As each hour passes, we grow closer and closer to the start of baseball (Indians!) season! For some reason I’m overly excited for the season to start this year.
I’ve decided to try something new this baseball season…..fantasy baseball.
I figured when I tried fantasy football I won the first season so I may as well give fantasy baseball a try. Football was easy. I changed my lineup once a week. All I had to worry about was injuries and those pesky Thursday night game. I’m not really sure that I fully understand how the world of fantasy baseball works. Do I really have to change my lineup multiple times and not just once a week? Really? I’m not sure it can keep my attention for an entire season. Do you play fantasy baseball?
The Draft
I had my fantasy baseball draft last Saturday. Let me tell you that was sure an experience! I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. Did I pick players because I recognized their name? Yes, yes I did. I’m a baseball fan but there are way too many players to know who plays what position for what team. I picked guys I had heard of but when it got towards the end of the draft I just started clicking away. I REALLY started clicking away when it came to pitchers. I really have no idea who some of those guys are! And that is how I drafted my fantasy team. What do you think of my team?
I see that fantasy baseball has a lot more rules than fantasy football. (There really weren’t any rules in football). My pitchers have to pitch a certain number of innings throughout the week. I have starters, relievers and pitchers. Huh? I’m lost already. I have a bench, but I’m not sure what to do with those players. I may have a lot of players; I just hope I have the right combination of players – talent and enough for their positions.
My PeRspective
Who really benefits from fantasy baseball you ask? Advertisers. When I log on to Yahoo! there are ads all over the place! Ads on the homepage, ads on the league page and ads on my team page. I’m sure advertisers shell out a large sum in order to be seen in prime spots. There’s everything from credit cards, to pizza, to fitness. It seems these ads may be aimed at men, no?
Who else benefits from fantasy baseball? Baseball teams. I always watched the Indians, and whatever team Casey Blake was on. Now, I may find myself watching other teams. If I was really into fantasy baseball, I could pay for a subscription to a team’s website to live stream a game. I may even go see that team if they are in town. I’m sure the owners wouldn’t mind getting some more money. You may even develop a new favorite player. Teams would be gaining more fans. With that, you may start buying that players jersey and other items. Owners would sure love that, too.
And there’s someone else that benefits, the people. I’m sure this is a way for friends to bond. It’s a friendly, sometimes not so friendly, competition. There’s always bragging rights at stake. And I sure hope that I get those bragging rights 🙂
Enjoying downtown before an Indians game last year.
On The Sideline 