In the first installment of this new series, I attempted to focus on the origins of “fantasy baseball” and why you should be interested in playing the game, if you don’t already. For lack of a better reason, playing “fantasy sports” of any kind will make you a more informed, better all around fan of the sport in question.
The first installment got a bit lengthy, so we left off with selecting a free, fantasy baseball league management website, along with how to set up your league and how many members you should have. In this installment, I want to focus on the general construction of your roster and how you go about acquiring players for the actual season.
One thing to keep in mind is the difference between the “roto style” of fantasy baseball and the “head to head style” of the game. I will get more into detail regarding the two basic paths you can take, in a future installment. However, I mention them briefly because I referenced them both in the last article. The main point for now is to realize that there are two different styles, but that they both start out similarly with regards to building your individual rosters.
OK, so what’s the deal with the rosters? The basic emphasis of fantasy baseball is to try and give the manager a realistic experience, meaning the roster you construct for your fantasy team, is similar in makeup to what a real general manager of a real baseball team would put together.
There are subtle differences in how the general positions are allocated, which you can clarify by reading the settings that the management tool (i.e. website) establishes. That, by the way, is an excellent point. ALWAYS be familiar with the rules of play set forth by the league you are participating in.
With regards to the different positions, most fantasy leagues you play in will require that you fill a roster of twenty-five positions. There will be “starting spots” as well as bench spots. Some leagues allow for disabled lists, while others (called Dynasty Leagues) even allow for the selection of minor leaguers, in the form of “keepers”. In an effort to keep this as basic as possible, I will focus on the most common roster setup that you will likely encounter.
Your twenty-five man roster(s) will include the following positions;
C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, CI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, UT, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, P, P, BNC, BNC, BNC
I can hear some of you now.......what’s with the alphabet soup? Or, better still, didn’t we get enough abbreviations during the Sabermetrics Series?
Looking closer at the different positions, some of them are pretty obvious, such as the basic designations for infielders and outfielders. The only ones that may be a bit odd are CI, MI, UT and BNC. A CI is also known as a corner infielder and it can be either a first baseman or a third baseman. An MI is a middle infielder and it can be filled with either a second baseman or a shortstop. UT indicates a utility player, which can be from any offensive position, while BNC stands for a bench player and it can be from any of the listed positions (but bench players do not contribute to your statistics).
On any given day during the season, you will have twenty-two active players (roster spots), which is more then the traditional nine that start for a real baseball club. It is one of the quirks of the game, but it gives you more to follow and to manage, which ends up being pretty cool. As mentioned above, the players on the bench do not count, but you can move players around to fill in for injuries or off days. Keeping up with your league is important, as you don’t want players who are active, sitting on the bench while a player in a starting slot is off for the day. By the same token, you don’t have to spend hours a day taking care of your roster. I usually check my team, right after checking my email. Look up who is playing and who is off, make the proper adjustments and go about my other business.
The bench spots are especially valuable if your league does not have a DL or if your DL is already full (most of the time, leagues allow for up to three injured players on the DL, but they can only stay there until they are taken off the real DL by their respective teams).
Now that the rosters make a little more sense, you can see how there is a lot of built in flexibility in how you construct your team. If you end up with six really good outfielders, you can play the last one in your utility slot so he doesn’t waste away on the bench. Or, let’s say you end up with two really good first baseman. One starts at first base, the other fills your CI slot. The two P slots can be starters or relievers, so that allows for a closer heavy team, or a starter heavy team, etc.
There are many different strategies depending on the style of league you play in and what your roster looks like after you acquire players, but that is another article.
Understanding the construction of your roster is important, since it relates to how your team contributes to your statistics and your overall standing in the league. But, how do you actually pick up players and assemble a team?
There are two basic methods in building a team. The first is to draft players and the second is to participate in an auction. Breaking that down further, you can also have a live event where everyone in the league is at one location, or you can take part in a computer guided event, where everyone is on line, but not necessarily in the same location. There are even events where the computer does everything for you based on a pre-arranged preference list, but that isn’t nearly as much fun to take part in. I am a fan of drafting players, so I will address that after discussing the auction format.
Auctions are fun and they require different strategies, but they take a LONG time to finish. The auction style is also best for live events, meaning everyone is on hand at the same location.
Each manager is given a mythical amount of money (usually 260 dollars, which was first established by our new friend Daniel Okrent) to spend on their entire roster. A general order is established and the auction starts with the first manager announcing a player to bid upon. The bidding goes around the room in the pre-determined order, until one manager is left standing and they get the player in question. However, they also subtract the winning bid amount from their overall total and the process repeats itself until everyone has filled out their roster.
It is easy to go crazy on the players you want, only to have a few dollars left at the end to fill out the last few positions. Lots of strategy involved, but it also takes a long time and is usually left for the really die hard managers and old style leagues.
The draft format is also rife with strategy, but it usually goes much faster, especially if you place a time limit on draft picks. This method is also much more fun if you have everyone in the same room for the event. Paired up with some good food and the drink(s) of your choice, most fantasy sports drafts are like a holiday for the participants. With that said, you can also do a live draft on line, which will also work just fine.
In the draft format, each of the managers is awarded a draft position by random draw or computer selection. Some older leagues, that have the same managers each year will draft in reverse order of the previous year’s finish, just like MLB.
Most drafts will follow a “snake” format, which means that the first round is drafted sequentially from the first pick until the last pick. But, the second round will be the opposite, meaning the manager who picked last in round one, picks first in round two. The second round is also sequential, but in reverse order. This “flip flop” style repeats every other round, until all of the managers have filled out their respective rosters.
As mentioned above, assign a time limit on each draft pick! Sixty to ninety seconds is more then enough time per selection and it will keep the entire event moving in an orderly fashion.
The next question is simple.........who do I pick and why? That question, along with a basic breakdown of the “roto” style, versus the “head to head” style will be the subject of the next installment in this series.
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