I’m going to post lists of Top 5’s from now until Opening Day. It won’t be every day or on a regular schedule, but it will be often.
Most of the lists will be baseball related, although I will sprinkle in some other topics or post a few pictures. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the NFBC crowd, it’s that you guys like your pictures.
See!
So I’ll post my lists and label each thread with the topic at hand. They may not be right out of the “book”, or what’s expected, but that’s ok. You guys can question and critique the lists, or better yet, add to each list with an entry of your own. So here we go………………………
The Top 5 Player Fantasy Seasons in the NFBC Era
The first NFBC Main Event was in 2004. There were 195 owners and the event was won by Artie Rastelli. In the 11 seasons of the NFBC, we’ve seen a lot of great baseball played by a lot of great players. I could have easily picked any one of 15 different player seasons to represent the 5 best fantasy years since that first draft, here are my Top 5…………
#5: 2007 Hanley Ramirez….125R/29HR/81RBI/51SB/.332BA
A rare mix of power and speed, Hanley did it all in 2007 from the SS position. In the NFBC era, there have been 26 player seasons which included more than 50 stolen bases. Hanley has the only one that also included more than 20 HR’s with his 29. The stat that really puts Hanley into the top 5 is his batting average. Of the 25 players to steal 50+ bases in a season, only two have had an average higher than .305
#4: 2008 Albert Pujols…..100R/37HR/135RBI/7SB/.357BA
2008?? That’s not even Pujols’ best year. The numbers almost look pedestrian when you look at Alberts career stat lines. But they have to be put in context of our league. In 2004, 05, 06, and 07; Albert was a lock 1,2 or 3 pick in the draft. But going into the 2008 Main Event, there was a huge concern that Pujols would not play all season because of an elbow injury. That spring, the consensus best player in baseball was being taken in the second round of many NFBC drafts. His final ADP was 15 and the latest he went in any draft was 22nd. 22nd!! The eventual champion that year picked Miguel Cabrera in round 1 and Albert in the second.
#3: 2008 Cliff Lee……22W/170K/2.54ERA/1.11WHiP
I know what you’re saying, good but not great ERA and only so-so K’s. But just like the Pujols pick, it’s all about the stats produced in relation to his draft slot. Lee had a Main Event ADP of 436 in 2008. He wasn’t drafted in 11 of the 30 leagues. He was actually dropped in several leagues during April. It’s probably fair to say that 2008 Cliff Lee produced the greatest ROE of any player in NFBC history. And just to give him a nod with his stats, his 22 wins are the second highest season total during the NFBC era, think about that when projecting wins.
#2: 2014 Clayton Kershaw…..21W/239K/1.77ERA/0.857WHiP
Yes, better than his 2011 season when he won the Pitchers Triple Crown. His stat line says it all, he lead the Majors in wins and era. He finished third in the NL in strikeouts. Just to top it off, he also had the leagues best WHiP. The only negative, if you want to call it that, was that he only pitched 198 innings. I can live with that.
#1: 2007 Alex Rodriguez……..143R/54HR/156RBI/24SB/.314BA
There is a lot to say about ARod and the validity of his stats; but at the end of the year, most fantasy players are only concerned about one thing, the numbers. No one has put up better numbers than ARod in 2007 from the 3B position. He led the league in runs, HR’s, and RBI. He also tacked on 24SB’s while hitting .314. His 156 RBI are the most in the NFBC era and his 54 HR’s are the second most. Wow!
