10 New Year’s Resolutions for Fantasy

A new year is upon us and this is often a time we make resolutions to improve ourselves and our lives for the upcoming year. Often these are forgotten or left unfulfilled, but I think they represent our hopes, dreams, and ambitions. At worst we are acknowledging what we need or want to change, which is an admirable exercise. With that said, here are my Fantasy Baseball New Year’s Resolutions for 2023!

1. Play in and cater to different kinds of leagues. 

I think too often the industry writers and podcasters focus too much on their favorite types of leagues or what are the easier formats to cater to in spite of what is popular or lacking analysis. I play in mostly 15-team NFBC leagues which are rotisserie format leagues. I love their format and the competition and I encourage you to try them out if you are looking for some of the best competition in the game. However, the majority of people play in shallower leagues (10-12 team leagues) and in points leagues. One of the biggest changes I am planning on making for 2023 is that I will play in those types of leagues and I will try and cater more of my content to that. That doesn’t mean I will stop playing in more competitive, deeper leagues, but I will definitely shift some of my focus to other formats. I joined an Ottoneu league recently and am excited to dig into that format as well. I will be setting up some Sleeper and the Bust listener leagues through our patreon for points leagues, best ball leagues, keeper and dynasty leagues as well.  

2. Stay Risk Averse

This is one that I started doing in recent years and want to just continue to do. In the past, I was very open to picking players that were high risk, but also high reward. I think one of the big mistakes people make is not to factor in potential downside on players and overrate upside. It is fun to take gambles, but I want them to be more calculated and have less draft cost attached to them. 

3. Trust Myself

I consume a lot of content from people in the industry. I think one of the strongest parts of my prep is being willing to disseminate information from a multitude of sources. However, I have too often allowed other’s opinions to overrule my own. In 2023, I am trying to change that. As a part of that change, I am working on doing my own projections as opposed to relying on projections from other sources. This will allow myself to stay more true to my thoughts, research and opinions. This doesn’t mean that I won’t listen to others, but I will be less likely to be influenced by group think. 

4. Manage my FAAB better

If you read my Apology Tour series, then you saw how bad my 2022 season was for a multitude of reasons. However, I definitely struggled with my in-season management. Part of my issues with FAAB was being overly aggressive with massive bids early. I was subscribing to a theory that by getting the better players early, I would accumulate more stats with getting them later. While I still think that is mostly right, by overspending on them, I hamstrung myself later on when I had a better idea of what my teams needed. I think it is good to be aggressive early on, but in a more calculated manner by not spending as much per player. 

5. Have more fun

Fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun. While it is still fun for me, it has understandably become less fun for me as I have literally turned it into a job. That needs to change if I want to continue to last in the industry. Finding ways to make it more fun is a necessity for me. Part of that is finding more fun people to play with. Playing in high stakes leagues offers a different type of fun, but also finding leagues with friends or friendly people just makes the work that goes into the game more entertaining. My favorite days of the year are the draft days I do live with friends. I want to do more of those. If you aren’t having fun, then what is the point? 

6. Schedule myself

A friend once told me that “Procrastination is like masturbation. It seems great until you realize you are just screwing yourself.” I am awful at time management. What has worked for me though is rigid scheduling. Whether it is writing, podcasting, drafts, FAAB, or anything else, if I don’t have a rigid schedule for myself, I struggle with following through. I am planning on calendaring and scheduling myself for everything fantasy related and life related. I hope it will make me much more productive. 

7. Stop watching live standings

I am guilty of watching the standings intensely. I am the guy that is checking where my team is after every at bat or inning pitched. It soaks up a lot of time and distracts me from my everyday life. Once lineups are set and games have begun, I am going to not watch the live scoring constantly. I will enjoy the games and my life as opposed to worrying about whether that home run just killed me or helped me. 

8. Grow my content

I have become a bit stagnant in my content. There are so many other things I want to try and do. Scheduling will definitely help me in allowing me to have more time, but I also want to learn how to do things that involve video and using different social media. I want to keep growing as an analyst and content provider. 

9. Don’t be so singularly focused

I love fantasy baseball, but it is not the only interest I have. I spend countless hours on reading, writing, podcasting, listening, and research on fantasy, but I should be doing more outside of fantasy. I love history and politics and have been trying to get physically and emotionally healthier, but I don’t spend the time on those things because I do so much for fantasy and struggle with my time management. I need to make sure I make the time for my other interests. 

10. Remember what is really important

While this is last on the list, it is the most important thing. Fantasy is a huge part of my life, but it is not the most important thing. In order to advance in the fantasy industry, I have sacrificed a lot of things, but most importantly, I have taken time away from my wife and children in order to do everything I do. That must change in 2023. I still plan on delivering a lot of content, but they come first and I don’t want my chasing my dream to be the reason I miss out on the things that truly matter. My wife and kids don’t care if I win a league or have a great podcast. They want me to be there when life happens and I need to make that the biggest priority. 

What are your resolutions for 2023?