If you’ve listened to the podcast or follow me on Twitter, you know I play in a lot of (read: way too many) fantasy leagues. I’ve gotten better in that I haven’t added to the raw count in the last couple of years and I’m under 20. Obviously, you have to get some sort of routine going if you want to have any success in this number of leagues. I have my morning check of the MLB boxscores, then my fantasy boxscores, and then the fantasy news sites. I have three daily transaction leagues, but they’re all on the same site so that’s a one-stop-shop.
Sunday is a little tougher with many of the leagues FAAB bidding coming on that day, but it’s a weekend and in many of the leagues, I will put moves in throughout the week so it’s manageable. Meanwhile, a couple of the leagues have different FAAB days which actually helps so the Sunday workload isn’t so much. And the none of the league was a draft-and-hold with no trading, so I only have to check the lineup there.
I like to keep a spreadsheet of all the players I have and where I have them as it helps cut down the searching when something happens – skills change, injury, demotion/promotion. One of the first things people say when they learn I have so many leagues is “you must have everyone in the league!” It’s not true. At any moment, there are 750 players in the majors. I have a share of 241 players, though that includes minor leaguers, but either way that’s 32%. Let’s acknowledge that not every MLBer is fantasy-relevant and cut it to 500. That’s still only 48%. So I guess you can change your comment to “you must have half the league!”
I guess I can’t really deny that one.
I actively try to get a lot of the same guys across many teams, though. League formats dictate just how much I will do that, but I also play a lot of similar leagues (roto, 12-17 teams). I’m not trying to hedge and make sure I have every good thing that happens. I have the guys I believe in and I will gravitate toward them. This happens more in the mid- and late-tiers. Early on in drafts, you’re at the mercy of your draft slot. But once you push into the double-digit rounds, things really open up, particularly with pitching. We all evaluate pitchers different and so you see a tone of disparity as the draft opens up.
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