Today's interview is with one of the longest tenured and most successful owners in Plumpy history, 3 time World Series Champion and owner of the Oakland Hammers, mattwithanh! Be sure to read the entire interview, especially his answer to question 10. It may become an official part of the league charter:
1.) What do you do in real life?
I work in the legal department for a large bank and brokerage firm.
2.) How did you learn about HBD?
When I was in law school, I read Twins blogger Aaron Gleeman who had an HBD league and was looking for members. I applied and was invited to play in Gleeman World I and fell in love with the game. It makes regular fantasy sports seem so superficial. Gleeman World was a really tough world to learn how to play in, but it made me better a whole lot quicker.
3.) Who is your all time favorite ballplayer in Plumpy?
Well, Einar Pena would have to my best player ever and might be the best Plumpy pitcher ever. But probably my favorite player would have to be Ken James. He was a DITR who got most of his hitting ratings bumped up to all 90s, the fascinating thing was he had 20 durability and 20 health. He could only get 200-300 PAs but hit would OPS 900+
4.) What is your proudest moment in Plumpy?
Winning my first HBD World Series in season 11. Playoffs are such a crapshoot it’s a real thrill when you make it all the way through and get the trophy graphic on your dashboard the whole next season.
5.) Which player is your proudest draft pick?
I am sure I am in the minority, but the draft is one of my least favorite parts of HBD. It’s a lot of work to get any real value past the 2nd round and I usually pick pretty late. But my season 9 draft is probably my best ever, I think I got 7 guys who ended up contributing at the ML level. Specifically though, I think someone was impressed that I got Juan Aquino at #33 in season 13.
6.) What is the most devastating injury one of your players incurred?
I honestly have no idea. It was probably to a draft pick who then never made it and thus I never gave any real thought to.
7.) What is the most overrated rating on a player card? (if you feel this gives away part of your competitive advantage, feel free to ignore it)
I think pitcher splits are pretty overrated. They are just so reliant on the other ratings. Anyone who has a had a pitcher with high 70s-80s splits but doesn’t have an out pitch rating will consistently be disappointed by their performance.
8.) What is the most underrated rating on a player card? (same caveat as above)
The high baserunning/speed combo can add a ton of value to a fringe player and can make a good player a great one. For pitchers, its durability. The difference between a guy who can throw 170 innings of 3.50 ERA and one who can throw 230 innings of 4.00 is really stark and underappreciated because likely it’s going to be a much worse pitcher throwing those 60 innings.
9.) Do you have a nemesis in the league (either another owner or a particular player?)
I sure haven’t won many AL West titles since tlally came along, but he just left. I would say there are lot of guys I respect: Tjack, Jerico, Dawei, bcpcbpccpc, goodtymes, grecianfox
10.) As one of our most seasoned owners, how do you think Plumpy could improve going forward?
Be excellent to one another. This is a for-pay, fake player fantasy league with a high barrier of entry. It boggles my mind that we can find 31 other guys who want to do this much less those who will pay for it and participate consistently. Cherish the fact we found each other and can pretend to run baseball teams together.
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