From Project GOAT to CREATiVESPORTS

Hello all, I would like to introduce myself as Andrew DeStefano, a new contributor to CreativeSports. While I have not been around the sports world nearly as long as other writers, it is my life’s passion and my knowledge extends into its archives well beyond what I have had the pleasure of experiencing in my 22 years of fandom. Since graduating from the University of California, Davis last June with a degree in applied statistics, I have currently been making ends meet by working as a substitute teacher, an endeavor that affords me substantial time to further my sports knowledge and analysis of the games we all love.

Growing up in the Bay Area, my first love was baseball and the Oakland Athletics. I distinctly remember attending games at glorious O.co coliseum in the mid 2000’s against the rival Angels that always seemed to end in heartbreak at the behest of Vladimir Guerrero. This passion also translated to the diamond, where I descended from little league star to solid bench player on my high school team. At the recommendation of a friend, I joined my first fantasy baseball league for the 2010 season as a seventh grader. I was hooked and participation in fantasy football and basketball soon followed along with an adoration for those sports. My peak occurred during the 2014 MLB season when I participated in 8 fantasy baseball leagues, however my best fantasy sports is basketball where I’ve only ever lost 2 leagues (out of about 20). Both were second place finishes. For the past 10 years I have religiously watched NFL RedZone, and one of my favorite hobbies is flipping through close games on a busy night of MLB or NBA action.

My most recent endeavor, which is what brought me here, is participation in the Project GOAT challenge issued by ESPN’s Pierre Becquey. Essentially, it is a league composed of 12 squads using the best MLB seasons since 1980 with standard roto format. The challenge is not as easy as it sounds on the surface, as only one player can be used from each MLB team (roster size 23), no two players can be used from the same season, and a minimum of five and maximum of six players can be used from each decade. Initially 12 experts assembled teams blindly, the results were calculated and the teams were ranked 1 through 12 by total roto points. The last place finisher was then given the opportunity to redo their team so that it would win the league, this time with the knowledge of the other 11 rosters. After this step was completed the challenge was opened to the public, which is how I submitted an entry that scored the most points and replaced the last place team as the new GOAT.

By drawing from my statistical background and using methods similar to what allowed me to assemble the winning GOAT entry, I am excited to share my analysis on CreativeSports. There are millions of statistics out there and my goal is to find those that are significant, whether that be to provide insight on why something occurred or to offer advice on how to dominate your fantasy leagues.

Andrew can be reached by email or via Twitter