Fantasy Baseball Goat of the Year

This is the second in a series of article exchanges with my good friend Eric Stashin over at Rotoprofessor.com.  Eric is runs a great blog and has some great baseball info as well as dabbling into some football.  Keep an eye on Rotoprofessor for some ongoing news on major league baseball and the NFL.  There are so many candidates for Goat of the Year, let’s see who Eric has chosen:

Today, let’s take a look at the possible winners of the 2008 Fantasy Goat of the Year before declaring a winner:

David Ortiz - In most, if not all, leagues, he was drafted by the early second round.  The guy had been a fantasy gem for 4 seasons, even with his 35 HR campaign in ‘07.  The guy has proven time and time again that he is a beast at the plate, averaging 47 HR and 141 RBI from 2004-2006.  That was the player owners had anticipated on getting this season, but instead they got a player who was not even close.  He hit just .264 with 23 HR and 89 RBI, the first time since 2002 that he failed to break 30 HR or 100 RBI.  Injuries certainly played a role, limiting him to just 416 AB, as did the departure of Manny Ramirez.  Still, it’s not like he was tremendous in the first half of the season, hitting .252 with just 13 HR.  No matter how you look at the numbers, Ortiz was a bitter disappointment and certainly hurt the owners who called his name early on in their leagues.

Alex Rodriguez - Yes, he hit .302 with 35 HR, 103 RBI and 104 R this season, a great season for any player.  The thing is, A-Rod is not just any player.  In many formats he was the #1 pick overall, and with that owners expect an elite season.  Where was the player who hit .314 with 54 HR, 156 RBI and 143 R in 2007?  Obviously, the drop-off was not as drastic as Ortiz’ but that doesn’t make his season any less disappointing.  When you drafted him #1, you put a lot of your season in his hands, considering you did not pick again until the tail end of the second round.  He needed to perform significantly better then he did to help carry your team, but instead he was just like any other first round pick.  That means extreme disappointment for owners around the world.

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