SCABS History 1985
In 1985 the World Series Champions were the Kansas City Royals, the Superbowl XIX Champions were the San Francisco 49ers. That year Ronald Reagan was US President, the No. 1 movie was Back to the Future and the plastic thingy that saves hot pizza from the top of the box was invented by Carmela Vitale. Yes, it was a monumental year and it was, more importantly, the inaugural season of The Synthetic Chemicals American Baseball Society, commonly known as SCABS.
As I recall, Ken Murphy had recently moved to building 301 in the Synthetic Chemical Division of Eastman Kodak. As a rabid sports fan he had come across a new idea for a fantasy baseball league while in conversation with Ray Ferris. Ray was excited about a league he had joined call the American Vicarious Baseball League. Ray gave Ken a copy of the league rules and particulars. (I happen to have a copy of that document and have included its contents below.)
Ken presented the idea to Randy Grattan, a fellow Yankee fan, and Randy proceeded to recruit others with the hope of creating our very own fantasy league. When the dust had settled, the following baseball pioneers formed the first iteration of SCABS:
- Ken Murphy - The Yanks
- Randy Grattan - The Penguins
- Roger Taber - The Sunsetters
- Nate Klingebeil - The Red Herrings
- Mike Weinpress - The Doinx
- Doug Abbott - The Blue Crew
It was Mike Weinpress, by the way, who came up with our league title, referencing the scabs that had become replacements in the MLB labor wars.
Randy and Roger got together and, using a full set of Topps baseball cards, randomly (or mostly randomly) whittled the 792 cards down to 400. The thought was that we didn’t want everyone to have an all-star team which increased the likelihood of the champion solely being a beneficiary of good fortune. The six owners then got together in building 301 and drafted the players. Guided by MLB, our rosters were set at 25.
In round 1 Mike Weinpress began the draft by selecting Cal Ripken, 3B, Baltimore Orioles. Roger Taber followed up he Dale Murphy of the Braves and Doug Abbott took Eddie Murray. Ken Murphy saw value in striking early for a pitcher, grabbed Dwight Gooden while Nate Klingebeil perceived value in the closer spot and selected Goose Gossage. Randy Grattan closed out the action by taking personal favorite Don Mattingly.
So it went for 25 rounds with every owner trying to round out each position, hoping that the player they chose wasn’t already retired, secretly injured or just plain washed up. They each experienced the adrenaline rush of getting that player they wanted just before someone else planned to pick them - and basking in the groans and curses of their opponents. They also felt the pain of having their next pick scooped up by the owner before them. At the end of the draft, owners were digging deep to find that remaining individual with any statistical value. In round 25 players with names like Smithson, Kempshire and Whitson came off the board. The player pool was spent and so were the owners.
FINAL GROUND RULES FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL AMERICAN VICARIOUS BASEBALL LEAGUE DRAFT
WHEN: Sunday, March 3, 1984 at 12 noon
WHERE: Joe Seil’s apartment
PHONE NUMBER: ###-####
All owners must attend or send a representative. Mrs. Commish is available for a Small fee.
THE DRAFT
This is probably the most important day of the season. The draft actually will be an auction of about 400 baseball cards, which have been selected at random from a batch of 792. The names of the players are listed later.
Each owner will be responsible for assembling a 25-man roster through the bidding system. Each owner will be allotted $50.00 to spend cn his team. Bidding will start at 10 cents and will proceed in 10-cent increments. The $50 is not real money, so you might as well use it up, although you are forbidden to exceed that limit. Owners are encouraged to bring along a pre-season baseball yearbook (most newsstands will be selling them soon) in order to have a handle on each player's ability.
THE LEAGUE FORMAT
Due to popular demand, there will be 10 franchises for the AVBL's inaugural season. There will be one division. The top five finishers during the regular season will qualify for the playoffs, which actually will be held over the last three weeks of the regular season in actual major league baseball. The first-place finisher during the AVBL regular season will receive an automatic berth in the league championship gaine. The rest of the playoff schedule will proceed like this: No. 2 vs. No. 5 and No. 3 vs. No. 4. The winners will then square off for the right to meet No. 1 in the championship garne. The regular season will consist of 22 games. You will play four Other teams in the league three times and the other five tearns twice. The schedule will be distributed at the draft.
THE GAMES
Games will be played on a weekly basis, beginning on Saturday and running through the following Friday. Each owner must phone in a lineup to his opponent by noon on Saturday. Lineups will include a first baseman, a second baseman, a shortstop, etc., . . . , three outfielders, a designated hitter and four pitchers (any combination of starters and relievers). If an owner fails to phone in a lineup, his lineup from the previous week will be used. The commissioner does not want to enforce this rule, but he will if necessary. If you can't get in touch with your opponent call the commissioner.
In order to accumulate points from your players, they have to play the position you've designated for them at least once during that week. For example, you may use Jim Rice as your catcher if you want, but he only accumulates points if he plays that position at least once during the week. The only exception to that rule is the designated hitter. You may use any player you want as your DH.
THE SCORING SYSTEM
The scoring system is pretty simple. Each hitter will receive one point for every RUN HIT or RBI accumulated. For example, if the numbers in the box score beside Darryl Strawberry’s name looks like this: 4 1 3 2, he gets six points, which is an above average day. Past experience has shown this to be a fair formula in that the players’ speed (like Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines) generally will score the most runs, the players who hit for average (like Don Mattingly and Tony Gwynn) will accumulate the most hits and power hitters like (Jim Rice and Mike Schmidt) will drive in the most runs. In other words, the formula does not necessarily favor a power hitter over a speedster and vice-versa. The system is designed to reward good all-around players. A good week for a hitter is anything between 12-20 points; 20-30 points is outstanding; 30 or more is unconscious.
The scoring for pitchers is a bit trickier, but not too much. Points will be calculated by subtracting earned runs allow from innings pitched. In addition, pitchers will be awarded 10 points for victory, 5 points for a save and -3 points for a loss. Pitchers will not earn any points for their hitting, the obvious reason being that that would favor NL pitchers over AL pitchers, This formula treats starters and relievers fairly equally.
An example: If Dwight Gooden pitches a 9-inning shutout, he would gain 19 points. On the other end of the spectrum, though is Dennis Martinez, who gives up 5 earned runs without retiring a batter. The result is -8. In the case of fractions of innings, round off to the nearest inning (5 ⅔ would become 6, 5 ⅓ becomes 5).
TRADING
As mentioned in earlier rules, the more the merrier. This is what really makes the league interesting. There will be a trade deadline of August 15 so that the cellar-dwelling teams don’t unload quality talent to the playoff-bound teams (or more precisely so Rick Sutcliffe doesn’t get traded fo Dann Bilardello). Also, the 25-man roster limit must be adhered to at all times. If two players are traded to obtain one, a player must be cut in order to maintain the 25-man limit.
In the best interests of the league, trading must be done in an honest manner. For example, if Owner A expresses an interest in Owner B’s second baseman, it is Owner B’s obligation to inform Owner A of the second baseman’s health status as well as his on-field performance. No lying or deception. This is supposed to be a friendly game.
INJURIES
Too bad! Owners are encouraged to draft for depth, so that they can overcome setbacks like injuries or drug convictions. The same policy hold true for minor-league demotions. If your player gets sent to the minors, it’s your fault for drafting him in the first place.
KEEPING SCORE
It should go without saying that this is an important part of Vicarious Baseball. The Commissioner will keep a weekly tabulation of standings and individual player point totals and he will distribute a press release, recapping the previous week’s action. Therefore, it is important for each owner to keep track of his team score as well as his opponent’s team score during each week. It sounds time-consuming, but it isn’t -- about 10 minutes each day. Besides, anyone with any kind of baseball interest will scan the box scores for 10 minutes each day anyway. Those who don’t, don’t belong in this league. Results must be phoned in to the Commissioner after each game. Failure to do so will result in forfeits for both teams. We don’t want that to happen.
TEAM NAMES
Each team is required to come up with a team name and field manager. General managers, head groundskeepers, bullpen catchers, mascots, etc. are optional. Press releases regarding special promotions, managerial changes, player profiles and the like are welcome also.
THE OWNERS WHO HAVE COMMITTED THEMSELVES TO VICARIOUS BASEBALL
1. Joe Seil; 2. Don Frank; 3. Ed Claffey; 4. Jamie Germano; 5. Marty Van Dussen; 6. Jim Gramkee; 7. Ray Ferris; 8. Mike Lucas; 9. Joe Janinek; 10. John Foertch.
ONE ITEM I FORGOT TO MENTION
Entry fee is $25, payable whenever. The prize money will be distributed at the end in the following manner: 50% to the champion; 20% to the runner-up; and 10% each to the other playoff qualifiers. That’s one option. The other option is the use of the money for a dinner/party at the end of the year. We can vote on it at the draft.
The league set up a 15 game regular season schedule followed by a single elimination playoff for the top four teams and a 3 game series for the final 2 teams. Roger Taber’s Sunsetters dominated the regular season, going 11-4 and scoring 2281 points. The Doinx finished second, one game behind and scored 2283 points. The playoffs were rounded out by the Blue Crew at 8-7 and the Herrings at 7-8.
In the first round of the playoffs the Sunsetters continued their torrid season with a 185-118 thrashing of the Red Herrings. The Suns were paced by Harold Baines and his 26 hitting points and Bill Buckner’s 21. Pitching was dominated by John Candelaria who had 2 victories and gave up only 2 runs in 14 innings for a total of 31 points. Meanwhile, the Red Herrings couldn’t get any traction.
The other game was an upset as the 8-7 Blue Crew overwhelmed the 10-5 Doinx 190-150. The Crew featured 4 hitters (Alvin Davis, Mike Marshall, Tony Armas and Kent Hrbek) with over 20 points. The Doinx were let down by Kirk Gibson (4 pts) and catcher Butch Wynegar (2 pts).
In the three game final series, the Sunsetters behaved like a cat playing with a mouse before it goes in for the kill. In game 1 the Blue Crew led by 34 points going into the next to last day. The Sunsetters, inflamed by remarks made by the Crew owner Abbott, tied the score that night and went on to win by a comfortable margin, 162-141.
In what turned out to be the finale, game two was a slaughter. The Sunsetters skated to an early lead and swept the Crew 179-98. Crushed would be an understatement! Roger’s Suns were led by Dave Parker (23 pts) and future MLB Channel’s Harold Baines (20 pts) while John Candelaria and Frank Viola paced the pitching staff with 16 points each. SCABS had crowned it first champion - The Sunsetters.
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