If you are old enough, you might remember back 20 years or so, when Fantasy Baseball was a new and emerging game, and at the time the scourge of Major League Baseball and the game’s so-called “true fans.”
“They don’t care about team loyalty,” was one of the choice phrases the loyalists claimed, also noting we didn’t care about the game: rather only our fantasy teams and our players’ stats.
The logic largely was deployed until Major League Baseball lost their lawsuit claiming exclusive ownership rights over the players stats and names in 2006, when suddenly MLB realized they were fighting a huge opportunity. For during the suit, Fantasy Football began to get traction and followers, and the big sports suddenly realized that within the throes of the fledgling fantasy community were the true fans.
For while team loyalty, as an example, might seem ephemeral to hometown fans, Fantasy players simply enjoy watching the game, irrespective of contestants, suggesting maybe our love for the game was the purist of all.
Since that time, with the aid of Draft Kings and Fan Duel and daily play, among other things, the Industry has indeed burgeoned into a $7 billion business, as of 2017.
The validation of the game we all love, based upon another game we all love so much, has at least been fun for those of us who cherish the world of WAR and wOBP, but one of the fun ironies I have noticed within the game over the last decade is Major League Baseball taking the cue from many a roto tactician when deconstructing a 25-man roster, looking to rebuild with prospects.
Starting with the Marlins in the late 90’s, to Tampa, and the Cubs and Royals of a few years back, leading into the strong showings by the Phillies, Braves, and even Athletics this year, big league teams have learned the patience and wisdom of the planned rebuilding game, gambling today’s value on a greater return of future potential.
Just this season the Tigers and Marlins went into the season committed to this plan, and now that the trade deadline is here, the Orioles did the best they could to maximize the value of Jonathan Schoop, Kevin Gausman, Manny Machado, et al for no fewer than 15 prospects–plus a couple of instances of the ever nebulous “future considerations”–as the team ideally dump traded their way into some form of future respectability.
Dump trades–as we all know–have been a staple path for Rotisserie owners almost since the first seasons of keeper league play. I remember specifically swapping Kevin Millwood, Jason Kendall, Adrian Beltre and a couple of other prospects in exchange for Roger Clemens and Richard Hidalgo in a move that won a pennant in 2000 but forced me into three rugged rebuild years thereafter.
As with time, however, the Show has easily slipped into that dump trade mode, for surely were the Dodgers and Orioles simply a couple of teams in your local keeper Fantasy League, and they made the five-for-one Machado swap in your league, nary an owner would bat an eye with respect to the exchange.
There is some sort of beautiful irony in all of this: that suddenly swapping the Franchise player for the future is a legit business plan, copied from a bunch of stat heads. Because, it was those same trading ball clubs and their ilk that claimed we were the disloyal ones.
Life is so goofy, is it not? I guess the lesson, if there is one, is indeed yesterday’s problem is tomorrow’s solution. Now, about that DH….
Find Lawr’s work at Creativesports2.com and listen to The Tout Wars Hour with Lawr, Justin Mason, and Todd Zola every Sunday on FNTSY from 2-4 PM, ET. Follow @lawrmichaels.
