Creative Commons: France1978
I grew up loving sports. Pretty much all sports. When I was about 11 years old, I came across an ad for a baseball board game called Strat-O-Matic. It promised realistic results based on statistics of major league players. I was fascinated.
At that time, you could buy the games complete with all 20 MLB teams or could pick and choose. Since money was scarce, I ordered the game with about seven teams. Both Chicago teams were included as were the Giants, Dodgers, Indians and a couple of other teams I can’t remember.
As years went by, I bought the whole set of teams.
Strat-O-Matic Baseball is Educational
If a baseball fan was unfamiliar with the value of walks, Strat-O-Matic would provide a visual aid. For example, a Darrell Evans card would have a ton of walks on it, as well as quite a few homers for that matter. Players were also rated for their defense and running ability.
The game has gotten better over the years. Now hitters’ ability to hit righties and lefties is factored in. Also, players fielding consistency and range are measured, as are outfielders’ and catchers’ throwing arms.
In addition, pitchers’ ability to hold runners on base and stamina are factored in.
You can also choose to get seasons from past years.
Why I like old seasons more than more modern ones
Strat-O-Matic has old ballparks feature I really enjoy. You get a visual of the ballparks the games were played in. I get to see ballparks from the 60s, which makes me nostalgic. Also, I think games from old eras were more entertaining. I’m not a great fan of three outcomes baseball. I prefer the ball be put in play.
I’ve played Strat-O-Matic football, basketball, and hockey.
The Strat-O-Matic football is enjoyable as you get to call plays on offense and defense based on the results of the personnel of NFL teams from various seasons. I rank Strat-O-Matics football game as its second-best game.
The basketball game was also entertaining, but I found it a lot of work to keep up with the playing time of players. It’s more hands on the baseball and football games.
And finally, there’s the Strat-O-Matic hockey game. I enjoyed it, though not as much as the other three. Once again, keeping up with line changes and defensive pairings was a challenge. But then again, I know less about the NHL than the other three sports leagues that Strat-O-Matic features.
The computer version has a solitary mode
I would have loved this when I was a kid. When I was a kid, I often had to manage both teams. I was forced to try to outmanage myself.
While I’m not a great fan of sports video games, I love playing Strat-O-Matic on my computer. The visuals on the monitor give you enough vision input to imagine actually seeing the play. Especially if you knew the players.
I listened to a lot of baseball on the radio when I was a kid. I would visualize the action as the play was called. Strat-O-Matic is like an enhanced version of that.
If you are an old guy who likes sports, you might check out Strat-O-Matic.
If you enjoy sports trivia check this out: Yesterday’s Heroes Sports Quizzes: Sports Trivia for Baby Boomers eBook : Lambert, Larry: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store
