March 7, 2008 
Team name Change 
DAYTON, OH - Greg Grover has decided to change the Trenton Thundercaps to the Frisco Skysox.  

February 10, 2008 
1991 All-Stars announced! 
FRANKFORT, IN - The voting for the 1991 SPB V All Star teams was completed a few weeks ago. Here are the winners for each team:

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM (Points, 130 Maximum)
C - Mickey Tettelton, Baltimore Red Birds - 120
1B - Frank Thomas, Carolina Lighthouse - 111
2B - Willie Randolph, Lake Superior White Caps - 92
3B - Bobby Bonilla, Quigley Q's - 124
SS - Howard Johnson, Frankfort Hot Dogs
LF - Dave Henderson, Quigley Q's - 106
CF - Ruben Sierra, Frankfort Hot Dogs - 94
RF - John Kruk, Lake Superior White Caps - 119
SP - Tom Glavine, Brooklyn Bridegrooms - 123 
RP - Dennis Eckersley, Black Swamp Salamanders - 67*

* Eckersley beat out Steve Farr, of the Q's, and Rick Aguilera of the Bridegrooms by a scant 3 points, as Eck nailed down 67 and Farr & Aguilera tied at 64 points.

NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM (POINTS, 130 Maximum)
C - B. J. Surhoff, New Jersey Cows - 91
1B - Paul Molitor, Wabash Ravines - 124
2B - Ryne Sandberg, Trenton Thundercaps - 114
3B - Edgar Martinez, Trenton Thundercaps - 94
SS - Cal Ripken, New Jersey Cows - 128
LF - Luis Polonia, Red Bluff Rough Riders - 86***
CF - Brett Butler, Kitsilano Hedgehogs - 89
RF- Jose Canseco, Atlantic City Vultures - 102
SP - Kevin Tapani, Niskayuna Micro-Mets - 96**
RP - Mark Eichhorn, Red Bluff Rough Riders - 130*

* Unanimous decision!
** Polonia barely won over Albert Belle of the Cleveland Buckeys by 86-80 total.
*** Tapani won by a scant 5 points over Beard's Roger Clemens by 96-91 score.

Congratulations to all the winning players. For a total look at all the voting, be sure to check out the Voting Booth under SPB V heading. Every vote cast for the Awards and All-Stars is recorded in this section.

February 10, 2008 
1991 Awards announced! 
FRANKFORT, IN - Voting was finished up for the Major Awards of our 1991 SPB season a few weeks ago. Here are the results for the top winners in each catagory:

N.L. MVP - CAL RIPKEN, SS NEW JERSEY COWS! 
Ripken easily outdistanced the runner up, RF Jose Canseco of the Atlantic City Vultures by a convincing margin of 106-48.

A.L. MVP - FRANK THOMAS, 1B CAROLINA LIGHTHOUSE!
Again, this was a very convincing win for the Big Hurt as he beat out fellow firstsacker Cecil Fielder of the Frankfort Hot Dogs by a 91 - 45 margin.

N.L. CY YOUNG - KEVIN TAPANI, NISKAYUNA MICRO-METS!
A closely contested race saw a mere 10 point difference at the conclusion, as Roger Clemens of the Beard Black Cats fell just a bit short by a 95-85 margin!

A.L. CY YOUNG - TOM GLAVINE, BROOKLYN BRIDEGROOMS!
An overwhelming winner, and nearly unanimous as T.G. outdistanced Nolan Ryan of the Lafayette Red Sox by a huge 123-38 score!

N.L. FIREMAN OF THE YEAR - MARK EICHHORN, RED BLUFF ROUGH RIDERS!
Our only unanimus choice in this years voting, easily winning over Brian Harvey of the Kitsilano Hedgehogs by a 125-69 margin!

A.L. FIREMAN OF THE YEAR - STEVE FARR, QUIGLEY Q'S!
This was by fire a ratrace between 3 solid relievers! Farr barely beat out his competitors for this spot. Farr scored just one more point that the Brooklyn Bridegrooms Rick Aguilera 71-70. Finishing in 3rd position only 2 more points back (68) was Dennis Eckersley of the Black Swamp Salamanders. This was our hottest 3 way race ever!

N.L. ROOKIE HITTER - JEFF BAGWELL 1B, KITSILANO HEDGEHOGS!
Finishing a distant 2nd was Trenton Thunder Caps 1B, Brian Hunter 121-64.

A.L. ROOKIE HITTER - CHUCK KNOBLAUCH, 2B, PANDORA BOXERS!
Another blow out winner as catcher Brent Mayne of the Lake Superior White Caps was a very distant 2nd 119-40.

N.L. ROOKIE PITCHER - MIKE TIMLIN, NEW JERSEY COWS!
Fairly close race saw Rheal Cormier, fellow rookie flinger of the Cows took 2nd. Margin, just 77-58.

A.L. ROOKIE PITCHER - AL OSUNA, CAROLINA LIGHTHOUSE!
Finishing 2nd, not that far back was Juan Guzman of the Pitcairn Islanders at 95-67.

N.L. MANAGER OF THE YEAR - MARC HOLLINGSWORTH, RED BLUFF ROUGH RIDERS!
John Saunders of the Kitsilano Hegehogs racks up 2nd place trailing 101-74

A.L. MANAGER OF THE YEAR - JOHN DEWAN, QUIGLEY Q'S!
A very tight battle saw John sneak by Rich Applegate of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms by a mere 3 points, at 83-80. Rich pulled a one up though by taking the ALCS!

Congratulations to all managers and players from our tough 1991 season on winning these Awards in SPB - V! Jobs well done everyone! The All-Star teams for each league will be announced later today.

January 20, 2008 
SPB-5 Team projections updated 
DAYTON, OH - Greg Henning has updated the spreadsheet for the player projections.  I am going to try something new with this one and publish it using Google Documents.  The link on the left will take you to the Google page, since the actual spreadsheet takes longer to load and you already had the spreadsheet emailed to you.  Plus this also amount of files kept on the server less as well.  

January 14, 2008 
1991 Voting awards posted 
DAYTON, OH - Guys....the voting results are posted.  Click on the voting booth link on the right box to access the results.  See if you your lobbying had any positive results.  

January 6, 2008 
Changes abound for 1992 Season 
DAYTON, OH - Below are  managerial, team and stadium changes to kick off the off-season: 

Old Team                  New manager      Team Name
Rockbridge Rebels      Mike See               Philadelphia Phantoms
Trenton Thundercaps   Greg Grover           To Be Announced    
Beard Black Cats        Dave Lauer            East Kenosha Leopards

In addition, the Scio Farmers are renaming their team to the Dexter Dreadnoughts.

Lafayette will be moving from County Stadium into the Kingdome.

January 4, 2008 
Rough Riders capture 91 World Series 
DAYTON, OH - Congratulations to Marc Hollingsworth for winning the 1991 World Series. I am sure that the write-ups have made their way around the league and will be posted by John to the SPB Website. 

I wish also to take this opportunity to thank Rick Ryan, Jim Jansen, and John Moore for their contributions to the league. They are each stepping down from their teams in SPB V. 

Trading season is now open

December 7, 2007 
1991 End of year reports 
DAYTON, OH - Our two favorite end of year reports have been produced. The 1991 overusage report and the use or lose report. 

December 7, 2007 
1991 Playoff previews 
DAYTON, OH - SPB-5 beat writer Greg Henning provides with his American League Playoff preview and National League Playoff preview.  

December 7, 2007 
Final stats for 1991 posted 
DAYTON, OH - The final stats for the 1991 season have been posted, including the 1-game playoff.  The following playoff matchups are set: AL: Bridegrooms vs. Q's  (Q's get HFA)
NL: Rough Riders vs. Hedgehogs (Hedgehogs get HFA)

December 7, 2007 
A.L. West 1-game divisional playoff 
DAYTON, OH - 162 games could not decide the winner in the AL West race between the Baltimore Redbirds and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.  Here are all the juicy details from game 163. 

November 26, 2007 
1985-1991 Career Batting and Pitching Registers 
DAYTON, OH - Thanks again to Greg Henning for providing the current batting and pitching registers for the duration of SPB-5.  The links are in the first box on the left. The Season links are for the individual seasons, while the Career registers are for the overall career stats. 

November 24, 2007 
Team Usage report for 1992-99 posted 
DAYTON, OH - Greg Henning has updated the team usage projections for all teams. Right click on Team Projections 1992-99 on the left and save the excel file.   

September 10, 2007 
Nolan Ryan No-Hitter! 
FRANKFORT, IN - The Lafayette Red Sox hard throwing, fireballing, veteran Nolan Ryan was at the top of his game, as he stopped the normally hard hitting Frankfort Hot Dogs by a 2-0 margin on July 8th. Nolan cruised through the Dogs all the way to the finish without allowing a base hit to make the SPB V history book! He allowed but two base runners and they were his only walks of the game. His fastball must have reached 100 miles per hour during this game, as the veteran 44 year old improved to 8-2 on the year. Nine of the Hot Dogs were whiffed as he marched to the top of this gem.

Even the Frankfort fans were on the edge of their seats, litterally, as the game would through the 7th, then the 8th innings. Then came the dramatic 9th inning! Veteran Frankfort catcher Carlton Fisk, still a very worthy opponent, was his first challenge, but he was quickly disposed on a called third strike, Ryans final whiff of this chiller. Next up was Jeff Blauser who drew the 2nd walk from Ryan. Kelly Gruber, a dangerous hitter too, batted for
reliever Tom Henke, trying to tie this game at two each. ended up putting a 3-1 pitch up for a fly ball to right for out # two. CF Von Hayes, a lefthander worked a 1-2 count before flying to 
Red Sox LF Jim Eisenreich to finish up the masterpiece. Ryan had to make 2 curtain calls on this gem before departing the field.

SS Jay Bell and 2B Harold Reynolds got the RBI hits in the 6th and 9th innings to assure Ryan's win.

NOTES:. This game was played live and in person with Lafayette Mgr. Steve Ehresman coming to Frankfort for this series. He went home happy, as not only did Ryan pitch this great game, the Red Sox surprised and took 3 of the 4 games to wrap up this series.

September 3, 2007 
1991 Halftime Report 
DAYTON, OH - SPB-5 beat writer Greg Henning has put together a halftime report for your reading pleasure.  Thanks to Greg for his hard efforts!  Enjoy! 

August 21, 2007 
Change to Phase 2 draft procedures 
FRANKFORT, IN - There will be a new twist to the Phase II drafts starting with the SPB II draft in November. When protected rosters are called for, all teams with over 38 rostered players (including both protected and unprotected) will have the option of .....MORE

May 3, 2007 
Ballpark Change 
FRANKFORT, IN - The Beard Black Cats have moved out of the echoing confines of the Kingdome into sunny Anaheim Stadium. The Kingdome and Astrodome are now the open stadiums

April 23, 2007 
Clarification for 92 expansion 
FRANKFORT, IN - In 1992, there will be a league expansion with Colorado and Florida entering MLB.  For the purposes of SPB,  any player for any reason who appeared in at least one game for an expansion team, is treated as an expansion player, and is eligible for the SPB expansion draft.

April 20, 2007 
Team Name change 
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Terry Buchanan has chosen to rename the Pocono RedStixx to the Pitcairn Islanders. This name change will be reflected in the 91 draft info. G-Day!

April 14, 2007 
Call for phase 2 protected lists 
BOWLING GREEN, OH - The following teams can protect the following number of payers:

18 players:
Baltimore, Black Swamp, Kitsilano, Lafayette, Niskayuna, Quigley

19 players:
Beard, Carolina, Cleveland, Frankfort, Kansas, Lake Superior, New Jersey, Pandora, Pocono, Red Bluff, Trenton, Wabash

20 players:
Atlantic City, Brooklyn, Cedar Rapids, Chicago, New Jersey, Scio

The Phase I (Rookie) draft will take place in the SPB Auditorium beginning on Saturday, April 21 at 11:00am Eastern Daylight Time. If you are unable to attend either physically at Gary’s place in Frankfort, IN, or live in the auditorium, you MUST send instructions and/or a draft list.

The first several teams due to pick in Phase II are also urged to stay in the auditorium or at least 

March 4, 2007 
1991 Draft day selected 
FRANKFORT, IN - After getting all the responses in from most managers, I can tell you now that the 1991 rookie draft for SPB V will be held in Frankfort, Ind. on Saturday, April 21st. Draft will start at 11AM Eastern time. I hope that each of you will give serious consideration to attending, if possible. Thanks to all of you who responded. There were only 2 votes received for the 14th, and the balance of votes were for the 21st.

March 2, 2007 
New Manager for 1991 
FRANKFORT, IN - Just a couple of days ago, I found out that Marc Robinson is resigning his post as an SPB V manager, due to time constraints. I wish the best to Marc, and thank him for his long service in SPB V. He will be continuing with his other Seasons Past managerships for now. Marc's SPB V team is the Ruppert Mundys.

I am happy to announce that I have a new manager ready to step right in! Jim Jansen, from New Jersey will be taking over this team. He has decided that he will rename the Mundys, and has chosen the Trenton Thunder Caps as the moniker of choice. He has assumed the helm of the team immediately. He will be taking part in the April rookie draft, and will can be contacted in case your interested in trading. His bio information will soon be posted to the SPB V webpage, as well as the manager roster for SPB. Please welcome Jim to SPB V as our newest manager. He can be reached at this email address: fourdogs4@monmouth.com.

February 6, 2007 
And another Team Name change 
FRANKFORT, IN - John Moore the manager of the former Grosse Point Giants is changing the team name to the Rockbridge Rebels for the 1991 season. This will be reflected on the SPB 1991 files, soon to be sent by Commish Chris Williams. 

February 4, 2007 
Another Team Name change 
FRANKFORT, IN - New manager Albert "Doc" Schweitzer had decided to rename his team for the coming 1991 season.  The former Colorado Grizzlies will henceforth be know as the Atlantic City Vultures

February 2, 2007 
Team Name change 
FRANKFORT, IN - Manager Peter Brooks is renaming his team for the 1991 season. This team was formerly the Birmingham Cloverleafs. He will now be known as the Scio Farmers beginning with the 1991 season.

February 2, 2007 
1990 All-Stars announced 
FRANKFORT, IN - For part two of the voting, I am proud to present the 1990 All-Stars from SPB V. Here is the American League team:

C Carlton Fisk, Frankfort Hot Dogs
1B Cecil Fielder, Frankfort Hot Dogs 
2B Roberto Alomar, Brooklyn Bridegrooms
3B Tim Wallach, Carolina Lighthouse
SS Barry Larkin, Carolina Lighthouse
LF Kevin Mitchell, Black Swamp Salamanders
CF Barry Bonds, Baltimore Redbirds
RF Daryl Strawberry, Pandora Boxers
SP Jose Rio, Quigley Q's
RP Rob Dibble, Pandora Boxers

And the National League team:

C Craig Biggio, Colorado Grizzlies
1B Eddie Murray, Beard Black Cats
2B Ryne Sandberg, Ruppert Mundys
3B Edgar Martinez, Ruppert Mundys
SS Bip Roberts, Red Bluff Rough Riders
LF Ron Gant, Red Bluff Rough Riders
CF Ken Griffey, Jr., Kansas Storm
RF Jose Canseco, Colorado Grizzlies
SP Doug Drabek, Kitsilano Hedgehogs
RP Mike Schooler, Red Bluff Rough Riders

It would be good for you to check out the total voting results for 1990 Awards & All-Stars, where you can see all recorded votes and the order of finish for every player who received a vote by logging into the Voting Booth, and checking out the SPB V Poll Results on the upper right of the screen. There were several fairly close wins. See which players you have that garnered votes.

February 2, 2007 
1990 Voting booth results announced 
FRANKFORT, IN - I want to announce that the voting booth has been closed for our 1990 voting, and I want to thank all managers who voted for the 1990 season Awards and All Star teams. We had a very good turnout, as only one manager failed to get his ballots in. So thanks to those of you who took the time to vote.

It is my duty to let you know that the Awards voting produced our closest race ever for an MVP Award. In the A.L., Pandora's all around talented rightfielder Daryl Strawberry edged slugging firstsacker Cecil Fielder by a single point! This despite the fact that Fielder garnered 13 1st place ballots over Strawberry's 8 first place votes. 

In other Al Award voting Jose Rijo, Quigley's ace pitcher captured the Cy Young Award. Fireballing righthander Rob Dibble of the Boxers took Fireman of the year. Rookie winning the Award were Pocono's Delino DeShields taking the hitters half, and Birmingham's Chris Nabholz winning the pitching half. Quigley Q's manager John Dewan captured another SPB V Manager of the year award.

In the N.L., the MVP goes to Red Bluff 5-tool leftfielder Ron Gant! Kitsilano's Doug Drabek captured the Cy for his brilliant season. The Rough Riders Mike Schooler also picked up the Fireman's Award. Rookie winners were Cedar Rapids firstbaseman John Olerud, and Kitsilano's John Burkett on the mound. Don Rahn of the Niskayuna Micro Mets took the N.L. manager award for the first time!

Congratulations are due to each of these winning players and managers, so this is my salute to each of them! Job well done guys!

January 29, 2007 
New manager for Blue Jays 
FRANKFORT, IN - Former manager of the Knoxville Blue Jays, Rob Helmich, is dropping this team because of business & family time constraints. Thanks to Rob for his past involvement last season in SPB V. The new manager is a very familiar name to most of our SPB veteran managers. Joe DeZarlo will be taking over the reigns immediately. He has renamed the team as the New Jersey Cows. He is also switching home fields, moving out of Anaheim Stadium into the Minneapolis Metrodome.

This means that California's Anaheim Stadium joins the Houston Astrodome as the available parks in SPB V.

In further SPB V news, Comissioner Chris Williams is working diligently on the 1991 files and hopes to have them completed and out sometime within the coming week. 

January 20, 2007 
Name change for Colt All-Stars 
LAFAYETTE, IN - From Manager Steve Ehresman: Effective with the new 1991 season, the Lafayette Colt All-Stars request the right to change the franchise name to the Lafayette Red Sox, a minor league team based in Lafayette in days of yore.

December 30, 2006 
1990 Season...what you didn't know 
DAYTON, OH - Thanks to Greg Henning, who put together another stellar article extracting many useful nuggets of information from the 1990 season.  Click HERE to read all about it!

December 26, 2006 
Redbirds best MicroMets for 90 crown 
DAYTON, OH - Congratulations to Greg Henning and his Baltimore Redbirds, this year's SPB-5 Champions!  Thanks to a Ruthian performance from Barry Bonds, the Redbirds took out the micro-miracle Mets 4 games to 1, to win his second SPB championship.  Complete writeups and boxscores can be found on the menu to the left. 

December 20, 2006 
1990 World Series matchup set 
FRANKFORT, IN - Congratulations to Don Rahn's Micro-Mets and Greg Henning's Redbirds, for reaching the pinnacle of the season. Good Luck to both teams in the WS!  Recaps of both LCS series can be found on the first menu to the left.   

December 3, 2006 
New Manager for RedStixx 
FRANKFORT, IN - I am happy to announce that one of two manager appointments needed for the coming 1991 season has been made. Terry Buchanan, a member of a couple of other SPB Leagues has decided to take on the reigns of the Pocono Red Stixx. So I personally welcome Terry to SPB V as our newest manager. 

I am also very happy to announce that we have the yet another new manager for the Birmingham Cloverleafs. This fills our quota at this time! We're back to full force for the coming 1991 season. Our newest addition is Peter Brooks. Peter has recently joined SPB NOW, and he now adds another SPB managership to his agenda. Welcome to SPB V Peter! 

If you would like to welcome our two newest members, Terry Buchanan and Peter Brooks, their email addresses can be found on the SPB website, under the Manager/Bios page.

November 29, 2006 
SPB-5 Manager shifts 
FRANKFORT, IN - It is my sad duty to announce the following manager resignations effective with the close of the recent 1990 season. First off, Jim Wheeler and Scott Felt have resigned as managers of the Pocono Red Stixx and Colorado Grizzlies due to busier personal and business schedules. Next interim manager Dave Lauer stepped in and finished the season for the Knoxville Blue Jays after their manager resigned earlier this year. Rob Helmich also came into the league and finished up the season for the former manager of the Birmingham Cloverleafs and finished them up. Thanks to all 4 of you for staying through the season.

The following manager changes are approved for the coming 1991 season. Rob Helmich will move over and take the Knoxville Blue Jays manager reigns. And a former long time SPB manager will make his comeback by returning to SPB V while taking over the Colorado team. A big welcome back goes out to Albert (Doc) Schweitzer. Thanks to both Rob and Albie for their taking on new teams in 1991.

I will be looking for 2 new managers to take over the former Birmingham team, as well as the Pocono entry. They will be announced in the near future.

November 29, 2006 
1990 Use'em or lose'em report 
FRANKFORT, IN - Now that the 1990 season has reached the regular scheduled conclusion, here is a list of all players that were lost by each team during the years play. As usual, these losses occur because the player involved did not meet the 50% Use or Loose rule in the league constitution.

November 29, 2006 
1990 Playoffs set 
FRANKFORT, IN - Chris and I have been on extended vacations over the Thanksgiving holiday, so I am a bit late on this. But a hearty congratulations goes out to our league Champions for the 1990 season! 

Greg Henning captured the AL West crown by winning 102 games beating the Boxers out easily by ten games. John Dewan continued his domination by taking the Quigley Q's to a league high 109 wins beating the Salamanders by 13 games. So it will be Quigley opening at Baltimore when the American League LCS series begins.

In the National League battles, Bill Lanke captured his first SPB crown by taking the NL West in SPB V when his Wabash Rivers scored a scant 86 wins to win the tightest race by a single game over the Storm! In the East, the win went to John Saunders by default when his Kitsilano Hedgehogs were given the right to advance to the NL East crown because the winning Micro Mets were taken out of the picture due to an overuse of more than 10 games. John's Hegehogs get the nod with 90 victories. So we will have Kitsilano opening the NLCS at Wabash. 

Good luck to all involved.

November 22, 2006 
Final Standings and Power Rankings posted 
DAYTON, OH - The final stats and power rankings for the 1990 season are now posted.   Congratulations to John Dewan’s Qs, who wiped away the competition in the final month, for the second consecutive year, and also to Don Rahn MicroMets, Bill Lanke’s Rivers, and Greg Hennings’s Redbirds. My Salamanders did their best, but despite having the second best pitching in the entire league (to the Qs at least) their league-last batting average sunk them. The playoffs are set up on the disk. Due to the quirks of our year-by-year home field advantage alternation patterns, the league teams with the best W-L records are actually starting out on the road, which should make for interesting matchups. 

(As a minor detail, the schedule for this past month had included a single October game between two teams in the league; this was an accidental scheduling hangover from the 1-game playoff last season; that game has been deleted with its stats). 

Teams in the playoffs are heavily encouraged to play head-to-head if at all possible.

September 27, 2006 
New Manager on board 
FRANKFORT, IN - It is my duty to announce that manager Joe Terry has had to resign from SPB V due to family health issues. I want to thank Joe for his time spent in SPB III & V and maybe in the future, he might be able to return should the issues be resolved.

I am happy to announce a new manager for the Birmingham Cloverleafs. This is the team that Joe Terry had to give up recently.
Please welcome to our league, Rob Helmich, as our newest manager. Rob is taking over the team for August play, so send your MP's to Rob this month, if you play Birmingham. He will be sending out MP's for his team for their away games too. 

Rob is from Pennsylvania, becoming our 2nd member from this large state. His managers info should be posted to the SPB webpage very soon. If you want to, take a minute to welcome Rob to Seasons Past. This is his first time in our leagues, and he is busy honing up on the Constitution. Again, he is a new manager so be sure to give him a shout. His email address is: cassattct@yahoo.com.

September 3, 2006 
Divisional halftime reports 
DAYTON, OH - Once again, beat writer Greg Henning steps p the plate and delivers.  Below are the links to the divisional half-time reports for SPB-5 1990.  Enjoy!

AL EAST    AL WEST      NL EAST    NL WEST

July 31, 2006 
Interim manager replacement 
FRANKFORT, IN - Chris Williams has hired a new manager to take the place of the recently resigned Wade Mitchell, for the Knoxville Blue Jays team in 1990. Dave Lauer, longtime SPB manager is returning to SPB V as the interim manager for the balance of the 1990 season. So Dave will be sending out the June MP's for this team. Be sure if your playing the Jays at home that you send your MP's to Dave L., instead of Wade. Dave was a former manger in SPB V, and is currently in most SPB Leagues. He has indicated that he will re-evaluate his stand with this team as a possible full time manager, once the season has ended. Thanks to Dave for stepping up and taking over the Blue Jays. Welcome back Dave!

July 4, 2006 
April Boxscore reports from beat writer Henning 
DAYTON, OH - SPB-5 beat writer Greg Henning has put together an excellent synopsis of April's play with the following monthly team recap.  

June 16, 2006 **Updated**
Team previews according to the beat writer 
DAYTON, OH - SPB-5 beat writer Greg Henning is at it again!  Enclosed and linked are his divisional previews for the upcoming 1990 season!

AL EAST    AL WEST      NL EAST    NL WEST 

May 19, 2006
Team Swap 
BOWLING GREEN, OH - One major change to announce. Returning managers Greg Stillwagon (Soo Locks) and Steve Ehresmann (Lafayette Colt All-Stars) have traded their teams to each other. This restores Greg as the manager of the team he gave up during or after last season. 

One team name change had not yet been reflected on the manager page: Louisiana Greys (Larry Schilling’s old team) had been renamed the Soo Locks by Greg Stillwagon. However, this change is moot as this team transfers into Steve Ehresman’s hands and will now be known as the Lafayette Colt All-Stars.

The Lafayette Colt All-Stars will be now known as the Lake Superior Whitecaps and will be piloted by Greg Stillwagon. 

As a point of trivia, the former Lafayette team is now John Moore’s Grosse Pointe Giants. Lastly, it seems that a more reliable email for Greg Stillwagon is Stillwagon@m33access.com

April 30, 2006
Another manager replacement announced 
BOWLING GREEN, OH - We are indeed fortunate that the manager who has stepped forward to replace Larry at the helm of the Louisiana Whiskey is none other than Greg Stillwagon, who is rejoining SPB V after an absence of just a few months.

Welcome, Greg, back to the league! I expect a name change is forthcoming.

April 28, 2006  *Updated*
Manager replacement announced 
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Jim Copeland had to resign his Lakeport Pilots franchise, citing time constraints. Into the breach leaps Steve Ehresman, who is rejoining the league at the helm of that team. His new team name is the Lafayette All-Stars. Please welcome Steve back to the league. 

April 15, 2006
SPB-5 Draft report 
DAYTON, OH - It is my pleasure to roll out the first in what will hopefully be a series of articles written by your very own SPB-5 beat writer Greg Henning.  Thank you Greg for taking on this project!  You can read Greg's full article by clicking HERE.   

March 25, 2006
New Manager in the fold
FRANKFORT, IN - It is my privilege to announce that we have yet one more new manager to announce for the 1990 season. Wade Mitchell will be taking over the Florida team, as John Horsch has failed to respond to numerous emails, and even a phone call. Wade will be renaming the team the Knoxville Blue Jays. Wade is also a member of SPB-1.

March 21, 2006
Call for Protected rosters
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Dear Managers in SPBV (1990),
It is that time of year again, folks. With the live auditorium chat draft scheduled for 11:00am Eastern on April 1, we need to call for your protection lists for Phase II. Please send them to me by Friday evening. I will send out the official draft database on Saturday. 

The following teams may protect 20 players: Carolina, Chicago, Cedar Rapids, Kansas, Pocono, Beard. 

The following teams may protect just 18 players: Colorado, Louisiana, Quigley, Black Swamp, Pandora, Baltimore. 

The remaining 12 teams may protect 19 players. 

For managers new to SPB, here is how Phase II works. In SPB, we do not cut players from our roster the way many leagues do, and the rookie draft is mostly just that, a draft from among players that are new to the particular SPB league in question, plus those players that have been lost to teams for underuse. However, so as to ensure that teams are able to have positional coverage and to work against the hoarding of valuable players, we conduct a supplemental draft right after the conclusion of the rookie draft. Teams protect between 18-20 players of their pre-draft roster, and these players remain protected through the drafting process. The remaining players on the roster are then available for drafting in the Phase II process, and are indicated as such by being marked as “farmed” on each team’s roster. Using the same draft order as Rounds 4 and later of the rookie draft, each team makes 3 selections at once from the Phase II players before passing on to the next team. If 5 players have been selected from the “Phase II” pool of one team, that team’s roster is then “frozen” and it can lose no more players. So many players were on rosters in the late 1980s and early 1990s that even if a team loses 5 players, the vast majority of its roster will likely remain intact heading out of the draft. 


Two notes of caution: “uncarded” players are eligible to be drafted in Phase II, so if you really need to keep an uncarded player, you should be prepared to protect him. Second, you may also protect your own players, a useful strategy if you want to maintain your roster as well as possible.

Again, please send your protection lists to me by Friday evening. 

March 21, 2006
New Manager on board
DAYTON, OH - Stepping in on short notice to take over the Kansas City Red Streaks is Joe Terry.  He will be renaming his team the Birmingham Cloverleafs, and is taking over just in time for the 1990 draft. His bio will be updated shortly.  Welcome to SPB Joe!

March 19, 2006
League Opening
FRANKFORT, IN - We have an immediate opening in SPB V for a manager to step in, and this is an ideal time to take over a team in SPB V's 1990 season, for two weeks from today is the 1990 rookie & Phase II drafts. So if your up to a challenge of taking a team in a league where many of today's stars are just getting started on their careers, while stars from the 1980's are still going strong, then this is your chance! The open team is the Kansas City Red Streaks. The roster can be viewed from the SPB V webpage. If interested, please contact me ASAP. I am anxious to get this opening secured with a manager who knows the ropes in Seasons Past Baseball. :)

March 8, 2006
1990 Draft date set
FRANKFORT, IN - The 1990 draft day is now set. Thanks to the managers who voiced an opinion to help get this set up. The draft will be held (very appropriately) on Saturday, April 1st. The time starting time will be 11 AM EST. The place will be at Rick Ryan's fine country home. Please notify Rick, as well as myself, it there is any plans for you being able to attend in person. Sorry for the lateness of this announcement, but I'm sure that some of you will still be able to work in an appearance on draft weekend at Ricks palatial estate. ;) Looking forward to seeing you there. Let us know if you will be attending, drafting in the SPB Auditorium (chatroom), or supplying an email list for this draft. There are a lot of nice players, once again, available for your team! ;)

February 22, 2006
Team name change
DAYTON, OH - Marc Robinson has changed the name of his team from the Alma Rifles, which he took over in mid season.  The new team name is the reincarnated Ruppert Mundys 

January 11, 2006
1989 WS title goes to Chiefs
DAYTON, OH - Congratulations to Marc Robinson and his Alma Chiefs, in a tough 7-game victory over John Dewan's Q's.  Complete World Series coverage can be found on the link to the left. This is Marc's first ever SPB Championship!

January 8, 2006
1989 Voting booth open
FRANKFORT, IN - John Turnbull and Lynn Miller have just combined to get the SPB Voting Booth updated with both of the ballots to cover the voting for the 1989 season. Please log onto the main SPB webpage and click on Voting Booth on the LH side of the screen. You will then need to vote for both the 1989 Awards ballot, and then log in again and vote for the 1989 All Star teams. If you need help on how to do this (Instructions are at top of ballot though.), please contact me at once. This is the last thing we have to do to fulfill managerial obligations for the 1989 season. 

Remember to sign in at the top of the ballots with your first & last name, and your teams name. Remember to double check you ballots, once you have hit the submit button before you hit the final send button. You can check to make sure you ballots went through when finished, by clicking on the "Did you Vote? Click here to check" which is found directly below the names of the two ballots. PLEASE HAVE YOUR VOTING DONE BY JANUARY 21ST, AT THE LATEST. Thanks for taking a few minutes to do this. New managers for 1990 are asked to vote as well as those who played during the 1989 season.

January 6, 2006
New manager on board for 1989
DAYTON, OH - I am here to announce the appointment of a new manager John Horsch. John hails from Florida and is taking over the former Nashville Funkadelic team. Former manager Steve Osborne had resigned from SPB V recently.
John will assume command of this team as soon as the 1989 World Series is finished. He has decided to rename the team as the Florida Thunder. In case any of you might like to welcome John to the League. His email address is: strttoday@yahoo.com. Glad to have you aboard in Seasons Past, John! 

January 6, 2006
Listing of manager changes for post-1989
DAYTON, OH - Clicking HERE is an email that Chris Williams sent out a few weeks ago outlining the changes that will be taking place after the 1989 season.  I am posting this here for the archives. 

December 17, 2005
Overusage and use or lose players announced
BOWLING GREEN, OH - With the conclusion of the 1989 regular season, it is time to announce the overusage statistics and the use or lose results that may affect your roster for the upcoming season.  Click on the appropriate words for OVERUSAGE or USE OR LOSE to view these articles.  Thanks to Gary Plunkitt for his investigative repprting.

December 17, 2005
Another stadium change to report
FRANKFORT, IN - We have one more stadium change in to report effective with the 1990 season. Jim Copeland's Lakeport Pilots are abandoning the Metrodome of Minnesota, and moving into the queen of the cookie cutter parks, Cincy's Riverfront Stadium. Now available are two of the domed wonders, Astrodome and Metrodome.

December 16, 2005
A whole slew of team name and stadium changes!
FRANKFORT, IN - A trio of team name changes to announce, and a couple more ballpark changes too. First off, our newest manager Don Rahn, has decided to change the name of his team to the Niskayuna MicroMets instead of the Warriors. He is also going to inhabit Shea Stadium instead of Cleveland Municipal as originally announced last evening. His team was the Renegades in 1989, and they played in Riverfront Stadium. Then manager John Moore of the Lafayette Leopards is changing the team name to the Grosse Pointe Giants. Finally manager John Laburda is changing the team name of the Jupiter Bucks to the Pandora Boxers, and he is taking over Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The two home park changes leaves Houston's Astrodome and Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium as the two available parks. All this is effective for the 1990 season.

December 16, 2005
New manager for Renegades
BOWLING GREEN, OH - I am very happy (again) to announce yet another newly appointed manager for SPB V's coming 1990 season. I would like to welcome Don Rahn as our latest manager appointee. Don is a member of the SPB NOW league too. He will be taking over the former Orlando Renegades team immdediately for the 1990 season, taking the place of Mike See. Mike did a great job in this league and will be missed, but he is remaining in all other SPB Leagues as manager. Don will be renaming this team as the Niskayuna Warriors. You can contact Don at: donrahn@nycap.rr.com. 

December 16, 2005
New manager for Whitecaps
BOWLING GREEN, OH - I am glad to announce that we have a new manager to take over the former Lake Superior Whitecaps team. Jim Copeland of Wisconsin will be taking over this team immediately as soon as the 1989 SPB World Series is complete. He will be renaming the team as the Lakeport Pilots. For now he will be staying in the Metrodome for his home park. But may change before season starts. If any of you are interested, Jim is looking for any stadium trade offers. Do you have a hankering to play in the Metrodome, instead of your current park? Contact Jim for a possible trade. 

He is new to hands on leagues. And he is anxious to get into the flow of this league.

Jim is a good friend of Terry Baxter's, whom he graduated from high school with, and also is close with Mike See. So feel free to welcome Jim to our league. Welcome aboard Jim!! You can reach Jim at: jcstlfan@wi.rr.com. He is a member of the SPB Classic League too. 

December 14, 2005
1989 playoff pairings set
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Congratulations to the Amphibians (under the new management of Marc Robinson) who bested Mike See’s Renegades in a one-game playoff. They advance to the LCS where they host the Wabash Rivers (Bill Lanke) for the NL (Nashville was disqualified due to the extent of player overusage). 

Jupiter eked out a one-game victory and earned the chance to play the team with the league’s best record, the Quigley Qs. 

November 26, 2005
1989 FINAL stats posted
BOWLING GREEN, OH - There remains to be played a tie-breaker between the Alma Chiefs (now under the direction of Marc Robinson) and Orlando Renegades (Mike See). Plus, a review of team overusage needs to be conducted before the playoff disk can be sent out. I will do this once all usage situations have been assessed, reviewed, and finalized. In the meantime, we can review the final month for all it is worth (minus the playoff game, of course, but I doubt that will truly affect team and player of the month of awards. 

November 6, 2005
Manager replacement for Chiefs
FRANKFORT. IN - Standing in for our busy Commish Chris Williams, it is my duty to announce that Marc Robinson, a veteran SPB manager, will be taking over the Alma Chiefs for their September play. Since we are past the deadline for MP's please send your September profiles to Marc, if you play the Chiefs in September, as soon as you can. He will be sending out his MP's to his Sept opponents in the next few days. Welcome Marc to SPB V!! Thanks for stepping right in.

October 31, 2005
Another new manager....league now full!
BOWLING GREEN, OH - I welcome a new manager aboard in SPB V to take over for the Lafayette team starting with Septembers play. John Moore is the new manager for the Lafayette team. This is his first SPB League, so a rousing welcome goes out to John for taking over the reigns of the Leopards for their final month of play. You can reach John at this email address: junskimos@comcast.net. 

October 26, 2005
New manager in the fold immediately
BOWLING GREEN, OH - I wish to welcome John Laburda to the helm of the soaring Jupiter Bucks. This is the team that Vin Onstott had to surrender a month ago. Richard Pearson will not be taking over this team at the end of the season. Steve Ehresmann's Lafayette squad is still open. 

John wishes to assume control of the team for the final month of the season, so please send your profiles directly to him. I will forward any that I have received for the Bucks (and I have received some). Plus, you should expect to receive a profile from John for the Bucks for September. 

Updated October 1, 2005
2 new managers join , 1 for Aug, and 1 after 89
BOWLING GREEN, OH - A big welcome to Richard Pearson, who is taking over Vin Onstott's Jupiter franchise. They will be renamed the Kenesaw Mountaineers, a close approach to one of the original franchise names. In addition, welcome back to the fold Jim Wheeler, who resumes control of the Veracruz Blues upon the completion of the 1989 season. Jim may presumably change the name back to the Original Pocono Redstixx after the season ends.   

Meanwhile, a big thanks to Steve McPherson, for his service to the league over the past year, and to Vin Onstott.

June 9, 2005
Stadium Change
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Prior to the start of the season, Steve Osborne had requested moving from Cleveland Municipal Stadium to Anaheim, which was open. I approved the move, but somehow neglected to process the change on the database (or announce the move to the league). I have instructed Steve to make the change on his copy of the database prior to playing any of his games and have made the adjustment on the database.

June 4, 2005
89 Players claims
BOWLING GREEN, OH - The following claims of released players have been made:

Beard: Steve Kiefer, Ron Washington
Black Swamp: Juan Castillo, Ray Krawczyk
Brooklyn--John Davis
Carolina--Jeff Bittiger, Sherm Corbett
Cedar Rapids--Brett Gideon
Jupiter--Chris Bando
Lafayette--Van Snider
Nashville--Julio Solano

The following Players have been condemned to SPBV oblivion. Sayonara!

Batters:
Jim Steels - Louisiana
Donnie Scott - Alma
Jim Walewander - Alma
Chuck Jackson - Carolina
Jim Pankovits - Cedar R.
Keith Hughes - Cedar R.
Juan Castillo - Chicago

Pitchers: 
Jay Baller - Houston
Mike Griffin - Kansas
Steve Fireovid - Lafayette
Stan Clarke - Red Bluff
Mark Clear - Red Bluff
Brian Snyder - Red Bluff
Israel Sanchez - Vera Cruz
John Leister - Wabash
Rick Rodriguez - Wabash
Scott Nielsen - Carolina
Neil Allen - Chicago

June 1, 2005
89 Players approved for release
BOWLING GREEN, OH - It is that time of year again. Just before the initial "April" Play Ball disk is released, we scan the database 

May 31, 2005
89 Players approved for release
BOWLING GREEN, OH - It is that time of year again. Just before the initial "April" Play Ball disk is released, we scan the database for players who have negligible at bats or innings pitched in the current year and in the remainder of their careers. We then give managers the opportunity to release them if they do not really need them. Then, before the initial database is released, teams may claim those players whose releases are approved by their current owners, especially if these players would help them meet at bat requirements, etc. I would like especially to thank Gary for his efforts. I have had a rather full plate in the last few days and was unable to do the exploratory work for this stage. Please respond by tomorrow night (June 1) with your approvals or pull-backs. It will also be helpful (and save time!) if you send me a list of players you will like to claim if they become available. I hope to release the initial play disk by Friday at the latest. Black Swamp has already decided to retain its release eligible players, which is why they are no longer on the list.


Batters
Steve Kiefer - Frankfort
Ron Washington - L.S.
Jim Steels - Louis.
Van Snider - Vera Cruz
Donnie Scott - Alma
Jim Walewander - Alma
Jim Eppard - Balt
Bruce Fields - Balt
Chuck Jackson - Carolina
Jim Pankovits - Cedar R.
Keith Hughes - Cedar R.
Juan Castillo - Chicago
Chris Bando - Colorado

Pitchers approved for release for 1989.

Jay Baller - Houston
John Davis - Houston
Brett Gideon - Houston
Mike Griffin - Kansas
Julio Solano -Kansas
Randy Bockus - Kitsilano
Steve Fireovid - Lafayette
Sherm Corbett - Louisiana
Ray Krawczyk - Nashville
Jeff Bittiger - Orlando
Manny Hernandez - Quigley
Scott Medvin - Quigley
Stan Clarke - Red Bluff
Mark Clear - Red Bluff
Brian Snyder - Red Bluff
Dorn Taylor - Red Bluff
Israel Sanchez - Vera Cruz
John Leister - Wabash
Rick Rodriguez - Wabash
Scott Nielsen - Carolina
Roger Samuels - Cedar Rapids
Chris Codiroli - Chicago
Luis DeLeon - Chicago
Neil Allen - Chicago

April 30, 2005
Team Projections posted
DAYTON, OH - Thanks go out to Greg Henning for putting together the individual team projections for SPB-5 from current until 1995. This in an invaluable tool to forecast what positions you may need help in down the road, and to scout your opponents for possible trading. The link is on the left in the SPB-5 LINKS section. Enjoy! 

April 30, 2005
New Manager on board for 1989
FRANKFORT, IN -I would like to announce that veteran SPB manager Jerry Cada will be taking over the former Coney Island Cyclones team for the coming season. Welcome to SPB V Jerry! 

Jerry will change the name to the Cedar Rapids Cyclones, and will be taking over the reigns of this team immediately, just in time for the 1989 season. My thanks also goes to former manager Peter Reoch for his years invested in SPB V.

March 12, 2005
1989 Draft date set
BOWLING GREEN, OH - All SPB V Managers, I have just corresponded with SPB V Commish Chris Williams, and he has given me the ok to announce that Saturday, April 23rd will be the official date for the 1989 rookie and P2 drafts to be held at 11:00AM CST at my home in Frankfort, Indiana. Please mark your calendars for this event, and plan to attend in person if at all possible. Those not attending in person must be in the SPB draft room found on website in the Auditorium, or you must supply a list to Chris no later than Wednesday, April 20th, if your unable to be in chat room. Please advise Chris now, if you will be sending a list.

So far, those booking for an in person draft are: Rick Ryan, Steve Ehresman, Chris Williams, Terry Baxter, Bill Lanke, Dave Lauer, and myself. I know that the following managers will not be attending, but should be in chat for draft: Marc Hollingsworth, Mike See, John Saunders, Larry Schilling, and Peter Reoch. I need to hear from the rest of you if there is any chance you can attend. We are only about six and a half weeks away, so let me know guys. It would be great to have you attend! Several can book space at my place, and at Rick's as well. We also have some very nice places to stay in the Frankfort area now, such as a Holiday Inn Express and a Super 8. 

February 11, 2005
Another New  Manager on board
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Please welcome Steve McPherson to the SPB-5 family, as he takes over Jim Wheeler's Pocono franchise.  Steve's new team name will be the Veracruz Bluez.  

January 22, 2005
New Manager on board
BOWLING GREEN, OH - We have a new owner: Terry Baxter has taken control of the Kenesaw Mountains, who are now known as the Chicago Zephyrs. Terry thus fills in his SPB resume more thoroughly. 

January 9, 2005
88 Use or lose
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Click HERE for an article by Commissioner Chris Williams concerning use or lose players from your roster for inclusion in the 1989 rookie draft. 

January 8, 2004
88 Overusage issues
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Click HERE for an article by Commissioner Chris Williams concerning overusage for the 1988 season. 

December 28, 2004
Manager vacancy filled
DAYTON, OHIO - Welcome Mike See to SPB-5.  Mike will be taking over the former Louisville Colonels.  His new team name is the Orlando Renegades.  He will be keeping Riverfront Stadium as his home park.   

December 17, 2004
1988 Voting booth now open
DAYTON, OHIO - The voting booth for the 1988 season is now open.  Gary Plunkitt has set a January 1st 8PM CST/9PM EST deadline. 

November 21, 2004
1988 Final stats posted
DAYTON, OHIO - The final stats for 1988 have been posted. Good luck to all of the Playoff-bound participants.  I will have the LCS pages posted within a few days. 

July 31, 2004
New Manager for Colonels
FRANKFORT, IN -It is my pleasure to announce we have a new manager for the Louisville Colonels. He is Dave Parsons, a longtime SPB manager in SPB IV, and SPB NOW. Dave is talking over the team immediately and will send out his own MP's for the month of June. 

June 8, 2004
1988 Marginal players claimed
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The following claims have been made and confirmed. When competing claims were made, the team with the earlier draft position was awarded custody, so to speak : 

Houston: Chris Chambliss 
Nashville: Ed Olwine, Bill Scherrer, Joel Davis
Baltimore: Duane Walker
Jupiter; Mark Wasinger
Black Swamp: Salome Barojas, Lou Thornton, Pat Pacillo

Of the claims, there were only two confirmed players with multiple claims: Ed Olwine (3), Bill Scherrer (2). Despite the Salamanders draft position, I opted to pass on any players claimed by another team.

The following players have, after clarification from their original owners, been retained by their original teams. 

Scott McGregor, Nashville (wrongly listed as belonging to Alma)
Mike Mason, Beard (and his 10.80 e.r.a.; go, Cats!)
Chris Codiroli, Kenesaw 
Joe Niekro, Nashville (and his 10.03 e.r.a.)

Having gone unclaimed, the following 5 players have been retired from the SPB V league, by consensus of their owners and their designation as marginal by the league office:

BATTERS:
Jerry Hairston, 1B, Qs, 2 abs (+3 in 1989)

PITCHERS (G-GS): 
Tippy Martinez, Chiefs, 3-0
Jeff Calhoun, Bucks, 3-0
Steve Carlton, Storm, 4-1
Bill Dawley, Storm, 8-0 (4-0 in 1989)

May 31, 2004
1988 Players approved for release
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The following players have been approved for release. Some have been claimed already, but I will have to open the claiming process to the league. Any of these players who is not claimed will be retired from SPB V. 

PLEASE, if ANY of these releases has occurred in error, please notify me as soon as possible. I did not hear from every manager indicated below, which is why I did not send out this message earlier, so it is possible that my notice went un-noticed the first time. 

If you have a claim, please submit it by the end of the day tomorrow (Monday). We will be a little bit late with the opening day profiles, but if responses come in quickly, we will be less so. 

BATTERS:
Lou Thornton, OF, Colt .45s, 2 abs, +13 in 1989
Duane Walker, OF, Storm, 22 abs
Chris Chambliss, 1B, Leopards, 1 ab.
Mark Wasinger, 2B-3B Whitecaps, 2 abs
Jerry Hairston, 1B, Qs, 2 abs (+3 in 1989)

PITCHERS (G-GS): 
Scott McGregor, Chiefs, 4-4
Tippy Martinez, Chiefs, 3-0
Mike Mason, Black Cats, 5-0
Joel Davis, Cyclones, 5-2
Bill Scherrer, Cyclones, 12-0
Dickie Noles, Colt .45s, 2-2 (1-0 in 1990)
Rob Woodward, Colt .45s, 1-0
Jeff Calhoun, Bucks, 3-0
Steve Carlton, Storm, 4-1
Bill Dawley, Storm, 8-0 (4-0 in 1989)
Chris Codiroli, Mountains, 14-2 (6-2 in 1990)
Ed Olwine, Hedgehogs, 16-0
Joe Niekro, Funkadelic, 5-2
Pat Pacillo, RedStixx, 6-0
Salome Barojas, Rough Riders, 6-0

May 21, 2004
1988 Potential players for release
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - As is the case every year, the league office highlights those marginal players who have reached the ends of their careers and gives their current teams the option of waiving them if they do not have a use for them. The main criterion for inclusion on this list is that a player did not or will not appear for the rest of his career in more than the minimum required for their inclusion in SPB in the first place. 

Those players who are then voluntarily waived by their team can then be claimed by other teams, with priority granted by 1987 record and/or need. Teams will not be given more than 3 players if any of those players are requested by other teams. 

Here is the list of release-eligible players: 

BATTERS:
Al Pardo, C, Salamanders, 2 abs +1 in 1989
Tito Landrum, OF, Buckeyes, 24 abs
Rusty Tillman, OF, Buckeyes, 4 abs
Steve Kiefer, 2b-3b, Hot Dogs, 11 abs, + 8, .125 in 1989
Dwight Lowry, C, Colt .45s, 7 abs
Lou Thornton, OF, Colt .45s, 2 abs, +13 in 1989
Phil Garner, 3B, Bucks, 13 abs
Duane Walker, OF, Storm, 22 abs
Chris Chambliss, 1B, Leopards, 1 ab.
Ed Hearn, C, Whitecaps, 18 abs
Mark Wasinger, 2B-3B Whitecaps, 2 abs
Jerry Hairston, 1B, Qs, 2 abs (+3 in 1989)

PITCHERS (G-GS): 
Scott McGregor, Chiefs, 4-4
Tippy Martinez, Chiefs, 3-0
Mike Mason, Black Cats, 5-0
Hipolito Pena, Bridegrooms, 16-0
Scott Nielsen, Lighthouse, 7-2, (2-0 in 1989)
Larry Sorensen, Lighthouse, 12-0
Rich Bordi, Lighthouse, 3-3
Karl Best, Buckeyes, 11-0
Joel Davis, Cyclones, 5-2
Bill Scherrer, Cyclones, 12-0
Dickie Noles, Colt .45s, 2-2 (1-0 in 1990)
Rob Woodward, Colt .45s, 1-0
Jeff Calhoun, Bucks, 3-0
Steve Carlton, Storm, 4-1
Bill Dawley, Storm, 8-0 (4-0 in 1989)
Chris Codiroli, Mountains, 14-2 (6-2 in 1990)
Ed Olwine, Hedgehogs, 16-0
Joe Niekro, Funkadelic, 5-2
Pat Pacillo, RedStixx, 6-0
Salome Barojas, Rough Riders, 6-0

Any players that you ok for release will be retired into SPB history unless they are picked up by another team. I will publish the list again once players have been ok'd. Please let me know by Monday which players you would like to release, if any, and then we will have a short window for claims to be made on those available players. 

April 19, 2004
New manager in the fold
DAYTON, OHIO - Everyone please welcome Craig Korol, who will be taking over for Rob Bowlin's Patomac Nationals.  Craig's team name will be the Kansas Storm.   

April 18, 2004
1988 Rookies eligible for 93 expansion
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - This is to alert members of SPB 88 that some of the rookies slated to draft this year, including some rather nifty ones were taken by Florida and Colorado in the real-life 1993 expansion draft. As you consult the SPB history and constitution, you will encounter the rules for expansion drafts, which I assume, at present, we will go through in preparation for the 1993 season (SPB IV just went through it in prep for the 1977 season). In short, expansion teams in the SPB choose their teams initially from among those players who were taken in the real life expansion draft, and then participate in the next season's rookie draft along with everyone else. 

I suppose the main bit of advice is think twice before draftig Bichette or Sheffield too early.

Fortunately, only 8 players are affected by this rule, 4 batters and 4 pitchers. 

Dante Bichette (Col) Luis Aquino (Fla)
Orestes Destrade (Fla) Jim Corsi (Fla)
Rich Renteria (Fla) Marvin Freeman (Col)
Gary Sheffield (Fla) Bryan Harvey (Fla)

Of course, there will be more of these guys in the next few years, so this is just a taste.

April 14, 2004
1988 Draft date set
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - Let us give a warm welcome to Scott Felt, who will be taking over Jerry Cada's Shueyville Sharks. His email address is sfelt1848@msn.com.

He will be changing the name of the team to the Colorado Grizzlies.

He will also be able to participate in the live auditorium draft on Saturday. Welcome, Scott!

March 22, 2004
1988 Draft date set
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The SPB-5 1988 draft will be held Saturday, April 17 at 12:00 noon Eastern time in the SPB Auditorium. Managers are welcome to come to Bowling Green for this. I will be able to host up to 2 people in my home (my exchange student will be here, too). But there are many other options in Bowling Green, including a Best Western and a Hampton Inn. I can provide directions to my home to anyone who needs them, though it is really quite easy to find one’s way around this basically 2-street town. 

I do wish to extend my apologies to those who have other things going on April 17 and will either be traveling or out of town/away from their computers, particularly those who were hoping I would schedule the draft for April 24th. The truth is that April is a hectic month for everybody, especially when Easter falls during the month as well. Anybody involved in education, either as a teacher or a parent, will have school-related activities cropping up during that time, or travel associated with Spring break. And for everyone who is free on Easter weekend there are more who are not. 

For those of you who cannot attend the draft live, either in the auditorium or in person, I want to be able to work with you as closely as possible so that your draft needs are as well met as possible. We will have about 6 rounds of players to draft. At first glance, the draft does not seem as deep as for 1987, but it should be quite interesting nevertheless. 

Let me know what your plans are as soon as possible
 

February 7, 2004
New Manager joins SPB-5
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - Our Australian connection, Adam Baldock, and the Armidale Swampdonkeys has had to leave the SPB V.

However, I am pleased to announce that we have found a new manager, Brian Porter. Brian is active in a couple leagues in which several of us are already active, including the new SPB Now. His email is brianjporter@cox.net. 

He has also chosen to rename his team the Louisville Colonels (like his SPB Now team). 

January 24, 2004
88 Protected player limits
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The cut-back schedule for teams in SPB V is as follows:

To 20 players (6 teams with lowest winning percentages):
Brooklyn, Carolina, Kenesaw, Louisiana, Red Bluff, Shueyville
To 19 players:
Armidale, Beard, Black Swamp, Cleveland, Coney Island, Frankfort, Houston, Lafayette, Lake Superior, Nashville, Pocono, Potomac
To 18 players (6 teams with highest winning percentages):
Alma, Baltimore, Jupiter, Kitsilano, Quigley, Wabash

January 20, 2004
88 Draft order announced
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Draft order for the 1988 season can be found on the link to the left under DRAFT.   The first round order can also be found in the box on the right of the screen.  

December 14, 2003
87 Voting booth now open
FRANKFORT, IN - SPB V Commish Chris Williams has asked me to announce that the SPB Voting Booth is now open to accept your votes and ballots for both the 1987 All Star teams, and for the Awards voting too. Please be sure to follow the instructions at the top of the ballots when submitting your votes. Remember, you will need to send in two separate ballots, one for each of these sessions. We ask that you have your votes in by Sunday, Jan. 4th by 8:00 P.M. EST (actually, the sooner the better). 

December 4, 2003
87 50% Use or lose results
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Click HERE for the complete use or lose list of players who will be either retired or thrown into next season's rookie draft.

November 24, 2003
87 Final stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The final stats for the 1987 season are now posted. Two 100-win teams fail to make the big show.  The Playoff page will be posted shortly. 

May 30,  2003
87 Players moves
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Here is a synopsis of the players eligible for pickup:

Players released:Batters (10): Oniz Concepcion, Ty Gainey, Sammy Khalifa, Darryl Motley, Chris Pittaro, Razor Shines, Lou Thornton, Wil Tejada, Tim Tolman, Rob Wilfong.

Pitchers (3): Joe Cowley, Dave Gumpert, Dave Von Ohlen

For these only two teams submitted claims:

The Brooklyn Bridegrooms claimed Ty Gainey and Razor Shines

The Black Swamp Salamanders claimed Sammy Khalifa, Tim Tolman, Rob Wilfong, and Dave Von Ohlen.

This means that Onix Concepcion, Darryl Motley, Chris Pittaro, Lou Thornton, Wil Tejada, Joe Cowley, and Dave Gumpert all pass into the annals of SPB V history never to return 

May 26,  2003
87 Players approved for release
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Click HERE to see the list of players eligible for release from your 87 SPB-5 rosters. 

April 3,  2003
87 draft protection limits
BOWLING GREEN, OH - The 1987 draft is fast approaching, and will take place in the auditorium on April 12. 

In order that we may have an clean drafting process, I would like to ask that your Phase II protection lists be submitted by next Wednesday, April 9. 

As per the constitution, the following 6 teams may protect 20 players:
Brooklyn Bridegrooms 
Cleveland Buckeyes
Alabama RedStixx
Houston Colt .45s
Shueyville Sharks
Louisiana Greys

The following 6 teams may protect only 18 players:
Black Swamp Salamanders
Lake Superior Whitecaps
Frankfort Hot Dogs
Coney Island Cyclones
Kitsilano Hedgehogs
Kenesaw Mountains.

All other teams may protect 19 players. 
Remember, unprotected players will stay on your roster if they are not chosen during the Phase II draft. No team may lose more than 5 players during that phase, which will begin by email as soon as the rookie draft is over. It is a valid strategy to select one or two of your own players, if you need them and fear they would otherwise would be lost to the Phase II draft. 

February 26,  2003
New 87 files posted
DAYTON, OH - There is a new set of files now out for 1987, which contains updated ratings, and changes to players positions, plus the team change reflecting new management.  As a result, the rookie list has been updated, along with the team rosters for scouting.   

February 26,  2003
New Manager
DAYTON, OH - A big SPB welcome to Rob Bowlin, who takes over the reigns of the Beartooth Ballhawks. Rob's new team name will be the Potomac Nationals. We wish Mike all the best, and welcome Rob into the fold!  

February 24,  2003
1987 Draft preview
DAYTON, OH - Thanks goes out to our resident Mel Kuiper...draft expert, in the form of Greg Henning, who put together a preview of the players available in the 1987 draft.  The preview can be accessed by clicking HERE.  Thanks again Greg! 

January 26,  2003
1987 Team name changes
FRANKFORT, IN - For the 1987 season there are 4 managers who will be starting their 1st full season after taking over 1986 teams from others, during which time they had to retain the original team name for the balance of the 1986 season. The 4 managers have now all submitted new names for their teams. Here are the changes:

Manager              Old Name                          New Name
Larry Schilling     Middlesex Meat Curtains   Louisiana Greys
Greg Stillwagon  Memphis Mudcats             Lake Superior Whitecaps
Jim Bendik           Billyburg Ballwhackers     Cleveland Buckeyes
Steve Osborne   Palos Hills Pit Vipers          Nashville Funkadelics

These new names will be added to the SPB V webpage very soon.

November 6,  2002
Manager opening
FRANKFORT, IN - there is an opening coming soon in SPB V to take over as manager of the team currently known as the Palos Hills Pit Vipers. This comes as we are just finishing up the last month of the 1986 season. So you can step in just as the season ends and take this team through the rookie draft of 1987 in just a few months. This gives you plenty of time to prepare for a full cycle of Seasons Past Baseball before the 1987 season would begin play. The regular season will run from June through November of 2003. But you would be able to take the team through both 1987 drafts, and the trading season.

October 5,  2002
Schilling new manager
TUCSON, AZ - The Middlesex Meat Curtains have changed managers once again. Larry Schilling, a veteran SPB III manager, is taking over this team effective immediately with the August series on tap for this month. Larry will finish the season as interim manager, then has the option of taking on the team on a permanent basis.

June 28,  2002
New manager in the fold
FRANKFORT, IN - Lee Vireon has resigned his position as manager of the Memphis Mudcats. The new manager for the team beginning with the month of May will be veteran SPB manager Greg Stillwagon. He is taking over this team immediately.

Please send your May MP's for the Mudcats to Greg at: Stillwagon@M33Access.com.

Welcome aboard Greg! I hope you enjoy SPB - V as much as you enjoy the other SPB Leagues you are in. Thanks for stepping in for this team!

March 11,  2002
1986 Phase-2 draft roster cut limitations
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The effect on the upcoming draft is that the following teams, who had the 5 highest winning percentages, will be able to protect just 18 players:

Palos Hills Pit Vipers, Billyburg Ballwhackers, Black Swamp Salamanders, Houston Colt .45s, Coney Island Cyclones, and Beartooth Ballboys. 

The following teams, with the 5 LOWEST winning percentages, will be able to protect 20 players: Baltimore Redbirds, Middlesex Meat Curtains, Beard Black Cats, Alma Chiefs, Wabash Rivers, and Carolina Lighthouse. 

This amounts to a change in status for four teams: Coney Island and Beartooth must find one more player to leave exposed, while Wabash and Carolina may protect one additional player beyond what was stated before.  

The remaining twelve teams will each be able to protect 19 heading into the draft.   

Aug 19, 2003
SPB-4 1976 Players eligible for release
FRANKFORT, IN -Now that the season is nearing, the drafts are over, and we are ensconced in trading, this would be a good time to bring up those players who can be released from your teams before the 1976 season starts.

In reviewing all rosters, I have spotted the following players who could easily be released by their teams. These players have little if any present or future value. All players have very few appearances left in their M.L. careers. 

Of course this list is subject to your approval. You can keep any of the players listed if you wish to do so, but you must notify me to retain them. However, if you choose to release them they will become free agents. I will then publish a list of all free agents later this week, and as always any manager can claim them, (if you really need them) and have them placed on your current roster. These free agents will then be awarded to the teams with the worst records in 1975, in the rare case of any dual claims. 

The reason for this action is basically to clear your rosters of any unwanted or unneeded players who you consider as fodder on your roster. Of course, you may release any other players not on this list as well. If your never going to consider using them, and they have no current or future value to your team, feel free to let me know ALL additional players you wish to cut.

Here is the suggested list: (name, pos, year, stats, present team roster, mgr.)

Mark Wiley, p (1978) (6 games, 1 start 6.10 ERA in 78) Anok Island Gnomes (Brun)
Jim Burton, p (1977) (1 game, 0.00 ERA in 77) Bronx Storm (Johnson)
Rick Austin, p (1976) (3 games, 5.06 ERA in 76) Brooklyn Bucs (Reoch)
Larry Anderson, p (1977) (6 games, 9.35 ERA in 77) Cedar Rapids H.G. (Cada)
Jerry Cram, p (1976) (4 games, 6.23 ERA in 76) Dorsey Lemmings (Bendik)
Tom Dettore, p (1976) (4 games, 10.29 ERA in 76) Goth. City Ghosts (Cusack)
Ed Sprague, p (1976) (3 games, 7.04 ERA in 76) K.C. Barons (Boling)
Jim York, p (1976) (3 games, 5.59 ERA in 76) Lafayette Generals (Ehresman)
Roger Nelson, p (1976) (3 games, 2.08 ERA in 76) Oakland Oaks (Stillwagon)
Eric Raich, p (1976) (1 game, 16.88 ERA in 76) Pocono Scouts (Wheeler)
Harry Parker, p (1976) (3 games, 0.00 ERA in 76) Rossville Rambs. (Ryan)
Roric Harrison, p (1978) (9 games, 7.50 ERA in 78) Toledo Mud Hens (Applegate)
Ed Crosby, 3b (1976) (1 game, 2 at bats in 76) Hawaii 5-0's (Baxter)

Strangely this year only 1 batter appears on this list. 

So, if you have a player listed here, please reply within 48 hours ONLY if you wish to retain the player. Otherwise, they will be removed from your roster and placed on a free agent list. This is a little different procedure than used in the past, but since most players do get the axe, I thought this might save you a note. Remember too, if you wish to give any other rostered players, besides the above suggestions, their pink slip, be sure to let me know who they are within 48 hours. 

Thanks for your co-operation. A list of all released free agents will be sent out later this week with a chance for any team to claim them. If they go unclaimed, they will be released from the SPB files into oblivion!

Thanks for your patience and attention to this matter.

Aug 16, 2003
SPB-4 Expansion on the horizon
FRANKFORT, IN - I am now beginning the process of bringing in two new managers for the two expansion teams we will be adding in the 1977 season. Now that all our 1976 drafts are over, there is no reason to wait any longer. 

I have already came up with the two new managers from our backup list. Our first new manager will be Dave Baldwin, and the other will be Stan Skawinski. They have both been on our list for a while, and I feel that both will be responsible managers in SPB IV.

Next on the agenda, will be having them choose their parks, and their team names. Then it will be on to the actual drafting of the 2 expansion teams rosters from among all the players who played for the actual 1977 Blue Jays and Mariners. It only takes one game of appearing for either team, for a player to be eligible for the draft. Then when the draft is complete, all of us will know exactly which players will be taken from our teams, well ahead of the beginning of the '77 season. This will allow each manager to prepare for his losses in advance.

The two expansion managers will each draft 34 players onto their roster, and these players will become their property at the close of the 1976 season. The expansion teams will participate 1 -2 in both the 1977 rookie draft, and the Phase II drafts as well. Also their players will not be available to be selected in the Phase II draft. This gives an already weak team (expansion teams) the opportunity to build into a stronger team. These breaks are only in effect for their initial season. In 1978 they will draft in the normal order, and have their unprotected players exposed for Phase II.

I will keep you posted as we work through these expansion items.

Aug 2, 2003
Correction to draft order
FRANKFORT, IN - Due to an oversight in the constitution, the second round of the 76 draft order has been corrected, to include the divisional winners occupying the 3rd and 4th spots in the draft order for round 2.  The updated order is now posted. 

July 29, 2003
New Divisional Allignments
FRANKFORT, IN - It is my duty to inform all of you that there will be a total shift of teams into different leagues and divisons for 1976. This was done because originally we set up SPB IV with a somewhat geographical closeness that would allow members to play in person. Now with the coming advent of Version 9 that will allow this at all times, and with the current up swing of many managers already doing this by using Net Meeting to play their series, I think it is time to make the change. 

Besides that there was always the matter of two of our divisions with 5 teams and 2 with 6 teams in each league, which gave some of you more opponents to try and beat.
Also the fact that you were always playing the same teams a different number of games if you were in the other divisions, or leagues, was a factor in making this realignment decision. 

To accomplish this I merely place the team names in a random number order and had them distributed much like the random round of our rookie draft is done. So all this said, here is the new setup for SPB IV's 1976 season:

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Ruppert Mundys (M. Robinson)
Pacific Storm (T. Johnson)
Harrisville Mountain Men (D. Parsons)
Toledo Mud Hen (R. Applegate)
Lafayette Generals (S. Ehresman)
Frankfort Firebugs (G. Plunkitt)

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

Hawaii 5-0's (T. Baxter)
Oakland Oaks (G. Stillwagon)
Fayetteville Gnomes (S. Brunner)
Kansas City Barons (M. Boling)
Montezuma Revenge (B. Linn)

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Cedar Rapids Hired Guns (J. Cada)
Wright Patt Plainsment (J. Turnbull)
Louisiana Lightning (M. See)
Rossville Ramblers (R. Ryan)
Edmonton Magpies (C. Williams)
Kenosha Comets (D. Lauer)

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Brooklyn Bucaneers (P. Reoch)
Pocono Scouts (J. Wheeler)
Gotham City Ghosts (J. Cusack)
Baroda Serranos (M. Galbreath)
Dorsey Lemmings (J. Bendik)

Enjoy your new surroundings! Should liven up the former match ups a bit. Good luck with your Divisions. These changes will be reflected on the next set of files.

July 29, 2003
1976 Player positional losses
FRANKFORT, IN - Due to the recent rule changes, there have been several inquiries from managers concerned about their teams. For your convenience, I am listing all players with over 400 at bats that will loose marginal positions that were formerly available. This way all of you will know in advance just what positions the players will no longer be able to play.

One note; outfielders were just considered for their total games in the OF, not their individual games at each OF position.

I plan on releasing the updated files soon with all recent trades in place, and with the protected players highlighted as soon as the last two managers respond with their protected lists.

I will list the players first & last name and the marginal positions removed. Here is the list in total:

Sal Bando ss, Roger Metzger 2b, Joe Rudi 1b, Lenny Randle 3b, Don Kessinger 3b, Al Oliver 1b, Chris Speier 2b - 3b
Jay Johnstone 1b, Bobby Grich 3b, George Brett ss, Toby Harrah 3b, Rob Andrews ss, Johnny Bench of, Enos Cabell 1b, Ron Jackson 2b - of, Mike Ivie c - 3b, Buddy Bell 1b, Tim Foli 3b, Rennie Stennett ss, Doug DeCinces ss, Duane Kuiper 1b, Jerry Royster ss, Rod Carew 2b, Ted Simmons 3b - of, Rico Carty of, Marty Perez 3b

This list contains the 26 players that were affected by the new rule. No other player were affected by the changes.

July 26, 2003
1976 Protected roster limits
FRANKFORT, IN - Here are the number of protected players each team may have for 1976:

20 Protected Players 
Ruppert Mundys (Marc Robinson)
Gotham City Ghosts (John Cusack)
Harrisville Mountain Men (Dave Parsons)
Louisiana Lightning (Mike See)
Pacific Storm (Tim Johnson)

19 Protected Players
Edmonton Magpies (Chris Williams)
Wright Patt Plainsmen (John Turnbull)
Cedar Rapids Hired Guns (Jerry Cada)
Rossville Ramblers (Rick Ryan)
Baroda Serranos (Mike Galbreath)
Frankfort Firebugs (Gary Plunkitt)
Kenosha Comets (Dave Lauer)
Kansas City Barons (Mike Boling)
Fayetteville Gnomes (Steve Brunner)
Lafayette Generals (Steve Ehresman)
Montezuma Revenge (Bill Linn)
Wetumpka Scouts (Jim Wheeler)

18 Protected Players
Dorsey Lemmings (Jim Bendik)
Oakland Oaks (Greg Stillwagon)
Toledo Mud Hens (Rich Applegate)
Brooklyn Bucaneers (Peter Reoch)
Hawaii 5-0's (Terry Baxter)

Please have your lists to me ASAP, but no later than Friday, August 1st. 


May 29, 2003
1975 Voting results in
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB IV Managers,  The 1975 season Awards voting has now been tabulated, and it is my privilege to announce the winners of these Annual League Awards.  Thanks to all who voted.  Sorry for the problems encountered with the Bravenet voting site.  I know it was a hassle to have to go back and revote.  Rest assured these problems will be addressed by next season. Click HERE for the rest of the article.  Click HERE for Awards results.  Click HERE for All-Star results.

May 20, 2003
1981 Strike year player limits posted
DAYTON OH - Gentlemen...for those of you who do advance planning on your players, I have posted the full-season extracted/extrapolated player limits for each hitter and pitcher for the 1981 strike-shortened season. It is located on the left bar under OTHER.  Enjoy!   

May 20, 2003
1975 Voting deadline extended
FRANKFORT, IN - The voting booth deadline has been extended until the 24th of May at 10PM.   

May 17, 2003
1976 Rosters and Rookies posted
FRANKFORT, IN - The first installment of 76 rosters and Rookies have been posted for the 1976 season. Gentlemen, start your scouting!

May 12, 2003
1975 Final year players
FRANKFORT, IN -Click HERE for a listing of those players who saw their SPB careers come to an end with the 1975 season.  

May 12, 2003
1976 Draft order announced
FRANKFORT, IN -Draft order for the 1976 draft has been announced.  The link is on the left bar, with the first round listed on the right.  All draft order picks have been updated through trade # 269.  

May 9, 2003
1976 Draft date set
FRANKFORT, IN -The date has been set, and the gala event has already attracted many inquiries ahead of time, from managers wanting to attend the 1976 rookie & Phase II drafts. Saturday, August 9th, at my place in Frankfort, Ind. will be the place to be. I encourage all of you to attend this annual bash! If you've never made it here for a draft before, or if you attend as many as possible, then this draft will be the one you don't want to miss. 

Frankfort is just 45 minutes away from the Indianapolis airport, or I am certainly willing to give driving instructions to all. Free shuttle to an from airport, free room and board, whatever more can you ask for? :-)

Some of the managers already saying they will be here on August 9th are: Rick Ryan, Marc Robinson, John Turnbull, Steve Ehresman, Mike Galbreath, Greg Stillwagon, Terry Baxter, Dave Parsons, Mike See, and myself. Those who are trying to get it worked out to attend are: Dave Lauer, Chris Williams, Steve Brunner, and Jerry Cada. 

If your not on either of these lists, please let me know ASAP that you either will attend, or stand a good chance of trying to be here on that day, or have no chance of getting here for this draft. 

We will go out as a group for dinner on Friday evening, so be sure to arrive in plenty of time to kick off our 1976 draft weekend with a bang!! There is plenty of room to stay at either Hotel Plunkitt or Hotel Ryan. If those accomodations are not what your looking for, Frankfort has a very nice Holiday Inn Express, and Motel 6, just a mere 10 minutes away from draft central. I hope you will consider this event, and mark it on your calenders now. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Best,
Gary

May 5, 2003
1975 Voting booth now open
FRANKFORT, IN -This is to let you know that the voting booth for the SPB V 1975 Awards & All-Stars has now been added to the webpage. Please be sure and submit your ballots for BOTH of these areas as soon as you can. The deadline date for having these votes in will be Sunday MAY 18th by 6:00 P.M. Don't forget to imput your name and team for each of these ballots. 

Both Rod Witten & Mike Boling are eligible to vote for these awards. Rod managed the Lumberjacks through 1975, and Mike can also vote as a new manager of this team in 1976.

April 18, 2003
5-O's vs. Mud Hens in 75 Series
DAYTON, OH -The Hawaii 5-O's and the Toledo Mud Hens face off in the SPB-4 1975 World Series.  There is an extra added bonus in the scores for this series, with the BASE 3.0 Play by Play added on to the end of each boxscore.  Enjoy! 

April 5, 2003
New manager for 76
FRANKFORT, IN -Now that the leagues play-offs are finished, and the W.S. has not yet began, this should be a good time to announce a manager change that is effective officially once the 1975 World Series is finished.

The new manager is Mike Boling, who is taking over for long time SPB manager Rod Witten. Rod notified me some time ago that he would be leaving at the close of this season, and we wish him the best, now that he is officially leaving. 

Mike can be reached at the following email address, in case you wish to welcome him to the league: mboling@planetkc.com. He has decided to rename the team and move into one of the vacant stadiums. The team name beginning with the 1976 season will be the Kansas City Barons, and they will play their home games in KC's Royals Stadium. I personally welcome Mike to our league, and hope he spends many seasons with us in SPB. Mike will become manager upon completeion of the 75 W.S., and will be able to bring the team through all drafts and trading periods in preparation for the 1976 season.

The Leagues vacant stadiums are now: Fulton County Stadium (Atl-NL), and Metropolitan Stadium (Minn-AL).

Now back to the preparation for the 1975 W.S.

Best, 
Gary

March 30, 2003
1975 Under usage / Use or lose
FRANKFORT, IN - Click HERE to find out if your team has any players affected. 

March 24, 2003
1975 Final stats posted
DAYTON, OH - The final stats for the 1975 season are now posted.  Congratulations goes out to the four division winners Jim Bendik, Rich Applegate, Chris Williams and Terry Baxter. The playoff page will be posted next week.

January 19, 2003
New manager for the Oaks
FRANKFORT, IN - Greg Stillwagon will be taking over as manager for the Oakland Oaks replacing long time SPB manager Tom Falduto, who passed away suddenly on Friday night. Thanks to Greg for speaking up promptly and taking this team.

Be sure to send all May manager profiles for the Oaks to Greg at: Stillwagon@M33Access.com . Be sure to make this change for May's play ASAP.

December 24, 2002
1975 June stats posted
TUCSON, AZ - The 1975 June stats and power rankings are now posted.  Sorry for the delay this month.  Happy Holidays!!

October 31, 2002
A.P.B. out for Barry Foote's bat
KENOSHA, WI - Here's something you won't find on the 1975 leaders board:

Fully 50% of Comets' catcher Barry Foote's hits have been doubles! That's the good news.

The bad news is that he has only 1 double in his first 61 AB's! Yes, fans: 2-for-61 to start the season. That's .033 for those weak in math. In clutch situations, PITCHERS bat for him. He's even walked ONCE in those 62 trips to the plate! An .047 OBP! My 85-year-old mother could do better. I knew not to expect much out of a .194 hitting catcher except at bats, but I didn't expect ZERO!

If anybody finds a Barry's bats, please forward them to the Comets home office.

Dave Lauer

September  24, 2002
75 Predictions by Tim Johnson
TUCSON, AZ - Tim was gracious enough to put together a set predictions based on Bill James' Win-shares theory.  You can access the predictions by clicking HERE.  Thanks again to Tim for his hard work, and maybe we can make this a regular occurrance. 

August 24, 2002
75 Trade deadline set
FRANKFORT, IN - The trading deadline for the 1975 season will occur at 10P.M. EST on Saturday, September 28th. By this time you must be sure to have all your pitching starts by then as well as your relief appearances. Also be sure to cover your at bats for every position. It is SPB recomendations that you have 625 at bats for all 8 positions. Pitching usage rules are still the same. 

But remember, when figuring player at bats now, any player batting .250 or above is limited to exact at bats. Further, any player below the .250 mark can make up to the next exact 100 of his at bats. Example: Joe Blow hits .247 with 108 real life at bats, he can now make up to 200 SPB at bats since his average is below .250. His brother Jim Blow hits .233 with 385 at bats, he can now have up to 400 SPB at bats. Players unlucky enough to have exactly 200, 300, etc. real life at bats do not get the extras. They must have 101, or 201, etc. to qualify for the increase.

August 19, 2002
75 Free agent claims
FRANKFORT, IN - All SPB 1975 Managers, 11 of the 22 free agents were signed by other teams, and will remain in SPB-IV for the 1975 season. 11 also went unclaimed and will be released (deleted) from SPB-IV.

The players signed are as follows:

Mike Adams, (76) 3b-of - Firebugs
Luis Alvarado, (76) 2b - Mud Hens
Hal Breeden, 1b - Lemmings
Bob Gallagher, of - Lemmings
Tom Heintzelman, (77) inf - Firebugs
Bob Johnson, rp (77) - Mountain Men
Dal Maxvill, ss - Comets
Dick McAuliffe, 3b - Comets
Rich McKinney, 1b - Firebugs
Jimmy Rosario, (76) of - Firebugs
Herb Washington, pr - Mountain Men

The 11 released (deleted players) are:

Dick Billings
Billy Grabarkawitz
Bob Hansen 
Dave Hilton
Jim Nettles
Horacio Pina
Gaylen Pitts
Charlie Sands
Jim Shellenback
Earl Stephenson
Frank Tepedino

Say good by to these players. Only Hansen will return for 1976. All others are finished.