About

Hardball Heaven was conceived in 2003 as a joint effort between Tommy Coleman and Randy Stovall to create a better fantasy baseball experience than that which was commonly found in the public leagues in which they had previously participated in. They wanted to assemble a group of the more dedicated managers they had played with in the past with a few new managers that were carefully chosen from several applicants asking to join the league.

Originally set up as a 12 team league, and with the draft deadline approaching, it was decided to change to a 10 team league rather than add two managers of questionable quality. With literally a couple of hours remaining before the draft, an impassioned plea was made by Mark Porcher to allow him and a friend of his to join the league. With a little hesitation, it was decided to allow them in and return to the original 12 team format that was envisioned. The hours turned to minutes and as everyone entered the draft room the seconds ticked off and Peter Alden made the 1st pick of the inaugural season of  Hardball Heaven.

From the beginning Hardball Heaven was established as a "different" type of fantasy league. The roster size and scoring categories provided a unique experience for even the seasoned managers. 21 man rosters, 6x6 scoring categories, 1 DL spot all proved to challenge almost every decision made.

In addition to the settings, other efforts were made to enhance the overall league experience. Lively debates on trades and other topics kept the league energized.

That first season ended with Mark Porcher as the League Champion. With only a couple of exceptions the managers of the league were already anticipating season two. Tommy and Randy considered their attempts at creating a competitive league of active, knowledgeable managers a success.

2004 saw a return of all but 2 of the managers from season 1. A quick recap of those returning managers demonstrated the geographical diversity of the league. Randy Stovall (Halfway, Ky), Mike Jones (Halfway, Ky), Tommy Coleman (Morgantown, Ky. ), Kerm Yerman (Utica, New York), Ed Spinelli (Valley Forge, PA.), Tim Weyel (Santa Barbara, CA), Mark Porher (Anchorage, Alaska), Peter Alden ( )
Travis Cook (Los Angeles, CA), William Stansifer (Indianapolis, IN).

The additions of Juan Torres (Buffalo, NY) and Stephen Arsenian (Paris, France) provided the final pieces for the foundation of the league going forward. The addition of Stephen also established Hardball Heaven as a truly international league.

2004 also saw the addition of a few additional bells and whistles to keep interest in the league. Kerm introduced "Swami", a thankless weekly post predicting the outcomes of the current weeks match-ups. Timmy had been secretly keeping stats on the league (long before Yahoo began adding it as a regular feature) and as news of this leaked out "Statman" was born. Another idea from Kerm led to the "Skrubs",  a weekly simulated match-up highlighting the wealth of talent on the waiver wire. Early attempts at maintaining a web site were begun. In 2008 Hardball Heaven blog was created so the league could have a chronological record of various happenings throughout the years.

Season 2 saw Mark complete a remarkable season, beginning with a wire to wire lead in the regular season standings and ending in his 2nd league championship.More importantly, the 2nd season solidified Hardball Heaven as a "must play" league for all the managers involved. Rivalries were formed that exist even to today.

With the exception of a few temporary hiatuses, the league has remained pretty much intact from that point on.  In fact, as we enter our 10th season only 18 managers can claim to have been a part of the Hardball Heaven tradition with 2 of those being the 2 managers that did not return from season 1. Even with the geographic diversity of the league a firm camaraderie has emerged. We have shared managers getting married, having children, relocating, career changes, enduring personal tragedies, and yes, have even shared the ultimate reality check with the passing of one of our fold.

Other current or former members of the league include Steve Champion (Jackson, MI), Rick Hill (Orlando, FL), Chad Armstrong (Denver, CO)

This camaraderie culminated in 2011 with the first "real life" meeting of a few of our members as 5 of us were able to gather together in Cincinnati and watch the Reds play the Dodgers. To a person, for those fortunate enough to attend, all commented on the ease and familiarity felt as we met members face to face for the first time. So enjoyable was the experience that an annual meeting became a goal with the hopes that in future years even more can make arrangements to attend.

Since those early days  when Randy occasionally became concerned that the tenor of some of those early debates might lead to managers losing interest in the league, Hardball Heaven has taken on a life of its own. The role of Commish is largely a ceremonial one. It is certainly within the realm of possibility that Hardball Heaven will continue to thrive and be a home for serious fantasy managers for years to come even after many of the charter managers move on.