Have You Tried the “Other” Game?

What is it that makes this game survive? What makes it so competitive that you just cannot seem to leave? Why is it that even though there is such a small following, those that do are even more dedicated than those who are found in the majority? There must be something in there.

We may have wondered upon the names here or there, but we’ve never quite known the reasons. Barbarian, Benito, Black Knight, Seawolf, Maverick, Montgomery, Lone Wolf, Sky Pilot, Penny, PQ Canuck, Phoenix, and many others who find themselves in a small area of the SmallBall Universe that they never intend to leave, even if life forces them to leave the game. Their names have a grand aura about them called champions. Yet their names may seem obscure to many of those in SmallBall today. Each one of the above mentioned trainers above do hold one thing in common, and that thing is a PL1 Championship badge on their teams.

So why have we never heard of them? Maybe because they have chosen to dedicate themselves to the “other” game SmallBall has to offer. SB Footy has been always looked at as a secondary game to its Baseball, but if this is the case, why have these trainers so dedicated themselves to this game alone? Why do they so choose to be exclusive for a game that everyone else has sold off as an afterthought? In my personal opinion, it’s simple and it’s found within the game itself.

Many people in this era of SmallBall are constantly looking towards baseball as a way in, but have you ever thought about Footy as a way to remain? It’s true Footy may seem a bit more difficult to start with due to the fact that you need to pay that initial cost to play all the time, but once you come to play it in its Full Access mode, you will find a slightly intoxicating game that can easily match if not be found to be superior to SB Baseball.

Let me share with you my experiences –

First Footy is designed to be both easier to train, yet a challenge to succeed in that training. Even though there are more skill areas than SBBB, Footy has laid a basic foundation for these skills to be fine tuned. Training a team means training more for positions more than with SBBB and less training a team with balance. You get to adapt your mind to fine tune the different aspects of the team to learn how they win and what is the best way for them to win. Just because a team is 7* doesn’t mean they haven’t been trained to take down a 9* team. This type of training brings a more personal aspect to your team and brings you closer than what you have in SBBB. It allows you to truly become part of the team you are training.

Next Footy is designed to be able to watch. A game in Letterbox is tough to handle at real time. To be honest a game in just about any SBBB park has me reaching for the TS button most of the time. But when it comes to footy, I’m watching. Remember that personal aspect I mentioned earlier? It really comes out when you watch your games. To see how your training either brings your team together or messes things up is truly fun to watch. You also learn what type of teams you match up well against and what type you match up poorly. It brings the personal level to a greater level when you see your team finally succeeding with what you’ve learned.

Next we have the competition level. The leagues that are in the SB Universe for SB Footy are run by and participated in by the best SB has ever seen. The above mentioned champions are among these communities and to see how you compare against the best is the best way to dedicate yourself to face the highest competition even if you are not part of the highest PL’s in SB Footy. Imagine being in a SBBB league with willybang, Dark Elf, DAS, 2cool, Market Wizard, and some of the other greats of SBBB. SB Footy has made this a reality, and I for one am truly greatful.

Last thing I’ll mention is the dedication. I’ve been wondering around from PL4 to PL2 for many seasons now, yet it never seems to tire me like SBBB ca do on occasion. Footy seems to allow me an actual respite from the rigors of SBBB. Because of this I find it easier to be dedicated to Footy in a full capacity. Footy allows me to have fun no matter how I feel at the time. Training allows me to think in a different way and focus in a direction to become like those I mentioned in the beginning.

So next time you think of SB Footy, do not think of it as the “other” game. The long line of dedication and the long list of champions shows the staying power of this game and the genuine value it has among those who have decided this game is the true back bone of their SmallBall experience. Give footy a try, and more so than just the free team. Once you get a hold of FA, there is no turning away. You will not regret it.

I am going to bring a few follow-ups on SB Footy for all to enjoy so look for it in the near future.

JtB

Ultimate Standard Trainer Guide

Hello everyone! Mike (mlthmp) here once again to preach the wonders of the Smallball Standard Trainer!

I cannot recall how many posts I've seen in the past six years along the lines of "I can't win because I don't have DT!" or "I need a DT tick so I can have a good team" Each time I see one of these, I cringe and can't help but wonder where these guys are getting these ideas from.

Now there is no hiding the fact I've been a strong supporter of the ST for quite awhile. I've owned several ST teams during my time playing Smallball, and I've been proud of each one of them. In fact to be honest, I have taken more pride in my ST teams than any of their DT counterparts. I remember how crazy Georgy would get when my 9* ST team would beat his 10* DT team by five or six runs. Always gave me a better feeling of accomplishment because I knew it took more dedication to hit 9* with that ST team than it did for him to reach 10*.

I realize most people's complaints with the ST are due to its "limitations" but I think maybe they are not limitations at all! Perhaps having to train throwing and catching together is a good thing. Makes it far harder to "forget" to train in catch like so many do with DT teams. Same can be said for batting. The ST even makes it sound so much more simple than the DT. Simply "Batting" compared to "Contact, Power, and Skill" Which I hate to say it but even in the DT you have to use the field to train in skill! If the DT is so much more "Advanced" why do they still include the same training area as the ST?

I won't sit here and tell you the ST is "better" than its Deluxe counterpart, but I will say I think its every bit as capable. Sure it takes more time to do things and as a trainer you must show the extra dedication, but isn't that what Smallball is all about? Dedication and patience are the keys to Smallball Success. Both of which I believe are good representations of the "Standard Trainer Experience". With time patience and dedication you can take any ST team against the most powerful and feared teams in Smallball and leave them in your wake. The only question is are you ready for the experience?

With that in mind my new team, 161012 - "MLT's ST Boys 2009" are in the process of having their pitchers found. I am hoping to use this experience to rewrite and update my "Ultimate Standard Trainer" guide.

The following is a submission (from the HPN 2004)

from our new Swedish friend mrflannel. He is in the process of learning the English language and asked me to help him out with this. Here are both versions, as I think that his version has a great deal of charm which gets lost in my translation. Enjoy.

-Beaner

SmallBall world wide

one day i was browsing the internet as usual new of using it an just fore fun typed in al cind of sershing words and shecked out hompages sudenly i camed on smallballs home page thou my englich is werry bad about understanding manny words i fuigerit out just by whatching picktures and knowing the englich basics that it whas a game there one started an own baseball team cool i thout and downloaded it i started playing some game an lost and after a wile i thout that tis must be te most boring game ever becose one dosent do ennything zip zero nothing whit it just initiate game to whatch gud what boring it whas i dident know that the teams whas other people around the world only randomiced team that where madeup by the game and computer

then i found out that it whas a small chat on the page home and i started writing messages there and then i bit of light filled up found out more about smallball and the game becomed more interessting i started training and got more stars on my team now knowing that i whas playing agains other poting up goals for my self to reach getting better and better of understanding englich better and better of writing and much time spend on the greate ofisial smallball chatt maked me meet peopler around the globe difrent contest and trivial started lerning about other contrys and the langues engles and know from getting to an boring game it whent that i was adicted to smallball becose of this game comunity i can lern englich and how it in other countrys and other contrys history and much more

manny thanks
the swedich guy
mrflanell

and beaner helped me whit spelling thanks so much

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SmallBall world wide

One day I was browsing the internet as usual just for fun. I am new to it and was typing in all kinds of searchwords and checking out home pages. Suddenly I came upon smallball's home page. Although my English is very bad and I don't understand many words, I figured it out by just watching the pictures and knowing the English basics that it was a game in which you could start your own baseball team. "Cool", I thought, and downloaded it.

I started playing some games and lost. After awhile I thought that this must be the most boring game ever because one doesn't do anything, zip, zero, with it except initiate games and watch. How boring it was. I didn't know that the teams belonged to other people around the world and were not just random teams made up by the game and computer.

Then I found out that there was a chat on the home page. I started writing messages there and a bit of light filled up. I found out more about smallball and the game became more interesting. I started training and got more stars on my team now knowing that I was playing against others. I put up goals for myself to reach, getting better and better, and understanding and writing English better and better. I have spent much time in the great official smallball chat and have met many people around the globe. They have different contests and trivia. I began to learn more about other countries and the English language. Now it went from being a boring to game to my being addicted to smallball.

Because of this game community, I can learn English and about other countries and their history, and much more.

Many thanks.
The Swedish guy.
mrflannel

Thanks to Beaner for helping with my spelling.

A Smooth Sea Never Made A Skilled Mariner...

...So says the old English proverb. And, how about some of these quotes:

• That which does not kill us makes us stronger. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
• No pain, no gain. ~ Jane Fonda
• No guts, no glory. ~ Sir Francis Drake
• If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be. ~ Yogi Berra

Yes, there are going to be some tweaks & changes made in the SmallBall world. Tiny ones at first but you will notice some changes here and there... Maybe getting less annoying. Of course this means the road may be a little bumpy sometimes. But don't worry if there are any rough spots we'll smooth them out. LG2-THB-JAX--QCK-2RM-88E

• Thank you for playing SmallBall!

During games or even in practice, you notice that your players have to run closer to the other fielders before throwing the ball. You might want to work on your players throwing power. You might be thinking that you already now how to train in throwing power, but do you now how to get the most of you training.

First we will start in the ST. Everyone knows that throwing skill(power) is gained by making long throws or by pitching during training. What I found to work the best is to take two players and put them in left and right field. Turn fielding on and click back and forth between those two players. This will has them gain throwing skill without having them use tp for pitching skill which they most likely will not use.

Next is for the DT. Now everyone is probably thinking that they also now how to train in throwing skill and that it is easy, because there is a specific training area just for throw.The only thing that owners don't realize is that some players will has a constant throw and others will pause then throw. Now what you want is for all your players throw without pausing. What you need to do is, when you see that your player that is throwing has a little pause, just move him/her slightly until you can see that there is a constant throwing motion. Your players will gain more skill this way then if they are pausing then throwing.

Hope this Helps!
Your pal,

Mr_Zip_It

The Cheap Seats

Reprinted from HPN Feb 2005
It started just like every other ordinary day, but all that would change in just a few moments of time. I woke up and freshened up just like every other day. Ate breakfast and went off to do my daily duties just like every other day. Then I came back home and it was time to start working on my SmallBall teams.

I had a lot to prove this season, moving into ProLeague 4 seemed like a great accomplishment for my team. I was working a new angle that had me flying last year and wanted to try to keep the momentum working.

I went to my computer and turned it on. Then I set in motion getting on line. This process had started becoming a routine for me. Suddenly I heard a crash outside and everything went dark. A thunderstorm had come upon us quickly and the electricity had gone. I thought to myself, “Thank goodness I hadn’t started training yet.”

After a few seconds, the power came back on and I decided to try and give the Internet one more try. I was able to connect this time and I got SmallBall to come up. I got my DT running and started my training regiment. It was a basic regiment but not one I wish to share with the world.

Team one was finished and I went on to my next DT team. Then I went to my ST team and started training in hitting. I decided to TS the training to cut down the time. Well I finished with that and decided it was time for my first team to play another PL game.

I initiated the game. It was going to be my team, Charlotte vs. my friend’s team, Cleveland. “Cool, Centennial,” I thought to myself as I saw what park I was playing in. I’ve always done well in Centennial ever since it came out. Well the first inning went by with no score. Second inning saw the same. My team got going in the third with a three run homerun. It was 3-2 in the sixth when something went terribly wrong.

“CRASH” A sound was heard and all I could remember was everything went dark. I could feel myself but I could not move or wake up. Suddenly I heard a voice. “Are you O.K.?”

I looked up to see this strange looking man I had never seen before. I couldn’t explain the way he quite looked, all I can say is that he seemed almost not human.

“I’m fine, thanks,” I responded with hesitation. I got up and looked around. The sounds and sights were incredible. I found myself in front of a huge stadium, and could hear the sounds of what seemed to be a game inside.

“Well hurry up inside, you don’t want to miss the rest of the game do you?” The man asked me. I looked at him and then down at my hand and saw that I had a ticket. “No, I don’t,” I said with a sense of shock.

I walked towards the massive stadium and almost couldn’t describe how it looked from the outside. I noticed a rather large crowd in the parking lot but couldn’t quite make out what they were doing. I walked up to the ticket counter and handed the man my ticket.

“You're seated down the first base line,” The man said to me. He also had that strange appearance to him. I could not quite make it out, but everyone seemed to appear that way as I looked around. I kept wondering to myself, “What’s wrong here, but I could never figure it out.”

I went to the rest room to try and figure out what was going on. I splashed water on my face and looked in the mirror. To my shock, I had changed too. I looked just like everyone else. I rubbed my eyes and rubbed my eyes, but nothing seemed to work. I looked around and asked another guy, “Where am I?” The guy looked at me strange and said, “Why, you’re in the community.” I just stared at him in wonder. As he walked towards the door I asked, “What community?” He said nothing as he left and I yelled, “What community?”

A sense of fear had gripped my heart and I had no clue where I was. I just wanted to be back home but I didn’t know where home was. As another man came into the restroom I made my way out. I saw a security guard and asked him if he could help. He reached for my ticket and said, “Your seat is right through this door.” He then handed the ticket back to me.

I walk towards that door and opened it. The scoreboard showed JCA 3 aSi 2. I thought, “That seems a little strange.” Then I looked around and realized what was going on. On the right field wall was a large emblem that said SmallBall Baseball. In center field was written Season 100. I looked down at my ticket and saw the teams – Charlotte at Cleveland. I ended up inside Centennial Stadium.

Ever since then I’ve been here. The teams have changed but I never do see Charlotte in here anymore. So if you ever play in Centennial, look down towards the first base line. I’m the one with brown hair, a red and white shirt, and blue pants. And if you know how to get me out of here, please help.

JTB

Training Your Team How well do you really know your players?

by CountryBumpkin

From the very beginning, I came into this game thinking that with only 4 skills determining your player's performance, how hard could this game really be? Let's just put it this way, if I had a dollar for every time I've changed my methods, my pockets would be stuffed. After playing this game for about a half a year, and often discussing these methods during chat sessions at SmallBall. Central, there are a few things I've figured out and I'd like to share them with you.

How many of you from season to season have 3 guys on your team that never plays a single inning? Or how many of you don't even train your 1B or Catcher in catching or throwing? Or how about your pitcher? Do you give him training in other skills? I would be willing to guess that the majority of owners use the method of finding their 9 best players and sticking with them. And find themselves in a rut or find a plateau and never get better. Well, what if I were to tell you that basically you have 12 interchangeable parts and it all depends on training that separates each player. As other owners have stated in the past, each player has it's own genetics that determine skill retention. Some players hold certain skills better than others and are different from player to player. It is your job as a manager to recognize these strengths and weaknesses with every player if you want to maximize each player's potential.

By using the focus training method and using a schedule that regularly addresses each skill of hitting, catching, running and throwing…you can determine which players hold their skills better than others. For example, if you were to run your players, the players will align themselves in the sort list. And after addressing the same skill over a period of time, you can begin to see a trend where players will drop in the ratings faster than others. By using this method with all of your skills, you can determine each player's strengths and weaknesses.

Using one of my players as an example, Steelhead Fred, I can demonstrate how I cater to every player's needs. After focus training for a few seasons, I began to see a trend that Steelhead Fred was consistently in the top 3 in the sort list in Catching and Throwing, but always in the middle to lower area of the sort list in hitting and running. By experimenting, I began to realize that I could go awhile without training him in Catching and Throwing for more than a few days. I then began to concentrate on Hitting and Running every other day and sprinkle in the Catching and Throwing when his spot in the sort list began to slip. The following result, a player that is usually in the top 5 in every category. Now is it always as simple as that? My answer would be NO. There are players that I label as just plain stubborn, and I employ the use placing them on the bench to give them an extra Training Pie to boost their skills. In essence, I have about 4-5 guys that really struggle in certain skills, and they need to be rotated to the bench at various times during the season to get extra attention.

The real necessity is to make some sort of schedule, maybe using a spreadsheet to help you organize the skills. And having a schedule for each player is a necessity to maximize their skills. In essence, I can create with the use of specialized training and making the use of extra Training Potential available from placing them on the bench, 12 interchangeable parts that I could place anywhere on the baseball field depending where and when they reach the skills necessary to put them in the positions I desire.

You have to remember that each player is different. Some players are easier to train than others. What are the resources available to us? One training Pie every 24 hours…two for benchies. And the ability to diversify our own training methods. So hopefully this will help some that need it. Anyone is always welcome to discuss these issues with myself or with other owners at SmallBall Central.

Good Luck and Good Training!
CountryBumpkin

HPN: January 2002

The Country Bumpkins 7351

lil' bumpkins 30724

Two in a Row

In season 38, (2002 May 21 - 2002 Jun 3) Beaner won two first league victories in a row! Neener Beaners The First league Champion speaks:

Unbelievable. I guess I can stop telling myself that last season was a fluke. The competiton was even more intense in the 1st this season. After the first 6 days I was pretty much convinced that I would be moving back to the 2nd league, but they bounced back and with some help from other teams pulled off another championship.

I am sure that most people wouldn't care to hit the ball field having to wear a uniform that said "Neener Beaners" on it, but my little guys seem to like it just fine.In the 13 months that I have been playing I often wondered that if I somehow managed to win 1st league, would I still be motivated to play having reached the ultimate goal? Now after winning back to back, I can honestly say I don't have any desire to quit. Now the question is, how many can I win? Although even if I never win another one that will be OK, it's still 2 more championships than I ever imagined.To all new owners: Don't get discouraged! If I can do it, anyone can! Plenty of owners will tell you "ain't that the truth!" hehe. Remember, this is not a "quick fix" game and it takes time and patience to build a winner. I by no means know anywhere near everything about the game, but if you ever need any help just ask and I will at least try. Good luck and remember, Smallball=Fun. Booya!

The Beanman

Note: In Season 131 (2005 Dec 13 - 2005 Dec 26) Beaner won his 3rd PL1 victory. Will it be his last?

How to Taunt and Humiliate Your Players to Greatness

By Diana

My seven-year-old son, Joey, is responsible for having discovered SmallBall. He managed to download the game, start up a team, name his team and players, and train and play a game or two before I even knew what it was he was doing. So, even after I got hooked myself, and started reading all of the information on the forums and other websites, I took a hands-off approach where my son was concerned.

Even when I realized that he had chosen his players' positions based upon their real-life Mariners counterparts, I didn't say anything. When he told me that he'd chosen the guy he'd named Jamie Moyer as his pitcher because, well, he was named Jamie Moyer, I didn't say anything. (Plus, Joey emphasized that Jamie Moyer was definitely his pitcher because he "knew it in his heart." Who can argue with that?)

When I broke down and got Joey a Deluxe Trainer, I didn't say anything when I saw him setting up his players' daily autotrain schedules with only one or two balls for each skill. I knew that Joey had a method, and that while it may not be the method that the experienced players were using, someone has to be the one to break new ground. Why not Joey? Maybe his ideas would turn out to revolutionize SmallBall.

Then Joey discovered the clipboard notetaking feature. I had read that other trainers use this to make little notes about their players, such as "holds skill well," or "needs extra running." So when I saw what Joey was using it for, I realized that the time had come to share Joey's method with the SmallBall community. Joey has discovered that this feature works best to taunt and humiliate your players. Here are a few examples of Joey's messages to his players, in his very own 7-year-old spelling:

"mark macklamore" gets the general admonishment, "you need to work harder," while Ray Sanchez is told to, "hit better and field better." Jamie Moyer gets the only note of praise with, "nice pich (109 miles an hour)." "Ben davis" is asked to, "hit home runs again, plese," while "ichiro susuki" is told, "you shoud hit like you yosed to." The most severe rebuke is for Jeff Cirillo, who is told that, "you need to do better altogher."

So I think that we should all rethink the notetaking feature in the Deluxe Trainer clipboard. I have been thinking that I have been entirely too easy on my players, and that a few well-chosen barbs might spur them on to the next star level.

Reprint from the HPN Circa 2002

Football Wisdom from Those Who Know

Everything you'd need to know about SBFB...for newbies!

How to find your Goalie
by me (GJT)

How to find your Goalie:

First of all, you need to find your goalie (or GK). To do so, you will need lots of patience and time. Have the goalie in the box until all of his TP is gone. Go to posts mode, and switch him for another player. Do the same thing to all players. After 10 training sessions of doing this (mind you, these training sessions should be 48 hr. training sessions, so about 20 days)... Start to train in Reaction skill. You can do this by putting three players in the "Reaction Zone" in the upper right part of the trainer. Do this with all players for about 5 training sessions. Then, sort list your players in GOALIE Skill (AND REACTION: THE MOST important goalie skill)...your overall highest dude (doesn't HAVE to be num. 1 on both skills) is your "real" GOALKEEPER! Then start to train your goalie in Goalie, Running, and Reaction.

Note: You don't need two goalies in SBFB, but you may have them if you want.

How to Find your "Position Players"
by NRaider

After you find your goalie(s) you need to max everyone in Run. This'll take about maybe 10-15 training sessions of 48 hour pies. After that, I suggest maxing dribble skill (again, about 15 training sessions of 48hr). That way when your players get the ball, you can move well with the ball. And about once a week go back and run them. That way you keep them maxed in Run. Once you are a speeding demon, you should train in Interception. Why, you ask?? See below in Most important skills.... Again, go back and train in run and dribble this time about once a week. After you finish maxing Interc., next go to Reaction skill. This way you can shift direction in a split second and your defense can be reacting better for coming forwards. After that you can train in Aim (just allow your guys to shoot at the goalie) you will gain some Power in that to. So you wil have almost everything done.

How to Train Reaction in "Zone Mode"
by ironman44 and Protector

Here is what i did. In the Zone training mode, put two players in the circle. Get one on the outside of the circle, drag the other guy to close range to the second player. They will kick back and forth to each other at close range. One player does not move, but the second guy keeps running away from the first, but when the ball is kicked to him he turns to recieve the ball. So it a good idea to put a player who has no TP kicking to him. If they start to get to far apart keep dragging the player back to close range. If you do it just right, they will stay close to each other and train reaction for that player.

Protector said--

-- UPDATE: Now, you can also train reaction skill in zone mode by dragging the player you want to train to the upper right hand corner of the training screen when you are in zone mode (yes, I'm being redundant, but I want to make sure I get the point across). After being put in the invisible reaction training area (it is barely even marked in the trainer) a player will run back and forth in a zig zag pattern and will slowly, very slowly gain reaction... It's the only way, though.

Positioning Your Players
by yagadan05

I've heard a lot of people complain about not getting the right positioning.. this is basic, but what i follow and it works for me mostly (except against Borussia Dortmund and Bad Boys they're just too good)

Forwards:
Most important: Aim
Secondly important: Kick Power
THIRD: Driving skill

Midfielders:
Most important: Interception/Driving skill.
Secondly important: Reaction
THIRD: aim/kick power

Defense:
Most important: Interception
Secondly important: Driving skill
THIRD: reaction skill

Goalie:
Most important is actually REACTION skill.
Of course, then GOALIE skill.
Then running is Third.

I had a horrible goalie maxed in GOALIE skill.. and then i realized i forgot to train him in reaction, and now i can't get enough of his show-stopping saves!


The Most important Skills in SBFB
by GJT and yagadan05, and NRaider


I said--
--Dribble is important to everyone (except the goalie)... You will need it to win games!

yagadan said--
--Dribble is included in driving skill (they kinda go together) and running max. you should always have a maxed team in running.. and the way you know that someone is maxed in a skill is if you train a player that targets a certain skill, and all they gain is .01 (they lose it almost as fast as they gain it) then you know they are maxed in that skill.. it may happen once because of low TP so the way to find out is if you train the specific skill 3-5 times, and if you see no + a whole number, then it's maxed.


Nraider said--
--I believe the most important skill in Smallball Football is Interception.

Reason: You can have a crappy goalie and still win games. Not as much but you can... it is possible. If you have a good defense you will cause teams not to be able to shoot shots on you and cause your goalie less work. I have seen my team (187063) shoot about 12 shots a game ( WAY TOO MUCH). Ok, a good average amount of shots is 2 to 4. This causes less amount of goals and is better for your GD. If you are allowing about 5 or more shots on goal then you need to train in Interception more.

The top 2 things overall for Every player on your team is Interception and Reaction. Interception will help your goalie and reaction helps in every category.

PL Game Strategy
by Nraider

When to Play ProLeague Games:
When you get into ProLeagues you want to win, so here is some tips. After you train and you want to play a proleague game, you should play a big league game first. That way you see what is wrong if any and you can wait on it so you can train in it next time.

"Play them when your team is hot ... and if you lose even one, you stop"
said by Xtreme.

Also if the other team has a losing streak, PLAY THEM!

DURING THE GAME:
When the two teams are first coming on the field, if you click on the center circle the game will start. You can do this for throw ins, field goals, goal kicks, and half-time.
>

Life In the SmallBall Lane

Reprinted HPN from Winter-Spring 2004

You start in Juniors, you are young and ready to take on the world.

You breeze thru Juniors (well some of us do), then you tackle 8th league. Its a little tougher but you have prepared for this and you arent gonna let anything stand in your way.

You squeak through 8th league on your journey through the pros. Next stop, 7th league. You have no fear of 7th league. To you, it is like a highway rest stop. You are there to stretch a little, maybe catch a quick nap but you have no intentions of staying there very long. After all, you just breezed through Juniors and 8th league. How hard could 7th be?

Well, somehow, you took a wrong turn somewhere, you must have been going in circles because you ended up back at the rest stop otherwise known as 7th league. You are a little upset but you figure, "what the heck, this place isnt so bad". You've even made a few friends. The vending machine guy is really nice and the rest stop maintenance people treat you like a king. Seems like everytime you turn around they are cleaning up for you. Emptying the trash for you, mowing the grass, cleaning the bathrooms.........we'll scratch that, oddly enough, they arent touching the bathrooms for some reason. Still, you get this feeling, there is more out there, so you do a gut check and prepare to go forward.

After a couple of seasons in the rest area, a.k.a. 7th league, you finally get to 6th league. You're starting to show a few signs of wear and tear but you still think you are going all the way. You meet a few new people while you're here including some strange old guy who has set up a revival tent and is inside preaching the "Evils of the 10th star". You think to yourself, "This guy is nuts!". How can 10* be evil? When I get my 10th star I'm gonna rule the Smallball World. Then you find out the "Strange old guy" has a 10* team and has been stuck in 6th league for about 4 seasons now. You dont sweat it, you hop back on the Smallball Highway and crank up the tunes and roll on into 5th league.

OK, something went wrong, somehow as you were cruising thru 5th, headbanging to the Metallica Mega-shot Music Marathon you ended up on the wrong road. Must have been construction or an accident or something because somehow you got detoured back to 6th. You are starting to get a little ticked off. Road rage is not out of the question at this point.

You arrive back at 6th and you get re-aquainted with your friends at the rest stop. The "strange old guy" is still here. You notice now that he has a stand set up outside his tent. You wander over to check it out and see that he is selling some kind of "Miracle Tonic". They come in several different flavors but you're not real sure what they are supposed to do. You look at the names and find them kind of odd. You see lefty, QT pack, FOD, brickyard, BC and Spring Training just to name a few. You feel pity for the old guy and decide to help him out. You buy yourself several bottles of the "Miracle Tonics" and get back on the road again.

WOW, something in those bottles of Miracle Tonic sure worked wonders for you as you have now left 6th, moved thru 5th league and into 4th. You feel completely revitalized. Full of energy and ready to Rock and Roll.

10-20 seasons later...... (you've actually lost track).

You wake up in the morning, stumble out of bed. You feel like you are living the movie "Groundhog Day". No matter what you do, things seem to be the same. Your wife has left you and taken the dog. The property taxes on your home in 4th are due next week. The "Strange old guy" keeps sending you invoices for your addiction to the "Miracle Tonic" and threatens to cut you off. You start attending a community support group known as "The Official Forums" and while discussing your trials and tribulations of the pro leagues you have come to the conclusion that in fact, there is nothing higher than 4th league. Its all a big hoax. The leagues are all numbered wrong to make you think there is something more. Its all been just one big evil plot. You now know the truth. You actually have reached your goal. You are at the top of the pro leagues. You find out that, there is 3 more stops ahead, but they arent really leagues for you yet. They are actually retirement communities like Sun City West and you arent ready to go settle down there just yet.

You smile, happy in your thoughts that life is now good again.

by NMshooter

Just an Idea

Way back in 1998 I had an idea, SmallBall Baseball. Here is the first bit of concept art I had done for the game. You can see where my head was at back then. The original idea was to combine the playing field with the training mechanisms. Its funny to see what made it into the actual game and what didn't, including the style of the players.

Zip's Tips: March 11, 2002 HPN

Have you ever played a team and wondered why they get so many hits off you. Your pitcher is throwing a fastball around 105-109, so how can the opposing teams hit the ball as well as they do. Well just to let you know it mostly has to do with Swing Skill. If your batters can hit the long ball and you believe that they have good if not great Contact Odds, then try working them in Swing Skill. There are two ways that you can do this, the first way is with the Basic Trainer and the second is with the Deluxe Trainer.

With the Standard Trainer there really isn't much to it, all you have to do is put a player on the pitchers mound. It will work best with a player that is not good at pitching, I suggest using a bench player. Next you just rotate your players at the plate and watch the scoreboard for each skill increase. You should see that they gain Swing Skill with every increase. I would suggest using two to three tp pies in just batting to see results.

With the Deluxe Trainer take player and put him/her on the pitchers mound in the practice field, you can either use a bench play, a back up pitcher, or your main pitcher, it doesn't matter. The player on the pitchers mound will also gain pitching skill in this process. Next you take any player and put them at the plate. You can use as much of your players tp pie as you like, but I would suggest a full pie for about two or three training sessions. With each skill increase you should see mainly a gain in your players Swing Skill, just to let everyone know, your players will still have slight gains in the two other batting skill. After a few training sessions of this, they playing a game to check your players performance. You should see an improvement for all of your players.

Hope this Helps!
Your pal,

Mr_Zip_It

Interview - ERG

This is an old interview I did on Mike's SBCT blog. This is mainly for archive purposes. :)


Interview was originally posted July 23rd, 2007


UNC Man: How old are you?
ERG: I am 18 years old.

UNC Man: What is your martial status?
ERG: Not married, single...taking my time in the love department. Hopefully College brings good things.

UNC Man: What do you think one of your biggest/best contrutions to Smallball are?
ERG: Probably the "Smalls" Comic. Smallball Radio is second, but Smalls lasted for 3 years, and was something that I was really passionate about and the community, and most importantly the Commissioner really got behind me on it. The art wasn't spectacular, but everyone could relate, and it was just a great experience all around...

UNC Man: How did smalls originate?
ERG: I don't remember a whole lot about the idea. It was a lazy afternoon in the Summer of 2003, and I was brainstorming... I can honestly say that the idea just came to me, and I started working on it. I didn't know how I was going to take on the task of drawing him, so if you notice in the first couple of comics, I was jumping between the profile-angle, and the more 3D angle...eventually I settled with the profile-angle because it was easiest to manipulate, and the rest as they say, is history. I'll add that Evan, the main character, is based off me, but I don't have blonde hair--I DO have a mother (you never see her in the comics), and I have TWO brothers, and a sister. I guess I was just too lazy to expand the characters beyond the occasional girlfriend, or one of dad's business partners.

UNC Man: So the production of "smalls" stopped. Is there any chance that you'll do more or are you out of ideas?
ERG: We'll, you could argue that now is as good a time as ever for material, but I've simply lost my will to sit down for 30 minutes, and make a comic. Could I do it? Sure..and I've talked to IA about dabbling around in paint again, but I'd say it's about a 30% chance that Smalls makes a comeback--He's busy over at WSForums playing the arcade....It's ironic though, because my will to succeed in Smallball is as big as ever.

UNC Man: You also said you did SBRadio?
ERG: Yep, initially, I made a 60 second recording where I talked about Smallball almost 2 years ago, and posted it as "Smallball Radio." I never went beyond that, but DocF took it from there and did what I do know (speech software saying written text.) DocF has since stopped, and so I decided it'd be easy enough to continue, and with the help of mlthmp, it's done well. If you notice I do a lot of things because they're fun. I was just extrememly lucky to basically get compensated by the Commissioner with "Smalls" because he always gave the HPN submitters prizes (anything from a Qt Pack to Jurrasic Park).

UNC Man: So how far do you think SBRadio has come compared to it's first airing?
ERG: Haha, Well, I'd say a heck of a long way! That Computerized voice does a much better job reading through the script without messing up. But, seriously, Now that I've got a great hosting site provided by mlthmp, the only way to go is up. His support alone has guaranteed some longevity to Smallball Radio.

Thanks for the plug! Well, there's the ORIGINAL site of Smalls-- http://www.orgsites.com/oh/smalls (The new one seems to be down). Then for The Smallball Radio Show you just shoot on over to http://sbradio.sbfans.info .

Truly, I do these not for gain, just something to make your Smallball experience richer. Also, everyone can feel special, and get the recognition they deserve in the Pro Leagues with Smallball Radio.
UNC Man: What is the funniest/most memerable moment you've had in "smalls" and SBRadio?

ERG: Wow, that's a loaded question... I don't think I've had a FUNNIEST moment in Smalls, or even in SBRadio. Perhaps when I was trying to get my first two comics hosted...Everyone wanted to see them, but they were saved as .BMP and took forever to load. The whole ordeal lasted about a day until Tim's Dodgers finally helped out and hosted the comics for me. SBRadio, well it's so young, but someone told me in my first broadcast with my real voice that I sounded 'black'...That was kind of shocking...

Most memorable for Smalls was seeing my first comic in the HPN, hands down, felt great to be "published." I know I keep saying this also, but SBRadio is so young that I don't quite have that 'Kodak Moment' just yet...

UNC Man: What do you think is the future for SBRadio?
ERG: I'm just going to keep plugging away everyday until I either get bored, quit, or die...But with my freshman year of college ahead of me, and a stable standard of living, that shouldn't happen too soon...

UNC Man: Do you think you'll be doing any other media projects in the near future?
ERG: You never know, I enjoy being spontaneous... even thought about starting a new comic about Smallball with a different twist... I love to help people out, also, so I really am trying to get the Holiday Fund off the ground with some donations. --But enough about my projects.

UNC Man: There has been a lot of controversy about KT. What's your opinion on this?
ERG: Well, most people will know my opinion just from listening to Smallball Radio. The past two seasons he has disgraced this game that he claims to love so much, and I believe No Soup For You, and Depths of the Sea are the two rightful champions the past two seasons. This is KT's chance to gain redemption in PL1 though. If he can play a clean Pro League One Season this time around, I would grant him a true winner, but that remains to be seen.

UNC Man: There has also been a talks about contacting commissioner. Your view?
ERG: I think we should contact him or at least someone who knows him. Being impolite is the last thing on my mind. I understand others have looked and found no answers, but don't discourage others from doing their own searches just because you were unsuccessful. I understand you don't want us to 'waste our time' but trust me--those who want to search, don't mind. Worst case scenario, the person hangs up on you, and you move on. Smallball NEEDS a Commissioner, whether it be Ed, or someone new. As long as they can keep this game on a steady path (which right now it's veering) then I would be a happy man.