Strat-O-Matic faithful begin 40th season

By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer

¶   GLEN HEAD, N.Y. (AP)  _  Just days before pitchers and catchers report, Strat-O-Matic baseball loyalists lined up in a railroad station parking lot on Friday for Opening Day of the popular game's 40th season.
¶   This is a ritual, followed annually by players who travel from as far away as Ohio and Florida, Canada and Kentucky, addicts to a game Hal Richman invented 40 years ago.
¶   ``We had 75 people in a blizzard one year,'' he said.  Friday's climate was kinder and the crowd much larger than that.
¶   Opening Day is no small matter in the Strat-O-Matic world and this one was extra special because of the anniversary.
¶   Bill Sindelar, one of Richman's first customers, made a nine-hour drive from Cleveland for the occasion. ``It's my first Opening Day,'' he said, sounding solemn, almost emotional about the occasion.
¶   Over the years, the game has attracted a loyal following. Some of the customers are celebrities. Moviemaker Spike Lee and actor Tim Robbins are players. So are sportscasters Bob Costas and Jon Miller. Ex-major leaguers Jim Kaat, Dale Murphy and Cal Ripken, Jr., too.  
¶   An hour before the faithful were allowed in the small building to pick up their games, Richman unveiled a 3-foot mock-up of the new Barry Bonds card _ the most prolific offensive card in the game's history.
¶   Richman is in awe of Bonds' 73-home run season. ``Bonds hit a home run every 6.5 at-bats,'' he said. ``Babe Ruth was one every nine at-bats. The average is one every 30.5. Barry Bonds is Roy Hobbs.''
¶   And so Bonds' 2001 card is weighted accordingly. The fans in the parking lot recognized that immediately. There were appreciative oohs and aahs from the crowd.
¶   Kenny Marino would have been hooting and hollering. He played Strat-O-Matic religiously, enrolled in a number of leagues. He kept meticulous statistics and even built a model ballpark. Each year, he made the 90-minute drive from Monroe, N.Y. for Opening Day.
¶   On Friday, Katrina Marino made that drive for her husband, a New York City fireman who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11. Richman presented her with the game her husband would have been picking up.
¶   One of the Strat-O-Matic loyalists is Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Doug Glanville. ``He complained one year about his defensive rating,'' Richman said. ``I gave him a two and he wanted a one.''
¶   The lowest defensive rating in Planet Strat-O-Matic is a five. That was the number assigned to Gregg Jefferies when he was unfortunate enough to try playing left field in Philadelphia.
¶   In a town where they have booing down to a science, this was unbelievable ammunition.
¶   ``The fans kept yelling at him, `You're a five! You're a five!' '' Richman said.
¶   Poor Jefferies stood there with a quizzical look on his face, wondering what that was all about. Glanville knew, though.
¶   ``He was over there in center field,'' Richman said, ``doubled over laughing.''