Does Fantasy Baseball Detract from the Real Thing?

I'll admit it: I'm playing too much fantasy baseball this year. Last year, I only played in two leagues, and won them both thanks to strong runs in the playoffs from players who got hot at the right time (a.k.a. I got a bit lucky). So of course, I took that success to mean I knew what I was doing, and promptly joined 5 leagues this year.

I kind of regret it.

See, last season, if it didn't effect the Braves (good stuff) or the Yankees (bad stuff), then I didn't care unless I had a fantasy player involved. With only two teams, and similarities between the two rosters, rarely did I have to root for two players going against one another, especially pitchers vs. hitters.

This kept me very tuned in the goings-on of baseball. Toronto's got some good young talent? Well let me pick up Dustin McGowan. Oh, Adam Dunn had a slow first half, but Haren was maybe a bit too good? Let me see if I can negotiate a trade.

Each enhanced the other. Fantasy baseball kept me more in-tune with all the teams playing on a daily basis, instead of just the Braves. And baseball games occasionally had me checking my rosters, seeing how I was doing.

With 5 teams, I have nobody specific to cheer on (save the Braves, of course). I'm just trying to make each team as competitive as possible, and that's a different challenge to go from managing a team in an 8-team league to one in a 20-team brawl in consecutive minutes. But with so many players to look at, there's no point anymore.

This is where the my parents come into my head, saying "Too much of a good thing IS too much of a good thing." I think for the fantasy enthusiast, playing fantasy baseball in concentrated doses really helps baseball become more applicable to themselves, thus making watching a game more interactive. But going overboard, like I did this year, can have the opposite effect. After checking all of my teams, I have little interest in watching a game, only slightly more if it's my team playing, because I'm already "baseballed out." I've seen probably 6 innings total, and while part of that is my college schedule, the other is avoiding what I've already looked at.

You may feel differently about fantasy's effects, but I honestly think fantasy baseball helped grow my interest in MLB as a whole, and has helped shape me into a more knowledgeable baseball fan. Just remember one thing: Reality before fantasy. If my Braves are batting against a pitcher I have? Go Braves! (Just win 1-0!)