Fantasy Baseball Bible

With the 2008 baseball season upon us, the fantasy baseball season is about to begin. Here are some tips to creating a successful fantasy baseball team.

1) Be smart

When you are drafting your baseball team, don’t take unnecessary risks. This year you shouldn’t be taking Pedro Martinez (36 years old and diminishing health) or Chris Carpenter (might be out until All-Star break) in any of the early or middle rounds. You may not know every player in the MLB, but it isn’t hard to use good judgement. Don’t fall into the mentality that you need to get certain positions early in the draft, just because the rest of the league makes a run on a specific position. You cannot afford to take catchers, like Victor Martinez and Russell Martin, in front of other Top 40 players such as Aramis Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez, Alex Rios, and Curtis Granderson. Closers fall into this same type of category; there are plenty of good closers that will be available after the 8th round. Decide what is more important: having the best catcher and closer or getting more stats for your draft picks.

2) Make a plan and stick to it

Have a plan before the draft starts. Of all the fantasy baseball teams of mine that have been good, only one or two have been very balanced. More so than in other fantasy sports, such as football or basketball, you need to choose some categories that you want to dominate your league in. Whether that is good pitching (Wins, ERA, K’s), power hitting (HR, RBI), or speed (SB, R), it doesn’t really matter what it is, but pick something and stick with it.

3) Drafts cannot make a season, but they can break one

It’s true that you need to research, know your stuff, and have a plan going into the draft, but don’t put too much emphasis on the draft. The baseball season is six months long and you can’t underestimate the value of staying on top of your league every day. Because of the length of the season, it is very easy to turn around a baseball league in the summer months by simply checking the free agents every day, watching what players get on hot streaks, and updating your daily lineup.

By: Jacob Davis

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If you want to maximize your draft and pick the best team possible, then there’s one question you should ask yourself before every pick. You can practice this during your fantasy baseball mock draft (remember to practice the mock draft on your own).

The question is, when you’re about to pick a player: “Is there a player of equal value still available in the draft and, if so, what round is that player expected to be drafted?” Okay, so that’s two questions in one. But that makes it doubly important.

If the answer to the question is yes, then you have to figure out which round that player is expected to be drafted in. If it is two or more rounds later, then you should seriously consider not drafting the player you have in mind and holding off for the latter player.

For example, in last year’s draft, it seemed odd to me that Joe Mauer was ranked so high (Yahoo average pick: 31). Here was a catcher who in 2006 batted an astounding .347, but racked up only decent numbers in other categories (86 runs, 13 home runs, 79 RBI, 8 SB), at least in terms of fantasy baseball strategy. Seeing as how Mauer batted .294 the year before, one could reasonably ask whether or not Mauer could sustain such a high average. And if not, did his other stats really make him a third round pick?

If you were to get to the third round and you were thinking of picking Mauer, it would beg the question, “Is there a player of equal value still available, and if so, where is he projected to be drafted?”

In my mind, that player was Russell Martin. In fewer games than Mauer in 2006, Martin had 65 runs, 10 home runs, 65 RBI, and 10 SB. His average was much lower at .282. But clearly that discrepancy did not justify Martin (Yahoo average pick: 179) being ranked that much lower than Mauer. Either Mauer was highly overrated or Martin was vastly underrated.

I tended to believe the latter. Thus, if Mauer was worth a third round pick, Martin surely should have been worth a fifth round pick or so. In such a case, I believe it was worth passing on Mauer and picking Martin at least a few rounds earlier than projected, which is what I did with my team last year and it paid off, as Martin went on to have a stellar year.
Where can we find such bargains in 2008? Right now, my number one player to look out for is Chris Young of Arizona. He won’t fly under the radar like Martin did last year, but if he’s slated for the ninth or tenth round because of his .237 average, bump him up at least a few rounds in your draft chart.

Others to potentially boost on your chart: B.J. Upton (2B eligibility), Ian Kinsler, and Corey Hart.

By: Gavin T

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Growing up, there was nothing finer for a kid than waking up every morning and turning to the back pages of the sports section to scan the box scores for the previous night’s games. Numbers streamed down those four columns–ab, r, h, rbi–after every hitter’s name much like the neon symbols rained down in the opening sequence of “The Matrix.”

Like The Matrix, those box score numbers occupied an alternate reality for us baseball fans who took great pleasure in absorbing statistics and the endlessly fascinating configuration of numbers.

Nowadays, with the Internet and SportsCenter, box scores don’t carry the weight they once did. But scanning lists of baseball stats is not a dead skill. For fantasy baseball, it’s essential.

The first step in winning your fantasy baseball league is to create a solid draft list. To do that, you must create a bias-free player rankings sheet.

A bias-free player rankings sheet

Here’s how: Take a stat sheet that lists the last three year’s statistics, like the one that Yahoo distributes to its Fantasy Plus subscribers, or the ones that appear in various baseball magazines and books.

What I like to do is to take the sheets of Yahoo stats and fold the papers vertically so that I can only see the stats and not the names.

What you want to do is try and spot a player’s trends. Are they moving up? Was last year’s numbers a substantial increase over his three-year average?

You’re also looking at the overall quality of last year’s stats. Even if his home run and stolen base total don’t add up to much, is there something that stands out across the board that might make him a great fantasy value?

Lastly, when scanning these statistics, you want to make the process as objective as possible, separating the names from the statistics, if possible.

What to do with these stat sheets

For the hitters, what I do is scan the sheets and put a checkmark next to the stats of approximately the top 72 players. Then I’ll divide them up into two groups. I’ll give an “A” to the top 36, and a “B” to the next 36, and I’ll keep dividing groups into halves until I come up with an ordered Top 72 list.

There is no exact science to this. This is an exercise in ranking players without being biased by the superstar names. The idea is to rank your players without looking at their names to see if there are any surprises, either at who made your list, or at how highly you ranked a lesser-known player. Doing this exercise might also yield some draft steals.

For instance, in 2006, this exercise showed huge potential for a player who hit 19 HR, 87 RBI, 14 SB, and .307 in 479 AB the year before. If given a full season, one could reason, this player could have a huge year. And yet he was not ranked in the Top 100 in most fantasy lists. That meant a big draft day bargain for whoever drafted Matt Holliday.

In 2007, this exercise confirmed the excellence of players often overlooked by media. Which shortstop’s stats are these from 2006?

100 R, 19 HR, 85 RBI, 20 SB, .320 AVG, 543 AB

Miguel Tejada? Michael Young? Rafael Furcal? Troy Glaus? Bill Hall? Nope. Those stats belong to Carlos Guillen, who was usually drafted after all the shortstops just mentioned, but arguably had the most attractive stat sheet. And how did Guillen fare in 2007 compared to those guys? Statistically speaking, better than all of them.

Finally, let’s do one more example using 2007’s stats to show you how this works. Which outfielder would you most like to pick for next year?

Hits/AB, R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG

Player 1

185/612, 122, 23, 74, 26, .302

Player 2

191/637, 97, 23, 112, 18, .300

Player 3

153/554, 93, 33, 112, 23, .276

Player 1? Player 2? Player 3? A case could be made for any of them, although one of them is more famous than the others and will probably go much higher in the draft. This is not to say that these three players are equal, especially given Player 3’s prolific past. But it does point out that you can fill your roster with some emerging superstars that have the potential to carry your team, but won’t necessarily go in the first three rounds. As for who is who, Player 1 is Curtis Granderson, Player 2 is Nick Markakis, and Player 3 is Carlos Beltran.

By: Gavin T

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If you’ve played rotisserie-league baseball for more than a couple of years, you’ve probably finished out of the money at least once or twice. Unless you are a lucky owner in a league full of chumps, you’ve had to endure a season where you had Kerry Wood, John Smoltz, Derek Lee and Todd Helton all end up with extended stays on the DL. In such situations, there is often no way to turn your team around. You simply have to face up to a lower-division finish. Hey, it happens in the major leagues as well as fantasy baseball.

The trick is knowing when to cut bait on a losing team to maximize your chances of winning in the coming years. For inspiration, let’s look at a couple of MLB teams who have either sprung up from the depths of futility, or have remained stuck in “loser” mode.

Detroit Tigers

Year…………Record………….Payroll

2007…………??????…………..$95 million

2006…………95-67……………$82 million

2005…………71-91…………….$69 million

2004…………72-90……………$46 million

2003…………43-119…………..$49 million

2002…………55-106…………..$55 million

2001………….66-96……………$49 million

When the Tigers won the ALCS in 2006, it had been nearly 20 years since the organization had been to the postseason. Detroit hit rock bottom in 2003, winning only 43 games (a .265 winning percentage), one of the worst seasons in the history of Major League Baseball. That season, the Tigers’ payroll ranked 24th out of 30 Major League teams. The next season, Detroit won 72 games, an amazing increase of 29 games over the previous year. Only AFTER they experienced success with their younger, inexpensive players did they begin to substantially increase the team payroll in 2005.

When team ownership saw that they needed a few more stars to contend, they added veteran pitcher Kenny Rogers, closer Todd Jones and infielder Placido Polanco, all at multi-million dollar salaries. Of course, the 2006 season was a smashing success, but despite the high payroll, the team’s foundation is still its youth. That young, inexpensive nucleus should make the Tigers competitive for years to come.

An important part of the Tigers’ success has been player evaluation. In the same way, a fantasy team owner needs to assess which players will help the team in the coming years at minimal cost. Players such as Jeremy Bonderman, Mike Maroth, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and Jamie Walker all made huge contributions in 2006 at very affordable salaries (under $3 million apiece). Those players had all been around for a couple of seasons, and the team decided they were worth keeping. Combining these guys with the outstanding core of young players and adding in a few well-chosen veterans at the right time has been the Tigers’ recipe for success.

Baltimore Orioles

Year…………Record………….Payroll

2007…………??????…………..$93 million

2006…………70-92……………$72 million

2005…………74-88……………$73 million

2004…………78-84……………$51 million

2003…………71-91……………$73 million

2002…………67-95……………$60 million

2001…………63-98……………$74 million

If you want to have a fantasy team stuck in mediocrity for years, emulate the Orioles. They haven’t had a winning team in years, yet team payroll is consistently in the top half of the league. They annually add players for huge sums who are at or near the end of their careers, yet don’t have the strong nucleus of young players or the roster of talented veterans to support those mid-level acquisitions.

Here’s a list of recent seasons, and some of the high-salaried players who didn’t live up to their billing:

2003

Albert Belle……..$13 million

Scott Erickson….$7 million

2004

Omar Daal……….$4.5 million

David Segui………$7 million

2005

Sammy Sosa……..$17 million

Sidney Ponson….$8.5 million

2006

Kris Benson………$8 million

Javy Lopez……….$9 million

Bruce Chen & Rodrigo Lopez…..$4 million each

This year, it’s more of the same. The names change, but the result will be similar to past years…

2007

Danys Baez……….$6 million

Kris Benson………$7 million

Jaret Wright……..$7 million

Perhaps Orioles management will get the hint after 2007. They have a developing core of young players, such as Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Corey Patterson, but they lack the superstar talent to justify spending over $90 million. They consistently bring in players like Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Steve Trachsel and Aubrey Huff, all of whom will probably be out of baseball in three years.

This is an organization with no direction. They seemingly can’t bring themselves to admit that there’s not enough talent to win, and scrap the whole thing and start over.

Don’t do this with your fantasy team. If you aren’t going to win this year, be the first to start dealing your overpriced players to contending teams. You will get the best deals in return. Load up that roster with promising, young players and head into next year’s draft looking to pick up a couple of superstars with an eye on contending in the next year or two.

By: Scott Campanella

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June 2, 2008 will be remembered as a big day for fantasy baseball, and the results of games on the field will have no effect.

Major League Baseball has appealed a case dating back to 2006 to the Supreme Court against CBC Distribution and Marketing of St. Louis, Missouri over rights to licensing fees for statistics and player likenesses used in fantasy baseball.

CBC Distribution and Marketing of St. Louis, Missouri is the ownership group behind CDMSports.com, a St. Louis-based company that distributes fantasy sports products and services to companies like USA TODAY and The Sporting News.

MLB’s case has backing from the NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, the PGA TOUR, and the WNBA, so the ramifications of an appeal and overturn of this case will have a widespread effect on the entire fantasy sports industry, valued at 1.5-billion dollars.

What does this case mean for your fantasy baseball league provider? It depends on whether or not they currently pay licensing fees. As previously stated, ESPN and Yahoo! already pay licensing fees, and are not included in the suit. Those of you who play on these sites will continue to have a place to play.

The smaller the company you use to host your fantasy baseball league, the more importance this case holds. If the Supreme Court hears this case and overturns the ruling, then smaller fantasy sports outlets will be forced to pay licensing fees. This will dramatically change the cost of hosting your league with a smaller outlet, lead to the removal of FREE fantasy baseball games from smaller sites, or eliminate smaller sites altogether.

While Fantasy Baseball Dugout has no legal expertise, we predict that if the case is heard by the Supreme Court, the earlier rulings will be upheld. Game on, fantasy baseballers!

By: Jonathan Bentz

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The safest bet is still Chase Utley, but the talent right behind him is very good as well. The problem comes after the top eight. Trusting your middle infield to Clint Barmes could be trouble.

Chase Utley – What hip surgery? Far and away the best 2B around. Ian Kinsler – Homers up, average down. Truth may lie somewhere in between ‘08 and ‘09. Brandon Phillips – Should have more of an ‘08 type year, although nothing wrong with ‘09. Dustin Pedroia – Possible move to SS coming up. Don’t worry, he played there in college. Robinson Cano -.320-25-85. He’s just getting warmed up. Ben Zobrist – Mr. Everywhere put up darn good numbers. Get ready to pounce in your draft. Aaron Hill – 36 HR from a guy with an ADP of 177 last year. Not a surprise anymore. Brian Roberts – Stolen bases have gone 50-40-30 past three years, while 2B have gone 42-51-56. Clint Barmes – Home:.283 Away:.207 Do what you will with him. Howie Kendrick – Still a lot of believers out there. Still only 26. Dan Uggla – The power is real, but so is the batting average. Casey McGehee – Great rookie year. 2B eligibility is a nice bonus. Jose Lopez – Really saw the ball well in ‘09 (25 HR). Whatever the reason, he’s finding his groove. Mark DeRosa – If his wrist heals nicely, he’s a good multi-spot player to have. Asdrubal Cabrera – Poised to break out in 2010. Rickie Weeks – Injury risk is all too familiar to Weeks by now. But for those taking the chance, he could have that great year yet. Felipe Lopez – For all his talent and the number of times he’s been traded, he must be a pain to be around. Adam Kennedy – Experienced a nice AL resurgence. Orlando Hudson – Remember his first half of 2009. Remember his second half. Use him wisely. Ian Stewart – 25 HR, but needs to hit for more than.228. Brendan Harris Mike Aviles Kelly Johnson Placido Polanco Maicer Izturis Eugenio Velez Jeff Baker Mark Ellis Freddy Sanchez Kazuo Matsui Emilio Bonifacio Skip Schumaker Willie Harris Martin Prado Akinori Iwamura Juan Uribe Alexi Casilla Luis Castillo Willy Aybar Mike Fontenot Mark Grudzielanek Blake DeWitt Ronnie Belliard Matt Antonelli Alberto Callaspo Chris Getz Nick Punto Omar Infante Tadahito Iguchi

By: Gavin T

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Six to seven million people play fantasy baseball today, according to Gregg Rosenthall, fantasy sports editor of Rotoworld and NBCSports.com.

But, how did this fantasy baseball epidemic get started?

The passion for fantasy baseball today came from a group of men who grew up playing baseball board games, namely APBA (American Professional Baseball Association) and Strat-O-Matic. APBA, invented by Dick Seitz in 1951, was the first baseball board game to base its results on statistics of actual major league players. Strat-O-Matic, invented by Hal Richman, followed with its new game in 1963 and a new phenomenon was born. If you grew up in the 60’s or 70’s, you no doubt played one of these baseball board games. (I still have a set of Strat-O-Matic game cards from the first season my brothers began playing in 1966).

The day the cards arrived, usually about in February, was the biggest day of the year. While we all had our orders in, we would rush over to whomever was the luckiest to get the cards first. Then, we would help him separate the cards (they came in one big sheet with nine cards attached to each other as I recall) and place them on the proper teams.

With outcomes based on the roll of the dice, the game was statistically very accurate. There was, however, one major problem with APBA and Strat-O-Matic: do we replay last season or use last season’s stats to replay this season? Some guys (this is how I did it) would get the new cards and immediately make the trades that had happened over the Hot Stove League; others replayed the previous season.

The rudimentary game played with cards and dice is boring by today’s video standards. APBA and Strat-O-Matic moved to a computer-based game in the 1990’s, but it was still basically the card game played via a computerized dice roll. Stacked up against the graphics of MLB 2008, I couldn’t see today’s video generation getting into a baseball board game for very long.

No doubt, however, that it was a love for baseball statistics learned by many young men from playing APBA and Strat-O-Matic that made fantasy baseball such an instant hit. That, and a 1981 baseball strike that left the original managers, who were all journalists, scrambling for something to write about.

Daniel Okrent, of The New York Times, is credited with establishing the concept for fantasy baseball in 1980. There seems to be significant proof that Okrent invented the game as opposed to Abner Doubleday’s claims which are purely legend. Back then, it was called Rotisserie Baseball because the origins of the game began at La Francoise Rotisserie-a restaurant in New York City where the original fantasy baseball managers met.

A little known fact of fantasy baseball is that Okrent had pitched the idea of organizing the first ever league the week before to a group of friends at another restaurant called “The Pit.” Okrent’s initial group wasn’t interested, however. It’s a good thing or we’d be playing PitBall today. Doesn’t sound as nice, does it?

Okrent was born in 1948 and was graduated from the University of Michigan. Okrent began the tradition of naming teams after the manager’s name. Okrent’s original team was the Okrent Fenokees. More recently, he managed the Dan Druffs.

Several other managers from the original Rotisserie League have gone on to become very famous journalists. Glenn Waggoner is publisher of ESPN The Magazine. Rob Fleder, then manager of the Fleder Mice, is executive editor of Sports Illustrated. Valerie Salerbien is vice president of Esquire magazine.

Statistics from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association indicate that 16 million people play fantasy sports in the United States. Fantasy football is the biggest part of the fantasy pie with an estimated 10 million players. Fantasy baseball managers spend, on average, three hours per week managing their teams. They invest $175 per year on fantasy sports for software, research, magazines, and league prize money. That makes fantasy sports a $1.5 billion industry.

Back in the days when the pastime was known as Rotisserie Baseball, it wasn’t quite as easy to run a league. Statistics were not as easy to come by and league standings had to be kept by hand. USA Today is credited with making it a lot easier to be a Rotisserie manager through its extensive and easy to read box scores and statistics.

Today, CBS Sportsline, Yahoo, and ESPN make running a fantasy baseball team and league a snap. The three entities pay Major League Baseball Advanced Media $2 million per year for the rights to use player statistics, photos, and logos on their sites. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which collects licensing payments on behalf of the MLB Players’ Association, now works with only seven licensees for fantasy baseball as opposed to 19 as recently as 2004.

Today, fantasy baseball is everywhere and shows no sign of declining. Heck, even if you watch the movie Knocked Up, you’ll see a reference to fantasy baseball.

“Hey, I got Matsui. I got Matsui.”

By: Bob Bentz

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Fantasy sports are quickly becoming one of Americas favorite past times. People are playing in competitive leagues, friendly leagues with their friends, and even family fantasy baseball leagues are getting started. Some of these leagues have a lot of money on the line, while others just have your pride. You don’t want to be in your friends and family league and come in last place; you will never hear the end of it. In fact if you win your league you will be able to give everyone a hard time, all year long. I have come up with a few strategies I have used to place in multiple fantasy baseball leagues.

The Draft: The part of the fantasy baseball season that has the biggest impact on how well you do is the fantasy draft. If you go into it without a draft strategy and you are just winging it chances are you will not do as well. Knowing what players you want to target and having a sound draft strategy are a great start to a fantasy baseball season. Another tip about drafts is to stick to your plan. If your plan is to draft all pitchers first, then stick with it, no matter what!

Trading: Don’t just draft your team and then leave it. If you draft a lot of pitchers then you are probably weak on offense. Try and trade a few pitchers to boost your offense. Don’t be afraid to offer a trade just because you would not accept it. Everyone values each player differently. Try and find out what they are looking for and work with the other fantasy baseball team. Also knowing what their favorite baseball team is, and offering a player that plays for that team to them could boost your chances of the trade going through.

Waiver Wire: Stay active. Check the waiver wire daily and see who is available. Be observant of trends and be sure to not miss out on hot streaks. Don’t miss the best rookie of the season just because you don’t check on your league daily.

Know your Scoring System: There are many different types of scoring systems in fantasy baseball. They all have different strategies that work. Know your scoring system and know all the loopholes it has. Even if you don’t use them, at least you will be aware when someone else does it.

It doesn’t matter if there are thousands of dollars on the line, or just your family pride; winning your fantasy baseball league is a lot of fun. Using a strategy and the tips outlined in this article you should be able to make it in the top half of the standings. The biggest tip though, have fun!

By: Christopher Hufnagel

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Why are you playing fantasy sports? Is it for recreation or is it because you enjoy competition? If you fall under the first category then this article really isn’t for you.

I play to win and I have won quite a few times. So here are 10 strategies that I apply when I am drafting.

1. Know Your League Settings

I know this one seems obvious, but it is very important. What are your leagues settings and how will that effect your draft. Is your team a roto league or is is a head to head league. Each format requires different players. In roto leagues consistency is important, but as long as their stats work out in the end then it’s all good. Whereas an inconsistent player in a heads up league may cost you a few wins.

What stats are being used to keep score? Why don’t owners know this? It is inexcusable to be clueless. This determines the value of a player in a particular league. A guy like Todd Helton in a league that has Avg. OBP. SLG. and OPS is a 4 stat stud where if he was in a traditional league he would be a bottom tier 1st baseman.

KNOW YOUR SETTINGS!

2. Research

If you want to do well at a fantasy baseball draft then you have to research a little bit. You don’t have to be obsessed like I am and look at obscure stats, but you do need to do some. When you get into the late rounds you will be shooting in the dark if you have not done adequate research.

3. Don’t be afraid to reach for players

Many times an owner will be afraid to reach on a player because the other owners will criticize him for it. Well often it is the guy that reaches for a player that will end up winning the league. Those who reached for Miguel Cabrera in 05 most likely won their leagues and the same is true for those who reached for Prince Fielder last year. So blow off the critics and draft your team, not theirs.

4. Don’t draft a closer until late

Don’t make the mistake of spending a 4th round pick on a closer. You can find efficient closers late in the draft or on the waiver wire. Last year there were over 50 closers that compiled more than 10 saves. I actually never draft a closer. Usually I will scoop up a closer off of waivers and do just fine with them. It is only one stat so I don’t believe you should overemphasize it.

5. Draft for consistency

I prefer consistency over one stat studs. I am always looking for a guy who bats around .300 and scores runs and steals about 10 bases. Consistency makes you a 5 stat threat.

6. Avoid focusing on one stat

If you take a look at the bottom dwellers in a league they usually are great in one or two stats and absolutely horrible in the rest. This happens for 2 reasons:

1. They were clueless at the draft

2. They focused on one particular stat

Guys that focus on power are usually strong in RBIs and HR, but weak in AVG, Hits and SBs. They also struggle with long droughts at the plate. (a no-no in a heads up league)

Guys that focus on speed end up being strong in SBs and Average but are not competitive in HR and RBI.

It is fine to be strong in one particular stat as long as you are not punting 3 or 4 stats to be strong in them.

7. Don’t be a Robot

This strategy has won me more league than any other strategy. Think differently from the rest of the owners. I won’t get into too much detail because I am going to write about this strategy exclusively so just remember the concept.

8. Be Able to Adjust

Rarely does a draft go the way you want it to, actually it never does. It would be great to end up with 5 studs on your team, but there is a problem with that thinking…everyone else has to draft too. There are going to be guys that get drafted earlier than you had them going and it messes with you rankings. Let it go and stay focused. You should be able to make adjustments quickly because you have researched the players.

9. Think Ahead

This is a strategy that is not for the weak at heart. I occasionally will draft 2 guys back to back that play the same position. I know that sounds stupid, especially when I do it in the early rounds, but it works if you do it right.

If you are really strong at a shallow position then you can use that as leverage in a trade.

This is what I did last season:

I drafted Utley in the 1st round and then Phillips in the 5th. 2 of my first 5 picks were spent on 2B. I then turned around and traded Utley for Hanley Ramirez and a throw in.

At that point I had a great SS and a great 2B. Han-Ram was draft in the 2nd round and ended up being the best SS last season. Brandon Phillips was the best 2B last season. I could have never acquired a team like that without thinking ahead.

10. Be Realistic

You can’t win a league through the draft alone so don’t be hard on yourself when one players don’t work out the way you planned. Everybody has one or two of those guys. Try your best to stockpile talent to trade away and don’t be afraid to make the trades either. Not only is this unwise but it is no fun at all.

Usually the 4th or 5th place teams never make a trade during the season. They laugh at the 11th and 12th place teams that made the bad trade and that is there reason why they play it safe. Of course they ignore the fact that the 1st and 2nd place winners made trades that made them champion.

Nobody remembers who finished in the middle of the pack.

By: Joel Kreeger

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