Las Vegas League 5 Champion Profile - Kent Stermon

[Tom Kessenich]

A good 1-2 punch can go a long way in fantasy baseball. That was definitely the case for Kent Stermon and Jim Roth, who put their combined fantasy expertise to good use in the 2005 NFFC, winning the Las Vegas League 5 title.



“(Stermon) is the greatest prognosticator of batting average and runs scored that I have ever seen,” Roth said. “He uncovered little-known prospects that no one else even drafted and turned them into five-category players on our roster.



“I have had a pretty good knack for playing hot streaks with starting pitchers as well as drafting guys who have valuable all-around numbers and contribute in all pitching categories. Being lifelong friends, we were able to work in harmony and be flexible.”



And ultimately … successful.



The Las Vegas 5 race went right down to the wire. Stermon and Roth’s team did not prevail until the final day of the season.



“I was so excited (to win the title),” Stermon said. “It seemed that all the time we spent quizzing each other on batting averages and ERA’s finally paid off.”



“I felt a sense of relief,” Roth added. “I knew that I had put in the time and done the work. I was just hoping that luck and injuries would even out over a 162-game season.”



Stermon said he felt good about their chances to win leaving the draft. That good vibe was due to some strong Draft Day strategies that he said paid off nicely.



“Splitting the drafting up by our expertise helped make the draft fun and exciting instead of overly stressful,” said Stermon, a CFO of a midsize transportation company in Jacksonville, Fla. “I had lists of all the hitters that I wanted at every position and (Roth) knew the pitchers he wanted at each position in the draft. We would then alternate picks according to needs and value at the draft slot.”



“Overall, we each had carte blanche to run our prospective areas,” Roth said. “Kent ran the hitting and I ran the pitching, thus lightening the load for a long season.”



That’s not to say the two combined for the perfect draft. Unfortunately, there were some things they wish they would have done differently in hindsight.



“I drafted Armando Benitez very early in the draft as my No. 1 closer and the anchor of my relievers,” said Roth, who works as a trial lawyer in Atlanta. “He was coming off of a 47-save season and seemed like a sure bet to prosper in the closer’s role in San Francisco. He went down early in the season and was never the same pitcher and that injury almost killed our chances in the league and most certainly crippled our chances for the overall championship.



“Luckily, I had support from Kent and were able to find some quality replacements through the free-agent process and things worked out. The lesson learned is to diversify your risk. We almost learned that the hard way.”



The duo have been playing fantasy baseball for a number of years and both said the competition in Las Vegas 5 was fierce, intense and best of all – fun.



“We had the best group of players you could ever ask for,” Stermon said. “The bulletin board always had some trash talk and honest support and even the bottom teams were active throughout the final out of the final game.”



With the title under their belts, the two both are big fans of the NFBC and plan to return in 2006.



“It’s a first-class operation,” Roth said. “All issues were resolved timely and the support was fantastic.”

[J. Roth]

Those guys are tools! Just kidding. Article came out great--thanks!