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In
order to get a fantasy baseball league started, use these skills
to recruit the best in the business. Outlined below is the
groundwork you'll need to start your own fantasy minor league baseball.
Soon you'll find out what more than 3 million fantasy baseball betting
fanatics have been enjoying for the last decade.
Step 1: Assemble a handful of baseball betting
fanatics who are willing to wheel and deal throughout the course
of the baseball season. There is no set number, mind you, but
10 teams is great and 12 teams is perfect.
Step 2: Elect a commissioner. He or she will
be responsible for compiling weekly statistics of every team,
and can be called the High Exalted Commissioner for Life or something
of that ilk. The commissioner should be somebody that every team
owner respects. The commissioner, who most likely also owns
a team in the league, will be responsible for the league constitution,
bylaws and all final decisions. One of the commissioner's responsibilities
is writing the league newsletter, which goes out every week or
two with complete standings and statistics.
Step 3: One of your first big decisions will
be to decide whether to mix players from the American and National
leagues or to compete with players from just one league. If you
mix leagues, the number of teams can be greater than 10 or 12.
Step 4: Each team is composed of 23 players
taken from the active rosters of the N.L. and/or A.L. teams. Each
team's roster usually consists of two catchers, one first baseman,
one second baseman, one shortstop, one third baseman, one middle
infielder (second baseman or shortstop), one corner infielder
(first baseman or third baseman), one designated hitter (for A.L.
leagues, or call him a utility player for N.L. leagues), five
outfielders and nine pitchers. The pitching breakdown is usually
five starters and four relievers, although that isn't written
in stone.
Step 5: Players are acquired in one of two
ways -- and here's one of the slight differences between Rotisserie
baseball and fantasy baseball. Generally, fantasy baseball uses
a draft to select teams, much like the NFL does. Each team is
responsible for filling its 23 roster positions, but the owners
can pick any player at any position whenever their turn in the
draft comes up. Rotisserie baseball is different in that teams
are formed using an open auction to select players. Each team
is assigned $260 to allocate for player salaries. Unlike the first
method of drafting, the order of auctioning players doesn't matter.
The minimum first bid is $1. Bidding then proceeds around the
room at minimum increments of $1 until the player is purchased
by one team owner. The process is repeated until every team has
a full complement of 23 position players. With this method, each
team has to stay within its budget. That means that if you bid
$45 for Frank Thomas, you'll probably be left with $1 for middle
infielders like Craig Grebeck and Rafael Bournigal. You have to
budget wisely with this method.
Step 6: Team rankings are tabulated using four
offensive categories and four pitching categories. The offensive
statistics used are composite team batting average, total home
runs, total runs batted in and total stolen bases. The pitching
categories are composite team earned-run average, total wins,
total saves and composite team WHIP Ratio (walks plus hits divided
by number of innings pitched). This last category is important
because it shows how many hitters a pitcher allows on base each
inning.
Step 7: In each of the eight categories teams
are ranked from first to last place. For instance, if you're in
a 10-team league, the team that finished first in a category earns
10 points, the second-place team gets nine points, third place
eight points and so forth down to the last-place team getting
one point. So the team with the most home runs by its 14 offensive
players receives 10 points, while the team with the least number
of home runs gets just one point. This system works for all eight
categories, each of which have equal value, so the most points
a team in a 10-team league could receive if it won every category
is 80 points.
Step 8: The biggest headache for the commissioner
is compiling team statistics. There are plenty of software packages,
stat services and online commissioner packages out there that
can ease this burden.
Step 9: A team can make trades anytime during
the week, but the players' stats continue on their teams until
the next stat pariod. In other words, if a trade is made on Friday,
the two teams still receive the stats from their original players
until the next Monday and Tuesday when the statistics are made
public.
Step 10: A player is eligible to be drafted
at any position at which he appeared in 20 games or more during
the preceding year. Using this rule, Jason Giambi is eligible
at first base, third base and the outfield for 1997, even if he
somehow doesn't play more than 20 games at any of those positions
this year. Remember that when making trades, each team must retain
a full complement of players at the required positions. You can't
have seven outfielders and only one catcher. The 23 roster positions
remain intact throughout the season.
Step 11: If one of your players is put on the
disabled list, sent to the minors or released, he may be replaced
by a player who is unprotected by any other team. If Vladimir
Guerrero somehow gets sent back to the minors midway through the
season and nobody has Willie McGee, you could put Guerrero on
your protected list and pick up McGee as a free agent. But when
Guerrero returns from the minors or the DL, you have to cut either
Guerrero or McGee for good.
Step 12: Each league has to make decisions
on how they want to play and for what price. We do not recommend
you play for money; think of the $260 figure as a form of Monopoly
money. But a league traveling trophy is a good idea, so that at
least you have something concrete to play for.
Step 13: Don't get too complicated
with your rules. In other words, don't include any more statistics
than the eight proposed. These eight categories will give you
a clear indication of the better team. You don't need to include
errors, strikeouts or anything else. Keep it basic. It's hard
enough for the commissioner the way it is. On that point, we advise
you to get a computer if at all possible. The commissioner is
advised to take precise notes, and if possible, to get a computer
program to help him with the overall standings.
Step 14: Keep it simple and have fun. Your
league doesn't have to be completely the way the founding fathers
intended it to be. If you want an Aug. 31 trading deadline, go
for it. If you want a 25-man roster instead of 23, go for it.
If you want a September roster expansion and a farm system, go
for it. If you don't want to make any transactions and just want
to pick a team and see which team has the best stats at the end
of the year, go for it. It's your fantasy league, so do what's
best for your league owners.
Step 15: Buy a subscription to Fantasy Sports
magazine. If you want to know everything there is to know about
this great hobby, and you want the best baseball information around,
you can't beat Fantasy Sports Magazine.
In order to be the major league baseball player you fantasized about
as a kid, be sure you learn the ropes here with ! Adrenaline
sports betting. We may not have the folder of valuable major
league baseball cards you collected as a kid and traded with the
neighbor kids, but we know what you need to know in order to rake
in the green. Sports betting is an art that should not be
taken lightly, and the following advice is as important as the baseball
stats that each player's worth is determined by. Review these
general sports betting guidelines and then you'll be prepared to
practice in our secure online sportsbooks.
1-KNOW YOUR OWN TEAM BETTER THAN ANYONE.
If you have a team from last season, divide
them into three groups;
A-KEEPERS: These are the guys who will not be traded
because they are cheap ( value priced), are solid at their position,
and have a significant upside because they are young or in a suddenly
great lineup. An example of this is Scott Brosius in New York.
Very underrated at his position, can sometimes qualify at more
than one position before the season is over, is young, and will
benefit from the fact that he bats ninth in a great lineup.
B-MAYBES: These are the guys that, if
things go right, could become substantial values by the time spring
training ends. YOU MUST WATCH THESE GUYS CLOSELY. These guys may
become the players that put you over the top. Some may not even
have the job until later in spring training. No one should know
the answer before you. An example of this is Derek Lowe in Boston.
Saves are going to be accumulated because the team is one of the
best in the American League but Tom Gordon cannot be expected
to have two great years in a row. A great guy to get for a few
bucks and just sit on.
C-THROWBACKS: These are the players that you will
not keep under any conditions such as Frank Thomas at high dollars.
If you had him last year, you got nothing for your money. He actually
hurt you very badly. You should be able to buy him back for much
cheaper this season. Don't fall in love with a player like this.
Take emotion out of it. If you have any doubts, throw him back.
2-KNOW THE OTHER TEAMS BETTER THAN THEIR OWN OWNER(S)
Once you've gotten all of your players onto one of
the above lists, go to the other teams in your league and go through
them, putting all of their players under the same microscope and
come up with a list of players that you would like to trade for
and focus on that group. But, if the player is not a significant
value you want to be cautious before you trade for them.
3-FIND YOUR THROWBACKS A HOME.
If there is a player that you have no interest in
keeping, DO NOT ASSUME THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS INTEREST. Get on the
phone and start feeling owners out to see if anyone has interest
in any of your players that you are not going to keep because
it is very important that as much money as possible is tied up
before the draft. If you do this, owners have less money to spend
come draft day . What you get back is not as important as making
sure you give that high priced question mark to an owner that
will protect the player on the team's frozen roster.
4-TAKE YOUR EMOTIONS OUT OF IT
This game is a game of numbers and production versus
the price paid on draft day. Just because a guy is on your favorite
team, doesn't mean that he is a good value. If he doesn't
produce, he is not worth anything, no matter who he is. An example
of this was Alan Trammell. He was always drafted even though his
numbers had been decreasing for years. He only takes up a spot
and will probably be worth little more than a dollar, if that.
That same dollar or two can be much better spent on Pat Mears
or Jeff Frye in Boston. Find the owner(s) in your league who are
emotional and store it away for when you have to make a trade.
These people are great for giving players away when they are going
bad especially in April, and more importantly, will overpay when
a guy is going well. By the way, if the identified emotional owner
is a player who falls in love with a player who just give him
away to the owner in the off-season, only if he is a 'maybe' or
a 'throwback' on your list
5.WATCH THE SPRING BOX SCORES THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
The last two weeks are when decisions are made such
as who is the closer or who is going to be in the starting lineup
come opening day.
This is especially true of a team that has a new
manager. He usually makes major changes to make the team his and
get the players to realize that he is in charge. The owner who
is aware of a changing situation can jump on it quicker than someone
who is assuming that there is no changing going on.
6.DON'T BE DEFENSIVE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR PROTECTED
LIST
This is a mistake that many owners make. If a guy
is not definitely worth it, throw him back. Nine of out ten times
he will go cheaper come draft day. This really comes into play
when owners have many players that they have drafted from the
free list during the previous season that have a $10 price tag.
Remember in a $260 12 team league, the average player is $11.
If the player is not definitely going to give you BETTER than
average numbers, he is not worth keeping. An example of this
is Jay Buhner. He has been hurt the last two years. He is not
worth the big price tag anymore. Let some else pay the big price
for him.
7. KEEP TRACK OF WHO IS HAVING A HOT SPRING TRAINING.
This is especially true when it comes to a former
prospect who realizes that this may be his last shot to make the
big leagues. Sometimes, it happens that a guy is for real, such
as Rex Hudler or Geronimo Berroa a few years ago , but most turn
out not to be for real. If you have any of these guys, peddle
him now while you can get something for him and if he makes it,
remember he is the exception.
8.USE THE MEDIA OUTLETS TO SELL YOUR PLAYERS
Keep in mind that 99% of all owners are reading USA
TODAY, watching SPORTSCENTER and CNN and FOX SPORTSNET . If one
your question marks consistently is on, (hitting a long home run,
having a big day) talk him up, remember he is probably facing
a minor league pitcher or someone just working out the kinks.
This can sometimes do your a better job of selling your player
than you could ever have dreamed of.
9.BEFORE THE DRAFT, RANK EVERY PLAYER THAT IS
ON A MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER.
This is self-explanatory. Remember, come draft day,
players fall and are not drafted until the end of the draft for
no apparent reason. An example of this is Harold Baines. He quietly
does it every year but only qualifies for one position (DH) and
most owners have mistakenly filled their DH early . This is the
time to pounce like an eagle on a mouse. You will not do this
unless you have everyone listed. Remember, players are cheaper
because there is less money to be spent. Draft day is extremely
emotional. Bring someone to the draft to just keep track of your
list. It will allow you to concentrate on the bidding and not
miss the values at the end of the day. Values are the difference
between winning and losing.
10. DRAFT DAY- BRING UP PLAYERS YOU DO NOT HAVE
ANY INTEREST IN.
Control your draft. Bring up guys that you don't need
or are major question marks, early in the draft when your turn
comes. The price $1. It becomes a feeding frenzy as emotion then
takes over. Also, bring up home town guys who had 'over their
head' springs. Watch and shake your head as their price explodes
higher. An example of this is Albert Belle. He will go for big
dough because of the off-season hoopla. Probably more than he
is worth. A great example from the past is Billy Spiers. He hit
three home runs in the first week a few years ago and was later
out of the starting lineup. This will allow you to have the values
at the end of the draft when they appear. Once the coast is clear
any no one is in the way, watch all the guys you covet go for
cheap money. Keep an eye on Cal Eldred in Milwaukee and Jim Corsi
in Boston.
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