2008 NFBC Champion Profile - Pete Lukowicz

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:59 am

1. How did it feel to win the league title?

It felt great! Seeing the results of all the hard work and good fortune over the course of an extremely long season materialize into a league title really gives you a sense of accomplishment that is hard to imagine until it happens. Many of us have won our fair share of league titles playing against our friends, in leagues where trades often reward smart negotiators with league championships. But competing and beating the best players in the world, in a format where trades are not allowed and free agents are available on a bid basis; that adds a very special meaning to this title. The best part is that “Flags fly forever”.

2. What were the keys to your championship season?

As with almost any fantasy season, one of the keys to my successful season was trying to draft a balanced team. I wanted hitters that hit for average and scored runs and pitchers that would not “blow-up” my ERA and WHIP. But that alone did not insure a league title. The real keys to winning my league title was in getting lucky (is it luck or skill??) in some of the mid and late rounds and plucking waiver wire gems when they became available. Starting pitchers Lincecum (Round 7) and Volquez (Round 25) and closers Soria and Gregg in Rounds 10 and 14 helped lead the way. Drafting a hitter I almost hated taking, Delgado, in round 12 along with steady guys like Ibanez (13) and Mora (23) were just what I needed. I will discuss the huge role that FAAB helped below.

3. Was there a point in the season when you began to realistically believe you could win the title?

Somewhere after the All Star Break I started to fantasize about winning the title. I had opened up a relatively nice lead of 10 plus points around that time and as summer moved along nobody ever closed that gap. In fact, it widened to over 20 points until the injury bug started to hit in early September. I still remember thinking about just how long the baseball season really is. Ultimately I ended up winning the league by a fairly comfortable 16.5 point margin.

4. What draft day strategies worked out the best?

I wanted to draft a balanced team and came away with what I thought was a very nice looking team. I saw a few holes, but then again, everybody in a 15 team league has holes. I also wanted to wait on closers and had targeted Soria and Gregg for rounds 10 and 14. That worked out just as I had hoped. I also had my eye on Volquez throughout spring training and saw him as a high upside, low risk player to target in the reserve rounds. I don’t have to tell you how well that turned out.

5. Did any not work out the way you planned?

Lots of Draft Day strategies did not work out. Drafting from the thirteenth spot, my genius mind determined that it would be excellent to start with two players that would return 50 HRs and 50 SBs from the catcher position and second base. That’s how I jumped at Philips and Martin with my fist two picks. Unfortunately they returned 34 HRs and 41 SBs, not the 50-50 I planned on. I also wanted to draft starters with close to 200 Ks and low ERA/WHIP in Rounds 5, 7 and 9. Round 7 was a gem, Linceucm. Round 5 was a mini-bust named Beckett and Round 9 was a bigger bust named John Maine.

6. How did FAAB work for you?

One of the biggest keys to my success was the waiver wire. I still can’t manage my money well enough to last the entire season. However, I spent it early on the right guys, and that offset not having much left down the stretch. Between weeks one and two I managed to acquire John Dempster, Jorge Cantu and Christian Guzman. All three added great value to my team. Later in the year when I was low on funds, I picked up guys like Choo and Gerut that filled in for injuries. I got them cheap and got all I could out of them when I needed it most.

7. How was the competition in your league and the overall event?

The first thing I noticed when the leagues were assigned was that I had the overall champion from year one in my league, Art Rastelli. Then, upon taking a closer look, I noticed that I also had the misfortune of playing along with three other team owners that finished in the top 25 in 2007 and were standing high amongst the lifetime standings. Needless to say, the competition in the league was fierce. Nobody gave up and even with a nice lead throughout most of the second half of the season, everyone was fighting for a money spot and for pride. As far at the overall competition goes, I barely managed to hold on to a free entry for finishing 11th overall. I was fortunate enough to be standing in 11th when the season ended, but had to hang on for dear life as major league baseball continued the season for an extra two days. I hung on my 1.5 points…. Ask me again if the competition was good….

8. How long have you been playing fantasy baseball/fantasy sports?

I’ve been playing both fantasy baseball and football at a local league level for over 15 years. I’ve been a charter member of the NFFC/NFBC since the beginning and have played in that “other” big league since they started too. My wife thinks I’m nuts and she is probably right. I keep satellite TV as a back-up to our Verizon Fios system simply for the baseball and football packages. More recently I added the best of Sirius to my XM package so I can get baseball and football while driving too. Maybe I need to see someone about this addiction.

9. Personal info - married/single, where do you live, what do you do for a living?

I got married 30 years ago to the girl I was dating in high school. I shot way over my head, hit the target and have never had a day in my life that I didn’t know how lucky I was. We waited to have kids for a dozen years and eventually settled with three of them, two girls and a boy. My oldest daughter is in her first year of college. My son is graduating high school this year and my youngest daughter is in the sixth grade. We live in central New Jersey about 30 minutes west of the closest beach and 30 minutes east of Six Flags. I have an MBA in Finance and am the Controller of a mid-sized engineering firm located in northern New Jersey. I commute about an hour each way, so I have plenty of time to listen to sports radio while driving.

Gordon Gekko II · Post by **Gordon Gekko II** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:32 am

chalk one up for the good guys.

congrats pete

Schwks · Post by **Schwks** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:27 am

great article..informatve. congrats

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:10 am

Nice article and congrats Pete. Just to prove how crazy this addiction is, Pete celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary with his high school sweetheart at our NFFC football draft at the Flamingo in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend.

His bride was there drafting with him and shaking her head the whole time, but he almost won the $100,000 grand prize, so life is good. You are a lucky man Pete and the best is yet to come.

Pete and his buddy Will Robertson were one of our earliest fans of this contest and when our signups were tough in Year One they split up to take separate teams to help us out. I was at the LABR auctions when they called to tell me that and I remember thinking "we might just get enough teams to lose enough to NOT get me fired."

He's been around every step of the way along with Will and I appreciate that. Thanks guys.

Now, where the hell is Will for 2009 NFBC?!!!

Top Dawg · Post by **Top Dawg** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:58 am

Thanks guys... Mark, your one of the good guys too; just don't tell anyone I said so...

Greg - I'm working on Will. He's always a tuff sell but we still have time.

Best regards - Pete

[ February 02, 2009, 08:26 PM: Message edited by: Top Dawg ]

eddiejag · Post by **eddiejag** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:38 pm

Great job Pete , we were in the very first american league auction on NY.So you were one of the first guy's i meant.Remeber the King of Queen's was the only guy with a computer ,boy has times changed.Nice story on your season and good luck this year.

chimpat · Post by **chimpat** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:06 am

Good article Pete, congrats on the win.

Top Dawg · Post by **Top Dawg** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:17 am

Originally posted by eddiejag:

Great job Pete , we were in the very first american league auction on NY.So you were one of the first guy's i meant.Remeber the King of Queen's was the only guy with a computer ,boy has times changed.Nice story on your season and good luck this year. Eddie - I remember that first auction as well. Your partner was trying to park a van but the ladders on the roof were causing problems. And you are right about King. He knew how much money I had left and what my max bid was long before I did... Congrats on all your winnings too.

Pete