NFBC Champion Profile - Steven Cozzolino

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Tom Kessenich
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NFBC Champion Profile - Steven Cozzolino

Post by Tom Kessenich » Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:31 pm

The New York auction leagues in the NFBC are among the most prestigious in our contest. They are comprised of some of the premier players in the fantasy baseball industry.

Winning an NFBC auction league title in New York is an impressive accomplishment. Taking that team one step further and winning a national title is rarified air indeed.

That’s the level of success Steven Cozzolino enjoyed in 2022.

Steven took home one of the top auction league titles last season when won the April 1 9 am New York league. He not only won that league title but he translated that into the biggest auction championship of them all in the NFBC a year ago, winning the NFBC Auction Championship title and our $20,000 grand prize.

Just how good was that April 1 9 am league Steve won? In addition to Steve’s championship team, two other teams from that league (Mike Mager and Alan Holmes) finished in the Top 10 in the overall standings in the contest.

To say Steven was elated to emerge from that league as last season’s national champion would be an understatement.

“It was an awesome feeling and a huge relief,” he said. “That was way too much excitement for me. Both the overall and my league races were extremely tight and went down to the wire.

“It was a back and forth battle between some extremely talented players. It was a honor to be able to compete at such a high level with NFBC greats and take first overall.”

Steven built his team with a strategy that primarily involved targeting players he believed would generate proper values without overpaying. He did not pay for any offensive players for more than $28 and his top pitcher paid was Brandon Woodruff for $28.

As is necessary for any championship auction team, value prices proved critical. None were bigger than snaring Aaron Judge for $25.

“I felt he was a value at his draft day price and that paid off in a huge way to say the least, he said.

The overall contest was a tight one throughout the season. As such it wasn’t until the middle of the season that Steven believed his team had a strong chance to make a real run at the title.

“Since I was only behind in Stolen Bases and Strikeouts I felt I could make up ground in those two categories without losing much in the ratio categories where I was well placed,” he said.

His work on the Waiver Wire proved critical, especially when it came to targeting $1 pickups. Among those who paid off the biggest in his championship run were Rowdy Tellez, Jameson Taillon and Michael Wacha.

With a fortified roster all that was left was to see if his team could make that successful run at the title and the $20,000 grand prize in a competitive and highly talented field of auction players. The final weeks of the season were intense as 10 teams were within 165 points of the lead at the very end.

“The standings kept fluctuating daily the last three weeks,” Cozzolino said. “The overall title was up for grabs until the very end. Fortunately, I was able to hold steady in Wins and ratios while gaining in strikeouts with some exceptional timely pitching performances from Brandon Woodruff, Framber Valdex and Max Fried.

“My league title was an even tougher battle as the standings changed every day between me and Mike Mager. I had to come back from three points down in the final week.”

Come back he did, winning both titles to earn himself a spot among the champions of 2022. All that’s left now is to make a plan for all that prize money he’s won.

“First, I will reinvest some of my winnings in 2023 NFBC contests,” he said. “Then, my remaining prize winnings will go into our outdoor patio and swimming pool renovation projects starting (this) year.”
Tom Kessenich
Manager of High Stakes Fantasy Games, SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @TomKessenich

Bronx Yankees
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Re: NFBC Champion Profile - Steven Cozzolino

Post by Bronx Yankees » Fri Jan 27, 2023 2:54 pm

Steve - Congratulations on a great victory! It was fun doing battle with you and Alan Holmes down the stretch. You had a really strong team and did a super job managing it throughout the season. Your league and overall victories are very well deserved.

Looking forward to congratulating you in person and and doing battle again in New York City in not-soon-enough.

Mike
Mike Mager
"Bronx Yankees"

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