It would be cool if Head-to-Head Points leagues had the option of scoring each matchup more like an actual “real-life” baseball score.
To do this, each game would be decided as each team’s Hitting score MINUS their opponent’s Pitching score. The key, though, is to cap any negative score at "0"- by doing this, the issue of a H2H points format which is largely dominated by Pitching (from IP points) is solved naturally through the gameplay as the competitive incentive would shift from accumulating P’s to one of setting a stronger lineup throughout the weekly matchup.
Negative points totals would still be tracked throughout the week (so if a team scores -10 on Monday and -30 on Tuesday, they’d still need to score over 40 to have a positive total). However any team that ended the week with negative points would simply have “0” as their score. This means it would be possible for a matchup to end in a “0-0 Tie” if both teams have negative points. This is where the Hitting/Pitching balance in roster building/management would come into play, as there would be a real limit on Pitching output and real advantage to having a better matchup-based offensive lineup.
This idea would also be “realistic” in that it would better represent each team’s “Runs Created differential”. As the FG Points formula is built from the “wRC” stat (multiplied by 10), the score would look more like it would if the two teams actually played a game of baseball against each other.
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EXAMPLE:
Here are some scores in a Yahoo league I run with the same FG Points Hitting formula and a (slightly) tweaked Pitching formula:
TEAM A: 869.30 (Hitting: 431.30; Pitching: 438.00)
TEAM B: 638.77 (Hitting: 347.10; Pitching: 291.67)
TEAM C: 826.67 (Hitting: 474.00; Pitching: 352.67)
TEAM D: 813.01 (Hitting: 332.00; Pitching: 481.01)
In the league, Team A played Team B in a blowout while Team C had a narrow victory over Team D. Team’s A, C, & D all scored similarly in that they eclipsed 800 points on the week, but each did it differently (A was more balanced between Hitters/Pitchers; C had the biggest offensive output but was lacking some in Pitching; and D looked to dominate with Pitching at the expense of Hitting).
REVISED SCORING MATCHUPS
Below are what each team’s score would’ve been in different H2H matchups using this revised method. I’m also showing each score with the decimal shifted back to its original “wRC” placement to help emphasize the realistic look of an actual baseball score.
Match 1 - Team A vs Team B = 139.63 to -90.9 (or 13.96 - 0)
Match 2 - Team A vs Team C = 78.63 to 36.0 (or 7.86 - 3.60)
Match 3 - Team A vs Team D = -49.71 to -106 (or 0 - 0 Tie)
Match 4 - Team B vs Team C = -5.57 to 182.33 (or 0 - 18.23)
Match 5 - Team B vs Team D = -133.92 to 40.33 (or 0 - 4.03)
Match 6 - Team C vs Team D = -7.01 to -20.67 (or 0 - 0 Tie)
ANALYSIS
- “Team D” is no longer able to dominate with pitching; D’s games vs A & C ended in Ties even though D’s pitching eclipsed both opponents because both opponents’ pitching could match up to D’s hitting. Team D did put up 4+ Runs vs Team B as their offense was just good enough to beat B’s pitching.
- “Team C”, having the best offensive lineup, was the only team not to be shut-out by A (even though Team D also scored over 800 total points).
- “Match 3” and “Match 6” could’ve avoided a “0-0 Tie” had one team used one or two roster spots for Hitters instead of Pitchers.
- While “Team C” lost their match with “Team A”, they also dominated “Team B” more than A did due to the specific Hitting/Pitching matchups.
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"THERE ARE NO TIES IN BASEBALL!"
Good point. There are also no extra-inning games in Fantasy. The problem with H2H points leagues is in quantifying- through a positive accumulation of points- a part of the game that is negative in nature (Pitching). Two real-life teams with shut-down Pitching performances are almost certainly going to have their game decided by one play (one hit, one sacrifice fly, one defensive miscue- whatever), and the game would likely need to go into extra’s before it could be decided. But with “Ties” as a possibility here, the strategy in Fantasy would no longer be in dominating opponents with Pitching and instead figuring out how to get that one little “knock” (or offensive performance) to win it.
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SP/RP SCORING BALANCE
I still argue that H2H scoring is imbalanced with regards to ‘real-life’ because RP output is underrepresented relative to SP’s & Hitters. I’ve addressed this issue in my own (non-ottoneu) leagues by increasing the more volatile role of RP’s (so RP points tiers are more in-line with those of SP’s and Hitter’s), however this idea above would address the issue from the angle of increasing the offensive strategy within each fantasy matchup.
As such, I think having this option to score H2H points leagues would greatly enhance the competitive experience and gameplay of the H2H format, and would further distinguish ottoneu as the most unique fantasy platform on the market.