The Fuzzy Memorial League

Baseball with an Attitude

Jan. 21, 2025

The FML

Welcome to the Fuzzy Memorial League, one of the oldest Rotisserie-style fantasy baseball leagues in United States.  Formed in 1984 at the now-defunct Turbot Restaurant on North State Parkway in Chicago, the FML is in its 39th year, as of 2019.

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Shoeless Sandmen Win the 2024 FML Championship

After becoming the eighth Fuzzy Memorial League team to occupy first place this season, back on May 8, the Shoeless Sandmen never lost their hold on the lead, occupying the top spot in the standings for 141-straight days.  The Sandmen won the 2024 championship by three points over the second-place Karp’s High Ratios, 82 to 79, with the third-place Addison Lights three and one-half points behind, 82 to 78.5.  On Sept. 14, Karp’s narrowed the lead to a point and a half, 80 to 78.5.  At times on Friday night, Sept. 27, the Sandmen’s margin narrowed to a single point, 80 to 79, over both Karp’s High Ratios and the Lights. 

 

For the Sandmen, the title was only the second for franchise, with former-owner Albert Ettinger winning the 1994 championship.  Phil Dlatt, the current owner, completed his sixth year in the league after taking over from Ettinger in 2019.  The 141-straight days in first place is second only to the 1993 L.L. Beans, who led the entire season, 182 total days.  Patton’s High Velocity won a heated battle for fourth place over the Blues City Bruisers, 58.5 to 57. 

 

The Sandmen won season titles in home runs, earned run average and ratio, while finishing second in runs scored, tied for second place in RBI, third in batting average, tied for fourth place in wins, fourth in both stolen bases and strikeouts and fifth in saves.

 

Aaron Judge, Tarik Skubal and Emmanuel Clase Top the 2024 FML All-Star Team

The Addison Lights’ Aaron Judge was named the Fuzzy Memorial League’s 2024 “Most Valuable Player” with a .322 batting average, 58 home runs, 144 RBI and 10 stolen bases.  The Shoeless Sandmen’s Bobby Witt Jr. was the runner-up with a .332 batting mark, 32 home runs, 109 RBI and 31 stolen bases.  Patton’s High Velocity’s Tarik Skubal won the league “Most Valuable Starting Pitcher” award with an 18-4 record, a 2.39 earned run average and a 0.92 ratio (the latter ninth-best in FML history).  Emmanuel Clase from Karp’s High Ratios took “Most Valuable Relief Pitcher” honors for the second-straight year with a 4-2 mark, 47 saves, a 0.60 ERA and a 0.66 WHIP.

 

The “Rookie Position Player of the Year” award went to Patton’s Ceddanne Rafaela with a .246 batting average, 15 home runs, 75 RBI and 19 stolen bases.  The “Rookie Starting Pitcher of the Year” was the Addison Lights’ Luis Gil with a 15-7 record, a 3.55 ERA and a 1.23 ratio in 28 starts over 145 innings pitched.  Karp’s Mason Miller took “Rookie Relief Pitcher of the Year” honors with a 2-2 record, 28 saves, a 2.49 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Click here to see the complete 2024 FML All-Star Team.

 

Former FML Players Dave Parker, Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Four former Fuzzy Memorial League players will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.  In January, three of those four players were voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).  Those three were Ichiro Suzuki, C.C. Sabathia and Billy Wagner.  Earlier, Dave Parker and Dick Allen were voted in by the Classic Baseball Era Committee.

Oakland outfielder Ichiro Suzuki played 16 of his 19 professional season in the American League (2001-12 with the Seattle Mariners, 2012-14 with the New York Yankees, (2015-17 with the Miami Marlins, 2018-19 with the Mariners).  Suzuki was first drafted by the 2001 Addison Lights, retained for 2002 and signed to a four-year contract from 2003 to 2006.  Suzuki was traded to the Prairie Pigeons on April 26, 2004 and then traded to the Wa-Wa Two Sees on April 25, 2005.  The Wa-Wa Two Sees bought out his contract prior to the 2006 auction, and he was re-drafted by the Brew Jays and retained for the 2007 season.

 

Suzuki returned to the Lights in the 2008 auction, was let go and then drafted by the 2009 Nordica Knucklers.  The Knucklers traded him back to the Jays at the 2009 trade deadline.  The Jays retained Suzuki for the 2010 season only before he was drafted by the 2011 Three Stooges, the 2012 L.L. Beans, the 2013 Lights and the 2014 Knucklers.

 

Following three years in the National League, Suzuki finished his career with brief appearances with the 2018 and 2019 Seattle Mariners but was not on an FML roster.  Suzuki was part of seven FML rosters but goes into the MLB Hall of Fame as a four-year member of the Addison Lights.

 

C.C. Sabathia played 18 of his 19 years professional seasons in the American League, either with the Cleveland Indians or the New York Yankees.  He also began his FML career in April 2001 when activated out of the Three Stooges’ farm system.  The Stooges signed him to a four-year contract from 2003-06 but traded him the Addison Lights after the 2004 season.  In September 2005, the Lights traded him to the Wa-Wa Two Sees, who traded him to the Blues City Bruisers in June 2006.  The Bruisers retained Sabathia with topper’s rights at the 2007 auction and signed him to a two-year contract for 2009 and 2010.

 

The Bruisers sent Sabathia back to the Stooges at the 2010 trade deadline.  The Stooges bought out his 2011 contract, re-drafted him and released him before the 2013 auction.  The Bruisers took him back in the 2013 auction and released him going into the 2014 auction.  He was drafted by Patton’s High Velocity in 2014 but released prior to the 2015 auction.  Sabathia went back to the Bruisers at the 2015 auction but was released in June.

 

The Stooges re-signed Sabathia as a free agent in June 2016 but released him in August.  Both Karp’s High Ratios and the Nordica Knucklers took turns at claiming him off waivers toward the end of the 2016 season.  The Prairie Pigeons had him in 2017-18 and the Nordica Knucklers in 2019.  Sabathia goes into the MLB Hall of Fame as a member of the Three Stooges.

 

Lastly, relief pitcher Bill Wagner spent just five weeks in the American League in 2009 after being acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the New York Mets on Aug. 25.  The Brew Jays signed and released Wagner on Aug. 31, and he was claimed by Karp’s High Ratios for the month of September.  By default only, Wagner goes into the MLB Hall of Fame as a member of the Karp’s, that team’s league-leading 13th hall of fame member.

 

Outfielder Parker spent most of his career in the National League, but played for the Blues City Bruisers in 1989 as a member of the Oakland Athletics and in 1991 as a member of both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Angels. Parker also played for the 1988 Shoeless Sandmen (then Herr’s Hot Grounders) in his first year with Oakland.  Allen’s career pre-dates the FML.

 

Click here to see the complete list of FML players in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

The Record Book

The Three Stooges’ 199 stolen bases was the fifth-best all-time in the FML…the Shoeless Sandmen’s 3.254 team earned run average was the third-best all-time, with the 1991 Karp’s High Ratios holding the league record at 3.190…the Sandmen set a league record with a 1.0855 WHIP, shattering a record of 1.1250 by the 2022 L.L. Beans…Patton’s recorded 101 wins, marking the 10th time the team has surpassed the century mark…the Three Stooges set a futility record with a .2303 team batting average, the worst in the 41-year history of the FML…the Stooges weren’t alone in being offensively-challenged, with six FML teams failing to hot better than .240…the Brew Jays, with $1,018 spent in 2024, became the eighth FML team (four times by the Brew Jays) to spend more than $1,000.  The league record of $1,206 by the 2021 Brew Jays still stands.  The 36 free agents signed by this year’s Jays was second only to the 46 signed by the 2022 Bruisers…the $72 auction salary assigned to Karp’s Juan Soto is a league record, breaking a mark of $69 set by the Karp’s in both 2003 and 2006 for Alex Rodriguez.

 

2025 FML Auction

Save the date.  The 2025 FML Auction will be Saturday, March 22 at Noon, CDT, at the home of Bill Levy in Deerfield, Ill.  The deadline for 15-player freeze lists and long-term contracts will be the previous Tuesday, March 17.  MLB Opening Day is the Thursday after the auction, March 27.

 

FML Accounts

The following teams owe money to the league, as of Sept. 30:

Addison Lights, $460, no payment needed

Blues City Bruisers, $279,  payment now due

Brew Jays, $144, payment now due

L.L. Beans, -$40, to be credited on 2025 account

Nordica Knucklers, $49, payment now due

Patton's High Velocity, $99, no payment needed

Shoeless Sandmen, $158, no payment needed

Three Stooges, $13, to be debited on 2025 account

Wa-Wa Two Sees, -$7, to be credited on 2025 account

 

Rookie Eligibility

The following players lost their rookie eligibility in 2024:

Ben Rice, Addison Lights (Aug. 7)

Colton Cowser, Addison Lights (April 8)

Connor Norby, Addison Lights (Aug. 5, traded to the N.L.)

Luis Gil, Addison Lights (April 22)

Colt Keith, Addison Lights (May 13)

Shane Baz, Addison Lights (July 8)

Darell Hernaiz, Addison Lights (Aug. 13)

Jackson Holliday, Addison Lights (Aug. 29)

Kyle Manzardo, Addison Lights (Sept. 4)

Evan Carter, Blues City Bruisers (April 22)

Parker Meadows, Brew Jays (April 1)

Justyn-Henry Malloy, Brew Jays (July 22)

Yariel Rodriguez, Brew Jays (July 29)

Leo Jimenez, Brew Jays (Aug. 20)

Dillon Dingler, Brew Jays (Sept. 12)

Mason Miller, Karp’s High Ratios (March 29)

Austin Wells, Karp’s High Ratios (April 15)

Emerson Hancock, Karp’s High Ratios (May 6)

Wyatt Langford, Karp’s High Ratios (June 3)

Spencer Horwitz, Karp’s High Ratios (June 24)

David Festa, Karp’s High Ratios (Aug. 31)

Junior Caminero, Karp’s High Ratios (Sept. 10)

Zebby Matthews, Karp’s High Ratios (Sept. 28)

Brayan Rocchio, L.L. Beans (April 8)

Nick Loftin, L.L. Beans (April 15)

Nolan Schanuel, Nordica Knucklers (March 29)

Drew Thorpe, Nordica Knucklers (July 30)

Brooks Lee, Nordica Knucklers (Sept. 13)

Curtis Mead, Patton’s High Velocity (April 1)

Ceddanne Rafaela, Patton’s High Velocity (April 8)

Heston Kjerstad, Patton’s High Velocity (July 1)

Joey Loperfido, Patton’s High Velocity (July 8)

Ryan Bliss, Patton’s High Velocity (July 11)

Addison Barger, Patton’s High Velocity (Aug. 3)

Cade Povich, Patton’s High Velocity (Aug. 27)

Jonatan Clase, Patton’s High Velocity (Sept. 29)

Wenceel Perez, Shoeless Sandmen (May 27)

Ben Joyce, Shoeless Sandmen (June 10)

Jhonkensy Noel, Shoeless Sandmen (Aug. 14)

Jordyn Adams, Shoeless Sandmen (Sept. 24)

Kyren Paris, Three Stooges (June 10)

Jonathan Cannon, Three Stooges (July 15)

Jordan Leasure, Wa-Wa Two Sees (May 13)

Spencer Arrighetti, Wa-Wa Two Sees (June 3)

Austin Martin, Wa-Wa Two Sees (June 17)

 

2025 FML Transaction Deadlines

All times Central Daylight.  Please note that FML deadlines are determined by the first MLB game, not necessarily the first American League contest.

Day/Date

First MLB  Game

FML Deadline

Thursday, March 27

Milwaukee at New York, 2:05 p.m.

MLB Opening Day

1 p.m.

Monday, March 31

Minnesota at Chicago, 1:10 p.m.

Noon

Monday, April 7

New York at Detroit, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, April 14

Washington at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, April 21

Chicago at Boston, 10:10 a.m.

9 a.m.

Monday, April 28

N.Y. Mets at Washington, 3:05 p.m.

2 p.m.

Monday, May 5

L.A. Dodgers at Miami, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, May 12

Milwaukee at Cleveland, 5:10 p.m.

4 p.m.

Monday, May 19

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, May 26

San Francisco at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

8 a.m., CDT/9 a.m., EDT*

Monday, June 2

Colorado at Miami, 5:40 p.n.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, June 9

Cincinnati at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, June 16

Philadelphia at Miami, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, June 23

Texas at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, June 30

San Diego at Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, July 7

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Friday, July 18

Boston at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

All-Star Break

Noon

Monday, July 21

Baltimore at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, July 28

Toronto at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 4

Minnesota at Detroit, 5:40 p.m.

Probable FML Trade Deadline

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 11

Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 18

Houston at Detroit, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 25

Boston at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 1

Miami at Washington, 12:05 p.m.

FML Roster Expansion

11 a.m.

Monday, Sept. 8

Washington at Miami, 12:10 p.m.

11 a.m.

Monday, Sept. 15

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 22

Washington at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m.

5 p.m.

*Earlier deadline due to Commissioner’s vacation plans in NYC