It is that Time of Year

Can't you all feel it? The fresh, crisp air. The sun shining, and flowers growing. It is everywhere. No, I am not talking about the heat wave that we have are experiencing. I am talking about fantasy baseball season. Mock drafts have started on ESPN and TMR is back doing his podcast. Life is good. I play all types of fantasy sports. I play football, basketball, nascar, and if the mood strikes me right, hockey. But nothing beats fantasy baseball. For one thing, it is a huge tradition in my family. My dad and I (and my brother gives his opinion from time to time) have been in the same league for 19 years now (please clink on the link to see how real men play fantasy baseball). It is an exciting time a year.
I can't wait for baseball season. This is the Mets year. We have a closer and a deep bullpen, so we are ready to go. But let me have you pose a question to me. Okay Matt, which would you rather have happen, the Mets win the World Series or you all win your fantasy league? Wow, what a great question, thank you. I really don't know the answer to that. I truly want both to happen and I give my heart and soul to the Mets every year, but our fantasy team is a different animal. We have our hands in it everyday and really put a lot of research, time, and energy into our team, so it is really important to us.
Anyway, back to fantasy baseball in general. The thing that makes fantasy baseball better than the other fantasy sports, is that it is a game of stats, averages, trends, and match ups. Fantasy baseball requires restraint, but you also have to be aggressive. Everyone has a different strategy, so I won't get into that, but no matter what yours is, it takes serious strategy. The thing I love about fantasy baseball is that there is very little luck involved. For example, this year in fantasy football I won our league with Tyler Thigpen as my quarterback. If you aren't involved with fantasy football, then you probably don't know how Tyler Thigpen is. I was just lucky that all the quarterbacks on Kansas City got hurt and Thigpen was consistent for five weeks. That type of stuff doesn't happen in fantasy baseball, because a player has to be consistent over a long period of time. A few years ago, we won our league because we had a great draft. Other members of our league said that we got lucky to draft Hanley Ramirez in the last few rounds. It wasn't luck, it was research. Ramirez is now considered the top player in fantasy baseball and we knew that would happen three years ago. It isn't about luck, it is about knowing players, teams, and understanding how it all goes together.
It is that time of year and if you aren't excited, then you aren't a fantasy baseball player. It is hard for some people to get involved in fantasy baseball because they say it takes too much time and is too long. I will concede that...and that those are the two things that make fantasy baseball great.