Book Review: Fantasy Baseball Strategy:
Advanced Methods for Winning Your League
by Jonathan Leshanski
February 20, 2004
Fantasy Baseball Strategy: Advanced Methods
for Winning Your League
by Henry Lee
Squeaky Press
p.242
In the beginning when I picked up Fantasy Baseball Strategy I wasn’t
quite sure what to expect - after all I had never heard of Henry Lee and
had no idea what type of information that he would be able to contribute
about fantasy baseball. In truth I didn’t expect to learn much more
than I had in countless seasons of playing fantasy baseball and talking
and debating with many other skilled players.
With that in mind I have to admit that I was slightly blindsided by Mr.
Lee’s overall approach. The book details not only fantasy baseball
strategy but it also offers a system in which a player can use in creating
a draft plan AND a regular season strategy of their own. The basics of
the system are not complicated, but the details certainly are and in order
to get it all down the player would likely require an analytical brain,
time and a lot of hard work.
What this means of course is that the approach will not be for everyone,
but for those that take fantasy baseball as seriously as they do breathing
this book can open your eyes to some things that you likely overlooked.
One of the most wonderful things about Mr. Lee’s system is that it
doesn’t matter what kind of a draft you play with or what categories
your league uses - the system can be applied to every specific circumstance
because you are forced to customize it.
The book consists of 11 chapters, which include: Characteristics of Champions,
Fundamental Theorem of Fantasy Sports, Competitive Strategy, Valuation,
Special Considerations, Management Style, The Draft, Free Agents, Trading,
Keeper Leagues, and Putting it All Together.
The chapter titles give you an excellent overview of what is contained
within. Of particular interest were the chapters on the Fundamental Theorem
of Fantasy Sports, Competitive Strategy, Valuation and the Draft. Each
of these chapters contains some gems that will benefit both the novice
and experienced player. A handful of these tidbits are obvious although
they are things that most of us never put into words, while others are
much more subtle.
I’m not going to have the time to put a lot of Mr. Lee’s ideas
into practice this season, but even without that time I feel that I benefited
from the book. I think most fantasy players will feel the same way. You
might not have the time or impetus to use the tools provided to create
your own custom fantasy guide (which this guide prepares you to do), but
there is so much more in this book that you’ll find yourself better
prepared for your next league.
I don’t know how well this system will work, but without having tried
it I am very impressed with its fundamentals. I suspect it will make anyone
that reads it a much better fantasy competitor.
I won’t say the book doesn’t have some flaws, but they are minor
and no doubt future revisions of this book will get better and close some
of the cracks. As for now, rate this a top fantasy strategy guide and
give it 3 of 4 balls for all serious fantasy players.
Buy From Amazon!
Our Rating System is based on a four ball system
as follows:
One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special.
Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above
average, and worth reading/owning.
Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended.
Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out
together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk -
straight to the local book store to get a copy.
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