We also welcomed back some former owners who came by to help us celebrate the 30th anniversary. Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters) and David Mahlan (David's Copperfields) all stopped by to shake hands and talk about memories. The fact that they would be willing to take time from their busy weekends to visit a fantasy baseball draft speaks volumes of their character. David came despite being heavily medicated to mask the pain of a kidney stone.
Once all the current owners were finally in place, we commenced with league business. We elected the Executive Committee. Usually there is a clear cut direction the league wants to go with their leadership. This year the voting was more diverse. The EC was established for 2014 with the election of: Tim Morkert (10 votes), Rich Bentel (9 votes), Nick Hansen (6 votes) and [alternate] Matt Bentel (4 votes). Also receiving votes were: Mike Bentel (2 votes), Matt Grage (1 vote), and Pat Chesnut (1 vote).
The CFCL also welcomed a new franchise. Stranger Danger resigned at the close of the 2013 season. Hey Patta Matta Swing (The Swing) was offered the franchise and took to it like a fish to water. Pat Chesnut and Matthew Barriball (childhood friends of the owners of the Twin Killers) joined the CFCL in December and threw themselves into ownership with a ferocious passion.
At 1:30pm the Ruffins began the draft with the Ruffin Privilege, nominating 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. Annnd we were off to the races. Walking into the draft Kenndoza Line had the most money to spend per player (over .20!!!) and figured to be the odds on favorite to snag any player they wanted. Little did they know that when it came to McCutchen, there were a couple of other owners who had a strong opinion. Morkertzuma's Revenge and Dem Rebels also coveted the Pittsburgh centerfielder and had money burning a hole in their pockets. The bidding was fast and furious. Once it reached .48 the Revenge thought better of things and dropped out. So the Line and Rebels were in a showdown that reached near record proportions. When the Rebels unbelievably said "Fifty-five", the Line came to their senses and flipped their card over.
The table let out a collective breath as they saw the Rebels spend 42% of their budget on the first player in the draft. As if that wasn't enough, the next player ** nominated was Matt Harvey. Matt Harvey who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn't expected to pitch until the second half of the season at the earliest.
** Usually (usually) in the CFCL draft, the first two rounds of players nominated are players that will command high salaries. Some owners nominate these players to try and suck out a lot of money from their fellow owners. Others will do it because the high priced players are well known and they (the owners) know that if they nominate a player, they won't get stuck with that player unless they really want him and if they don't get the player, it fills up a roster spot on an opponent.
Mike Bentel of the Twin Killers saw an opportunity and took the first step to owning the first round of the draft by outlasting all other owners on Harvey (11 cents). That was the first of five players the Killers acquired in the first round (Harvey, Adam Wainwright, Pablo Sandoval, Curtis Granderson and Brandon Phillips).
One of the interesting players entering the 2014 draft was Ryan Braun. Caught cheating twice (!!) using steroids by Major League Baseball, no one knew how he would be viewed by the owners of the CFCL. Would they want a proven cheater on their team? If so, what type of production could they expect? What would they be willing to pay? Were they concerned that Braun might try to cheat (and get caught) a third time? We found out the answer quickly as Braun was the third player nominated Saturday. The Kenndoza Line, having been outspent on McCutchen, made a huge statement by spending .49 on Braun.
The rest of the day progressed as drafts usually do. A surprise nomination creates an earlier than expected penny player (this year it was Dem Rebels nominating Randall Delgado). Around the sixth or eighth round we were fortunate enough to have CFCL Founder David Mahlan stop by and reprise his role of League Photographer (photos to follow in a subsequent post).
The draft ended with the newest team, The Swing, selecting seven penny players in a row. Despite all the pomp and circumstance involved with the 30th anniversary celebration, we were able to complete the auction portion of our draft in a snappy 5 hours.
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