Fellman's Interview With jclarkbaker

Q:  Tell us a little about yourself in real life.
A:  I’m 40 years old, married for 7.5 years, with a 14 month old son, two dogs and two cats. I was born and raised in New England and now live in the Southeast, where I have lived since 1998. I do not really miss the Northeast that much. While I ski, snowmobile, etc., I much more enjoy summer/warm weather activities. Simply, winters are long and cold where I am from, the people are not that friendly (which I did not realize until I moved out of the Northeast), and the cost of living is too high. The Southeast is filled with nice friendly people, beautiful women (I married a UGA grad, go to an SEC football game and you will be hooked, the women are absurd), beautiful weather and a low cost of living. As to work, I have a job. Don’t love it, don’t hate it. I guess that’s why it is called “work” not “fun”. As to sports, I am a Boston fan for all major league sports, although I have ZERO interest in the NBA or basketball in general (although I love to play). I was fine with the refs being biased, but once they decided the jump stop was not traveling, I was done. I am a Syracuse fan, as I went there, and a Tennessee fan, as my grandfather was born and raised in Tennessee, and he brainwashed my dad to be a UT fan, and my dad did the same with my brother and I. I am sure I was one of the few kids growing up in New England who had a subscription to Big Orange Illustrated.

Q:  Do you have anything resembling a bucket list, and if so...what have you recently crossed off of it, and what's next?
A:  I do not have a list. Pretty much the only things I want to do is visit more of the world (been to Canada, Aruba, England, France, Italy and Spain only), go to more games at more college football stadiums (been to games at Syracuse, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama), and live long enough to see my son grow up to be an old man.

Q: Favorite real life sports fan memory?
A:  2004 Red Sox. I was at my bachelor party when Game 3 of the ALCS was happening, when the Sox were getting spanked. I kept thinking “those f*cking *ssholes…….well, at least I’m at a strip joint”.

Q: What do you like best about HBD, and what do you like least?
A: What I like best is that it’s cheap entertainment. I long ago decided to stop with video game systems and computer games, because I have an addiction problem (not with anything else), and HBD gives me my fix without me zoning in for hours. I still dislike coach hiring, although I think it is vastly improved.

Q:  Which is your favorite HBD world, and why? And if it's not Major Leagues don't worry about it, just be honest.
A:  I really like all the worlds I am in. I think Major Leagues and Kinsella are right there at #1 (but see below re Kinsella). I am fond of majors, but for some reason that league has not been able to get a big core group to stay together. There is a small core that has been together for a long time. Not quite sure why it hasn’t grown, because that small core is quality. So here is a plug: majors has openings every year, so if you want a league with a core of quality owners, join.

Q:  Favorite HBD player ever?
A:  I’ve got a bunch of guys I have really liked:

Mendy Kelly (majors) - I just liked him because I could plug him in at COF, 1B and DH and he would always play well. He was the perfect utility player, but just didn’t have the durability to play the whole season.

Daniel Gonzales (majors) - Best closer I have had in HBD.

Jarrod Parrish (majors) - My favorite SP in HBD. It is a travesty that he is not yet in the HOF.

Freddy French (Kinsella) - I like defensive Cs, and he has been the best I have had in HBD.

Charles Farrell (Kinsella) - The guy is a beast at the plate and is what a DH should look like.

Q:  Favorite film?A:  I don’t really have one. I like a lot of types of films. I think the film that sticks with me the most is Schindler’s List. Not into dramas that much, but when I like one I like one. I’m a sci-fi fan of sorts (on a nerd note, I think Star Blazers could be the best sci-fi movie ever if they did it right, see my next comment). But I think they’re too into special effects and the writing stinks mostly. Big Lebowski, The Royal Tennebaums, Hangover 1, a Fish Called Wanda for comedies. I think the best movie ever made was Casablanca. I find many movies considered “classics” to be vastly overrated, but not Casablanca. It is just fantastic.

PS: Hollywood has to stop with the superhero films. And stop now.

Q:   Everyone hates overeasy, this we know. Explain, in your own words, the reasons for your antipathy towards him.
A:  OE is a great player, and one of the best commissioners I have had the pleasure of being associated with. I have always been on very good terms with him and I cannot recall any bad blood between us. I can think of nothing bad to say about him. However, there is something not quite right going on in Kinsella the last two seasons. And that is all I will say on the subject.