Fantasy Baseball in all its gory detail
In honor of Opening Day on Sunday, here’s my story about how fantasy baseball – well, actually all fantasy sports -- has grown so big that services designed to help players navigate trades and rules disputes have been springing up. RotoUmpire.com. FantasyDispute.com. SportsJudge.com. FantasyJudgment.com.
As I say in the story, perhaps it was inevitable that a hobby that’s gotten so big it has spawned fantasy magazines, TV shows, and trophy manufacturers, would also require legal services. No one’s getting rich off these services, but the fact that they’ve grown is significant. After all, even if fantasy players are only playing for bragging rights, they’re still spending a significant amount of time during a six-month period caring for their teams.
Which brings me to “Fantasyland,” the documentary based on Sam Walker’s (of the Wall Street Journal) book of the same name. The online film follows the 2008 season in the expert fantasy baseball league called Tout Wars. There’s plenty in this film, available through snagfilms.com, to show you the depths to which fantasy baseball players go for their hobby.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
