by Sam Brean

Created on: February 27, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Winning any fantasy baseball league championship is a challenging exercise. Winning a particular league championship is dependent on many variables: scoring rules and categories, style of play (rotisserie or hed-to-head, number of teans in a league, knowledge level of league members, type of draft and your own resourcefullness - all play roles in determining a strategy for winning. Creation of a specific strategy must be specific to your league.

There are basic concepts of playing fantasy baseball that can be applied to all leagues and may be benefical to all levels of players. Anyone who develops the ability to use these concepts will become a competitive fantasy player, and have a chance to win a championship.

KNOWLEDGE OF MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS

There are seven-hundred-fifty players on Major League rosters at any point in time, and many more who come and go throughout the season. Learn as much as you can about every player; individual skills, historical playing records, role on the team, positions played and injury status are important factors. It is often the depth of player knowledge that separates one fantasy player from another. Knowledge wins!

Everyone interested in fantasy baseball knows Albert Pujols and Carl Crawford are great fantasy producers; not everyone knows Jason Kubel of the Minnesota Twins and Kelly Johnson of the Atlanta Braves will be playing significant roles on their teams this year, and could be as key to you winning your league as Pujols or Crawford.

The Internet is replete with fantasy baseball information sources; many of them cost money and generate similar conclusions. If you have one or two reliable sources, you can gather plenty of information, and come to your own conclusions about players.

A good place to begin is www.cbssportline.com, and it's FREE! They provide an excellent encapsulation of each player's performance and a fantasy analysis that includes their opinion of the player's fantasy impact. As a beginning source of learning about all the players, this is one of the best, and it's updated regularly throughout the season.

Two of the best sources for drafting players are www.baseballhq.com and www.baseballprospectus.com. Both companies publish draft annuals, in addition to season long on-line services. If you are going to spend money on your fantasy baseball team, you want the expense to provide benefits, and these two sources may be your best bet.

UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPETITION

Know the people you are competing against, when possible,

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