Kicking Rocks: Finish Like a Champ

While I would like to say that the title of this edition of Kicking Rocks indicates a fool-proof way to win your league here in the final two weeks, it’s actually more of a plea for good sportsmanship.  Win or lose, you want to walk away from this season with your head held high and as someone who the rest of the league is excited to have back the following season.  The last six months were probably filled with a number of moments, both good and bad, and whether you had direct involvement or not, you still want everyone to walk away with the understanding that the league is a good one in which to play and that no matter what happens, it’s all still a game. With that, here are a few things of which to take note:

Thank Your Commissioner

If you’ve never been the commissioner of a fantasy baseball league, then you’ll never have a full understanding of what goes into it.  Sometimes it can be a real thankless job.  Balancing the lives and personalities of 12 to 15 people can be a tricky business.  It all starts around February or March when your illustrious commissioner has the task of organizing your draft.  Everyone has their own schedules, their own lives, and their own needs.  This one can’t draft on Sunday, that one has a family vacation planned for the weekend, and someone inevitably commits to a date and time and then suddenly can’t make it happen.  There’s always something and it’s up to your commish to make it work.

Then there’s the in-season maintenance.  Your commissioner fields a million questions that could all have been avoided had the league members simply read the rules.  There’s roster maintenance to monitor, waiver wire issues to fix, trades to discuss and email wars to mediate.  While you simply check in to your league when it is convenient for you, your commissioner is dealing with something league-related nearly every day and several aspects of their life get pushed to the backburner because they want to ensure that the league is, overall, a successful one.

So just say thank you.  Give a call.  Send an email — to him/her and the entire league — with a declaration of gratitude for doing a great job and keeping things running smoothly.  If you enjoyed the league, then show your appreciation.  That’s all they’re looking for.  If you didn’t, then privately walk away.  But understand that running a league is not the easiest commitment to undertake.

Mend Fences

This is usually necessary if your league has had a number of those aforementioned email wars.  Competition can bring out the worst in some people and while you may think that everything is fine and dandy because you haven’t seen 20 league emails laced with profanity and veiled threats of violence since the trade deadline, it doesn’t mean that all is forgotten from when you called that guy an idiot or accused the other guy of collusion.  If you took part in any of the dust-ups in your league, reach out to the other person or people and extend the olive branch.  Be the better person.  League turnover can be a real bummer. If you’ve got a dozen people who passionately enjoy playing, you want to keep that group together.

Pay Your Tab

Obviously this one isn’t for everyone and allow me to reiterate that gambling is illegal at Bushwood and I never slice.  But if some sort of prize is awarded to the winner of your league and you are to make some sort of contribution, then pay up.  Don’t be a deadbeat.  Don’t make the winner wait for his/her just desserts and don’t turn your commissioner into a debt collector whose phone calls you now suddenly avoid.  Bottom line is that it’s just not cool.  If you made a commitment, then honor it.  If you can’t afford it, then you should not have been playing in the first place.  Nothing kills a league worse than someone who refuses to honor their word.

Be a Part of the Solution, Not the Problem — Prepare for Next Year

The baseball season begins around the same time every year.  Spring Training starts in February and the season opens somewhere very close to April 1.  And in between those times, drafts will take place.  Prepare for it.  Give yourself some availability so that it’s not just one day that you can draft.  Make a sacrifice or two to help out the league and everything after that should be cream cheese.

This is a game, people.  Don’t forget that.  It’s supposed to be fun and what you put into it, you should get out of it.  When the season wraps in two weeks, make sure it does so on a positive note.