Fantasy sports isn’t something new to me.

When I met my wife back in 1990, she already had a team in a league
with a bunch of her friends at a company called Group W in Stamford.
In fact, some of the people who were in the league then are still in
it now.

Our league has a simple format. We have sixteen teams, four
divisions. The teams compete during the season based on the amount of
points they accumulate. At the end of each week, the points are
totaled up…and depending how many points you have, you receive a
certain amount of wins and losses (e.g. 2-5, 0-7, 6-1).

For our hitters, here’s how it works:

• 1 point for every base (single=1, double=2, etc.)
• 1 point for every run batted in
• 1 point for every run scored
• 1 point for every stolen base
• Minus 2 points for caught stealing
• Minus 2 points for an error in the field

So, a solo home run for example, would be 6 points — 4 points for
each base, a point for the run scored, plus the batter gets a point
for driving himself in. Study up! There will be a test at the end of
this blog!

For the pitchers, the points are:

• Plus 10 points for a win
• Minus 5 for a loss
• Plus 7 for a win in relief
• Plus 5 for a save
• Minus 2 for a fielding error

Each team has 25 players, any combination of pitchers and position
players you want. Every week you must submit a roster with 8
positions players (C,1B, 2B, 3B, SS, three OFs) and a DH. You also
must play five pitchers, any combination of starters and relievers you
want.

I consider my team a “Brand X” group of players. Only a few big
names, mostly young guys. The headline players are hard to get in
trades. And you can’t just draft them in the beginning of the season
like a lot of leagues. We’re in what’s called a “continuous” league,
meaning you get to keep most of your guys year to year.

Some of the position players we have that we’re really excited about
include:

Curtis Granderson, OF Detroit (you may have seen him in the playoffs &
Series)

James Loney, 1B Los Angeles Dodgers (upcoming rookie)

Andy Marte, 3B Cleveland (another hotshot rookie)

Freddie Sanchez, 3B Pittsbury (NL Batting Champ & former Sox player)

Raul Ibanez, OF Seattle (just had career year!)

Then there’s some sharp pitchers:

Jeremy Bonderman, Starter, Detroit (pitched in playoffs & Series)

Jonathan Papelbon, Starter, Boston (throws the heat!)

Joe Borowski, Closer (free agent)

The season really never stops in fantasy baseball. I just received an
email today about the beginning of the “Hot Stove” season — a roughly
one-month period where we can make trades like the big leaguers are
doing right now. Then come Jan. 1, we have to cut our rosters down
from 25 to a maximum of 20, and there are always some real tough choices.

We’ll get into that more in future blogs, along with our total roster.
Would love to hear some of your stories about fantasy baseball!