After
a solid 2nd place showing in 2009, the
Ball Hogs and
owner Steven Prentiss went into the 2010 season hungry
to break through again into the championship circle – a
place the franchise had not landed since the 2002 season
(the franchise’s only championship). The
Hogs,
much as they were the season before, looked poised to
make a run at contention, with a number of solid players
under contract before the draft. The 2009 HCBB Rookie
of the Year, Jacoby Ellsbury ($6), entered the season
as arguably the best keeper in the HCBB, while Justin
Verlander ($20) and Matt Cain ($15) formed the backbone
of what would turn out to be a formidable staff. The
Hogs would also get a breakout year from Tampa starter
David Price ($13), who would emerge as a Cy Young candidate
with a stellar campaign. While Prentiss’ squad
battled its way into the money race almost from the beginning,
his team ran into problems and couldn’t seem to
get any traction in the standings as crippling injuries
to Ellsbury destroyed the outfielder’s value, while
other offensive investments in players like Mark Teixeira
($49) to Kyle Blanks ($13) ranged from disappointing
to downright disastrous. As September approached, the
2010 season looked like it would be another disappointment
for Prentiss and his consigliere, Chris Grace, as
Half
Cajun maintained a shrinking lead in the standings. But
the
Hogs would not push the panic button, and while they
would make a series of minor moves over the year to address
issues – the most notable being a deal for Juan
Pierre to replace the lost speed of Ellsbury – for
the most part Prentiss would entrust that eventually
his team would rise to occasion – and it would
in the final weeks of the season. The
Hogs would surge
in the waning moments of the year, and in a wild weekend
that saw no fewer than four different teams in 1st place,
it would be Prentiss’ squad that would come out
on top, erasing what had been an 18-point deficit a month
before to win the wildest finish in HCBB history – and
with it, bring the 2nd championship home for the franchise.
Middle
infielders who produce at a high offensive level have traditionally
been some of the most valuable players in the HCBB – and
in 2010 there would be few players in the league who would
be more valuable to their fantasy teams than second baseman
Robinson Cano would be to the Ball Hogs. The young Yankee
middle infielder had already put up a number of solid seasons
in his young career, and the Hogs had been more than happy
to bring the $27 Cano back with a spring contract extension
expecting more of the same. Instead, Cano would take a
huge step up, establishing himself as arguably the most
dangerous hitter in the Yankee – and Hogs – lineup.
Cano’s numbers (.319-29-109-103) would be a huge
part of the Hogs’ championship run – and his
price would leave him a prime keeper candidate going into
the off-season.
The
presence of young Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the
Hogs roster going into the 2010 season was supposed to be
something that Hogs owner Prentiss would celebrate – after
all, Ellbury was cheap and a presumably a huge source of
speed for his fantasy owner. In fact, Ellsbury was listed
as the number one ranked keeper in the entire league in last
year’s Media Guide. But Ellsbury would injure himself
in the season’s first weeks, colliding with Adrian
Beltre and breaking his ribs – and neither he nor his
season would ever recover. After stealing a MLB leading 70
bases the year before, the party came to an end for Ellsbury
and his fantasy owners, as he would play in only 18 games
and steal a disappointing 7 bases (while scoring only 10
runs) – a mammoth drop of production that left him
not even worth owning in 2010.