Your All-Time Roto Heroes and Villians

[Sour Masher]

I made a post in the Dodgers thread about how I still recall vividly great and horrendous (mostly the latter) performances that have won me or cost me titles. Many of these memories are from a h2h points league, where one performance late in the season and win or lose a title. I realize that in roto, such singular performances don't as often win or lose a league. However, I thought it would be fun if folks reminisced about their most glorious and inglorious performers over the years.

So, who is the player who would never have to buy a drink in any bar in your roto-town again, based on far exceeding expectations when it counted the most. And who is the guy who couldn't show his face in your roto-town ever again, because of how bad he burnt your team (either by sucking so bad while on it, or over-performing so much while going against it)?

One way back hero for me was Richard Hidalgo, whose careeer year in 2000 helped me win a title, capped by a truly spectacular two week run in our finals against my longest time fantasy rival. For years, the other owner would react like Adrian Beltre does when you touch his head anytime I ever mentioned the name Hidalgo. He stopped talking to me for about four months after the season over it, and I'd occasionally just email him the word "Hidalgo?"

I have too many villians to name them all. I made the mistake of continuing to believe in Jonathan Broxton in 2010, even after it was clear he wasn't right. I put him in during the finals when he ended up with something like -11 on the week, and I ended up losing by 3 or 4 points. I could have started anyone else and won the title. Bud Smith's 2001 no hitter cost me a trip to the finals when his no hitter bonus points just edged me out of the playoffs; I'd have won the title if no for his no-no, because my team ended up being the highest scoring team in the final two weeks.

[Mithrandir]

Easy answer without too much thought, for the player who will always be THE MAN in my roto-town: MIKE TROUT. I picked him up in very early April 2012 when he was in the minors and won my league title in 2012, 2013 and 2014. I had to throw him back in the draft last year and not so coincidentally the owner that paid $75 for Trout won the league while i came in 2nd.

As for a player or that couldn't show his face, i really can't recall any player that cost me big time. Sure some have had great years the year BEFORE or AFTER i had them, but none that i can easily recall.

[umjewman]

The two villains that come to mind are injury related, which isn't necessarily fair, but who needs to be fair?

1993 - A young 13 year-old umjewman (umjewboy at the time) enters one of his first roto leagues, going up against his brother and his brother's friends who were high school seniors at the time. Nobody thought a 13 year-old could contend with them, but there I was, in second place with a strong shot at first. Everyone in the league loves the underdog, so they were pulling for me, to the point where I walked over from the junior high school to the high school to get a ride home from my brother and one of his friends lifted me up and put me up against the locker and said "you better not let Adam win this league!" And then Tim Salmon breaks his finger in the middle of a fantastic rookie year and I did not have enough in the tank to win first place. So I will forever be bitter about Tim Salmon's broken finger.

1994 - The following year, I felt confident going into the draft after my initial success but somehow let my brother talk me into trading Juan Gonzalez for Duane Ward because I "needed a closer." Duane Ward, of course, ended up needing TJ surgery about 12 minutes after I completed that trade. While Gonzalez did not have the greatest year, still was better than nothing from Ward.

The three heroes that come to mind are:

2004 - Adrian Beltre, coming off decent power seasons, but nothing special, came at a relative bargain, although I don't remember the price and then EXPLODED for a .330 average with 48 homers. That was fun. I don't think my team amounted to much that year because of Richie Sexson's shoulder injury, but he kept my team afloat, if I remember correctly.

2007 - Cristian Guzman. Odd choice of hero, you say? Sure. But I was down to dollar days and I needed a SS. The two available starters were Cristian Guzman and Cesar Izturis. I said, tomato tomahto, and flipped a coin - it landed on Guzman who proceeded to bat .328, his career high. Won a title that year. Good times.

2006 - ThatRogue (yes, the one from here). He loves when I tell this story, but we're sitting in the draft room and we use a slow-paced draft where everyone has a cup and we go around the table. Once you turn the cup over, you're not allowed back in the bidding. I nominate Wade Miller for $1, who I really wanted thinking he could make a comeback. Everyone's cup was down except ThatRogue then claims he had forgotten to flip it back over after the last player had been won. He says, "wait, I want to bid $2" and the league lets him have it. I become enraged since I really wanted Wade Miller, so I just sputter, "Fine, Cole Hamels $1" and nobody bids $2 for the AA pitching prospect. Hamels was up by mid season and threw 132 very effective innings in the majors that year. Wade Miller threw 21 2/3 sucky innings. Yeah, that worked out. ThatRogue, you're my hero!

[ironfist]

2006 - ThatRogue (yes, the one from here). He loves when I tell this story, but we're sitting in the draft room and we use a slow-paced draft where everyone has a cup and we go around the table. Once you turn the cup over, you're not allowed back in the bidding. I nominate Wade Miller for $1, who I really wanted thinking he could make a comeback. Everyone's cup was down except ThatRogue then claims he had forgotten to flip it back over after the last player had been won. He says, "wait, I want to bid $2" and the league lets him have it. I become enraged since I really wanted Wade Miller, so I just sputter, "Fine, Cole Hamels $1" and nobody bids $2 for the AA pitching prospect. Hamels was up by mid season and threw 132 very effective innings in the majors that year. Wade Miller threw 21 2/3 sucky innings. Yeah, that worked out. ThatRogue, you're my hero!

Oh man, that reminds me of a league I was in several years ago when someone brought up Blake Stein for $1 and my friend, who is a big Royals fan, wanted to bid $2 but either his computer was slow or he didn't enter it fast enough, didn't get the bid in time. He was so irate that he threatened to quit the league (he didn't). All over Blake Stein.

[Sour Masher]

Love the post umjewman! But even at 13, according to judaism, you were no longer an umjewboy, you were an umjewman .

[umjewman]

Love the post umjewman! But even at 13, accordingly the judiasim, you were no longer an umjewboy, you were an umjewman .

Au contraire, Mr. Masher. My Bar Mitzvah was October 16, 1993. Tim Salmon's broken finger was before October. I was still just a young lad

[The Dane]

Heroes: Richard Hidalgo, Ryan Howard, Dontrelle Willis, Jose Lima, Lance Berkman, and most recently, Nolan Arenado
Villains: Cliff Lee, Giancarlo Stanton, Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre, and most recently, Adam Wainwright, Julio Teheran.

[Lucky]

Loser: Jose Canseco. After watching Jose go 120-42-124-40-.307 in 1988, (after two years almost as good), I finally decided to get me some of that. Unfortunately for me, in his fourth year in the league he stole exactly six more bases than I did, and hit only 17 home runs. He got it rolling pretty good after that, but once burned...

My hero...David Wells. In 1998 my AL team was scuffling badly, well behind with less than a week to go. So bad in fact that I left for a four-day fishing trip. When I got back to the office, with the season over, my first call was to the guy who I assumed had beaten me. Turns out I had an amazing week. David wells, in his last start, had delivered the final blow, giving me a win and the strikeouts I needed. Boomer is the man.

[dslaw]

Villian - Brett Tomko. When I have him in my lineup he sucked, on my bench he would be good. He always seemed good enough to pick the next year though. Then he was traded to Seattle so he will be good and I buy the kool-aid again. And again. And again.

Semi-hero - ARod. Pre internet back when he & Jeter were rookies and no one knew about them. Last two picks of the draft and my friend needs a young player so I take Jeter, rookie of the year, and I let him have ARod, who was 1st or 2nd in MVP voting. My friend beat me by a couple of points. Since ARod was probably cheating then and I didn't have him he is only a semi-hero but he is on the list since I was the only one in the league who knew about him.

Hero - Kerry Wood. Another player no one knew who I rostered his rookie year and he helped me win a championship.

[Judge Jude]

Hero - I got Tony Gwynn for 5 in 1984, his breakout season. Thanks, Tony!

Villain - My Sept $5 "add a player" for September a few years back was Reed Johnson, who did nothing to help me and cost me a pt in AVG - so I finished 6th overall instead of a tie for 4th (about $100)

Hero - I once picked up Chris Nabholz with my 3rd and final waiver move of the season with just one start remaining for him in the season, and he got me the W that won me the pennant.

Villain - Alan Wiggins. 2 for 37, 0-0-0 for me (I got him in an offseason trade) before getting suspended for most of the season for drugs (and I wasn't allowed to replace him).

Hero - Larry Walker also for 5 as a rookie in 1990. He was named a starting Expo OF at the last minute, and no one else seemed to know. 19 HR, 21 SB helped me to another pennant.

[DMT]

Taters HOF:

Mike Mussina
Marquis Grissom
Roberto Alomar
Tim Salmon
Eddie Guardado
Mark Teixeira
Mark Prior
Adrian Beltre
David Ortiz
Paul Goldschmidt

HOShame

Juan Gonzalez
Shin-Soo Choo
Stephen Strasburg
Mat Latos
Carlos Gomez

[umjewman]

Taters HOF:

Tim Salmon

Boooooooo.

[cool hand]

1995 - My first year in a roto league. I spent considerable time studying in the wee hours at the MSU Engineering Lab in preparation for the draft. The www was just coming into it's own, and there was no shortage of experts plying opinions online if you searched hard enough on webcrawler. I decided I would build my staff (cheaply) around a young up and comer who had gone 12-2 in 24 starts the previous season, with a 3.81 ERA. Young Jason Bere wound up posting a an 8-15, 7.19era, 1.87whip that season. This was a "Founding Fathers" based league, where you couldnt jettison garbage like this until after the All-Star break, by which time ratio numbers were thoroughly destroyed and unsalvageable. We STILL talk about that season, and it was literally brought up just the other night when Rodon got blasted.

2001 - 8HR, 69RBI, 242H, 56SB, .350AVG. At a measly $17 in the draft, Ichiro Suzuki will always be one of my great Roto loves.

2011 - 32HR, 105RBI, 212H, 39SB, .321AVG. And a Gold Glove in CF. Before there was Mike Trout, there was Jacoby Ellsbury. And nary a saber geek squawked at him not winning the MVP that season.

[Fresno Bob]

Bonds: every year he'd go on a 6 week tear where he would singlehandedly drive my team up the rankings.
Todd Helton: in the 2nd year of my longest running rotoleague in 1997, I figured out that we could bid on minor league players at the auction. I got Todd Helton for $3, and the league had to pass the "Todd Helton Rule" that said you could only auction guys on the major league roster.

[chancellor]

Greatest heroes of Chance's pantheon were Mike Remlinger and John Burkett. Long story to follow once I get home in a keyboard.