(*) FIRST PITCH ARIZONA 2017: The reviews are in

Whew, that was fun.

We're still riding high from three days of baseball nirvana, as 150 of our closest friends—nearly 50 of whom were industry writers, scouts, and HQ staffers—descended upon the desert for First Pitch Arizona. The 23rd version of FPAZ was another doozy packed with breakout sessions, expert panels, live drafts, and Arizona Fall League action.

Most importantly, it was a time to reconnect with old friends and forge new friendships with loads of first-time attendees. We had front-row looks at some of the game's top prospects in 80-degree weather. We took in popular FPAZ staples like Facts/Flukes panels, roster analysis sessions, and AFL scouting reports. We had several new wrinkles included in this year's program as well:

• A Statcast Update for Fantasy Leaguers
• "Blisterama": Injury Management in the 10-day DL Era
• Lessons from the 2017 ADP
• Fact/Fluke: The "Would You Rather" Edition
• Makeup: The Next Frontier in Player Evaluation

It all added up to an event that, as one review concluded, "somehow got even better in 2017".

Rave Reviews

Several attendees recapped their First Pitch Arizona experience in their own words, including a couple reflections from first-timers. If you've gone back and forth over the years on whether to attend, take a look at these:

• *Alex Chamberlain, FanGraphs, First Pitch Arizona 2017: A Review
• Derek VanRiper, RotoWire, First Pitch Arizona — Baseball, Food, & Beer
• *Shelly Verougstraete, Prospects1500, First Pitch Arizona — Baseball Fan's Paradise
• Todd Zola, RotoWire, The Z Files: By the Time I Get Back From Phoenix

*First-time attendee

For those more audibly inclined, we hosted a trio of podcasts at FPAZ on Friday night. The live shows were a hit, as the audience was encouraged to interact and ask questions throughout. Queue these up over the offseason to get a small taste of the camaraderie and insights gained during the weekend:

• The Sleeper and the Bust: Paul Sporer, Jason Collette, Eno Sarris; FanGraphs.com.
• RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Derek VanRiper, Clay Link, James Anderson, Todd Zola; RotoWire.com.
• ...and of course, BaseballHQ Radio: Patrick Davitt; BaseballHQ.com.

Save The Date

Feel like you missed out? You did, but good news: next year's First Pitch Arizona is tentatively scheduled for November 1-4, 2018. Mark that weekend down for those annual vacation negotiations, weave in some karma-building activities the few weeks prior, whatever you need to do.

We'd love to have you join the fun in 2018.

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