One of my longest-running baseball leagues is about to fall apart due to a controversy: Should we be playing Rotisserie (roto) or head-to-head (H2H) style?
It’s a seemingly benign, simple question. However, it runs deep into the personal lives and priorities of owners. The pros and cons:
* Roto is more fair. At the end of the year, the best team wins after a five-month grind. If we’re playing for big money, I believe the format should always be Roto.
* H2H is more fun. We get to talk smack to our opponent each week, we can squeeze out wins because our opponent’s team stinks, we can watch on Sunday as we need one hit to win a week.
* It’s too hard to come back in Roto. I’m not sure I agree with this, but it’s true that once you get to certain point in the season, it’s over. It’s just impossible to make up X number of points in a short period of time. In H2H, we can get hot, squeak into the playoffs and then win it all. More teams stay alive.
* Daily changes is too much work. This is where lifestyle comes in. Most people in the league are now married with kids and high-pressure jobs. Picking up Antonio Bastardo because Jonathan Papelbon got hurt isn’t on top of their priority list. By setting the rosters once a week, we eliminate the need to follow every pitch.
* But I want to follow every pitch! For some of us, the battle and fun is knowing every little thing about the fourth outfield for the Rockies. We want to watch the games and make pickups every day and bench a guy because he doesn’t hit lefties well in the daytime.
* Have you ever considered benching Justin Verlander? In head-to-head, you might have to if he only has one start and you have quality two-start options to replace him. To me, that’s a big negative.
The bottom line is it’s all about what you want. The trick is finding league members that want the same things you do. If you want to be hardcore and reward the best team at the end of the year, go Roto. If you want to have fun with it and be more casual, go H2H.
