A League of Our Own

This might inspire hope or it might crush your dreams. Or maybe you just don’t care enough, but have fun playing anyway. If nothing else this should at least paint a cleaner picture of where this fantasy league came from, and where it is going.

I have always wanted the office of general manager and when asked where my loyalties would be if the Oakland Athletics were moved and their name changed, my answer was I would go where Billy Beane goes. Constructing a perfect baseball team has a fascination of mine for the majority of my short life.

You could say that is what this league is about. At first there was 11 of us, mostly strangers, whose idea of baseball wasn't perfect yet. Our playing careers lasted varying lengths of time and our favorite teams were scattered around the United States. We each came with a unique image of the sport.

Enter the Daily Grind.

Andrew Faris joins the 2013
auction via Skype 

We didn't know what we were doing. There was nothing like what we were about to create. The only thing that we knew was that we each wanted to imitate Major League Baseball as best as we could with our fantasy game. 

Our 11 men became 13 and we filed into a conference room in Orange County for our 2013 auction draft. Reminiscing over trades, waiver adds, and the previous season’s playoffs we bonded. Most importantly the image we each had of this league became a little clearer and the foundation grew stronger.

A year later it was 16 of us split into 14 teams. We were no longer strangers, but friends, rivals, brothers, and importantly, trailblazers.

Take out batting average, throw in on-base percentage, luxury tax, a rules committee, and one more small orange county conference room and were ready for the 2014 version of fantasy baseball’s new “normal.”

Today marks the first day of the third off-season in Daily Grind history. Our third different league champion was just crowned and we aren't setting our lineups today for the first time in seven months. A little refresher seems necessary.

The 2012 final standings

In our first year we saw a sub-.500 playoff team and only two teams achieve more than 20 games over .500. In our second season we removed ties from the equation, a new team occupied the top seed and a bye, the lowest playoff seeded team and eventual league champion finished eight games over .500, and only one team was more than 20 games over .500. In our third season as a league we added a play-in game to decide the sixth seed in the playoff tournament, four teams finished more than 20 games over .500, and we saw yet another new team occupy first place heading into the playoffs.

Over the course of the league’s history there have been 10 different teams to make the playoffs, three different champions, and we still aren't sure what value minor league slots have (if any). Our constitution is anything but polished. We’ve seen international player and steroid controversies. One of us moved to China! Nonetheless, this has turned into something we all love.

We love playing this game because we love baseball. We love it because, like real baseball, each of us has a chance to win. We love it because we are making fantasy baseball into what we want.

We love it for one more reason, and this one is my favorite: We aren’t done.

End-Of-Season Awards

The top seed is locked up. Two other pieces to the playoff picture are yet to be finalized. Nonetheless, the 2014 season of The Daily Grind has been nothing short of a masterpiece. Kurt, well done and congratulations for not only achieving your first ever winning team, but for also taking Jimmy Dugan to the playoffs. Mark and Mike, what happened? Sophomore slump? Just plain unlucky? The inclusion of the play-in game for the 6th and 7th place teams could not have gone any better. With two trying hard just to get in, and two more trying to avoid the game, these last three games will be exciting!

In looking back at my season preview, I found my top five ranked team are bound for the playoffs. Meanwhile the top-seeded Tom Emanski was projected for 7th, and Moneygraph Saberbeanes and FICA (competing for the play-in game) were destined for 11th and 13th place, respectively. Not bad.

Regardless, it has been a pleasure to join with all of you in making this league the best the World Wide Web has to offer. No one asked for it but I’m doing it anyway. Here are my 2014 regular season awards:

Most likely to succeed beyond 2014: Scioscia's Doghouse, Mark Hennemuth. Mark, you didn’t live up to the expectations set by your 2013 playoff team. However, you did some wonderful work as GM of the Doghouse and put your team in great position to build a championship quality roster for many years.

Least likely to succeed beyond 2014: GotHeeeem!, Albert Ramirez and Jason McIver. No offense intended, Jason and Albert, but you have a lot of work left to do. Mid-way through 2014 you were a contender. Then reality set in and the losses piled up. Without many pieces locked up for the future and only two future minor league slots, the next auction will need to be a turning point for this team.

Rookie of the year: Pennyball, Ryan Kay. Despite missing the playoffs by a wide margin and a near-last place finish, Mr. kay took an expansion team, acquired some elite young talent and got his feet wet in the most intense fantasy league he’s played in. His outlook for 2015 and beyond will be contingent upon his ability to increase spending and leave his mark at the auction.

Most Improved: Jimmy Dugan, Kurt Angier. Kurt, you have lived up to the the hype set back in 2012. Your team is knocking on the door of the second bye for the playoffs. You have some elite players signed to contracts for the future. You have the swagger and the skill to make a championship run. Can you complete it?

The team we should feel sorry for, but we just can’t: The Spruce Bruce, Taylor Holiday: He’s 15 games over .500. He’s near falling into the abyss of the play-in game. He has suffered season-ending injuries to seven of his regular players. Taylor has endured hardship, forfeits, and ridicule. But we still don’t feel sympathy for him. At all.

Executive of the year: Tom Emanski, Gregg Angier. Gregg nearly set a new single-season wins record, has had the top seed locked up for weeks, and we still don’t know how he did it. He made questionable move after questionable move, shuffled through players, and then loaded up on prospects in the offseason leaving us scratching our heads. His moves cashed in, his prospects yielded mid-season reinforcements, and his team’s metamorphosis brought to life a fantasy juggernaut. Gregg sits in managerial glory with the likes of Brian Sabean and Billy Beane. This might be the year he takes home the trophy.