LOS ANGELES _ The lineups Dave Roberts and Gabe Kapler constructed for the upcoming battle of all-time greats between Southern California and Northern California _ the Golden Greats: I-5 Series _ and unveiled in a Zoom call Tuesday are stacked.
Coming up with them was not easy. Both managers did their homework. They studied the numbers _ traditional and advanced. They asked people for their opinions. There was even some gamesmanship behind the scenes.
Roberts went as far as creating two lineups depending on who Kapler chose as his Game 1 starter _ one for Randy Johnson, a left-hander, and another for right-hander Tom Seaver. Kapler chose Johnson to start Game 1 and Roberts chose to drop Tony Gwynn _ yes, that Tony Gwynn _ to the eighth spot in his batting order.
And, as always when managers make any decisions, there were questions.
With the seven-game computer-simulated American Professional Baseball Association (APBA) series scheduled to start Tuesday, let's take a look at some of the questions the managers faced _ about their thought processes, the finished products, and the people in them _ during last Tuesday's video chat.
First, a refresher on the lineups.
