Your All-Time Roto Heroes and Villians

[Whitey]

Hero: Mickey Tettleton, 1995.
I had a $1 Tino Martinez, a $3 Andy Pettitte and a $5 Tim Salmon, but it was a mid-season trade for Tettleton that put me over the top. It felt like he was homering every second day and, now that I look at it up, he was. He hit 8 homers in a 15-day stretch in July, and 6 in 8 days to end the season.

Villain: Rick Helling, circa 2000.
I don't remember the details. I've buried them so deep I'm lucky to even remember his name. Except that Helling rhymes with shelling, of which he had more than a few, often in the last week of the season. Damn you, Rick, damn you to Helling.

[TranaGreg]

Two villains come to mind.

Luis Fucking Polonia. It was the second or third year of our league, late 80's. I was tied for first going into the last day of the season, and it all came down to stolen bases. There weren't many that year - it might have been 87, the year of the home run. I was pretty sure that 1 or 2 would do it. Since this was the pre-internet era, I got up, picked up the paper from the front step, took it to the kitchen & checked my players - 2 SBs - woot!!! Then I checked my opponent's - he really had only one guy stealing, at that point - Luis Fucking Polonia. He had three. He stole three bases on the last day of the season, and I lost the championship. I'm still emotional about it.

The other guy was Erik Hanson, hyped SP for the Mariners, same epoch. It seemed that year that he consistently went 2 horrible starts, followed by a brilliant one, just enough to make me think that he had turned the corner - but then came the next 2 horrible starts. All of a sudden it was July & I was buried in ERA & ratio. I learned a lot that year.

The hero that I can think of was Johann Santana. I learned about him early here on RJ - I think it was gravy boy - and picked him up as a farm pick. I rode his first seasons to a few championships. Good times.

edit: I had Brady Anderson the year he hit 50 HRs out of nowhere. It's just that the rest of my team sucked so it didn't matter.

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).

heh, me too

[virgonomic]

2001. Reserve pick Robert Fick hits 20 HR and qualifies at catcher after 15 games. Mark Mulder was brought up in dollar days, and since I recognized his name from the year before, I went to 2. He won 21 games. I would not have won my first Al 4x4 title without them.

[Lucky]

Forgot a good one...to even up a trade in 1996 I asked the other guy for this Panamanian kid in the Yankees bullpen who had been a reserve round pick and therefore carried a cheap salary. He had a great K/BB ratio and just didn't give up homeruns. My trade partner said "sure" as he was just a MR, and nobody at that point really projected any specific role for him. He did, however, force the Yankees to give him a bigger role the next year, and the new closer, Mo Rivera, helped me win three titles in a row.

[dslaw]

One villain I forgot - I had a 4 or 5 point lead going in the last weekend. My guys didn't do good and the 2nd place team did well but I still had a 1/2 point lead. My kid, who was out of the running, has Gio Gonzalez going in an afternoon game on Sunday. He was still in Oakland so this must have been 5 or 6 years ago. Gio throws a shutout which meant my kid passed me in ERA dropping me to 2nd overall. If Gio went 7 shutout innings or given up a late run I would have won. I haven't owned Gio since.

Told my kid no more free rides for him (of course I still pay even though he is 29 now, sucker).

[hacko]

Hero - Don Mattingly- bought him for 8 bucks in 84 and rode him hard for 5 years.



Yes I am old

[Sour Masher]

One villain I forgot - I had a 4 or 5 point lead going in the last weekend. My guys didn't do good and the 2nd place team did well but I still had a 1/2 point lead. My kid, who was out of the running, has Gio Gonzalez going in an afternoon game on Sunday. He was still in Oakland so this must have been 5 or 6 years ago. Gio throws a shutout which meant my kid passed me in ERA dropping me to 2nd overall. If Gio went 7 shutout innings or given up a late run I would have won. I haven't owned Gio since.

Told my kid no more free rides for him (of course I still pay even though he is 29 now, sucker).

Ha, that is awesome. I can't wait till my little one is old enough to play, and ends up keeping me from a title, but I don't think I'd still pay for him after that .

[chancellor]

Mike Remlinger and John Burkett....

So....here's the story: 15 team league, mixed, 5x5, weekly changes. 1997, the year. My main opponent, Bob - who works at the same place as me, but in a different department, takes the lead on day 1 and leads the league going away in the first half. Bob's verbal abuse makes Chance look shy by comparison, and he's piling it on through the All-Star break. Fortunately, Bob's in a different department, so I normally just have to take his crap coming into work (we arrived at about the same time) and at lunch. I had pretty much succumbed to suffering through the abuse and playing for second, which still paid out about $200, but figured first place, and our $500 prize was completely out of reach.

Shortly after the All-Star break, our company decides to create a cross-functional team to address an area in our market that we hadn't really engaged in much before. I was given a pretty nice offer to join this team, and did so...and then, I realized Bob was on the same team. So now I have to put up with him 9-10 hours/day. The only redeeming factor is my trades worked pretty well, and by August 1, I'd moved from 4th to 2nd place. Bob still had a monster lead at that point, and of course, his abuse level ramped. If you'd combine the worst of elD, me, and GITH in a political argument, and merge them with the snarkiness of Bob Kohm in a bad mood, you're beginning to get the picture.

And then my team took off. I've never had a month in fantasy baseball, before or since, like August. My hitters went wild, my pitchers had nearly inhuman ratios, and I piled on saves. By the second week of September, it appeared I had a chance - still a distant one - and even Bob was beginning to get nervous. But I knew I was short on wins, and would really need to do well the last month.

My team closed the gap over the last two weeks, but I was still short on wins. Bob, realizing he could spare ratio (he'd only lose a point or two) went after just about every two-start pitcher left available for the week. I was only able to land two - Mike Remlinger and John Burkett. Neither were really appetizing, but I was pretty desperate.

Both nail down wins their first start of the week, on Monday. I land three more wins during the course of the week, and Bob's pitchers royally suck. Coming into Sunday, I needed 2 points to win the league by 1/2 point. Bob had led the league every single day up to this point. To get those points, I need wins out of both Remlinger and Burkett, and six Ks. Burkett not only wins, but drops a 3-hit shutout in a year where his ERA ranged in the high-4's most of the year. When I found out Remlinger won - and put me over the Ks total - it led to one of the best celebrations I've ever enjoyed.

I'd like to say that I was a good enough person to not rub it in Bob's face...but I'd be lying. The entrance to his office was covered with a sheet of paper with both Remlinger's and Burkett's box scores, the rest of his office decorated in black, and we inter-office mailed him the final standings about 100 times. However, the best touch was sending him an autographed picture of Mike Remlinger for Christmas.

[Sour Masher]

I'd like to say that I was a good enough person to not rub it in Bob's face...but I'd be lying. The entrance to his office was covered with a sheet of paper with both Remlinger's and Burkett's box scores, the rest of his office decorated in black, and we inter-office mailed him the final standings about 100 times. However, the best touch was sending him an autographed picture of Mike Remlinger for Christmas.

That is so awesome. Sometimes I think the world would be so much better without the Bob's you describe, but then I think of how much satisfaction they provide when you get to beat them at something, and I realize they have a purpose, and the world needs them . I mean, your story is like A Christmas Story--your improbable victory over Bob was your Red Rider BB gun. You probably never had nor will ever have a victory as sweet. So, to your Bob, and all of the Bob-like roto folks out there, thanks for being the dudes you are, because you give us such great joy in defeating you!

[jamesfredette]

I think I'm a Bob.... ...minus the constant domination.

[chancellor]

That is so awesome. Sometimes I think the world would be so much better without the Bob's you describe, but then I think of how much satisfaction they provide when you get to beat them at something, and I realize they have a purpose, and the world needs them . I mean, your story is like A Christmas Story--your improbable victory over Bob was your Red Rider BB gun. You probably never had nor will ever have a victory as sweet. So, to your Bob, and all of the Bob-like roto folks out there, thanks for being the dudes you are, because you give us such great joy in defeating you!

Yeah, I'll never, ever come close to having more fun than that last week in fantasy baseball.

[DMT]

That's a great story Chance!

[ThatRogue]

Chance, that may be the greatest roto victory story, ever! Kudos (even all these years, later) on your win and subsequent celebration!!!

[ThatRogue]

ThatRogue, you're my hero!

Meanwhile, this is the best part of your story...

[Riff Raff]

2012 down the stretch - Kris Medlen
H2H deepish league, my final league in fantasy baseball.

I dumped my SP at the trade deadline and adopted a Medlin-MR-Closer strategy. The traded SP increased my offense. I won the league and the $1000 payout.

During August/September of 2012 Medlen posted the following stats:

81 K
9.3 K/9
0.91 ERA
0.79 WHIP
0.189 BAA

He started as a reliever but moved into a starters role finishing the year 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA. If I recall he had 12 starts to end the year and went 9-0 with 3 NDs.

The story from then ....

http://www.sbnation.com/2012/10/4/3454852/kris-medlen-atlanta-braves-wild-card-game#3877265

Atlanta Braves pitcher Kris Medlen is like you, and you, and you, and me. He doesn’t bump his head on anything, except maybe when he bends down and picks up a quarter from under the kitchen table and stands up too soon. He can walk under any doorway and down any cabin aisle on a plane and not require an ice bag for the after-bump. He’s size regular, suit, hat and ego.

Kris Medlen is 5’9 and for the last few months has been the best pitcher in baseball.