Fantasy Baseball Primer: Getting the Chatter Started

The Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball signups start every year around February 15th which makes sense because that’s when pitchers and catchers report. It’s when our National Pastime takes bat to cleats, knocking the dirt (and rust) from their spikes after a long winter of inactivity. Recently, baseball has stolen some headlines from the NFL and NBA with the Mitchell Report and the resultant Roger Clemens fall out, but these are mere talking points for drive-time radio shows. This idle fodder has nothing to do with the game we know and love. Wait, hold on, what’s going on here… it’s still January… Why on earth am I talking about the upcoming baseball season??? After all, Opening Day is still 64 days away. Well, let’s explore that question:

Usually I would let the NFL season run its course before I’d concern myself with MLB chatter. I would watch the NFL Films reruns of old Superbowls at lunchtime and marvel at the toughness of the 60's Packers, the grittiness of the late 70’s Steelers, the grace of the 80’s 49ers, the dominance of the 1985 Bears, the sustained brilliance of the early-90’s Cowboys and the poetry of John Elway’s swan song. It’s all a wonderfully rich tapestry of moments and emotions that have shaped this country. NFL Football is America. However, as things stand now, I’m adrift in a quagmire of hype that zaps the specialness from the proceedings. Think about it. What have been the great performances of these playoffs? Ryan Grant, fumbling twice and then shredding the Seahawks in the snow, Tom Brady’s other worldly performance against the Jags, Eli Manning not throwing an interception in three road playoff games. OK, so what leads Sportscenter? Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson bumping uglies in Mexico during a bye week and Tom Brady wearing a protective boot (not a cast, no crutches, mind you) on his way to bump uglies with Giselle Bundchen. Perhaps this is just the curse of having a 24-hour news cycle, but I think the continued coverage of these (non)events just further elucidates my claim that there is a growing disconnect between us and the game itself. We enjoy talking about the talk surrounding the game. More now than ever, we’d rather discuss the packaging, the presentation, the salaries, the girlfriends, the opinions, the soundbites and the overall minutia of the peripheries rather than the actual meat and potatoes of the sport. Gone are the days of the sports fan – welcome to the era of the sports analyst/moralist/social commentator.

OK – one more football jag to illustrate my point before I get to baseball…

While I’m not a huge fan of Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio, I’ll listen to them for ten minutes at a time in the morning. I think they do a solid job and are professional radio people even though I don’t always agree with their takes. Now, I understand that they have to fill 20 hours a week (more like 14 when you factor in commercials), but the topic of conversation this past Thursday was completely illogical. They were asserting that removing “attention seekers” like Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey from the equation has allowed Eli Manning to fully realize his potential as a silent, confident leader for the Giants. They noted that he has been spreading the ball around more (not really) and looking more assured in his decisions (whatever that means). This is a powerfully inaccurate speculation that didn’t exist thirty years ago because the medium didn’t dictate such vapid opining. From a sheer logic standpoint, the principles of correlation and causality are completely lost on Mike and Mike - and these are the most popular talking heads on ESPN. The blatant mangling of the FAE leads me to believe that this is done with a deft purpose to subtly outrage listeners who value deductive reasoning. However, the other part of me feels like these trends in radio (and quite frankly in print and on television) are just bigger reasons to ignore the hype, change the channel and break in the baseball mitt until next Sunday. Which is precisely what I’m going to do…


Head-To-Head vs. Rotisserie

When it comes to the debate between Head-to-Head versus Rotisserie leagues, I’ve always been of the mindset that familiarity is good. Roto leagues are certainly the most accurate models for determining the best team, but they lack the human element. They are represented by frigid stacks of data that move with all the swiftness of a glacier. Everyday you wake up and look at the standings, not in the traditional win-loss variety, but rather as vague sum of all your categories. I tried Roto once and lost interest halfway through the summer. Head-to-head, as it seems, quenches my short attention span.

Head-to-head leagues also give you a chance to point to something say, “Hey, I beat you 8-2 last week. Your starting outfield couldn’t make my bench. I question your ability to manage baseball players in a strictly hypothetical realm.” In a Roto league, people have no real reason to smack talk. The only thing they need to do is keep picking up players in categories that they suck in. It’s a long, winding stat grab. In Head-to-Head, if you win a category one week… that’s a win. It stays in the win column and you move forward. There isn’t any of this “win a point/lose a point later” bullshit. This isn’t Russia. Is this Russia? This isn’t Russia.

5 Tool Players vs. 1 Tool Players


Richie Sexson either hits a homerun or strikes out. He’s a bad hitter who can make you pay on a mistake pitch. Similarly, Jose Valentin has been equally confounding. Valentin had a bizarre track record in the five years he played shortstop for the White Sox. While playing in an average of 135 games every year he averaged 27.2 homers, yet only had 80.6 runs and 75.8 RBIs. Not terrible numbers from your SS, but undeniably disproportionate. Some guys simply excel at one thing and don’t do anything else for shit. Others do everything well, but not well enough to be flashy or attractive on a highlight reel.

After years of stubbornly waiting for one-dimensional sluggers to learn some plate disciple or fleet-footed leadoff men to develop a decent slugging percentage, I’m finally starting to see the error of my ways. What I should be doing is simple in theory, yet difficult to attain. In Head-to-Head formats, every week is a crapshoot. There are 25 weeks and your sluggers may hit their homeruns in bunches - half of their jacks may happen in only five scattered weeks. It is important to hedge your team with across-the-board consistency. Don’t rely on two or three guys for one category. Identify the 5-tool players (those who produce R, HR, RBI, AVG and SB consistently but not spectacularly) and what rounds they should be available. Draft them and stop losing with “specialty players” like Juan Pierre who kill you everywhere else.

NL Only/AL Only Leagues

I have a problem with keeping fantasy baseball fresh. Fantasy NFL is easy to adjust whether it’s implementing a two-quarterback system, rearranging scoring values or expanding position eligibility. Fantasy NBA is mostly a “set it and forget it” endeavor where players, their stats and where you play them don’t change much except for injuries. Fantasy MLB, which is the true Godfather and reason for fantasy sports, is a difficult entity to wrap up. I’ve done keeper leagues, but they are somewhat redundant. I’ve participated in daily leagues, but changing out line-ups 162 days a year and streaming pitchers late in weeks to maximize starts becomes tiresome. I’m seriously considering participating in two leagues (and only TWO leagues) come the middle of next month: One NL-only league and one AL-only league. I’ve always been interested in the knowledge needed to utilize the depth involved in each setup, however I’ve never tried it. Since I’m a Cubs fan, I follow the National League much more closely than the American League and I feel like that dynamic could really spice things up.

If anyone reading this (i.e. one of our 7 readers) has ever played in an AL/NL only league, please comment and let me know what you thought about your experience.

Auction Drafts vs. Standard Snake Drafts

Auction Drafts are great because you can really separate yourself from the pack. Any punter can participate in a snake draft and still luck into a decent team. Hell, I’ve seen draftbots take over and emerge with championship caliber results. Snake drafts are easy which is why they are standard, but let’s be honest… they aren’t entirely fair. If you get stuck with the third pick, that means you don’t get A-Rod or A-Poo (i.e. 1a and 1b) but you get to wait until the end of the second round to make your second pickup. Auction drafts introduce a strategic element that involves true value, because any player is attainable (but you have to decide what their worth is to your team). Also, the “going once, going twice, SOLD” hook never gets old.

TK and I used FantasyAuctioneer.com for our auction needs last year. It worked well except that you need to make sure you designate bench positions into your submitted lineups spots, otherwise once you fill a position you cannot draft another player that occupies that same position (a minor oversight that we ironed out). There is a draftbot option in this scenario, but as my buddy Beckwith can attest, the A.I. chip leaves much to be desired. Once the draft is over, you simply import your rosters and begin your free agent pickups. There is a small fee for their services, but it is certainly worth it. To quote Ferris Bueller, “It’s SO choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.”



If you’ve read this far, then you at least have a passing interest in fantasy baseball. If you’ve never played before, I would encourage you to seek out a league this year. I’ve heard all the excuses such as “I only play NFL” or “I’m a Giants fan and I don’t want to be forced to root for a Dodger under any circumstance”. Don’t kid yourself – It’s not a purity of the game issue nor is it a team loyalty issue, it’s simply a different way to experience your box scores in the morning. Don’t overcomplicate things.

You might already be aware of the fact that I have no problem what-so-ever expressing my love for fantasy sports. For me, it creates an alternative knowledge and skill set which can be applied to the game. It makes me pay attention to where the runs and strikeouts come from rather than simple wins and losses. It makes me internalize what these numbers are worth to me as a baseball fan. It makes me strive to find the next household name before he plays his first full season. It makes you ask the BIG questions:

Who, out of the beastly setup men, should I stockpile incase they become an elite closer?

A: K-Marm. Simple as that.

What is the best way to piss off your friend?

A: Draft his favorite player right before him in the draft. By doing this, you throw an emotional monkey wrench in his whole system. He’ll immediately draft Geoff Jenkins and Pedro Feliz back-to-back and wonder where it all went so horribly wrong.

When do I sell high on my young fireballer?

A: Mark Prior – yesterday. AJ Burnett – today. Justin Verlander – never.

Where does the luck begin and the skill end?

A: “Luck is the residue of design” ~Branch Rickey (i.e. there are only two types of people in fantasy baseball: winners and haters)

Why do I keep drafting Ray Durham and Dontrelle Willis?

A: Because you enjoy 8th place finishes.

We all love this game. If you think stat nerds are wasting their time or even worse “bad for baseball”, then you are missing the point. Sabermetrics and fantasy leagues are mostly aligned with learning a different language to discuss our love for the same thing. The joy and renewal we feel each spring is honest and so are the numbers. They speak volumes. They drift up and down and when the dust settles, they tell a profound story of a six-month odyssey. So please, break out the sunflower seeds and the Budweiser a little early this year fill your brain with useful data in these bleak winter months. Brady and Manning will still be there next Sunday, but the hype doesn’t have to be…

Coming next month: Sleepers, Busts and Gratuitous Photos of Anna Benson (tawdry wife of former Orioles and likely Cardinals pitcher Kris Benson)

On second thought, why wait...