Wed May 19, 2021 1:04 am
I've done this before, but on a different post, so here goes!
Allen Ray, 59 year old resident of Queens, NY, and a Strat-O-Matic fan since the 1973 card set. Took the moniker Aray0113 for my name (A-Ray) and birthday (01/13) ... creative names fail me most days, lol.
Lifelong Mets Fan, got to see Willie Mays' last season, the "Ya Gotta Believe" team which made an 11 year old boy think that anything was possible in baseball. Had my heart broken with the 1977 Midnight Massacre, but loved every minute of the 1986 season, including the nail-biting WS Game 6.
I'm a proud 1983 Graduate of St. John's University, where I was team manager for basketball, soccer and baseball - got to see John Franco pitch a perfect game at our ballpark (didn't realize it WAS a perfect game until the final out, lol), and got to witness Frank Viola's greatness as well - the memorable pitching duel with Ron Darling of Yale being the highlight game way back in 1981.
I found the online game in 2004, and after I played the 21 game free trial, I was hooked!
I've been fortunate to find people who were gracious enough to let me know how badly my teams were constructed in my early years - Visick, Geekor and J-Pav in the 20xx games in particular. The game has helped me get through some tough times, and helped me celebrate some great ones as well. My favorite seasons were the 1969 and 2005 seasons - I learned how to build good Minute Maid and US Cell teams there. I just wish that I could get credit for all those years I played - no one seems to know that I had teams then, sadly.
I found the ATG series by accident, and after much trial and error (mostly error), and also with a lot of help from andycummings65 and Dacelo, I had my first playoff team ... in Polo '34, of all places. Along the way, I've met some very nice and helpful people, a lot of great competition, and a chance to relive a bit of my childhood through these games.
Wishing everyone who participates great health and good times!