Benchwarmer News

10/4/25

• 2025 in Review: This season, there were 14 divisional ties throughout BWB. In 2024, 18 divisions ended in ties. While we await this year's results, how did the teams in last year's tiebreaker games fare this season? Last year in the North Siders League, Addison and Wrigleyville finished in a tie - and they did again this year!
  • A League About Nothing - Elaine Division
    • Winner: Infinite Zeroes (David Henning). This year: Won again by 19 games
    • Loser: Upper West Side Spongeworthies (Jon Swanson). This year: 3rd place, 22 GB
  • Anchorman League - Chancellor Division:
    • Winner: Huey Lewis The News Boys (Alonda Clifton). Went on to win the league championship. This year: Finished 4th, 20 GB
    • Loser: Dave and Wendy Live at 6 (Sherman Wan). This year: Finished in 1st by 2 games
  • Beer League - Yeast Division:
    • Winner: The Natty Lights (Bill Munger). This year: Won the division by 20 games.
    • Loser: Guinness Orioles (Orphan team - Foster owner Alonda Clifton). This year: Finished 4th, 32 GB
  • Blame Canada League - Kenny Division:
    • Winner: Thunder Bay Voyageurs (Jerry Stevens). This year: Finished 4th, 13 GB
    • Loser: Banff Snowcaps (Dave Matter). This year: Finished 2nd, 6 GB
  • Cleveland Rocks - Boudreau Division:
    • Winner: Red Barchettas (Jamie Reese). Went on to win the league championship. This year: Finished 2nd, 8 GB
    • Loser: North Coast Wahoos (Michael Rudolph). This year: Won the division by 8 games
  • Cleveland Rocks - Averill Division:
    • Winner: Not So Hot In Cleveland (Andrew Lehman). This year: Finished tied for 2nd, 2 GB
    • Loser: Lake Erie Storm (David Henning). This year: Finished tied for 2nd, 2 GB
  • Commissioners League - Chandler Division:
    • Winner: Brooklyn Dodgers (Jason Kiernan). Went on to win the league title. This year: Finished 2nd, 6 GB
    • Loser: Budapest Buskers (Jon Swanson). This year: Won the division by 6 games
  • Fenway Fenatics - Boggs Division:
    • Winner: Alaskan Wilderness (Dave Matter). This year: Won again by 13 games
    • Loser: Hawaiian Surfer Dudes (Andrew Lehman). This year: Finished 3rd, 16 GB
  • Four Star League - Patton Division:
    • Winner: Its the Top of the Pops (Andrew Lehman). This year: Finished 4th, 34 GB
    • Loser: Upstream Boogie (Jim Duzyk). This year: Won the division by 8 games
  • Game Night League - Operation Division:
    • Winner: SoCal Blue Dogs (Scott Owens). This year: Finished 4th, 9 GB
    • Loser: Avalon Hill Armchair Generals (Robert Elias). This year: Won the division by 2 games
  • Geek Pride League - Berners-Lee Division:
    • Winner: Boba Chette Salutes Greef Karga (Sherman Wan). This year: Finished 4th, 14 GB
    • Loser: Mt. Airy Diplomats (Micah Bustard). This year: Finished tied for 2nd, 6 GB
  • Grunge League - Hole Division:
    • Winner: Knee Deep in Hoopla (Orphan team - Foster owner Anthony C). This year: Finished 3rd, 16 GB
    • Loser: Northwest Cards (Michael Quinn). This year: Won the division by 4 games
  • Hall of Fame League - Ruth Division:
    • Winner: Seattle Survivors (Leif Jonson). This year: Won again by 22 games
    • Loser: Canton Goats (Dave Matter). This year: Finished 2nd, 22 GB
  • Hall of Fame League - Ruth Division:
    • Winner: Alcatraz Crabcakes (Michael Burkert). This year: Won again by 12 games
    • Loser: Give Me the Willies (Jamie Reese). This year: Finished 3rd, 16 GB
  • North Siders League - Sutter Division:
    • Winner: Wrigleyville Bryzzo Souvenirs (Jason Kiernan). This year: Tied for 1st again with Addison
    • Loser: Addision Ivies (Dave Matter). This year: Tied for 1st again with Wrigleyville
  • Pacific Northwest League - Cougars Division:
    • Winner: Hooterville Flying Pigs (Alonda Clifton). This year: Won again by 8 games
    • Loser: Big Mountain Lumberjacks (Dave Matter). This year: Finished 3rd, 13 GB
  • Phightin' Phils League - Roberts Division:
    • Winner: SGV Dukes (Michael Quinn). This year: Finished 2nd, 5 GB
    • Loser: Steak Sandwich Fanatics of Philadelphia (Jason Kiernan). This year: Won the division by 5 games
  • South Siders League - Fox Division:
    • Winner: Delphi Titans (David Henning). This year: Finished 4th, 11 GB
    • Loser: Wimpy's Hawks (Dave Matter). This year: Finished 2nd, 2 GB

10/3/25

• Playoff lineup deadline pushed back to Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 PM Eastern.

9/29/25

• And we're done - sort of - Week 25 complete - Game 150 posted - See results
  • That's a wrap on the regular season - except for the 14 divisions that ended in a tie and will require a 1-game playoff to decide the division
  • It takes a little bit of setup to schedule the tiebreaker games - it might be a couple of days before I'm able to fit that in and score the games
  • Standings for all leagues
  • Around BWB
• Last game coming later tonight. Here's an update of the close races throughout all of Benchwarmer Baseball. 40 of the 272 divisions are not yet decided and 13 of those feature the teams playing each other in Game 150.

9/21/25

• Week 24 Statistics and Players of the Week

9/13/25

• Week Twenty-five Transactions Posted
• Next deadline - Week Twenty-six: Saturday night, October 4 - 7 PM Eastern - subject to change

9/8/25

• Heading into Week 23, the final 18 games of the season are all against teams in your division. Here's a look across all of Benchwarmer Baseball at close races

9/5/25

• Free agent signings are closed for the season

9/1/25

• Upcoming dates/deadlines of note:
  • Wednesday, September 3 - Week 24 transactions - last week to sign any free agents for the 2025 season
  • Wednesday, September 10 - Week 25 transactions - cuts and IR moves only
  • TBD (Sunday, September 28?) - Week 26 transactions - set playoff lineups. Final week to cut players under contract for 2026 and beyond without the obligation to carry over to the 2026 roster.
  • See 2025 Transaction Deadlines

8/26/25

• Hitting at the same time as last year - during Games 118-120: congratulations to our first Division Champion: (See standings for all leagues)
  • Perfect World League - David Wells Division: Suffolk Steel (owner Robert Elias) - Defending league champion - also won in 2022; 5th division win

8/16/25

• It's our last deadline shift of the season. Starting this week and through Week 25, transactions and lineups are due on Wednesdays.
• September roster expansion comes into play for game lineups during Week 23. However, since several of you have lots of teams, you can begin ordering your taxi squad and minor league players now - a week early.

8/15/25

• Moves to the Prospects Roster are closed for the season
• Our weekly deadlines shift to Wednesdays

8/8/25

• Trades are closed for the season
• According to schedule, we'd move our weekly deadlines to Wednesdays this week. I'm going to be unavailable on Wed/Thur next week, so we'll keep our Thursday deadline for one more week.

8/7/25

• Trade deadline tonight! 7 PM Eastern
• Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers

8/3/25

• With Game 100, we've hit the 2/3 mark of the regular season

8/2/25

• This is the final week for trades (due 8/7)

7/30/25

• Transaction deadline Thursday night 7/31 at midnight Eastern:
  • 2025 MLB first-round draft picks are available for signing.
  • Check roster limits carefully - don't miss out on the players you want to sign!
    • If you have any trades, you need to check the roster limits manually - the website warnings don't include trades. Trades happen before free agent signings, so if you're over the limit, the free agents get cut first.
    • The website warnings also don't handle Ohtani correctly - the warnings will count him twice. The roster counts on your team page are correct, but transaction warnings might show you going over the limit - check those manually as well.
    • During this week's transactions, your team will get cash for the game results from Week 16 and your placement in your division at the end of Week 16. Note that the cash distribution amounts change with Week 16 games.
• Trade deadline is next week

7/25/25

• First round draft picks of 2025 are now in the player list.  You can sign them this week.
  • How to find the picks?  On the player selection screen, use the "Other" filter and you'll find an option for "First Round (2025)"
  • You'll also find them by looking for players who are new to the list in Week 19, although they will be mixed in with other players added this week by making their first MLB appearances.

7/24/25

• Sorry - should have clarified/reminded about this in advance. In our current layout of the BWB season deadlines against the MLB schedule (I think this is the 3rd year), we hit a point at the All-Star break where the BWB games don't get completed in time to get the transaction order and financial rewards on our normal 2-week gap. Week 16 games won't be done until Friday or Saturday, so we can't use the results and standings and player awards during Week 18 transactions. After that we'll run on a 3-week gap for awhile (Week 16 game results, etc. will be applied during Week 19 transactions). There are a bunch of teams that will be short of cash for their intended transactions this week. (Well, 12, but that's a lot more than normal in a given week).

7/19/25

• Contract extensions are now closed for the season
• Change of plans - the MLB first round draft picks will NOT be added to the system this week. 1. I'm not completely ready and to add them will delay opening up the next week of lineups and transactions...and 2. I want you all to have as close to a full week as possible to add them - including 2 full weekend days. Draft picks will be available the first time between July 25-July 31

7/16/25

• Team Finances update - Bonuses for all-star players added - See rules for more information
• Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers

7/14/25

• There's going to be one more small cash distribution to teams this week before the contract deadline - for All Stars
  • Each BWB league has an all-star team - the 2 top performers at each position in each conference (6 OF, 7 SP, 7 RP) - someday I'll find a way to easily post this for your viewing.
  • Plus, you get a bonus for players on your team who are on the MLB All-Star teams. I usually have to wait until the day of the game to set this to check for the late additions.
  • More information
  • Likely this cash will be added on Tuesday night

7/12/25

• Next deadline - Week Seventeen: Friday night, July 18 -  7 PM Eastern - because there are no MLB games on Thursday, plus this is the deadline for contract signings, we're extending the deadline by 1 day.

7/9/25

• Reminder - Transactions and lineups are now due on THURSDAYS
• Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers

7/7/25

• For Week 16 lineups - you may reorder your pitching rotation from scratch - we will not check on games of rest between Weeks 15 and 16 - it's our version of the All Star Break.  Lineup deadline is Thursday night.
• All teams will get a cash distribution this week of 1 million Benchwarmer Bucks (1000) in advance of the contract extension deadline on Week 17 (deadline July 17)
• Every 5 weeks we shift the transaction/lineup day - for the next 5 weeks, our deadlines are on Thursday nights at 7 PM Eastern.

6/29/25

• We're at the halfway point of the regular season with Game 75

6/28/25

• Upcoming dates/deadlines of note:
  • Friday, July 4 - Week 15 transactions - last week to get a salary rebate for released players
  • Thursday, July 10 - We switch weekly deadlines to Thursdays
  • Thursday, July 10 - During Week 16 processing, all teams get an extra 1000 in cash
  • Thursday, July 17 - Week 17: the contract extension deadline
  • Thursday, July 24 - Week 18: The week that 2025 first round draft picks will be available to sign
  • Thursday, August 7 - Week 20: Trade deadline
  • Wednesday, August 13 - Week 21: Final week to add players to the Prospects Roster
  • See 2025 Transaction Deadlines

6/23/25

• We're starting 3 weeks of play within your division with Week 12

See the News Archive for older headlines.