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

Anaheim Anteaters Future Shock: Top 10 Prospects

1/ SP Hugh Palmer . Age 24. AAA. ETA: S10 Selected 13th in the 1st round of the S6 draft, Palmer dominated the lower minors and has averaged a 16-4/3.35 record in 3 minor league seasons. Palmer's big calling card has been the punchout as he's K'd 502 batters in 51o frames. His heater is in the mid-90s and still developing. Palmer comes with 2 good pitchers, the fastball and slider, but could use a better forkball and curveball to sharpen his repertoire. Palmer's about a season away from the bigs and projects to a solid #2 or #3 starter. 2/ SP Vasco Almonte . Age 22. AAA. ETA: S10 A former 1st round draft pick by Atlanta/Chicago, Almonte was traded to Anaheim for fellow prospect Tony Mendoza . Almonte has been consistent in the minors, if unspectacular, with a 4.15 era and 1.32 whip. However, Almonte is just 22 and has progressed quickly through the minors with a AAA season already in the books. If he continues to develop his fastball and change-up he can become a stalwa...

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 ...

Recent HBD Update

The March 6 update to the HBD engine features some important developments we should all be aware of. mnnorthstars mentioned one of these in the chat page: Spring Training playing time now has increased importance. Specifically, those with adequate playing time could get a friendlier boost in ratings, and big league players who don't get enough playing time can take a hit in their ratings. This latter element is the key thing here to note. As far as what equals adequate( or as tzentmeyer called it "enough") playing time, we don't know yet. Since this update is so recent, there have yet to be any studies in the forum. Before the update, I tried to get as many players as possible 40 at bats and 15-20 innings for starting pitchers to capture the Spring ratings boost. Perhaps when ST is over some of us can report back here with the varying results of playing time. The other update to the engine involes rookies and big league service time. Previously, you could call up rook...