Roto Baseball - the best fantasy sport out there

For my tastes, rotisserie fantasy baseball is the best fantasy sport out there. I know the mass denizens have designated football as the "it" fantasy sport, with its widespread appeal and once per week lineup decisions. The most common criticism of fantasy baseball that I hear is that it takes too much time. While baseball by its very nature does not provide its audience with any immediate gratification, I'd argue that it is perfectly suited as a fantasy endeavor. It may indeed require a time commitment beyond that of fantasy football. On the other hand, a fantasy baseball team is easier to maintain throughout the season. In football, it is imperative that you pay attention to the waiver wire every single week, lest you miss out on the latest sub running back or replacement wide receiver. Add in the last minute injury reports, weather changes, bye weeks, and fantasy football can induce heartache and despair just minutes before kickoff. Is there gratification in benching the right player? Sure. But all too often you hear of an angry owner pissed off because of going the wrong way, with nothing to show for their efforts in building a solid roster.

Baseball is a lot more forgiving. Too busy with family/work/life to follow waivers in a particular week? Not to worry, a single missed player here or there generally isn't going to make or break your season. In football, that is absolutely the case. The single most valuable (and volatile) commodity in football are running backs. A good one can single-handedly carry you to a title, an injured one can ruin an entire season. How many seasons did Matt Forte destroy last year? How many championships did Jamaal Charles win? I understand that the argument that this volatility is part of football, but is it fair when that trumps all else? What's the fun in participating in something over 13 weeks, only to see a random occurrence inevitably determine a championship year in and year out?

In baseball, the most volatile position is closer. Bummed out that you missed out on the latest newly appointed closer? Don't fret, there's bound to be another soon enough. Last year there were 37 different relievers that recorded 10 or more saves. Upset you missed out on the top pick? Not to worry, in baseball there is always plenty of value available in later rounds, particularly with the annual revelation that are young prospects in the game. Each year, previously unheard of players deliver great seasons - Adam Lind, Joey Votto, Brett Anderson and Pablo Sandoval are all young studs that put in fantastic numbers for teams without being high picks.

All that being said, the single most important factor as to why baseball is the best fantasy sport out there is that it is not nearly as context dependent as football is. In baseball, each batter generally gets to hit three to four times a game against the other team's pitcher. Outside of the occasional sacrifice or hit and run, it's essentially an individual matchup - pitcher versus hitter four times per contest. Whether a team is winning or losing a blowout, every batter and every pitcher is going to go out and try to win that matchup, either by getting on base or by recording an out. This is not so in fantasy football. Unless you have Belicheck coaching the '07 Pats, forget about getting more passing yards out of a quarterback that's up 24 points in the 4th quarter. Draft a great running back on a crappy team? Better hope he racks up some yardage in the first half before the game devolves into a passing contest. That same great hitter or pitcher on a crappy team in baseball is going to have every opportunity to win enough individual matchups to determine the context of the game rather than be subject to it.

Of course, participation in fantasy sports, as with anything, comes down to a matter of individual tastes. I can see the appeal of fantasy football or a head to head baseball league, and have participated in many. For me however, the most fun and fairest league of them all is roto baseball. As with all sports, there's always going to be volatility involved. it's part of what makes sport so compelling. A few years back, I started a roto baseball league by cherry picking the 3-4 best owners from three separate leagues (sort of a personal roto "champions league"). We're now up to 15 keepers, and each squad has 5 minor league spots. Is this something joe football fan would be interested in? Probably not. But if you're a sports fan, and you're gonna throw money at something, why not make it the best league possible? At least this way I know my time spent is going to be worthwhile at the end of the year. Plus, if the volatility gets the better of me, at least I'll have the opportunity to rebuild and get it right the next year.