Most of us have regular jobs and fantasy sports help us to find an escape from reality. Well, the reality for this crew was that they made their living from fantasy sports. Because they were all supposed to be experts, winning meant you were the king of experts. So, the competition got a little out-of-hand.
It was while playing in this league that I discovered the one thing that probably angers me more than anything else in fantasy sports. I absolutely HATE it when people veto trades just for the sake of vetoing a trade.
I'd be lying if I said I remembered any of the specific trades that got shot down — this was 1999. What I do remember is the little comment section in the veto trade screen. People would write their reasons for rejecting a deal, anonymously of course. My least favorite reason: "Team A got the better of that deal; I can’t let this go through." I'm boiling over with anger just from that memory.
Literally, these guys were rejecting more than 75 percent of all trades made because they never thought a trade was even. I have a newsflash for all of those guys — no trade is ever 100 percent even.
This is simple. You don't veto a trade because you think someone got the better end of a deal. You don't veto a trade because the guy right behind you in the standings just picked up a player that will elevate him in the stolen bases category.
The only time it is ever right to veto a deal is if there is blatant collusion. If you have to think about it for more than 15 seconds, it's probably not collusion. LaDainian Tomlinson for Kevan Barlow — collusion. Johan Santana for Joe Kennedy — collusion.
But if you veto Carlos Beltran for Roy Oswalt because you think pitching is a little more important in your league, you shouldn't have a vote. If you are in first place and your next closest competitor lands Mariano Rivera for Roy Halladay, don't object to the trade because the saves Rivera will get for your rival will help him catch you.
Even if you think that someone in your league made a terrible trade, don't reject it. Be upset only because you didn't think of making that trade first. Use common sense. It's not hard to figure out if someone in your league is cheating.
If trades are being unnecessarily vetoed in your league, elect a stand-up commissioner and let that person make the call. In the 13-year history of my fantasy football league, there hasn't been a single trade vetoed. We have a three-person commissioner board and I can't ever remember a single instance in which they even had to discuss the validity of a trade.
But obviously, it is an issue for many. Over the years, I've been on hundreds of message boards and have seen the same post over and over: Should this trade be vetoed? I want to call every one of you who have ever posted that in their lifetime and I want to talk some sense into you.
By the way, I won that sandbox baseball league that year.
