Things I’m Thankful For: 2010 Fantasy Edition

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Since it is turkey day, I figured I’d give thanks to things throughout the fantasy world from last season and the upcoming one. I had fun doing this last year, so I figured I’d carry on the tradition.

I’m thankful for…Brandon Morrow getting a shot in the rotation. I was always a Morrow hater when he was in Seattle (mainly because of the whole Lincecum thing), but I’ve changed my tune after seeing a full season of him in the rotation. Makes you wonder what he could have done if Bavasi hadn’t jerked him around so much. On that thought, I’m thankful Bill Bavasi is no longer the Mariners GM.

I’m thankful for…Shin-Soo Choo getting out of his military service. Losing Choo wouldn’t have been good for baseball, the Indians, or keeper league owners everywhere.

I’m thankful for…young rooks like Mike Stanton and Jason Heyward. Getting to see two youngsters take the league by storm early on is really fun to watch.

I’m thankful for…John Buck’s breakout season. Watching someone overpay for him on draft day is going to be so much cool.

I’m thankful for…Ubaldo Jimenez’s early brilliance. Ubaldo made me look like some sort of genius is more than one league last year.

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I’m thankful for…Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Having those two in the same lineup for many years should be really fun, and good for baseball in Kansas City. Unfortunately, it may mean that Dayton Moore keeps his job, which is not good for baseball in Kansas City.

I’m thankful for…Joel Hanrahan’s resurgence. I always felt bad for the guy after his ERA ballooned during his last year in Washington, and it was good to see his strikeout rate rise so high in Pittsburgh.

I’m thankful for…Raul Ibanez’s regression. Now we can all stop pretending he’s some sort of stud.

I’m thankful for…Cliff Lee. Watching that man pitch feels like a privilege, and the inevitability of him in pinstripes is something I’m not prepared for. Here’s hoping Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg can save the day!

I’m thankful for…no impending baseball strike. With the NFL and NBA looking at lockouts next season, fantasy football and basketball enthusiasts could be tortured. Not us fantasy baseball nerds, as we’ll enjoy a long and fruitful 2011 campaign.

All that being said, what are you thankful for?





Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

13 Comments
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Nick
15 years ago

I’m thankful for… Bobby Cox. He’s been a fixture in Atlanta since I started watching baseball, and he lead the team to an amazing run of playoff seasons. I’m sad to see him step down, but at least he left on his terms, after one last good playoff run.

I’m thankful for… Kelly Johnson’s rebound season. I wish he could have hit all those HRs for the Braves, but I don’t begrudge him his success. Kelly always struck me as a classy guy and I hope he keeps on succeeding, except when his teams play Atlanta.

MFG
15 years ago

I’m thankful for….Target Field. Taxpayer expense and questionable economic impact be damned. I get to take my kids to a real ballpark to see major league baseball. Priceless.

DrBGiantsfan
15 years ago

This one is easy! I’m thankful for the Giants finally winning the World Series!

I’m thankful the Giants have Buster Posey for at least the next 6 years.

Ditto Madison Bumgarner.

I’m thankful the Giants re-signed Aubrey Huff.

I’m thankful for the best pitching staff in baseball, young or old.

I’m thankful for the best stadium in baseball!

I’m thankful for the internet which allows me to talk about baseball and the Giants with other fans on a daily basis.

I’m thankful for a great family!

Joe P.
15 years ago
Reply to  DrBGiantsfan

This Dodgers fan is also happy you guys re-signed Aubrey Huff!

DrBGiantsfan
15 years ago

Oh, sorry, I see this is Fantasy Edition!

I’m thankful for my 6 keepers: Paul Konerko, Kendry Morales, Brian McCann, Francisco Liriano, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez.

I’m thankful my league has a 3 year limit on keepers, so there’s lots of good players in next year’s draft.

Brian
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Colby Lewis, the only Texas starter to win against them Giants! Oh, I’m also thankful for the Giants winning it all =)

Kyle HMember since 2020
15 years ago

I’m an orioles fan, what do I have to be thankful for?? ;(

Obligatory Sox Fan
15 years ago
Reply to  Kyle H

You can be thankful for the extra wild card in 2012!

Josh
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Sandy Alderson and the start of a new era for the Mets, even if it takes a few years for the improvements to show up in the standings.

Obligatory Sox Fan
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Youkilis’ unique batting stance.

Rich
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Neil Walker saving me from Howie Kendrick.

I’m thankful for Alexi Ramirez striking out in the eighth inning on the second to last Sunday of the season securing a tiebreak win for me in the playoffs.

I’m thankful for so many more things, I had a really charmed run in the second half last year.

AdamM
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Jose Bautista. He saved my fantasy team from Matt Kemped mediocrity, and made my Blue Jays more fun to watch.

Chris
15 years ago

I’m thankful for Troy Tulowitzki who’s September tear helped me win my league.

I’m thankful for Carlos Gonzalez’s breakout season as it made me look good for drafting him in the 5th round.

I’m thankful for Clay Buccholz because he saved my team’s ERA

and finally, last but not least:

I’m thankful for Logan Morrison who belted out 2 HR, 7 triples, and 12 doubles between August 25th and Oct 2nd during which he raised his OPS (in an OPS league) from .797 to .850