January 13, 2006
The Summer of Strat-O-Matic
There is a wonderful article today in the NYTmes on the continued popularity of the baseball boardgame called Strat-O-Matic. It is perfect timing because I was just talking to the Tuesday night basketball guys about how I used to spend my summers playing a variant of this boardgame.
My oldest brother, King, introduced me to the game when I was a child. We were too poor to purchase the actual game. Instead, we (actually, King) resourcefully created our own version. We had a very large collection of baseball cards (thousands of them) and we used basic probability statistics to create tables that contrasted the batting average (BA) with the pitcher's earned run average (ERA) to create multiple outcomes, such as a strike out, base hit, walk, and hit by pitch. We also made statistical adjustments for players who were more likely to hit home runs or throw strike outs. Then, we picked our teams and played the game much like the original Strat-O-Matic.
Each major league player is represented by a card, on which his statistics from the previous season are crunched into various rankings and outcomes. A roll of the dice and a check of the batter's or pitcher's card then determines the result of each play. [from NYTimes]
From the age of 10 (through the middle of high school), I played this game with my middle brother, Martin, over and over again, mostly during the summer when we had a lot of time to kill. We modified King's original game by making new tables with sometimes looser and other times tighter probability estimates, but the game remained the same. Each "season" we picked our teams (a la fantasy baseball) and used the previous season's statistics. However, we would re-calculate the players' BAs and ERAs based on our role playing performance. Then, we would re-calibrate the numbers according to the weekly player updates that were printed in the sports section of the local newspaper. It was a wonderful game to play and, as I look back on it, a fun way to learn math and statistics.
I recall religiously reading the sports section day after day. I kept a booklet filled with tables which I would use the BA and ERA formulas to track the progress of my players. If a player was not doing well (either in real life or because of my poor dice rolling), I would bench him in favor of another player who was more "hot." Other times, I would remain loyal and hope he worked through his slump. Yes, even back then, I was conscientious and analytical.
Oddly enough, my brothers and I rarely played this game with our friends. Maybe every now and then, but it was more a game for us to play. I have many fond memories playing this game with Martin. We would listen to the local FM radio station while we played, eat meals rolling dice, and challenge each other to game after game. We also used to ride our bikes a couple mile to the local 7-11 to buy pack after pack of Topps, Fleer, and other baseball cards. We had thousands of them which we would sort by team. I believe Martin still has a collection of these cards (or at least I hope he still does). In this way, it also was a great family game.
This past holiday, I went home to Connecticut and spent a lot of time with my niece and nephews, King's children. One of the things that they always wanted to play with me was Monopoly. It's funny because today's kids have so many alternatives from cable tv to video games, yet it was Monopoly (among the oldest of boardgames) that captured their attention. Like our childhood version of Strat-O-Matic, Monopoly is a game that must be played with other people. It is about matching wits, relying on luck, and good gamesmanship. Great life lessons.
I wonder if we still have the baseball boardgame somewhere in a closet or box or did we throw it away as we got older. I think I still have some life lessons to learn.
Posted by richlee at January 13, 2006 11:08 AM