dansey's house... boy, that was a great time in my life..

The National Basketball Association didn't exist.

In the National Football League: Chicago Bears defeat Washington Redskins 73–0 in the championship game... this game still holds records for the highest score and biggest win in National Football League history... this game also marked the last time that an NFL player (Bears end Dick Plasman) played without a helmet.

Oh, yeah... before I forget... the year I was born there was a pretty big commotion going on in Europe, too... but I don't think I had any anything to do it... World War II was just getting underway in Europe... the US wasn't in it yet.

I never thought of it, but does that mean I'm part of "America's greatest generation"? I'll have to check with Tom Brokaw and see if I made the deadline.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by themonk

I've been waiting with anticipation for your new dynasty since you first mentioned it. I'm sure the State Line League is going to be great like the IPA...

I'm trying something new.... I hope it's not embarrassing bad.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I'm trying something new.... I hope it's not embarrassing bad.

I'm really enjoying it so far, so I'd vote for not embarrassing.

[Eugene Church]

And yes... thank Heavens... there will be baseball in this dynasty... with beautiful logos, jerseys and caps done by the wonderful OOTPB Community.

Special thanks to:

Honorable Pawn, Isedelyod, justafan, Padreman and rocknfire7 for the great league logo, team logos, jerseys and caps.

[Eugene Church]

The rest of the State Line League Logos.

[themonk]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

I'm really enjoying it so far, so I'd vote for not embarrassing.

Same here. I admire the commitment and passion which you put into your IPA dynasty. Seeing what you've done with the IPA (which is one of my all-time favorite dynasties), I have no doubt this will be another classic OOTPB dynasty...

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

The rest of the State Line League Logos.

Nice set of logos! Maybe it's bad to pick a team to root for based on logo alone, but I'm going to be pulling for the Florence Raiders.

[Eugene Church]

The State Line League will be an 8-team league with no minors
It will be a semi-pro league beginning in 1948, based on the Tennessee Valley Semi-Pro League that ran for a few years with teams mainly in the northwest corner of Alabama.

I recently was asked why I love baseball and I didn't have an answer. No one in my family ever played any sports. Then it came to me that my cousin Charles Darby probably inspired me.

My cousin Charles was 10 years older than me. He was 18 and I was 8. Every Sunday afternoon he would picked me up and take me to his semi-pro game. He was a pitcher and I would keep score and keep track of his strikeouts. He was very good... struck out 18 in one game. I think Charles could have played professional baseball if he had wanted to... he really had a good fastball, but was a little on the wild side at times.

I think he is the reason I developed a great love of sports, especially baseball and basketball, which I played. Following baseball in the newspapers helped my reading, vocabulary and arithmetic (figuring ERAs and BAs). I was really good in math as long as it was add, subtract, divide and multiply... in later years algebra, geometry, and trig really took its toll on me.

So in his honor, I'm going to recreate that league. Of course, he will be in the league, but I will give him realistic ratings.

I put him in my Islandian Pro Alliance and he fared pretty well. He wasn't a star, but he did play fairly well with a 241-226 record and a 4.08 ERA in 18 seasons.

My new Dynasty League will be the State Line League.... teams in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, all located within 30 miles of each other. The towns are located in the northwest corner of Alabama, near the Tennessee and Mississippi borders. It will be just a weekend league with a limited 42-game schedule... each series will consists of three games... single game on Saturday and doubleheader on Sunday. I will probably play out the games myself and not sim like I had to in the IPA with 64 teams to cover... I will also have rainouts in this league... I will just cancel a game and then reschedule it later... this would add a new element to the game as the teams will have to use their pitching staff wisely... it probably will mean second-line pitchers will have to be used occasionally.

8 teams to cover should be sheer bliss.

Charles Darby's IPA stats:

[Eugene Church]

Since it's 1948... a year after Jackie Robinson... the State Line League will be integrated.

Silas Delaney is his name... he will play on the Central Merchants team with my cousin Charles... actually two of my cousins... Billy Darby will play third base.

Here's how it all came about... the Central Merchants were playing a practice game against the Monumental Park Red Sox of the Lauderdale County League, but they only had eight guys show up... rather than forfeit, my cousin Charles saw Silas on the sidelines as a spectator along with his sharecropper daddy and told him to grab a glove and play right field... some of the Red Sox didn't like it... remember this is Alabama in the 40s...Silas was hesitant and so was his daddy... they didn't want any trouble from the Klan...but the Red Sox wanted to play some baseball that day and one Negro on the fleld was alright for one day, I suppose... and all went well...sports is a great medium for getting rid of your prejudices, or at least subduing them for a few hours... as it turned out Silas Delaney is a pretty fair ballplayer... so my cousin invited him to join the team... we'll have to wait and see how the rest of the league reacts to this "revoltin' development" (as Chester A. Riley of the TV show "The Life Of Riley" would often exclaim in a few years or so)... TV is still few years away for most families.

At least for today there has been a small step taken toward racial equality in the northwest corner of Alabama... who'd a thunk it?

[tacklesspoem8]

I dont usually post much but i got too say that this is a great start to a dynasty and an interesting spin on dynasty writing. I will be following

[Eugene Church]

THE FLORENCE TIMES
Sunday, June 6th, 1948

NEW SEMI-PRO LEAGUE OPENS SEASON WITH NEGRO PLAYER
The brand new semi-pro baseball league, the State Line League, has begun with a bang in more ways than one... In a startling move that raised quite a few eyebrows, a Negro player Silas Delaney played for the Central club yesterday in Corinth... fortunately the game went without any incidents, though the crowd didn't treat him with much respect when he came to bat. booing him and calling him names... the stoic Delaney had one hit in four trips to the plate and played flawlessly in the field.

It will be interesting to see if the league officials will let him to continue to play... the last thing they want to do with this new league is to start racial problems. Ask about it after the game, Central manager and shortstop Carl Ballard replied, "He's just a ballplayer like us and should be given a chance... all that booing and name calling was not necessary... how could God-loving Christians do such a thing?"

Central has asked city officials for better security for tomorrow's twinbill with another capacity crowd expected.

CORINTH TAMES CENTRAL 8-3 IN LEAGUE OPENER
Meanwhile on the field, opening day in the State Line League was otherwise a resounding success for the Corinth Copperheads... a capacity crowd packed Corinth High School Field and the Copperheads came away with an 8-3 triumph over the Central Merchants... in a complete game performance Deron Allman (1-0) tamed the Merchants on seven hits, walked five and fanned two batters... the Copperheads went to town on Central starter Darlon Lewis (0-1) for four runs in the third frame with the big blow coming off the bat of Lonnie Jewett, a three-run roundtripper... the Merchants came alive in the top of the seventh with three runs, cutting the lead to 5-3, but Corinth put them away with two in the bottom half of the inning.

Jewett led the Copperheads's 13-hit barrage with four RBIs... Al Fargo also swung a good bat with four hits and four runs scored... Lewis (0-1) was the loser, allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings... only one of the runs were earned as the Merchants were guilty of four errors, giving up four freebies overall.

REYNOLDS RAMBLES OVER RAIDERS IN SSL OPENER
The Reynolds Ramblers made the hometown fans happy by whipping arch-rival Florence 8-5 in the opening game of the State Line League... the Ramblers racked up 13 hits, led by Greg Shmagranoff with a 4-5 day, two RBIs and three runs scored... Martin Redden added three hits and two RBIs to the attack... Gene Lary (1-0) went the distance, but was tagged for 12 hits by the Raiders... there were two homers in the game, one by each club... Shmagranoff hit solo shot in the seventh for Reynolds and Hugh Morrow slammed a two-run shot for Florence... Norm Hollis and Johnny Sessler paced the Raiders with three hits apiece... Spike Elledge (0-1) took the loss, battered hard for 11 hits and six runs in his seven innings... over 2400 fans were in attendance at Municipal Park in Sheffield.

TRI-CITY TROUNCES MONSANTO 15-2 IN SEASON OPENER
In State Line League action, a full house of almost 3,000 fans was in attendance at Deshler High School Field in Tuscumbia, where the Tri-City Co-Ops trounced the visiting Monsanto Maulers from Columbia, Tennessee 15-2 in the season opener of the new State Line League... the Co-Ops pounded out 16 hits in the runaway, sparked by Eldon Steggle and Heath Liddell with two hits each, four runs batted in and two runs scored... Sparky Sumner and Neal Wilkins contributed three hits apiece with Sumner scoring four times and Wilkins three times... Steggle smashed a three-run homer for the winners and Rudi Puckett cracked a solo roundtripper... Johnny Lee Laramore (1-0) went the distance for the win, scattering nine hits, striking out four and walking five... Shea Kittridge (0-1) started and lost it for the Maulers... he allowed 10 runs and 11 hits in only five-plus innings... the two clubs will meet tomorrow afternoon in a twinbill to wrap up the series.

LOCOS OUTGUNNED, TRAVS WIN OPENER 10-0
Russellville Stadium was filled to the brim for the State Line League opener with the Decatur Locos... over 2900 spectators enjoyed the outcome... Emil Gunn hurled a three-hit shutout and the Travelers smacked 11 hits in support... Gunn (1-0) was in midseason form with only 2 walks... he struck out two... Russellville bunched all of their runs in the first two frames, highlighted by Smiley Bailyn's first-inning grand slam... Mark Lansing and Timmy Jennings chipped in with two RBIs each... Decatur starter Terrence Noland (0-1) had a miserable day as he was rocked for nine hits and 10 runs in just two innings... reliever Delwyn Nathan was superb as he limited Russellville to just two hits and no runs the rest of the game.

[wwines]

Hey Eugene, I am really enjoying the start of your dynasty. I also like how you integrated the league, since you where in the music industry I am sure you are aware of FAME originally and Muscle Shoal studios which did a great job of combining white musicians and producers with African American singing talent to make some of the most iconic songs in history. Am I correct that this league is set in the Muscle Shoal area of Alabama? Great work, keep it up.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by wwines

Hey Eugene, I am really enjoying the start of your dynasty. I also like how you integrated the league, since you where in the music industry I am sure you are aware of FAME originally and Muscle Shoal studios which did a great job of combining white musicians and producers with African American singing talent to make some of the most iconic songs in history. Am I correct that this league is set in the Muscle Shoal area of Alabama? Great work, keep it up.

Thanks for mentioning Fame and Rick Hall. I had forgotten it in setting up the league... my league begins in 1948... so I won't be covering the 60s for awhile.

It used to be called "the Tri-Cities", which was Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia... this is where I spent my summers in the 40s and 50s... Muscle Shoals City came along in about 1960... the area soon became known as the Quad Cities.

Yes, there are four cities in fairly close proximity... Florence is on one side of the Tennessee River... cross the bridge or go over Wilson Dam and you arrive in Muscle Shoals City, Tuscumbia and Sheffield... Sheffield is the home of Fame Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound, both covered very well by an excellent documentary "Muscle Shoals".

Yeah, Rick Hall and the Swampers made some great soul music in the 60s... they had great horns, too... "The Muscle Shoals Horns" and "The Muscle Shoals Sound".

I didn't think about the racial connection when I started the league, it was the year 1948 that led me to integrate the State Line League... Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey had done it in '47, so I decided to do it, too.

Actually, the idea to integrate my league was caused by the OOTP database... I tried to keep out black players, but couldn't find a way to do it... so I integrated.

I thought it might make for a good storyline in the early years of the league, too.

This is the first time I have tried to humanize my leagues.

I hope it comes off well and you guys find it interesting and readable.

[Eugene Church]

THE FLORENCE TIMES
Monday, June 7, 1948

MERCHANTS EVEN SERIES IN GAME 1
Before another capacity crowd and with the threat of racial strife weighing heavily in the air, the State Line League got through the first game of a doubleheader in Corinth, Mississippi without any violence, but a lot of taunting and booing... enhance security by city authorities helped to keep the peace... the reason for all the turmoil is a young Negro outfielder on the Central roster by name of Silas Delaney... many in the crowd thought he would be better off playing in a colored league and loudly said so... Delaney chose to ignore the verbal abuse and just played baseball... he spoke with his bat and whacked two hits in four tries for the Merchants.

On the ball diamond 17 hits made it easy for the Central Merchants on the road in Corinth as they pounded the Copperheads 10-5 to gain an even split in the first two games of the young State Line League... the Merchants broke open a 7-5 game with three runs in the decisive sixth... Griff Jewett paved the way to victory with four hits in six at-bats and 2 RBIs... Charles Quillen drove in a pair of runs and collected two hits... Al Fargo led the losers with three hits and three RBIs... Fargo doubled twice and Hoyt Eddy slammed the game's only home run... the winning pitcher was Waco Hazelton (1-0), who worked into the ninth before tiring... he permitted five runs on nine hits... Delroy Gloster pinned down the victory by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth.

CORINTH TAKES 2 OF 3 FROM CENTRAL
It was a tense day at the ballpark in Corinth again... the Klan showed up for game two of the twinbill protesting the presence of a Negro Silas Delaney playing baseball on the same field with whites... but the reasonable folks won the day... the Corinth police strictly controlled the situation and kept the Klan at bay... and the hometown Copperheads captured the weekend set two games to one, taking the rubber game 3-1 with the stout pitching of Burke Balmer (1-0), who restricted the Central Merchants to just eight hits and one run, a four-bagger by young Delaney in the sixth inning, which gave Central a 1-0 lead... the nasty crowd went suddenly silent when the ball disappeared over the fence... Corinth got a two-run clout from Lonnie Jewett in the seventh to retake the lead... it was his second of the series... and then they finished off the Merchants with an insurance run in the eighth on another home run by Corky Beauchamp .. both blasts came off Charles Darby (0-1), who held the Copperheads to six hits and three runs in a route-going defeat.

RAMBLERS BOP RAIDERS AGAIN 7-1
In State Line semi-pro play in the first game of a Sunday twinbill, the Reynolds Ramblers rolled over the Florence Raiders for the second day in a row, dumping them 7-1 behind the solid pitching of Alfred Goggins (1-0), who hurled a complete game, holding the Raiders to just five hits... Goggins whiffed four batters and walked only two... Florence got a good start from Pip Allred (0-1), the losing pitcher, who surrendered three runs on seven hits, while striking out eight hitters and walking two... Allred departed after seven innings, trailing 3-0.

The Ramblers meted out 13 hits with Bubber Rutledge driving in three runs... and Gregg Shmagranoff and Ray Vernon getting two RBIs apiece.

RAMBLERS SWEEP 3-GAME SERIES FROM RAIDERS
Nothing much went right for the Florence Raiders in the opening series of the State Line League... the Reynolds Ramblers nipped them 2-1 in the second game of the doubleheader and swept all three games of the weekend series... the Raiders outhit the Ramblers 13 to 8, but stranded 16 baserunners in a frustrating game... winning pitcher Hiram Ethridge (1-0) notched the win, holding the Raiders to just one run in seven and two-thirds innings... Reynolds used two relievers with the save going to Gene Lary, yesterday's winning pitcher... Lary came on with the bases loaded and one away... he got dangerous Johnny Sesler on a forceout at home plate and then struck out Joe Grant to end the contest... loser Lefty Safford (0-1) had a very good outing, stopping Reynolds on two runs and seven hits over seven innings... Safford struck out five and issued three bases on ball.

Rambler CF Ray Vernon busted up the scoreless duel with an RBI double in the last of the third... Skipper Markin made it 2-0 in the fifth with an RBI single... Florence got their only run in the top of the eighth when pinchhitter Hayden Riley singled in Johnny Sesler from third base.

FIRST OF TWO GOES TO LOCOS 8-4
The Decatur Locos picked up their first State Line League win with a five-run outburst in the top of the ninth to snap a 3-3 tie with the Russellville Travelers ... in the first game of the doubleheader in Russellville, Decatur got a solid job from Johnny Meadows to defeat the Travs 8-4... Meadows (1-0) tossed eight innings and went out for a pinchhitter... he gave up four runs on eight hits... and he got helped from yesterday's losing pitcher Terrance Noland, who closed it out in the ninth, retiring three batters in a row... Monte Wilkes (0-1) was tagged with the defeat after allowing seven runs and nine hits in his eight innings... Wilkes had eight Ks and walked four in the game.

Center fielder Morrie Gahan had a double and homer to spark the Locos, scoring two runs and batting in one... pinchhitter Kip Pippin singled in the winning runs... Traveler shortstop Smiley Bailyn got his second homer in two days... it was a solo shot in the fifth frame that put Russellvile ahead 3-1 at the time

RUSSELLVILLE RALLIES TO WIN SERIES
It took a three-run last ditch rally for Russellville to edge Decatur 6-5 in the weekend finale in the second game of the twinbill and give the Travelers the series two games to one... a walk to Smiley Bailyn by Danny Ray Cluny in the last of the 10th gave Russellville victory over the Locos at the Russellville Baeball Stadium... Bo Cane (1-0) lucked into the win... he was ripped for two runs in the top of the tenth on three hits and a base on balls... the Travelers outhid the Locos 11 to 7... Joe Don Carns had three hits and three RBIs for the winners, including a home run... it put Decatur in front 3-1... the Travelers tied it up 3-3 in the sixth... Gibby Tyndall also had a trio of hits, scored twice and batted in a run... Julien Tasker ripped a three-run clout in the third inning to pace the Locos.

A total of seven hurlers were used in the game... the Travelers used three of them, while Decatur worked four... Terrence Noland (0-2) dropped his second game of the season after he faced three batters and didn't retire any of them.... Both teams' starters fared well... they fought to a 3-3 draw over the first eight frames... Russellville's Brody Stephenson permitted three runs on four hits, fanned five and walked five, while Decatur's Cullen Rich allowed three runs on seven hits.

MONSANTO MAULS TRI-CITY 14-2 IN FIRST GAME
In the first game of a doubleheader on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Deshler High Field in Tuscumbia, the Monsanto Maulers massacred the Tri-City Co-Ops 14-2, rattling the fences for 16 hits and getting good outings from starter Whizzer Shipley and reliever Shea Kittridge, who combined to hold the Co-Ops to five hits... Shipley pitched the first five frames and then the rains came causing an hour's delay... Shipley (1-0) had the lead 7-2 when he left the game... he got credit for the victory, gave up two runs on four hits, while Kittridge got the save with four impressive shutout innings, stopping Tri-City on one hit.
Monsanto's Darron Irby swatted three hits and batted in five runs... Rupert Fairmount and Trent Flynn added three hits each with Fairmount scoring four times and driving in a run... Flynn had three RBIs and scored three runs... both clubs now have 1-1 records on the season.

CO-OPS CLOBBER MAULERS 15-3 IN GAME 3
The Monsanto Maulers and the Tri-City Co-Ops traded routs in a Sunday twinbill in Tuscumbia... Tri-City blistered the Maulers 15-3 in the nightcap after falling 14-2 in the first game... Tri-City had also prevailed in the first game of the series Saturday by a wide margin 14-2... the Co-Ops socked 14 hits and got five RBIs from Sherwood Nabors, four from Sparky Sumner and two apiece from Neil Wilkens and Rudi Puckett... Nabors popped a three-run homer and Sumner belted two two-baggers... Puckett had a triple.

Tri-City sent starter Theron Rowling (0-1) to the showers after two innings with a 10-run explosion in the first frame... Bryson Summerfield (1-0) worked a nice game for the win, checking Monsanto on eight hits and three runs in his eight innings... Summerfield whiffed four and walked four.

[StLee]

I was thinking of doing a small league, too, but if I do it, I'm going the route of a futuristic J. Henry Waugh.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by StLee

I was thinking of doing a small league, too, but if I do it, I'm going the route of a futuristic J. Henry Waugh.

Sounds good... go where your passion is... that's the key to it being a passion of love... and not a labor of love.

I'm ambivalent about my IPA dynasty... I love the end results when I get to the playoffs, but summarizing the regular season is pure labor, mixed with a little love... I LUUUUVE the playoffs.

Due to its small 8-team size, I think I will really get attached to the State Line League... I just hope the Good Lord will keep me around long enough to enjoy it... I'm in good shape for 75... but that could change literally in a heartbeat.

[themonk]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Sounds good... go where your passion is... that's the key to it being a passion of love... and not a labor of love.



I'm ambivalent about my IPA dynasty... I love the end results when I get to the playoffs, but summarizing the regular season is pure labor, mixed with a little love... I LUUUUVE the playoffs.



Due to its small 8-team size, I think I will really get attached to the State Line League... I just hope the Good Lord will keep me around long enough to enjoy it... I'm in good shape for 75... but that could change literally in a heartbeat.

During the past 5 or 6 years of playing OOTPB I've been usually playing the conventional 154 or 162-game season, usually with a 16-team fictional league. Often I start out with much enthusiasm, but as season progresses the game becomes a tedious exercise; almost masochistic, if I may say so. I also found out that I don't find it immersive just to sim most of my games.

I just recently discovered the joy of playing with a small league (a 6-team fictional league) with a very short season (a 16- game season). I'm now really enjoying it, playing-out/watching every game. Also I have the time to savor the game, instead of rushing by simming most of the games. This time around I even have the time to read every article of the game newspaper, which I enjoy immensely.

Oh, the joys of playing with a small league!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by themonk

During the past 5 or 6 years of playing OOTPB I've been usually playing the conventional 154 or 162-game season, usually with a 16-team fictional league. Often I start out with much enthusiasm, but as season progresses the game becomes a tedious exercise; almost masochistic, if I may say so. I also found out that I don't find it immersive just to sim most of my games.

I just recently discovered the joy of playing with a small league (a 6-team fictional league) with a very short season (a 16- game season). I'm now really enjoying it, playing-out/watching every game. Also I have the time to savor the game, instead of rushing by simming most of the games. This time around I even have the time to read every article of the newspaper, which I enjoy immensely.

Oh, the joys of playing with a small league!

Yeah, I know where you are coming from... the State Line League will play a 42-game schedule... single game on Saturday and doubleheader on Sunday... I play out the last three innings of each game and totally control all the team rosters, lineups and depth charts.

So far, I'm lovin' it...
except I now see that the PBP is still stiff and stilted like it was the last time I played out games 3-4 years ago... the flow of the PBP may be even worse than it used to be... variety in News stories and PBP are not what Markus specializes in... and rightly so... he needs to key in on features that give him a larger audience... maybe one day the game will be as good graphically (3-D realistic player images and movement) as it is programmed.

I hope for that glorious day when I can just watch the games play out like it's on TV. I hope I live so long.