[RubeBaker]

Not going to lie, when Perfect Team was first rolled out last year, I was a bit skeptical. I preferred to play OOTP the way I had always played it and thought at first that Perfect Team might be taking something away from it. I am happy to admit that any skepticism I had was proved unwarranted when on New Year's I FINALLY decided to jump into the fray and create my team.

It has been so much fun playing the game and what I enjoy the most is the historical players that I remember when I was a kid or guys that I never even heard of like Fred Newman from the 1964 Angels who has turned into a beast for my pitching staff. I wanted Kerry Wood and still do, but Wilbur Wood has been an unexpected star of my rotation. And sometimes I get packs that are "duds", but then there are the pleasant surprises which yield "studs".

At first, I was buying at least several bronze packs and gold packs in a week, but I have cut back to saving my points and using the gold packs sparingly and it has paid off. I think a lot of times we focus on the stars and big names, but often it is the lesser-known players who help your team win. My team is the Gators named after my high school team and our first year we went 80-82. The second year we went 104-58 and made the playoffs and this year we're on track to make the playoffs again. I usually try to keep my roster at a maximum of 40 players. The first year I was trying to figure out the game and it was a year of transition and adjustment, but if you practice and get more packs you will get better the more you play.

My biggest star is one-year wonder Mark Prior from 2003. Prior is a 96 and he has been an absolute stud for my pitching staff. I love playing Perfect Team and if you haven't played it yet, you really should. It is so much fun and I can't wait for the future of this game!