My love for "The Deadball Era" begins with the film Eight Men Out. It was my first introduction to baseball's past. I fell in love with the on field images of players, their uniforms, the gloves, the style of play, the shine ball, and the on field chatter. Before I discovered APBA, I used to spend countless days in the backyard pretending I was playing for the St. Louis Browns or the Chicago White Sox. I used to make old style gloves out of socks and string. I would bang up against the back of the house trying to run down fly-balls I would throw to myself. I loved the look of warn out grass between the mound and home plate. I always wanted to go back in time and relive the game at its primitive stages. I came across other films, like Cobb, A League of Their Own, The Babe, and Field of Dreams. However my search for the baseball's past has never stopped. I found many books along the way. For example The Glory of Their Times, Cobb, The Unforgettable Season, and Frank Deford's The Old Ballgame. After I left my Master's program earlier this year. I wanted to reconnect with my research abilities. Moreover, I wanted it to delve deeper into the game I love. I started playing APBA and found a group on Facebook that are passionate and not afraid to share their love for the game. Each of the memebers were either playing season replays or tournaments or members of leagues. They posted their recaps on the group page. I also found various blogs that are amazing and a joy to read. The APBA blog as well as Scott Fennessy's game recaps from his 1905 replay. I thought, man I want to do that, but also take it to the next level. I want to do a season replay, but also replay each game from that season. How could I do that, while at the same time include a level of historical research? My goal is to use the SABR's vast library of biographies along with many of the books written about "The Deadball Era." The 1908 season was staring me right in the face. There is just enough information out there that can keep the research interesting as well as supplement my replays. Recently a work by Cait N. Murphy, Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History caught my eye, as well as, G.H. Fleming's detailed book with near daily newspaper clippings would add another layer to the text.
I chose 1908 for obvious reasons. Their is so much air around the 1908, a lot written about it but the games are a bit of a mystery. So why not recreate the entire season? APBA allows one to dig deeper into each player and team. APBA allows you to really get know the players from that season. The best part is that these guys are not just the forgettable commoners. They are unique characters that I look forward to following. The pitching duels are going to be amazing. I'm so fortunate that there is a game like APBA that will let me relieve the myth and legends that surround this season. I will attempt to keep the games as realistic as possible. If the game goes 21 innings there is a chance that the starting pitcher will still be in at the end. I will include box scores and score lines for each game. A little bit of info on each game. Feature biographies and information on various players throughout the season and I hope to produce a podcast of games of the week. which will include my commentary of the game being rolled along with tidbits of information on the players as well as descriptions of the ballparks and possibly the cities the games were played in. I was always bummed that retrosheet didn't have the box scores for each game. So this is my chance to recreate those thrills. I'm not promising we will have another bone head play, but it will be exciting to see the season unfold game by game. Stay tuned as the journey is about to begin.
Play Ball!!!
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