Happy Anniversary, BDBL

November 6, 1998

SALEM (AP) - Mike "Big Daddy II" Glander, six-time pennant winner of the Computer Baseball League (CBL) from 1987 to 1990, announced earlier today that he is forming a new computer sim league based upon the Diamond Mind baseball game.

"This is an exciting day for all of Salem," announced Glander. "The people of Salem have been craving major league quality baseball for years. Unfortunately, the Red Sox are the only thing even remotely resembling a major league ballclub these poor people have had for the last hundred years. It's time to bring home a winner."

Glander announced that the league, to be known as the "Big Daddy Baseball League" will consist of 24 teams from around the country. The Inaugural Draft for this league will be held "as soon as the league is filled" according to sources. When asked to project such a date, Glander hesitated a bit before conceding, "hopefully some time in January."

Ten years ago, Bill Clinton still sat in the Oval Office (with Monica Lewinsky kneeling under his desk), the Boston Red Sox were still a bunch of miserable chokers, the World Trade Center still stood, Saddam Hussein was still public enemy #1, Home Improvement was wrapping up its final season, a gallon of gasoline cost $1.03, Bobby Sylvester and Nic Weiss were 9 and 10 years old, respectively, and I was a fresh-faced 28-year-old father of one with a brand new house and a brand new job.  How times have changed.

But by far the biggest, most significant event of 1998 was the establishment of the Big Daddy Baseball League.  On November 6th, the BDBL web site was uploaded to an America On-Line server (the bigdaddybaseball.com address had yet to exist), and a short description of the league was sent to Diamond Mind Baseball to add to their league directory.  By November 11th, the BDBL consisted of myself and my old friends Paul Marazita, Phil Geisel and Billy Romaniello.  On November 20th, our league's description appeared on the DMB league directory, and shortly thereafter Jeff Paulson became owner #5. Less than three weeks later, every one of the 24 spots in our league had been filled, and we began to lay the groundwork for the inaugural draft.

The story of how the BDBL came to exist has been told many times before, but for those of you who are new to the league, here is a link to the first-ever From the Desk of the Commish column.  The ultimate irony of this story is that my primary motivation for creating this league was: a) to redeem myself for the reputation I had gained in the CBL for being a guy who dominated the regular season, but choked in the playoffs, and b) to create an excuse to keep in touch with my good friends Paul, Phil and Billy.  Yes, the Baseball Gods truly do have a sick sense of humor.

Beyond those two reasons, however, I also sought to fulfill a lifelong dream of establishing a long-term fantasy baseball league with a realistic contract and salary structure.  I always felt that a long-term keeper league is the only way to truly test a person's ability and knowledge as a GM, and it was my dream to build such a league from the ground up.  I was also intrigued with the idea of testing my skills and knowledge against people from all across the country (and, perhaps, the world) who obsess over the game of baseball as much as I do.

So, while my reputation as a playoffs choker remains firmly intact, and Paul and Phil no longer send me Christmas cards, my goal of establishing a quality, long-term keeper league filled with the best amateur baseball minds around has been fulfilled beyond my wildest imagination.  And, quite unexpectedly, the new friendships that I have established throughout these ten years have more than made up for the ones I have lost.

This page will serve as the hub for the league's 10-year anniversary celebration throughout the year.  Here, you will find articles reviewing the first decade for each and every franchise, significant events that occurred on each date throughout the year, interviews with current BDBL owners and links to countless historical documents -- many of which have been locked away in the BDBL vault for many years.

I hope that you will all enjoy this walk down Memory Lane as much as I will.

December 5, 1998

Well, it is official. The Big Daddy Baseball League is now 24 members strong and ready to begin its first-ever season. I'd like to thank everyone who responded to our ad on the Diamond Mind home page. I never expected the volume of responses I received. It's nice to know I'm not the only baseball lunatic on the planet.

I started this league because I couldn't find any other Diamond Mind league which fit every criteria I was looking for. I wanted a reasonable schedule where I could play all my games without feeling rushed. I wanted to juggle player salaries and contracts the way major league GM's do on a day-to-day basis. I wanted to be rewarded for discovering those obscure minor leaguers. I wanted to be able to draft live, in real time, against other real owners. I wanted to see scores updated continuously on the league's web page. I wanted an interactive web page where I can instantly share my ideas with other owners and actively participate in league discussions. I wanted to enjoy all the fun things that go along with running a fantasy team such as building a stadium, creating a team logo, and contributing phony press releases to the league's news center.

But most of all, I wanted to draft my team from scratch. Nothing compares to building a team from Ground Zero, with every player in the major leagues at your disposal. I've inherited teams before, and it's just not the same.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Big Daddy Baseball League will last for many, many years. A league is usually only as good as its commissioner, its rulebook and its owners. Obviously, the first item on this list has reached the very peak of perfection. The second item - the rulebook - is well on its way to becoming rock-solid. And as for the owners, I truly believe that we have assembled a very knowledgeable and competitive group of baseball fanatics who will each contribute something worthwhile into the league.

The 24 owners in the BDBL come from many different walks of life. Among us there is an attorney, a rocket scientist, a retired Marine, a CPA, a chemical engineer, a college professor, an elementary school teacher, two Pepsi employees, a computer programmer, a recording engineer and a stock broker. Our ages range from 15 to 54 years old. The BDBL stretches as far West as Hawaii, as far East as New Hampshire, as far North as Nova Scotia and as far South as Boca Raton, Florida. We have some VERY experienced Diamond Mind players with more than 15 years of experience, and we have some Diamond Mind rookies who had never heard of the game until recently. We have two brothers, four friends from high school and three people who know each other through another Diamond Mind league.

I am very proud to have created this league, and very excited about our Inaugural Draft. I've always said that Draft Day is like Christmas, New Year's Eve and your birthday all rolled into one. This year's draft is certainly no exception. I look forward to competing with all of you during the coming season. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions about the league, the rules or the web page, my e-mail in-box is always open.

Thank you once again for participating in this league, and best of luck to everyone (except those of you in my division.)