2016 Baseball Forecaster Excerpt
I joke with others that my biggest fear is that my tombstone epitaph will read, “Fantasy Baseball Expert.” If that is how my life’s work will be encapsulated, then I must have done something wrong. But the fact remains: the Baseball Forecaster celebrates its 30th Anniversary edition with its release this week. And as I…
Read MoreWhy I Still Use the Bill James Handbook
In an age when virtually every tiny piece of minutia can be found somewhere on the internet, there are times when you just need a book. I have been getting The Bill James Handbook (BJH) since well before the turn of the century, back when the cover was red and the publisher was STATS Inc.…
Read MoreMy fandom has been contaminated
Once upon a time, I was a New York Mets fan. I never had to think too hard. I just root, root, rooted for the home team, and immersed myself in the social aspect of fandom. That meant beer, dogs and yelling a lot. This morning I woke up feeling sick. Yes, my Mets lost…
Read MoreDeconstructing DFS: Separating the Game from the Gambling
The fantasy sports industry has shifted into defense mode to combat the threat of coming regulation. Their case rests on a carve-out in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) that provides a definition for what constitutes a legal game. The core issue: is fantasy sports a game of chance or a game…
Read MoreThe Fuzzy Place Where Daily Fantasy Lives
When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006, daily fantasy sports (DFS) were not in existence. One could argue that the law might have been worded differently had DFS been around then – a fact corroborated by one of the law’s writers – but the current fantasy sports carve-out still has…
Read MoreThe Trolls
By Ron Shandler Back in 1987, when I first started writing regularly about baseball, I received a disturbing letter from a guy named Ward Something-or-Other. He did not like an article I wrote for my Baseball Forecaster newsletter, and pointed out several errors in my assumptions and analysis. This occurred during those ancient, pre-internet days, and this…
Read MoreSeymour’s Luncheonette
Seymour’s Luncheonette was located on the corner of 164 Street and 69 Avenue in Flushing. It was next door to the Cracker Barrel market and across the street from a strip of stores that included the Royal Deli, Africk Drugs and Homer’s Toys. There were lots of places to hang out for us kids who…
Read MoreThe Five Stages
I’ve finally figured out why I will probably never play daily fantasy on a regular basis. It’s a legal issue. If I played regularly, I would likely end up in jail. After playing full-season fantasy baseball for 30 years, I hold a deep passion for the game. When I play, it’s never casual. I put…
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