I started this project on June 4th of this year. Technically I started a bit earlier than that with the prep work, but the first official game happened in the evening of June 4th. I’ve not done a lot of writing as the season has progressed. I wish more, but I also am enjoying just playing the games, seeing all these players from my youth, and watching the outcomes.

There are games that are so riveting, so exciting, that I’m on the edge of my chair as the dice tumble and the results are discovered. Then there are games where I find myself just wishing it would somehow end. “Only the 4th inning? It feels like it should be the 8th already.” Honestly, those are usually teams I’m not as attached emotionally to any of the players on the teams playing at the moment. Or maybe it’s a game that just seems sloppy – a few errors, poor running decisions, slumping hitters continue to go through the motions, etc.

But the games roll on. While the computer version of Inside Pitch is how I got acquainted with the game, I’ve never been a fan of any computer game. I will find myself not as connected. I enjoy the cards in my hands, the dice – cold or hot – in my hands, the feel of being a part of the game itself. I learned IP on the computer, but once I had it down (enough) I was ordering my first card set (1977). Other seasons followed pretty quickly as I became more enamored with the game with each roll, each inning, each range play or home run or 5-4-3 double play.

I really wasn’t sure if I’d even make it to the end of April. But here I am about to post a blog about the first month of the season being completed. It’s in the books. I finished the final April game on the last day of August. Less than three full months to play 239 games. It is a serious help that I’m not manually compiling stats, but using iScore to help in that process. It allows me to double my playing time knowing the grunt work of statistics is being done automatically. If I want to print out the box score after the game, I can. If I want to print out the score card or play-by-play, I can. But the stats are automatic.

My only goal is to play at least one game a day. I’ve done that without fail. Sometimes many games in a day with the personal high of 8 when my beautiful Mrs worked on a Saturday and I got into a groove. 

The next month in the season has a significantly higher amount of games. Playing the 239 games in under three months is not sustainable to either my enjoyment, health, or the relationship with my spouse. I know it will slow down. Instead of averaging almost 3 games a day, I’ll get used to playing just one (still my goal and easily achievable).  But for now, while the fire is still stoked, I’m playing at every opportunity.  April had 239 games. May has 377.  I’d like to think I can achieve that by the end of February, but it could easily be a year from now.  Time will tell, but until then, I’m going to enjoy just rolling the dice and getting away from the noise outside my “stadium” office.