Home MLBFantasy baseball Why I love fantasy baseball – and why you should too!

Why I love fantasy baseball – and why you should too!

by Mark George
If you enjoy playing fantasy sports, you may find yourself labelled a bit of a nerd, and there may be an element of truth in that.
 
But if you are prepared to embrace your inner fantasy nerd, playing fantasy baseball can be a lot of fun.
 
I love fantasy baseball because it is a good reason to get fans learning more about the game.
 
OK, so it’s hard to find a league which includes defense, situational groundouts and all the other things which don’t show up in the box score, but playing fantasy sports certainly helps expand your knowledge of MLB as a whole.
 
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut following your team of choice, and maybe you’ll see a number of big-name teams on TV. But there are plenty of other great players out there who you don’t get to see. Fantasy baseball can help you find and appreciate these players. 
 
Fantasy baseball helps you learn about the next generation of players.
 
Playing fantasy baseball doesn’t just improve your knowledge of Major League players, it can open your eyes more to the Minor Leagues.
 
A dedicated fantasy baseball manager can do a little research about the various top prospects on the horizon and use it to their advantage.
 
If you do your homework and react quickly, you can grab a great young player before your rival managers – for example, if you get the next Ryan Braun or Evan Longoria while others guys are wondering who the heck they are, you can really reap the rewards.
 
And if you are involved in a dynasty fantasy league, like I am, which includes a minor league draft, you can soon have your own farm system of young stars.
 
It’s a great way to test your GM skills.
 
Ever read about a trade or free agent signing and wondered what a GM was thinking? Ever thought you could do better? Now’s your chance! Whether you are involved in an annual or dynasty league, you can test your player evaluation skills by making trades or even managing a budget and sign players to multi-year deals. It’ll help you find out whether you are more of a Theo Epstein, a Billy Beane or a complete Jim Bowden.
 
It’s a fun way to compete with your friends.
 
Have you often wondered who out of your other baseball-loving friends really knows their stuff? Setting up your own league to take on your friends and family can be a nice subplot to the MLB season as you find out once and for all who is a baseball mastermind.
 
You can show the rest of the world the Brits know their baseball.
 
I’m involved in a couple of leagues made up mainly of US players with a few other Brits, which is a lot of fun, especially if the Brits come out on top!
 
One of these leagues, the Head 2 Head World Series, features hundreds of managers in divisions all over the globe, with the elite from each area qualifying for the World Series league – the Champions League of fantasy baseball, if you will. So, if you want, you can test your fantasy baseball skills against loads of mangers from countless other countries.
 
OK, so hopefully this will have persuaded you to give fantasy baseball a go. But what type of league should you go for?
 
In my next blog, I’ll be going through the various types of leagues available in a bid to help you find the one which will suit you best.
 
In the meantime, if you have any fantasy baseball questions or comments, email me at baseballfeedback@yahoo.co.uk
 

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1 comment

william December 10, 2008 - 11:35 am

dodgers suck!

Reply

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