Fantasy Baseball 2016 > Fantasy Baseball History
Fantasy Baseball HistoryWe're such a bunch of baseball nerds that we've been doing Fantasy Baseball since 1992. When I say, "we," I mean most of us. We started out with a rotisserie-style 5-team league that kept 10 offensive categories and 6 pitching categories in 1992, way back before the days of the internet. That's right: we know how to calculate ERA, WHIP, K/9, Batting Average and On-Base Percentage. But we're not nerds, of course.
In order to do our fantasy baseball stats every week, we had to make sure we got to a place called a "News Stand" (take that, Barnes and Noble!) every Wednesday to pick up the freshly-printed Baseball Weekly so we could do the stats by hand. It was awesome. And by "awesome" I mean "a total pain in the ass" but it was somehow worth it to us because we're a bunch of dorks. Historical Fantasy Baseball Season: |
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1st Pick
Napa Criminally Insane (2nd Place) 1. Howard Johnson SS 2. Julio Franco 2b 3. Will Clark 1b 4. Barry Bonds OF 5. Matt Williams 3b 6. Jose Canseco OF 7. Bret Saberhagen SP 8. Mickey Tettleton C 9. Rob Dibble RP 10. Andre Dawson OF 11. Eric Davis OF 12. Mike Greenwell OF 13. David Cone SP 14. Rickey Henderson OF 15. Nolan Ryan SP 16. Tom Henke RP 17. Kelly Gruber 3b 18. Terry Steinbach C 19. Alan Trammell SS 20. Glenn Davis 1b 21. Gary Gaetti 3b 22. Paul O'Neill OF 23. Willie McGee OF 24. Orel Hershiser SP 25. Steve Sax 2b |
2nd Pick
Stimpy's Sluggers (5th Place) 1. Ryne Sandberg 2b 2. Craig Biggio C 3. Cecil Fielder 1b 4. Bobby Bonilla OF 5. Chris Sabo 3b 6. Travis Fryman SS 7. Steve Avery SP 8. Ron Gant 2b 9. Juan Gonzalez OF 10. Rick Aguilera RP 11. Mark Langston SP 12. Todd Zeile 3b 13. Alejandro Pena RP 14. Scott Erickson SP 15. Vince Coleman OF 16. Ozzie Guillen SS 17. John Kruk OF 18. Mike Moore SP 19. Marquis Grisson OF 20. Chili Davis OF 21. Roberto Kelly OF 22. Jeff Bagwell 1b 23. Delino DeShields 2b 24. John Smiley SP 25. Jeff Brantley RP |
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3rd Pick
Troll (1st Place) 1. Frank Thomas 1b 2. Barry Larkin SS 3. Roberto Alomar 2b 4. Robin Ventura 3b 5. Andy Van Slyke OF 6. Tony Gwynn OF 7. Benito Santiago C 8. Albert Belle OF 9. Mitch Williams RP 10. Frank Viola SP 11. Fred McGriff 1b 12. Steve Buechele 3b 13. Greg Swindell SP 14. Jim Abbott SP 15. Darren Daulton C 16. Jack McDowell SP 17. Joe Carter OF 18. Stan Belinda RP 19. Jay Bell 2b 20. Jay Buhner OF 21. Carlos Baerga 3b 22. Otis Nixon OF 23. Kevin Maas 1b 24. Shane Mack OF 25. Trevor Wilson SP |
4th Pick
Bakersfield Barracudas (3rd place) 1. Ken Griffey, Jr. OF 2. Ruben Sierra OF 3. Kirby Puckett OF 4. Wade Boggs 3b 5. Tom Glavine SP 6. Gregg Jeffries 3b 7. Wally Joyner 1b 8. Matt Nokes C 9. Bobby Thigpen RP 10. John Olerud 1b 11. Chuck Finley SP 12. Jose Rijo SP 13. Duane Ward RP 14. Dennis Martinez SP 15. Bill Spiers SS 16. Phil Plantier OF 17. Darryl Hamilton OF 18. Tony Fernandez SS 19. Tim Raines OF 20. Jody Reed 2b 21. Mike MacFarlane C 22. Ellis Burks OF 23. Edgar Martinez 3b 24. Paul Molitor DH 25. Ray Lankford OF |
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5th Pick
S.M.S.O.A.F.G.W.B.A.C.E.S.J. (4TH Place) 1. Cal Ripken, Jr. SS 2. Kevin Mitchell OF 3. Rafael Palmeiro 1b 4. Danny Tartabull OF 5. Roger Clemens SP 6. Terry Pendleton 3b 7. Chuck Knoblauch 2b 8. Pete Harnisch SP 9. Darryl Strawberry OF 10. Dennis Eckersley RP 11. Sandy Alomar, Jr. C 12. Hal Morris 1b 13. Ramon Martinez SP 14. Doug Drabek SP 15. Lee Smith RP 16. David Justice OF 17. BJ Surhoff C 18. George Bell OF 19. Lenny Dykstra OF 20. Jesse Barfield OF 21. Royce Clayton SS 22. Robby Thompson 2b 23. Bernie Williams OF 24. Andy Benes SP 25. Mel Hall OF |
Notable Free Agent Pickups: 1992 Tony Phillips 2b Jeff Kent 3b John Smoltz SP Randy Johnson SP Sid Fernandez SP Mark McGwire 1b Melido Perez SP Dean Palmer 3b Brady Anderson OF Lou Whitaker 2b Ivan Rodriguez C Chris Hoiles C Don Mattingly 1b Gary Sheffield 3b Kevin Brown SP Dave Winfield OF Rich "Goose" Gossage RP Deion Sanders OF Larry Walker OF Rob Deer OF Charles Nagy SP Kevin Appier SP Jeff Reardon RP Mike Mussina SP Kent Hrbek 1b |
Parlaying Fantasy Baseball Knowledge Into a Real Job
The set didn't look like this then.
Sure, maintaining a fantasy baseball website is a job unto itself, although I hasten to call it "work." I still see it as a hobby since I don't have Producers and bosses barking commands at me for 12-16 hours every day, six days a week.
In 1998, I was a struggling n00b right out of college, trying to find a job in the TV and film business in LA. I sent resumes out like a madman and got almost no interviews. I did land an interview to be a Production Assistant for an upcoming show on the Warner Brothers lot, called, "Two of a Kind." It was starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - the Olsen twins. They were 12 years old at the time, and, had I got the job, I probably would have never been the same. I take direction well from those who merit authority, but taking Starbucks orders from a couple of uber-rich teenagers with their own TV show... I shudder to think what my life would be like now. Fortunately, the head honchos in charge of the show called me and told me they liked me a lot, but I didn't get the gig. I remember justifying it at the time by saying, "Ah, it's probably for the best. That show will be off the air in a matter of weeks."
Turns out I was right - the show was canceled after the first season. Shocking, I know!
Shortly thereafter, I got a letter from ESPN. They got my resume and cover letter, they actually looked at it, let alone read it, they liked it, and they wanted to interview me out in Bristol, CT. I couldn't believe it! Of course, after a year of not getting production jobs, I thought the chances of me being an ESPN employee were slim and none.
When I got to ESPN's campus in Bristol to interview for a job as a "Production Assistant," I had images in my head of being slapped by Chris Berman because his Latte was too hot. Al Jaffe, the guy who interviewed me at ESPN, was quick to tell me that Production Assistants at ESPN weren't like other PAs in the entertainment industry. PAs at ESPN actually did a ton of real work. PAs at ESPN are the ones who make the highlights you see on SportsCenter every night.
In the interview, Al Jaffe quizzed me on my sports knowledge. The first thing he asked me was to explain what I knew and what I thought about the freakin' Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals?! But I totally nailed it. Not because I studied the night before, but because I was such a Fantasy Baseball, Football and Basketball nerd that I knew everything about the Bengals already. He could have asked me about any baseball, football or basketball team on Earth and I would have known the answer (I think I even impressed him with a clever World League of American Football reference during the interview). He then went on to ask me about Hockey and College Football (I remember telling him that Ricky Williams was a no-brainer to win the Heisman Trophy that year - I was right... then again, it really was a no-brainer).
In 1998, I was a struggling n00b right out of college, trying to find a job in the TV and film business in LA. I sent resumes out like a madman and got almost no interviews. I did land an interview to be a Production Assistant for an upcoming show on the Warner Brothers lot, called, "Two of a Kind." It was starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - the Olsen twins. They were 12 years old at the time, and, had I got the job, I probably would have never been the same. I take direction well from those who merit authority, but taking Starbucks orders from a couple of uber-rich teenagers with their own TV show... I shudder to think what my life would be like now. Fortunately, the head honchos in charge of the show called me and told me they liked me a lot, but I didn't get the gig. I remember justifying it at the time by saying, "Ah, it's probably for the best. That show will be off the air in a matter of weeks."
Turns out I was right - the show was canceled after the first season. Shocking, I know!
Shortly thereafter, I got a letter from ESPN. They got my resume and cover letter, they actually looked at it, let alone read it, they liked it, and they wanted to interview me out in Bristol, CT. I couldn't believe it! Of course, after a year of not getting production jobs, I thought the chances of me being an ESPN employee were slim and none.
When I got to ESPN's campus in Bristol to interview for a job as a "Production Assistant," I had images in my head of being slapped by Chris Berman because his Latte was too hot. Al Jaffe, the guy who interviewed me at ESPN, was quick to tell me that Production Assistants at ESPN weren't like other PAs in the entertainment industry. PAs at ESPN actually did a ton of real work. PAs at ESPN are the ones who make the highlights you see on SportsCenter every night.
In the interview, Al Jaffe quizzed me on my sports knowledge. The first thing he asked me was to explain what I knew and what I thought about the freakin' Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals?! But I totally nailed it. Not because I studied the night before, but because I was such a Fantasy Baseball, Football and Basketball nerd that I knew everything about the Bengals already. He could have asked me about any baseball, football or basketball team on Earth and I would have known the answer (I think I even impressed him with a clever World League of American Football reference during the interview). He then went on to ask me about Hockey and College Football (I remember telling him that Ricky Williams was a no-brainer to win the Heisman Trophy that year - I was right... then again, it really was a no-brainer).
At Last, My Fantasy Sports Knowledge
Had Paid Off
When Al Jaffe was done interviewing me, he offered me a job on the spot (he probably did that either because he offers a job to everyone who interviews for a PA position, or because he knew I flew my poor-ass 3,000 miles for this chance). Naturally, I took it. It didn't pay well, and I had to prove my worth over the first 6 months of working there or else I'd be out on my ass looking for a job 3,000 miles away from home. But, no matter what it paid, I took the job if for nothing else than to have it on my resume forever.
As it turned out, I worked my ASS off for the first 6+ months, got kept, got a raise, and I worked 60-65 hours on average every week. I loved the work I did, but I was doing too much of it. I didn't have time to do anything but work, eat and sleep, and after a year, I burned out. Like I said, I loved the work I did, making SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight highlights for all you nerds to see every day, but I don't care if you're a porn star: working that many hours on anything is too much. After leaving ESPN, it took me a few years to really get back into sports like I used to be, but I've still almost felt obligated to keep doing fantasy baseball and fantasy football every year.
So here I am... here we are... still geeking out on fantasy baseball and spreading the knowledge to you, our fellow fantasy baseball geeks.
What? Oh, yeah. All the anchors at ESPN are actually really cool. Seriously. Chris Berman, Stuart Scott and Linda Cohn are the nicest people on Earth. More importantly, the Baseball Tonight guys were (are) all awesome. I worked with Karl Ravech, Peter Gammons, Harold Reynolds and Dave "Soup" Campbell a lot and they're all awesome, down-to-Earth guys. I know you were asking that in your head because that's all anyone ever asks me.
As it turned out, I worked my ASS off for the first 6+ months, got kept, got a raise, and I worked 60-65 hours on average every week. I loved the work I did, but I was doing too much of it. I didn't have time to do anything but work, eat and sleep, and after a year, I burned out. Like I said, I loved the work I did, making SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight highlights for all you nerds to see every day, but I don't care if you're a porn star: working that many hours on anything is too much. After leaving ESPN, it took me a few years to really get back into sports like I used to be, but I've still almost felt obligated to keep doing fantasy baseball and fantasy football every year.
So here I am... here we are... still geeking out on fantasy baseball and spreading the knowledge to you, our fellow fantasy baseball geeks.
What? Oh, yeah. All the anchors at ESPN are actually really cool. Seriously. Chris Berman, Stuart Scott and Linda Cohn are the nicest people on Earth. More importantly, the Baseball Tonight guys were (are) all awesome. I worked with Karl Ravech, Peter Gammons, Harold Reynolds and Dave "Soup" Campbell a lot and they're all awesome, down-to-Earth guys. I know you were asking that in your head because that's all anyone ever asks me.
