Every Fantasy League Needs a Constitution

Our Founding Fathers drafted a document we know today as the United States Constitution, which is considered to be the law of the land and home to our revered Bill of Rights. It was with tremendous foresight and creativity that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, et al. drafted this document to encompass just about anything and everything that required protection from tyranny and oppression.

Now, I am not trying to compare the American Revolution and ratification of the U.S. Constitution to fantasy sports (oh who am I kidding, yes I am). Fantasy sports is an activity that people participate in for entertainment, competition, and economic gain. In most cases, leagues are comprised of individuals who know each other. However, the opportunity is there for anyone to join a random league of unknowns as well. Within these leagues are latent and patent issues that arise throughout the course of a season – i.e., trade disputes, lineup deadlines, roster requirements, entry fees, prize money, transactions, etc. Most league commissioners rely on whichever fantasy sports host they use (CBS Sports, Yahoo, ESPN) to set the guidelines and parameters of the league. Despite that, there are dozens upon dozens of issues and rules that are left open for interpretation and fall squarely in the lap of the league commissioner to resolve. This is usually not a position the commissioner wants to be in.

A fantasy sports league commissioner most likely is also a league member and knows the people in his/her league on a personal level. So when a commissioner is confronted with an issue that requires a decision, someone will ultimately not be pleased and the commissioner’s integrity can be brought into question. So how can this be resolved? Look no further than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, et al.

A Constitution is an absolute must for competitive fantasy sports leagues that cost money to participate in. Delineating rules that apply to everyone and codifying them in writing is the best way for a commissioner to run a fair league, maintain impartiality, and cover one’s own ass.

I learned the hard way why a Constitution is necessary and beneficial. When I created my fantasy baseball league in 1999, I basically just emailed everyone what the points structure was for each stat category, roster and lineup requirements, and some general guidelines regarding transactions and trades. This worked until 2002 when I was confronted with a collusion scandal. One of the league members, who I was friends with since high school, was already eliminated from playoff contention. He began attempting to negotiate a deal with other league members to trade away his good players in exchange for receiving a share of the other team’s playoff money prize. How do I know this? Because that ass-clown did his negotiating on AOL Instant Messenger, and the people he was talking to were also my friends and had integrity. So they alerted me to this and I acted swiftly by kicking him out of the league (and I haven’t spoken a word to him since). For the following 2003 season, I drafted a Constitution which specifically included an Anti-Collusion Rule. The rule stated that once a team is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they are no longer allowed to make trades with other teams. I realize that some people have pride and still wanted to compete, but creating this rule prevented any potential collusion or questions about the fairness of a deal involving an eliminated team. This spawned an expanded set of rules taking into account things that happened during the year that were of first impression, such as how to handle a transaction for the team that owned Darryl Kile when he died.

Having a fluid Constitution that is continually amended when new issues arise helps maintain law and order in my league. I also have provisions regarding issues of first impression that are not accounted for, such as when C.C. Sabathia’s 1-hitter was protested in 2008 and the outcome of a fantasy playoff game could have been changed.

If you want any advice on how to draft a fantasy sports league Constitution or if you have any stories you would like to share about disputes that arise within your league, feel free to email me at Michael.Stein@fantasyjudgment.com. If I get a bunch of questions, I will post them along with my responses in my next article.

Rotisserie is Meant for Chicken

Any fantasy sports enthusiast owes a debt of gratitude to Daniel Okrent, a magazine editor who is credited with inventing Rotisserie League Baseball in 1980. The name is derived from a New York restaurant called La Rotisserie Francaise where Okrent and some colleagues would meet to participate in fantasy baseball’s infancy. Originally, the concept was where the league owners would draft Major League Baseball players and utilize their statistics to compile scores during the course of the season. And that was the birth of fantasy sports.

In the fantasy baseball world, there are generally two types of leagues you can participate in – Rotisserie (“Roto”) or Head-to-Head (“H2H”). While both are considered fantasy games, they are oceans apart when it comes to being close to baseball reality. And this is where I conclude my homage to Mr. Okrent and Rotisserie Baseball – your efforts are much appreciated.

In a Roto league, fantasy teams are ranked from first to last in each of several statistical categories, including, but not limited to: batting average, homeruns, RBI’s, runs scored, and stolen bases, wins, saves, ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched). Each fantasy team receives points in each category based on how they rank in the league. Each team's category points are totaled to determine their overall rotisserie score. Rotisserie standings reflect cumulative season stats and not any single-day accumulation of stats. Your rotisserie total may rise or fall from day-to-day depending on how your rank in each category was impacted by the addition of stats from the most recently completed day.

On the other hand, a H2H league has demarcated weeks which run from Monday – Sunday where players’ statistics for an unlimited number of categories is calculated based on a point value system. Teams play one on one against each other, and by the end of the week, the team with the higher accumulation of total points wins.

So why am I dumping all over Roto leagues? It is really quite simple – when Juan Pierre, Michael Bourn and Scott Podsednik are considered valuable fantasy baseball players, then something is seriously wrong. Because there are only a limited number of categories to win in a Roto league, people tend to hype up stolen bases and salivate over the players who provide them. In reality, Pierre, Bourn and Podsednik are marginal starters at best and more likely 4th outfielders. They have no extra-base power and have questionable plate discipline.

I have run an 18-team H2H fantasy baseball league since 1999. Each team has a roster of 22 players. That means that 396 players were drafted this year. Guess what…Pierre, Bourn and Podsednik remained on the waiver wire after the draft. That is because they have no value in a points league, which is more representative of a player’s worth and value than in a Roto league. Sure, Albert Pujols is the undisputed #1 pick in any format. But that is where the similarities end.

Another example of why H2H leagues are better because they are more representative of real baseball is batter strikeouts. In Roto leagues, there are no negative points. There is no accountability for players when they strikeout. In comparison, H2H leagues usually have a statistic for negative points when a player strikes out. So, players like Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds have polar opposite values in Roto leagues compared to H2H leagues. In a Roto league, people only care about the 40+ homeruns that they hit. They may even be a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick. However, in a H2H league, their 200+ strikeouts could mean -200 points over the course of a season. In my league, a homerun is worth 5 points. If Dunn and Reynolds each hit 40 homeruns and strikeout 200 times, do the math – the net result is 0. That is much more representative of their own value within the ambit of Major League Baseball – free swinging sluggers who are all or nothing.

One last gripe about Roto leagues is that just about all of the fantasy baseball magazines and websites that exist are geared towards Roto leagues and values. I understand that Roto leagues came first, but there needs to be more consideration for H2H leagues. I cannot rely on magazines or websites to help evaluate players before I draft because the rankings don’t take into consideration all of the stat categories that are encompassed in a H2H league – batter strikeouts, caught stealing, multi-hit games, earned runs allowed, losses, blown saves, grand slams, cycles, no hitters, etc.

If you want your fantasy baseball experience to be more representative of real baseball, then try a H2H points league. You will find that your managerial experience is much more rewarding when you can evaluate players for what they really are as opposed to pigeon-holing yourself into five lame categories.

If you need any advice or assistance in resolving any issues within your fantasy league, please visit www.fantasyjudgment.com or email me at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com.

Old School Fantasy Football Issue

It is no secret that my love and passion for fantasy sports comes directly from my father. He started doing fantasy football back in 1979, well before fantasy sports became a mainstream form of entertainment and participation. My father still kicks himself today for not patenting or copywriting any of the methods, ideas and concepts he had several decades ago. But there was no way to know, back then, how popular, prominent and profitable fantasy sports would become.

One of the main reasons for fantasy sports rise to prominence and prosperity was the introduction of the Internet. With online access to vast amounts of information, fantasy sports participants can find out anything they want to know within a matter of seconds. Additionally, dozens of websites that host fantasy sports leagues provide statistical services where they automatically get feeds from the sports leagues with the stats from the games, insert them into databases, and generate points for teams based on each league's pre-set point value criteria. There is no need for anyone to calculate scores by hand or research game stats independently. We all take this for granted now.

So how did it work before the Internet came along? Quite simply, a fantasy league commissioner would have to research game stats from a newspaper boxscore and then transpose them onto a scoring sheet based on that league's point value system. I myself did this back in middle school and high school before the Internet provided such services. My father did this back in the 1980's as well.

The old school issue I am referencing today is from 1986 on a touchdown scored by Kevin Mack, former running back on the Cleveland Browns. My father's fantasy football league, called the Old Bridge International Football League ("OBIFL"), had a point scoring system where a 1-5 yard rushing touchdown was worth 5 points, and a 6-20 yard rushing touchdown was worth 10 points. Back in the 1980's, before DirecTV, the NFL Network, and satellites, it was commonplace to only watch local teams on TV. So no one in the OBIFL was able to watch the Cleveland Browns' game unless they played the Jets or Giants. According to the highlights of the Cleveland game, it was reported that Kevin Mack scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown. However, in the NY Times the next day, the boxscore revealed that Mack's touchdown was only from 5 yards. The discrepancy meant the difference in the result of the fantasy game that week. Without having the benefit of the Internet yet, the league member who owned Kevin Mack, along with my father, called the Cleveland Browns' team media contacts to research the issue further. It was revealed that the team calculated the touchdown as from 5 yards, just as the newspaper reported.

This just goes to show that these types of fantasy sports issues have existed for decades. The only difference is the technology and resources we have today to reconcile such issues. The need for dispute resolution, interpretation of league rules and precedent, and minor technicalities that make all the difference in a fantasy game were just as prevalent decades ago as they are today.

Fantasy Judgment - Written Opinion on Interpretation of a Rule

A New Hope v. On the Juice

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI FROM
THE OLD BRIDGE FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE

Decided September 5, 2009
Cite as 1 F.J. 4 (2009)

Factual Background
The week of August 31, 2009 – September 6, 2009 represents the Wild Card round of the playoffs in the Old Bridge Fantasy Baseball League (“OBFBL”). One of the matchups during this week is A New Hope, owned by Dan Strafford, versus On the Juice, owned by Jason Tuvel.

Grady Sizemore, the centerfielder for the Cleveland Indians, is a player owned by Mr. Strafford and in his starting lineup for the aforementioned playoff week. On Friday, September 4, 2009, it was reported on www.mlb.com that Sizemore’s season was over due to injuries and that he would be undergoing two separate operations – one on his left elbow and another on his left groin.[1]

At 6:51 PM on September 4, 2009, Strafford sent OBFBL Commissioner Mike Stein a text message referencing Sizemore’s season-ending injuries and inquiring whether he could use his one DL Substitution. Commissioner Stein replied that Mr. Strafford should wait and see if Sizemore is officially placed on the disabled list.

At 5:20 PM on September 5, 2009, Mr. Strafford authored an email to Commissioner Mike Stein, Co-Commissioner Ari Teplitz, and Strafford’s opponent, Jason Tuvel requesting that he be able to use his DL Substitution for Sizemore despite him not being officially placed on the disabled list. This email was sent within the requisite 24 hour period from which Sizemore’s injury was posted on www.mlb.com. This request for using a DL Substitution was also timely made in regard to the day of the week, as delineated in the OBFBL Constitution.

According to the 2009 OBFBL Constitution, the rules for the league are applied synonymously in the regular season and the playoffs. Additionally, there are procedures in place for issues such as this when they arise:

ARTICLE XV – APPLICATION OF RULES

A. The rules delineated in the Constitution shall apply equally to all league members and shall remain in full force and effect for the entirety of the season, which includes both the regular season and the playoffs.

B. Disputes.

1. Should there be a question or concern regarding the application of a rule or a decision made interpreting the rules, leagues members may contact the Commissioner and Co-Commissioner for clarification and explanation of a decision.

2. In the event a decision needs to be reached regarding an existing rule, the Commissioner, Co-Commissioner, and an additional original league member shall committee the issue and render a decision.

C. Issues of First Impression.

1. If an issue or event arises that is not accounted for in the Constitution, the Commissioner, Co-Commissioner and an additional original league member shall committee the issue and render a decision.

2. Under no circumstances shall any issue, dispute or concern be decided by a league-wide vote.

3. The decision reached by the Committee shall be accepted as final.

Since Dan Strafford is an original league member but is the same individual bringing forth this issue, he was disqualified from being included on this committee due to a conflict of interest. However, because the Commissioner and Co-Commissioner were unified in their decision, the need for a third committee member to break a tie was rendered moot.

Procedural History
The OBFBL Constitution contains the Droid DL Substitution Rule (c. 2008) which explicitly states:

ARTICLE VIII – THE DISABLED LIST

D. DROID DL SUBSTITUTION RULE
1. Each team is permitted two DL Substitutions during the regular season. Teams that make the playoffs will be given one DL Substitution regardless of how many were or were not used in the regular season.
2. DL Substitutions can be traded or acquired in exchange for players.
3. If a player in the starting lineup is placed on the DL, that team owner has 24 hours from the time he is placed on the DL to make a substitution.
4. Anyone utilizing a DL Substitution must email the Commissioner, Co-Commissioner, and his opponent(s) notifying them of the transaction.
5. In order to make a DL Substitution, you must have a player on your bench eligible to play at the position of the injured player. You cannot rearrange your lineup to make a DL Substitution.
6. DL Substitutions cannot be made after midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
7. DL Substitutions are applied retroactively. If you utilize a DL Substitution, it will relate back to the first day of that week. Any points already accumulated by the injured player will be lost and all points accumulated by the replacement player will now count.

According to Commissioner Stein, the legislative intent behind the implementation of the DL Substitution Rule was to allow league members the opportunity to replace injured players mid-week without providing a distinct advantage or disadvantage to any team involved. The reasoning behind the requirement that a DL Substitution is only permissible when a player is officially placed on the disabled list is as follows:

1. It gives everyone in the league a clear demarcation of when the rule is to be applied.
2. It justifies the substitution because the injured player is no longer eligible to play the remainder of that week because of his status on the disabled list.
3. It provides resolution and finality for the teams involved as opposed to players with lingering injures who are listed as day-to-day yet are still eligible to play.
4. It promotes league owners to strategize whether to replace points already accumulated with the potential for more, or perhaps less, by the substituted player.
5. It allows teams a limited number of opportunities to overcome unforeseen and unfortunate instances where a player gets injured.

Since the inception of the Droid DL Substitution Rule, there have been two sets of circumstances where the Commissioner has vetoed an attempt to utilize a DL Substitution: 1) when a team tried to use a DL Substitution on a Sunday, which is not permitted; or 2) when a player was not officially placed on the disabled list.

During the playoffs in 2008, a league member attempted to use a DL Substitution when Carlos Quentin was injured but not placed on the disabled list. His prognosis was that he “could” miss the rest of that season.[2] As a result, he was not ruled out for the remainder of the year and was never placed on the disabled list. The reason he was not placed on the disabled list by the White Sox was because rosters were expanded due to September call-ups and there was no reason to clear a roster spot for Quentin at the time. This rationale also applies to the current issue as Sizemore was injured in the month of September as well.

Issue Presented
(1) Should a team be allowed to utilize a DL Substitution even though the injured player was not placed on MLB’s disabled list?

Decision
As important as it is to follow the language of the league’s Constitution and the rules set forth therein, it is equally as important to understand the theory and rationale that exist behind each rule. Each rule’s creation was spawned by some impetus that caused a need for guidance on a particular issue. And when these rules were spoken about, analyzed, drafted, written and executed, there existed a spirit and intent underlying each rule as a motivating factor to provide protective boundaries around the league.

It seems clear that the intent behind the DL Substitution Rule was that a player could only be subbed out when it was known and official that he would not return the rest of that week, or for a specified amount of time. Hence, being placed on MLB’s disabled list forbids a player from being active for at least 15 games.

Here, Grady Sizemore is clearly done for the season. He is scheduled to have two separate surgeries in the near future, including elbow surgery sometime during the week of September 7-14, 2009.[3] Team officials have confirmed his status as being done for the season as a result. This is distinctive from the Carlos Quentin injury in 2008 where his prognosis was not as final.

Additionally, the fact that Sizemore was not officially placed on the disabled list is indicative of the annual September call-ups and expanded rosters. There is no need or reason for the Cleveland Indians to disable Sizemore and activate someone else onto the roster. This is because they have already called up multiple players from their minor leagues to replace Sizemore.[4] Had this injury occurred in August, or any other month of baseball’s regular season, Sizemore surely would have been placed on the disabled list and the Indians would have recalled a player to take his spot on the roster.

When looking into what the “spirit” of the rule is, it was unanimously agreed that the purpose of the DL Substitution Rule was meant for instances such as this – when a league member unsuspectingly loses one of his players to injury and has no chance of accumulating any additional points by that player from that particular point in the week on. The construction of the rule and the manner in which it is written is technically silent on this particular issue of September injuries and expanded rosters. But based on precedent set in 2008, as well as the intent and purpose of the rule, it is evident that Grady Sizemore’s technical status is irrelevant when it comes to application of this rule.

In conclusion, as a means of fairness and equity, as well as this Court’s acknowledgement that it is inferring and interpreting the legislative intent behind language contained in the OBFBL Constitution, Mr. Strafford is hereby granted his DL Substitution – Carlos Guillen in for Grady Sizemore. Additionally, Mr. Strafford must immediately drop Grady Sizemore from his roster. He will not be able to replace Sizemore and must continue on with only 6 reserve players on his roster. This decision was reached in the best interest of the league.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

[1] See http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090904&content_id=6793132&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle.

[2] http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3571240

[3] “The elbow surgery will take place next week at the Cleveland Clinic and will be performed by team medical director Dr. Mark Schickendantz.” – from http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090904&content_id=6793132&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle

[4] The Indians “have Michael Brantley and the newly activated Trevor Crowe on hand to handle center field and the leadoff spot.” – from http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090904&content_id=6793132&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle