Skip to main content

5 Minutes with flbarons

flbarons runs the Scranton Lackawanna in the NL East and has done so since season 34.

1/What If Sports. How long have you been on the site, and how did you end up here? What is your favorite game here? Favorite team or experience on the site? 
          I had to look this up – I’ve been on the site since 2004. I found an ad on some sports site and thought I’d give it a try – I started with SIM Baseball and SIM Hockey but quickly decided to just stick with SIM Baseball. I’ve been on HBD for about 3 or 4 years I think – I started in Let’s Play Two with billpitt cause they were recruiting – I must admit I’m not very good at HBD (that won’t surprise anyone LOL) – it takes a lot of time and I travel a ton with my job so I can’t put in as much time as I like but I have been getting some mentoring from guys like mccarthyizm and jeclapton123, which has really helped. I don’t really have a favorite moment on HBD as yet just trying to figure out this game.

2/Sports. What are your favorite teams in the real world? Favorite players and/or sports memories? What drives you crazy about sports or sports culture? 
          I love all kinds of sports (just about everything to be honest). I grew up a huge hockey (still play today) and baseball guy – I loved the Expos growing up (being a Canuck) and switched to the Jay’s when we lost the 'spos. I have a ton of favorite players from that era Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Rogers Tim Raines (should definitely be in the HOF), later Dave Steib, Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez – but my all time favorite player is Ken Griffey Jr. I just loved how he played the game. My favorite sports memory was going the Boston/Colorado WS in Denver with my son (that’s him and I in the picture) – it was so much fun and the Colorado crowd was amazing.  Every year he and I go to a major league game somewhere – this year it looks like Detroit to see the Tigers.  I think my biggest problem in today’s sports is how difficult it is for kids to play more than one sport anymore – up here if you’re a decent hockey player that’s all you can play – it’s a 12 month deal – back in the old days J I could play both hockey and baseball – I think it’s sad that kids are missing out on some other sports.

From left: little flbarons, flbarons.                    
3/Music. What are the last three things you listened to? All-time three favorite artists? Best show you've seen? 
          I have a 14 year old daughter so I listen to anything “new." It keeps me young . . . so the last 3 songs that were “downloaded for me” were  The Weekend's “The Hills,"  Adele's “Hello,” and Lucas Graham's “7 years.” Cue laughter!! But my 3 favorite artists are Supertramp (my favorite live show), The Fray, and being from Western Canada – Rascal Flats.

4/Aside from sports and music, what are your favorite hobbies, films, books, etc? What might surprise us about your interests?
          I really enjoy playing board games with our extended family. I read a ton when I’m traveling, mostly easy reading type stuff – Harlan Coben and Lee Child being 2 of my favorites and even though I work in an office now – I paid my way through college building houses and I still do renovation work for family and friends – it’s great getting a couple of buddies together to build something for somebody and having a beer together after your done.

5/Survival. Where are you from originally, and where are you living now? How do you pay your bills, assuming you do? 
          Born and raised in Calgary Canada and still living here today. If you’re living in Calgary, you're part of the Canadian oil industry, and I run a small Oil Marketing Company.  I have 3 awesome children although the older 2 are now adultss and by far and away my best work!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

HBD Ballpark Factors

Ballpark effects are ranked on a scale from - 4 to + 4, based on their impact on hits (1B), doubles (2B), triples (3B), home runs to left field (HR LF) and home runs to right field (HR RF). The more negative or positive number, the more extreme the effect for that hit in that direction. These numbers are just indicators of the relative effect in the simulation engine. They are important for users and founded entirely on historical fact, but are meant for display purposes and not explicitly used in the simulation engine. City/State Ballpark Capacity 1B 2B 3B LF RF PF Division  Albuquerque (New Mexico) Isotopes Park 11,124 4 4 4 1 0 1.211 West  Anaheim (California) Angel Stadium 45,050 0 -2 -2 0 0 0.951 West  Atlanta (Georgia) Turner Field 50,062 -1 -1 0 1 1 0.950 South, East ...

S19 Power Ranking (Pre-season)

1. Anaheim Anteaters (NL) After seasons of frustration, finally crowned Capra champion. 2. Cleveland Spiders (AL) With Anteaters finally winning, is Cleveland next? 3. Monterrey Campeones (AL) Seven straight division titles. 4. Seattle Picards (NL) Perfecting the art of the 3-run HR. 5. Ottawa Ice (AL) Solid team built around superstars SP Trenidad Espinosa , 1B Alex Valdes . 6. Helena Howling Sukube (AL) Coming off franchise best W-L record. 7. Vancouver Maintaineers (NL) Streaky. Dangerous. Canadian. 8. Cincinnati Roses (AL) Mid-season trades put them over the top. Can they keep it up? 9. Louisville Redbirds (NL) Full of ML-ready prospects. 10. Iowa City Tornadoes (NL) Well-rounded offense and pitching staff.

International Signing Report Card

Roughly 20% into the season, we've already seen 24 international players sign on, with 5 of them landing bonuses north of $10 million. From time to time here we'll assess the respective value of these signings by assigning letter grades that consider the following: player projections, likelihood of reaching and performing at the big league level, age, size of investment, etc. You get the idea. (Keep in mind, this is all based upon my 14M advance scouting reports. Someone with $20m sunk into advance scouting[Las Vegas Jackson, etc], or $5[Fargo], for that matter, would see the prospects as worth more or less. We're probably close to the league average here.) SP Odalis Leon , Cleveland Spiders. $22m bonus. -While we only see his overall projection as 75, Leon offers the potential for excellent control, splits, and a superlative four-seam fastball that all equal a potential #1 ace. However, there is reason for concern: his secondary pitches are mediocre and need work beyond th...