SABR At Home (Game Night Edition)

Introduction
On August 31, 2023, Matt McKeever introduced his Pocket Pennant Run game to the SABR Games and Simulation Committee. You can watch his presentation [here](https://youtu.be/KeXv0eee3kk). During the presentation, he mentioned living in the St. Louis area. Afterward, I invited him to join our local chapter, where I serve as Secretary. He attended our annual SABR Book Sale in October, and we had a great conversation, introducing him to other members.

We reconnected at the Cardinals Winter Warmup in February 2024. It was then that I proposed organizing a SABR Game Night. After some emails with key members, we agreed it was a great idea. I found a venue at RestlessCraft Breakers (RCB), a local sports card shop eager to host events to increase foot traffic. This event was perfect for Matt, RCB, and our chapter.

We scheduled the event for Saturday, April 27, and advertised it on social media and through our chapter meetings and email. I created a Google Form for registration, and Matt printed score sheets using Opening Day rosters. We were set.

Participants
Brian Flaspohler, former chapter president and author of St. Louis Baseball History: A Guide
Jeremy Gibbs, chapter secretary
Allison Levin, chapter president and new SABR Vice President-elect
Bill Marston, chapter newsletter editor
Aiden Timko, aged 10, little league baseball star
Dennis Timko, fantasy baseball expert
Dan Vogan, economics expert
Rick Zucker, former chapter president

Scores
Quarterfinals
Cardinals (1942) 0, All-Missouri 1
Dodgers (2017) 2, Cardinals (2004) 0
Yankees (1998) 2, Dodgers (2023) 3
Cardinals (1985) 2, Senators (1924) 1

Semifinals
All-Missouri 0, Dodgers (2017) 3
Dodgers (2023) 1, Cardinals (1985) 2

Championship
Dodgers (2017) 3, Cardinals (1985) 2

Highlights

Quarterfinals

• Cardinals (1942) 0, All-Missouri 1

The fun thing about a simulation is that you can put together players from different teams and even different eras. Brian decided he wanted his team to consist only of players born in Missouri.  Having already written St. Louis Baseball History and growing up in a small Missouri town, he is quite familiar with many of the players born in our great state. Incidentally, he is working on a new book about these particular players.
The Missouri team struggled against 1942 MVP Mort Cooper, but did scratch out 1 run allowing them to advance to the semifinals.  Of particular interest was that Yogi Berra finished 1-for-2 with 1 walk and 1 RBI (9 DK points) and Zack Wheat finished 3-for-4 with 1 run (15 DK points) for the All Missouri team.  Comparatively, Hall of Famers Stan Musial finished 0-for-4 while Enos “Country” Slaughter only managed a single in the 8th inning (3 DK points).  Even though Mort Cooper was steller (8 IP, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 11 Ks, 1 ER, 33.8 DK points), he was outdone by John Donaldson (7 IP, 3 Hits, 0 BB, 3  Ks, 0 ER, 1 Win, 23.95 DK points).

• Dodgers (2017) 2, Cardinals (2004) 0

As will be the theme for this tournament, Dodger starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw dominated.  He threw 8 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.  His counterpart, Matt Morris, made it through 7 innings giving up 7 hits and 4 walks with only 3 strikeouts.  He only gave up 1 earned run, but that proved to be 1 earned run too many. The Cardinals offense remained quiet with Albert Pujols finishing 1-for-3 with 1 walk (5 DK points) and HOF Scott Rolen finishing 1-for-4 (3 DK points).  The Dodgers were led by Yosmani Grandel (2-for-4 with 1 solo home run resulting in 14 DK points), Justin Turner (2-for-4 with 1 RBI) and Corey Seager (1-for-3 with 1 run).

• Yankees (1998) 2, Dodgers (2023) 3

Mysteriously, the Yankees were missing one of their most important members and the only man elected unanimously to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Mariano Rivera.  In order to keep things as simple as possible, Matt chose to only include 1 starting pitcher and 2 relievers (1 left-handed and 1-right handed).  As a result, Rivera was unavailable to use late in the game which proved to be costly.  Even though Aiden was not able to use Ohtani, Martinez did his part.  The 2023 Dodgers prevailed with a late-inning home run from J.D. Martinez.

• Cardinals (1985) 2, Senators (1924) 1

In a room full of Cardinals fans, one team stood out to me in this tournament – the 1924 Washington Senators.  I inquired as to why Bill chose this team.  His response, “They have Walter Johnson and I like their manager Bucky Harris.”  Of course, in a simulation, you are the manager so Bill would not get to tap into Harris’s decision making abilities.

The Big Train was solid – pitching 8 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts.  He only allowed 1 run.  Unfortunately, his counterpart – Joaquín Andújar was almost as good (7 IP, 2 BB, 6 hits, 5 Ks, 1 ER).  Johnson’s replacement – Nick Altrock – gave up a solo home run to catcher Darrell Porter in the top of the 9th.  That’s all that the running redbirds needed.  The Cardinals won 2 to 1 advancing to the next round.

Semifinals

• All-Missouri 0, Dodgers (2017) 3

Featuring three Hall of Famers in their lineup, the All-Missouri team seemed stacked.  That did not dissuade Kershaw and the Dodgers.  Once again, Kershaw threw 8 innings allowing 7 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts.  More impressively, he allowed no earned runs yet again increasing his scoreless streak to 16 innings pitched. The Dodger bats got the best of John Donaldson who allowed 3 earned runs along with 8 hits and 3 walks while only striking out 3.  It wasn’t Grandal, Turner, or Seager who did the damage this time collectively finishing 1-for-11 with 1 walk.  In this game, it was Andres Toles (1-for-3 with 1 walk and a solo homerun) and Chase Utley (1-for-3 with 1 double and 2 RBIs) that carried the team to victory and a chance to play for the championship.

• Dodgers (2023) , Cardinals (1985) – WIN

This game was not played since the quarterfinals game took too long.  In order to have finality in this tournament, the 1985 were declared the winner advancing to the championship game.

Championship

• Dodgers (2017) 3, Cardinals (1985) 2

Kershaw’s scoreless streak would come to an end in the first inning.  Jack Clark produced the first RBI in the bottom of the first knocking in Lonnie Smith who had previously walked. The Dodgers answered in the bottom of the second when #9 hitter Chase Utley knocked in both Logan Forsythe and Joc Pederson with a double.

The Cardinals were aggressive on the base paths.  After Ozzie Smith doubled in fifth inning, he stole third.  Terry Pendleton knocked him in after a Lonnie Smith walk taking the lead 2-1.

The Dodgers came up big in the 7th inning.  Puig led off the inning with a double.  Toles knocked him in with a double of his own.  Seager proceeded to knock in Toles with a single. At the end of seven, the Dodgers were winning 3-2.  The Cardinals proceeded to only get two more hits running themselves into outs after Lonnie Smith singled in the eight and was thrown out and Ozzie Smith did the same in the ninth.

Aftermath
At the end of the night, Matt expressed interest in doing this every 2-3 months.  He said it brought him great joy watching us play the game he created.  I never thought about it until he said it, but it is similar to those of us that write.  It brings us joy for someone to read what we write.  I was glad I was instrumental in providing an opportunity to bring joy for so many.

As I was leaving, the card shop owner asked me if we were going to do this on a regular basis.  He indicated that everyone seemed to have a good time.  We did!  We also supported the shop by buying a few products before we left.

We hope to do this on a regular basis with the next attempt scheduled to run in July.

Bracket

Event Photo Gallery

Jeremy Gibbs

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