NFBC Weekly Profile - Ken Norred

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Tue May 18, 2010 3:12 am

Ken Norred couldn’t ask for a better start to the season in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. The countless hours of preparation and analysis have paid off well to date.

Now the question is – can he make a run to fantasy baseball immortality?

Norred is sitting near the top of the standings in not one, but two national events the NFBC offers. He is currently third in the NFBC Classic event, the most prestigious fantasy baseball event in the country, and is fifth in the first-ever NFBC Auction Championship.

Two Top 5 rankings through six weeks is indeed impressive and a tribute to the hard work Norred put into both in the preseason.

“I think most of the success I’ve had so far this year has come because of the preparation and analyzing of stats in the offseason, coupled with the experience of doing so many drafts and auctions in these formats,” he said.

“You always go into the season thinking about winning (the national titles) but it’s still a little early and there are a lot of good players to beat to think that it could happen. I will just have to keep plugging along and see what happens.”

While the end results with his Classic and Auction teams have been similar to date, Norred admitted the steps involved in the journey were quite different.

He was pleased with how his draft went in Las Vegas. As far as his auction team went, however, Norred wasn’t sure he had as strong a team as he hoped he would put together.

“My main event draft went pretty well and I was able to get most of the players or positions covered in a way that I had hoped,” he said. “I really liked the team as I came out of the draft. It was a little short on saves and the shortstop position was a little weak but as a whole I thought it would be a strong team.

“The auction team was a different story as I didn’t think the hitting was good but I liked the pitching side of it. I wasn’t sure what to expect from that team but I thought that if I could get the hitting stronger through (free agency) then I could compete in the league.”

He’s been able to do that just that, supplementing his auction team with free-agent pickups such as Ty Wigginton, Cliff Pennington, Brennan Boesch and Manny Corpas.

One thing Norred didn’t do was pursue similar players for both his draft and auction teams. He had distinct approaches in mind when preparing for those two events.

“I do target players that I try to acquire but in the end there is not a Must Have player on my list so I don’t reach for players,” he said. “I generally take what value is there – especially early in drafts.

“In the drafts, I tend to target positions and tiers in certain positions at certain points of the draft. In the auction, I try to get a certain group of players for my foundation and then try to take value as the auction proceeds. Then I fill in positions with as many of the players that I like that the other competitors will let me have.

“For these two teams, I didn’t come away with any of the same hitters and only two or three of the same pitchers. That is somewhat unusual for me as the (draft and auction) were only about 18 hours apart.”

Norred is no stranger to fantasy sports, having competed in leagues since 1996. He’s also one of the top all-time money winners in the NFBC, ranking ninth going into this season. He won the NFBC’s $5,000 Ultimate league in 2008 and took home first place in a Mixed Auction League in 2005.

Winning one national title would add a crown jewel onto an already impressive fantasy resume. To win two? That would be a dream season for anyone. Norred, though, is currently in a position to try and turn that dream into a reality.

“I just hope my players can stay as healthy as possible and let the best team win,” he said.

Catch · Post by **Catch** » Tue May 18, 2010 4:57 am

Ken, Congrats to another CDMer on a fast start. Good luck the rest of the way in ALL your leagues; except, for only 2.....i bet you know which 2

eddiejag · Post by **eddiejag** » Tue May 18, 2010 12:14 pm

Great start Ken and keep it going its still a long way to go. good luck Bama.

MadCow Sez · Post by **MadCow Sez** » Tue May 18, 2010 3:25 pm

Nice job brudah! I still think they're enjoying the comic relief we provided to LV3.

Bama · Post by **Bama** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:41 am

Originally posted by Catch:

Ken, Congrats to another CDMer on a fast start. Good luck the rest of the way in ALL your leagues; except, for only 2.....i bet you know which 2 Thanks Tom, have had decent starts on some teams. Looks like you have too and are trying to run and hide from everyone and those 2 teams. Still got hope that the Dp team can Catch you guys. The other team with Dan is struggling with injuries but we neeed health and for yall to come back to the pack on that one. Good luck and will see you in September if not before.

Bama · Post by **Bama** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:49 am

Originally posted by eddiejag:

Great start Ken and keep it going its still a long way to go. good luck Bama. Thanks Eddie. Dont have too many battles with you this year which certainly helps when you can miss as many of the top players as possible.

godfather's dean's list · Post by **godfather's dean's list** » Wed May 19, 2010 4:38 am

hey, bama/madcow/catch/zazie, keep up the good work....but take it easy on hamburg/me

LONG GONE · Post by **LONG GONE** » Fri May 28, 2010 10:44 am

Missed this article when it came out. Its great to see Ken off to a fast start. Ken certainly deserved the recognition. Norred is one of the best in the game, with it only being a matter of time before he brings home a world championship tittle. He will always be one of the favorites for any contest.