What It Doesn't Take To Win

A few years ago (ok, it was probably more like ten years ago) I came up with a theory. I shared it with a few of you and my theory went like this: The CFCL team that has the NL Homerun Champion on its roster has never won the CFCL Championship. It’s kind of like the person that wins the car on Survivor never wins the $1,000,000 prize.

Well after much research (and I must insert here that what you see below could not have been done without the amazing record keeping of our League Secretary, David Mahlan. Additionally, when I told David I was on the prowl of a specific Monroe Doctrine topic and needed to access the CFCL Archives, he was able to make the records available within two days. Amazing, amazing stuff) I found out that my theory is not entirely valid. OK, it’s not valid at all. I mean, I was sort of right if you want to consider that no CFCL team has won the title and had the homerun champ while Survivor has been on the air.

But the reality is that in the CFCL’s first year the ForGoetz Me Nots won the whole gonfalon AND owned Mike Schmidt who was the Co-Homer Champion (along with Dale Murphy). Hey, maybe that’s a loophole. No OUTRIGHT homer champion has ever been on a CFCL champion team. Well, no. In 1988 the Copperfields won the title (big surprise – it was the end of their three-peat) AND they owned Darryl Strawberry, SOLE homerun champion. Rats, a perfectly good theory shot to hell.

However, since 1988 (18 full seasons) no one has won the title with the home run champ. And in 21 of 23 years the CFCL Champion has not owned the homer champ. That would mean that any sane/intelligent owner should trade their homerun stud immediately (Prince Fielder leading the NL with 19 homeruns).

Backoff you vultures!!!! I clearly wrote “any sane/intelligent owner” which immediately removes Rebel ownership from that sentence. Prince isn’t going anywhere (quick – what do Proud Papa Cecil and Proud Owner Bentel have in common? Prince doesn’t talk to either one of us.)

Interesting stats from doing this research:

* 13 teams have finished in the money with the homerun champion.
* Many teams owned the homerun champ twice
* The Lambchops had the homerun champion on their team four times (Dem Rebels were second with three champions, and sadly that was a three year run of owning the steroid twins, McGuire and Sosa)
* Only once (last year) was the HR Champ traded during the season. This is especially interesting since the champ almost never ends up on the CFCL champion. Ten years the team with the HR Champ finished out of the money, you would think a couple of those teams would have traded the most productive member of their team to build for next year.
* With only six teams in the league in 1984 and eight teams in 1988, the odds were improved that a homerun champion would emerge on the best team (additionally in ’84 two players qualified as Home Run Champion).

HR Champ CFCL Champ Team owning HR
Champ

2006 – Howard Ruffins Kenndoza Line(4th
Place)/Copperfield (7th Place)
2005 – A. Jones Copperfields Kenndoza Line (3rd Place)
2004 – Beltre Stones Resevoir Dogs (8th Place)
2003 – Thome Lambchops Resevoir Dogs (3rd Place)
2002 – Sosa Lambchops Tenacious B (4th Place)
2001 – Bonds Copperfields DoorMatts (3rd Place)
2000 – Sosa Copperfields Dem Rebels (2nd Place)
1999 – McGwire Six Packs Dem Rebels (8th Place)
1998 – McGwire Ruffins Dem Rebels (6th Place)
1997 – Walker Copperfields ForGoetz Me Nots (7th Place)
1996 – Galarraga Dem Rebels DoorMatts (7th Place)
1995 – Bichette Copperfields Ruffins (4th Place)
1994 – M. Williams Meisters Lamchops (4th Place)
1993 – Bonds Copperfields Kents (5th Place)
1992 – McGriff Copperfields Lambchops (5th Place)
1991 – H. Johnson Bald Eagles Ruffins (6th Place)
1990 – Sandberg Copperfields Lambchops (5th Place)

1989 – Mitchell Dem Rebels Lambchops (4th Place)
1988 – Strawberry Copperfields Copperfields (1st Place)
1987 – Dawson Copperfields Penguins (3rd Place)
1986 – Schmidt Copperfields Z-28s (7th Place)
1985 – Murphy Mudville Sluggers Friars (2nd Place)
1984 – Murphy, Schmidt ForGoetz Me Nots Friars (3rd Place)/ForGoetz
Me Nots (1st Place)