New York 6 Champion Profile - Joe Mullins
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:56 am
One of the things we love about our National Fantasy Baseball Championship participants is the dedication they have to their teams and the fantasy season.
For some, there’s a season-long ritual. And to say it can be a little taxing is an understatement.
Joe Mullins certainly can attest to that. But while Mullins’ daily NFBC ritual took a lot out of him, in the end it was all worth it as he walked off with a first-place finish in New York League 6.
“It was a tremendous relief to finally win because I was able to quit my gut-wrenching morning routine,” said Mullins, who works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as an independent broker. “The one where you get up an hour or so before you normally would go to work, log on, see the standings and start scrutinizing every category and then do the same for the 2-3 other teams that are in contention.
“It got so bad that from Monday to Wednesday of the final week I refused to log onto the site, but by Thursday I couldn’t take that anymore either. By those last few days I just wanted it to be over. I can’t imagine what it was like for the guys battling for the top overall prizes.”
Mullin’s emotional rescue was due in part to what he termed a “solid” draft and some strong use of the FAAB bidding.
“On Draft Day, I tried to take the best player available (in every round),” he said. “The only other key strategy I had going into the draft was to not worry too much about closers. I left Draft Day with B.J. Ryan (6th round) and Joe Borowski (14th).
“There was a lot of concern leaving Draft Day about my closer situation but this ultimately worked out as Ryan was steady and I picked up Brian Fuentes and Kyle Farnsworth in free agency.”
Mullins cited Michael Young (3rd round), Chone Figgins (5th), Jason Bay (7th), Morgan Ensberg (15th) and Craig Monroe (19th) as some of his best Draft Day picks. Those moves helped counter the disappointment he had with his second-round selection (Adrian Beltre).
In terms of his in-season moves, Mullins pointed to John Patterson, Tom Glavine and Fuentes and Farnsworth as being his top FAAB moves during the year.
New York 6 proved to be a highly competitive league with three teams trading the top spot from early in the season until late August. At that point, Mullins moved into first place for good.
But that didn’t mean the race to the finish line was without some moments of consternation.
“The Amazins were charging late in the year and with a little more than a week to go they cut the deficit to a couple of points,” Mullins said. “It wasn’t until the second-to-last day of the season before I allowed myself to really think I’d win and even then I knew there was still a chance (to fall out of first) as many of the individual categories still remained so tight.”
When the season came to a conclusion, however, Mullins was still in first and $5,000 richer thanks to claiming the first-place prize. Married and the husband of two daughters, he said he is fully committed to participating in the NFBC every year.
“You guys are top shelf in my book and I appreciate all of your efforts throughout the year,” he said. “I also participated in the NFFC this year and expect to participate in that league for many ears as well. I’ve been playing fantasy sports since 1987 and your leagues are as fun and intense as any I’ve played in.”
For some, there’s a season-long ritual. And to say it can be a little taxing is an understatement.
Joe Mullins certainly can attest to that. But while Mullins’ daily NFBC ritual took a lot out of him, in the end it was all worth it as he walked off with a first-place finish in New York League 6.
“It was a tremendous relief to finally win because I was able to quit my gut-wrenching morning routine,” said Mullins, who works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as an independent broker. “The one where you get up an hour or so before you normally would go to work, log on, see the standings and start scrutinizing every category and then do the same for the 2-3 other teams that are in contention.
“It got so bad that from Monday to Wednesday of the final week I refused to log onto the site, but by Thursday I couldn’t take that anymore either. By those last few days I just wanted it to be over. I can’t imagine what it was like for the guys battling for the top overall prizes.”
Mullin’s emotional rescue was due in part to what he termed a “solid” draft and some strong use of the FAAB bidding.
“On Draft Day, I tried to take the best player available (in every round),” he said. “The only other key strategy I had going into the draft was to not worry too much about closers. I left Draft Day with B.J. Ryan (6th round) and Joe Borowski (14th).
“There was a lot of concern leaving Draft Day about my closer situation but this ultimately worked out as Ryan was steady and I picked up Brian Fuentes and Kyle Farnsworth in free agency.”
Mullins cited Michael Young (3rd round), Chone Figgins (5th), Jason Bay (7th), Morgan Ensberg (15th) and Craig Monroe (19th) as some of his best Draft Day picks. Those moves helped counter the disappointment he had with his second-round selection (Adrian Beltre).
In terms of his in-season moves, Mullins pointed to John Patterson, Tom Glavine and Fuentes and Farnsworth as being his top FAAB moves during the year.
New York 6 proved to be a highly competitive league with three teams trading the top spot from early in the season until late August. At that point, Mullins moved into first place for good.
But that didn’t mean the race to the finish line was without some moments of consternation.
“The Amazins were charging late in the year and with a little more than a week to go they cut the deficit to a couple of points,” Mullins said. “It wasn’t until the second-to-last day of the season before I allowed myself to really think I’d win and even then I knew there was still a chance (to fall out of first) as many of the individual categories still remained so tight.”
When the season came to a conclusion, however, Mullins was still in first and $5,000 richer thanks to claiming the first-place prize. Married and the husband of two daughters, he said he is fully committed to participating in the NFBC every year.
“You guys are top shelf in my book and I appreciate all of your efforts throughout the year,” he said. “I also participated in the NFFC this year and expect to participate in that league for many ears as well. I’ve been playing fantasy sports since 1987 and your leagues are as fun and intense as any I’ve played in.”