| The first thing you want to do to play fantasy | | | | of credit. With the auction method, you can force |
| baseball is find, or form, a fantasy baseball league. | | | | teams to stay under the 260 credit unit salary |
| Ten to twelve teams is usually the norm in a | | | | cap, or allow the purchase of remaining players |
| league, though you may have anywhere from | | | | once the bidding is complete and the owners have |
| four to 24 teams in a given league. Each team in | | | | their teams completed. |
| the fantasy league must consist of 23 players. | | | | Players and Their Eligibility |
| Many of the leagues you will find use only | | | | A player may play any position that he played in |
| American or National League players, so the | | | | at least 20 major-league games the previous |
| number of quality players is limited. | | | | year. If he doesn't have a position that he did play |
| Your team's roster will consist of nine pitchers, | | | | 20 times, he is eligible for the position he played |
| five outfielders, two catchers, one player for each | | | | the most often. The player is also allowed to play |
| of the three bases, a middle infielder, one corner | | | | any position that he may appear in through the |
| man, and a miscellaneous player (designated hitter | | | | season. |
| in AL based fantasy leagues, utility man in NL | | | | How Fantasy Baseball is Scored |
| based fantasy leagues. | | | | Cumulative scoring system- |
| Players: Choosing Your Team | | | | There are a total of eight categories each team |
| Each owner is given a list of players, and their | | | | will be scored on. These are batting averages |
| eligible positions on draft day. There are two | | | | (pitcher excluded), home runs, runs batted, stolen |
| methods used to select your team in a fantasy | | | | bases, run average, wins, saves, and WHIP |
| baseball league. One method is the draft method, | | | | (Walks and Hits divided by total Innings Pitched). |
| the other is the auction method. | | | | At the end of the season, each team is ranked |
| Draft method- The teams are arranged in a | | | | from first to last in each category. In a ten team |
| random order. Following this order, owners take | | | | league, first place in each category will receive ten |
| turns selecting players until all teams have twenty | | | | points. Second place receives nine, so on and so |
| three players. The draft order is usually reversed | | | | forth. The champion of the league is determined |
| for even numbered rounds. Before drafting starts, | | | | by the highest score at the end of the year. |
| decide if the league will wipe the slate clean for | | | | Head to head scoring system- |
| the next season, or whether it will protect seven | | | | Based on the same eight categories, teams play a |
| to fifteen players. | | | | game each week with another franchise. Each |
| Auction method- In the auction method, each | | | | team will receive a point for each category they |
| fantasy baseball team owner will start with 260 | | | | win, and ties are thrown away. Alternatively, |
| units of credit. Owners will take turns opening bids | | | | teams can receive two points for wins, and one |
| on players. Bidding proceeds, as with a normal | | | | point for ties. If tied games will not be allowed to |
| auction, until only the highest bidder remains. | | | | stand, strikeouts, doubles, runs, triples, and home |
| Bidding will have a minimum increase of one unit | | | | team wins are excellent tie breaking categories. |