Owner Interview - aumackenzie

 

Owner Interview with aumackenzie

 

When it comes to long time owners, aumackenzie has seen more than his fair share of action on the diamond in AU.  He has put together an impressive string of 216 seasons and probably more impressive 21 titles.  So as you can see he has little time to waste and let’s get right to it:

 

“aumackenzie, I appreciate you taking the time to share your history and thoughts with us.  Where are you from?”

“I live in the mountains in Colorado.”

“ What is your favorite team and when did you start following baseball?”

“Atlanta Braves - started following the Braves on TBS and going to the occasional game when I moved to the south in 1982 - started that season 13-0, stuck ever since.”

“Who was your favorite player growing up?”

“I've had a few but it was Dale Murphy on those early Braves teams.  Favorite non-Brave was Ozzie Smith.”

“What is your favorite baseball memory?”

“Probably the day Sid slid - 1992 NLCS.”

“How did you find HBD?”

“Friend of a friend told me about it.”

“How many teams are you comfortable running at one time?”

“I think 3-4 are manageable unless work gets really busy.  Then I start missing things.”

“How do you like to build your teams?”

“Pitching first, you need an ace or two to win the WS and I like to have a deep bullpen, control ratings over 80, average vl and vr above 70.  I've never slugged my way to a WS. Balance on offense, defense key at SS/CF/2B, but should have 1 MVP worthy bat in the lineup.”

“What is your favorite HBD team?”

“This Monterrey squad is pretty good, never won 4 WS in 5 years and still competitive. S63 squad here was loaded but I inherited a lot of it.  Favorite might be a team I had in AU that won 113 games and the WS behind 300-game winner Ehire Claudio and MVP Julius O'Malley.  Built that squad from scratch, only won 65/year 1st 3 seasons there.”

“What is your favorite aspect of HBD?”

“I just enjoy re-building teams, even ones I tear down myself, figuring out how to win with different types of squads.”

“What would be the one thing you’d change about the HBD?”

“Two biggest for me are coach firing during the season, and inability to fully recover from injuries that happen at the end of the season.  Injuries are frustrating but as a Braves fan watching guys like Smith-Shawver, Strider, and Soroka go down and maybe never recover, it's part of the game.”

“Thanks a lot, mac.  Truly appreciate you taking the time.”