2016 Online Championship Profile - James Tomony

[Tom Kessenich]

When there are 1,632 teams in a contest and you have a single entry the odds of taking home the title at season’s end can often appear daunting. But if there’s one asset the best fantasy baseball players all possess, it’s the skill of perseverance.

For James Tomony, that level of perseverance helped him become a national champion a season ago.

Tomony had a single entry in the RotoWire Online Championship in 2016 but that one team was powerful enough to take down the competition. By season’s end, Tomony had parlayed that lone $350 entry into the $100,000 grand prize as he emerged victorious in one of the most tightly contested races in contest history.

“When I received the announcement (that I had won), I was relieved, stunned and still in a bit of disbelief,” the Madison, WI resident said. “Since the margin of victory was so narrow I was hoping that the lead would still hold up after any final stat corrections.”

There would be no undoing of the title after final stat changes were applied by Major League Baseball. Tomony’s 29.5-point margin of victory over Win Murray’s second-place team would hold up and the largest grand prize in contest history was his.

Tomony’s relief was palpable and understandable in light of how tight the race was and how anxious the end of the season had become.

“For the last three weeks, it felt all consuming,” he said. “For the core of my team that I drafted and kept all season I felt like they were family members so I rooted for them every day, appreciated their contributions and monitored their health status to make sure they could make it for the long haul.

“When I took over first place with 20 days left in the season, I realized I had a major opportunity. I would watch the early games, then stay up for the West Coast games. When those were over I was wired and it’d take awhile to fall asleep. I was so amped up I mostly slept in the basement for the last few weeks.

“My wife, who preaches the virtues of a balanced lifestyle, thought I was certifiably crazy.”

But absolutely focused and determined not to let this special achievement slip through his fingers once he had gotten so close to fantasy baseball immortality.

The path to championship success began early on and even before Tomony drafted his team on April 3, the final day of the competition. Tomony used the Draft Champions contest to help him provide valuable data and prep work for the larger contest he was about to enter.

“Doing some Draft Champions gave me a good grasp of the player pool,” he said.

When his April 3 draft arrived Tomony was determined to construct a quality foundation with his opening four picks. Nabbing Josh Donaldson, Mookie Betts, Corey Kluber and Noah Syndergaard enabled him to do that.

That wasn’t the only good work he did on Draft Day, however.

“Drafting a killer middle infield with great value also helped a lot,” he said. “I got Brian Dozier in the eighth round, D.J. LeMahieu in the 135th and Jonathan Villar in the 27th.”

A strong draft was just the beginning of the championship quest. Working the Waiver Wire effectively was another key part of the team Tomony was putting together.

Nowhere was that more apparent then when he picked up Rick Porcello in a FAAB for a mere dollar. Porcello went on to win 22 games and be named the American League’s Cy Young Award winner.

Tomony also was conservative with his FAAB approach in the first half of the season. That enabled him to have more money to spend during his stretch run.

“I was aggressively mining the Waiver Wire for pitchers,” he said. “I was willing to go for Wins and K’s in the final three weeks by jettisoning my closers and using nine starters.”

Entering the final day in second place, Tomony’s nerves were understandably on edge. But when the season finally came to an end all of Tomony’s plans and effort had placed his team atop the overall standings. The $100,000 was his and the time to celebrate had begun.

“The first thing was my wife texted our neighbors, told them to join us at a nearby cocktail bar in an hour and the drinks would be on me but they’d have to come to find out why,” he said. “About 15 neighbors joined us on a Monday night.

“At midnight it was quite a site to see neighborhood husbands and wives doing shots of expensive tequila. That’s not a usual circumstance.”

Tomony’s good will didn’t stop there. He sent takeout food to the wing of his son’s college dorm and told his daughter to take her housemates to their favorite restaurant on him. But there’s still one more thing Tomony has planned to help him truly take full advantage of the magical season he enjoyed.

“I am planning on taking my wife to Europe,” he said.

The 49-year-old forensic psychologist is also preparing to defend his title this year in the Online Championship. And he may add even more to his fantasy baseball plate as well.

“I am considering trying the Main Event for the first time and may head to Chicago to try the live draft,” he said.