Real name: Vic Caleca
IP: 172.6.100.78
Email: vcaleca@aol.com
Applying for: New Applicant
Reason for applying:
First/Last Name: Victor CalecaBecause I’ll be a diligent, creative and active participant in the league, especially on the writing end. What appeals to me about the Brewster Baseball Association and the PEBA (which is the only other league I’m involved with) is the opportunity to create an alternative history through frequent and detailed stories in a number of formats: press releases, newspaper stories, roundtable discussion transcripts, diaries, etc. Although I enjoy competing and try my best to field a winning team each season, the creative opportunity is as big a draw for me. I like the idea of getting in at (or near) the beginning of the UMEBA to have a chance to chronicle the early days of a franchise.
City/State/Country: Fishers/Indiana/USA
Email Address: vcaleca@aol.com
OOTP Forums Username: vcaleca
Desired Forum Username: HoosierVic
Date of Birth (MM/DD/YY) for in-game purposes: 07/11/1998 for in-game. Real life birthday is 07/11/1956
Occupation: Retired newspaper editor and reporter; also worked a few years in media relations at a university.
Other OOTP Leagues (with links): PEBA - http://pebabaseball.com/ (I run the Scottish Claymores franchise - and I would continue to do so - I have no desire to leave PEBA).
Have you read the BBA Constitution and agree to abide by its rules?: I have, and I do.
Do you own the current version of OOTP, and plan to buy all future versions?: Yes - I have 19 and 20 currently installed.
Do you understand the Participation Point System, and agree to be a regular contributor to our community?: Yes, I do. And I do promise to contribute- to the point that you would likely tell me to cool it. I feel like I’m currently overwhelming the PEBA boards a bit ...
What interests you about the BBA?: As I said earlier, I like the Brewster Association’s tradition as a writing league, and I’m eager to be in a league that takes the tradition seriously and where more than a handful of members contribute. I like the idea of creating a team, peopling it with interesting personalities and bringing the simulation to life.
Describe your GM style: I’m not particularly a wheeler/dealer, but I do make trades - sometimes big ones. If you look at the PEBA homepage, check out the story about “A slugger comes to Scotland.” It’s a piece I wrote about my team’s biggest trade of the season, made in hopes of locking down a wild card spot. I take advantage of free agency, too. I would not say I’m terrific at drafting amateur talent, but I’ve had some luck adding pieces through free agency. The one thing that really marks me as a GM, though, is I tend to write a lot about my team.
Have you ever answered to the alias "Al Hoot"? (a little BBA inside joke!): No, although I have been to Hawaii. And, on occasion, I have been known to say “Give a hoot, don’t pollute.” Does that count?
Tell us more about yourself: I worked for 30-some years as a newspaper reporter and editor, most of them at The Indianapolis Star, the metro daily in Indy. I covered everything from politics to cops to the environment and served as city editor and assistant managing editor, I secretly longed to be a baseball beat writer. The closest I got was a profile of Ernie Banks I wrote For the Northwestern University student newspaper. He took me out on the field at Wrigley and we stood on the pitchers mound and walked around the outfield - I touched the ivy. I’ve been married for 41 years, and my wife and I have a son and daughter, both grown, and a dog. I’ve been a lifelong Cubs fan, which (with the exception of 2016) has prepared me well to accept disappointment ...
How did you hear about the BBA?: I heard Matt interviewed on OOTP Now!, the podcast, and was really impressed by his description of the league and its traditions.