Roto vs. Head to Head: The Shifting Industry

[kldub4life]

I am a long time fantasy baseball junkie!!! Like most of us I have been born and bread on Roto, however living here in Oklahoma with baseball nowhere near the pasttime it is in other parts of the country it has been extremely hard find enough interested parties in getting a Roto league stated. Because of this and the proliferation of Fantasy Football most frequently played in a Head to Head format, getting newbies to play fantasy baseball it has been easier getting them to buy into the Head to Head format.. I see the industry moving this way. What have been your guys experience with seeming shift in popularity from Roto to Head to Head? And do you have any strategy tips?

[Sour Masher]

I have always played h2h. The one thing you want to emphasize a lot more is consistency. In roto, you can ride a players ups and downs to his end of the year stats. In h2h, consistent, durable performers are more valuable. Especially if the h2h format carries over into the playoffs. I had players like Josh Hamilton kill me in h2h. Nothing feels worse than losing when it matters most because all of your streaky hitters decide to be cold at the same time, or your Jeckel and Hyde pitchers all go Jeckel when it matters most.

In roto, the best team overall on the year wins. In h2h, the best team each week wins. That is the biggest difference. My Patriotesque teams have lost in the playoffs to barely made it Giantesque teams many times.

Of course, some owners go for the opposite, especially if they know they can't field the best team. A strategy for you to pursue if you are a lesser team that may barely make the playoffs is to try to trade for all streaky guys and hope to get lucky with some hot streaks. That can work, but overall, you really want to pursue consistent, durable guys.

[willthethrill]

Our 21-year old league is debating this as well-Always played roto, but we may switch to h2h this year. I agree-the proliferation of fantasy football has spurred us to go this direction, playing the h2h format in football. In our football league this year, many of whom are in the baseball league, we had the 8 seed beat the 6 seed for the championship, and people really liked that.

[Moonlight J]

Don't let that bastard stepchild fantasy football pollute fantasy baseball

[The Dane]

Don't let that bastard stepchild fantasy football pollute fantasy baseball

Exactly.

[madducks]

Head to head is for the inactive owner who prefers to check on their team once a week. Roto is for the junkie who needs that daily fix.

[revo]

The problem with HTH is as Sour Masher said -- you can be the greatest team all year, but if your team doesn't show up for a single week in the playoffs, you're gone.

And also, two-start pitchers are of utmost importance, and that negates the value somewhat of starting pitchers.

[Bodhizefa]

Don't let that bastard stepchild fantasy football pollute fantasy baseball

Bah. Head to head leagues are just as fun as roto, in my opinion. They're certainly different, but I think each can be enjoyed immensely if played properly.

[Bodhizefa]

And also, two-start pitchers are of utmost importance, and that negates the value somewhat of starting pitchers.

That's not really true unless you're streaming starters (which is frowned upon in most leagues, and sometimes even outlawed). They're more important once you hit the playoffs, but it's easy enough to negate that by making playoff rounds last two weeks instead of one (my personal preference).

[Bodhizefa]

Head to head is for the inactive owner who prefers to check on their team once a week. Roto is for the junkie who needs that daily fix.

Again, I disagree. If you're inactive for one day in H2H, you probably lose because you've missed out on a start or two from a pitcher as well as the best possible match-ups for your hitters. Head to head is very engaging on a day-to-day basis, and aside from playing daily games, it's the best fix for daily match-up gratification that I've found.

[revo]

That's not really true unless you're streaming starters (which is frowned upon in most leagues, and sometimes even outlawed). They're more important once you hit the playoffs, but it's easy enough to negate that by making playoff rounds last two weeks instead of one (my personal preference).

I only play in a weekly start HTH league, but my first course of action each week is to determine how many starts I will get vs. my opponent. If he's getting 8 or 9 and I'm only slated for 6, that will almost certainly change my strategy as to who to start that week. This league also has a 2-round finale, but if each week is 2 weeks, then the season ends for most in August?

[revo]

Again, I disagree. If you're inactive for one day in H2H, you probably lose because you've missed out on a start or two from a pitcher as well as the best possible match-ups for your hitters. Head to head is very engaging on a day-to-day basis, and aside from playing daily games, it's the best fix for daily match-up gratification that I've found.

This assumes the league is a daily start. Why make that assumption?

[Bodhizefa]

This assumes the league is a daily start. Why make that assumption?

Because any H2H league worth its salt is also a daily league. If you're playing in a head-to-head league with weekly starts, you're doing it wrong.

[Bodhizefa]

I think weekly transactions are a relic of Roto days when we were bound by antiquated league sites and/or pen-and-paper data crunching. Head-to-Head leagues are much more fun with daily transactions.

[the heat]

Don't let that bastard stepchild fantasy football pollute fantasy baseball

Couldn't agree more!!!

To me H2H is for those who need frequent gratification.

Daily transactions? Who has that amount of time if you work & have kids?
For the daily leagues, why wouldn't you go H2H each day with say 3-4 game series?