Monday, October 29, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - MikeT23

Continuing on in our series of interviews of Mantle world owners, we move on to a relative newcomer in Mantle, MikeT23.  Well known in the world of HBD, particularly because of his participation in the WIS site forums, Mike joined Mantle in season 21 as the new owner of the Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes.

The winner of three division titles in his first five seasons in the AL West, Mike has continued the success enjoyed by this franchise, the former Portland Poltergeists.

Mike was interviewed by WIS as part of it's User Interview series just over a year ago, so rather than "reinvent the wheel" and reinterview him, we are just going to link to his WIS interview here.

WIS User Interview: MikeT23

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - diryn

Welcome to our latest "Meet Your Fellow Owner" interviews of Mantle World owners.  Today, we chat with diryn, the longtime owner of the Vancouver Fighting Skeletons franchise.  Diryn joined Mantle in season 11, and is now in his 16nd season of ownership.  The owner of four NL West division championships, he's still waiting for his first NL pennant and World Championship.  Let's find out a little bit about him.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Diryn: I'm 58, branch manager for Wells Fargo Bank. Married with five kids, three of whom are in college. Five, soon to be six, grandkids. Always lived in Bay area (East Bay). The A's, Raiders, Cal Bears, and Lakers are my favorite teams. Used to even go to LA once a year to see the Raiders until they returned to their real home. Cal Berkeley grad.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Diryn: Fantasy baseball, in same league on ESPN for eleven years now. Golf when I get a chance which isn't very often lately. Jogging; ran the Bay to Breakers this year.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Diryn: Basketball, baseball, and golf. Nothing organized beyond CYO, though. Adequate basketball player; not much of a hitter in baseball.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Diryn: Willie Mays without question is the best baseball player I have ever seen. Reggie, Juan Marichal, Dave Stewart, Tim Hudson are others. Lamonica, Stabler, Bo Jackson, Tim Brown for the Raiders, Jerry West and Magic for the Lakers. Grew up watching Craig Morton throw TD's for Cal.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Diryn: Juan Marichal's no hitter for the Giants against Houston when I was a kid. I was at the Raiders first Super Bowl win against the Vikings at the Rose Bowl in 1977. Watched John Madden being carried off the field by his players, which is not an easy feat.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Diryn: Really, marriage and my family - have been very lucky year after year to do many many things with my wife and family whether vacations, school/sports activities, etc. For one incident maybe the 89 earthquake: watching parked cars moving around, seeing transformers blow, driving home in darkness, finding out where everyone else was - a very strange and almost spooky experience that hopefully will never repeat itself.

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Diryn: Probably a light hitting good fielding shortstop; One career home run.

Thank you diryn for participating in our latest Mantle World Owner interview, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - goodtymes31

Welcome to our latest "Meet Your Fellow Owner" interviews of Mantle World owners.  We are now moving away from our original owners who have been here since day one, and on to some of the next group of owners who have been here since the early days.

Today, we chat with goodtymes31, the longtime owner of the Oakland Polish Hammers franchise.  Goodtymes31 joined Mantle in season 5, and is now in his 22nd season of ownership.  GT31 is still looking for his first Mantle World Championship, though he did take home the National League pennant way back in season 6, his second season in our world.  Let's find out a little bit about him.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Goodtymes31: I am a 29 Year Old District Manager for an import car company, born, raised, and finally back and living just southeast of Pittsburgh after some time in South Jersey and Baltmore. Huge fan of all of the Pittsburgh sports teams, but die hard Pirates fan. Also a Penn St Grad, so multiple collegiate alliances.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Goodtymes31: Started playing poker with the online poker boom, and have gotten to a point where it has become a nice little supplement to my income. Love to golf when I get the chance, and if there is a sports SIM out there, I have most likely either tried it, or am currently addicted to it.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Goodtymes31: Baseball has always been my passion. Played a little soccer and basketball, but pitched through high school, and even a little Semi Pro (well, that's what we called ourselves, basically 1 notch below the independent leagues) until real life didn't permit anymore.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Goodtymes31: This is an odd one, but Andy Van Slyke was my favorite player to watch growing up. Man could cover ground, and watching him throw during warm ups was amazinginly impressive.

Loved Tony Gwynn and Greg Maddux. There was just something so pure about the way they played the game that you don't really see anymore.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Goodtymes31: There were a couple, but all seem to be family related. The great thing about baseball is that the games allow for time to bond, and moments to bond over, so my two most memorable moments were being at Three Rivers Stadium with my dad when the Pirates clinched in 1992. Also got to take my three year old daughter to her first Pirates game this year (at her request), and even though we only made five innings, just having there with me in her Pirates jersey, asking questions, was priceless.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Goodtymes31: Going to try to keep this non family related, and avoid the obligatory "When I got married" or "When my daughter was born", those were a given. I got the fortunate experience as a junior in High School to travel with the local Boy Scout Troop to Philmont State Park, and hike the Rocky Mountains without a guide for two weeks. Got to see a bear up close, sleep in the mountains, do some climbing, and watched a tree get struck by lightning. Unlike any other experience I will probably ever have.

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Goodtymes31: Definitely a pitcher. High STA and DUR, splits around 45/50 or so. Velocity 10, control 90, P1 (fastball) 55, P2 90 (curveball), P3 20 (change up)

My bunt rating would be through the roof, easily maxed at 100.

Thank you goodtymes31 for participating in our latest Mantle World Owner interview, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - evegoe

Our latest Mantle World owner interview is with another original and long-time Mantle owner, evegoe.  As the owner of the San Francisco Oles franchise, he has had a fair amount of success in the AL West, winning 6 division titles and a pair of wild-card post season berths.  He took home back-to-back American League pennants in seasons 4 and 5, along with the World Series trophy in season 5.  After spending the first eight seasons in San Francisco, the Oles migrated north to Salem for seasons 9 through 15.  Despite winning records in five of those seven seasons, he did not see any post-season action in Salem.  His heart called him back to San Francisco in season 16, where he's been ever since.  He shares some of his background with us today.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Evegoe: I'm 33, live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and work for the University of Minnesota in IT doing business analysis and project management. I've also lived in Cedar Rapids, IA working for a newspaper and I just spent a year in Dublin, CA telecommuting for my current job. I'm married and adjusting to fatherhood as we just had our first child on September 21.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Evegoe: I'm a pretty big hockey fan who is bummed about the ongoing NHL lockout, but I follow the U of Minnesota hockey squad closely and will be writing for a fan website www.gopherpucklive.com during the season. I've tried my hand at quite a few sports, but focus on my golf game in the spring/summer and try to play beer league hockey a night or two a week during the fall/winter.

I played Gridiron Dynasty on a regular basis for a while, but getting up to 'recruit' twice during the night wore more down and I gave it up. I also play fantasy baseball and football.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Evegoe: I tried quite a bit growing up--soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, and basketball, but focused on football and hockey as I got into high school. And I stuck with the pigskin in college, playing a bit of D-III football as an offensive lineman.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Evegoe: Baseball-wise I was partial to Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and Ken Griffey Jr. I also loved watching Johan Santana pitch for the Twins. Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure, and Paul Kariya were my favorite NHL players growing up. Also Chris Doleman was probably my favorite Viking as youth.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Evegoe: A lot of fans remember the 1991 WS for Jack Buck's "And we'll see you tomorrow night" call, but I remember it because I was near the top of the stands in RF over the hefty bag with my mom watching the home town Twins on their way to win their second title.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Evegoe: Shanklsa said it best when qualifying his statement about being besides marriage/birth of a kid... because those two experiences stand out... but going sea kayaking with my wife on Kauai during my honeymoon stands out. The whole island is amazing and this day long trip was our favorite part of our time in Hawaii.

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Evegoe: I'd be a RF with horrible range and arm strength, slightly below average power/vL/vR rating, but a good contact, batting eye and temper.

Thank you evegoe for participating in our latest Mantle World Owner interview, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - raidersfan

Welcome to the fourth installment of our ongoing series of "Meet Your Fellow Owner" interviews of Mantle World owners.  Today we chat with another of our original Mantle owners, raidersfan, the long-time owner of the Minnesota Mighty Men / Cincinnati Mini Men.  As the Mighty Men, they won the season 19 World Series championship as the six-seed wild card team, knocking off both the two-seed New Britain.Blood Brothers and one-seed New York Apples to win the NL championship, before defeating the AL champs Baltimore Blast in seven games to take home the trophy.  Let's find out a little bit about raidersfan.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Raidersfan: I am a 29 yr old financial advisor originally from Buffalo, NY now living in NYC with my wife and puppy. I am a lifelong NY Mets, LA Lakers, Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Sabres Fan. Never lived on the West Coast despite the teams. Oakland goes back to something many from my generation will remember, Bo Jackson & Marcus Allen tearing stuff up in the original Techmo Super Bowl for Nintendo!.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Raidersfan: I was a Division I sprinter in college and am still an active runner, although not nearly at the level I was in my running prime. I also love collecting sports trading cards, primarily Baseball & Hockey. I also enjoy golfing when time will allow.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Raidersfan: Too too many, in High School I played Hockey, Baseball, Football, ran Indoor & Outdoor track, bowled and golfed in leagues, I even played soccer for 1 day back when I was like 5 years old, complained to my mom that it involved too much running and never played again, funny that a decade later everything I did revolved around my running career.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Raidersfan: Darryl Strawberry (Baseball), Time Brown, Marcus Allen and Bo (Football), Dave Andreychuk (Hockey), Magic Johnson (Basketball)










Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Raidersfan: My personal favorite experience was the first time I stepped onto the track at Penn Relays during College, the atmosphere of running in front of 50,000 people was just incredible and will remain with me forever. As a spectator my most memorable experience was watching the final game of Wayne Gretzky's career, I taped it with my parents VCR and was one of the only sports moments that brought me to tears knowing that one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports would no longer be playing and I wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing anymore of him.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Raidersfan: Well since I am married aside from the wedding itself I will go with the honeymoon, but I will be a bit more specific so noone gets the wrong idea. One of the things that we did while there was go to Volcano National Park and go to walk through the heart of the Volcanoes. It was truly an incredible experience and we even got to experience a few minor earthquakes while we were doing so!

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Raidersfan: I would probably be what I was when I played, a 2B or CF. I would bat leadoff and have a 70-80 contact rating and a 30ish power rating. I would have a high bunt, baserunning, speed rating. I actually had a guy in Fisk that reminded me a bit of what I thought I would look like as a HBD guy:


Thank you raidersfan for telling us a little about yourself, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - brendanjod

Welcome to the third installment of our ongoing series of "Meet Your Fellow Owner" interviews of Mantle World owners.  Today we chat with another of our original Mantle owners, brendanjod, the long-time owner of the Colorado Springs Mile High Marines.  The Mile High Marines are one of our former World Series champions as they took home the trophy in season 13, a seven game victory over shanklsa and the Louisville Beaners.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Brendanjod: 33-year old living in the Bay Area with his family and working in the electronics industry.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Brendanjod: Spending time with my family. Watching and following baseball religiously. Playing fantasy sports.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Brendanjod: Baseball, basketball, and golf.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Brendanjod: Kirby Puckett and Bo Jackson.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Brendanjod: Being at Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when I was 12 years old with my family. Still the greatest World Series game ever in my opinion with Jack Morris throwing all 10 innings and the Twins walking off on Gene Larkin's hit against the Braves.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Brendanjod: (1) Marrying my wife and my daughter being born; and (2) Serving our country in the Marine Corps and doing two tours in Iraq

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Brendanjod: RP - 95 control (never walked a batter pitching in my HS career). Splits of 45 and 45 vs. RH and LH hitters. Top pitch of 70 although it should be variable since I threw a knuckleball. As my catcher in HS said... "it doesn't always knuckle like you think it does, but at least it acts as a change up if nothing else."

Thank you brendanjod for telling us a little about yourself, and good luck to you this season and onward.

And not least of all, thank you for your service to our country.  Semper Fi!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - sir_slamalot

Our second Manntle World owner interview is with another original Mantle owner, sir_slamalot.  "Slam" was here for the first 15 seasons of Mantle as the owner of the Buffalo/Burlington franchise before taking a one season sabbatical away from Mantle.  He came back in season 17 to spend a season in the National League before an opportunity opened up for him to reclaim his original franchise in season 18.  Slam has a Mantle World Series trophy on his resume for the Blizzard's championship in season 11.  He shares some of his background with us today.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Sir_slamalot: I'm a 39 year old advertising executive living in the Charlotte, NC area. I'm originally from Bristol, CT, home of ESPN. Since CT had no professional sports teams outside of the Hartford Whalers, most of my favorite teams were chosen by being the rival of my older brother's favorite teams. I'm a Yankees, Steelers, Sixers and Boston Bruins fan. I graduated from Seton Hall University so I'm also a die-hard SHU Pirates college basketball fan.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Sir_slamalot: My main "hobby" outside of HBD is marathon running. I've run 39 marathons to date and will run marathon #40 in Atlanta in a few weeks. I've run marathons everywhere from Paris to Montreal to Australia, although these days I mostly stay local.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Sir_slamalot: I grew up in sports family. My dad was a college basketball referee and baseball/softball umpire so I went with him wherever he was working. I played just about any sport you could imagine growing up, but baseball was always my best sport. In my mid-twenties, I played baseball for a semi-pro team in Baltimore, MD called the Baltimore Bison and played until I was 36.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Sir_slamalot: Graig Nettles was my favorite baseball player when I was growing up. Nettles diving to his left was the best there was in my opinion. I also developed a liking for Paul Molitor who was just a hitting machine. 70s & 80s baseball was my era and there are a ton of players I loved to watch back in the day.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Sir_slamalot: My favorite real-life sports experience was probably catching a foul ball (off my chest) at the old Yankee Stadium. Paul O'Neill was batting and Dennis Eckersley was on the hill. I could also tell you about the time my brother and I were getting Chet Lemon's autograph and he asked my brother to go "hit" his girlfriend in the crowd so he could say hello to her. Pretty cool when you're 10 years old or so. SHU coming from 17 points down in the 2nd half to beat Arizona in the NCAA Tourney is right up there as well.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Sir_slamalot: I'd probably say trekking around Australia for 6 months when I was in college - climbing Uluru/Ayers Rock was a pretty amazing feat. Not difficult, just amazing.

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Sir_slamalot: If I was an HBD player, I would've been very similar to former Blizzard great, Gus Zhang. Great contact, average power, solid splits, very good speed and could play anywhere in the field, but best suited for CF

Thank you sir_slamalot for participating in our second Mantle World Owner interview, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Hopefully, more owner interviews to come.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Mantle World Owner Interview - shanklsa

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be an ongoing series of "Meet Your Fellow Owner" interviews of Mantle World owners.  I'm starting with the original Mantle owners, the guys who have been here since day one of season one.

Today, we get to meet owner shanklsa, the longtime owner of the Louisville Beaners / Little Rock Cigars franchise.

Tec: Tell us a little about yourself.

Shanklsa: I'm 32 and a software engineer for ADP. Grew up in NE Ohio so I'm a fan of Cleveland teams and Ohio State. Subsequently graduated from the University of Cincinnati and live in the area. Have Reds season tickets and root for them but still hate the Bengals.

Tec: Outside of Hardball Dynasty, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?

Shanklsa: Golf, softball, poker.

Tec: Did you play any sports growing up?

Shanklsa: Basketball, baseball, and golf.

Tec: Who are your favorite all-time players?

Shanklsa: Mark Price, Jim Thome, Nolan Ryan, Larry Bird, Joe Montana.

Tec: What has been your favorite real-life sports experience or memory?

Shanklsa: Wow, tough one. I guess being at the 2006 football game between #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan.

Tec: What's been your most memorable non-sports experience in your life?

Shanklsa: Outside from the normal getting married/kid being born answer I would say winning a 200+ player poker tourney in Vegas.

Tec: If you were an HBD player, what position would you play and what would your ratings be?

Shanklsa: I would be a 2B with great defensive skills, decent contact, and no power.

Thank you shanklsa for participating in our first Mantle World Owner interview, and good luck to you this season and onward.

Hopefully, more owner interviews to come.