Wednesday, January 28, 2015


Some Thoughts On Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball  ... Millions of baseball fans play it every year. I started in 1995. I didn't do very good the first couple of years, but as time and experience reshaped my thinking, I got a little better and actually won a couple of leagues. I've been playing almost every year since 1995. I'm already signed up with three teams this year.

There are as many approaches to trying to assemble a winning team as there are fantasy managers. And who knows from year to year which approach is going to prove most successful. And, of course, there's a fair amount of luck, good and bad, involved ... favorable team match/pitcher match-ups, injuries, schedule quirks due to weather, slumps, good players having a down year, good players having a great year, previously unheralded players having a breakout year (think Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies and Devin Mesoraco of the Cincinnati Reds in 2014) ... and a bunch of other unpredictable factors.

I think too many fantasy managers let two things, more than any other factors except general neglect, hurt their fantasy teams:  1.  Hometown favorite players and  2. Personal biases. Let me explain.

1. Hometown Favorites:  Some folks, meaning fantasy managers, just can't force themselves to leave their favorite hometown player off their fantasy team. Yeah, he's pretty good, but is he as good as the first couple of players, at his position, who head most ranking lists? I know several people from the St. Louis area who just can't bear to leave Yadier Molina of their fantasy team. Is he the best catcher in all of baseball? Possibly. But, is he the best fantasy catcher? I would say not. I think that nod goes to Buster Posey with Molina ranked 3rd or 4th. Remember, defense means nothing in most fantasy leagues. You have to separate the offensive player from the total player when drafting/selecting players for your fantasy team.

2.  Personal Bias:  So, you're convinced Ryan Braun took PEDs. Most people, including me, are. He escaped punishment by means of an error in the chain of custody of his urine sample. Like me, you probably have issue with the players who took PEDs. That's a real life situation. Fantasy baseball is not the same as real life baseball. If he, or any player proven or suspected to have used PEDs can help your team, compared to what you would have with a different, clean player, why not draft him on to your team? He's not affecting anything on the real playing field because you drafted him onto your fantasy team. He's not breaking any real records. Real life baseball and fantasy baseball are not the same and your attitude about them should not be the same. Back in the late 1990's, a good friend of mine refused to draft Barry Bonds onto his team because he didn't like his condescending attitude. PED's were not a hot topic back then, so that's out of the picture. My friend simply didn't like Barry Bonds, the person. Not drafting him cost my friend almost $1,000.00 as he finished second rather than first in one of his fantasy league. It was very close. With Bonds' numbers replacing the player he drafted instead, my friend would have won the league and $2,000.00. Instead he came in second and won $1,100.00. My friend had an oppotunity to draft Bonds but chose someone else instead.


I'm not a big fan of sabremetrics, although they do have some relevance. I don't play in leagues that use sabremetric stats. But, that's a personal choice. I prefer the old tried and true stats that have been used for years, even decades.


Another interesting situation I have observed is when a fantasy manager finds him/herself caught between rooting for their real life team or their fantasy team when they are in direct conflict with one another. As an example ... in a head-to-head league, you need a home run to win the night. Edwin Encarnacion is coming to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and a home run by him will give your fanatasy team the victory. Encarnacion is on your fantasy team. But wait! The Blue Jays, Encarnacion's team, is playing your hometown team in real life! We've all been there more than a few times. I always root for my real team, not my fantasy team, in those situations. Real life baseball is much more important and affects the real lives of many people. Your fantasy team's performance only affects you, and to some degree, the other fantasy managers in your league. For me, it's a no-brainer.


Here's wishing you good luck with your fantasy teams, no matter the approach you use. Have a great summer of baseball, real and fantasy, this 2015.