Balance Leads Olson To Las Vegas League 5 Title

[Tom Kessenich]

Balance and a red-hot pitcher were enough to help Clark Olson’s team separate itself from a hotly contested race in Las Vegas League 5 and win the league’s championship.



With about a month left in the season, Las Vegas League 5 was a five-team race, but Olson’s team and Team O’Connor separated themselves from the pack and went back-and-forth for first place for the final few weeks before Olson emerged with the league title.



“My team was in the middle of the pack at mid-season, but steadily rose through the second half, thanks largely to Johan Santana,” said Olson, a 36-year-old professor at the University of Washington, Bothell Campus.



“My team and Team O’Connor traded off first until the last week when I pulled ahead and then hung on for a close victory. It feels great to beat 14 knowledgeable players for the league championship.”



Olson’s Draft Day strategy was simple: Draft as balanced a team as possible.



“I had a slight emphasis on hitting,” he said. “I took the best player available (in each round) using a value-based methodology for most of the draft. It seems to have worked out pretty well. In the end, I had 56.7 batting points and 55 pitching points, but I had to work harder on the pitching toward the end of the season.”



Olson was also active on the Waiver Wire and some free-agent pickups proved invaluable throughout the season.



“My most important pickup during the season was probably Endy Chavez,” he said. “He’s not a great player, but he did put up 32 stolen bases.



“For pitching, Bronson Arroyo and Gil Meche helped down the stretch. I also got some important saves from Tim Worrell, among others. However, I stuck with most of my team through the season. I would say that my team was built 90 percent through the draft and only 10 percent through signings.”



Interestingly, despite being a league champion, Olson’s team did not finish first in any offensive or pitching category.



“I finished second in Runs, WHIP and Stolen Bases (tied for second),” he said. “After that, I was pretty well-rounded with my lowest score being 8 in Batting Average and Saves.”



With one NFBC league title under his belt, Olson said he’s already looking forward to the 2005 event.



“The NFBC was very well-organized and run,” he said. “I’m already registered for next year.”