Industry
Not Gambling? Seriously.
The following piece was published at BaseballHQ.com back on April 17, 2015. That was before the Fanduel/DraftKings legal implosion the following fall. And it was before last week’s Supreme Court decision leaving the legalization of sports betting to the states. The gambling landscape is changing. This article might be one of my greatest forecasting achievements. Maybe.…
Read MoreFive Named to Rotisserie Hall of Fame
While the baseball universe waits for the always-controversial Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame announcement, the fantasy industry has named its 2018 picks for the Rotisserie Hall of Fame: Carlos Beltran, Cliff Lee, Joe Nathan, Alex Rodriguez and Johan Santana. They are the 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st and 102nd members of the…
Read MoreOur overflowing disabled lists
This is my ESPN Insider column for the week. When we draft our teams each year, we count on the higher-ranked players to be more productive, more reliable and to spend more time on the field than on the disabled list. It’s a valiant expectation. But history shows that the level of attrition among baseball’s…
Read MoreTaking DFS to Task in “Dueling with Kings”
Most people know my strong opinion when it comes to daily fantasy sports (DFS). From my annual disclosure statement: “I think daily fantasy sports (DFS) are an excellent, exciting variant that requires a different skills set in order to excel. I think the manner in which cash winnings are tied to the core game completely…
Read MoreGo Big or Go Home: My Tout Wars Team
Last year in Tout Wars, several of the participants decided that a conservative approach in these redraft leagues did not get the job done. More often than not, the winner was the owner who drafted the most risky plays that paid off. A report card of surprising “A’s” and “F’s” often bested those with “B’s”…
Read MoreThree Named to Rotisserie Hall of Fame
While the the baseball universe waits impatiently for the always-controversial Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame announcement, the fantasy industry has named its 2017 picks for the Rotisserie Hall of Fame: Prince Fielder, David Ortiz and Mark Teixeira. They are the 95th, 96th and 97th members of the Roto Hall. Eligibility for…
Read MoreThe Need for Speed
In the upcoming edition of the Baseball Forecaster, you will read about the ever-changing shifts in the statistical landscape. By now, it’s common knowledge that home runs left ballparks at historic rates last year, and stolen bases took the opposite path. If you were to assume that these trends will persist, then there is one…
Read MoreXFL Draft Results
The 15th annual Xperts Fantasy League (XFL) draft took place in Scottsdale, AZ on Friday November 4. The XFL is the fantasy baseball industry’s only keeper league, although it has been described as a keeper-dynasty hybrid. The 15-team mixed league drafts 40-man rosters, with the 23 players auctioned in November and the remaining 17 snake-drafted…
Read MoreThis is how I remember it: Baseball HQ’s 20th Anniversary
The following article appears concurrently at BaseballHQ.com. This week celebrates the 20th anniversary of the site’s launch and I was asked to contribute some memories. Once upon a time, there was no internet. It was a period of great struggle for fantasy leaguers looking for an edge. We had to rely on ancient forms of…
Read MoreRon Shandler on BaseballHQ Radio
I am the featured guest on this week’s BaseballHQ.com podcast, with Patrick Davitt. My segment starts at the 44:50 mark of the 2+ hour pod and it runs for almost an hour. But I give you nearly 7 hours of content because I talk very, very fast. Here are the major topics we discuss: How…
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