I know it's a little early to be talking about this, but I just want to throw it out there now so that people can have it in the back of their minds.
I was thinking recently that I'd like to start a fantasy league that I could consider my "main" league, that could potentially run for many years. Here's what I've come up with, and what I'd like to do if I can gather enough people:
- I would like to rent out a conference room at a hotel somewhere in Cincinnati, and make the day of the draft an all day affair. Plan for at least 5-6 hours and go at it. The benefits of a conference room would be wireless access and room to spread out, plus I think it'd just be fun.
- Draft would be auction style. I think that fantasy baseball requires much more strategic thinking with an auction draft as opposed to serpentine drafts. If you're confused by what an auction draft is, then read this. I might tweak the rules (or not), but that's it in a nutshell.
- Price of the league would be somewhat steep. I'm thinking somewhere in the $150-$200 range. This isn't just to build a huge pot for the prize winners, it's also to ensure that people will treat this as their main league (or one of their main leagues) and it'll also ensure that people will pay attention throughout the season. I've also got other ideas on how to keep people interested through September (keeper league, running three or four year point championships, etc.) but those are some of the small details that can be worked out later.
- I'd host and operate a website for the league. There'd be a message board that would hopefully become active, and there'd be a newsletter posted every week with league news and roundups, either written entirely by me or with member submissions.
Obviously this isn't something that needs firm commitments right now, since if this happens I imagine the draft wouldn't take place until February or March. But I want to get people's opinions on the idea.
I've also been thinking of putting together an Out of the Park league for Red Reporter, so if you have thoughts on that feel free to chime in there as well.
Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you're definitely interested at this early date then shoot me an email.