San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence hosted his fourth Big League Impact Fantasy Football Draft on August 25th, 2018. Broadcasting live from his home and over his Twitch channel, Hunter and his teammates Ty Blach and Derek Holland put on an entertaining show while drafting three strong fantasy rosters, entertaining and interacting with fans in real time.
This year’s event was the first digital draft in Big League Impact’s five-year history, and was launched in coordination with Yahoo Sports, now an official partner. Participants donated their entry fees to supporting Pence’s initiative with No Kid Hungry to provide 1,000,000 meals to kids in need this year—as well as to the Giants Community Fund.
No Kid Hungry is a national movement to end childhood hunger in America, working to connect children in need to healthy food through programs like school breakfast and summer meals, and classes that teach families to cook healthy, affordable meals at home. Working together with local organizations around the country, No Kid Hungry generates the will and skill to help communities feed children in need every day of the year.
Pence’s team has been riddled by injuries and other absences so far this season, with his lineup of Leonard Fournette, Doug Baldwin, Chris Hogan, Mark Ingram, and Rishard Matthews creating an interesting strategic challenge over this early part of the season. He just picked up his second win, though, and is happy to welcome back Baldwin and Ingram—whose two touchdowns helped pile on the points in his victory this past week. Blach, on the other hand, was on quite a roll. Earning praise from fans over Twitch, as well as from his teammates, he fielded a strong team of Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, and the surging Eric Ebron for his Yahoo default–named “Ty’s Expert Team”. Holding steady in first place until this past weekend, Blach was just handed a close loss in Week 5 by the last member of the trio, pitcher Derek Holland, and his late-blooming Cinderella squad, Diaper Dandy Dutch. Holland, who forgot to set his lineup in Week 1, has himself lost some close-calls—including last week, when he made the Big League Impact national league-wide Top 10 Worst Beats list.
The banter was top-notch with the humorous hosts, who interspersed their competition-loving intensity while making their picks with knowledgeable strategy, shout-outs to sponsors and supporters, and world-class entertainment—culminating in a WWE promo–style match of wits between Holland and Pence while the more low-key Blach watched, chuckling.
“This fantasy football draft is always a fun day during the season,” said Blach. “Not only does it benefit a great cause—it’s also a ton of fun getting to hang out with Hunter and the rest of the people involved. Hunter makes a big impact on anyone who meets him, and it’s pretty special to do a fun event like this and help make a difference in the lives of people around us.”
After the draft, league participants gathered at AT&T Park to watch Pence take batting practice from the field, get some autographs, and then enjoyed the evening’s ballgame.
This week, you can enter a Daily Fantasy contest for a chance to win autographed limited-edition, numbered metallic prints of Pence by the 3D artist Steven Walden, autographed 2018 game-used baseball cleats from Holland, a limited-edition Hunter Pence No Kid Hungry spatula donated by Pence at the draft, and the grand prize—entry into a 2019 VIP Big League Impact Fantasy Draft event (valued at $2,000).
It’s $10 for an entry and takes only a few minutes: simply pick a lineup of players from 13 Sunday football games to build your fantasy team, and you can enter up to 10 times to improve your chances. 100% of contest entry fees will go directly to Pence’s No Kid Hungry initiative.
If you don’t love fantasy, but still want to contribute to Pence’s efforts to connect kids to the healthy food they need, you can donate to the campaign here.
The contest begins on Sunday, 10/10 at 1:00pm ET. We hope you’ll support us and Hunter Pence this week, and we’ll see you on the fantasy field!
Hunter Pence and Derek Holland do a WWE-style promo on Twitch while Ty Blach looks on.
The draft from the players’ view.
Giants pitcher Derek Holland bringing his A-game.
Ty Blach of the Giants putting together his masterpiece, “Ty’s Expert Team.”
Hunter pondering his next draft move.
The hosts of Big League Impact’s 2018 San Francisco Fantasy Football Draft: Derek Holland, Hunter Pence, and Ty Blach.
Hunter visits with league participant Larry Nelson on the field at AT&T Park during batting practice before the game.
Batting practice.
