Circling the Bases is our Fantasy Baseball expert column, full of insider information, advice and in-depth analysis. Every Wednesday year-round, Tristan H. Cockcroft provides an array of regular-season coverage, offseason player analysis and preseason draft strategy.

The call to the bullpen has been made. After four years writing for SportsLine.com, including two years bringing you this column every week, it's time to pass on my pen.

First and foremost, I want to thank our readers, whose input has served as an inspiration for many of the topics discussed in this column. It has been a pleasure reading your thoughts -- good and bad -- and conversing in the weekly "Fantasy Fungo" feature, and my only regret is that I wasn't able to get to everyone's question the past few seasons.

I also want to thank SportsLine.com for dedicating me this space for these past four years. They gave me my start -- at least as a primary Fantasy Baseball writer -- and I thank them for giving me such a great opportunity.

Rest assured, "Circling the Bases" and all of our Fantasy Baseball coverage will remain in good hands. Beginning with next week's column, David Gonos takes over the reins and will provide you with the best Fantasy Baseball advice, analysis and strategy. Gonos and fellow Fantasy writers Daniel E. Dobish and Matt Lawrence have spent countless hours the past season -- often forgoing sleep -- dedicating their efforts in advising your team toward a league championship. It has been a pleasure contributing along with them and fellow Fantasy Football writers Michael Fabiano and Alex Riethmiller. I thank them and wish them the best; they are as good friends as they are colleagues.

Choosing a final column topic proved quite a challenge. I'm a firm believer that most Fantasy owners are also passionate baseball fans, and we cherish the memories we collect following the game on the field as well as in our leagues. I certainly have my share from my time at SportsLine.com, and thought I'd share them.

Presenting my "10 Most Memorable Moments" from the past four years, including experiences as a baseball fan, Fantasy writer and Fantasy owner:

1. AARON BOONE GOES DEEP: Fantasy Baseball is a game of statistics, and league titles are usually earned over a 26-week marathon that rewards consistency, proper player evaluation and keen roster management. Nevertheless, the baseball fan in us cannot resist the drama that is the game on the field, and while those memorable moments might not mean nearly as much to us in Fantasy statistics, they have every bit as much impact in our hearts. For me, that pinnacle was reached during last season's AL Championship Series.

As a lifelong Yankee fan -- allow me a moment to brace for the "title-chaser" comments -- there's nothing to match the rivalry that is Yankees-Red Sox. Emotions run high, intensity surrounds every pitch and I can distinctly remember racing to so-and-so's apartment or such-and-such bar, just because it would be a mortal sin to miss a single second of this critical series.

Boston and New York seemed so evenly matched in 2003, it figures that the series came down to an extra-inning home run in Game 7 by a most unlikely source -- midseason acquisition Boone, who to that point had been a major disappointment for the Yankees. Here's what I'll remember most: Watching those seven games with friends evenly split among allegiance to the Red Sox and Yankees. Ironically enough, New York's four victories came in the four games I watched at the home of a Boston fan -- now that lends credence to "the curse."

2. THE DREAM COMES TRUE: For nearly a decade, this columnist was an avid follower of the annual League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR), which features some of the most knowledgeable baseball minds around. It had been a dream for years to eventually earn a team of my own, one that was finally realized in 2002, when the draft was held in Washington, D.C. I made the 1,000-mile trek by car to the nation's capital, with a brief stopover at my aunt and uncle's place the night before the draft. (I still send them special thanks for keeping me well fed during that long trip.)

Just receiving a LABR invitation that year was an honor, and it was a pleasure to lead Team SportsLine.com for three seasons, in which the team finished first, second and ninth out of 13. In my rookie year of 2002, the race to the finish couldn't have been more dramatic: Team SportsLine.com narrowly edged out ESPN.com by mere points on the season's next-to-last day, primarily the result of a Mike Fetters five-run implosion in two-thirds of an inning. Now that's a nail-biter.

3. LIFE ON THE SEVEN TRAIN: John Rocker might have complained about riding New York's seven train in a nationally publicized article some four-plus years ago, but you'll get no complaints about the ride from this columnist. Two trips in particular stand out -- to Shea Stadium for Games 4 and 5 of the 2000 World Series, dubbed the "Subway Series" as the crosstown Mets and Yankees matched up. Having been in New York for that historic series -- one which had virtually no relevance to anyone outside of the metropolitan area -- I can tell you few things compare to the energy flowing through the city that October.

One thing I can also tell you: You might have an easier time stepping into the box and getting a hit off Randy Johnson than getting a ticket to a playoff game in New York. Those games were my first trip to the World Series, and nothing can be sweeter than seeing a series clincher.

4. BARRY BONDS' POWER SURGE: My first day with SportsLine.com was Sept. 28, 2000, the day Bonds hit the 494th home run of his storied career and broke a tie with Lou Gehrig for 18th on the all-time list. At the time, no one realized just how incredible a power source he would become over the next four seasons. Since that day, Bonds has broken the single-season record for homers (73 in 2001); belted a total of 210 homers, or 29.9 percent of his entire career amount; scaled the 500-, 600- and 700-homer plateaus; and settled at third place all-time with 703.

And while Bonds' homer rate has escalated, so have his walk totals and his batting average. Opposing pitchers' fear is evident by his 755 walks from 2001-04, which includes the three best single-season totals in history (232 in 2004, 198 in '02 and 177 in '01). Bonds batted .349 during that span, registering the three highest averages of his career (.370 in 2002, .362 in '04 and .341 in '03). Babe Ruth is the only other slugger who inspired similar fear in pitchers, and it's no stretch to say Bonds is even more threatening. This is a story we'll be telling our kids and grandkids.

5. THAT OLD BRONX MAGIC: Cue Curt Schilling's joke about how he thinks "mystique" and "aura" are merely exotic dancers, but the 2001 World Series serves as proof that there's indeed something magical at Yankee Stadium during the month of October. Down 2-0 in that series heading back to New York, the Yankees managed to take command by winning three straight home games, the final two in most dramatic fashion.

Trailing, 3-1, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4, Tino Martinez hit a two-run homer off Arizona closer Byung-Hyun Kim to tie the score, before Derek Jeter added a 10th-inning solo homer to cap the comeback victory, 4-3. The very next night, down by two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Kim, the Yankees again rallied behind a game-tying, two-run homer by Scott Brosius. Alfonso Soriano added an RBI single in the 12th, giving the Yankees a 3-2 win and 3-2 series lead.

One dramatic comeback is conceivable, but on back-to-back nights? They're easily the two greatest World Series games I have ever seen, and they put the 2001 Fall Classic right up there with the best of all-time, regardless of series outcome. But before I discuss that series' painful ending, let's move on to the next topic ...

6. MY LAPTOP BYTES THE DUST: Avid readers of the "Fantasy Scout" featured on these pages throughout spring training 2003 might remember March 21. I certainly do. For those who have not yet had the pleasure of attending a spring training game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, I'll paint you a picture: The press box is right above home plate, as opposed to set back from the box seats, and there's no window to protect onlookers. It's an intimate viewpoint of all the action, but it also makes for an immensely dangerous situation when a batter hits a foul ball directly behind the plate.

That's what happened that sunny March afternoon, as then-Orioles catcher Geronimo Gil lined a hard foul shot off a then-Devil Ray Jim Parque fastball -- and his pitches were anything but fast -- straight toward my spot in the booth. Instinctively I ducked, forgetting of course that my laptop was right in the ball's path. Crunch.

Everyone I tell this story breaks out in laughter, and it is funny in retrospect, and some say I should have just caught the ball in mid-air. But there probably isn't a person around who would have reacted differently when faced with a 90-plus-mph liner aimed at his head. Only one thing could ease the pain of the loss of a cherished piece of computer equipment: I kept the ball.

7. FLORIDIAN FALL CLASSIC: Watching the Yankees squeak past the Red Sox in last year's ALCS was sweet, but knowing that it meant I could get the chance to see them play again in South Florida made it even sweeter. Before the 2003 World Series, the last time the Yankees had played a game at Florida's Pro Player Stadium was July 14, 2001, when Chuck Knoblauch's 10th-inning, pinch-hit single off then-Marlins closer Antonio Alfonseca salvaged New York one win out of the team's three-game set. Florida had already wrapped up one spot in the Fall Classic one night before New York would knock off Boston, and after the Yankee victory, the mad race for Series tickets was on.

Having seen a fair share of Marlins games from 2001-03, I figured it a shoo-in to nab a ticket to the game. After all, this was a team that averaged 14,015 fans per game in the regular season during those three years, and drew only a paltry 10,534 fans for its second game of the year in 2003. But suddenly, all those Marlins fans rose from the woodwork. The team averaged 65,102 fans in its eight postseason games and topped out at 65,975 in Game 5 of the World Series.

I never imagined it could be as difficult to get into a postseason game in Florida as it is in New York, but it's hard to knock the Florida fans as bandwagoners -- at least they did keep coming this season, with an average of 22,091 per game. Fortunately, I managed to nab seats to Games 4 and 5. Thinking back at the results -- both Yankee losses -- maybe it would have been best had I stayed at home.

8. PRINCE IN NAME, KING WITH THE BAT: Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols -- known as "Prince Albert" to many -- is already well on his way to a spot in the Hall of Fame. After four years in the majors, his impact has been so great that he's already being hailed as a comparison for some young players -- Miguel Cabrera for one. In the past quarter-century, there probably isn't another player who has made this big an impact in his first four seasons. Frank Thomas might be the only player I have seen who came close:

  G AB R H HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG OPS
Pujols 629 2,363 500 787 160 504 13 .333 .413 .624 1.037
Thomas 630 2,219 456 728 139 471 13 .328 .452 .593 1.044
(Table takes into account the first 648 games -- 162 times four years -- for which each player's team was scheduled while he was on the active roster. Thomas' major-league debut came Aug. 2, 1990.)

One thing I'll always remember about Pujols: He was a free-agent pickup in one of my SportsLine.com leagues in April of his rookie year of 2001, and the owner who got him asked almost daily at the time: "Can he keep this up?" Since that May 1, I haven't heard a single such question about a player who could spend the bulk of his career as a No. 1 overall Fantasy pick.

9. MASTERY IN MINNESOTA: In the past four years, there hasn't been a pitcher who has displayed a half-season of mastery that rivals that of Twins left-hander Johan Santana during the second half of 2004. That's high praise, considering Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson have rattled off some pretty dominant Fantasy campaigns the past half-decade. But take one look at Santana's second-half numbers:

W L ERA GS IP H ER BB K WHIP OAVG
13 0 1.21 15 104.1 55 14 23 129 0.748 .154

Santana's 13 wins are the most by any pitcher after the All-Star break since Bob Welch won 14 second-half games in 1990; his ERA is lower than any qualified starter since Roger Clemens recorded an 0.97 mark in 1990. Santana didn't garner nearly the attention he deserved in the baseball world for his dominant effort, but his Fantasy owners certainly took notice. It might seem blasphemous this day to recommend a pitcher for the award, but in a year where David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield seem to be favorites for MVP, I think Santana is every bit as deserving. He would get my vote.

10. ICHIRO!: His critics claim that he's a slap-hitting singles type, legging out countless infield hits to pad his statistics. But for all the criticism Ichiro Suzuki receives, it's important to remember that a hit is a hit, and he has had a lot of them in his four years since coming over from Japan. Ichiro has already set new single-season records for hits (262 in 2004), hits by a rookie (242 in 2001) and hits in his first four seasons (924), and he's the first player in history to have at least 200 hits in each of his first four seasons.

Had Ichiro played his entire career in the U.S., it's not unreasonable to think he could eventually surpass Pete Rose's all-time record of 4,256 hits. At his current rate of 231 hits per season, Ichiro would need 14½ more seasons to pass Rose, which seems unlikely given the fact that he'll turn 31 on Oct. 22. But that's not a bad pace, considering it took Rose 24 years to achieve his feat.

Well, it has come time to hit the showers. I wish the best of luck to you in your leagues in 2005 and beyond!

You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball thoughts and questions to Tristan H. Cockcroft at bleacher@commissioner.com. Be sure to put Attn: Tristan in the subject field, and include your full name and hometown. Please be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee answers to all questions.