About Ron

RON SHANDLER began publishing his unique brand of statistical information under the Shandler Enterprises name in 1986. A fantasy leaguer since 1985 and a simulation gamer since 1971, Ron was the first author to develop sabermetric applications for fantasy league play. He is the author of the Baseball Forecaster annual, now celebrating its 36th year of publication; he is the founder of the industry trail-blazing web site, BaseballHQ.com and the First Pitch Forums nationwide conference series. Ron also helped spearhead the creation of the Tout Wars national experts competition, which was the focus of the "Fantasyland" book and documentary film.
Ron's work has appeared in numerous publications and web sites. He has written for USA Today, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, and is currently writing for The Athletic. He has been cited by many sources, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week and Money magazine. Many Major League teams are regular customers of his books and web services.
One of Ron's most notable research contributions is the "Low Investment Mound Aces Plan," (LIMA) a fantasy draft strategy that identifies undervalued pitching skills and optimizes resource allocation to construct more productive rosters. Ron began using LIMA in 1998 -- four years before Billy Beane's "Moneyball" year -- and it led to four titles and a second place finish in national expert league play from 1998 to 2001.
But Ron's legacy in the baseball industry begins with the Baseball Forecaster. Published every fall since 1986, it has become the bible for fantasy leaguers and baseball analysts world-wide. Here is an historical look at all the books Ron has written (or co-written) over the past 3 1/2 decades.
He is currently writing a new book, scheduled to be released in Fall 2023. "Fantasy Expert" chronicles the beginnings of fantasy baseball through the lens of the experts who grew the industry in its first two decades. It is part memoir, part scrapbook, part tell-all. It's amazing how much you can get done during a pandemic.
Ron has an MBA from Hofstra University, is a professional direct marketer and forecasting analyst by trade, and held senior management positions with several international publishers prior to starting Shandler Enterprises. A native New Yorker and die-hard Mets fan, he is married with two daughters and currently lives in Port St. Lucie, FL.
Ron also developed:
- Pure Quality Starts: A measure of a starting pitcher's effectiveness based on component skills.
- Reliability Grade: A measure of a player's risk, based on health, experience and performance consistency.
- Portfolio3 Plan: An integrated strategy in which players are evaluated based on skill and risk, and slotted into a three-tiered draft portfolio.
- Mayberry Method: A player evaluation method that embraces the imprecision of the forecasting process by projecting elements of performance using a simple 0-5 scale.
- Broad Assessment Balance Sheet (BABS): A roster construction strategy that evaluates players using broad measures and sets targets as a balance between assets and liabilities.
Chronology
2000's
2011
The 2002 edition of the Baseball Forecaster appeared in the movie, "Moneyball."
2012
- Inducted into the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame.
- Fantasy Sports Ventures sold to Gannett, Inc.'s USA Today Sports Media Group.
- Finished in 3rd place, Tout Wars-AL
- Finished in 3rd place, XFL
- Finished in 2nd place, FSTA
2013
- Named to the FSWA Board of Directors.
- Wrote the Introduction to Winning Fantasy Baseball by Larry Schechter.
- Stepped down from running the operations of BaseballHQ.com.
- Launched ShandlerPark.com to run monthly fantasy leagues (through 2015).
- Finished in 3rd place, XFL
2014
- Celebrated the 20th anniversary of First Pitch Arizona.
- Finished in 2nd place, FSTA
2015
- Stepped down from contributing to BaseballHQ.com.
- Restarted regular contributions to ESPN.com (through 2018).
- Baseball Forecaster won the FSWA's "Best Fantasy Baseball Publication" award.
- Celebrated the 30th Anniversary edition of the Baseball Forecaster.
- Re-launched RonShandler.com as a content site.
- Finished in 2nd place, FSTA
2016
- Published Ron Shandler's Other Book.
- Celebrated the 20th anniversary of BaseballHQ.com.
- Finished in 3rd place, XFL
- Finished in 3rd place, FSTA
2017
- Published The BABS Project: Uncovering the Truth About Winning at Fantasy Baseball.
- BaseballHQ.com won the FSTA's "Best News & Analysis Site, Single Sport" award.
- Finished in 4th place, Tout Wars Mixed (but 1 hit out of 2nd)
2018
- Baseball Forecaster won the FSTA's "Best Print Publication" award.
2019
- Joined TheAthletic.com as a weekly columnist.
- Finished in 2nd place, XFL
- Finished in 1st place, TheAthletic Best Ball league
2020
- Finished in 3rd place, XFL
2021
- Won LABR-12-team Mixed
- Retired from LABR
- Retired from Tout Wars
2022
- Signed with Triumph Books to publish "Fantasy Expert" memoir.
1990's
1994
Invited to participate in LABR, the industry's first national experts competition. Spent the entire summer in first place, but dropped to third as the players went on strike.
1996
- Launched BaseballHQ.com.
- Took over Arizona Fall League fantasy baseball conference from Fantasy Sports Journal. Renamed First Pitch Arizona.
- Shandler Enterprises Co. was reformed as Shandler Enterprises, LLC.
1997
Finished in 3rd place, LABR-NL.
1998
- Spearheaded the founding of Tout Wars, the industry's second national experts competition.
- Won both AL and NL Tout Wars competitions.
- Created the LIMA Plan.
- Discontinued publishing the "Baseball Forecaster" newsletter.
1999
- Published "Fantasy Baseball Workbook."
- Finished in 2nd place, Tout Wars-AL.
- Finished in 1st place tie, Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) Experts League.
1980's
1984
Joined first Rotisserie league (Hockey Association of the Granite State). Following spring created the Baseball Association of the Granite State, which would run for 10 years.
1985
Joined the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
1986
- Formed Shandler Enterprises Co.
- Published Baseball SuperSTATS book; renamed Baseball Forecaster in 1988.
1987
Launched the "Sports Forecaster" newsletter; renamed "Baseball Forecaster" newsletter in 1992.
1988
"Rotisserie Baseball and the New Statistics" article published in SABR's Baseball Research Journal.