crickett13 is a legend on the WIS progressive circuit, having played over 265 Sim baseball seasons and serving long-term in many of WIS' longest running and most-respected leagues. He was kind enough to respond in detail for the benefit of the league.
1) What is the story of your username and how did you get hooked up with Whatifsports?
Crickett13 comes from a combination of an old girlfriends nickname and my number when I played softball. Why 13? I'm dating myself with this but some of you may remember the hero's of the NFL books of the late 60's and early 70's. One featured Don Maynard and even though I hated the Jets (I'm a Colts fan) I really liked Maynard. he said that he wasn't superstitious and wore #13 to prove a point. You didn't need luck to be good you just needed to play harder. As far as the old girlfriend truth be told I don't even really remember what she looks like at this point but just like jrny who asked me this a couple of years ago at a game in Baltimore you are all sworn to secrecy.
2) Offer a paragraph bio of yourself, possibly including things like work, family life, geography, other hobbies, quirky traits, bad habits, etc.
I'm 48 and I married for the second time 13 years ago on, of course, the 13th of May. I have 1 son from a previous marriage who is now 27 and a boy who turns 6 later this month and a daughter who turns 10 in may. I always enjoyed married life I just hated my first wife. I run an optical Lab in Rochester NY and am a third generation Optician. I love to cook and actually attended culinary school but decided that restaurant work was not conducive to a good family life so I left the field. It is now more of passion than a hobby and a lot of fun since I, like a lot of cooks, can be a bit egotistical. We live for when someone tells us something we created is great. I have written poetry and been a drunk, lived in Florida, Texas, Pa 3 times and NY twice and my wife and children are my anchors. I don't mind talking about my alcohol problems from when I was younger because it reminds me that I never want to live that nightmare again. Interesting fact I was in rehab with the actor John Spencer. My main bad habit now is I tend to be the kind of person who verbally pokes people to get a reaction. I like to spar but I really don't take it too seriously and always hope the people on WIS realize that ;()
3)A sports-themed bio paragraph. Favorite team? Players? Did you play as a kid? Now? What and when? Best sports moment? Most heartbreaking moment? etc.
Favorite teams are the Colts and The Phillies. I like football but love baseball. I love the history behind the game and the fact that baseball honors its past heroes. It was a love affair that really started in 1968 when I was 8 years old and what an amazing year to discover baseball. McLain and his 31 wins, Gibson and his remarkable 1.12 ERA and a classic world series. I only played sandlot ball when I was a kid but we played just about every day that the weather allowed. Best sports moment was the Phillies winning the 1980 NLCS against the Astros. 4 extra inning games made it an emotional roller coaster. Most heartbreaking was when Carlton was released by a tearful Bill Giles and when Richie Ashburn died. The Joe Carter homerun was disappointing but they got to the series when they were not even supposed to contend so it really was a great season anyway.
4)What about your franchise is most exciting going into Season 8? What is your team's biggest challenge? Anything else about your squad?
My teams biggest challenge is to compete in the AL North. I mean really we won 90 and tied for second! My team has some guys getting older so my other challenge is to try and keep my minors stocked with talent. I'm excited about season 9 because I have some great young pitching and with a good lineup with Wilson, Stanley, Valintin, Barfield and Tatum.
5)What piece of strategy or advice can you offer about HBD? Yes, I'm asking for one of your secrets, but many of us will be sharing as well.
15 seasons and 4 playoffs don't really put me in a position to be giving out advice. I can say I pay a lot of attention to defensive ratings and prefer good pitching to good hitting (1968 did that to me) On hitters I like good batting eye as well as R/L ratings and with pitching I have my own ranking system that looks at control R/L splits G/F and individual pitches which assigns a point value from 0-6 for each of those.
1) What is the story of your username and how did you get hooked up with Whatifsports?
Crickett13 comes from a combination of an old girlfriends nickname and my number when I played softball. Why 13? I'm dating myself with this but some of you may remember the hero's of the NFL books of the late 60's and early 70's. One featured Don Maynard and even though I hated the Jets (I'm a Colts fan) I really liked Maynard. he said that he wasn't superstitious and wore #13 to prove a point. You didn't need luck to be good you just needed to play harder. As far as the old girlfriend truth be told I don't even really remember what she looks like at this point but just like jrny who asked me this a couple of years ago at a game in Baltimore you are all sworn to secrecy.
2) Offer a paragraph bio of yourself, possibly including things like work, family life, geography, other hobbies, quirky traits, bad habits, etc.
I'm 48 and I married for the second time 13 years ago on, of course, the 13th of May. I have 1 son from a previous marriage who is now 27 and a boy who turns 6 later this month and a daughter who turns 10 in may. I always enjoyed married life I just hated my first wife. I run an optical Lab in Rochester NY and am a third generation Optician. I love to cook and actually attended culinary school but decided that restaurant work was not conducive to a good family life so I left the field. It is now more of passion than a hobby and a lot of fun since I, like a lot of cooks, can be a bit egotistical. We live for when someone tells us something we created is great. I have written poetry and been a drunk, lived in Florida, Texas, Pa 3 times and NY twice and my wife and children are my anchors. I don't mind talking about my alcohol problems from when I was younger because it reminds me that I never want to live that nightmare again. Interesting fact I was in rehab with the actor John Spencer. My main bad habit now is I tend to be the kind of person who verbally pokes people to get a reaction. I like to spar but I really don't take it too seriously and always hope the people on WIS realize that ;()
3)A sports-themed bio paragraph. Favorite team? Players? Did you play as a kid? Now? What and when? Best sports moment? Most heartbreaking moment? etc.
Favorite teams are the Colts and The Phillies. I like football but love baseball. I love the history behind the game and the fact that baseball honors its past heroes. It was a love affair that really started in 1968 when I was 8 years old and what an amazing year to discover baseball. McLain and his 31 wins, Gibson and his remarkable 1.12 ERA and a classic world series. I only played sandlot ball when I was a kid but we played just about every day that the weather allowed. Best sports moment was the Phillies winning the 1980 NLCS against the Astros. 4 extra inning games made it an emotional roller coaster. Most heartbreaking was when Carlton was released by a tearful Bill Giles and when Richie Ashburn died. The Joe Carter homerun was disappointing but they got to the series when they were not even supposed to contend so it really was a great season anyway.
4)What about your franchise is most exciting going into Season 8? What is your team's biggest challenge? Anything else about your squad?
My teams biggest challenge is to compete in the AL North. I mean really we won 90 and tied for second! My team has some guys getting older so my other challenge is to try and keep my minors stocked with talent. I'm excited about season 9 because I have some great young pitching and with a good lineup with Wilson, Stanley, Valintin, Barfield and Tatum.
5)What piece of strategy or advice can you offer about HBD? Yes, I'm asking for one of your secrets, but many of us will be sharing as well.
15 seasons and 4 playoffs don't really put me in a position to be giving out advice. I can say I pay a lot of attention to defensive ratings and prefer good pitching to good hitting (1968 did that to me) On hitters I like good batting eye as well as R/L ratings and with pitching I have my own ranking system that looks at control R/L splits G/F and individual pitches which assigns a point value from 0-6 for each of those.
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