I have a sentimental attachment to Gehrig World - the world, not so much
the Rochester team - which is probably a little different than most.
What follows is an explanation of what happened to Gehrig and
why the sentiment exists.
Gehrig World started out as a public one. Like many public leagues, it converted
to a private league after questionable trade activities happened - not outright
collusion, but people skeptical of one or more trade partners and about tanking.
The usual stuff.
A league wide vote was made and I (hypnotoad) was named commish.
I considered it a real honor, and took it very seriously. We had probably over
25 seasons as a very stable, competent private league. We didn’t have any
forum celebrities like MikeT there as a distraction and to garner attention, but
we also never had any serious issues with collusive activity or tanking. I
remember there being exactly one instance of asking an owner to withdraw
because he didn’t meet the modest minimum win requirements. So a very
good HBD experience for most.
This is where things get dark.
Nearing the end of season 42 (in early 2017), I had a routine colonoscopy as
I had recently turned 50. Turns out the large polyp they removed was cancerous
and I would need surgery to determine if the cancer had spread. [Spoiler Alert:
It didn’t spread and I’m fine. Also, get your colonoscopies!].
However, the surgery did have complications and as a result I spent about a
month in the hospital, another month at home in very bad shape and another
month at home finally getting better.
I managed to win the season 42 World Series while in such bad shape in the
hospital that I didn’t even make any managerial moves. That was bittersweet.
But I was so out of it as the season concluded I wasn’t able to do the recruiting
work that every private league needs to get to the next season.
It soon became apparent that I couldn’t continue as commish. Unfortunately,
no other league members were willing to make the commitment to be the next
commish, so it went public. After that watershed event, many owners left -
they enjoyed the private league, and didn’t want to play in a public one without
things like minimum win requirements and owner screenings. I was astounded
to see that ultimately almost 30 owners left.
There are a few die hards who have stayed almost the entire time. There are
also a few former owners who have checked in and out.
It was a long recovery and I not only managed to get back to work but also back
into the world of WiS, including HBD by the late Spring/Summer of 2017. It was
at that point that I checked back into Gehrig and grabbed my old team. If nothing
else I get to look at my WS trophy every time I visit the office page.
But the once thriving league hasn’t been that in almost 2 years now. A league
where I ‘met’ many good fantasy baseball owners, and still follow on twitter.
A league that had the coveted “Hypno’s Hootenanny” award that rewarded the
league’s best defense with a gift certificate. A league where I and others
enjoyed season after season.
I’m hoping that new owners can join Gehrig and help revive it.
