Welcome to NEBL Today, the on-line home of the fictional NorthEastern Baseball League (NEBL). The league uses
Out of the Park Baseball 8 (OOTP) and is a ton of fun. The commentary found here will range from fictional accounts of some of the games and league events to my own commentary on baseball simming.
This first entry will actually be a combination of both.
Years ago - and I do mean
years ago - I used to play a card and dice based baseball game that was handed down to me by my father who played it even
more years before I did when he was a kid. It was a variation, I suppose, of Strat-o-matic baseball that they called Danimar Baseball, named for my dad and his childhood friend's last names. I carried on the tradition and played it for one or two seasons with my best friend as a kid. The years went by and as I became a teenager Earl Weaver Baseball came out for my computer - I can't even remember which computer it was, but I think it was big, clunky and beige. I fell in love with the game and developed a league that I kept for many years called the NorthEastern Baseball League. The first year it consisted of 8 teams because back then you had to play every game. Simming didn't happen. It was also only a 58 game season.
When I was in my mid-twenties, the game faded away. I spent many years looking for Earl Weaver baseball again. I even found it on eBay and won it, but my computer was too fast for the antiquated game. So, unfortunately, the league went into hibernation for a little bit more than the last decade. Two years ago, I discovered Out of the Park Baseball and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I never really kept to it for one reason or another. However, I have found it again, and it's better than ever.
I think the reason I am back into it is simple: real MLB baseball pisses me off. Ever since the last strike, I was always a little miffed by the Majors. Then, the home runs kicked in and I'll admit I loved watching the Sosa/McGwire race. But soon thereafter the steroids thing happened, the Yankees started to bore me and the game is not about the players but the team. Billy Crystal put it best when he said that with all the free agency moves and players in it just for the money, you aren't really rooting for the team any more, you are rooting for the shirt, the logo, etc. (I think it was Billy, not entirely sure though). The final straw was the A-Rod home run clause contract. I am no longer a Yankee fan. I am also hardly a pro baseball fan.
But, I still love the game. I love the
idea of baseball. I love the memories of my childhood playing with my dad and my best friend. I love the smell of the ball park (yes - even the stink of the Bronx) and I love the white jerseys on the green grass. I love the reddish clay on the knees of those white jerseys. I love sun shining onto the park, the sound of the PA, and the roar of the crowd. I guess, ultimately, I love what baseball is. Unfortunately, MLB has tarnished it. So, I'm making it up myself.
This year, I am restarting my NEBL. I am doing it with three divisions: The Upstate Division, The Midlantic Division and the Piedmont Division. There will be four teams in each division with a wildcard entry into the playoffs. Both playoff rounds will be best of sevens - if you make the playoffs, why should one round be shorter than the next?
And, because OOTP makes it easy to run leagues with minor systems, the NEBL will have a AAA league for the first time. The twist? The league will play in Europe. There will be two six-team divisions in the European Federation of Baseball (EuFoB for short). They will play a ninety game season and will have a best of nine championship.
I opened the season in a fictional 2007 (why? accidentally.) last night and the standings are below. As I feel more inspired, I'll add more information. In the meantime, the great American pastime has gone digital. I can still root for teams and players, I can watch penant races and playoffs, I can follow league leaders and every stat I can imagine. I just won't have to deal with the disapointment of the pros.
