The Changing Face of Fantasy Baseball

The game of baseball is constantly evolving. In the last few years alone we’ve seen changes ranging from the new strike zone to the reign of the long ball, and from record contracts to contraction plans, to name just a few. Likewise, fantasy baseball is undergoing changes, perhaps at a faster rate than ever before. Let’s take a look at some of the trends we’re seeing:

1) It’s not just 4×4 any more

When fantasy baseball was young, 4×4 roto style play was the only game in town. Then came points scoring, head-to-head play, salary cap/gm-style play, expanded roto categories and a host of other rules formats, but until fairly recently, 4×4 scoring – four hitting and four pitching categories – was considered ’standard’ roto baseball. Not any more.

For some time now, the majority of roto leagues have used a 5×5 format, with most adding runs scored for hitters and strikeouts for pitchers to the traditional categories (avg/hr/rbi/sb for batters; w/sv/era/whip for pitchers). But that’s not all – today, experimentation is the name of the game, with variants abounding.

One common variant is replacing batting average with on-base percentage, a stat that probably reflects the game a bit more accurately, but can’t be instantly checked by just a cursory glance at the box scores in the morning paper. Another common adjustment is to replace stats such as steals, wins or saves with net stats (stolen bases minus caught stealing, wins minus losses, saves minus blown saves). Some experiments expand the game itself: 6×6 or 7×7 games are no longer merely curiosities, and some truly adventurous players create leagues in the neighborhood of 20×20. While having to keep track of forty categories is usually more trouble than it’s worth, adding categories such as walks for hitters or holds for pitchers can be beneficial, giving value to players such as middle relievers who previously were mere afterthoughts.

When adding new categories, be careful to include only those that truly add a new dimension to the game, such as the aforementioned holds. If you’re already using batting average, for instance, adding hits won’t add anything new to your league other than making a high average even more important than before, since you’re now basically scoring hits twice.

Also, be careful when using ’skewed’ scoring (such as a 4×6 league), with an unequal number of hitting and pitching categories. While such leagues can also be fun, many players find themselves missing the equal focus on both hitting and pitching. You should also be wary of adding categories that track either very rare events (such as steals of home or hitting for the cycle) or highly random events (like reaching base on an error).

All in all, however, these variations add a new facet to fantasy ball. Even for players who prefer one format, occasionally playing in a league that uses a creative variant can be a nice change of pace.

2) Veto!

The ability to protest lopsided or collusive trades made by other teams is nothing new, but it seems that these vetos are being used more and more, and not always to protest foul play. Especially in leagues where protesting a trade is done anonymously, vetos are now often used as little more than a tactic to hinder other teams, much to the annoyance of those teams’ owners.

The trouble lies in the often very murky definition of just which trades should actually be protested and then turned down by the commish. Pretty much everyone can agree that deals which are collusive and purposely throw the league title to one team should be banned, as should other types of cheating, but when the league rules state that vetos should be used against unequal trades as well, that’s where the difficulties start.

Unfortunately, everyone will have a different – and, since fantasy baseball is not an exact science, equally valid – opinion on which side ‘wins’ a trade. In fact, there will never be a trade that turns out to be one hundred percent equal, and some players take this as a license to file protests against all their opponents’ proposed deals.

No single issue in fantasy sports results in as much arguing as trade vetos, and the problem seems to be getting worse. In extreme cases, entire leagues have been disbanded because bickering over every single deal made trading, one of the most fun and rewarding parts of fantasy ball for many players, impossible, and ultimately took the focus away from the game itself.

Perhaps it’s time to rewrite the veto rules, limiting protests to cases where actual cheating is suspected. After all, that’s why the veto mechanism was introduced in the first place.

 

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