Blast from the Past!

I think I may have passed on the link to all of the old Strat-O-Matic Review magazines, but wanted to share it again.   Click here for the library of old Reviews 

I looked at a couple old ones and was stunned to find this gem buried in the April 1983

I never saw the mythical Steve Schumacher before, but I inherited his Houston Heatwave when I joined the league and turned them into my Kansas City Butchers!  Good to see he was the pioneer of our league when it came to flying out to Glen Head for Opening Day! 

Great Moments in League Drafting History!

Was reading a book about the Yankees dynasty in the late 90s and how they built it, got me wondering where Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera were drafted in our league.  Went through our old draft files (under League History, Season by Season on the right side of our web site) to get the answer.   Pretty good first round, too strong for the young Jeter to crack.  I am regretting taking Tiger legend Felipe Lira just before Mariano  :-)  We have draft results from 1992 on, those are great fun to look at if you haven't before.

And into the homestretch we go!

The third deadline has come and gone and we now are entering the final part of the season!  Nice work getting through the deadlines, looking forward to seeing how the rest of this season plays out. 

Boston is holding off both Las Vegas and Wichita in the Animal House division.  The Fremonts are currently battling with the Caddyshack teams for the Wild Card Berth.

 The race in the Caddyshack is as wacky as Carl Spangler's ramblings about caddying for the Dali Lama (heavy hitter, the Lama),  Maine, Mount Pleasant, and Kansas City are all within 2 games of each other.   This will likely not be decided until the final division series games.

Michigan is running away with the Naked Gun division, as anyone with the eyesight of Enrico Palazzo could attest.   All other teams in this divsion are well under .500

Mid-season trading is completed and file is updated with new rosters!

Tony Barnette (and his sweet mullet) has become

the FIRST player traded twice in one mid-season trading period

Please make sure to download and restore the latest version of the league file to make sure that future games all have the right players

Here are the three trades that were completed in this year's Mid-Season trading period....










Mount Pleasant receives:

Taylor Cole

12th round pick

Lake Erie receives:

Tony Barnette 

5th round pick (becomes 4th round if Mount Pleasant makes playoffs)

======================================================

Pittsburgh receives:

Logan Forsythe

3rd round pick

Las Vegas receives:

Daniel Robertson

6th round pick

======================================================

Lake Erie receives:

Daniel Norris

11th round pick

Pittsburgh receives:

Tony Barnette 

7th round pick

 =============================================================

Hot Stove League Heats Up

Las Vegas - The Friendship League transfer window opened up with a little bit of a bang today with Pittsburgh sending SS/2B/3B/LF/1B Daniel Robertson and Pittsburgh's 6th pick in next year's regular draft to Las Vegas for 2B Logan Forsythe and their 3rd round draft pick.

The trade is still pending league approval and the delay is understandable due to the upcoming fantasy football draft, where Robertson may have some advise:

Wow Tom Brady man

— Daniel Robertson (@D_Robertson28) January 21, 2019

Baseball Road Trip 2019!

A bit late posting these but still wanted to share some pictures from our latest baseball road trip.  We started in Pittsburgh on Friday night, moved to Erie on Saturday, and stopped into Akron on our way home Sunday.  Lot of games and lots of fun!

PNC Park is a beauty, and worth the price of the weekend by itself.  

Dave found a great deal on tickets that included six (or more!) 

pre-game craft beer samples

Couldn't go too far due to some 10K type event that was going on,

but we did make a pilgrimage to Heinz Field

The great view of downtown Pittsburgh as 

seen from the top of Mount Washington

UPMC Park, home of the Erie Seawolves

Great views for our $13  :-)   Matt Manning 

was dominant for Erie and should be a high

pick in the Friendship League 2021 Draft

A different viewpoint of Erie's park

Akron surprised us with a very modern and nice ballpark.

CAW!  CAW!  CAW!

Love the home of the RubberDucks!

A couple of cool guys who just happened

to wear matching Rubberduck shirts

Some wacky and affordable family fun

Real Life All Stars!

I always like to see how our teams all stack up for next season when the All Star Game rolls around.  The biggest contingent in this year's AL All Star roster is for players not already in the league (six in total!).  Minnesota has the most all-stars on their current roster, with four.  Pittsburgh, Michigan, Lake Erie, and Montreal all have three.  Mount Pleasant, Boston, and Kansas City each have two all-stars.  Las Vegas, Maine, Toronto, and Wichita all have one.  Just like real life, every team in our league has at least one All Star!

No-No's In The Air This Week!

The Montreal Grizzlies and the Maine Loggers completed one of the strangest games in not only Friendship League history, but in baseball history.   Montreal scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning on a 2-run shot by Josh (don't call me JJ) Reddick, to spot Francisco Liriano to a 2-0 lead.  Here's where it got interesting......Maine scored a run in the 4th inning without the aid of a hit -- 3 walks and a sac fly.   Then in the sixth inning, Liriano walked 3 more, loading the bases with nobody out, and getting tired in the process.  Manager Mike Walter removed him, and reliever Cam Bedrosian gave up a sac fly, but no more, and got out of the inning with the score tied 2-2.  It was in the 7th inning that Walter texted Maine Manager Willnus and said "Crazy that we've given up 2 runs with no hits".  Willnus texted back "I didn't even realize we still had no hits!".  Bedrosian closed out Maine in the 7th with no hits, then Hector Rondon entered and he pitched two more innings of hitless ball.  All tied at 2-2 going to the tenth!  Maine with zero hits still!  It was then that the Montreal staff finally came unglued, as Alex Colume entered and surrendered a lead-off double to Tony Pham, then a game winning single to pinch hitter Luke Voit.  Maine wins 3-2.  Montreal goes away with a memory of pitching nine hitless innings and losing.  Maine only had the six walks in the game -- they just managed to get three in one inning, and three in another inning, and get the two sac flies.  And then their only two hits came in a third inning.   The other seven innings were all 1-2-3.  That be some craziness there.

No-hitter alert!

Some heroics for Boston as Luis Severino throws a no-hitter against Wichita.   Severino only allowed 2 walks and struck out 10 Bandits!

Repping the Friendship League in Utica!

It took about four years, but I finally made up for my disappointing effort with Dave Steines in the between-innings contest in Fort Wayne and won some swag at a minor league game!

Got randomly selected Friday to do a contest and threw 2 of my 4 balls into the pockets of the backstop thing, netting some free tix and a t-shirt!  Probably hitting about 48 mph on the Juggs Gun but I had the pinpoint accuracy of a young Greg Maddux  :-)

If you haven't been there yet, it is a beautiful small stadium, and I would be happy to set up an outing there if people want to meet up.  Good time is guaranteed!

Not sure if I am pitching or shot putting!

Feeling the pressure from the crowd and paparazzi!

Two free tickets to an upcoming game and a new T-shirt for my troubles

Bring on the Biscuits!

This year's draft featured the cream of the crop from the 2015 Montgomery Biscuits team, the year that PJ worked for the team.  That club has already had 19 players who have made it to MLB, and five players were taken this draft (surprisingly, none by PJ but he does have the pronunciation of Willy Adames down pat!)  The five from this draft are...

Willy Adames
Jake Bauers
Yonny Chirinos
Ryne Stanek
Hunter Wood

Have to also share their team song, it's "Bring On the Biscuits"

Click here to play song 


Stats from that season are here..

2015 Montgomery Biscuits

2019 Draft Weekend recap!

Wow, what a crazy Draft Weekend!  We had sweet digs at the hotel, a flurry of trades, surprising draft picks, wacky videos, and of course, the most incredible bingo ball roll of all time!!!

Let's start with big thanks again to Dave for scrambling to get us hooked up at this great hotel and fantastic boardroom!   Was a truly great venue and we always appreciate Dave's help with this (and promise to quit calling him Seabiscuit soon!).  So glad both Randy and Chuck could be there in person, it is never easy to pull this off with everyone in attendance and we all appreciate your efforts to attend.  Scott gets bonus points for serving as Minnesota GM/Wacky Video Producer/Draft Pick Tracker/DJ for Draft Picks.  Truly a Draft Weekend MVP!    Four years in, and I still laugh every time I hear Beck's song Burro start up  :-)  And those JibJab videos were equally entertaining and disturbing, and certainly memorable :-)  

This draft will forever be remembered by the first ever trade of a single bingo ball!  That one-in-seventy-five chance somehow came through and Toronto leapt to the front of the line and selected Miguel Andujar with the first overall pick.  Maine will ban any use of the number 31 in the future.  

This weekend was a little bittersweet too, as Fred announced this would be his last season.  In a very heartfelt and thoughtful speech, he conveyed his reasons and we of course all understand his decision and wish him well!  We will miss you in the league Fred, but will find ways to keep in touch whether it is by watching you rock out with your band, doing retro leagues, or hanging out at Lions tailgates!!!

Should have the league file out soon this week and we can "Play Ball".  Thanks all for a fun weekend, and looking forward to a great season!!!

The calm before the storm in The Boardroom

Saturday night in the Boardroom,

voting on new rules

League Dinner at Shield's

Let the Bingo Ball selections begin!

Bingo action was hotter than Saturday

night at the Church Social

The Bingo Ball chart that will

live in infamy for Maine - #31!

Last year's champ Doug passons on the

trophy to this year's champ Steve T.!

A tense War Room during the Draft!

Draft picks can be seen here...

2018 Draft Results

All The Jib Jabs

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/everybody_backstreet_boys/f4baa545-b2e0-47e6-9646-bbd32b7d79cd

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/celebration_edf_for_him/d7c28988-b6e6-4747-9fa0-4240fdcc2db3

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/barbie_girl/53a9424b-aed6-4e0c-ab23-2421cdae3bdc

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/u_cant_touch_this_mc_hammer/ce82bbe5-bb31-4e1e-9da9-f29bb3cc3826

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/girls_just_wanna_have_fun/d7745ddf-b814-4e95-969c-505d2bc0f77a

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/i_got_you_babe_music_video/3ed93831-8edc-4b48-a8d2-83c34a57c2b3

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/cant_get_enough_of_your_love/97cbe044-0c43-467b-a833-1a6337e76c00

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/were_not_gonna_take_it/5dd29d45-0ccd-4c0d-bfd4-7d40d4729865

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/cake_by_the_ocean_dnce/bfc2d6a9-ee0f-496b-b73c-5285d28f1e7e

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/all_star_smash_mouth_musicvideo/a0953c0a-37db-4939-a71d-a2895b6c1385

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/i_feel_good/0d9f48d9-5819-4b27-b167-cf21749dafc7

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/never_gonna_give_you_up/d08741df-a418-47ab-b58b-86ff5b84cc31

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/take_on_me/b7b17780-2377-48cf-8b46-2c4df188dc0c

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/jump_jump/a5938e50-8bf9-434a-81ba-cb7dbdd286d2

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/gangnam_style/67dc4b29-a31c-4ad2-ae09-4fdf2ad3d596

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/getting_jiggy_with_it/e4594eb3-112f-4db2-bb21-48a75fa6f842

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/happy/c4a5520d-deae-414b-a40c-a737833caf24

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/im_a_hotdog/28de8424-3733-4e3b-a63c-404b5e3892d2

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/watch_out_2_chainz/fb479905-3e23-49bc-8641-dfeed27ccd5f

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/chippendales_valentines_day_dance/dc133ed7-78bd-471f-8d5e-9e37f1b23190

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/ice_ice_baby/874fcca9-f8c1-46f8-9083-27bf169f61cb

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/whats_my_age_again_blink182/3a001393-1b1b-4054-9784-844a673cab27

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/this_is_how_we_do_it_montell_jordan/1f68a86d-d183-4de1-94fb-9fc138ad7272

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/lets_get_physical_by_olivia_newton_john_music_vid/323668fc-d959-4067-8852-db3804ad051c

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/sexy_and_i_know_it/26fe501d-cf0d-49b5-b6db-5ec27e64c5af

Saturday Night Special

Sneak peak for what I have planned for Saturday night....

Trade Announcement!

Turns out you can get Kansas City's 2nd Rounder.  Pittsburgh is sending J.A. Happ and Wilson Ramos to Kansas City for KC's 2nd and 7th round picks

Kansas City has a lot of catcher atbats in the form of John Hicks if anyone is interested.