Trading Fairly in Fantasy Baseball

Votto. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Currently, I’m in one of my favorite fantasy baseball leagues I’ve ever been a part of.

It isn’t because the league is perfect by any means. It’s a dynasty league and there is a lot of confusion about how prospects and keepers are handled. Plus, it has some unfortunate rule settings, such as the inclusion of both Wins and Quality Starts, which skews the value of starting pitchers in what isn’t a tremendously deep league. But it’s a new league and those little nits to be picked can be corrected over time.

It’s one of my all time favorite leagues because it’s fun. Guys joke on the message boards. Guys step up and take on tasks such as tracking keeper eligibility (thanks @AATH_Baseball). In short, it is a fun league because there is friendship and camaraderie involved.

You would think after I spent my entire lede hyping up this league that the league name would be Rainbows and Unicorns and it would be devoid of any drama. Not so, because there are a lot of trades in this league.

We all know that fantasy baseball trades equal drama. 

I’m not a fan of using the veto in fantasy baseball leagues (Dixon did a great job discussing the use of the veto in fantasy baseball leagues so I won’t spend much time here). Let grown men make their own decisions and all that. But as the league manager of many a league, I know that trades bring out cries of “UNFAIR!” more than anything else in fantasy baseball and there are often hurt feelings as a result of trades.

The cries of unfair almost always come from an owner who thinks that another owner gets a competitive advantage because one side of the trades feel like the “winner” of the trade. Usually, in an honest moment, the owner crying foul is just frustrated that they didn’t think of making the offer first, but that’s beside the point. If you are looking for some tips on trading and trading fairly, try this: How to FIsh for Trades Without Smelling Like Chum, Trading Etiquette Tips, The Art of a Midseason Trade, or When NOT to Trade.

The problem comes because it’s nearly impossible to examine all the factors that could be running through the minds of two fantasy baseball owners making a trade (but here is a great case study).

So instead of questioning if a trade is fair, ask instead if the owners acted fairly. 

While nearly impossible to play out all scenarios to determine if a trade is perfectly balanced on paper, it’s pretty easy with a quick peek to determine if the owners acted fairly. Was there intention to cheat? Was there any collusion involved?  The answer to those questions is almost always ‘No.’

Give owners the benefit of the doubt. They usually aren’t trying to cheat. It’s often that they just value players differently or use different tactics in negotiating trades. So let’s all just chill out.

Still, I worked up a Trading Bill of Rights for inclusion in a league constitution (Have a league constitution. Here’s an example for you.) I once wrote. I’ll include it here in case it’s of help to those looking to put some words to trading fairly and to outline what behavior is expected.

"Every team owner has the right to reject any offer, and in rejecting it they should expect to be free of aggressive tactics and forced coercion. In other words, boys, NO means NO.Every team owner has the right to receive a timely response to trade requests, meaning that as team owners we do the other owner a solid and give a quick reply, even if it’s a rejection. Often future trades are predicated on your response so don’t let it just lie there and expire. Be engaged.Every team owner has the right to receive and not just give value in a trade, meaning that each owner also has the responsibility to offer value if they are to receive value in a trade. In other words, we aren’t to try and rip others off and get something for nothing, because that’s just not how good people do things.Every team owner has the right to be represented fairly by the League Manager. No playing favorites.Every team owner has the right to see all trades as they exist (ie – the league is free of trades involving real cash, players to be named later, side agreements or “future considerations”, and all that silliness). What you see is what you get.Every team owner has the right to expect that other owners aren’t ganging up or colluding in any way. Don’t trade away your soul, boys."