I just read on Facebook and on the Delphi forums that Ball Park Baseball ceased operations yesterday. They will stop taking orders on August 15th.
I have enough seasons to keep me busy for years to come, but it’s a shame that they were close to releasing an updated version of the game, along with an online version, and parties involved had a falling out.
The 1917 and 1971 season replays will continue sometime soon.
I missed the initial announcements by about a week, but apparently there are plans in the works for a revamping of the look and feel of the cards and dice version of the game, in addition to a COMPUTER version of the game.
What’s most impressive to me is the news that the computer version will run on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS and Android.
ANDROID.
AS IN I CAN PLAY ON MY FREAKING PHONE.
Or at the very least, my iPad via iOS.
The thing is, as exciting as this is, I may still opt to play the cards and dice version.
At least all of my older season cards will still be playable with the new stuff. And thy’re going to release sets with ALL players per team, which is an issue when you play full season replays with current BPB sets.
Sadly, since I was a week late on this news, I missed out on being a tester for either the new format or the computer version of the game. Ah well.
I mentioned it elsewhere (Facebook) that I decided to abandon the Box Seat Baseball replay and just play this one with Ball Park Baseball, which I’m more familiar with, and I had the season cards for this one as well.
Box Seat Baseball is a solid game, it just seems like there’s even more chart flipping that I would do with BP Baseball.
I’ve been on a board game kick for the past month, mainly because of a trip to Dice Tower West in Las Vegas, less than a week from the last table top sports game that I played.
That changes this week, of course, what with baseball’s Opening Day in a few days.
Plus I’ll probably get around to the NASCAR and SCRAM racing series that I have running.
And I’ll probably do a boxing match or two in the next week or so.
In one of the last 1958 games that the Giants played versus the Cincinnati Redlegs, Frank Robinson hit a solo homer off Marv Grissom. The Giants lost to the Redlegs, 6-1.
This season was the only time I had Frank Robinson in play, he had been traded to Baltimore in 1966 so my 1967 replay didn’t have him available.
Frank Robinson is the first San Francisco Giants manager who I can remember off the top of my head. He became manager in 1981, right around the time that I started to get more into baseball.
I remember seeing him in commercials with the Crazy Crab and his players.
I even saw Yoenis Cespedes post a note of thanks to Robinson, on his Facebook page.
Aside from the lack of any roster moves, this has been a sad offseason for Giants fans, with the loss of Willie McCovey, Peter Magowan, and now Frank Robinson.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Robinson. Thanks for all you did for baseball.