Sports simulation game company
Strat-O-Matic basic version batter and pitcher cards from their baseball game
Strat-O-Matic
is a
game
company
based in
Glen Head, New York
, that develops and publishes sports simulation games. It produces tabletop
baseball
,
American football
,
basketball
, and
ice hockey
simulations, as well as
personal computer
adaptations of each, but it is primarily known for its baseball game.
History
[
edit
]
Strat-O-Matic began as a company in 1961, when Hal Richman, a
Bucknell University
mathematics
student, began selling an early version of his baseball tabletop game out of his basement, buying advertising space in
Sports Illustrated
to aid sales. Richman lost money until 1963,
[1]
when his decision to release a game containing one card for each player in
Major League Baseball
resulted in greatly increased sales.
[
citation needed
]
Richman later released a
football
game in
1968
, an "advanced" baseball game in
1972
, a basketball game in 1973, and a hockey game in 1978.
Strat-O-Matic's statistical research and game development methods are implemented with the intent of replicating athletes' abilities as accurately as possible, giving the gamer the feel of making managerial decisions.
In February 2011, Strat-O-Matic celebrated its 50th anniversary with an opening day event at the Community Church of New York. This was a change from the normal opening day festivities of fans lining up outside the company's headquarters in Glen Head to pick up their new baseball products. At this event, over 500 people attended and heard from panelists including
Doug Glanville
,
Rick Peterson
and
STATS, Inc.
founder John Dewan.
[2]
In March 2011, Richman was inducted into the
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
.
[3]
How it works
[
edit
]
In a Strat-O-Matic game, each athlete is represented by a player card, on which are printed various ratings and result tables for
dice
rolls. A player, who may play solitaire or against another player, is in charge of making strategic and personnel decisions for their team, while determining the results of in game decisions by cross-referencing dice rolls with a system of printed charts and tables.
The basic scheme may be understood in connection with the adjoining images, representing the baseball game. One die selects which column is used on either the batter or the pitcher card, while the other two dice specify the outcome within the column.
The results on the player cards are determined by a combination of the respective athlete's real-life statistics for the previous year and (mostly in the case of the baseball game) independent research of news articles and scouting reports. All Strat-O-Matic games offer a "basic", "advanced", and "super-advanced" version; the more advanced versions give more strategic options to players while taking into account additional nuances of an athlete's abilities (e.g., in baseball, differences in hitting vs. left-handed or right-handed pitchers). The computer adaptations essentially rely on the same algorithms as the tabletop games, but they have the additional advantages of faster play and statistics compilation.
When the new Strat-O-Matic baseball cards are released each year in late January or early February -- an event that hundreds of players commemorate by showing up in the cold at the company's headquarters?controversy soon follows over the deservedness of such statistics.
[4]
Additionally, there also is an
Internet
version of the Strat-O-Matic Baseball game.
[5]
This was formerly hosted by
The Sporting News
, and is now hosted by the Strat-O-Matic Company.
Influence
[
edit
]
Strat-O-Matic games have been played by a wide variety of sports fans, including professional athletes themselves. Former major leaguer
Doug Glanville
is an avid Strat-O-Matic player and advocate of the company,
[6]
and his ex-teammate and noted gamer
Curt Schilling
also plays.
[7]
Former
New York Mets
teammates
Keith Hernandez
[8]
and
Lenny Dykstra
also have proclaimed their devotion. After homering in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the
1986 National League Championship Series
, Dykstra said that the last time he had done such a thing was when he played Strat-O-Matic against his brother.
[9]
Broadcaster
Bob Costas
often played Strat-O-Matic in his youth, and credits the game with teaching him about baseball, for instance the importance of
on-base percentage
and
slugging percentage
.
[10]
Author
Buzz Bissinger
says that "Strat-O-Matic changed my life."
[11]
The EMSBL (East Meadow Strat-O-Matic Baseball League), founded in 1972, is believed to be the oldest continuously playing fantasy sports league in the world. The league's 2022 season marked the league's 51st consecutive year of play. Based in East Meadow, N.Y., the league was founded by its first commissioner,
Jim Drucker
, who later became the commissioner of the
Continental Basketball Association
(1978?86) and
Arena Football League
(1994?96).
Games of Strat-O-Matic were shown being played in the
Spike Lee
film
Crooklyn
.
[12]
Computer sports game designers and producers such as
Trip Hawkins
[11]
and
Richard Hilleman
have been lifelong Strat-O-Matic players, indirectly influencing the development of rival computer baseball
simulation games
. In the book
Magic the Gathering:
The Pocket Players' Guide
, it was mentioned that Strat-O-Matic was a strong influence in the game design work of
Richard Garfield
.
[13]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Lemire, Joe (February 10, 2011).
"Strat-O-Matic more than a game for its founder and devotees"
.
Sports Illustrated
.
- ^
"SOM 50th Anniversary - Updated 2/11/11 Final Update! Schedule Included | the Strat-O-Matic Game Co"
. Strat-o-matic.com
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"Mesler inducted into Jewish shrine"
.
The Buffalo News
. Retrieved
March 28,
2011
.
- ^
Manly, Lorne (2006-01-13).
"Strat-O-Matic, the Throwback, Endures the Era of the X-Boxes"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2016-09-14
.
- ^
"Homepage | the Strat-O-Matic Game Co"
.
Sporting News
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"Doug on "Strat-O-Matic"
"
. Doug Glanville. 2007-03-15
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"Mariner Fan? Bored? Miss Incomparable Despondency?"
. Lookout Landing. 23 October 2007
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"The story of Strat-O-Matic and its founder, Hal Richman - Joe Lemire - SI.com"
. Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2011-02-10
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
Simon, Mark (11 October 2011).
"This date in '86: Len Dykstra's HR - Mets Blog - ESPN New York"
. Espn.go.com
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"How Strat-O-Matic Baseball Changed My Life Forever"
. 27 June 2016.
- ^
a
b
"The story of Strat-O-Matic ahttps://forward.com/culture/343194/how-strat-o-matic-baseball-changed-my-life-forever/nd its founder, Hal Richman - Joe Lemire - SI.com"
. Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2011-02-10
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
- ^
"Baseball Fans Stay True to Low-Tech Board Game"
.
NPR
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-04-06.
- ^
"The Creation of Magic: The Gathering : Daily MTG : Magic: The Gathering"
. Wizards.com. 2013-03-12. Archived from
the original
on March 14, 2013
. Retrieved
2013-11-10
.
External links
[
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]