Update: June 19, 1942

For the past few weeks, I've rambled on Love, Life and APBA about being old, about a friend's divorce, about love and death and about the junk food I cram in my mouth while playing the games..

That's part of life and all, but, those of us who play APBA know the key point: The game is really the main thing. It's why we spend time away from other things. It's why we play. And with that in mind, I'm providing an update of the 1942 season I'm replaying.

I've reached June 19, 1942, and am more than 40 percent completed with the season. I'm finding it's a good year to replay, despite some of the players having been drafted for the war that year and not receiving an APBA card .

Here are the standings and leaders as of June 19

American League W L GB

New York            40 19   -

St. Louis              37 26   5

Detroit                 36 30   7.5

Boston                 31 28   9

Washington         29 32   12

Cleveland            29 33   12.5

Chicago               23 37   17.5

Philadelphia         23 43  20.5

Boston's Ted Williams and Rudy York of Detroit lead the AL with 15 home runs each. Charlie Keller has 11 for the Yankees. Denny Galehouse is pacing the St. Louis Browns with 10 victories so far, and Hal Manders has 10 saves for the Tigers.

National League W L GB

Brooklyn            41 16   -

St. Louis            38 18  2.5

Boston               32 26  9.5

New York          29 33 14.5

Pittsburgh          29 33 14.5

Cincinnati         27 34  16

Chicago            26 37  18

Philadelphia     23 38   20

There are two things bearing watching in the National League so far. The first is the competition between the Dodgers and the Cardinals. The two teams split victories on June 18 and 19 and have three more games to play, including a doubleheader on June 21. Dolph Camilli is tied with Max West of the Boston Braves with 15 home runs.

The second story is the Boston Braves. Along with West, Jim Tobin is a key for their surprising success. Tobin leads the league with 10 victories and Al Javery is second with nine wins for the Braves. In the real baseball season, Boston was 27-39 on June 19 (I play the full season and don't include rainouts. Remember my mantra: There are never rainouts or player strikes in APBA.)

The season moves along. There are the typical peaks and valleys, the enthusiasm and the burnouts that come naturally when doing a season replay game-by-game, inning-by-inning, dice roll-by-dice roll.

I should reach the halfway point of this season, perhaps, by early September, meaning I can possibly complete this season in 10 months. And when it's finished, like always, there are more seasons in the APBA closet waiting to come out. There are more stories in those cards like Max West's story and the rivalry like the Cardinals and Brooklyn. It's why we play this game.