CFBL 1991, Year #2

Homeboys Upset ReBeat Battson

The 2nd FBL year almost didn't start.  The Beatniks resigned in protest over the newly agreed-upon salary cap:  The owner felt it was too high!  Then two other teams dropped out late in the off-season, the Blues Sox for lack of interest, and the Colons because of an out-of-town move.  Fortunately for the league, replacement (ooh, wrong word) owners were found in time.

While the major problem of Year #1 was solved when a strict salary cap was instituted -- and the new cap worked well -- new fights broke out over a ReBeat Battson attempt to deny owner approval for trades by the Murderers and multi-owner opposition to the Murderers' efforts to sell players to other teams in exchange for salary cap "credits."  The crisis almost cost the league its founding commissioner, and even though it might go too far to say that cool heads prevailed, at least fights were kept to a minimum.

Year #2 was the Year of the Upset.  The defending champions, the newly-named ReBeat Battson, played in the tougher division, had the season's best record and entered the playoffs as clear favorites.  But the upstart HOMEBOYS had other ideas. 


team (owners) (bonus picks)

     Journalists & Murderers:  Sierra (Bonds)

     River Rats:  Clemens

     HOMEBOYS:  Griffey (Bonds)

     Scum Sucking Dogs:  Eric Davis (Bonds)

     ReBeat Battson (nee Beat Battson):  Bonds

     Trig's Tricks (Toni Triguiero, Russ Carlson):  Sandberg

     Foul Polls (Jim Moore & Jan Mathews):  Rickey Henderson

     Capital City Clubbers (Mike & Steve Ross):  Strawberry

New Rules: In revulsion to the Beat Battson-Murderers spending frenzy from Year #1, the league adopted a minimum/maximum salary cap for Year 2 ($175), which required all teams to spend an equal amount of money, or lose what they had remaining.  It was meant both as a cap on big spenders and an encouragement for other teams to participate week-to-week.  Rosters were expanded from 19 to 22 (the previous year, teams had to pay $2 each for non-mandatory players #20-22) and other roster restrictions were eased; HRs were counted as a run and an rbi; saves were upgraded.  Also, in response to a Murderers ploy to pick up players on pick-up nights, only to drop them the same night, a rule was adopted to require that players picked up had to be kept for a week.

Season: ReBeat Battson started the defense of their crown with several outstanding -- and relatively low -- draft picks who went on to become high (some #1) draft choices: 1B Frank Thomas (#15), 2B Chuck Knoblauch (#17); and OF Juan Gonzalez (#19).  ReBeat went on to post the season's best mark; the Murderers, the second best team of the year, fell victim to the 1st half-2nd half/tiebreaker system and did not make the playoffs.

1st Half:  The expansion Trig's Tricks got off to a rocket start, taking the weaker Stengel Division by 3 games in spite of not picking up a single player the entire half.  The stronger Piersall Division was more tightly contested, with the Rats taking a tiebreaker from both of their rivals, the Murderers and ReBeat Battson.

2nd Half:  The HOMEBOYS won the Stengel Division as easily as the Trig's did the 1st half, by 3 games.  In the Piersall Division, intense rivals ReBeat and the Murderers dominated the division and battled to the wire, with ReBeat winning by a game.  The Murderers, kept from the playoffs, quit the league in frustration largely because of recalcitrant, petty owners and battles over unsuccessful trade efforts.

The Playoffs:

Division: ReBeat Battson, the clear Piersall Division favorite, made easy work of their other big rivals, the River Rats, 280-239, living up to its name for the second straight year.  The HOMEBOYS made similar quick work of the Tricks in the Stengel Division, 219-178.  Both were 2-week, total score playoff series.

Championship:  In the best-of-3 championship playoffs, however, the HOMEBOYS squeaked out a 1st week win, then upset the defending champion ReBeat Battson by 45 to take the title in two straight.  There was clearly a let-down after ReBeat did what it set out the season to do: rebeat the Rats.  The Stengel Division got the last laugh after going 8-24 in games against the stronger Piersall Division.

The HOMEBOY team was built by draft picks OF Griffey (#1), OF Bonilla (#2), RP Olson (#5), SS Larkin (#7), 1B McGriff (#9), 1B Palmeiro (#11), SP McDowell (#13), 2B Reed (#17) and pick-ups SP Smiley (week #5, $2), SP Candiotti (#6, $15.75) and C Tettleton (#7, $2).

The Rats, the hottest team the last two weeks of the playoffs, easily beat the Tricks by 57 and 63 to take 3rd place.

Original Forbes Field outfield wall on the University of Pittsburgh campus