OFFICIAL NFBC STATEMENT ABOUT START OF SEASON

[Gildz Nation]

Edit- So nothing official until later in week regarding already drafted leagues. Gotcha

I'm not sure I said later in the week, but since tomorrow is Wednesday that could be later in the week. We need all the facts and it's amazing that the players and owners couldn't even meet today's 5 pm deadline to agree to the safety protocals. We're waiting for the players' response so that we know if it's 60 games or not, if it's July 24th or not, or anything else. Why should we announce our plans when all of this could still blow up?

I don't trust these two sides to agree on anything and everything Jon Heyman writes comes right from the owners. Please, just finalize what the plan is and we'll announce our plan. Is it 60 games with Opening Day on July 24th? If so, then we can make our final plans.

Yea I was asking whether or not you’re moving fwd with the leagues drafted. Sounds like you are. Think that’s what the majority of owners are waiting on. I know you can’t announce how long a season it will be and all that jazz until it’s official but sure sounds like you guys are planning to run these out. Don’t think anyone sees much difference between 50-60 games anyways.

Well, I’ve been consistent with my stance. I don’t believe these should stand for a # of reasons already stated 100 times over in other threads. But what can ya do. Time to roll some dice I suppose...

[Greg Ambrosius]

I don’t think I said that either. But it’s okay. I think we can announce tomorrow all of our plans now that we have a commitment on a final schedule.

I don’t envy any of us for the situation MLB put us in. I don’t envy the players in our contest. I don’t envy us, the game operators. I don’t envy MLB fans. And I despise the owners for this situation.

Look at how NASCAR is benefitting from the exposure and even making stands on racism. Look at the PGA and the exposure their events are getting. Baseball could have owned the sports landscape with a partnership that safely brought baseball back on the Fourth of July. Instead we got piss and vinegar. And by the emails I’m getting there are some die-hard fans leaving the sport for this season and maybe longer.

We will announce a fair resolution tomorrow and go forward (after a couple more zoom meetings in the morning so that we know the process of crediting accounts correctly). We will stand by it and hope new leagues form for 21 straight days. We will reprice the Main Event and an Online contest and hopefully fill enough leagues to live into 2021.

Nobody needs to speculate on my thoughts here. I will make the official announcement and stick by it. We will go forward tomorrow the best we can as a partnership in the industry’s top high-stakes fantasy baseball contest. That is all.

[Deadheadz]

Hopefully everything will work out for the best but after listening all day to MLBNetworkRadio it really sounds like there’s the feeling from several commentators that a significant number of players will want to opt out of the 2020 season.

Mike Trout tops the list because he’s likely to take an extended paternity leave but also any player who has entered the final season of a contract because they don’t want to risk injury before free agency.

Will the decisions made before your announcement tomorrow take into account what will happen to the previously drafted leagues if/when a certain number of 100% owned players fail to report?

[Thurman15]

I can guarantee I'm good with any decision made. I support the NFBC. Period. Greg, Tom, Darik can't possibly do what " the guys want" because for every poster saying "obviously" this should be taken into consideration, there is an opposite poster saying "that is foolish". Come on guys, try to be positive. We are all in this together. There are a thousand situations that might arise. One of them is that we all enjoy the chance to get back in NFBC baseball pools while understanding things will be different. Play Ball !!

[Frozen Tundra]

Yes, baseball could have owned July and possibly grown the game with positive results for both players and owners for years to come. But instead, we get this.

And yes, I want to move forward with the teams I've drafted.

[jvetter]

I would very much like to play out the draft champion leagues that were already drafted regardless of who shows up for spring training or how many games are played.

[sfeschuk]

I can guarantee I'm good with any decision made. I support the NFBC. Period. Greg, Tom, Darik can't possibly do what " the guys want" because for every poster saying "obviously" this should be taken into consideration, there is an opposite poster saying "that is foolish". Come on guys, try to be positive. We are all in this together. There are a thousand situations that might arise. One of them is that we all enjoy the chance to get back in NFBC baseball pools while understanding things will be different. Play Ball !!

I second this. There is, quite literally, no pleasing everyone. So let's not only accept but also embrace whatever the NFBC decides. This is super tough for them from both a financial and a customer relations angle.

[COZ]

Sorry, but I don't see this as a really tough decision if the customers & not the amount of potential lost revenue & expenses incurred is the overriding factor in the decision-making. NOBODY signed up and put their money down to play a 60 game schedule at the time we drafted, period. Put everyone back to the point prior to this mess, i.e. declare it a no contest & refund everyone's money & redraft all contests with knowledge of a 60 game schedule moving forward. Now, I hope this doesn't affect the NFBC moving forward, but their business model has always been dependent upon & at the mercy of the sports themselves not unlike every other business built around a sport. Every business in the world has been impacted & not sure if they would qualify but there were significant government programs to provide money to small businesses for payroll and expenses during the "pandemic," as well to ensure future viability of the business, but my viewpoint is as a customer, not the business owner, as it should be. At this point I am somewhat ambivalent about playing this year myself but I will accept whatever decision they make regarding already drafted contests & not scream & yell about it because I do see the other side of the argument as well.

[justiceberry]

i would like to play out the shitty teams i drafted. i have 3 OCs and trout on 1, so i figure it benefits the other 2 if he sits. Bottomline, we all kissed the money goodbye back in March, knowing this is a game of chance (and skill, but some leagues are stacked, you finish 3rd or 4th its not a bad accomplishment and you lose $, you know what I mean). Now i think there is a minority vocally expressing their disagreement we play the season out because of their rights and how its not fair, but.... if we get through another hot Covid month and 95%+ of the players show up, the 60 games will make people forget about the past few weeks of drama, and not only will be a blast, but If Refunds are issued, we will all be watching games and thinking about which of our March teams would be killing it right now. If Covid shuts things down 3 weeks in, at least we tried. And hopefully it means something to you to in a small way help secure the future of NFBC and Tom, Greg and Darik's involvement in serving our leagues and drafts and emails and helping us pursue dreams of winning Main Event Overall Championships etc alive. Where else you gonna play hi stakes Ball?

EDIT - just saw Gregs statement on season and I support it, count me in for the new contests

[Sack]

Greg, Tom, Darik:

Thank You for all of your hard work. Honestly, I wanted nothing to do with MLB for the rest of the season for the complete and utter
lack of anything positive towards the fans. But, I'm in 100% agreement on how well you have handled these trying times from start to finish. Willing to
honor whatever plans you have put in place. The NFBC isn't MLB, isn't the NFL. We simply use THEM as a format for our pleasure and at our discretion. We ( NFBC/NFFC ) have over time formed our own family of friends within this circle. I simply wanted US to continue forward and keep enjoying these sports in our own personal battles.

I'll watch MLB this season, simply as to remain part of the NFBC family. I look forward to applying my Credits/Balance towards our fall ventures
in the NFFC. Till we meet again in Vegas, or New York, or Chicago ...... stay safe my friends. Thank You once again for running the "Real Show".

I even have a League to beat up poor Ole Mike the Mouth Massotto! Kenny Maggs

[Southern Comfort]

Sorry, but I don't see this as a really tough decision if the customers & not the amount of potential lost revenue & expenses incurred is the overriding factor in the decision-making. NOBODY signed up and put their money down to play a 60 game schedule at the time we drafted, period. Put everyone back to the point prior to this mess, i.e. declare it a no contest & refund everyone's money & redraft all contests with knowledge of a 60 game schedule moving forward. Now, I hope this doesn't affect the NFBC moving forward, but their business model has always been dependent upon & at the mercy of the sports themselves not unlike every other business built around a sport. Every business in the world has been impacted & not sure if they would qualify but there were significant government programs to provide money to small businesses for payroll and expenses during the "pandemic," as well to ensure future viability of the business, but my viewpoint is as a customer, not the business owner, as it should be. At this point I am somewhat ambivalent about playing this year myself but I will accept whatever decision they make regarding already drafted contests & not scream & yell about it because I do see the other side of the argument as well.

I agree, not pleased about the decision at all. I don't understand how it would have been so difficult to simply refund all leagues, hell you could have kept the money in NFBC accounts just give us the chance to redraft based on new season.

Obviously the financial ramifications of the pandemic on baseball are a factor, but as a customer and not payroll it's not our responsibility to ensure profitability. Maintaining a positive balance sheet is certainly a challenge. but I was under the impression that NFBC had already taken steps pre-draft season to insure themselves (IE the $5 compliance fee all fantasy drafters are now hit with, with over 12,000 leagues total that can atleast pay someone's salary ). That compliance fee is the PERFECT example of a company balancing financial needs with customer satisfaction. It's rationale, it's not a large amount, but most importantly owners must agree to the charge before proceeding, so there is no confusion no gray area. I personally would have had no problem paying an increased compliance fee for future seasons to help offset some of 2020's deficits (I owe the NFBC that much been on the site 10 years now just turned 31 lol), but the point is it would have been MY choice, with a clear understanding and relationship between customer and provider.

Ugh well whatever it's done, my teams are fine so I'm game....But hopefully you guys factored in the negative impact your decision will have on the DC League owners (like me lol I start after Turkey Day, have 6 drafted by MLK day hahaha) that like to draft early and often.

In other words, you can probably kiss super early season drafting and site activity, IE Nov-Feb for us super nerds lol while the rest show up after the superbowl, goodbye. I usually like to be in the first DC for the following year, but moving forward definitely cannot see owners wanting to do DC's (or any drafts I suppose) before March.

PS=For all you guys still confused about a 60-game schedule not having an impact on already drafted teams (only so much myself and some of the other guys can do on here explaining) just watch when the new ADP starts processing. Lmao it's gonna be real funny when some guy who timed out on all his picks, ended up with a roster of relievers and injury guys, wins the Draft Champions overall prize hahahaha #BestTeam.

[KJ Duke]

No one believes it won't have an impact. The argument is that we're all in the same boat, i.e., equal opportunity not equal outcome.

[Southern Comfort]

No one believes it won't have an impact. The argument is that we're all in the same boat, i.e., equal opportunity not equal outcome.

Sorry but I've never agreed with that statement. There are a myriad of draft strategies that have won titles and have already been deployed for drafted teams, and it's a statistical fact that the 60 game reduction is inevitably going to impact certain draft strategies more than others. Look at some of the draft recaps from Nov2019 to Feb2020;

The owners who passed on James Paxton because he was going to miss half the season? Same with 100 others players whether due to injury or suspension. Sorry guy you should have known it would be a 60 game season. Sucks for the healthy-for-spring-trainings strategy owners.

Avoiding rookies who are not expected to join the big club until after the all-star break? Tough break guy we are probably going to break a record for rookies on OD rosters. I'm sure the draft-all-rookies strategy owners are smiling. Oh I'm sorry you may be the proven-veteran strategy drafter, well sorry to say some of your 25-30yr old vets may skip out altogether on this season, i mean duh they have family and kids and stuff, rookies usually do not.

How about the owner who expected to get Michael Pineda back after 60 games, did he get injured? no, freak accident? No. Well sorry that owner should have known something, why draft Pineda and hold him on your bench for those stay-competitive-for-playoff-run strategy owners? Poor strategy we all in the same boat so you should have know something. Why draft a player that is now suspended for the ENTIRETY OF THE 2020 SEASON, sheesh your team must suck if you made such a poor decision. Please KJ explain to the owners who will now be starting their seasons with 49 players out of 50 players available; not due to injury, suspension, or any other baseball factor that could have possibly been analyzed and implemented into an owners draft strategy. On a site where literally millions of dollars are on the line, explain to those owners that their chances of winning $$ have been STATISTICALLY/QUANTITATIVELY/LITERALLY reduced by 1-2% before spring training even starts, please tell them it's equal opportunity.

[KJ Duke]

No one believes it won't have an impact. The argument is that we're all in the same boat, i.e., equal opportunity not equal outcome.

Sorry but I've never agreed with that statement. There are a myriad of draft strategies that have won titles and have already been deployed for drafted teams, and it's a statistical fact that the 60 game reduction is inevitably going to impact certain draft strategies more than others. Look at some of the draft recaps from Nov2019 to Feb2020;

The owners who passed on James Paxton because he was going to miss half the season? Same with 100 others players whether due to injury or suspension. Sorry guy you should have known it would be a 60 game season. Sucks for the healthy-for-spring-trainings strategy owners.

Avoiding rookies who are not expected to join the big club until after the all-star break? Tough break guy we are probably going to break a record for rookies on OD rosters. I'm sure the draft-all-rookies strategy owners are smiling. Oh I'm sorry you may be the proven-veteran strategy drafter, well sorry to say some of your 25-30yr old vets may skip out altogether on this season, i mean duh they have family and kids and stuff, rookies usually do not.

How about the owner who expected to get Pineda back after 60 games, did he get injured? no, freak accident? No. Well sorry that owner should have known something, why draft Pineda and hold him on your bench for those stay-competitive-for-playoff-run strategy owners? Poor strategy we all in the same boat so you should have know something. Why draft a player that is now suspended for the ENTIRETY OF THE 2020 SEASON, sheesh your team must suck if you made such a poor decision.

I don't disagree with how much the game has changed and that it will affect teams/strategies differently. The equal opportunity was in deciding how to draft your team. Outcomes will not be equal.

[Southern Comfort]

So owners who paid for 100 games of Pineda are just wrong? Dude he is just....GONE lol 2020 over. Some $1,000 Draft Champions owner is just staring at a blank spot on his roster now

(PS-I have never actually drafted Michael Pineda but not for lack of talent. I just remember watching that dang Yanks/Sox pine tar game and looking at his fake surprised-azz look lol (Insert Surprised Kirk Meme here lol)

[KJ Duke]

So owners who paid for 100 games of Pineda are just wrong? Dude he is just....GONE lol 2020 over. Some $1,000 Draft Champions owner is just staring at a blank spot on his roster now

(PS-I have never actually drafted Michael Pineda but not for lack of talent. I just remember watching that dang Yanks/Sox pine tar game and looking at his fake surprised-azz look lol (Insert Surprised Kirk Meme here lol)

If you did the crime, you do the time. I'm sure I have lots of zeros on my DCs.

[Deadheadz]

How about the owner who expected to get Michael Pineda back after 60 games, did he get injured? no, freak accident? No. Well sorry that owner should have known something, why draft Pineda and hold him on your bench for those stay-competitive-for-playoff-run strategy owners? Poor strategy we all in the same boat so you should have know something. Why draft a player that is now suspended for the ENTIRETY OF THE 2020 SEASON,

Pineda last played September 6 and his suspension was announced September 7.
Unlike Domingo German, who the MLB has ruled out for play in 2020, Twins SP Pineda likely will get a chance to contribute if you need him for a stretch run.