2009 NFBC Champion Profile - Lindy Hinkelman

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:49 am

The boy stood alone, staring longingly at the horizon. The moons in the sky felt tantalizingly close but were still millions of miles away.

The boy felt every mile of the distance between him and what he desired. As he stared at the sky above, he wondered if the dreams he had would ever be realized. Was he wishing for something that would constantly elude him or was there a reality somewhere out there in the distance in which he would realize everything he fervently hoped for?

Lindy Hinkelman likely did not give that scene in “Star Wars” any thought when he entered the National Fantasy Baseball Championship in 2009. But, like Luke Skywalker, Hinkelman had a dream that he initially thought was unattainable.

After all, how often can a person lay claim to the honor of winning one national fantasy baseball event, much less two?

So it’s understandable if Hinkelman believed trying to chase after that dream was foolhardy. Perhaps it seemed that way when the season began. But as those with the strongest beliefs often discover, dreams can become reality when the desire is strong enough.

For Lindy Hinkelman, his reality resulted in the greatest season any fantasy baseball player has ever had.

Hinkelman earned national recognition in the 2009 baseball season when he won the grand prizes in both the NFBC’s Main Event and its Online Championship, a new 12-team format unveiled for the first time this past season. The Main Event title earned him $100,000 and the Online Championship garnered him a $40,000 check.

But that wasn’t all. Not by a long shot. Hinkelman’s season was a laundry list of fantasy baseball success. Here is how the prize winnings broke down for him when the season had come to an end:

NFBC Overall Championship = $100,000

NFBC Las Vegas League 8 title = $5,000

NFBC Online Overall Championship = $40,000

NFBC Online Championship League Title = $1,300

Combined Standings Prize = $5,000

Bonus Prize for winning both national titles = $75,000

2nd place in the NFBC Ultimate Auction League - $15,000

The total? A cool $241,300.

Not bad for a self-employed hog farmer from Greencreek, Idaho.

“It feels like I really accomplished something extraordinary,” Hinkelman said. “When (NFBC founder Greg Ambrosius) announced last winter about the $75,000 bonus to anyone who won both events, I thought that it would be an almost impossible feat. I’m as surprised as anyone that someone did win both.

“I had a lot of reactions when the season ended and a lot of feelings – disbelief, amazement, dazed, proud, elated. And I was so afraid that someone was going to wake me up from this dream.”

Hinkelman has competed in the NFBC since 2005 and he did not win a league title in his first four seasons though he was consistently close. His best overall finish in the Main Event was a 52nd-place finish in 2007. He also finished second in an NL-only auction league and teamed up with another owner to finish second in the $5,000 Ultimate Auction League one season.

But nothing could prepare him for the season that was to come in 2009.

He jumped into the Main Event, a pair of auction leagues and he signed up for two teams in the debut Online Championship event. The total cost of his entries was $8,300.

Twenty-six weeks later, he had generated an incredible return on his fantasy baseball investment. Of the titles he won, claiming the $100,000 in the Main Event meant the most to him.

“The Main Event is the signature contest for the NFBC,” the 57-year-old Hinkelman said. “Everyone who enters the Main Event wants to win the championship. The prize is great and the notoriety that comes with it is tremendous.”

Hinkelman’s Draft Day preparations revolved around some specific keys. Offensively, he wanted to be sure his teams had a strong foundation with a premier offensive player. He accomplished that in both the Main Event and Online Championship as Albert Pujols and Troy Tulowitzki were the leading hitters on both of those teams. The pitching staff also had a narrow focus of starters he was most interested in for both of his national championship teams.

“I keyed in on about 12 different starting pitchers that I wanted to get for my teams,” Hinkelman said. “I ended up with Justin Verlander, Josh Johnson, Clayton Kershaw and Clay Buchholz on both teams.

“On the Main Event team, I also had Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Sanchez while on the Online Championship team I rostered Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez and Randy Wolf. All of the pitchers had good to great years and the best part was that they stayed healthy.

“The strategies for (the Main Event and Online Championship) were pretty much the same. I had never played in a 12-team league before so I basically followed my plan for the Main Event. I did draft a closer (Joe Nathan) earlier in the Online Championship but that was the only notable difference.”

As for the drafts themselves, Hinkelman admitted he utilized a strategy that he saw proposed prior to the season by one of the NFBC’s top players.

“Shawn Childs had a question and answer session on the NFBC boards last winter and one thing he said he tried to do was get 75 home runs and 75 stolen bases from his first three picks,” Hinkelman said. “That was what I tried to do.

“In the Main Event, I started with Albert Pujols, Matt Kemp and Alex Rios. They ended up with 88 home runs and 72 bags for me. In the Online Championship, my top three picks were Pujols, Brandon Phillips and B.J. Upton. They finished the year with 74 homers and 78 steals when active.

“While Rios and Upton had overall disappointing years, they did give my teams what I needed from them. I had a pretty good idea when I had to pick the pitchers that I wanted. I took players that fell to me like Derrek Lee in the eighth round and Billy Butler in the 18th round. The Online Championship team had Ryan Zimmerman (12th round) and Miguel Tejada (17th) slip to me. Michael Bourn (23rd) and Todd Helton (25th) were great value picks.”

As every fantasy baseball player knows, the draft is just half the battle in the quest to win a championship. Working the Waiver Wire successfully is a critical component as well. Not surprisingly, Hinkelman was able to work free agency extremely effectively.

“Free agency really benefited me in the Main Event,” he said. “Marco Scutaro, Pedro Feliz, Ben Zobrist and Steven Drew solidified my offense. They replaced disaster picks Alex Gordon, Alexi Casilla and Pat Burrell.

“Later in the year when wins started to be a problem, Barry Zito and Joe Saunders were life savers. Chris Coghlan, Mark DeRosa and Rafael Soriano were the top free agents for me in the Online Championship.”

The formula for success was in place early on. Hinkelman led all NFBC participants in scoring in Week 10 and it was soon after that he began to believe a national title was a realistic goal.

“I finished first overall in the Main Event in Week 14 and that put me in the top spot,” he said. “I gained over 240 points that week. I also finished second overall that week in the Online Championship and that put me within striking distance of Ken Magner, who was in first place at the time.”

As Hinkelman’s teams geared up for a run at fantasy glory, the final few weeks of the NFBC season were both intense and nerve wracking.

“Wins were a key category and to watch the bullpen almost blow or blow wins from my starters was gut wrenching,” he said. “I decided about mid-September that even if I didn’t win either title it would still be a great and profitable year. That helped me cope with the up and down days.

“I must say that it was a tremendous relief that the (extra) game between the Twins and Tigers had no bearing on the outcome. I can’t imagine what those last two days would have been like if the titles were still up for grabs.”

Hinkelman has been married to his wife Patty for 35 years. She is a high school English teacher and the two have four grown children – sons Zach (34), Jake (30) and Gabe (26) and daughter Tracey (28).

Having taken home more than $240,000 in prizes from the NFBC, Hinkelman has some plans for how he is going to spend the prize money. First up is a return to the 2010 NFBC in Las Vegas. But after that?

“Uncle Sam will get his share,” Hinkelman said. “After that I’ll probably buy a livestock trailer, a manure spreader and hearing aids, not necessarily in that order. Maybe a new John Deere tractor.

“Of course, I’ll share it with Patty. She wants new windows for our house. She has put up with a lot from me playing this game.”

In 2009, nobody played fantasy baseball better than Lindy Hinkelman. As the years go on, his magical season will be the one all others are measured against.

Closter Knickerbockers · Post by **Closter Knickerbockers** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:08 am

Lest no one think that Lindy's fantasy baseball success is an all of a sudden thing, do realize that he was one of the best Diamond Challenge players for many years before the "NFBC Era" came along, with (if I recall correctly) a highest finish of #3 OA back in the days when the number of DC entries was as high as around 16000 !

Lunatic · Post by **Lunatic** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:14 am

Lindy,

Again, congratulations on the finest season ever in Fantasy Baseball; see you in Vegas in March; unless you can get away for the Hall of Fame get together

in January...

Schwks · Post by **Schwks** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:38 am

Congrats again. What a feat. PErhaps if you go with hearing aides first, before the all important Manure spreader, you come in first in auction league and not second next year

Three things strike me:

1. A lot of things have to go right, a lot of things, in order to win. The drafts looks very solid, but hitting on every single one of starting pitchers, none of whom were guarantees as well as virtually all of your late rounders (especially in Online Champ)

2. Being in right league: Steven Drew? How did he come available?(just out of curiousity, who did the team replace him with?) I concede he did not have a banner year, but I bet there were 10 team leagues where he was never available. Same with De Rosa in the Online Champ.

3. Having money. Hey a lot of guys in this competition have won enough money over the years that throwing thousands of dollars into the pot come March is easy. Or maybe some people have enough disposaable income wherein $8 K is no big deal. My thinking is that for the average joe, being able to cough up 8k plus going to Vegas or wherever the draft is, drinking gambling etc...probably not a reality.

Congrats on a season where everything gelled.

Catch · Post by **Catch** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:41 am

Lindy,

Congratulations again on a terrific season. You are definitely going to be among the first players to enter the NFBC hall of fame. Stay warm this winter and I will see you in March.

Oaktown · Post by **Oaktown** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:46 am

Amazing accomplishment for a fantastic guy. I look forward to seeing you in March to congratulate you in person and hopefully get you to bet me on some hoops again as I am not going to beat you in Fantasy Baseball. Congrats!

Timcards · Post by **Timcards** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 6:07 am

I was fortunate enough a few years ago to receive one of Lindy's pitching guides that he sent out to a select few. I hope I'm on the list if he decides to do that again.

What's special about Lindy having such a great year is that he is such a great guy. Can you imagine if certain others around here had pulled this off? Thankfully, NFBC has the perfect guy to represent the greatest season ever. Congrats, Lindy.

Tim

Diamond Studs

[ October 19, 2009, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: Timcards ]

MadCow Sez · Post by **MadCow Sez** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:59 am

/Salute/

Nicely played, brudah Lindy! I echo the comments from the other CDM refugees. Fantastic year for a great player.

Let me know how the manure spreader works for you. I work with several of those that accomplish the feat verbally.

/Salute/

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:15 pm

Lindy:

Way to go Champ, you've made the impossible dream a reality. I'm lucky enough to realize that this goal was achieved with many years of dedicated study and a love for the game of baseball. The NFBC is fortunate to have such a solid citizen as the face of the franchise!

If I ever make it to Greencreek, I'll be looking forward to seeing that John Deere tractor you mentioned in the write up. I'll also tip my cap to you for some past success, I know for a fact that you finished second in that Ultimate Auction TWICE ........ with another owner.

Kudo's as well to the Secret Weapon, Gabe Hinkelman. Bringing Gabe to Vegas this year for the first time had a positive impact ( Please don't tell him I said that! ) Sharing the baseball season Father/Son style is a treat.

Great job Lindy.

[ October 19, 2009, 08:19 PM: Message edited by: Sack ]

Purple Helmets · Post by **Purple Helmets** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:25 pm

Lindy,

As many others have already stated, congratulations on a "dream season" that is obviously very well deserved. Enjoy everything that comes from accomplishing what you have as you never know what tomorrow holds. As I've previously said in regards to Shawn Childs and all that he has accomplished as well, it's nice to see that nice guys don't always finish last...and in your case that nice guys can kick some serious @$$. Congrats again and thanks for setting the bar high for the rest of us in 2010 and beyond.

Kevin Schiller

Chicks Dig The Long Ball

Bob Enzyte · Post by **Bob Enzyte** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:45 am

First of all, I want to thank Tom K. on the nice write up of my season. Now, I will have to watch Starwars to find out what the first couple of paragraphs mean.

Thanks to all the CDM crew, Catch, Luny, Oaktown, CK, Studs, Mad Cow and Sack for their replies. Ken, if you ever make it to Greencreek, I'll let you sit on that new John Deere tractor.

To answer Schwks question about Steven Drew, the team who dropped him already had Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus.

Kevin, thanks for the kind words. Like I said in a previous post, you had an unbelievable team in nine categories. It could have been you winning the Main Event. I look forward to meeting you in Vegas next March.

Walla Walla · Post by **Walla Walla** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:18 am

Yeah that Lindy guy was great. But he's still no Babe Ruth.

Joke folks. Lindy you've set the target that the likes of Gekko only dream about. I dream of not getting you in my league next year. Love and kisses to the Pigs.

RichV · Post by **RichV** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:07 pm

Once again, congrats Lindy. I couldn't be happier for you. Would love to see you make that HOF trip. If not, I'll see ya in Vegas this year.