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Where to Buy the RallyBird Baseball Board Game? Plus: a Shape

Hello! I am fielding (get it?) inquiries about where to purchase the RallyBird Baseball board game.

At this time, June 2018, this is the only source: [Update: amazon and eBay. ]

Generally when I write about other things and mention the name of the game, I link it to that website, as I did in the first sentence above.

Now, what’s that I said in my title about a shape? I am constructing the physical shape of the type of At Bat called a Sacrifice. I’m trying to provide novel ways of approaching topics subject to over a hundred years of ferment, brains, brooding, and volume. I think I can offer that with my semi intuitive, math-informed poetic approach to baseball topics. An example is my previous videos such as Baseball Has Dynamic Topography.

Baseball is famous for its statistics, in part because it’s possible to isolate play events to individuals. Statistics as a field is famous for its ability to support lies, and for its revelations so powerful that in recent memory has transformed the way managers command their baseball teams. As a result, fans even say “statistics are ruining the game of baseball” — sometimes.

I’m reading (off and on) a recent book about baseball statistics that mocks baseball stat traditions like the RBI as meaningless. Isn’t that shocking? I am not arguing about that detail. I respect statistics–in fact I loved the class I took on it in high school. I just think I can offer something different, such as a shape. It might be a bit like Special Agent Dale Cooper’s intuitive approach to investigation in Twin Peaks…

So my working title on my next video is The Shape of the Sacrifice. It’s a way for me to mull through the multiple variables in evaluating the Sacrifice tactic, an issue that fascinates me. That’s why I included 3 kinds of Sacrifice available to the Offense in the RallyBird Baseball Board Game.

Final note: It looks like it wasn’t human error that botched my previous 2 videos–the explanation of the rules to a new player, and a complete game session. The microphone is faulty. J’accuse! I ordered a new, different one. We’ll see… or rather hear…

Preparations for the Next RallyBird Baseball Video. Topic: “Sacrifice” At Bats

With the assistance of graphs (see pic) I’m gathering my thoughts for my next RallyBird Baseball video to add to my previous five available on YouTube here.

SacFlyVideoPrepJune12,2018

While I can offer no computer graphics, I do offer my fuzzy, halting, semi-articulate, grainy human self. At least there are no PowerPoint slides, right?

Note to human self: turn on the microphone.

How to Contact the RallyBird Baseball HQ

Feel free to send me your comments or questions about the RallyBird Baseball board game. What’s the best way to take bring home your runners on base? What are the pros and cons of certain defensive postures? I’d love to see pictures of your play sessions, and hear the details of your inning drama:

Screen Shot 2018-03-16 at 3.28.22 PM

Thank you!

Additions to the RallyBird Baseball Beginner’s Guide

Discussions with early purchasers of the game motivated me to make a few pointed additions to the Beginner’s Guide pages of the RallyBird Baseball rules. These all have to do with the individual details of the cards–the ways in which they stand out from each other. A casual glance from a new player may not be enough to notice these idiosyncrasies.  (You can learn more about my rationale for it by watching my video explanation of baseball’s asymmetricity.) These At Bat differences will impact the success or failure of your offensive decisions.

You can see these changes in the red font of this screen capture:

Screen Shot 2018-06-05 at 12.20.19 PM

To be clear, none of this changes any rules or text on the cards. These discussions by the way are so helpful. I welcome your comments and questions. Play ball!