Enhanced Base Running for HISTORY MAKER BASEBALL

Since HMB was released, a number of folks have come up with their own ways to add more detail and depth to the base running aspect of the game. This idea was posted by Ron Kalmoe recently on the PLAAY Games Delphi Forum, and I thought I'd give it a little extra exposure by highlighting it in the newsletter. Here's Ron's post as it appeared in the forum [with some mild editing]...

It's time I give back to the HISTORY MAKER BASEBALL community! I got exposed to this gem of a game a couple years ago, and have played somewhere over 1600 games by now. And, of course, we all tweak the game to how we like it. I have the 2016 fictional set and the 1971 season set. For the '71 season, I have researched (per Al Wilson's newsletter article from July, 2017) the base running abilities for the players as a separate attribute than the stealing attribute. I have laminated the entire set (makes it much easier).

I also thought it would be interesting if there was a way to increase double plays for STOIC batters. So on "2-x-x" results where there is a runner on first AND the batter is STOIC, I roll a decider die: "bullet" is a double play; "blank," is fielder's choice.

To balance this out, on "1-x-x" results where there is a runner on first AND the batter is ACTIVE, I also roll a decider die: "bullet," fielder's choice; "blank," double play.

Download a PDF of Ron's base running charts here, and follow along with Ron's instructions...

The way getting a JUMP works is pretty straightforward. If a "re-roll" is required, the three columns to the right factor in the runner's base running quality.

Stealing: I treat all the "ACTIVE steals!," the "Stolen Base [STOIC holds]," and the "2-6-6" result to all be a free "Get a JUMP" opportunity, and you MAY attempt the steal using the modified chart I created for this.

First, roll one die; if a re-roll occurs, roll to find the result on one of the three columns to the right. These columns factor in the catcher's rating and the runner's stealing rating (it might result in an error).

For the "2-6-6" result, it might result in a "Picked Off" result, an error, or an attempted stolen base.

As an aside, for the '71 season the league stolen base percentage was about 63%. After about 700 games played, the tables I created have generated about the same percentage.