Former baseball stars come to life in old-school board game

Imagine playing a baseball game with a lineup that includes Honus Wagner, Rickey Henderson, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Bill Madlock and Carl Yastrzemski.

Randy Johnson is your starting pitcher and the relievers are Rod Beck and Dennis Eckersley.

Your opponent is countering with Tony Gwynn, Frankie Frisch, Babe Ruth, Larry Walker, Wade Boggs and Kirby Puckett in the field, while starting Tom Glavine and having Dizzy Dean, Troy Percival and John Wetteland available in relief.

Sounds pretty incredible, huh?

Well, that is exactly how my son and I are passing parts of our days with the stay-at-home order in effect due to COVID-19.

The game is called Superstar Baseball, and it was purchased for me by my grandmother 40 years ago.

My brother and I spent countless hours matching wits and/or playing solo during the 1980s, learning the intricate details of players from a bygone era.

Still seared into my brain are the batting averages of Ty Cobb (.367) Rogers Hornsby (.358), Joe Jackson (.356), Babe Ruth (.342), Harry Heilmann (.342), Nap Lajoie (.339) and Frank "Home Run" Baker (.307).

Every card in the original game shows career stats but also details what kind of player - and sometimes - person they were.

• On Hornsby's card: "An outspoken individualist with a reputation for brawling and drinking, Hornsby, like Cobb, was not the most popular ballplayer of his time."

• Baker's: "(He) led the league in home runs four consecutive years, 1911-14; and then became one of the first Major Leaguers to hold out for an entire year in 1915. ... Baker also used one of the heaviest bats in Major League history, 52 ounces."

Our family's trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 is one we'll never forget - thanks in large part to Superstar Baseball.

"We were the only teenagers geeking out over George Sisler and Bill Dickey," says my brother, Matt, 30-plus years after our Cooperstown visit.

Play ball!

You can select teams in a variety of ways. I separated the players based on ability and position, then we randomly selected 15 batters and 8 pitchers for each squad. You could easily have a draft, though, to make sure your favorite players end up on your team.

Game play is pretty straightforward. Dice are rolled to determine the outcome of each at-bat. The pitcher rolls first to see if an automatic out is recorded; if it's not, the batter gets his chance.

The best part is that you are in charge.

Honus Wagner has just led off with a single. Should he steal right away or wait to see what Jackie Robinson does? Let's say you wait and Robinson doubles, moving Wagner to third.

Now Duke Snider hits a flyball. Sometimes it's an automatic sacrifice fly, but sometimes it's a medium-length fly and you have to decide if Wagner should tag up and sprint for the plate.

You can play with National League rules or American League rules ... or both if you play with enough teams to create a full-fledged season (as we have done).

In my son's second-ever game, Bobby Bonds hit a walk off grand slam in the 10th inning after Nellie Fox, Billy Williams and Ty Cobb all reached safely.

We were howling in the living room.

How to get started

Though the game says 'For Ages 12 & Up' it's really for anyone who can appreciate the nation's past time, whether you're in third grade or still have vivid memories of heading to the ballpark as a kid to watch Mickey Mantle or Ernie Banks in person.

There are two ways to purchase it on eBay:

• Search for "Superstar Baseball board game" and you will find a couple of auctions.

• The version we purchased for just $40 includes hundreds of updated players, including Frank Thomas, Ryne Sandberg, Sammy Sosa, Derek Jeter, Vladimir Guererro, David Ortiz, Josh Hamilton and pitchers like Greg Maddux, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter, Justin Verlander, John Smoltz, Max Scherzer and Brad Lidge.

Unfortunately, the creator of these cards has temporarily removed them from eBay due to COVID-19. He will be reposting them once the pandemic is over, but says he only has 20 sets left and then is retiring from card making. (Dice are not included, but you can buy those separately).

Expand your mind

Either version is worth checking out. Games take less than an hour and you can easily create a four-team league with the original version. (My son and I are being quite ambitious and playing a 36-game season with 12 teams).

I credit Superstar Baseball for quite a lot.

• My math skills grew exponentially over the years. I could instantly rattle off any batting average of players with 20 at-bats.

• The unique dice give you a greater understanding of how to figure out probability of a likely outcome. This skill will grow in your child as he or she gets older.

• Becoming a baseball manager makes you truly dive in to how the game is played. Should I remove the pitcher for a pinch-hitter, then go to the bullpen? Bring in a pinch-runner for a slow catcher and steal?

• Finally, I truly credit Superstar Baseball for turning me into a sports writer. While you aren't actually writing stories, you can't help but become an announcer as the game is going on. In some little way that helped me tell stories in print years later.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to see if Christy Mathewson has what it takes to get out of this bases-loaded jam with Ted Williams at the plate ...