Scoresheet gears up for season's first pitch
By Brian Hamilton, brianh@theunion.com
» More from Brian Hamilton
12:01 a.m. PT Mar 25, 2008
When we last left Scoresheet Sports - weeks before the Boston Red Sox celebrated their second World Series title in four years - Jeff Barton was wondering whether there would be another opening day for his Nevada City based company.
At the time, a legal dispute between Major League Baseball and CDC Fantasy Sports over the publicity rights of players names and records threatened the future of Scoresheet Sports.
Without the use of player names and statistics, fantasy sports companies could not continue to operate without a license from the pro sports leagues they track.
But after a pair of appeals by MLB have been denied, leaving only the Supreme Court as the only stone yet unturned, it appears as though fantasy sports companies like Scoresheet will remain open for business, Barton said.
And that means Barton and company are getting ready for the season's first pitch.
"We're definitely gearing up," said Barton, whose company will celebrate its 22nd baseball season this summer. "Opening day is what, six or seven days away? Not counting that Japan stuff."
Like most of the fantasy sports sites, www.Scoresheet.com won't bother with the statistics from the two-day Japan series between the Oakland A's and the Boston Red Sox. But action begins in earnest Sunday night with the season's first game between Atlanta and Washington (5:05 p.m. ESPN).
Players of Scoresheet Sports, which also offers a football league each fall, aren't your typical fantasy sports players. Scoresheet, which he and his brother founded in the late '80s in Berkeley.
Scoresheet players test their skills with one of the most in-depth games available. It costs around $79 per team, but he said there is a clear difference between his game and what you find offered from most online sources.
"Those companies have a very simple stat-adding game, where there are so many points for a home run and so many points for a pitching win," Barton told The Union last fall. "What we have allows you to actually play six 9-inning games a week based upon your players' real-life statistics that they put up that week."
He said his company typically turns up the dial on season preparations in December and January, offering player lists to potential team owners. From there, Scoresheet stretches its league drafts over several weeks - rather than in one sitting lasting several hours or an automatic draft online.
"You might have one round drafted per day for a month and a half," he said. "It just adds to the fun."
And it adds to the anticipation of actually putting the team each player drafts onto the fantasy field of play. The company takes a similar approach to its football draft, although just four to six weeks ahead of the first kickoff.
"Most of our business is repeat business," said Barton, who has around 5,000 teams playing Scoresheet Baseball. "We're really down to just a day or so left to get any new teams. I'd probably suggest, that at this point, people go to Yahoo or CBS Sportsline.
"But if 10 people called tomorrow and said they wanted to draft a team, I'd set up a league for them."
And for those who already have a team with Scoresheet, Barton said he expects to start hearing from many of them by the middle of next week.
"A guy will go 0-for-8 to start the season and people are like 'I've got to trade him!'" Barton said. "It's amazing. It's just magnified because it's the start of the season. A guy can go 0-for-8 in July and nobody even notices."
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.
