Memory of a Banquet II

We held our first Banquet and Awards dinner in 1984 to celebrate the completion of our first year in fantasy baseball.  The first few years we held the banquet at my mom's house in River Forest.

I don't remember much about the first couple of banquets, but the one thing I do remember is that a blockbuster trade was made between the Friars and Sluggers during the second banquet.  They were sitting in our living room, in the swivel lounge chairs by the picture window.  The Friars kind of leaned over with their roster sheet and pointed to a couple of names.  The Sluggers looked at their roster sheet while the Friars said "What if I traded you him for him" as he continued to point at the rosters.  The Friars then laid out a reasoning as to why the trade would be a good idea, being all secretive and vague lest any wandering ears (like mine) would hear the highpowered negotiations.

It was cool.  It was awesome.  Turns out it was illegal.  Here's why.

The rules of Rotisserie League baseball state that when you draft a player you get that player for two years plus an option year.  So if I draft Derrek Lee this year (don't laugh - I LOVE Derrek Lee and the fact that he's been retired for three years, well I've done dumber things that's for sure) for .05 I have Lee at his .05 salary for 2014 and 2015.  In 2016 I could sign Lee for one more year at .05 and then lose him at the end of the season or I could sign him to a long term contract.

The rules stat that if I were to trade Lee this year or next (who would be dumb enough to take Lee in a trade considering he's retired?  Good point.  Nobod. . .. hold on.  Let me e-mail the Ruffins.) Lee's contract does not change.  So the new team would get Lee and have him until 2016 when they would need to make the decision to sign him for one year or long-term.

That's the rule and it has always been the rule.  Well, somehow in the infancy of our league we misread that rule.  So the Friars and Sluggers made a deal because we all were under the false impression that if you traded a player his contract would reset and the new team would have TWO NEW YEARS before having to make the decision to sign for the option year or go long-term.

So (and if you believe that rule, which we did, this trade proposal was brilliant in a way) the Friars proposed trading Dale Murphy to the Sluggers for Tim Raines.  The Friars had drafted Dale Murphy in 1984 for .61.  Yes, .61!  The Sluggers drafted Raines for .47 that same year.  The idea of being able to keep two incredibly talented players for two more years without having to sign a long-term contract was brilliant.  Too bad the move was illegal.  Also, the strong argument here is "Why would anyone draft a player for .61?"  Well, this was all new to us and we had a lot to learn.  But it worked for the Friars having Murphy on his team for .61 - he kept finishing in the money those first two seasons.

The deal was struck and announced and finalized.  I know at some point after the trade, possibly before Draft Day 1986 we determined that you can't trade like that and have the contract reset.  I don't recall if we did anything about it or said "From this point on . . . "  But it's a great memory.

Since we've reminisced about the beginning of the CFCL and the newness and such, here are some more photos from this year's banquet featuring our new owners of Hey Patta Matta Swing.

Sandwiched between the Revenge and Clowns, our new owners Pat Chesnut (in the awesome Cub hat) and Matt Barriball (in the equally awesome Wrigley Field shirt) are clearly captivated by the amazing words pouring out of the Commissioner's mouth.

The owners of Hey Patta Matta Swing eye the CFCL's ultimate prize - The Copperfield Trophy.

New owners Chesnut and Barriball absorb the handouts of the banquet, which included certificates and the league history of statistics - generously updated each year by League Historian David Mahlan.

CFCL Owners of 1984

Not pictured [from left]: Paul Mahlan (Paul's Penguins), Dave Goetz (and eventual first time ever CFCL Champion ForGoetzMeNots), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Ben T's Electric Eels), Fred Mahlan (Fred's Friars), Jim Fenton (Mudville Sluggers).

Six incredibly young looking owners (you have to see it in your mind).  All gathering on an early weekend in April, 1984 on Wenonah in Oak Park to start something that seemed cool, but didn't imagine could be around 30 years later.

You wonder how it could last when we had owners drafting Joe Lefevbre for .12, David Green for .35, Terry Kennedy for .41, Dale Murphy for an incredible .61, and Lee Lacy for .35.  Well some of the owners figured out pricing pretty quick and become successful just as quickly.  The rest of us . . . struggled; but had the most fun anyone could imagine with just a bunch of dudes sitting around a table.

The ForGoetzMeNots would win the inaugural title.  The Copperfields would show the signs of the future as they made an amazing in-season trade to make a stellar run that fell just one point short (71-70).

We used newspaper clippings and The Sporting News for draft prep.  If one of us needed to make a phone call, we had to step into the Mahlan's kitchen and dial a phone.

It was like landing on Plymouth Rock compared to where we are today and as I've been stressing for the last few years:  "We're not even halfway there!"

CFCL Owners of 1985

Not Pictured [from left]:  Paul Mahlan (Paul's Bunyans), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Fred Mahlan (Fred's Friars), Dave Gross (Ghostbusters), Jim Fenton (and eventual CFCL Champion Mudville Sluggers).

As we began the 1985 season, the CFCL expanded from six to seven teams, yet the league roster had a whole new look.  First, Dave Goetz (Original 6 member and 1st CFCL champion) brought a friend of his, Dave Gross to join the league so we expanded to seven teams.

But a couple of the teams weren't happy with their inaugural season and decided to shake things up.  Paul Mahlan entered the league in 1984 as Paul's Penguins.  He didn't feel like alliteration was going to get the job done so he moved on to Northern US mythology and named his team Paul's Bunyans.  Rather than hit like lumberjacks they performed like footsores, finishing sixth.

Rich Bentel, disillusioned with eponymous Atlantic bottom dwellers, moved south, cast away the Eels moniker and took on his Initial season of Dem Rebels.  The results were immediate as the Eels finished 6th (last) in 1984 and Dem Rebels vaulted all the way to 4th.

The Sluggers had a tooth and nail fight with their friends, the Friars all season long and outlasted Fred by 1.5 points.

I remember specifically drafting in Dave Goetz' apartment in Forest Park.  I don't actually remember, but I know that League Archivist David Mahlan has it logged that for some god awful reason, the first player selected was . . .

Well, let's review what NORMALLY happens at the draft.  Before I do that, I will stipulate that 1985 being our 2nd season there really wasn't any normal yet.  However, you would think that after waiting all winter long to draft, we would jump on some big named stud that could make a major impact on our teams.  Someone that everyone would salivate over, bust their budget for.  Someone that, when you heard the name, you would think "Oooh, I just NEED him!!!"  (Of course that would be said in a most manly, baseball fan kind of way).

So having all winter long to think and drool and plan, the first player nominated was . . . Dan Driessen, firstbaseman of the Montreal Expos.  As if the baseball gods could anticipate things, they made sure the hapless Rebels successfully acquired Driessen (for 12 cents).

Champions Who Have Left

Here’s a piece of CFCL Trivia.  How many owners in CFCL history have won the championship and then resigned that off-season, choosing not to return and defend their title?

To recap what we’ve learned so far about the CFCL history (http://cfclrebelcopperfield.blogspot.com/2013/04/champions-of-cfcl.html), there have been twelve different owners to win the CFCL title.  Four of those owners are still active (David’s Ruffins, Kenndoza Line, Dem Rebels, Candy Colored Clowns).  That leaves eight possible.

The correct answer is three.  Three owners won the CFCL crown and then called it quits.  What is interesting is the circumstance around their departures.  It would be natural to think that if a team won a championship, they had the pieces in place to be competitive the following year.

In a post later this week, we will analyze the performance of a team the year following the year they won it all.

The three teams that won and left are:

1985 Sluggers
1991 Bald Eagles
2008 Steve’s Stones

I don’t recall the reason the Sluggers resigned.  Back in 1985, his final year, there was no Internet or texting or cellphones for that matter.  If you didn’t actually call someone on the phone, it was easy to feel separated from the league.  David lived with two other owners.  David and I hung out together all the time and ran the league.  I think Jim was a co-worker of David’s dad, but they were responsible adults doing actual work at work rather than running their fantasy team.  Jim may have felt disconnected.  Hard to say.

The Eagles left because during the 1991 season Bob was promoted at Hancock Fabrics and moved to Colorado.  With a young family and a burgeoning career, Bob, I’m sure, didn’t see how it would be possible to run a team from Colorado.  The Internet was still in its infancy and we hadn’t mastered the ability to draft remotely.

Steve’s Stones left in 2008.  This one is more disturbing.  We will meet the Stones on Tuesday with their Q&A.  During the 2008 season there was some controversy with a trade the Stones and Kenndoza Line made.  A lot of feathers were ruffled and Steve felt for his own benefit as well as the well-being of the league it was best if he resigned.

One nice thing is that none of these teams left because they absolutely mortgaged their future with trades the year they won and then quit rather than trying to rebuild.

I found the number interesting that over one-third of former CFCL champions resigned after winning the championship.