It seems like yesterday when we were doing our first fantasy baseball final of the 2016 season. Today marks the last one of the season. There were so many great stories we followed as the season went on that it seems unfair to try to pick one to close with. Fortunately, David Ortiz made it impossible to ignore his signature on the 2016 season as the number one story in the sport. Big Papi drove in three runs and hit his 38^th home run of the season to put an ending punctuation on an absolutely brilliant campaign.

There are some that say he should get the MVP award for his efforts. Sure, he’s hitting .316 with 127 RBI to go along with those 38 home runs. He also is among the league leaders in doubles on the season as well. The season is by far the greatest finale ever by a would be Hall of Famer, but giving him the MVP would be a bit much. Still, he will have one more opportunity to add to his distinguished post-season resume as well. He still has a couple of games left to reach the mythical 130 RBI and 40 HR plateau.

If you read one thing…

The wild card races in both leagues are coming down to the final weekend. The American League version seems to be coming down to the Blue Jays and Orioles, but the Detroit Tigers aren’t going to be denied. The play of Justin Upton has been nothing short of remarkable. He hit his 30^th home run of the season is knocking on the door of a .250 average after beginning the season ice cold. The determining factor seemed to be the fact that he didn’t have to carry the load for the first time in his career. Serving in the same offense as Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, and Victor Martinez has been a huge weight off his shoulders.

On the pitcbing side, Justin Verlander had a comeback campaign for the ages. He may not be the absolute front-runner for the Cy Young award (given the finish by Rick Porcello) but he may have been the best pitcher in the American League over the course of the full season. The combination could be enough to vault him into the playoffs.

We kind of expected…

The Baltimore Orioles had a lull early on in September, but they’ve come back to life of late and that continued with a thorough 8-1 thrubbing of the Yankees. Mark Trumbo hit his league leading 47^th home run. The star of the game was clearly Jonathan Schoop. He hit his 25^th home run to go along with his 82 RBI. They may not have the fire power of the Blue Jays or Red Sox, but they may have a deeper lineup.

We didn’t Expect

Chris Carter left Houston with his tail between his legs following a season where he hit below .200 for most of the season. On Friday night, he hit his 40^th home run of the season and lifted his average to a robust .222. All kidding aside, Carter is who he is and that is a guy that will likely hit 30+ home runs a season when given a full complement of at bats. That has a place in fantasy baseball.

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• Adam Ottavino (4)