I was a huge baseball fan as a kid. As I grew older, baseball became increasingly less important. At some point, I found myself barely following baseball, not even my beloved Cubs. I did miss it, but I was busy (college, work, friends, dates…).

On a fishing trip to Canada in 1995, I was lured back to baseball by Scott “Swede” Olofsson, who told me about his rotisserie baseball league. In early 1996, Swede called me and officially invited me into the Boone League. This was perfect. I had a reason now to start following baseball again.

There were 7  teams, including mine, which I named the Bashers, although they have never lived up to that moniker. The other 6 included Swede’s Hoosiers, the Fightin’ Fury (Mike Fuhr), the Rookies (Ron Siemens), the Racers (Rick Nicola), the Bombers (John Aschbacher) and Joes Not the Joes (John Cardone). The Roaches (Jason Farber) were added 2 years later.

This is my 13th year in the Boone League and I have created a legacy of mediocrity. Actually, mediocrity would be an overstatement. The Bashers have been dismal, sad, atrocious, hapless (you get the picture). I chalked up the first couple of horrible years as part of the learning curve. However, after that, I really have no excuse.

Oh sure, sometimes I fell victim to selecting certain players who I favored (like Jeff Conine, Robin Ventura, Dante Bichette, Shawn Green….okay, a bit more than sometimes), rather that pursuing better players, but that alone does not account for 11 finishes in the league’s nether regions. There really is no logical explanation for this type of ineptitude.

I had one promising year. In 2000, the Bashers took off immediately and stayed in first most of the season. Unfortunately, my team was decimated with injuries that season and I limped into September, still in 1st, but with my roster badly depleted. I actually sank to 5th in the final standings.

It is frustrating and even somewhat embarrassing. I have thought about quitting, putting the Bashers out of their misery. This would save me heartache, as well as being the league Commish every other year (whoever finishes in last gets that “honor” the next season).

In the end, though, it comes down to more than baseball stats. It is about Swede’s $1 up-bids, Mike’s messy roster sheets and Rick bidding on players he doesn’t even know. It’s also about Johnny A., John C. (or is that Joe?), Ron and Jay. All great guys. In the end, I have rediscovered a love for baseball and I have made a bunch of great friends.

But, lest you think this blog has a happy ending, it is barely a week into the 2008 season and my Bashers are already in last place.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist