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With the Razzball Commenter Leagues sign ups starting on Monday, we decided to take a look at what last year’s RCLs showed us.  I.e., this is what it took to win these fantasy baseball leagues last year.  Across twenty-one 12 team leagues, you would think you’d have some wide variations, but it’s amazingly close what you need in each category to do average vs. win.  Some quick points upfront.  There were 5 outfielders and one utility, so if you play in a Yahoo league with three outfielders and two utility, I’d expect more offense across the board.  Not much, but some.  There was a 180 games started max for pitchers.  6.5 is average in a 12 team league, not 6 because the last place team has 1 point, not zero.  Finally, the RCLs are made up of guys that are probably more competitive than your casual fantasy baseball leaguemates, so if you can hit these benchmarks, you should be in good shape.  Anyway, here’s what it takes to win a 12 team fantasy baseball league:

Runs – 1,021

The average team last year scored 998 runs, that would get them 6.5 points in the standings in runs.  To win your league, it took 1,124 runs with the average hitter contributing 86.5 runs.  To move up a point from average, you needed an extra 22.80 runs.  So 23 runs on top of 998 runs took you from 6.5 points to 7.5 in the standings.  I like to aim for a 7.5 in runs.  So I would aim for 1,021 runs or 79 runs/player.

Home Runs — 255

The average team hit 235 homers.  To win, you needed 291 homers or 22.4 homers/player.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points in the standings), you needed an extra 10.19 homers.  I like to aim for an 8.5 in homers.  So I would aim for 20 extra homers from 235 or 255 homers or 20 homers/player.

RBIs — 973

The average team needed 948 RBIs.  To win, you had to get 1,083 or 83.6 RBIs/player.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an extra 24.4 RBIs.  I aim for a 7.5 points in RBIs.  So I would aim for 973 RBIs or 75 RBIs/player.

Steals — 177

The average team needed 150 steals.  To win, you had to get 208 or 16 steals/player.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an extra 10.5 steals.  I aim for 8 points in steals.  So I would aim for 177 steals or 14 steals/player.

Average — .271

The average team’s, uh, average is .271.  To win, you had to get a .284.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an increase of .002.  I aim for average in, well, ya know.  So I would want a .271 average.  Let the rest figure itself out.

Strikeouts — 1,272

The average team’s Ks are 1,149.  To win, you needed to rack up 1,342 Ks.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an extra 34.99 Ks.  I aim for a 10 in Ks.  Actually, I don’t aim for it, but that’s where I end up.  So I would want 1,272 Ks from my pitching staff.

Wins — 86

The average team’s pitchers won 86 games.  To win, you needed to win 104 .  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed to win an extra 3.23 games.  (Any Astro pitcher is good for at least four .23 wins.)  I go for average here, which is 86 games.  Otherwise known as letting the cards fall where they may.

Saves — 122

The average team’s relievers closed out 87 games.  To win, you needed 142  saves.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an extra 10.02 saves.  I aim for a 10 in saves.  My thought is if you have extra, you can always trade those suckers.  To get 10 points in saves, you needed 122 saves.

ERA — 3.56

The average team’s pitchers had a 3.64 ERA.  To win, you needed a 3.18 ERA.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an increase of .08.  I aim for a 7.5 in ERA.  So I would want a 3.56 ERA.  In reality, ERA’s so fickle that aiming for ERA is like throwing darts at a unicorn.

WHIP — 1.23

The average team’s pitchers had a 1.26 WHIP.  To win, you needed a 1.18 WHIP.  To move up a point from average (6.5 points), you needed an increase of .01.  I aim for a 9 in WHIP.  So I would want a 1.23 WHIP.