Introducing the BABL Owners

We are about ready to toss out the first pitch of the 2018 BABL Exhibition League. I will be competing against nine other intrepid explorers in hopes of finding the optimal BABS-relevant fantasy draft format.

Those nine owners have now been chosen. If you submitted an application and are not listed below, I will be sending you an invite soon to participate in some private BABL leagues. Keep an eye out.

The basics again:

• 4×4 Rotisserie draft & hold
• Hitting categories: HR, SB, BA, PA
• Pitching categories: K, Sv+Hld, ERA, IP
• Standard snake draft
• 10 teams, both leagues
• 50-player roster: 23 active, standard positional configuration, 27 reserves
• Weekly transactions – active-reserve-active moves only
• No free agent access
• Even player-for-player trades allowed

Meet the nine other owners. I’ve also included the reason why I chose them. Yes, some of it was arbitrary. But life is arbitrary.

Rich Burke described BABS as “a huge paradigm shift for statheads.” What a great line! I had to find a spot for someone who writes my advertising copy for me.

Greg Fishwick and I had a spirited email exchange several months ago and disagreed about how rosters in this type of league should be constructed. We need a little contention to mix things up. I smell a side bet.

Brian Frons wrote that he has Dodgers season tickets and knows where to get good Chinese food. I am not above a subtle bribe.

Jim Krygier has tried BABS in standard leagues with only mixed results. I wanted to include someone with decent odds of finishing in the bottom half of the standings.

Dan Labella was one of the RotoLab beta-testers (several applied). I assume he’ll be using the software to draft. He probably thinks it will give him an advantage. We’ll see.

Rich Lando wrote: “I can’t promise you that I would draft the best team nor can I promise that I will have the best team and win in this initial season of BABL.” So, he clearly made the cut too.

Tim McCarthy won the CDM High Roller Baseball championships in 2007 and 2008, and used BABS exclusively to place second in his NFBC league in 2017. Tim is here because we all need a target.

Matt Rocco participated in a “Beat Ron Shandler” league at Fantrax last year. I finished 4th. He finished in 5th. The precedent is set.

Noah Stokes could be the best fit for this league. He wrote: “I am an artist by profession and my wiring favors big picture, bubble map, creative thought. BABS fits my way of thinking better than checklists, rankings, and numerical projections.” If he wins, it could be the ultimate right brain victory over a left brain hobby.

This is the group that will be vying for the affection of BABS this year. We will follow their exploits during the season.

Our slow draft starts next week. Stay tuned.