Rookies Lead the Way

This season brought us three new captains and they all dominated. Of course, we’re talking about KitKat’s Kevin Hsu, Thanks Obama’s! Aly Martori, and Trapper Keeper’s Stephen Schaffenberger.

Hsu has had a banner season. He led his team, with his co-captain Karina Ray, to a top-seeded regular-season finish. KitKat has the best differential and the best average margin of victory (2.9). KK tricked the league, actually winning six in a row (which was only the third-best streak this season). However, they threw down five victories of ten points or more. While Hsu is a rookie captain, he’s a 15-season veteran player. So he knows how to play this league, and every one does well with Ms. Ray in the huddle.

Aly Martori has dominated marque matchups for four seasons now. She jumped in with Frazer this summer and has led Thanks Obama! to a 13-10, third-seed playoff berth. Obama won a league-best 8 in a row, getting a league trick in the process. That impressive feat was even sweeter considering they were two points away from a league licking at the beginning of the season. Aly just won the finals in the spring. But let’s see if she can get another for Frazer. He hasn’t won in five years.

Stephen Schaffenberger just rolled through his sixth season, and during this one he rode in a captain’s seat. (He and Jeannine might have to fight over who gets the sidecar.) While Schaffenberger wasn’t a losing captain this season, he and J9 didn’t quite bring Trapper Keeper over .500 either (much to Steve Kramer’s heartbreak). Nonetheless, they’ll go into the tournament as the fourth seed, and they’ll remember they had a +7 differential and a positive average margin of victory. They should also recall that time they won seven in a row and tricked the league. And a four-seed won the finals last season.