So much of fantasy baseball is like the real world that it is scary.  Sure, it’s a fantasy, a game “played in our head,” as Lawr Michaels likes to say.  But, if you think about it, managing a fantasy baseball team is a lot like managing almost anything else.  Certainly, you don’t have to deal with personalities, but there are strong correlations to the real world.

 

The following is an excerpt from a fantastic book on political campaigning. The book is entitled, Sidewalk Strategies  Seven Winning Steps for Candidates, Causes and Communities.  It is written by Larry Tramutola, a 35+ year veteran of political and community organizing.  Mr. Tramultola, a Stanford graduate spent years working with Cesar Chavez.  While I doubt that Mr. Tramultola plays fantasy sports, his words are equally appropriate for political campaigns and fantasy sports campaigns.  Here is what Mr. Tramutola advises on page 206-207:

 

“There is only one thing worse than losing — not learning from your loss.  Losing is part of politics (fantasy baseball league).  Someone wins — someone loses.  No one wants to lose when they enter a political campaign (fantasy baseball league).  Unfortunately, someone has to.  In fact, in most elections (leagues) where there are multiple candidates for an office, all but one of the candidates lose.  In a city counsel race in Southern California there was a race with nine candidates, only one won.  The other eight lost.  All thought they had a good chance of winning.”

 

“Taking the time after a loss to figure out what happened and what could have been done better is time well spent. Those who take the time to learn from their losses gain valuable insight and knowledge.  Ronald Reagan lost the Republican nomination for President before he was eventually successful.  Bill Clinton lost a race for governor.  George W. Bush was unsuccessful in his attempt to run for congress.  Each learned valuable lessons that they were later able to apply to their successful efforts.”

 

. . .

 

“Rarely does anyone want to talk about losses.  Losses are to be avoided, hidden, not talked about.  Failures are ‘un-American,’ a blemish on the otherwise stellar reputation of the consultant or the candidate (or fantasy baseball manager).  No one wants to think about rejection, or even worse, go through the painful process of finding out why voters rejected him (why the fantasy baseball team lost).  But if you want to improve your chances for success in a future campaign (season), you must analyze your loss.”

 

I’m not sure what more can be added.  If your team is winning your league, well then congratulations.  Figure out what you did right, and do it again and again.  If you are like the vast majority (in a 12 team league, 11 teams are not going to win), then follow Mr. Tramutola’s advise and perform a post mortem on your team.  Sure, it’s easy to blame injuries, but was that the real reason why you lost?  Did the first place team have a thoroughly injury-free season?

 

There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you made a mistake in your strategy.  In fact, that is the first step to winning next season. 

 

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of Mr. Tramutola’s fine book, you can visit www.tramutola.com.  (No, I do not know Mr. Tramutola, nor do I have any financial interest in Mr. Tramutola’s company.

 

Best of luck.

 

Buster