2013 Fish Stripes Fantasy Baseball League By Yahoo!: Setup

The Miami Marlins may have a poor season ahead of them in 2013, but it doesn't mean that Marlins fans should suffer without any baseball-related entertainment. Earlier in the month, I introduced the 2013 Fish Stripes Fantasy Baseball League, as presented by Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball, and today, the announcement about the league is finally here!

The 12 contestants were set when I first asked in the initial article for the first 11 names. Here are the names that I received:

Ehsan Kassim
kjt1027
sbarruf
Andrew Townes
Fantasy Baseball Vision
Jigokusabre
jasonbross9130
d.o.g.o.b.g.y.n.
Eric Weston
Marlins627
Plaz

That is a good healthy of new names and regulars here at Fish Stripes, and I'm happy to have you all on board. I'd like for you to confirm your spot in the league by answering below with the subject line "Yes". Also, please email me at "SFiercex4@gmail.com" so that I can send out league invitations to you. Once that is done, we can figure out the format for a draft.

As for the league rules, as I mentioned, this league will be slanted with sabermetrics. I will be using the same rules I used in an old Beyond the Box Score league I began running in 2011, with the league being a points only system based on linear weights run values for each event. The following is the table and excerpt on the scoring system.

Hitters

Event	Points
AB	-1
1B	6
2B	9
3B	12
HR	15
BB	3
HBP	3
SB	2
CS	-3

Pitchers

Event	Points
IP	5
K	2
BB	-3
HR	-13
Saves	5
Holds	2

I did not develop this system. All thanks go to BtB author JinAZ, who is also running a league with this scoring system. Thanks Justin!

Now, if you know your linear weights and FIP components by heart (and who doesn't really?), you should be able to recognize why those points are assigned the way they are. If you take a look at the hitters, you'll note that the system looks much like a linear weights model with a baseline of zero runs (an absolute runs model). In most absolute run models in linear weights, the value of an out is around -0.10 runs. Setting at-bats at that result allows all AB not resulting in a hit to appropriately count as an out. Each hit is scaled to the linear weights total for that hit above the value of the out, similar to how wOBA handles hits. For example, a single is worth around 0.48 runs; the system handles it as six points, but because the hit occurred in an AB, it ends up being worth five points, around 10 times the linear weight total. All non-AB events like walks and HBP are handled as 10 times their linear weights.

For pitching, you can clearly see the FIP components of HR, K, and BB and their respective weights. The innings pitch weight was derived by trial and error, but it makes some sense. An inning pitched by an average pitcher is worth about 0.055 wins above having no one on the mound (derived from a .500 pitcher being worth 0.5 wins per 9 IP). Applying a general 10 runs/win conversion gets you close to 0.5 runs, or five points per inning. You may be upset to see saves and holds included, but it was a necessary evil to make relievers worthwhile to pick up. These categories were used to simulate the reliever leverage component of WAR.

The teams will be 23-player teams with five bench slots and the following starting requirements:

C x2, 1B, 2B, 3B. OF x3, Utility, SP x2, RP x2, P x4

You are allowed one DL spot as well.

If you did not get a chance to be a part of the Fish Stripes Fantasy Baseball League, I will come out in a week or so and inform everyone if there any remaining slots. If there are, please follow the instructions above. And of course, if you want to get in on your own fantasy baseball league, Yahoo! is the right place to go for all of your fantasy baseball needs. Check out their benefits:

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