Going serious.

[Redbirds Fan]

Any recommendations for a yahoo league who wants to become more serious and go to a single AL league so far as a rule book is concerned?

Thank you.

[chancellor]

I thought some folks uploaded some reference constitutions a few years back.

If you're just looking for an outline of what should go into a constitution, AJ Mass did a good job on ESPN about 7-8 years ago.

There's some decent stuff on Reddit, too.

[revo]

I think one thing would be to move from Yahoo, where you're constrained by their rules.

[Redbirds Fan]

I think one thing would be to move from Yahoo, where you're constrained by their rules.

Thanks.

Should have mentioned, definitely leaving yahoo. one of first things we decided. Most guys only have a little experience with fantasy baseball, but want to do it more like they did in the older days.

[revo]

Thanks.

Should have mentioned, definitely leaving yahoo. one of first things we decided. Most guys only have a little experience with fantasy baseball, but want to do it more like they did in the older days.

Will this league be a keeper or redraft?

[Redbirds Fan]

Will this league be a keeper or redraft?

That is a question of much discussion on pros and cons. I can see benefits to each.

[revo]

That is a question of much discussion on pros and cons. I can see benefits to each.

A redraft league is a lot more straight-forward and will provide much less angst among leaguemates, since valuations in keeper leagues can be all over the map and everyone values prospects differently.

I much prefer redraft leagues to keeper leagues for this reason. Plus I like being able to start over every year.

[swampdragon]

auction or just draft?

try no keepers or small number and see where that goes first year

[Redbirds Fan]

Discussion is for an auction, which seems more old school. Plus, it will take more dedication and should reward the people who work harder between now and the auction date. or maybe.

Good idea about first year. May tell us who is serious about sticking around.

[chancellor]

Discussion is for an auction, which seems more old school. Plus, it will take more dedication and should reward the people who work harder between now and the auction date. or maybe.

Good idea about first year. May tell us who is serious about sticking around.

My auction league is a bit of a hybrid, but if you want a reference constitution I'll be happy to send one.

Pending overcoming my technopeasant skills and figuring out how to attach a file to a PM..,

[Redbirds Fan]

My auction league is a bit of a hybrid, but if you want a reference constitution I'll be happy to send one.

Pending overcoming my technopeasant skills and figuring out how to attach a file to a PM..,

Thanks to everyone who is so willing to offer help. chancellor, your language could probably be adopted to work or at least give good ideas.

[mjl]

try no keepers or small number and see where that goes first year

How cutthroat is your group? If people are serious about trying to win, a small number of keepers can get ugly real quick.

If you're going to do keepers, especially a small number, I would strongly suggest having some kind of reward for coming in every place above last. Really I'd advise that in general, not just for keeper leagues, because it's more fun if the people who aren't going to win still have some reason to pay attention. But I'd suggest starting with a redraft league.

edited to clarify after rhd posted: Small number of keepers is only bad if you allow trading. Keepers are tough if there's a lot of variance in the skill level of the players also, but it does also give a reason to care late in the season. I think having prizes for coming in second to last is still useful, because if you don't have that the teams at the bottom don't have much reason not to cut their decent but not keeper-relevant players, so the rest of the league might get a little distorted.

[Hornsby]

Hey Redbird, welcome...

Yeah, I'd agree with mjl to start simple, let the wheat separate from the chaff, so to speak...and if you do decide to do keepers, maybe keep the duration pretty short, something like a 3 season max to begin with.

Best of luck...

[rhd]

A keeper league can generate more interest throughout the season. Granted, it can lead to contentiousness and collusion allegations among the owners because of perceived unbalanced trades, particularly between friends. But you can put in rules that make it harder to do "unfair" deals. It can generate more interest because by July or August or so some teams are out of it and have nothing to play for this year so having or acquiring good keepers for the following year(s) gives these owners something to play for. (see comment below about prohibiting trading completely)

Also, weekly FAAB (free agent auction bidding) generates interest and is a way to pick up players that can help your team w/o going thru the hassle of trades. It also can be a way to pick up keepers, depending on what your rules say. Actually, I think it might be a good idea to not allow trading at all and just have FAAB. That's the way it is in NFBC (National Fantasy Baseball Challenge).

I dont consider auction vs. draft to be a big issue. Either one is fine, altho a straight draft might be simpler for inexperienced owners.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[madducks]

Something that we do to keep everyone interested all season in my mixed keeper league is to pay each of the 10 stat category winners a small amount. Our entry fee is $75 and we pay $25 for each category won. Most categories are won by the top four teams which are already in the money but there are almost always categories won by some of the remaining teams. We've even had stat categories won by the last place team which makes for a nice consolation prize when you get some of your entry fee back.