Fantasy Baseball Dugout

On my visit to the Baltimore Sports Hall of Fame today, I got to see some all-time Orioles fantasy baseball stats.  Take a look.

Baltimore Orioles all-time leaders.

Whether you play in fantasy baseball leagues for money or for fun, you want to pay attention to the waiver wire in your league. Here are some tips to help you find some good hitting waiver wire picks for free fantasy baseball leagues, as well as for fantasy baseball leagues for money.

Jed Lowrie – SS, Oakland Athletics

Lowrie made his big-league debut with the Red Sox in 2008. Through five seasons, he has yet to play in 100 games, spending time on the disabled list for a range of issues including wrist surgery and mononucleosis. In 2012 with Houston, Lowrie had 14 HR at the break before missing much of the second half with leg injuries.  Through 15 games, Lowrie was hitting .412 with 3 HR, 13 RBI and 14 runs while batting second, third, fourth and fifth in the Oakland lineup.

Get four more waiver wire warrior picks for your team AFTER the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you play in daily fantasy sports sites for money, or longer leagues for fun, you might want to pay attention to the waiver wire. You may be able to find some good picks for your fantasy baseball team. Here are some picks to consider:

Paul Maholm, Atlanta Braves

Maholm was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA after winning his first three starts. He struck out 20 in 20 1/3 IP. Maholm, who turns 31 in June, has a career ERA of 4.20 with a record of 69-84. But he had a 2.84 ERA and 1.10 WHIP after the break in 2012 while playing for the Chicago Cubs and the Braves. Maholm has a career 2.54 ERA in ten starts at Turner Field.

To find four more waiver wire wonders for your pitching staff, get more AFTER the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

If you play season-long, daily, or weekly fantasy baseball, you know how important sleeper picks are. Here are some top choices for sleeper picks that can help you in a variety of fantasy baseball leagues, including weekly fantasy baseball.

Starters

Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners

After four starts, Iwakuma had a 1.69 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and 18 strikeouts with two walks in 26 2/3 IP.  In his first season in MLB after coming over from Japan, Iwakuma had a 3.16 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, but his numbers improved after he moved from the bullpen to the rotation in July. As a starter, Iwakuma was 8-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. For the season, Iwakuma had a 2.49 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in Seattle vs. a 4.20 ERA and 1.42 WHIP on the road.

Get two more sleeper starters and two more sleeper relievers AFTER the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

If you play season-long, weekly, or daily fantasy sports, it is important to find sleeper picks. Here are our top sleeper picks for hitting for fantasy baseball, including tips for daily fantasy sports. But act now, before somebody else picks these sleeper picks up.

Dexter Fowler – OF, Colorado Rockies  

Fowler had seven HR, 10 RBI and 13 runs in his first 14 games.  Fowler’s career high in HR is 13, set last season. He hit 11 of the 13 before the All-Star break.  While Fowler, now 27, stole 27 bases in 2009, he has not stolen more than 13 in a season since. Fowler hit .300 in 2012 (.332 at home and .262 on the road).

Get four more sleeper picks for hitting AFTER the jump…  Read the rest of this entry »

Fantasy Baseball has become a hobby for millions of men and women all across the country. You may be a doctor, or a hotel janitor, but when it comes to playing fantasy baseball, the playing fields are equal. Blogs and forums are full of discussions on who to draft, who falls into the “sleeper” category, and strategy on how to manage your team.

If this sounds exciting, then you’re probably going to enjoy fantasy baseball. We know we have some beginners out there that would benefit greatly from a simple overview of what fantasy baseball is – and is not.  Here is a snapshot of how the game of fantasy baseball works.

1.    Start by joining a league- Begin by joining a free public league. Some leagues are invitation only, so if you were invited to play, start by entering the password or confirmation number for that league. Most of these league websites include social networking, free live scoring, auction drafts, fantasy casts, expert analysis, and mock or live draft lobby (also known as a chat room). There are some that play for fun and others that play for money. Choosing a league that fits your knowledge and time requirements is an important aspect of fantasy baseball. Some leagues have weekly updates, some allow you to adjust your time day-to-day. Fine one that you’re comfortable with and can devote some time to.

2.    Prepare the league draft by scouting—After joining the league, then comes the fun part, the draft. Before you choose your players, you must first know what players are available to play which positions, and their injury status. You don’t want to be “that guy” who drafts a guy in the first round that probably isn’t going to play until the All-Star Break.

3.    Start picking your team—Most leagues also offer auto-draft options that will pick the best player (based on projected stats) each round until your team is full. Try to avoid this and be on the lookout for “sleepers” or players that sneak under the radar that could contribute to your team. Big name players are who to draft in the first few rounds, and then it’s sleeper time. The difference between success and failure is often an unheralded guy that has a huge season.

4.    Let the games begin! —There are two different ways to play fantasy baseball; Rotisserie League or head-to-head format. The head-to-head format is when your team is matched to play a different team every week to acquire wins through total points scored that week. Teams at the end of the season that have the most points enter the playoffs.

Another version to play is the Rotisserie League that uses each player’s statistics to then be ranked by category, and the team with the highest stats is the winner. These stats are compiled from the total team batting average, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, wins, saves, and earned run average.

5.    Manage your team—As the owner of the team you have the ability to trade players or add/remove them during the season. That highly touted young shortstop not living up to the hype? Cut him. Sign on the sly vet instead. Leading the league by a wide margin in stolen bases, but not hitting any home runs? Drop one of your speedsters and pick up a long ball threat.

6.    Take your team to the playoffs—Getting to the playoffs takes a great deal of strategy and research. If you enter a prize league, you can even win money at the end of the season. Of course, it generally takes money to enter these leagues, but some actually make a living off of it. I know a guy personally that quit a six-figure job to play fantasy baseball full time. You can imagine the looks he got explaining that one to his family. The thing is, he’s actually making more money playing in multiple money leagues than he did at his past job and last I heard, he had consulted an independent financial advisor about writing off fantasy funds… Talk about living the dream.

The different decisions you make throughout fantasy baseball can impact a number of different things you would have never thought of, such as how successful you are in the league, to even financial issues such as the cost of living. No matter what league you choose to play in fantasy baseball is an often frustrating, but very rewarding game for any hardcore baseball fan. Knowing the basics puts you ahead of most fantasy baseball rookies and gives you the fundamentals to succeed in this highly competitive arena.

Good luck, and play ball!

Intercontinental Hotels Group (or IHG), the hotels group behind Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, have been teamed up with Major League Baseball as the “Official Partner of MLB Road Trips” since 2009.

There are hundreds of these hotels throughout the US and Canada, so as you travel this season to every major league ballpark, Holiday Inn will likely offer you an ideal place to stay as you travel to an away game to see your favorite team.

We’ve scoured the internet to bring you video clips of the best Holiday Inn has to offer as the official sponsor of MLB Road Trips – courtesy of our friends at two Holiday Inn locations – this lovely Baton Rouge hotel and this lovely Holiday Inn hotel in Columbia, Missouri.

After the jump, check out 3 Holiday Inn videos featuring Major League Baseball… and let us know which one you like best.  Read the rest of this entry »

It was a busy and chaotic offseason for many Major League Baseball teams. There were some unexpected signings, while other teams didn’t experience much movement at all. 2013, promises to be an exciting season. The balance of power may finally be shifting in several divisions, giving hope to fans of teams who have not tasted success in a long time. Here are some teams to keep an eye on in 2013:

San Diego Padres

With manager Bud Black at the helm, the Padres have a leader that is one of the most respected men in baseball. Third baseman Chase Headley could have an MVP award in his future. The team is most likely going to have one of the better bullpens in the National League. The strength of the bullpen has been a tradition ever since Kevin Towers became the GM. Their 3.24 ERA ranked them fifth in the league last season. However, defense is another issue entirely. Only the Rockies had a worse fielding percentage in the NL. If they have any hope of making a run at the wild card, the defense must improve significantly. Some of the defensive miscues can be blamed on the youth and inexperience of the team.

Cleveland Indians

Rookie RHP Trevor Bauer will be in the spotlight in 2013. This will be his first full season anbd things are expected of the former first round draft pick. The Shin-Soo Choo era officially came to an end during the offseason. He was traded to the Reds along with Tony Sipp for Bauer and Drew Stubbs. This was inevitable because Choo had refused to sign a longterm contract. The Tribe was the biggest surprise of the offseason in terms of free agents. They signed two big name free agents and gave up two draft picks to do so. Nick Swisher signed a four-year, $56 million contract. The 24 homers he hit last year will be welcome in a lineup that only hit 136 homers last year, the second-lowest total in the league. The other big name was Michael Bourn, who signed a four-year $48 million contract. The deal includes a fifth year vesting option that is worth $12 million.

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