NFBC Champion Profile - Eric Herberlig
Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:50 am
When it comes to the 12-team format in the NFBC, few can match the heights Eric Hilligsberg has ascended to.
In 2013, Heberlig topped the field in the RotoWire Online Championship, winning that contest and taking home its $70,000 grand prize. He also finished second in the Primetime contest, the NFBC's 12-team Main Event.
Finishing second wasn't good enough for Heberlig, though. So in 2014 he finished one spot better. When the dust had settled and the fantasy baseball season was complete, he added another 12-team national contest championship to his impressive resume, winning the NFBC Primetime and claiming its $100,000 grand prize.
"I felt ecstatic and a sense of relief at the same time (when the season was over)," the 43-year-old New Cumberland, PA resident said. "A fantasy baseball season is a marathon. It was great to know that all of the preparation and time I had put in paid off.
"Winning one national championship was an honor, but winning two national championships in different formats back-to-back was an amazing feeling, especially with the level of expertise of the owners in both of the formats."
Not only did Heberlig win the Primetime title but he also finished with three teams in the Top 16 of the contest, including two in the Top 11. An impressive season to say the least.
And certainly a stressful one as the campaign drew to a close with so much riding on every game, pitch and at-bat.
"I found myself watching the live standings closely each evening to see where I was," he said. "I was glued to my iPad. I was watching my players every night and was paying attention to the players on the team that was right behind me."
Despite his proven success in 12-team leagues and the fact he had three teams within the Top 20 of the Primetime, Heberlig wasn't about to get overconfident regarding his chances to win the $100,000 grand prize. He said it wasn't until late in the season that he honestly felt like he could topple the competition and win the coveted national title.
"It never really felt comfortable until the last day of the season," he said. "As September began, my team was relatively healthy and I knew if they could stay healthy during the last stretch I knew I had a chance.
"I also felt pretty good when the Reds beat the Pirates, St. Louis clinched their division and there ended up being no throw-in games in either the American or National leagues. Honestly, a lot of things had to fall into place before I felt confident that I had the championship."
A strong draft certainly helped pave the way toward the first-place finish. Heberlig was determined to land two stud starting pitchers early as his foundation and he succeeded with this team by drafting Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer.
"Many people don't feel comfortable taking two pitchers in the first few rounds, but I feel in a 12-team format you can still get good offensive players later in the draft," he said.
That proved to be the case when Heberlig added Brian Dozier (18th round), Todd Frazier (24th) and Anthony Rendon (27th) to the mix in the second half of his draft. And as is so often the case, there were some notable free-agent additions Heberlig made during the season which helped fortify his team's production.
"The key free agent pickups were Charlie Blackmon and Francisco Rodriguez," he said. "I put just shy of 90 percent of my free agent money on those two players.
"I felt that Blackmon hitting leadoff for the Rockies could be potential gold and for the first two months of the season he was one of the best fantasy producers. Rodriguez ended up taking the closer role and was successful in that role for the Brewers. Both those guys helped me out tremendously."
With a second national championship under his belt Heberlig has established himself as one of the premier 12-team fantasy baseball players in the world. It did not take him long to put a plan in place on how best to utilize the $100,000 he had won.
"I want to do a couple of home improvements and save for my son's college days," he said. "I treated my family to a nice restaurant and put some aside for some more fantasy baseball."
More fantasy baseball means more 12-team leagues for Heberlig to manager in 2015. And perhaps even more championships to add to his already glittering NFBC resume.
In 2013, Heberlig topped the field in the RotoWire Online Championship, winning that contest and taking home its $70,000 grand prize. He also finished second in the Primetime contest, the NFBC's 12-team Main Event.
Finishing second wasn't good enough for Heberlig, though. So in 2014 he finished one spot better. When the dust had settled and the fantasy baseball season was complete, he added another 12-team national contest championship to his impressive resume, winning the NFBC Primetime and claiming its $100,000 grand prize.
"I felt ecstatic and a sense of relief at the same time (when the season was over)," the 43-year-old New Cumberland, PA resident said. "A fantasy baseball season is a marathon. It was great to know that all of the preparation and time I had put in paid off.
"Winning one national championship was an honor, but winning two national championships in different formats back-to-back was an amazing feeling, especially with the level of expertise of the owners in both of the formats."
Not only did Heberlig win the Primetime title but he also finished with three teams in the Top 16 of the contest, including two in the Top 11. An impressive season to say the least.
And certainly a stressful one as the campaign drew to a close with so much riding on every game, pitch and at-bat.
"I found myself watching the live standings closely each evening to see where I was," he said. "I was glued to my iPad. I was watching my players every night and was paying attention to the players on the team that was right behind me."
Despite his proven success in 12-team leagues and the fact he had three teams within the Top 20 of the Primetime, Heberlig wasn't about to get overconfident regarding his chances to win the $100,000 grand prize. He said it wasn't until late in the season that he honestly felt like he could topple the competition and win the coveted national title.
"It never really felt comfortable until the last day of the season," he said. "As September began, my team was relatively healthy and I knew if they could stay healthy during the last stretch I knew I had a chance.
"I also felt pretty good when the Reds beat the Pirates, St. Louis clinched their division and there ended up being no throw-in games in either the American or National leagues. Honestly, a lot of things had to fall into place before I felt confident that I had the championship."
A strong draft certainly helped pave the way toward the first-place finish. Heberlig was determined to land two stud starting pitchers early as his foundation and he succeeded with this team by drafting Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer.
"Many people don't feel comfortable taking two pitchers in the first few rounds, but I feel in a 12-team format you can still get good offensive players later in the draft," he said.
That proved to be the case when Heberlig added Brian Dozier (18th round), Todd Frazier (24th) and Anthony Rendon (27th) to the mix in the second half of his draft. And as is so often the case, there were some notable free-agent additions Heberlig made during the season which helped fortify his team's production.
"The key free agent pickups were Charlie Blackmon and Francisco Rodriguez," he said. "I put just shy of 90 percent of my free agent money on those two players.
"I felt that Blackmon hitting leadoff for the Rockies could be potential gold and for the first two months of the season he was one of the best fantasy producers. Rodriguez ended up taking the closer role and was successful in that role for the Brewers. Both those guys helped me out tremendously."
With a second national championship under his belt Heberlig has established himself as one of the premier 12-team fantasy baseball players in the world. It did not take him long to put a plan in place on how best to utilize the $100,000 he had won.
"I want to do a couple of home improvements and save for my son's college days," he said. "I treated my family to a nice restaurant and put some aside for some more fantasy baseball."
More fantasy baseball means more 12-team leagues for Heberlig to manager in 2015. And perhaps even more championships to add to his already glittering NFBC resume.