What is more important: The fantasy or the baseball?

[moose32]

fantasy keeps me more aware about waht's going on and new players, but i'd rather have a Mets world series then a fantasy league win

[DSpec]

The game is more important all the way! Without the game there would be no fantasy.

[AdvRider]

Fantasy doesn't come close to emulating the real thing. It doesn't take into account defense, for one. Nor does it fully reflect the influence that intangibles like player attitude, clubhouse personality, and lifestyle have on the fortunes of a real MLB team.

It's a game -- greattttt game but still a game. And as others said it makes the fantasy manager a much keener fan of the sport as a whole. You can always tell a fantasy player at a bar ... he's avidly watching the Devil Rays / Royals highlights on SportsCenter!

[1337_Dude]

Well I was a diehard Yankees fan before fantasy. But since i've started playing fantasy baseball i've gotten a better knowledge of the overall game due to reading up on various stats that I didn't even know exsisted before hand. Also I watch quite a few more games.

[beltrans_boy]

Fantasy sports is a means to an end.

That is, playing fantasy sports has given me a deeper understanding of how to evaluate players, and how the game works. Baseball is a game of mathematics, and fantasy baseball gives us a brief insight into that world. With that knowledge, my enjoyment of the game itself has increased 100-fold.

I'll take the real thing.

[Kelly Gruber]

Seems like a pretty even split, that's interesting.

And I think that last comment sums it up pretty well: without baseball there would be no fantasy. I think that intuitively, if there was not something real to ground the fantasy, then the fantasy would just be empty. Someone commented earlier that if the whole season was just a simulation then he would be just as satisfied; I'm not so sure I would be.

But, there are good points in favour of the game theory. We don't usually place value on defensive stats and middle relief usually in not that important in fantasy, yet both of these are tantamount in the sport. So in some ways the game chooses what it wants to be real.

But, it still must be based on something real, and therefore baseball is more important.

[Tavish]

But, it still must be based on something real, and therefore baseball is more important.

I don't think you will find anyone who would argue that baseball isn't the foundation of fantasy baseball. The debate was (at least originally) what is the point of fantasy baseball,

Using fantasy baseball as a foundation to emulate real baseball.
or
Playing fantasy baseball as a game that just uses real baseball as its foundation.

[Kelly Gruber]

But, it still must be based on something real, and therefore baseball is more important.

I don't think you will find anyone who would argue that baseball isn't the foundation of fantasy baseball. The debate was (at least originally) what is the point of fantasy baseball,

Using fantasy baseball as a foundation to emulate real baseball.
or
Playing fantasy baseball as a game that just uses real baseball as its foundation.

Ha, so you're saying that I'm skirting the question. Fair enough. Maybe I am, as both sides have presented persuasive arguments.

I think it comes down to a subjective thing then. Would I rather win my pool than the Jays make the playoffs (I'm not going to be so bold as to suggest that they win the world series yet!)? No. I think that type of question is a good indicator of where you stand.

[socceryank]

I guess I misunderstood your original intent behind your original question. Your question seemed to be more of a league scoring format type question; whether or not the scoring should reflect the true value in reality baseball. For instance, should a steal be equal in value as a home run?

There should be no doubt that the real game takes precedent for true fans of the game, and no doubt fantasy has made me appreciate the real game more. But as far as fantasy is concerned, I simply want it to be as fun as possible; attempting to make it like the real game is somewhat impossible, for reasons stated above.

[dewey finn]

I try not to draft Jays cause it's just too painful to watch them play.