The first-ever face-to-face Season Ticket Baseball tournament was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Preston CT, during the recent Digital to Dice Con 2025. The theme of the tournament was "(A Level Playing) Field of Dreams", with any team in the Season Ticket catalogue that had a regular-season winning percentage between .490 and .510 eligible to participate. Eight managers, including the game's designer Clay Dreslough, faced off for bragging rights and a place in tabletop baseball immortality as the first STB Tournament Champion . . .
The intent of the tournament was to provide a fun-first setting for people to have a chance to both play STB face-to-face, and to perhaps learn the game better by playing with more experienced gamers. The field shaped up like this, with five 21st-century teams lining up against three clubs from the days of (most of) our youths:
| Manager | Team |
|---|---|
| Michael Canestrari | 2001 Boston Red Sox (82-79) |
| Joe Cardinale | 2001 New York Mets (82-80) |
| Joe Costa | 2023 San Diego Padres (82-80) |
| Clay Dreslough | 2024 Boston Red Sox (81-81) |
| Tony Giacobbe | 1973 New York Mets (82-79) |
| James Hart | 1963 Chicago Cubs (82-80) |
| Derek Jones | 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates (82-79) |
| Bob Militello | 1983 Montreal Expos (82-80) |
The format for the tournament would be single elimination over three rounds (full rules here), with all eight clubs continuing to play for final position in each round. The teams were laid out on the table, the scoresheets filled in, the dice spoken to in hushed and pleading tones, and off we went . . .
First Round
1963 Cubs (Dick Ellsworth) at 2023 Padres (Blake Snell): The dice barely had a chance to warm up before the first run of the tournament crossed the plate. After Snell had fanned the first two Cubs, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Merritt Ranew singled in succession to put the Cubs in front. San Diego equalized in the 2nd thanks to a leadoff walk by Fernando Tatis Jr., a single by Manny Machado and Gary Sanchez's sacrifice fly. But this would be the last good news for San Diego for some time, as Chicago exploded for ten runs over the next three innings to run away and hide. In the 3rd, two Snell walks loaded the bases for an Ernie Banks sac fly and a two-run triple by Dick Bertell; in the 4th, two more walks by Snell (he would issue six free passes in 3.2 innings) set the table for a Ken Hubbs RBI double and a two-run single by Don Landrum; in the 5th, Lou Brock doubled in one run, Santo hit a sac fly and Williams clubbed a two-run home run. It was 11-1 at this point, and the crowd could have been forgiven for losing interest, but the Friars tried to make it interesting in the bottom of the 5th. Ellsworth had been very tough through the first four innings, allowing just two hits, and retired the first two men in the 5th before it began to go a bit pear-shaped for the Cub's starter. A walk to Jurickson Profar and singles by Ha-Seong Kim and Juan Soto loaded the bases, and the next pitch to Tatis emptied them as the SD clean-up hitter deposited the ball into the LF stands for a grand slam. San Diego wasn't done yet, as Machado singled and scored on a Xander Bogaerts double before Ellsworth could finally close the frame by retiring Sanchez. Any hopes that this would be the first half of a legendary comeback were doused by three Chicago singles leading to a run in the 8th, and Williams' second homer of the game that capped a three-run 9th. In addition to Williams' longball heroics, Lou Brock reached base four times on two hits and two walks, and stole five (!) bases. 1963 Cubs 15-16-0, 2023 Padres 6-6-0. [scoresheet]
1973 Mets (Tom Seaver) at 1983 Expos (Steve Rogers): The Amazin's wasted no time as Ken Harrelson led off the game with a triple over the head of Andre Dawson and Felix Millan followed with a single to score the run. In the 3rd, Harrelson was again the sparkplug as he drew a leadoff walk off of Rogers, took second on Millan's base hit and third on Rusty Staub's ground out, and trotted home on Wayne Garrett's fly ball to left. Montreal finally found a solution to Seaver in the 4th when Gary Carter singled with one out and Al Oliver doubled him home, and then they tied the game in the following inning when Tito Francona led off with a double and scored two outs later on Manny Trillo's single. What had been a tightly-contested pitcher's duel blew up in the 7th as the Mets sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs; Staub singled in one, Garrett doubled across two, and Cleon Jones capped the outburst with a two-run shot off of Buzz Capra. New York added one run in the 8th and three more in the 9th (a two-run double by Jerry Grote) to render the outcome academic before Montreal mustered a pair in their last at-bat on Warren Cromartie's two-run home run. Seaver went eight innings, allowing six hits while striking out ten Expos. 1973 Mets 11-18-1, 1983 Expos 5-6-1. [scoresheet]
2018 Pirates (Trevor Williams) at 2024 Red Sox (Tanner Houck): The clubs traded zeroes in the early going but, as often happens, struggles with control led to scoring in the 4th. Houck walked two of the first three batters of the inning, wrapped around a Gregory Polanco single, to fill the sacks and then Colin Moran struck a sacrifice fly and Francisco Cervelli and David Freese knocked RBI singles to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead. Boston responded with a pair in the 5th when Triston Casas singled with one away and Romy Gonzalez followed with a drive over the Monster in left. Freese did the same in the next half-inning to extend the PIT lead to two runs and the game passed the seven-inning mark with just those two markers separating the teams. The visitors, however, launched two home runs in the 8th (Cervelli, Jordy Mercer) off of Richard Fitts to grab some breathing room, space that enabled them to survive a two-run Boston 9th (a Wilyer Abreu two-run homer) and hold on for the win to advance. 2018 Pirates 7-10-0, 2024 Red Sox 4-8-3. [scoresheet]
2001 Red Sox (Pedro Martinez) at 2001 Mets (Al Leiter): The pitchers dominated the action in the early going at Shea, as neither team could find way to dent the scoreboard through the opening five innings. Leiter allowed Boston only one hit over that span, while Pedro allowed just two (both to Rey Ordonez) while whiffing six. But, suddenly, the Sox right-hander lost the plot to begin the home 6th - Jay Payton led off with a double, Ordonez singled for his third hit of the day, and Desi Relaford took him deep for a three-run shot that broke the scoreless tie in New York's favor. Leiter continued to hold the Sox at bay, allowing a two-out hit in the 7th and then getting a key double-play out of Jose Offerman to escape a two-on, one-out jam in the 8th. When he walked John Valentin to start the top of the 9th, there wasn't much concern with a three-run lead and, when Nomar Garciaparra then singled, any heartburn was soothed by a fly out off the bat of Manny Ramirez. After Trot Nixon singled to load the bases, though, the wobbling was strong enough to bring on John Franco to face the lefty-hitting Brian Daubach (0-for-3 with a strikeout). In this case, the percentages went horribly wrong for the Mets as the Boston first baseman crushed a Franco delivery into the right-field grandstands at Fenway for a grand slam that turned the game upside-down. Derek Lowe came on in the 9th for Boston in relief of Martinez (8 innings, 5 hits, 11 Ks) and walked Todd Zeile with one out, but pinch-runner Joe McEwing was gunned down stealing by Jason Varitek and Benny Agbayani bounced out harmlessly (and fittingly) to Daubach for the final out in a thrilling affair. 2021 Red Sox 4-6-0, 2021 Mets 3-6-0. [scoresheet]
Second Round - Losers' Bracket
1983 Expos (Bill Gullickson) at 2023 Padres (Joe Musgrove): A little bit of two-out lightning in the 1st got Montreal the lead, as Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Tim Wallach all singled with two men gone. But San Diego struck back immediately when Ha-Seong Kim singled to start the home half of the inning and Juan Soto singled him home one out later. Wallach led off the 4th with a solo shot for the Expos, and then Bryan Little tripled with Tim Raines aboard in the 5th to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Gullickson had held the Friars to four singles over the first five innings, but Padre power struck in the 6th. Soto and Manny Machado (three hits) singled around a strikeout, and Gary Sanchez then launched a deep drive to left that found the seats for three runs and a lead change. It was then up to the Padre pen to hold the slim cushion, and three pitchers combined for three no-hit innings to hold off Montreal. It was not without drama, though - a Raines walk and stolen base put the tying run in scoring position with only one out in the 9th, but Josh Hader fanned Little and retired Carter on a fly ball to center to end the threat and the ballgame. 2023 Padres 4-9-0, 1983 Expos 3-9-1. [scoresheet]
2024 Red Sox (Kutter Crawford) at 2001 Mets (Rick Reed): Rafael Devers blasted a solo home run in the top of the 1st and Crawford retired the first six Mets in order as the Sox got off to a fast start. But New York came out strong in the 3rd to grab control of the game - Todd Zeile and Benny Agbayani singled to start the inning, and then Timo Perez crushed one out of the yard for a 3-1 Mets advantage. The lead was fairly short-lived, however. In the 4th, Wilyer Abreu drew a one-out walk and later scored on singles by Triston Casas and David Hamilton; then, in the 5th, Tyler O'Neill ripped one into the stands in left with Devers aboard to put Boston back on top. And, suddenly, Crawford had become untouchable - he allowed one hit over a six-inning stretch and Connor Wong's solo drive in the 7th gave him a two-run cushion that he didn't appear as if he would need. With the Sox manager on the top step of the dugout, he sent Crawford out for the 9th and he set down the first two Mets. But Mike Piazza singled, and then so did Robin Ventura; but, inexplicably, Piazza tried to take third on the two-out hit by challenging the hose of Abreu in right and was thrown out for the game's final out and a Komplete game for the Boston hurler. 2024 Red Sox 5-10-2, 2021 Mets 3-6-0. [scoresheet]
Second Round - Winners' Bracket
1963 Cubs (Larry Jackson) at 1973 Mets (Jerry Koosman): Picking right up where they left off in the First Round, Chicago broke out the big sticks against Koosman in the 2nd: Ernie Banks homered behind a Don Landrum single with one out, and the slap-hitting shortstop Andre Rodgers followed one out later with a fly ball that just made the seats for a 3-0 Cubs lead. After this uprising, however, the pitchers held sway - Koosman picked off the final out of the 2nd and then set down twelve straight hitters, while Jackson allowed only two singles over the first six innings. The parade of disappointed hitters finally came to a halt in the home 7th, as the first two Mets reached on singles and Jackson was relieved by Don Elston. He got PH John Milner to bounce into a force out and Cleon Jones to ground to second, but Ken Hubbs threw wildly to first and one run scored. A wild pitch plated a second, and Ed Kranepool delivered a third with a single that tied the game. Neither club could mount a threat in the 8th and Chicago went quietly in the 9th. The Mets, however, did not. With Lindy McDaniel coming on to take the slab for Chicago, Milner walked with one out and then advanced to third on Jones' single. Kranepool was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up the force and potential inning-ending twin killing. The Cubs infield came in to cut off the potential winning run at home, and then this happened to send the Amazin's to the championship game. 1973 Mets 4-6-0, 1963 Cubs 3-6-1. [scoresheet]
2018 Pirates (Joe Musgrove) at 2001 Red Sox (Hideo Nomo): Pittsburgh struck first at Fenway, with a single and double putting two men into scoring position for Josh Bell to clean up with a two-run single off of Nomo in the top of the 1st. A Brain Daubach error put the leadoff man aboard for the Pirates in the 5th, and that was turned into a score by a bases-loaded walk to Bell three batters later. Tim Wakefield came on to play Houdini and get out of the mess with a strikeout and a double-play ball, but PIT had a two-run lead and Musgrove wasn't giving Boston anything to hit. The Sox could strike only six singles in the first six innings and, when David Freese and Starling Marte doubled in the 6th to make it 4-0, it was hard to see a way back for the BoSox. A key passed ball turned Jason Varitek's hit-by-pitch into a Boston run in the 7th, and the Pirate bullpen came on in the 8th to try to nail things down. But John Valentin led off with a single and reliever Kyle Crick threw Nomar Garciaparra's squibber back to the mound into center field for an error that would have brought the tying run to the plate. But Valentin thought he saw a chance to take third on the miscue, a chance that wasn't really there, and Marte threw him out from CF for the first out of the inning. Manny Ramirez doubled, and Trot Nixon singled to score one run, but Crick retired Daubach and Varitek to end a threat which could have been much more dangerous. Keone Kela took the ball in the bottom of the 9th for Pittsburgh and struck out Troy O'Leary, Jose Offerman and Carl Everett to polish off the semifinal win in style. 2018 Pirates 4-13-1, 2021 Red Sox 2-9-1. [scoresheet]
Consolation Round
1983 Expos (Charlie Lea) at 2024 Red Sox (Nick Pivetta): The two clubs traded runs in the opening inning, Montreal stringing together three singles and a Tim Raines stolen base while Boston mimicked that attack with Jarren Duran singling to lead off the inning, stealing second and scoring on Raffy Devers' base hit. The Expos got some help from Boston to take the lead right back in the 2nd - Warren Cromartie walked to lead off the frame and Tito Francona followed him with a single. After Manny Trillo sacrificed the runners into scoring position, Raines singled to give Montreal the lead and then Bryan Little hit a ground ball to short which Nomar Garciappara could not coax into the glove and a second run crossed the plate. Andre Dawson hit a titanic blast in the 7th to make the score 4-1 and it looked as if Montreal were on their way to a comfortable first win of the tournament. But things went sideways for the Expos in the bottom of the inning, again with the help of a defensive lapse. Two walks put runners on with one out, and Lea yielded to Bryn Smith. Masataka Yoshida came in to pinch-hit for Boston, and his ground ball to third handcuffed Tim Wallach to load the bases. Smith fanned David Hamilton for the second out, but Tyler O'Neill singled home two runs, Duran another and the score was tied at four heading into the 8th. The Boston jubilation had a very short shelf life, it turned out, as the Expos jumped on Rich Hill and Kenley Jansen for three runs in their next turn at bat, Raines singling home two and stealing another base before scoring on Dawson's double. The fight seemed to go out of the Red Sox at this point, as they went in order in the 8th and followed a leadoff Triston Casas double against Jeff Reardon in the 9th with three straight outs that failed to even advance the runner. 1983 Expos 7-13-1, 2024 Red Sox 4-6-1. [scoresheet]
2001 Red Sox (Frank Castillo) at 1963 Cubs (Bob Buhl): Boston made a statement in the top of the 1st inning when, with two outs, Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez went belly-to-belly and back-to-back off of Rusch to grab a 2-0 lead. Chicago got one back with their own long ball when Merritt Ranew homered in the 4th, but the Sox stretched the lead back out in the 6th after John Valentin doubled with one away and Garciaparra followed with a run-scoring base hit. Meanwhile, the Cubs hitters were facing an assembly line of Boston relievers after Castillo departed in the 5th and were finding it hard to get the big hit - two leadoff singles in the 5th went for naught, three straight singles in the 6th somehow produced zero runs when Ranew was forced at second by CF Carl Everett after being forced to hold up on a bloop single, and a two-out Ken Hubbs double in the 7th came to nothing. With Derek Lowe on the mound for the bottom of the 9th, Chicago got another unexpected home run from Andre Rodgers to come within a run and Lou Brock then doubled and stole third to place the tying run just ninety feet from home plate. The laboring Lowe was pulled in favor of Tim Wakefield, and Hubbs beat a knuckler into the ground to first base for the final out of the game. 2001 Red Sox 3-7-1, 1963 Cubs 2-11-0. [scoresheet]
2001 Mets (Glendon Rusch) at 2023 Padres (Seth Lugo): The San Diego bats roared to life in the bottom of the second, as Manny Machado led off with a homer, Xander Bogaerts followed him with a triple, and Jake Cronenworth homered one batter later. After New York got on the board on Tood Zeile's RBI double in the 4th, the Pads went large again in their half of the inning. Bogaerts, Gary Sanchez and Trent Grisham belted homers in the space of four batters (Jerrod Riggan and Kevin Appier both giving up a dinger to the first batter they faced) and San Diego had built up a 7-1 lead, but it would not be as easy as things looked for the home team. The Mets got to Lugo in the 5th when Jay Payton and Robin Ventura singled in front of Mike Piazza's majestic drive into the screen in left, cutting the SD lead in half, and then scored three more runs in the 8th on two walks and a three-run homer by Tsuyoshi "Big Boss" Shinjo. The game, once comfortably in hand for the Padres, was now tied and much of their bullpen depth had been spent trying to quell the Mets' rally. It would take a moment of individual brilliance to break the momentum and Bogaerts supplied it, hitting his second home run of the game (12 total bases on the evening) in the bottom of the 8th to give San Diego the lead once again. That left it up to Josh Hader to lock the barn door, and he promptly served up a leadoff double to Ventura to begin the 9th. He whipped a third strike past Piazza for the first out, but Desi Relaford hit one to the track in right field that moved the tying run over to third. That brought up Edgardo Alfonzo, who drove one hard on the ground between first and second, but Ha-Seong Kim made a diving stop to his left and threw Alfonzo out from his knees (roll of 547 against a Range of 7!) to end the game in exciting fashion. 2023 Padres 8-13-0, 2001 Mets 7-13-0. [scoresheet]
1973 Mets (Jon Matlack) at 2018 Pirates (Jameson Taillon): With the title on the line, the starting pitchers came ready to empty their chambers - the game was scoreless through three innings, with Taillon allowing just two singles and Matlack pitching around three walks. In the 4th, the deadlock was broken by the Mets - Felix Millan led off with a two-base hit, and Rusty Staub followed with another to score the game's first run. Wayne Garrett singled him to third and Cleon Jones singled him home to give New York a two-run bulge. Matlack continued to find a way to avoid paying for his control issues (four walks and two hit batsmen in six innings) as Pittsburgh stranded eight men in the first five innings. When he was touched for a leadoff double by Jordy Mercer to start the 7th, the Mets had had enough of living dangerously and brought in George Stone to hold down the fort. What he didn't do was hold down Starling Marte, who hit one up in the air and over the wall for a two-run homer that levelled the scores. The Pirates had a chance to take the lead in the inning, but Ray Sadecki came on for the ineffective Stone to retire Colin Moran with two men on base to end the threat with the score still tied. Both clubs went quietly in the 8th and 9th innings, as the bullpens stiffened and the hitters tightened, and the title clash went to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Felipe Vazquez finished two perfect innings of relief with a quick 123 inning and Pittsburgh got its turn. Harry Parker retired the first two Bucs, but then walked Moran and was lifted in favor of closer Tug McGraw. Francisco Cervelli greeted him with a line drive base hit that moved Moran to second, and Pittsburgh replaced David Freese (0-for-4 with three Ks) with pinch-hitter Elias Diaz. Diaz fouled off a few McGraw deliveries before grounding one through the hole into left field that chased Moran home from second with the run that walked off the tournament championship. Congratulations to Derek Jones and his 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates! 2018 Pirates 3-11-0, 1973 Mets 2-7-0. [scoresheet]
The tournament was a blast, and I'm very grateful to everyone for participating in the spirit in which the event was intended. There were slugfests and nail biters, walk-offs and walk-overs, big performances from stars and role players, and maddening baserunning blunders by major-leaguers - all accompanied by laughs, cheers, groans and camaraderie. I hope that everyone had as good a time playing as I did in both organizing and playing . . . assuming there is a 2026 Digital to Dice Con (which seems like a lock given the success of the event - thanks Dave and Mike), there will definitely be another Season Ticket Baseball tournament!
There were some spectacular individual performances in the tournament - Lou Brock's five steals and Billy Williams' two bombs in the opener against the '23 Padres, Xander Bogaerts' 4-for-4 with two homers and a triple against the '01 Mets, Kutter Crawford's unlikely complete game against the '21 Mets, Pedro's 11 strikeouts against the '01 Mets, Joe Musgrove finding a loophole in the usage rules by pitching his 12.2 innings for two teams - but the MVP award should go to the player that helped to push the '18 Pirates to the title. The Pirates got it done behind their pitching and defense, allowing only eight runs in their three games and trailing for a total of just three innings in the tournament; in a series of close games, the key plays can make all the difference and Starling Marte delivered them for Pittsburgh. He reached base six times in three games, but a number of them were key moments - in the semifinal, he singled and scored the first run, doubled home an insurance run, and made a key defensive play by backing up a wild throw to wipe out a big runner on the basepaths, and he then launched the 7th-inning home run that brought Pittsburgh back to life in the championship game.
 |
| Starling Marte, 2018 Pirates |
0 comments:
Post a Comment