The Ian Rintel Award for Front Office Executive of the Year recognizes the league's most improved team from one season to the next. The award is named after former owner Ian Rintel, whose Waikiki Keys bounced back from a 33-129 record in 1993 to a 76-86 record in 1994. The 43-win jump is still the best in DMBL history.

And the award goes to....

Brent Campbell, Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

Campbell, the only multiple Rintel Award winner in league history, did it a third time this season. Campbell's Hired Hitmen improved from a ghastly 63-99 record last season to 84-79 this year, just missing the playoffs after losing the play-in game in the 163rd game of the year. Still, the 21-game improvement -- from 12th place to a tie for 7th -- just missed the cut as one of the top 10 quickest turn-arounds of all time. Campbell also won the award in 1996, improving the Louisiana Lightning by 23 games from the previous season (which was actually 1994, since no games were played in 1995). He won it the first time in 1993, when the Scranton Sparrows took off with a 31-game improvement from 1992. The biggest improvement in terms of the standings was actually turned in by Chris Pucci's Carolina Mudcats, who jumped from 8th place to 3rd place. The five-rung climb in the standings was just a little better than Hillsborough, which had a "four-and-a-half" place gain since they tied with another team for 7th. Pucci, who had the second-biggest improvement with a 14-win gain, bounced back from a 20-game decline from the 2004-2005 seasons.

The biggest loser this year, by far, were Adam Kozubal's Honolulu Sharks, who dropped 33 games (and 9 places) in the standings, from a 91-win 5th place finish last year to a last-place 58-win season this year. Kozubal had averaged 84 wins a season over the previous four years, so if he can get back on track next season he may just have his first Rintel Award. The second-biggest loss was turned in by Mike "Stump" Matiash's Arkansas Golden Falcons, who won just 86 games -- still good enough for a 6th place finish and a 14th straight post-season appearance! But they fell 17 wins and four places in the standings from last year's 103-win campaign. 

Several teams played under different names in 2005. Paul Barbosa moved the Tijuana Banditos north and became the South Boston Gang, and improved by 7 wins along the way. David Landsman went south, taking Matthew's Mighty Men from Stanhope to Marietta, and picked up 5 wins. And Brian "Dizzy" Dissler sold his team, the Columbia Rattlesnakes, to Jamie Landsman, who renamed the team the D.C. Bushslappers and piloted them to a third-worst 13-win decline in his rookie season.

Let's take a look at the previous award winners: