Introduction: Finding out someone's story of how they got hooked to what they now call their personal hobby has always fascinated me. I have decided to share my story of how I started to like baseball, including how I got into writing, and my passion for fantasy sports.
Note: This post is way overdue. I should have written something like this when I first created my blog, but for some reason I did not. Hopefully you all find my baseball and personal story somewhat fascinating.
Baseball has always been apart of my life ever since I can remember. One of the first baseball games I ever remember watching was Jon Lester's no-hitter in 2008 against the Royals on a Monday night. My first favorite baseball player was Manny Ramirez when he was with the Red Sox. Believe it or not, I liked him because of his hair! My first favorite team was, you guessed it, the Red Sox. My Dad is a lifelong Yankees fan, so it was a house divided for a few years.
Fast forward to 2011, having been to a few Major League Games by this point, it is Game 6 of the World Series. Having gone to bed because of having to wake up for school the next day, my Mom wakes me up and tells me the Cardinals somehow won the game on a David Freese walk-off home run to tie the series against the Rangers in extra innings. From that moment on, I felt like I was hooked to baseball forever.
In 2014, I bought my first Topps complete set and started actually paying attention to the stats on the backs of the cards. Prior to 2014, I had collected hundreds maybe even thousands of baseball cards but I had never gotten into looking at the stats on the backs of them. What a dumb mistake by a younger me.
During my Sophomore to Senior years of high school, I was able to manage my high school baseball team by taking the stats on the iPad through an app called GameChanger. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed keeping all the stats for the team, just being apart of the team's success was great. Winning a district championship my Sophomore year was a pretty cool moment to be apart of as well.
My passion for writing about baseball began at my grandparents house. My grandma would write for hours it seemed in notebooks, because they do not have a computer. She never complained about her hand getting sore, which I do not know how she wrote for that long. I would think of stories or current news at the time and literally tell her what to write. Since then, I obviously have created a blog and have typed posts myself. Over time, I have gotten used to the baseball lingo and can come up with baseball terms and sayings to put into my writing.
Watching the Cardinals games at my grandparents house has also became a tradition in itself. My grandpa watches all the games and is a season ticket holder from his recliner, he never misses a game. He watches the Cardinals more than anyone I know and will often ask me if they should win or lose on the given day. I will give my prediction and will say who the top players on the opposing team are. I will then often bring up the team as well and he will say what he thinks will happen. He has an opinion on each Cardinals player and it is great to hear his perspective on the team. He always gives me his honest opinion, whether it be good or bad.
2017 was the year when my baseball obsession really started to grow. Having bought two Baseball America Almanacs by this time, I would simply read and read for hours the statistics about each player and slowly begin to memorize their facial features, what skill they did well, among other things. Whether it be in the car, on vacation, at my grandparent's house, and everywhere I went in between, I took those almanacs everywhere I went. Taking baseball quizzes online really helped too and grew my knowledge even further and has made me remember the names of players as a result.
Fantasy sports have been apart of my life for almost a decade, just typing the previous statement makes me feel old. I was introduced to fantasy football by a close friend at an IHOP after Church one night about 10 or so years ago, which sounds funny, but it is true. I still thank this friend every once and a while for introducing me to what I consider now a lifelong hobby, it has literally changed my life for the better. He then told me fantasy is basically for any sport, not just football. At the time I was 12 years old, so I had no idea fantasy was for every sport. When I create a new fantasy football league I always ask this friend first if he would want to join, because without him I would not have found out about this game until later on. In part of what fantasy success I have had, I owe a lot of it to this friend.
Having joined a fantasy baseball league in 2017, I felt I was prepared and ready to take on nine other experienced adult fantasy players who have been doing this for years and have in turn made me an even better player to this day and still do. My fantasy team name in all my leagues is called Dominant Underdogs, because in my mind I am always the underdog having to go up against more experienced competition. I take this as a challenge, knowing I have to bring my best against the nine others or however big the league is. This is how my blog name, "Underdog Archives" was thought of. Over time, these men in my fantasy baseball leagues and fantasy sports leagues in general have become my friends and I have nothing but respect for each and every one of them, they truly bring the best out in me. Usually the youngest in the leagues, I have to have the mentality of giving my opponents all that I have got, not backing down, and believing in what I have learned through my research. I have found a draft strategy that works for me and try to use the same strategy every time I draft a team. Everyone's strategy is different, which makes it fun.
Going into the 2017 fantasy baseball draft, I was nervous as ever, considering it was my first year, and I was the only "kid" in the league. My heart was pumping out of my chest (it still does when I draft a team, I get very nervous.) When I made my first pick, I made a mistake, taking Josh Donaldson over Nolan Arenado... not a great start. As the draft went on, I had drafted Max Scherzer, who went on to win the 2017 NL Cy Young Award and George Springer who I did not know stuttered (like myself) until later that season and has very quickly evolved into my favorite player of all-time for that reason. Springer had a breakout season in 2017 and for some reason, I do not think it was coincidence. Bottom line, I had nothing to lose that first season and just wanted to enjoy it, but still wanted to be competitive.
I ended up finishing 2nd in 2017, it was a great first season in the league, having lost four times in 22 weeks. I ended up losing in the championship to a much, much better team. Although a successful first season, in my mind, the job was not done until I won the championship. Making it to the championship and then losing really bothered me the whole offseason. The 2018 season was an off year by my standards, finishing 4th, expecting better from myself even though I cannot control how the players perform.
Entering the 2019 season, I felt like I was running out of time to win the championship even though it was only my third year in the league up to that point. Having all of this I guess you would call success in the regular season and it never paying off yet really bothered me. I felt like the Falcons when they let the lead in Super Bowl 51 slip away to the Patriots, never being able to win it all.
Going into the 2019 draft wanting Max Scherzer (who was my ace the previous two seasons) for my first draft pick, he was taken a few picks before my first pick. As I looked at my other options, Jacob deGrom was still on the board. Picking 7th, I ended up taking Jake and my "deGrom obsession" officially began. I felt like I had drafted well, getting Walker Buehler early on, and Pete Alonso as a late round draft pick. Long story short, I won my first fantasy baseball championship behind a Yordan Alvarez and Pete Alonso led offense (who both won Rookie of the Year respectively), with a pitching staff consisting of deGrom, Buehler, and Jose Berrios the Twins ace. Winning my first fantasy baseball championship is a feeling I cannot really describe. I did not know if I wanted to cry, scream, or run around the house while jumping up and down. Knowing all the work I had put in, constantly researching, and staying up late working on my draft strategy had finally paid off. The winner of the league gets a trophy and their last name on a small plaque, along with the year they won it below their name. The trophy gets passed to the league winner season after season. We did not play in the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and the shortened 60 game season, so I still have the trophy on my dresser in my room. Although I am the defending champ, my odds of winning it two years in a row are very small.
Personally, fantasy baseball is harder than fantasy football because you literally have to know all the players to be successful at it and there are games daily, rather than weekly with football. I favor fantasy baseball over football though, it is so much fun! I will never forget that 2019 season and my championship team, it is something I will always remember.
Above all else, I believe God has given me a passion and a gift for baseball and sports in general, as well as writing. This gift that He has given me has allowed me to make friendships and memories along the way. Even though I have a speech impediment, I do not let it stop me from doing what I love. I am at the point in my stuttering journey to where I do not care what people think, although it has taken a long time for me to reach this point and to think this way. If people have a problem with the way I talk, it is their problem, not mine, I cannot control it. Sure it is embarrassing some times, specifically when I meet new people, but it is all I have known my whole life. If it takes me an hour to get out a sentence, so be it. I love being able to express myself on my blog and to tell what I really want to say instead of having to avoid words when speaking to people. As George Springer says "I am who I am". I hope this motivates people to do whatever they want to do in life, no matter the circumstances or what they may face along the way.
Final Thoughts: I would not be in the position that I am in today without key people in my life who have introduced me to sports at some stage in my life. From my Dad explaining to me how baseball works at an early age, to my grandma writing baseball stories that I thought of when I was young, all the way to my fantasy buddies, I appreciate you all! Baseball in general has changed my life for the better. I do not know where I would be without this great game!
See you at the Ballpark!!!
Adam
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