With both the NBA and NFL collective bargaining agreements set to expire next year, two sports law review articles recently made the SSRN Top 10 List in the area of collective bargaining:
As the 2010 fantasy football season approaches, I thought it would be fun to compose a timeline of articles about SportsJudge.com and the fantasy football dispute resolution industry.
February 19, 2009: Ron Kaplan of the New Jersey Jewish News gives SportsJudge.com an unequivocal compliment--touting SportsJudge as "the Solomon of Fantasy Sports."
August 1, 2010: Eriq Gardner highlights the role of SportsJudge.com with the growing fantasy sports industry in his ABA Journal article "The Umpire." Gardner estimates the number of fantasy sports contestants in North America at 30 million.
August 25, 2010: SportsJudge.com is featured as a thriving idea/business during a three-minute segment on CNBC's Squawkbox (video link available here).
Tomorrow (Wed. 8/25), CNBC's Darren Rovell will interview me about SportsJudge.com and the growing market for fantasy sports dispute resolution services.
The interview will appear first on Squawk Box at 7:50 A.M. EDT and then again on CNBC's afternoon programming at 1:40 P.M. EDT.
Also, Jesse Spector -- a long-time baseball reporter with the New York Daily News, who competed in the 2009 SportsJudge.com Fantasy Baseball Classic -- has been promoted to the Daily News's new New York Rangers beat reporter. We will be reading Jesse's work from the blue seats.
Finally, over at SportsJudge Blog, our hockey coverage will be led this year by Darren Coslov, who is entering his third season with the blog. While Darren will have some big shoes to fill, he has already written several outstanding hockey features, including this brilliant piece on the Edmonton Oilers. We look forward to Darren's emergence as the face of SportsJudge Hockey.
On January 1, 2010, SportsJudge.com announced that it would begin providing free fantasy dispute resolution services to any fantasy sports league that donated 15% or more of its league entry fee to a SportsJudge.com approved charity.
In this spirit, SportsJudge has agreed to serve as the pro bono arbitrator to the Fantasy College Football Invitational--a fantasy college football league comprised of twenty industry writers, editors and analysts.
A link to the league's inaugural draft results is available here:
Since the American Bar Association published its article last month on fantasy sports dispute resolution, I have received a number of press inquiries asking where SportsJudge.com customers live.
Here are some answers, based on our past 500 web hits. From these results, it seems New York, NY is the nation's capitol of fantasy sports dispute resolution.
Top 10 Most Popular States for SportsJudge.com Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution
1. New York (13.8 %) 2. California (9.4%) 3. Florida (6.8%) 4. Pennsylvania (6.4%) 5. Illinois (5.8%) 6. Massachusetts (4.8%) 7. New Jersey (4.4%) 8. Minnesota (3.8%) 9. Texas (3.4%) 10. Connecticut (2.8%)
Top 10 Most Popular Cities for SportsJudge.com Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution
1. New York, NY (9.2%) 2. Chicago, IL (3.6%) 3. Houston, TX (2.8%) 4. West Palm Beach, FL (2.8%) 5. Southfield, MI (1.8%) 6. Richmond, VA (1.8%) 7. Minneapolis, MN (1.8%) 8. Washington, DC (1.6%) 9. Philadelphia, PA (1.6%) 10. Brooklyn, NY (1.6%)
Eriq Gardner had a great article in August's American Bar Association Journal about SportsJudge.com and the history of fantasy dispute resolution. The article begins:
For the love of the game or the pursuit of some prize money, about 30 million people actively play in fantasy sports leagues across the United States and Canada. Competitors build rosters of professional sports athletes and set lineups in pursuit of statistical achievement. Nothing rankles fantasy enthusiasts more than perceived unfairness, such as a lopsided player trade between two competitors that tips a league’s balance.
Commissioner of the Campions Cup League brings this claim in the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes to resolve a fantasy baseball dispute involving the status of a proposed trade of Phire players Jason Bay (OF, New York Mets) and Chris C. Carter (LF, New York Mets) to Kenny Powers for Matt Capps (P, Washington Nationals) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (IF/OF San Diego Padres).
This trade was time stamped on 7/27 at 2:47 P.M. – before JasonBay was placed on the disabled list and before Matt Capps was traded to the Minnesota Twins.The trade was viewed with these concepts in mind.
The Campion Cup League Constitution, at issue in this case, has perhaps the strictest trade restrictions that this Court has ever seen.According to the Constitution, “Only the current season’s value (and past season values) of the players may be considered in the equality of any trade.The future freeze value or contract value cannot be considered as an element in the fairness of a trade.”
The Constitution also has the following restriction, “Only trades that are clearly equitable will be permitted.Trades that leave an impression of even marginally pushing the envelope shall be rejected.”As such, the ruling of Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers will not be used to decide this trade, and instead the trade will only be accepted if both sides of the trade are equal in value without taking into account future projections.(See SportsJudge.com Blog Opinion No. 8160-T, Commissioner of Campions Cup League v. Phire & Shazam).
The Proposed Trade
The proposed trade is a 2-for-2 trade:
PHIRE proposes to send to Kenny Powers (2010 statistics in parentheses):
·Jerry Hairston Jr. (.251 Avg., 41 Runs, 7 Home Runs, 42 RBI, 8 SB)
The Analysis
As previously stated, pursuant to the Campions Cup League Constitution, this trade will only be accepted if both sides of the trade are equal in value without taking into account future projections as per the league constitution.(See SportsJudge.com Blog Opinion No. 8160-T, Commissioner of Campions Cup League v. Phire & Shazam).Under this strict standard, this court has not upheld a single trade in the Campions Cup since June 2007, when the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball upheld the blockbuster trade of Carlos Beltran for John Smoltz.
This trade nevertheless meets this high threshold for approval.According to most forms of statistical analysis, the main players in the trade (JasonBay and Matt Capps) provide nearly identical value, albeit at different positions and with JasonBay having a greater upside.
Yahoo 2010 Rank
(Actual)
Yahoo 2009 Rank (Actual)
JasonBay
236
26
Matt Capps
116
389
In addition, despite the strong 2010 statistical results of Jerry Hairston Jr. (statistics that thus far almost match Bay’s abysmal performance), these numbers seem to be somewhat of a positive aberration in light of Hairston’s overall career numbers.While this court thinks that Hairston is a clear upgrade for Phire over Chris Carter (especially given Hairston’s speed and positional flexibility) we do not believe the upgrade is enough to make the trade inequitable, especially given that the Padres, at the time, were widely rumored to be close to trading for numerous offensive players that would relegate Hairston Jr. back to the lesser reserve role that he was originally signed to play (court’s note: The Padres have since traded for SS/3B Miguel Tejada and OF Ryan Ludwick), and the primary Campions Cup objectors to this trade had actually been contending that Kenny Powers was getting the better end of the trade by acquiring Bay and Carter (court’s note: Even with the Capps trade risks, we were quite surprised by this argument).
Further, beyond the equitable nature of the actual players traded, there is also great reasonableness in the fantasy trading partners.Kenny Powers and Phire have very little incentive to conspire against the league in making this deal.Kenny Powers and Phire are in second and fourth place respectively – 1.5 points apart from each other in the standings.Phire is in a dead heat with the current third-place team, Highlanders, for saves.The addition of Capps could provide a critical two-point swing in the standings. Meanwhile, Kenny Power is currently tied with the first-place team in runs and is only five RBI ahead of the third-place team (Highlanders).While trading Capps may cost Kenny Powers one point in saves, gaining Bay will likely help Kenny Powers to gain/protect points in these two important offensive categories.
Indeed, this court notes that there is some substantial risk with both players given Bay’s recent head injury and the likeliness, at the time, that Capps would be traded to a team where he would no longer be a closer.
However, even despite all the uncertainty, the court still finds this trade equitable in light of the players traded and the parties involved.
Holding
Based on the foregoing, the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball upholds the trade of Phire players Jason Bay (OF, New York Mets) and Chris C. Carter (LF, New York Mets) to Kenny Powers for Matt Capps (P, Washington Nationals) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (IF/OF San Diego Padres).
The Commissioner of the EP Rules Fantasy Baseball League brings this claim in the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes to determine the status of a fantasy baseball dispute involving the proposed trade of Ace & Gary players Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit Tigers), Torii Hunter (OF, Los Angeles Angels), Ricky Romero (P, Toronto Blue Jays), and J.J. Putz (P, Chicago White Sox) to the HappyScrappy HeroPup for Ryan Zimmerman (3B, Washington Nationals), Ichiro Suzuki (OF, Seattle Mariners), Jered Weaver (P, Los Angeles Angels) and Roy Oswalt (P, Philadelphia Phillies).
The SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes accepts the proposed trade.
The Law on Upholding a Trade
In this court, it is the general rule that any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams.(SeePublic Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers).A trade reasonably benefits both teams if it allows both teams a reasonable chance of moving up in the standings.(See Unpublished Opinion No. 468-T, Commissioner Gary B. v. Ever-Lastings and 2 Legit 2 Quit).However, where a league constitution provides alternative criteria for reviewing a trade, the alternative criteria may supersede the general rule.(SeePublic Opinion No. 409-T, Commissioner P.K. v. Cartman).As the League Constitution at issue has no restrictions on trade reviews, the holding of Big Red Rockers will be used and this trade will be accepted if it adequately benefits both teams.
If the league is a keeper league, as is the case here, this Court will also consider a team’s likely performance in future years, especially with respect to the team currently ranked lower in the standings (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3704-T, Commissioner Paul Schultz v. Snakes & Blutos).This Court recognizes that team owners may have different strategies in terms of short-term and long-term goals; and that while one team may try to maximize its chances of winning prize money this year, another team may play for the future (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3731-T, Commissioner v. Muleskinners & Southsiders).
The Proposed Trade
The proposed trade is a 4-for-4 trade:
Ace & Gary proposes to send to HappyScrappy HeroPup (2010 statistics in parentheses):
In short, this trade helps both teams.The trade moves one of baseball’s best keepers (Miguel Cabrera) from a team in prize money contention to a team outside of contention.It also moves substantial 2010 talent to the team in prize money contention.
Beginning with the deal’s primary pitchers, there is no question that Jered Weaver is a better pitcher than Ricky Romero.Currently, Jered Weaver ranks 1st in the AL in Strikeouts, 4th in the AL in WHIP and 11th in the AL in ERA.By comparison, Ricky Romero is tied for 8th in the AL in Strikeouts, 31st in the AL in WHIP, and 18th in the AL in ERA. Jered Weaver’s statistics makes him a potential “third keeper” for some EP Rules clubs, but not a dominant keeper.By contrast, Ricky Romero, while solid, is certainly not keeper caliber.
Moving to the trade’s secondary pitchers, Roy Oswalt ranks 13th in the NL in Strikeouts, 8th in the NL in WHIP, and 24th in the NL in ERA.In other words, he is solid but not spectacular.Meanwhile, J.J. Putz puts up the stats of one of baseball’s better middle relievers and an asset in the E.R.A. and WHIP categories.However, as a middle reliever, Putz only contributes to two categories, while Oswalt is an asset in four.Neither player is a likely keeper for 2011.
Shifting now to the offensive side of the trade, Miguel Cabrera is the deal’s shining gem. Cabrera currently in contention for the American League Triple Crown, and will likely be a major contributor in four offensive categories for years to come.Not only is he an almost certain keeper, but he is one of the EP Rules league’s top keepers.By signing Cabrera, HappyScrappy Hero Pup gets a superstar to build around for many years to follow.
By contrast, Torii Hunter, Ichiro, and Ryan Zimmerman are also very solid hitters, however, none are premier keeper options.While Zimmerman may have some keeper value due to his position (third base) and young age, his statistics still do not place him in the same category as Cabrera.
Holding
Based on the foregoing, this court accepts the proposed trade from Ace & Gary of players Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit Tigers), Torii Hunter (OF, Los Angeles Angels), Ricky Romero (P, Toronto Blue Jays), and J.J. Putz (P, Chicago White Sox) to the HappyScrappy HeroPup for players Ryan Zimmerman (3B, Washington Nationals), Ichiro Suzuki (OF, Seattle Mariners), Jered Weaver (P, Los Angeles Angels) and Roy Oswalt (P, Philadelphia Phillies)
Disclaimer: Information contained on this site is for informational or recreational purposes only. Nothing written is intended to serve as legal advice or legal counsel.
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With both the NBA and NFL collective bargaining agreements set to expire next year, two sports law review articles recently made the SSRN Top 10 List in the area of collective bargaining:
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