Amazon.com
 
Don't forget to vote, Guest - Login

Benchwarmer News Archive - 2023

Some of the news from 2023

 

Back to main News page

12/31/23

  • Looks like the site I was using to link player stats when you click on a name has shut down. I've changed the links so that will work again, in case you've tried for the last few days.
  • Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers. The next trade deadline is Sunday 1/7.

11/21/23

11/20/23

  • Lots of changes and updates as we move on to the 2024 season!
    • Salary cap cash has been distributed.  The 2024 salary cap is 40575 (was 41833 in 40735).
    • Cash rewards for playoff performance will be distributed on Wednesday
    • 2024 salaries are posted and are final - Premium salary adjustments have already been applied
    • 2024 player positions are updated but not final
      • Any player showing an "x" in their position didn't have any MLB stats in 2023, so I need to go back in and check what they did in the minors in 2023 (or maybe they didn't play at all and might be removed from the list) - their positions may change.
      • That usually takes a lot of time and will be finished sometime late December/early January
    • Player retention decisions for 2024 can now be made from your team roster pages.  Deadline to complete this is expected to be Sunday, January 7 - if you have a lot of teams, don't wait!!
    • First step before you can do any trading or pick your carryover players - indicate if you're keeping each of your teams in 2024.  You must answer "yes" before you may submit any trades or before anyone can contact you for trades.  Deadline is December 31 or we assume the unanswered teams become Orphans.
  • New leagues for 2024 will be opened in late December.
  • As people indicate they're dropping teams, orphans will become available.
  • Trades are now open for a 3-week trading period, ending on Sunday, Dec. 10.  Following that will be another 3-week trade period open through December 31.

11/19/23

  • Team finances updated with cash awards on final division placement. Post season rewards are added after the salary cap is calculated.
  • Player salaries for 2024 are final (but not yet posted) - working today on salary cap and positions and will open up the rosters when all that is complete (maybe tonight, but definitely by tomorrow).

11/12/23

  • Benchwarmer Bash 2023 - Final Results: Kingston Baseball Club (Marxball) defeated Suffolk Steel (Perfect World League) 4 games to 2
    • Congratulations to team owner Ricardo Alexander.
    • This is Ricardo's 3rd straight win in the BWB ultimate tournament. This franchise also won it in 2021.
    • Ricardo won 10 league championships in 2023 and had 16 teams in the field of 128 that started out the Bash.
    • Also congratulations to runner-up Robert Elias in his second trip to the finals.

11/11/23

  • Benchwarmer Bash 2023 - Semifinals: Games 1-7 posted
  • Benchwarmer Bash Bracket
  • We're down to our final two teams. Kingston (Marxball) and Suffolk were victorious in the semifinals:
    • Kingston Baseball Club (93-57, Marxball, Power Rank 55) - Ricardo Alexander vs. Suffolk Steel (96-54, Perfect World League, Power Rank 42) - Robert Elias
    • Ricardo won the Bash last year with Kingston (from That's the Fact Jack League). This Kingston team from Marxball won the Bash in 2021.
    • This is a championship match of owners - Robert Elias had the runner up Valley Forge Continentals in 2022. Robert has never won the bash before.
    • No winner has come out of Perfect World League before. Marxball has had 2 teams win the Bash.

11/10/23

11/9/23

  • Benchwarmer Bash 2023 - We move on to the Bash round with the final 8 teams. See the bracket
  • Quarterfinal results will post on Friday
  • Previewing the Bash:
    • There are 8 teams remaining - 6 league champions and 2 wild card teams
    • Last year's champion, Kingston from That's the Fact Jack League (Ricardo Alexander), is back again as the #2 seed.  Ricardo's Kingston from Marxball won the 2021 Bash and is this year's #5 seed.
    • No other franchise in the field has won the Bash before, although 2 owners have won with different teams - Jason Kiernan and Jay Snyder
    • Kingston (That's the Fact Jack) is the only repeat Federation champion from last year.
    • Federation titles by seed:
      • 1st: 1
      • 2nd: 1
      • 3rd: 5
      • 4th: 1
    • Owners with multiple teams in final 8:
      • 3 teams: Ricardo Alexander
      • 2 teams: Sherman Wan
      • Two of Ricardo's teams face each other in the first round, so he's guaranteed to have 1 team in the semifinals.
    • Our top seed based on BWB's power ranking, is Interlaken Cheese Transport (Reality Bites) with an Power Index of 10. For the 2nd straight season, the top-ranked team did not make it and to have only 1 team in the top 10 matches the situation from 2015.
    • Chicago (Anchorman) has a BWB Power Index of 276 which is the lowest-ranked team to make the Bash quarterfinals.

11/8/23

  • Hello! My intention was to run the final 3 rounds of the Benchwarmer Bash to wrap up at the same time as the World Series (if it went for 7 games).  When the Rangers finished it off in Game 5, I took a day off and unintentionally that's turned into a week. I'm out tonight but plan to get the Bash started again on Thursday and wrap up by Saturday or Sunday.
  • Other schedule things as we move into the offseason (subject to change):
    • I'll start work on 2024 salaries and positions later this week - with the goal of being ready to post this weekend.
    • Once the salaries and positions are updated, I'll unfreeze the rosters and you can begin work on trades and carryovers.
    • First offseason trade deadline - Dec. 10
    • Second (and last) offseason trade deadline - Dec. 31
    • Roster carryover/cut selections deadline - Jan. 7

10/31/23

10/30/23

  • Benchwarmer Bash 2023 - Federation Semifinals completed - Games 1-7 posted. Finals on Tuesday.
  • Previewing the Federation round:
    • There are 32 teams in the Federation field - 20 league champions and 12 wild card teams
    • Two teams have previously won the Benchwarmer Bash - Kingston from That's the Fact Jack (Ricardo Alexander) won last year.
    • 5 of the teams have previously won a Federation title, with 2 of 2022's 8 Federation winners still in the hunt for a repeat.
    • 2 of the 16 semifinal series have an owner with teams on both sides of the matchup
    • Owners with multiple teams in the Federation round of the Benchwarmer Bash:
      • 10 teams: Ricardo Alexander
      • 3 teams: Robert Elias, Dave Matter, and Sherman Wan
      • 2 teams: Michael Rudolph and Jay Snyder
      • 9 other owners have a single team
  • Benchwarmer Bash - Association Round Recap
    • Association titles by seed:
      • 1st: 13
      • 2nd: 6
      • 3rd: 7
      • 4th: 6
    • 20 titles were won by league champions, 12 by wild cards
    • For our league championship rematches mentioned below on 10/29, all 3 went to the league champion again.
    • 16 teams came in with a chance to repeat from 2022 and 6 did and all have something in common:
      • Yogi Berra Association: NYC2ATL (Winners Circle) - Ricardo Alexander
      • Lou Brock Association: NYC2ATL (White Elephant) - Ricardo Alexander
      • Ed Delahanty Association: Kingston (Marxball) - Ricardo Alexander
      • Darrell Evans Association: Atlanta (Golden Throat) - Ricardo Alexander
      • Whitey Ford Assocation: Atlanta (Murderers' Row) - Ricardo Alexander
      • Catfish Hunter Association: Kingston (That's the Fact Jack) - Ricardo Alexander - keeping alive a chance to repeat as the Bash winner

10/29/23

10/28/23

  • Benchwarmer Bash 2023 - Association semifinals complete - Games 1-7 posted. Finals coming on Sunday.
  • Benchwarmer Bash - Matchups are posted for the Association Semifinals - see the Benchwarmer Bash page and look for "Association Results" links within each Federation block (or see the quick links below on the 10/26 note). Games will begin later on Saturday.
  • Previewing the Bash:
    • There are 128 teams in the Association field - 68 league champions and 60 wild card teams
    • 7 franchises in the field have previously won a Bash title, including last year's champion Kingston Don Dadda from Marxball (Ricardo Alexander) and there are 5 previous runners up, including last year's 2nd place team, Valley Forge Continentals from Big Red Machine (Robert Elias)
    • 26 of the teams have previously won a Federation title, with 5 of 2022's 8 Federation winners attempting a repeat this year.
    • 30 of the teams have previously won an Association title (a level of competition that just started in 2019), 16 of 2022's 32 Association winners are in the field again this year.
    • Of the 64 first-round Association matchups, 27 feature teams from the same league playing each other. Several are playoff rematches:
      • There are 4 rematches of conference championships
      • We have 6 league championship rematches:
        • Batman: Brinkley (Michael Quinn) vs Kersh & Trouty (Sherman Wan). Brinkley won the league championship 4-2.
        • Blue and Gray: Charleston (Jerry King) vs Bradford (Jay Snyder). Charleston won 4-2.
        • Federal: Kansas City (Michael Quinn) vs Longyearbyen (Sherman Wan). Longyearbyen won 4-2.
        • Phightin' Phils: Steak Sandwich (Jason Kiernan) vs Wadsworth (Michael Rudolph). Steak Sandwich won 4-3.
        • Superman: Here Come (Michael Lehman) vs Fukushima (Jerry King). Fukushima won 4-3.
        • Tobacco Road: Jordan's (Jason Kiernan) vs Kingston (Ricardo Alexander). Jordan's won 4-2. (They had a championship rematch in last season's first round)
    • 2 of the 64 first-round series have an owner with teams on both sides of the matchup - Ricardo Alexander and Sherman Wan
    • Owners with multiple teams in the Association round of the Benchwarmer Bash:
      • 24 teams: Sherman Wan
      • 16 teams: Ricardo Alexander
      • 11 teams: Michael Rudolph
      • 8 teams: Dave Matter
      • 6 teams: Jon Swanson
      • 5 teams: Robert Elias, Jason Kiernan, Jerry King, Jay Snyder
      • 4 teams: Michael Quinn, Ken Stevenson
      • 3 teams: David Henning, John Hula, Leif Jonson, Andrew Lehman, Michael Lehman
      • 2 teams: Jim Duzyk
      • 18 other owners have a single team

10/27/23

10/25/23

10/24/23

  • Playoffs: Championship Week: Games 2-4 posted - See Playoffs for All Leagues
  • 40 of 2022's 68 league champions won their division again this season. 28 are still alive heading into the league finals
  • Congratulations to owners still alive with multiple conference wins: (see how this compares to 2022)
    • 18 Teams - Sherman Wan (out of 27 division winners)
    • 17 Teams - Ricardo Alexander (22)
    • 10 Teams - Jason Kiernan (14)
    • 9 Teams - Michael Rudolph (17)
    • 8 Teams - Michael Quinn (15) and Jon Swanson (17)
    • 7 Teams - David Henning (13)
    • 6 Teams - Dave Matter (20)
    • 5 Teams - John Hula (10)
    • 4 Teams - Jerry King (5)
    • 3 Teams - Robert Elias (5), Leif Jonson (8), Andrew Lehman (10), Michael Lehman (8), Jay Snyder (5), and Ken Stevenson (3)
    • 2 Teams - Don Kruse (4), Bill Munger (3), Jamie Reese (4), Derrick Silensky (2), and John Stroba (5)

10/23/23

  • Playoffs: Championship Week: Game 1 posted - See Playoffs for All Leagues
  • Lineups are open again for one more change - teams that will advance to the Benchwarmer Bash can reset their lineups one time for the entire run of the Bash. Lineup change deadline is Thursday night, October 26 at midnight Eastern

10/20/23

  • Playoffs: Week 1: Games 5-7 posted - First week is complete! - See Playoffs for All Leagues
  • Week 27 lineup deadline - for the 2nd week of the playoffs - Saturday night, Oct 21 at midnight Eastern
  • 2023 in Review (Part 2):
    • See Standings for All Leagues and Around BWB
    • Of 272 division winners from 2022, 120 repeated with division titles this season (145 of 268 repeated last year)
    • 86 of the division winners from last season finished below .500 in 2023, 39 of them dropped all the way to last place this year. 3 of those teams lost 100 games this year.
    • From the 272 divisions that existed in 2022, 34 division winners in 2023 are franchises that never before won a division title.
      • Special shout outs to teams doing this for the first time after 10 or more years of league play:
        • Andrew Lehman, Mars in Triple Crown League's 17th season
        • Dave Matter, Cincinnati in Triple Crown League's 17th season
        • Mike DeSmedt, Southside in Three of a Kind League's 16th season
        • Jim Duzyk, Upstream in Four Star League's 14th season
        • Bill Munger, Long Island in Perfect World League's 14th season
        • Jon Swanson, Wittenberg in Murderers' Row's 14th season
        • Tom McGraw, Green in Fenway Fenatic's 13th season
        • Sheldon Price, Colorado in Blame Canada League's 13th season
        • Jon Swanson, Lake Harriet in Minnie & Paul League's 13th season
        • Jerry King, Fukushima in Superman League's 12th season
        • Tom McGraw, Chicago in Firemen League's 12th season
        • Michael Lehman, Baseball in Anchorman League's 10th season
        • Dave Matter, Addision in North Siders League's 10th season
    • Of the 68 league champions from 2021, 40 of them repeated as division winners this season. (40 of 67 league winners from 2021 won divisions in 2022).
    • 31 teams went "worst to first" - finishing in 4th place in 2022 and winning a division this year (29 last year).
    • 13 teams out of 1,088 won 100 games this year, topped by 2 teams with 106 wins: Ricardo Alexander with Kingston in British Invasion League and Robert Elias with Wayne in K Street League
    • 22 teams lost 100 games, with 1 team dropping 114 for the season.
    • 25 teams had 100 or more losses in 2022.  None of them won their division this year (4 made 2nd-place) and just 2 finished .500 or better. However, 13 of those teams finished in 4th place this season and 2 of the teams lost 100 games again this year.
    • 24 teams won 100 or more games in 2022. 3 of them won 100 games again this season and 18 were division winners this year. Only 2 of those teams were below .500 this year and 1 of the teams actually fell to 4th place

10/19/23

  • Playoffs: Week 1: Games 2-4 posted - See Playoffs for All Leagues
  • Congratulations to owners with multiple division wins (see how this compares to last year):
    • 27 Teams - Sherman Wan
    • 22 Teams - Ricardo Alexander
    • 20 Teams - Dave Matter
    • 17 Teams - Michael Rudolph, Jon Swanson
    • 15 Teams - Michael Quinn
    • 14 Teams - Jason Kiernan
    • 13 Teams - David Henning
    • 10 Teams - John Hula, Andrew Lehman
    • 8 Teams - Leif Jonson, Michael Lehman
    • 7 Teams - Tom McGraw
    • 5 Teams - Alonda Clifton, Roland Dupont, Jim Duzyk, Robert Elias, Jerry King, Jay Snyder, John Stroba
    • 4 Teams - Don Kruse, Jamie Reese, Orphan teams under BWB Office and foster owners
    • 3 Teams - Bill Munger, Ken Stevenson
    • 2 Teams - Yuri Belova, Anthony C, Rick Furak, Sheldon Price, Mike Scott, Derrick Silensky

10/18/23

  • Playoffs: Week 1: Game 1 posted - See Playoffs for All Leagues
  • 2023 in Review: This season, there were 8 divisional ties throughout BWB. In 2022, 10 divisions ended in ties - how did those teams in last year's tiebreaker games fare this season?
    • Blame Canada League - Stan Division:
      • Winner - Elsinore Hosers (Jerry King) - This year: Won the division by 26 games
      • Loser - Fairplays Hubba-baloo (Jason Kiernan) - This year: Finished 2nd, 26 GB
    • Geek Pride League - Dorsey Division:
      • Winner - Silicon Valley Ones And Zeroes (Sheldon Price) - This year: Finished last, 30 GB
      • Loser - Seattle Grunge (Dave Matter) - Won the division by 18 games
    • Golden Throat League - Ernie Harwell Division:
      • Winner - Hammy's Screamers (Dave Matter) - This year: Finished tied for 2nd, 9 GB
      • Loser - Erebor Dragons (David Henning) - This year: Finished tied for 2nd, 9 GB
    • Grand Slam League - Murray Division:
      • Winner - Grannies Salami and Taters (Jason Kiernan) - This year: Finished 2nd, 2 GB
      • Loser - McPherson's Ridge Cavalry (Robert Elias) - This year: Won the division by 2 games
    • Great Lakes League - Erie Division:
      • Winner - Zoonotic Spillover (Jim Duzyk) - This year: Finished last, 11 GB
      • Loser - Black Rock Commodores (Robert Elias) - This year: Under Dan Levy, finished 3rd, 9 GB
    • K Street League - Blyleven Division:
      • Winner - Alvin Express (Michael Quinn) - This year: Won the division by 6 games
      • Loser - The Big Unit Throwing Gas!!! (Jason Kiernan) - This year: Finished 2nd, 6 GB
    • Motor City League - Gehringer Division
      • Winner - Maplewood Prospects (Robert Elias) - This year: Finished 3rd, 22 GB
      • Loser - Alcubierre-Obousy Skunkworks (Sherman Wan) - This year: Won the division by 9 games
    • Royal Flush League - Splittorff Division:
      • Winner - St. Louis Aces (Michael Quinn) - This year: Won the division by 3 games
      • Loser - Kentucky 5 of a Kind (Tom McGraw) - This year: Finished 3rd, 13 GB
    • Silver Screen League - Major League Division:
      • Winner - Jobu's Rum Runners (Michael Rudolph) - This year: Finished last, 22 GB
      • Loser - Celluloid Heroes (Alonda Clifton) - This year: Finished 3rd, 11 GB
    • Will Ferrell League - Stranger Than Fiction Division:
      • Winner - Boone Central Cardinals (Mike Cerny) - This year: As Brick's Bashers, owned by Dave Matter, won the division by 7 games
      • Loser - Yet To Be Named Baseball Player Character (John Hula) - This year: Finished 3rd, 11 GB
  • Playoff schedules are posted - including probable pitching matchups. See the link for playoffs on your league's home page or you can get a link to any league's playoffs from this page. You can also view quick links to all of your teams' playoff pages.

10/13/23

  • Tiebreakers posted for home field advantage and playoff seeding for all leagues throughout the post season.

10/11/23

10/10/23

  • 8 Division Champions from the October 7 tiebreaker games (See standings for all leagues and a full list of all 2023 division winners)
    • Born to Run League
      • Cobb Division: Quad Cities Stealing Home (owner Tom Kohl) - 3rd division win; 2017 league champion
      • Raines Division: Central City Flashes (owner David Henning - 13th win in 2023) - Only previous title was in 2019 league championship season
    • Fenway Fenatics - Cronin Division: Green Monster (owner Tom McGraw - 7th win in 2023) - 5th division win; Won league title in all previous playoff appearances
    • Game Night League - Operation Division: Minnesota Moose (owner Jon Swanson - 17th win in 2023) - 1st division title
    • Minnie & Paul League - Carew Division: Nebraska Legends (owner Michael Gaston) - 2 previous wins, most recently in 2020
    • Moneyball League - Scott Hatteberg Division: Atlanta Beane Pies (owner Ricardo Alexander - 22nd win in 2023) - Defending league champion; 5th division win
    • Redbirds League - Brock Division: Brooklyn Usual Suspects (owner Jerry King - 5th win in 2023) - Repeat winner, 6th overall; League champ in 2011 and 2008
    • Whiff League - Jose Canseco Division:Arlington Killer Donkeys (owner Brad Lewallen) - 1st division win; Best previous finish was 2nd in 2020

10/7/23

  • 8 divisions across BWB finished in a tie - Results are in - Regular season is complete!
    • Born to Run League - Cobb Division: Quad Cities Stealing Home (Tom Kohl) at Escape from New Jersey in a Green Ford Taurus (John Hula)
      • Result: Quad Cities 4  Escape from New Jersey 3 (Extra Innings) - Box
      • Quad Cities has 2 division titles and was the 2017 league champion. EFNJ won the division the last 2 seasons and won the league in 2021 and 2020.
      • The teams split their season series 9-9. EFNJ had a division record 1 game better to get home field.
      • Quad Cities swept the 6 games played between the teams in the final 3 weeks.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Quad Cities 9-1 (on a 7-game win streak)  EFNJ 6-4 (has won 3 straight)
    • Born to Run League - Raines Division: Cental City Flashes (David Henning) at Quick Feet (Roland Dupont)
      • Result: Central City 8  Quick 4 - Box
      • Central City has 1 division title in 2019 when it won the league as well. Quick never finished higher than 3rd place in the league's 1st 6 seasons.
      • Quick won the season series 10-8.
      • The teams split their final 6 games in Weeks 23-24.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Central City 6-4 (and has won 5 in a row)  Quick 6-4
    • Fenway Fenatics - Cronin Division: Green Monster (Tom McGraw) at Scarlet Sox (Roland Dupont)
      • Result: Green 9  Scarlet 6 - Box
      • Green has never made the playoffs in the league's 12 seasons. Scarlet last won the division in 2016, but has 5 overall and was league champ in 2014 and 2012.
      • Scarlet won the season series 11-7
      • Scarlet won 2 out of 3 against Green in the final 3 games to force the tie. Green took 2 of 3 in Week 24
      • Record for the last 10 games: Green 7-3  Scarlet 8-2
    • Game Night League - Operation Division: Minnesota Moose (Jon Swanson) at SoCal Blue Dogs (Scott Owens)
      • Result: Minnesota 6  SoCal 5 (Extra Innings) - Box
      • Minnesota's best previous finish was 2nd in 2021. SoCal won the division in the league's 1st 2 seasons and won the league in 2021.
      • The teams split the season series 9-9; SoCal had the better division record to get home field
      • The teams split their final 6 head-to-head games, but SoCal beat Minnesota in the final 2 games of the season to force the tie.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Minnesota 6-4  SoCal 7-3
    • Minnie & Paul League - Carew Division: Nebraska Legends (Michael Gaston) at Bloomington Metropolitans (Sam Campbell)
      • Result: Nebraska 6  Bloomington 3 - Box
      • Nebraska has 2 division wins, last in 2020. Bloomington also has 2 wins with the most recent in 2021.
      • Bloomington has home field on the basis of a 13-5 win in their season series.
      • Bloomington won 5 of the final 6 games the teams played in Weeks 23 & 24.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Nebraska 5-5  Bloomington 6-4 (currently on a 3-game win streak)
    • Moneyball League - Scott Hatteberg Division: Bloom County Boingers (Dave Matter) at Atlanta Beane Pies (Ricardo Alexander)
      • Result: Atlanta 7  Bloom County 6 - Box
      • Bloom County has 1 division title in the league's previous 10 seasons (2020). Atlanta is the defending league champion and has won the division 4 times, including the last 2 years.
      • The teams split their season series 9-9. Atlanta's division record was 1 game better to grab home field.
      • Atlanta won 4 of the final 6 games the teams played in Weeks 23-24.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Bloom County 5-5  Atlanta 7-3
    • Redbirds League - Brock Division: Hello Wisconsin Stoners (Michael Lehman) at Brooklyn Usual Suspects (Jerry King)
      • Result: Brooklyn 4  Hello Wisconsin 3 - Box
      • Hello Wisconsin has 1 division win in the league's 17 seasons (2017). Brooklyn won the division last year and has 5 overall - with 2 league titles (2011 and 2008)
      • Brooklyn won the season series 11-7.
      • Brooklyn won 4 of the 6 games the teams played in Weeks 23 & 25.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Hello Wisconsin 5-5  Brookyn 6-4
    • Whiff League - Jose Canseco Division: Arlington Killer Donkeys (Brad Lewallen) at Branyan's Bombers (Michael Rudolph)
      • Result: Arlington 5  Branyan's 2 - Box
      • Arlington has never won the division in the league's previous 4 seasons. Branyan's has 2 division titles.
      • Branyan's won the season series 12-6
      • Branyan's won 4 of the 6 games the teams played in Weeks 23 & 24.
      • Record for the last 10 games: Both teams 7-3 and both bring 2-game winning streaks into the tiebreaker.

10/6/23

  • The Week 26 transaction/lineup deadline may get moved back further, depending on how long it takes me to set up playoff brackets/schedules, but currently I have reset it to Wednesday night, Oct 11 at midnight Eastern.
    • The only transactions allowed this week are cuts and IR moves.
    • Your lineups need to be legal - if by putting players with salary under 250 in your lineup you end up with too many taxi squad players, you'll need to cut the extra ones (or I'll have to move players under 250 back to the minors for you).
  • The Week 26 deadline coming up is the FINAL chance to cut players before the winter transactions. Any player you have under contract for 2024 and beyond must be kept on your roster as part of your 28 carryover players in January. You can cut them after the Redistribution Draft, but you have to hold onto them until that point. This is the final chance to cut those players or you keep them until February.  (You can also try to trade them in November/December before the carryover deadline, but this is the last chance to do it on your own).
  • Somone asked if there could be any special exception for Wander Franco or player in a similar situation to void their contract. At this point, that is not part of the rules and I don't have a plan right now to change that. We do not have any provision that would get you any credit back from money you may have spent on contracts.

10/1/23

  • And we're done - sort of - Week 25 complete - Games 149-150 posted - See results
    • That's a wrap on the regular season - except for the 8 divisions that ended in a tie and will require a 1-game playoff to decide the division (we avoided any 3-way ties)
    • It takes a little bit of setup to schedule the tiebreaker games - it might be a couple of days before I'm able to fit that in and score the games
    • Standings for all leagues
    • Around BWB
  • We should have Games 149-150 up by Sunday evening. 64 divisions have yet to be decided. There are many that could end up in a tie - including at least one scenario for a 3-way tie. Prior to Game 149, here's the final update to the close division races around BWB

9/27/23

  • The lineup/transaction deadline for Week 26 (1st week of the playoffs) has been moved to Sunday, October 8 at midnight Eastern. It will take some time to set up the playoff brackets.

9/10/23

9/8/23

  • Free agent signings are closed; Transactions for the next 2 submissions are for only cuts and IR moves

9/3/23

  • Roughly about the same time every year, from the September 1 posting for Games 124-126...congratulations to our first Division Champions: (See standings for all leagues) - this time it's 4 teams clinching a playoff spot
    • A League About Nothing - Kramer Division: NYC2ATL Pee Wee Blackbirds (owner Ricardo Alexander) - Repeat division winner; 6th overall
    • American Association - Philadelphia Athletics Division: Cleveland Spiders (owner Michael Rudolph) - 4th consecutive division title; League champ in 2021 and 2020
    • Redbirds League - Dean Division: Orion's Solar Kings (owner David Henning) - 9th division win; 2 league championships (2018 & 2015)
    • Marxball - Groucho Division: Sanity Clause & the Seven Elves (owner Sherman Wan) - Repeat win, 5th overall; 2017 league champion

9/2/23

  • Reminder - this is the final week to sign free agents. Week 25 transactions are only for cuts and IR moves.

8/30/23

  • This week is the final week to sign free agents

8/24/23

  • Ohtani and the "Extra" slot in your lineup - This will be something that will get written over the winter and it's partially the result of moving in a rule change really quickly and not thinking through all possible outcomes:
    • The "Extra" slot on your active roster is meant to be used to allow Ohtani to both hit and pitch for you.  While he's just one guy, for lineup and game play purposes he has to look like two different players.
    • With the announcement that he's done pitching for 2023, it's likely that many of you will want to move Ohtani the pitcher onto your taxi squad. However, at that point your team will still show the Extra lineup slot available and now potentially you've got an advantage over other teams by actually having one more player to use than they do.
    • To move Ohtani the pitcher out of the way, you'll need to move him into the Extra slot.  If you put him on Taxi, I'll adjust it manually during transaction processing.
  • September roster expansion
    • In Weeks 23-25, your taxi squad and minor league players can fill in for your lineup if there are any empty spots.
    • Optionally, you can place your taxi/minors players in priority order - otherwise we fill them in randomly.  We're setting lineups now for Week 23 (deadline 8/30)

8/18/23

  • We've got some magic numbers appearing in the standings, so some teams are getting close to locking in a division title

8/17/23

  • September roster expansion comes into play for game lineups during Week 23. However, since several of you have lots of teams, you can begin ordering your taxi squad and minor league players a week early.

8/11/23

  • This is the final week that you can move players to the Prospects Roster (deadline 8/16)
  • Every 5 weeks we change the transaction deadline day to better match the mapping between MLB games and BWB games.  Starting this week, and through the end of the regular season, our lineup/transaction deadlines are due on Wednesdays - see Season Deadlines

8/10/23

  • Today is the final day for trades - deadline is 7 PM Eastern
  • Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers

8/7/23

  • With Game 100, we've hit the 2/3 mark of the regular season

8/6/23

7/21/23

  • First round draft picks of 2023 are now in the player list.  You can sign them this week.
    • Not all players have signed contracts yet.  Players who do not sign will be removed from the player list. Good for us - the signing deadilne is July 25, so you'll have time to change your picks before the deadline.  We'll skip an unsigned player if he's still on your list (that won't waste a pick).
    • How to find the picks?  On the player selection screen, use the "Other" filter and you'll find an option for "First Round (2023)"
    • You'll also find them by looking for players who are new to the list in Week 18, although they will be mixed in with other players added this week by making their first MLB appearances.

7/17/23

  • Normally, transaction order and weekly cash payments for game results and division position are on a 2-week delay. For example, the Week 16 transaction order was based on the standings after Week 14 and the cash for Week 14 game results were credited during the Week 16 transactions.  With the All Star break, we're now off a bit.  The earliest that I can finish Week 15 games is Friday so that means the earliest I can set a new transaction order based on Week 15 is Saturday - and the weekly deadlines are shifting to Thursday.  So there's no change in transaction order this week and there will be no cash distributed for game results or position this week.  We'll be on a 3-week lag until MLB catches up.  This was mentioned as a possible side effect when moving the weekly deadlines a few days earlier at the start of the season.

7/11/23

  • Upcoming dates/deadlines of note:
    • Friday, July 14 - During Week 16 processing, all teams get an extra 1000 in cash
    • Thursday, July 20 - We switch weekly deadlines to Thursdays - Week 17: the contract extension deadline
    • Thursday, July 27 - Week 18: The week that 2023 first round draft picks will be available to sign
    • Thursday, August 10 - Week 20: Trade deadline
    • Wednesday, August 16 - Week 21: Final week to add players to the Prospects Roster

7/10/23

  • For Week 16 lineups - you may reorder your pitching rotation from scratch - we will not check on games of rest between Weeks 15 and 16 - it's our version of the All Star Break.  Lineup deadline is Friday night.
  • All teams will get a cash distribution this week of 1 million Benchwarmer Bucks (1000) in advance of the contract extension deadline on Week 17 (deadline July 20)
  • To be clear, I floated potential rules changes in the spring that might affect the playoffs and the off-season transaction order. There are no changes coming in these areas for this year's playoffs or for the off-season between 2023 and 2024. If you still want to weigh in on any options around that or read what others have said, visit the Benchwarmer Baseball Blog and check out the comments on the two topics.

7/8/23

  • Next week's transactions - for Week 16 - would normally mark a week where we move the transaction deadline a day ahead - from Friday to Thursday.  Since there are no MLB games on Thursday and I didn't have the transactions done earlier on Saturday, we'll keep Week 16's deadline as Friday night.

7/2/23

  • At Game 75 we're at the halfway mark of the regular season
  • Reminder - this is the final week to get a prorated salary rebate for any players you release.

6/25/23

  • Coming up: 3 weeks of games within your division

6/5/23

  • At Game 50, we hit the 1/3 mark of the regular season

6/4/23

  • Every 5 weeks we change the transaction deadline day to better match the mapping between MLB games and BWB games.  Starting this week, and through Week 15, our lineup/transaction deadlines are due on Fridays - see Season Deadlines

5/31/23

  • Upcoming dates/deadlines of note:
    • Friday, June 9 - with Week 11 we switch to Fridays at 7 PM Eastern for lineup/transaction deadlines
    • Friday, July 7 - Week 15 marks the last chance to release a player and receive a salary rebate for the season. Also at this point, the prorated amount for signing a free agent locks at 40% for the remainder of the season.
    • Thursday, July 13 - During Week 16 processing, all teams get an extra 1000 in cash
    • Thursday, July 20 - Week 17: the contract extension deadline
    • Thursday, July 27 - Week 18: I expect this will be the week that 2023 first round draft picks will be available to sign (I could push it a week earlier, but I don't believe that I want this to happen the same week as the contract deadline).

5/2/23

  • With Week 4, we start 8 weeks of games outside your division

4/25/23

  • Every 5 weeks we change the transaction deadline day to better match the mapping between MLB games and BWB games.  Starting this week, and for Weeks 6-10 our lineup/transaction deadlines are due on Saturdays - see Season Deadlines

4/28/23

  • Week 3 complete - That's all for the first round of games within your division. For the next 8 weeks you'll be playing against teams outside your division.

4/25/23

  • Week 5 is the final week to cut players and receive an 80% salary rebate of their 2023 salaries. After this week, the rebate drops by 4% every week.

4/19/23

  • It's a little early in the season - 24/25ths of the regular season still remains - but here's our 1-page look at comparing teams across all the leagues in the BWB universe: Around BWB

4/13/23

  • We are underway - it's BWB Opening Day! Week 1 Begins - Game 1 posted

4/11/23

  • Sometimes things just take a while to get done - we're ready to start playing games
  • If all goes well and as planned, Game 1 should be up on Wednesday night and the remainder of Week 1 after that.

4/5/23

  • Week One Transactions Posted
    • Contract extensions were processed pre-transactions and then we did a financial update (see the update for April 2). At that point, any team with a cash balance above 7000 (except orphans) had their balance reduced to 7000.
  • Players will start getting added to the player list from here on out - as they appear in their first MLB game
    • Players are only added at the time of the posting of transaction results - so you don't have to be searching daily for new additions.
    • You'll find the new players in the player/free agent list - find the drop down box for "New in 2023" - players are listed by the first transaction week in which they can be signed.
  • If things work out OK with everything behind the scenes, I hope to start posting some game results this weekend.

4/3/23

  • I sent out an email reminder earlier today that if your team has a cash balance above 7000 (the 5000 maximum plus the 2000 given to all teams last week), you can avoid losing cash above the 7000 limit by signing contract extension(s) this week.
    • Those extensions are done first thing this week - then we check the balances for 7000 - and reduce as necessary.
    • What I forgot to put in the email is that current orphan teams - or an adopted orphan that got its 4000 cash in Week -1 or Week Zero - are not subject to the 7000 maximum.  If you're a foster owner for an orphan team you do NOT have to reduce that team's cash.
  • Counting Ohtani as both hitter and pitcher has some glitches - your roster page should be OK for showing the roster limits (max players, max players over 250, etc.) - but the transaction checking is not working yet - it's probably counting him twice. So you may be seeing some transaction errors of going over 45 players or too many players making over 250 - even if you're not submitting any transactions.  You're going to have to check those manually this week and do your own counting.

3/28/23

  • Week Zero Transactions Posted
    • Any teams with cash balances above 5000 were slated to be cut down to that level (exceptions: new leagues, new owners taking over orphan teams, and orphans adopted on or after Week -2) - however, as we've done in previous seasons, we'll extend that. More details will be posted on Wednesday
    • Teams were then provided with an extra 2000 in Opening Day cash
  • Week One Transaction/Lineup Deadline - modified from Sunday to Monday, April 3 at 7 PM Eastern - see Season Deadlines
  • For the announced rule change that Shohei Ohtani can be used as both a hitter and pitcher in the same game:
    • Teams with Ohtani now have an "extra" player on the roster - one Ohtani that can be used as a hitter and one as a pitcher
    • These teams will now have a leftover player - either hitter or pitcher - that will go into a new "Ext" (Extra) slot
    • The roster and lineup change pages should be OK - but I need to make changes on the pages for drops, contract extensions, trades, and player lists - those will come soon
    • I'll have more details on how this works later in the week - I'll email Ohtani owners first with what to expect
  • 2023 Rules Changes
    • We've noted most of these either on the site or via email - but there is one change that hasn't been discussed: When we set the starting pitchers for each game, if the scheduled starter cannot be used, we will now first check lower in the rotation and then check the spot starters instead of doing the spot guys first.
    • There's another note on the changes that needs to be added based on moving the deadline days up a little bit this season. I'll have that up later this week.
  • Potential future rules changes
    • See the Benchwarmer Baseball Blog for 2 open threads about changes that people have suggested over the years: modifying the off-season transaction order and expanding the playoffs. Please add your thoughts to the discussion.

3/26/23

  • Getting your team's cash balance below 5000 during this week's transactions -
    • Don't forget that salary rebates will add back to your cash. If, for example, you're cutting Edwin Diaz and you paid his full salary this season, you'll be getting an 80% rebate which is 4302 back into your cash balance. It might be better to wait until Week 1 to cut him.
    • Make sure that on your transaction page, you check to see what the estimated cash balance will be after transactions. You can see all your teams in one glance if you check all your transactions.  Look for cash balances in either red or green to see if you're going to lose money.
    • Cash estimates after transactions do not include trades - if you've got a trade happening this week, you'll need to do some math yourself.

3/25/23

  • Weekly deadlines for transactions and lineups
  • Some web enhancements -
    • On the player list and for picking free agents, we're now showing the percentage of ownership (and change from last week) and you'll find some additional filters for your search:
      • Under "Position" you can search for middle infielders (plays either 2B or SS) and players eligible for multiple positions
      • Under "Other" you can search for players where ownership percentage went up or down by 10% or more from last week
    • On the All My Players page, you can now perform certain actions that can help you if you've got a lot of shares of a certain player:
      • Submit transactions to release a player from all your teams
      • Submit transactions to move a player to IR for all your teams
      • Change the lineup slot to "M" or "T" (or clear the slot/position) for the player on all your teams.
      • This is a broad brush approach as it will make the change on every team - but should save you some time and clicks.
      • You're still going to need to check all your rosters and check all your transactions to make sure those moves are legal

3/15/23

  • Orphan teams are now eligible for trades. If you've tried to request a trade with an orphan team or if you're a foster owner running an orphan team and haven't been able to trade, that should all be open now.

3/24/23

3/21/23

  • Week -1 Transaction Results Posted
    • Next deadline - Week Zero: Sunday night, March 26 at midnight Pacific (a few extra hours - this will show on the site as a deadline of 3/27/23 3 AM EST)
  • We're getting down to the wire for the final touches on your rosters heading into the season.
    • After the Week Zero transactions - teams in returning leagues will lose any cash balance left over 5000 at that time (and then all teams get an extra 2000).  Starting a few years ago, there are exceptions to this rule:
      • Any orphan teams acquired by an owner for his/her initial season of BWB are not subject to the maximum cash balance
      • Any orphan teams acquired where the extra 4000 cash is credited on Week -2 (3/12) or later does not have to quickly reduce (We're currently in Week Zero, so pick up an orphan now and your cash is safe)
      • And - any teams currently in orphan status will not be subject to a cut.
      • See the rule
    • Week 1 lineups will be tentatively due on Sunday, April 2 - I need to do some last checks on the MLB schedules before finalizing this date.

3/7/23

  • Payment information is NOT yet set up for 2023, so no need to pay yet - that's coming soon.

2/28/23

2/21/23

2/8/23

2/2/23

  • Redistribution Draft deadline is Sunday night. You can check the lists for all your teams to see if you have any errors.
  • I still could use some foster owners to do the draft lists for orphan teams. Let me know if you are willing to do that.
    • I missed these messages to take fosters - Mike Quinn, Bill Munger, Craig Burke - I am travelling on Thursday, so I should be able set you up with some orphans very late Thursday night or on Friday morning.

1/27/23

  • I've had delays in some setup tasks and won't be ready to process the Redistribution Draft on time - so I'm going to push back the first deadline to Sunday, Feb. 5 at Midnight Pacific
  • If anyone is interested in becoming a foster owner for one or more of our orphan teams, please let me know your interest and how many teams you could do. Primarily I'm looking for someone to be able to get them through the Redistribution Draft until someone adopts them permanently.

1/23/23

  • Sorry - much later than planned - the transaction order is now final for the Redistribution Draft

1/18/23

  • After some feedback and consideration, I'm striking the new rule that would allow for salaries above the minimum for players coming from Japan and other foreign leagues (and restoring normal calculations for former-MLB players who return). Above all, BWB salaries are not predictive - they are based on MLB performance - so we'll keep it that way right now.

1/15/23

  • Results of carryover choices posted.  View the Transactions page to see the cuts in your league.
  • 125 New players added to the game based on the 40-man rosters for MLB teams
    • This is the only player addition until after Opening Day
    • To find them - In the filter/search area of the player lists, look for the "New in 2023" menu - See the list of new players
  • The 2023 Redistribution Draft is now open.  You'll 2 weeks to make your first selections.  Deadline is Sunday 1/29/23 at Midnight Pacific (will show on the web as 1/30/23 3 AM EST)
  • Visit your team roster to see the link to begin making your picks.
  • For more information, see the rules regarding the Redistribution Draft
  • There are 2 weeks to do your list for Round 1, but you should consider building for all 5 rounds - or at least as much as you can, because if any of your listed picks/alternates are gone by your turn in the order, we'll pull up picks from Round 2 and beyond to make sure you get 3 selections.
    • After Jan 29, we post the results of only Round 1 only - any drafted players will be removed from the remainder of your lists.
    • You'll have almost 2 weeks to redo draft lists (if you choose), then we post the results of only Round 2 (again removing drafted players from your rounds 3-5)
    • Then one more week for an optional redo of your draft lists, and we post the results of Rounds 3-5
  • The season calendar of deadlines is not yet updated for 2023, but the deadlines for the Redistribution Draft are:
    • Sunday evening 1/29 Midnight PST - First submission - we post results for Round 1
    • Sun night 2/12 Midnight PST - Adjust your lists for Rounds 2-5 - we post results for Round 2
    • Sun night 2/19 Midnight PST - Adjust your lists for Rounds 3-5 - we post results for the remaining 3 rounds
  • Any players on your Prospect Roster have been moved back to your 40-man roster.  You can begin to move players to prospect status again after the Redistribution Draft.
  • Note - the draft order has not yet been verified or updated to move division winners into picks 13-16 of the draft order. That will happen within a few days.

1/11/23

  • Roster deadline moved to midnight EST on Thursday night.
  • Orphan Teams - very late, but here's the initial list of available orphans for 2023.  There will be more added once I verify some "no answers" on returning will indeed become orphans.  Email me if you want to pick up any of these orphans and we still might be able to get you to pick your roster cuts/keeps.
  • Players of the Year listings are now final. There may be slight changes from what was previously listed as the rankings through Week 25 as performance for the whole season was added into the calculation in addition to the accumulated weekly scores.
  • Team finances are updated to reflect the POY awards

1/10/23

1/6/23

  • There are several set up/administrative tasks that I didn't get completed before going on vacation and, though I brought my computer along, I should have been realistic that I wouldn't have an opportunity to work on during this week. I'm not going to be ready to process cuts on Sunday, so I'll pass additional time on to you.
    • The roster cut down deadline is moved to Thursday, January 12, 7 PM Eastern
    • I'll work on the cuts Thursday night and open up the Redistribution Draft list by Friday 1/13.  That will give you 3 full weekends to work on that prior to the first draft deadline of Sunday 1/29.

1/1/23

  • I'll also have more on rule changes coming up, but here are a couple to be aware of as you make your final roster adjustments:
    • Salaries for players coming from Japan/Korea or other foreign leagues may not be automatically set to 100 as has always been done. This will be a subjective call - looking at stats in the other system, contract size for MLB, etc.
    • Costs to store players on the Prospects Roster will rise from 250 to 500. I'm tempted to make it higher, but we'll see how this works.
 
DEAL of the WEEK! Check out all of this week
125x125 USA Today First 3 Months $34
160x600 USA Today First 2 Months for $25
Home Email BWB Results Current Standings Roster Information
Change Personal Information Logout Password Maintenance
Benchwarmer Baseball Privacy Policy
Statistics and Box Score Data: Content Copyright 2020, The Sports Forecaster. Distributed by XML Team Solutions.
Google  
Site designed and maintained by Benchwarmer Fantasy Sports