Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

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southpaw

Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

#1 Post by southpaw »

With the apparent fall of WCOFF/WCOFB, is there a current void in the high stakes arena as far as fantasy BASEBALL is concerned?
Football seems to be covered pretty well with FFPC and NFBC leading the way.
What are the prospects for high stakes baseball in 2012 and beyond?
Any thoughts?

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Todd Zola
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Re: Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

#2 Post by Todd Zola »

High stakes fantasy baseball will be fine with the NFBC leading the way. Not for nothing, but it did not take a PhD in common sense to figure out there was no way the WCOFB was going to be able to pay out at the advertised levels with their registration rate. I feel bad for a lot of really good people that are going to "lose" a lot of money, but to be 100% honest, there is a reason why I have remained loyal to the NFBC even though, "on paper", the return on investment appeared to be much better with the WCOFB. They had no issue accepting the investment part, I was skeptical they could come through with the return part - the numbers just did not add up, not even close.

The NFBC has the backing of a major player in the industry and owns its own commissioner service and on-line drafting software. They have partnered with Mock Draft Central, the standard bearer in the industry and will likely hammer out a similar deal with an auction site this spring. They know their limitations and will only bite off as much as they can handle, then prepare for growth the following season. So long as they stick to this business model, and I have full confidence they will, there will always be a place for the high stakes baseball player to call home.
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southpaw

Re: Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

#3 Post by southpaw »

Yes, I do agree that NFBC is now the big daddy out there for the high stakes players. But isn't competition a good thing? I know in most business climates, monopolies are great for the business, not so great for the consumer. Competition fosters better returns and/or perceived value for the customer.
Will there be no competition for NFBC?

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Todd Zola
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Re: Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

#4 Post by Todd Zola »

While the WCOFF was the granddaddy of them all, the WCOFB was not nearly as relevant.

That said, yes, competition is always better, but I don't see anyone stepping up and doing baseball to really challenge the NFBC. The "competition" will be from the daily games, which concerns me a little as that is closer to gambling which could cause an issue down the line.

As Perry has mentioned in a couple of his columns, the FFPC is riding the coattails of www.footballguys.com. With due respect to The Huddle and The Fantasy Guru, FBG is the crown jewel of football information. To be honest, the only way I see anyone challenging the NFBC is if Joe Bryant and David Dodds have an anvil fall on their head and decide to go into the baseball business and do a baseball version of the FFPC. And since anvils only fall on heads in cartoons, I don't see it happening.

Hopefully the challenge of fending off the daily games is enough to keep Greg and Tom on their game, so to speak.
Catchers are like prostate exams -- comes a time where you can't put if off any longer, so you may as well get it over with and take it up the butt - The Forum Funklord

I'd rather be wrong for the right reasons than right for the wrong reasons - The Forum Funklord

Always remember, never forget, never say always or never. - The Forum Funklord

You know you have to seek therapy when you see one of your pitchers had a bad night and it takes you 15 minutes to find the team you have him on. - The Forum Funklord

Captain Hook

Re: Future of high stakes fantasy baseball

#5 Post by Captain Hook »

I don't see either the need or the likelihood of another high stakes baseball competition.
This is not an industry where the competition is needed to make the product better - the players will continue to take care of that with their suggestions - and what they are willing to compete in.

On the football side, I think the NFFC and FFPC will continue to grow but both may initially lose some customers (especially those who came over just this year from WCOFF or didn't play anyplace) as the FFWC introduced recently by Emil Kadlec, one of the c0-founders of WCOFF will be the third place for people to compete in high stakes fantasy football.

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