2014 Fantasy BaseballFantasy Baseball

My Last Fantasy Baseball Web Log…

heyward land…or not (most likely not). But, who knows really which way whither life will wind?

But I’m certainly taking a massive step back this year. In fact, the only thing I aim to write this year has been completed and is included in the Fantasy Fix draft guide, which you should totally purchase here and/or: https://thefantasyfix.com/2014-fantasy-baseball-draft-guide/. My portion is 7 pages and thousands of words on 31 (or more?) of the most interesting relief pitchers for fantasy baseball (all types of leagues too: standard, holds, innings limit, K/9, etc.).

Of course, you may say I’ve been done writing for near 6 months now and that’s probably right. My last column was actually about Scott Feldman on July 2, 2013. I had thought my last column was about Bud Norris (before the Orioles traded for him). It’s kind of weird that my last two articles were about one former and one new Astros pitcher both of whom hurled for the O’s toward the end of 2013.

But I digress. Writing about fantasy baseball started out being terrific fun. I had no idea what I was doing and was giving terrible advice (sorry about that), then I learned about sample sizes and how to maneuver Fangraphs and Baseball Reference and the enlightenment began. Now there’s Brooks Baseball to peruse (and a terrific write-up on using Brooks in the Fix draft guide) and, quite simply, I felt like I was regurgitating player profile/pages.

Occasionally I’d have an original or unique idea and it’d be fun to write again (or it’d be too intricate and I didn’t have time). But, really, there is so much talent in the fantasy baseball community, with so many people hustling and coming up with new insights that I didn’t see a ton of value I was adding. It comes down to me not having the time to really make it fun for myself, which is why I started and continued to do this for the last 7 years or so (wow— that’s long).

Anyway, for the 5-10 fans out there, if you’re really missing my analysis, I’ll point you in a few directions (my super-secret go-to gurus):

Alan Harrison and Brett Talley of The Fantasy Fix, Rotographs and parts unknown. Both are excellent writers with terrific insights (Both get extra points for being terrific fantasy footballers as well). Alan is perhaps the nicest person in the industry and capable of talking about subjects not related to baseball (weird, I know) He’s also a teacher which deserves double kudos.

Patrick DiCaprio of Fantasy Pros 911. He zigs when everyone else zags. That’s an important quality. It’s worth tolerating his nasally voice and New York-ness to gain the insights. He also hosts the Fantasy Baseball Roundtable show, which should be in your podcast rotation.

Mike Podhorzer of Rotographs. There’s not a steadier, more reliable fantasy noteworthy out there. If Pod offers an opinion on something, you can be sure he’s thought of and gone over every single possible angle. He’s also on the Roundtable show and, seriously, I get a lot of good ideas simply by listening to him.

There are other people deserving mention: Paul Sporer and Jason Collette who are just on top of everything (Paul especially on starting pitchers). An added bonus of following Paul is getting Curtis (his Beagle) photos. Also, I shouldn’t forget Mike Gianella and about a billion other people.

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1 Comment

  1. Bruce Baschuk
    May 6, 2014 at 5:21 am

    I’ll miss you buddy. You have the same amazing ability to go deep on stats and people that your dad has With the same passion, with a little less volume (: Have fun in your next iteration and I will look forward to following you? Your fan. Bruce Baschuk.