Baseball Stratogists

About Us

Welcome to the Web site designed for those seeking a competitive edge in Strat-O-Matic baseball. 'Baseball Stratogists' was created by three Strat buffs and game veterans (Dave Welch, Rick Speciale, and Mike San Clemente) as the essential guide to good drafting and better game play. Listed below is a short bio for each of our editors and feature writer, as well as some of those who contribute to this Web site.

David Welch • Editor-at-Large

Welch has been playing Strat-o-Matic for 21 years, starting with the old dice and cards set in his garage and playing such teams as the '82 Expos and '84 Tigers. He now plays in two leagues, one a 26-team league that allows for building near all-star lineups and another, more realistic league with 30 teams, player salaries and free agency. He also plays baseball in the Detroit Men's Senior Baseball League. Welch is a writer for Business Week magazine and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in English and economics.

A few facts:

Favorite Strat team: The '84 Tigers. We had a two-round draft of payers from teams we didn't use. I took Bert Blyleven and Britt Burns.
Talk about a pitching staff!
Favorite Strat card: Tim Raines '82 card. He had the rare AAA steal rating.
Favorite baseball moment: Winning a low-rent hardball league championship with Managing Editor Mike San Clemente in 1995.

Rick Speciale • Feature Writer

Speciale has been playing Strat-o-Matic for 16 years. He also plays baseball in the Australian Major League Baseball association. Speciale is a Marketing Manager for BD Welsh and Co.

A few facts:

Education: Master's of Business Administration, University of Connecticut, 1995.
Favorite Strat team: The '85 St. Louis Cardinals were fun to steal.
Favorite Strat card: JD Drew's rookie card with limited at bats - think Barry Bonds with more homers and less walks.
Favorite baseball moment: (Aside from the Mets kicking the Red Sox butts in 1986) Sneaking onto the field at Shea Stadium in 1986 during pre-game, accidentally being led into the dugout to meet the entire 1986 championship roster, then being kicked out when they realised I was not a family member.

Mike SanClemente • Managing Editor

SanClemente has been writing about baseball since 1987, the last 15 years with Boston Baseball magazine. During the day he works for a major food company as a Marketing & Sales Analyst. He's been playing Strat-O-Matic since 1982, including founding 2 leagues and a stint as Commissioner for 3 years, and has played amateur baseball since 1994.

Education: Master's of Business Administration, University of Texas at Austin, 1999.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic player: 1982 Bruce Kison, California Angels, my first-ever number one starter.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic moment: 2002 Fred McGriff homers in 5 consecutive at-bats for my play-by-mail team.
Favorite baseball moment: The sum of my 30-odd interviews over the years, especially those with Torii Hunter, Phil Plantier, Nolan Ryan, Joe Vitiello,& Don Zimmer.

Thomas Fischer • Web Master & Contributing Writer

Fischer has been designing Strat-O-Matic League Web sites for seven years and writing about baseball since 1995, originally contributing to the Schwartz League News, a Strat-O-Matic FTF League which began play in 1995. He's been playing Strat-O-Matic since 1983, including founding the American Association in 2003, and has held the commissioner position in five leagues for a total of 12 years. Tom also played amateur baseball from 1990 to 1995, including one year of baseball at Blackburn University in Illinois.

Education: Associate of Applied Science in Web Development, Baker College, Owosso, Michigan, 2006.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic Player: 1994 Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros, my 2nd round pick after Pudge in initial draft of Schwartz League in 1995. Bag's put up some HUGE numbers and help me win 96 games and my division.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic moment: 2004 winning my first ever Strat-O-Matic Baseball Championship in the Rob Murphy Winter Strat-O-Matic Baseball League.
Favorite baseball moment: Taking my father to Tiger Stadium for the final time on September 27, 1999, the last game played at THE CORNER. Rob Fick hit a grand slam on a Jeff Montgomery fastball off the facing of the third deck in right field. The blast insured the Tigers 8-2 victory in their last game at historic Tiger Stadium.

Michael Petersen • Contributing Writer

Michael has been playing Strat-O-Matic for over 20 years. He enjoys participating in various leagues, both current season and retro leagues. Growing up just south of Boston, he is a diehard fan of all the New England teams. Michael is a Database Architect and Developer for a Technical Support Call Center firm in Maine.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, University of Maine, 1995.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic Moment: Still waiting on my first no-hitter! The waiting and suspense of this rare event is a moment in itself.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic Card: 2000 Pedro Martinez vs. Lefties. Full of strikeouts and not a Walk or Hit on it.
Favorite Baseball Moment: This says it best: "Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions! For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship! Can you believe it!" Joe Castiglione, 10/27/2004

Rodger Long • Contributing Writer

Rodger has been playing Strat-O-Matic for over 30 years. He enjoys participating in various leagues, both current season and retro leagues. Lives in sunny southern California and is an Angel season ticket holder. Rodger is a Project Analyst for Boeing

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business, Cal Poly Pomona, 1983. MBA University of La Verne, 1992
Favorite Strat-O-Matic Moment: Having a 3 Peat in retro replay league.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic Card: 1971 Hank Aaron card - what a masher. My favorite season too.
Favorite Baseball Moment: Being at Game 6 and 7 of the 2002 World Series with the Angels FINALLY winning a Word Championship.

Paul Coffey • Contributing Writer

Coffey has been playing SOMBB since 1983, first learning to play the game with the 1977 and 1978 seasons. He co-founded his first league in 1985 and it is still currently active to this day. However, partial and suspended seasons did occur due to minor distractions/diversions such as college, marriage, kids, etc. While life has a funny way of reprioritizing a man's commitment and passions, SOMBB still remains a lifelong interest. He is an Accounting Manager for a major global insurance company. He stills play recreation softball, but his CF-1 (-4) rating has slipped to a LF-2 (-2) as age has eroded his skill set. Further deterioration to Jermaine Dye territory is expected.

Education: Southern Connecticut State University, Bachelors in Accounting, 1993; Masters in Business Administration, University of Hartford, 2005.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic player: Roger Clemens.
Favorite Strat-O-Matic moment: Writing a letter to SOMBB at age 15 to tell them to use a twenty sided die instead of those cheesey split cards that were susceptible to manipulation. The following year the game came with a twenty sider.
Favorite baseball moment: November 1, 2001: standing with 55,862 other patrons at the hallowed house that Ruth built in the bottom of the 10th watching BY Kim come set to Mr. November, Derek Jeter, with the count full - a typical inside outside swing by Jetes and it carried over the rightfield wall to put the Yanks up 3 games to 2. Awesome.

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