I've participated in the OBFLB since 1991. It's a 24 team fantasy baseball online league that plays two seasons during each major league season. The second (half) season begins after the all star break and typically features 9 weeks of head-to-head competition by teams in three 8 team divisions. This year, however, we lost 2 owners at mid-season and didn't have sufficient time to find replacements. Thus, we had 2 divisions of 11 teams. There were not enough weeks to play a complete round robin, as we usually do.
In any case, the Sluggers won the Clarkson division with the best record in the league: 115-65. It was actually 110-60 with 10 ties. We have 10 categories and it is not uncommon to have ties in pitcher wins, saves, home runs, or stolen bases. Two other teams shared the best record, but the Sluggers held the tiebreaker based on better week-to-week performance against all the other teams in the league.
In this league, teams submit lineup cards to prioritize 9 hitters (at 8 defensive positions, plus DH), 5 starting pitchers (minimum 4), and 4 relief pitchers (minimum 2). Through the week, the teams compete in 10 categories, including the 4 mentioned above plus batting average, plate appearances, runs produced average ((R+RBI-HR)/ABs), innings pitched, ERA, and WHIP. We award 2 points per victory, with each team receiving 1 point for a tie.
The winners of the divisions play against a wild card team in an initial playoff round during the next-to-last week of the regular major league baseball season. Then, the winners of those head-to-head matchups play each other in the final week of the regular season to determine the World Series champion for the B season. The Sluggers beat the Arizona Young Guns 13-7 in last week's playoff. Arizona was managed by another long-time owner.
In the World Series, the Sluggers are matched up with the Southern Hemispheres, owned by an emeritus academic from western Australia. We're both old-timers in the league and met in person once years ago when he was traveling across the States and stopped in Louisville. In fact, this is a rematch of the 1996B, 1997A, and 1998A World Series! Southern won the first of those prior matchups, the Sluggers won the next two.
The Sluggers are 8-2 in all prior World Series; Hemispheres are 4-5. Reminder: there have been over 50 World Series titles during the 26 years I have been in the league.
This is the lineup I'm using in the Series, with notes about acquisition of each player (the 8 players retained before the mid-season draft are in red):
C: Ianetta ARI (drafted round 27)
Hedges SD (round 19)
1B: Votto CIN
Olson OAK (free agent July 24)
2B: Merrifield KC (round 14)
Escobar MIN (round 20)
3B: Arenado COL
Escobar MIN
Hernandez LAD (round 22)
SS: Escobar MIN
Russell CHC
E. Hernandez LAD
OF: Benintendi BOS
OF: Buxton MIN
OF: Kiermaier TB (round 24)
Phillips MIL (free agent September 25)
Kepler MIN (round 16)
Acuna ATL
DH: Olson OAK (injured and presumably won't play)
Phillips MIL
Kepler MIN
SP: Archer TB
SP: Bauer CLE (round 15)
SP: Greinke ARI (trade August 28)
SP: Duffy KC (round 9)
SP: Cobb TB (round 11)
Gonzalez TEX (free agent July 17)
Biagini TOR (free agent September 11)
Foltynewicz ATL (round 12)
Keller PIT (minors) (free agent August 28)
Nelson MIL(mlb and OBFLB DL) (round 10)
RP: Bradley ARI (round 18)
RP: Greene DET (trade August 28)
RP: D. Hernandez ARI (round 26)
RP: Lorenzen CIN (round 23)
Players no longer with the team:
SP Pineda NYY dropped July 17 (Tommy John surgery)
Round 13 M Smith TB traded August 28 for Greinke
Round 17 Renfroe SDP traded August 28 for Greinke
Round 21 Buehler LAD traded August 28 for Greinke
Round 25 Duffey MIN traded August 28 for Greene
Round 28 Choi NYY dropped July 24
I'll post results in a few days. The stats we use include Monday September 25 through Sunday, October 1.
Update 10/1/17: Southern wins 12-8. Sluggers win steals, plate appearances, ERA and WHIP decisively. The team needed 3 more hits to win batting average.
| BA | HR | SB | PA | RP | INN | ERA |
| W |
S
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Spheres
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12-8
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Sluggers
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8-12
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