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How To Start a Fantasy Baseball League

By: Ravenmaniac

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Want to know how to start a fantasy baseball league? Fantasy baseball leagues allow league members to compete against each other for a longer period than fantasy football. An average fantasy football league lasts from September until December. Meanwhile, the average fantasy baseball league lasts from April through September. This gives you two months more of competition. By starting a fantasy baseball league, it allows for more rivalries to develop as well.

 

  1. Make a list of people you know are sports fans when you start a fantasy baseball league. People to consider inviting into your league include long-term friends, coworkers, family members, and people you played with in other leagues. When choosing a league member, one of the biggest considerations is if they will be reliable. You want someone you can count on to attend the draft, manage his team throughout the season, and pay all required dues and fees.
  2. Start to contact possible league members months in advance. When you start a fantasy baseball league, contact these individuals around the winter holiday season. This gives them plenty of time to prepare for the league, and also allows you to ask people at social events during that time of year. By asking early, you will limit the risk of the person you ask joining another league first and then telling you he doesn't have time to be in another league.
  3. Choose the personalities carefully. Just because you know everyone, it doesn't mean that they will get along. Remember when you start a fantasy baseball league that fantasy baseball is a marathon instead of a sprint. These owners will need to negotiate with each other about trades and discuss decisions on rules and scoring throughout the year. Choosing people you know will not get along with you to start a fantasy baseball league is just asking for unhappy owners.
  4. Prepare the rules and get a copy to each owner as early as possible when you start a fantasy baseball league. The rules your league uses can determine how each owner ranks players for the draft. Don't surprise the owners with the rules a week or so before the league starts. Whenever possible, when you start a fantasy baseball league, supply the rules at least a month ahead of time.
  5. Agree upon how the league will be managed with the other owner before you start a fantasy baseball league. If everyone has a reliable internet connection, use one of the free or paid fantasy league stats services. These services will score your league for you and process free agent requests throughout the season. It will help save the commissioner a lot of time.

Tips:

If this is your first fantasy baseball league that you have been the commissioner of, keep the membership low. This means between eight and ten teams. The fewer the owners, the lower the chances of conflict either with each other or the league's rules.

Posted on: Apr. 29, 2010