Johnny Archive Presents Bruce Lee Fantasy Baseball

That’s right, Bruce Lee, the martial arts legend. His principles are key components to my very aggressive, full-court-press style of fantasy sports that I commonly refer to on my blog and podcast. A philosphy that is based on being dedicated, active, and unafraid of taking risks. Only serious fantasy owners who are willing and able to spend a fair amount of time on their teams can successfully implement this technique.

One of my favorite Lee quotes fits perfectly with how I approach fantasy sports, especially baseball. Read the quote and see if you get how it can apply to fantasy:

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

You can just imagine Lee with that grin as he adds the “my friend” part. Nothing like a man being so badass that he fears nobody and just exudes calm and confidence. Anyway, as a fantasy fundamental basis, being like water can be applied to so many aspects of fantasy it’s amazing.

Most fantasy owners probably instantly think of the draft and how important it is to have a draft strategy going in, but still be flexible enough to adjust as unexpected players present themselves in later rounds. And that’s true. But that’s just one example, albeit, an important one.

If you enter your draft with a strong bias toward hitters and in round 3, and then 4, Tim Lincecum is still available you would be wise to adjust your plan — and flow like water — into the pool of pitchers for an absolute steal. That doesn’t mean totally abandoning your focus of getting key position players as a priority. But as the stream adjusts to a rock in it’s path by temporarily diverting itself to go around the obstruction, you should merely divert yourself into the path of least resistance to acquire a quality fantasy roster.

Here are more Lee quotes and examples on how they apply to fantasy:

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

Do the research on your league rules. This applies to ALL the leagues you participate in; most of us are in several leagues with varying rules on scoring, rosters etc. If your league rules don’t cover something or you don’t understand a rule, ask the commish (privately, if you must) for clarification. Some leagues try to get so in-depth with their verbage they actually can make their rules more complicated than they need to be.

You can even ask questions during your draft, including the current/recently updated status of players. Yes, you’ll probably have to endure a few wise-crackers with “funny” retorts, but eventually the class guys or the wannabe Peter Gammons of your league will come clean on the real answer.

Nothing worse than drafting Mark Reynolds, Alfonso Soriano, Jack Cust and Frank Thomas (recently retired) only to find out THIS league also deducts points for strikeouts.

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”

This one is a little tricky. I do think it’s a good idea to gather information from several sources. But don’t draft the player at the top of the list of the predraft rankings, provided by the site of your draft software, during the draft and skip over the player you prefer simply because you are afraid of taking a player 18 spots down the list.

The essence of fantasy baseball is the thrill of actually having the control over a team assembled by YOUR preferences. So, don’t be a sheep and be herded into drafting a team based on rankings made by someone you don’t even know. The same thought applies to trading and acquiring free agents. If you wait until everyone thinks it’s a good idea to grab a player off of the waiver wire, odds are that player will be gone already when you go to claim him.

For example, early last year St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter was a free agent in most 14-team+ leagues as he was returning from injury. Those who took a flier on him (like me) early were rewarded. Those who waited until he proved he was indeed healthy again probably missed out.

“Notice that the stiffest tree is the most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

This one directly applies to the draft and reaffirms my earlier statements about draft preparation and execution. Assemble groups or tiers of players by what round you would prefer to draft them in. For example, make lists titled Early, Middle, and Late and place key players that you are targeting on each list to make it easy to reference them during the frantic atmosphere that is the draft.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

Pictured above is Lee taking on (and yes, defeating) Chuck Norris.

This applies when settings goals for your year-end numbers. More specifically, as the season progresses and you begin to see the direction your stats are heading, don’t prematurely abandon a category because you are not going to achieve your preseason goal. This happens a lot when it comes to Saves and Steals early in the season and Wins later in the year.

In leagues where there is no trading, like the NFBC, it can seem hopeless if you get off to a slow start or are hit with injuries. But remember, having a few wining bids on key free agents via FAAB bidding can remedy a poor start. Don’t punt any category too soon — punting is for football, after all.

Make sure you join me live at 6PM ET on Sunday February 21 for the latest 1-hour edition of The Johnny Archive Fantasy Baseball Show on the Fantasy Sports Channel.