Playoff Hurdle
Smitty came into The League! in 2010 like a chicken with his head cut off. Trying to figure out the world’s greatest fantasy points system, drafting at 9am on a Saturday morning in Vegas from a suite at Aria with Reichert eating what seemed to be someone else’s elevator burrito, and running on fumes from a night out at Haze is a lot to handle when trying to piece together a fantasy team. Not to mention the idea of relegation had just come into play, and no one wants to be the guy that finishes in last place in his first year in a new league. He landed a very safe Maurice Jones-Drew with his first pick ever made in The League! while rocking out to Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue, and his now decade long journey had begun.
He rode that pick of MJD straight into the relegation watch, finishing the season just on the cusp of relegation in 11th place. The next couple of seasons were a lot of the same.
In 2011 and 2012, he again finished at the bottom of the totem pole in 11th and 10th place. Smitty was shaping up to be a real munson and looked like he was going to be another Moeller or Tony of the League!, spending most of his time at the bottom of the standings. He had a long way to go if he ever wanted to become playoff relevant.
His training wheels finally came off in his 4th year in The League! in 2013. Coming off of disappointing seasons in 2010, 2011 and 2012 where he missed the playoffs by a longshot, Smitty put on his big boy pants and finished the regular season in 5th place. His playoff woes were finally over. Or so he thought. Little did he know this was the beginning of a much larger, Chicago Cubs sized playoff woe. And the goat was knocking on his door. He ended up going 0-2 in the playoffs that year, finishing the season in 6th place.
Smitty finally hit his groove in 2015 and has not missed the playoffs since. That accomplishment seems to have been enough for him, as that is where his playoff success starts and ends.
Smitty has been a one and done contender in the playoffs almost exclusively. In his 7 postseason trips, he has posted a 1-6 all time record in the first round of the playoffs. The only time he made it past the first round was against Herriott in 2017 when he had his winningest team to date with 9 wins in the regular season. The other 6 postseason trips, he was one and done.
It hasn’t always been a lack of showing up that have kept him from advancing deeper into the playoffs. Other than a blowout in 2018 against Billy, Smitty has either won or lost by single digit totals. In fact, he has lost by less than a combined 40 points in 6 years when factoring out the 2018 slaughter.
| Year | First Round | Margin | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | L | 14.9 | Cox |
| 2019 | L | 6.88 | Egon |
| 2018 | L | 89.42 | Billy |
| 2017 | W | 3.44 | Herriott |
| 2016 | L | 5.28 | Hans |
| 2015 | L | 7.68 | Egon |
| 2013 | L | 4.26 | Grabs |
Once he posts that first L, he typically continues to lose. Smitty has only won two games after a first round loss in the playoffs and has been skunked with an 0-2 playoff record in 3 of his 6 playoffs trips.
All of these playoff losses have added up to a League! worst .231 playoff winning percentage by going a combined 3-10-0 in six appearances. His 3 playoff wins ties him for last place with Tony, who has been to the playoffs twice, and Moeller, who has been to the playoffs 4 times.
Whether it’s a case of the Tommy Thibs or only playing at your opponent’s level, the playoffs have not been Smitty’s strongpoint. Optimism is growing about his chances this year and he has become The League!’s darkhorse to potentially win it all. Time will tell if he can clear that playoff hurdle and land his first bobblehead or will once again fall flat on his face.
