Relieve Winter Stress with Baseball Board Games!

Winter is upon us, or at least it will be in 5 more days, but I can recommend a remedy for these dark and gloomy days. Break out the baseball board games! No, kids, not computer games, board games, played on honest to goodness cardboard or the dinning room table.

One of my earliest memories is of the Cadaco All-Star Baseball Game that my parents gave me when I was 7 years old or so. That was the one which used player discs. The discs had a cutout in the middle and were placed over a spinner. Numbered areas on the disc represented different batter outcomes and were sized in accordance with the abilities of the player. The number 1 represented a home run and thus, a Luis Aparicio disc had a much smaller 1, than say a Harmon Killebrew disc. Remember trying to judge how hard to hit the spinner? Remember arguing over whether the spinner landed on a home run or the line dividing it from a strikeout? Wouldn't it be far more fun this winter to spend Saturday afternoon arguing over "linesies" rather than shoveling the driveway?

While the Sports Illustrated Baseball Game enthusiasts might argue, Strat-o-Matic baseball is generally considered the premiere baseball board game. According to Strat-o-Matic's website, it is the only board game to be displayed at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Invented in 1961, it is based on an intricate interaction of statistical possibilities based on the actual performance of each player. Games take only about 30 minutes, however, and this leaves plenty of time for arguing, bragging, and drinking beer, should you set up a Winter League and play regularly scheduled contests. Some folks are very serious about their Strat-o-Matic baseball. If you don't believe me--and even if you do--check out the website of the North American Strat-o-Matic Baseball League. The NASBL has even created its own Hall of Fame based on how players performed in their games!

Of course, if you're not into games, you could always read a good baseball book. I know of one coming out real soon and believe me, I'll announce it when it is available!!!

Frank Howard and Mike Cuellar's 1971 seasons are replicated here on Strat-o-Matic's player cards. I once tried to play the entire 1972 American League season. Got as far as early May.