2018 Championship Profile - John Magnozzi

[Tom Kessenich]

Winning a national fantasy baseball contest is a joyous moment. The time when you leave your mark as one of the premier players in the industry.

It’s a time of celebration and recognition for a job well done.

But as John Magnozzi can attest, it does not come without a little bit of stress. Or, as is so often the case, a considerable amount of it.

So when the 2018 NFBC Cutline season had come to a close and Magnozzi found himself on top of the field to claim the $50,000 grand prize there was definitely a feeling of exaltation. But that wasn’t the only emotion he was dealing with.

“It was a relief,” he said. “I was leading for the last 14-17 days. It felt like I was holding on for dear life.”

All of which conspired to make those final couple of weeks fraught with as much anxiety as exhilaration.

“That was stressful at the time,” the 39-year-old Magnozzi said. “I was ahead instead of chasing. In retrospect, it was fun but not at the time.”

Magnozzi moved into the Top 55 during the second round of the championship round and moved up to the top spot when the final round began. At that point, the possibility of taking home the title was becoming a reality.

“At that point, I knew I had a shot,” he said.

When the final three-week round had concluded, Magnozzi had topped the remaining 20 teams. He finished 47.5 points ahead of Michael Edelman’s second-place team. The keys to his championship run were plentiful.

“I had so many guys who had great second halves,” he said. “My pitching seemed to be among the best in every cycle.

“There was definitely luck too. In the cutdown to 20, the guy behind me had three at-bats in the ninth inning of a Sunday night game that could have knocked me out with any combo and he got five points.”

Magnozzi, a 12-year veteran of the NFBC, took a practical approach with the grand prize. He used a portion of it on some home renovations. But there will be something even more special coming on the horizon.

“I’ll hopefully take a vacation next year,” he said.

And there’s also one more critical item on the agenda.

“I’m looking forward to trying to defend my title in 2019,” he said.

[Thurman15]

Excellent job John. I can only imagine the stress, but you held on.