The 2013 EKL Season

Draft
The 2013 EKL Draft was held at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. It was attended, in person, by reigning champion Adam Vargas as well as host Nader Sherafat and owners Anthony DiGiorgio, Matt Foge, Mike Ortiz and Jacob Rosales. Remotely connected were owners Lucas Agricola, Sean Bertrand, Robert Kranz and Bobby Rodriguez.

The draft would prove to be a high-priced affair, with three players going for over $50 early on (Robinson Cano, Matt Cain & Felix Hernandez). With little money to spend, Robert Kranz was the only owner to not acquire any player with a double-digit salary.

Silent in the early bidding, DiGiorgio would eventually walk away with the Best Auction award. He filled major holes in his outfield by acquiring Carlos Gonzales & Adam Jones for $40 each. He would add Zack Grienke ($33), Shin-Soo Choo ($16), Shane Victorino ($10), Sergio Romo ($9), Alexi Ogando ($3) and Rafael Betancourt ($2) to round out his spending spree. Grienke, Jones, CarGo and Choo would all eventually prove pivotal in Oligodendrocyte's championship that year. He was also able to make the crucial acquisitions of Hisashi Iwakuma, Kyle Seager and Zack Wheeler in the minors/reserve draft.

Despite entering the draft with a fair amount of cash, Sherafat did not make good use of his money and was given the Worst Draft award. He wound up purchasing AJ Pierzynski ($2), Dan Uggla ($8), Neil Walker ($3), Will Middlebrooks ($13), Jim Johnson ($4), Joe Nathan ($8), Doug Fister ($10) and Wandy Rodriguez ($2). This draft would net Happy Endings a last place finish.

The Season
2013 was all about Oligodendrocyte. Locked in an early battle with the reigning champion, Mountain Side, the two teams battled for the 1-2 spots for nearly the first two months of the season. However, on May 28th, Vargas submitted an illegal lineup. This allowed DiGiorgio's squad to run away with the title, never again relinquishing first place.

Oligodendrocyte was not simply satisfied with winning the championship. The team finished the year with a team that will likely be looked at as one of the most dominant in all of EKL history. The offense was led by Chris Davis' 53 HR, Adam Jones' 33 HR/14 SB and 20/20 seasons from Ian Desmond, Carlos Gonzalez & Shin-Soo Choo. They finished the year with 49 total batting points, one point away from a perfect offensive season. Only a late batting average surge by Sub Par prevented a perfect 50/50 points. The pitching was nearly as dominant with Adam Wainwright (2.94 ERA, 19 W & 218 K), Hisashi Iwakuma (2.65 ERA, 0.986 WHIP & 181 K) and Zack Grienke (2.45 ERA, 1.071 WHIP & 14 W) leading a talented staff to 46 total pitching points. Major contributions were also seen from Evan Longoria, Kyel Seager, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Buster Posey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Minor, Stephen Strasburg, Sergio Romo and Fernando Rodney.

Despite the folly of Mountain Side, the team still put together a winning season, finishing the year in second place. His squad was led by Joey Votto, Dustin Pedroia, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Donaldson, Brandon Phillips, Clayton Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheren.

Also finishing in the money was Craggy Island Padres at third place. Their team saw major contributions from Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Troy Tulowitzki, Yasiel Puig, Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Wieters and Jordan Zimermann. Finishing in last place, the lone shining star on Happy Endings was Mike Trout.

Trades
March 24th: Mountain Side obtains Matt Cain from Loma Verde for Tim Lincecum, BJ Upton & Pedro Alvarez.

April 4th: Oligodendrocyte obtains Elvis Andrus from Loma Verde for Chase Headley

June 1st: Oligodendrocyte obtain Jacoby Ellsbury, Hunter Pence, Fernando Rodney & Billy Butler from El Hebrew Hammer for Jameson Taillon, Eric Hosmer & Zack Wheeler

June 6th: Happy Endings obtain Elvis Andrus from Oligodendrocyte for Jim Johnson & CJ Wilson

June 17th: Sub Par obtain Adam Dunn from FlashBash&Gas for Melky Cabrera

June 27th: Fog Devils obtain Matt Cain from Mountain Side for Brandon Phillips

August 2nd: Sub Par obtain Mark Trumbo & Brandon Moss from Happy Endings for Allen Craig & Nolan Arenado

Awards
Best Auction: Oligodendrocyte

Worst Draft: Happy Endings

Best "M" Player: Craggy Island Padres (Yasiel Puig)

Best "R" Player: Oligodendrocyte (Hisashi Iwakuma)

Best FAAB Acquisition: Mountain Side (Josh Donaldson)