2006 NFBC Champion Profile - Greg Morgan

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:25 am

Compared to many NFBC participants, Greg Morgan is just a newbie. Having played fantasy baseball for only the past four years he’s not the seasoned, grizzled vet who takes part in our event year in and year out.

But last season, Morgan stepped into the sharks den and won not one, but two illustrious championships. When the dust settled, Morgan had laid claim to first-place finishes in both Las Vegas League 4 as well as the Ultimate Auction League.

The two championships had markedly different feels. In the Ultimate Auction League, Morgan’s team needed a strong stretch run to claim the title with the final result coming on the season’s final day. In Las Vegas League 4, his team was in contention for nearly the entire season.

“With just over four weeks left, we looked like a longshot (in the Ultimate Auction League),” Morgan said. “But we never gave up and made a surge at the end to take over first place on the last day of the season.

“(In Las Vegas League 4) we felt we had a very strong team about a month into the season. Norm Kent came on very strong at the end and came within a gnat’s eyelash of beating us at the finish line.

“It’s never easy in the NFBC but the Ultimate was the toughest. You can always tell by who’s left on the Waiver Wire. I didn’t have to spend much time worrying about free-agent pickups because the good ones were already gone.”

Morgan’s Ultimate Auction team was keyed by Albert Pujols, who Morgan admitted he didn’t really want due to the high pricetag.

“He worked out OK,” Morgan said.

And then some.

“We went heavy on pitching and a lot of our pitchers underperformed like Dontrelle Willis, Rich Harden, Zach Duke and Daniel Cabrera,” said Morgan, who is single and lives in Westerville, Ohio. “But we took so many some of them had to pan out and Brandon Webb, Kelvim Escobar and Brett Myers all did.

“I’m never locked into one strategy. I believe you have to be flexible, taking the good values and work out your strategy from there. In retrospect, outside of Pujols we didn’t have any elite performers and ended up with more of a spread the risk approach.”

That approach proved to be a successful one and given the prize associated with first place in that league, Morgan said that league was the one he really wanted to win.

“Since $40,000 was at stake, my main focus was the Ultimate Auction,” he said. “When we won, at first there was relief from the stress of having so much potentially ride on every pitch the last week of the season.”

Morgan admits he enjoys the auction format more than the draft format. He even considered skipping the Main Event and would have were it not for some intervention from his co-manager and father, Dale.

“He talked me into trying it again as he prefers snake drafts over auctions,” Glen Morgan said. “I’m glad he won that debate.”

The key to that championship, Morgan said, was finding some diamonds in the rough late in the draft. His top value picks were Mike Cameron (17th round), Justin Verlander (20th), Dan Uggla (23rd), Kenny Rogers (24th) and Josh Johnson (30th).

“Pitching, pitching and more pitching was the draft strategy that worked out the best for us,” Morgan said. “And drafting at least two closers.”

[ December 20, 2006, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:50 am

good job greg!

Captain Hook · Post by **Captain Hook** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 5:30 am

Congrats to the Hippos

Now if we can just raise those FF scores a little........

poopy tooth · Post by **poopy tooth** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:45 am

Don't know you at all, but you seem like a decent person...not full of yourself like some others on the MB...

Seriously, congratulations...I agree, auctions are way better than drafts. Good luck next year!

Liquidhippo · Post by **Liquidhippo** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 4:27 am

Thanks guys.

...and Perry is going easy on me, my FF scores need a LOT of work.