Tuesday Fantasy Tips - The Best Fantasy Seasons Ever
Posted by Blake Murphy on March 25, 2008
This article has been submitted by Erik Arnold and is a regular Tuesday feature.
My eyes are tired and my work unfinished. I have been up since 6AM watching Boston and Oakland kick off the 2008 season live in Tokyo. It was a fantastic game handed on a silver player to Boston on account of some poor plate discipline, terrible base running and a blown save from Huston Street. In other news, Julio Lugo goes 2-4 and Dice-K goes 5 innings with 6 K’s. I have settled atop my lofty perch in the ODC standings, not to be disturbed for another 5 months. To celebrate my ascent to first in the standings, I give you the synthesis of my thinking this week on what I would call the greatest fantasy seasons ever in the four “major” sports. Enjoy!
Hockey
Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton Oilers (1981-1982) – 92 goals, 120 Assists, +81 +/-
Bernie Parent - Philadelphia Flyers (1973-1974) – 1.89 GAA, 47 Wins, 12 SO
There is no surprise here, the Great One makes the list. Legend has it that when you played fantasy hockey with your buddies in the 80’s, you either drafted Gretzky’s goals or Gretzky’s assists, it was deemed too much of an advantage for one player to have both… that just about sums it up. Parent racked up 47 wins, 12 SO and a 1.89 GAA in an era where goalies were TERRIBLE and a butterfly was still just an insect. Oh ya, Gretzky was also +81…. not a typo, +81.
Baseball
Jose Caseco – Oakland Athletics - (1988) – .307AVG, 42HR, 124RBI, 120Runs, 40SB
Mike Piazza – Los Angeles Dodgers - (1997) – .362AVG, 40HR, 124RBI, 104Runs, 5SB
Rickey Hendersen – Oakland Athletics (1983) – .314AVG, 24HR, 72RBI, 146Runs, 80SB
Canseco with the first recorded 40/40 season was a no brainer. Piazza gets the nod as the greatest season ever by a CATCHER! These days, we’re happy if a catcher can hit 15 HRs and keep his average over .250. Rickey Henderson owned the base paths in the 80’s and 80SB with all the trimmings is like Jose Reyes on steroids (not literally).
Football
L.T. – San Diego Chargers (2006) – 28 Rushing TDs, 3 Rec. TDs, 2 Passing TDs, 1815 Rushing Yards, 508 Rec. Yards, 1 lost fumble.
Tom Brady – New England Patriots - (2007) – 4806 Passing Yards, 50 TDs, 8 INT, 2 rushing TDs
We may not realize it, but all of us have witnessed two of the greatest fantasy football seasons of all time in the last two years. Brady and LT get the nod for the shear amount of scoring that was done. Tom Brady was certainly the centerpiece of many championships in 2007.
Basketball
Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia Warriors (1961-1962) – 50.4 PPG, 25.7 RPG
Oscar Robertson - Cincinnati Royals – (1961-1962) - 30.8 PPG, 12.5 RBG, 11.4 APG
1961-62 was a crazy time…I have never played fantasy basketball in my life, but I imagine 50+ pts per game and a season average of a triple double was enough to make these the two performances the most significant fantasy seasons ever. Unfortunately, fantasy sports hadn’t been invented yet so the nod should go to one of Jordan’s greatest or even today’s Lebron (maybe), but these are too tasty.
This article has been submitted by Erik Arnold and is a regular Tuesday feature.
March 25, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Brady’s season was great if you wanted to win a regular season fantasy championship this year…if your league had playoofs you were in trouble. Am I right Blake?
March 25, 2008 at 4:54 pm
True. Didn’t think about that. But on shear points, it was insane.
March 25, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Yup, you are correct. Very back-empty fantasy season there. 30 points a week all season and then boom, 5 in every playoff week. Hopefully he can repeat some of it next year, since I’ve kept him and all.
March 25, 2008 at 7:03 pm
That’s just more evidence of why head-to-head leagues blow. I agree, there is no better way to do it in football, but with Hockey, Basketball and Baseball Rotisserie or Straight points is the only way to go. H2H just rewards lucky timing and a hot finish.