For years, Grey and I have been thinking about what would be the perfect low-stakes paid league complement to our free Razzball Commenter Leagues (sign up now).

In 2014 and 2015, we co-sponsored 15-team $150 NFBC leagues (50 round slow drafts) and got a positive response from many of you. I cannot say enough good things about NFBC – great service, great people, great site. Unfortunately, we did not get anywhere near the turnout we get for RCL leagues (100 leagues vs 3?!) which puts us in a Field of Dreams-esque position when it comes to lobbying/negotiating a format more attractive to Razzball readers. No offense to people who love that movie but ‘build it and they will come’ does not work very well in the business world.

I mentioned this dilemma to my buddy Dr. Roto when he told me that Scout.com – which has hosted the Fantasy Football World Championships for years – was contemplating Fantasy Baseball paid leagues for 2016. A partnership was born….

Here are the rules for the $88 Scout MLB Razzball Pennant Leagues that are available NOW and will feature Razzball writers + Scout.com Fantasy experts.

How many of you have played the old school game Guess Who? For those that haven’t, the premise is simple. It’s a two player game where each player has a board with 24 different people displayed. Both players pick a card from a pile of cards containing the same 24 people. They then take turns asking “yes or no” questions about their opponent’s selected person. Based on the answers they eliminate options until they are left with one. The first player to guess the identity of their opponent’s person wins. I played this game as a kid, and 30 years later I still own it today. It’s a simple, yet entertaining game.

I thought it might be interesting to attempt to incorporate the concept of Guess Who? in a blog about fantasy baseball. Here’s how! In this series, I will post articles in which I compare two players. In the post they will be referred to as “player foo” and “player bar”. Their actual names will never be mentioned. It is your job to try and figure out their true identities. To do this, you are encouraged to ask me as many yes/no questions as you like in the comments section. The first commenter to guess each person will score one point. At the end of the season the person with the most points will win a Razzball t-shirt (special thanks to Jay!).

Here are the rules in brief detail…

Actually, a few have already happened (and we’ll talk about them a bit after the jump), but, just like the title alludes to, the table is set, the forks and spoons are in their right place, and hopefully there’s food ready and on the way. In terms of the RCL universe (since I’m hungry and if there are any more food metaphors, I’ll eventually end up eating my monitor), the “league” has taken shape and drafts are about to begin. (But that doesn’t mean you still can’t create and join your choice of RCLs!) And, I want to touch on this: when I say “league”, I mean league, not leagues. Because ef pluralization… I mean, what has it ever done for me? Regardless, you have to remember, this is one complete universal league. The Milky Way of Fantasy Baseball if you will, including Mike Trout, Saturn, and of course, Uranus. Don’t roll your eyes, you knew it was coming. I only mention this (not Uranus), because as teams fall out of contention later in the season, owners will begin to pay less and less attention to their roster, and soon, you’ll have a 12-team league that feels like a five-team league. This is actually quite common in free-to-play leagues and perfectly normal for our specific formats, so don’t feel scorned, abandoned, or betrayed. These owners aren’t there to entertain you, only themselves. I mean, that’s why I write, it’s only to entertain myself. And my mother. You guys are the crazy ones reading this. And sure, at the dawn of the season, everyone feels excited, bashful hope abound. Puppies and ice cream everywhere! But as the season moves past the All-Star break, you have to remember that you aren’t necessarily playing against your 12-team league. No, you are playing against 1,000+ teams in one universal league. For some neat prizes I might add, and most importantly, ultimate bragging rights. So don’t feel alone. Enjoy the long journey. Participate as best you can. Be one with the fantasy baseballs (and Uranus). I guess that’s my last bit of advice as the RCL Updates will now be handled by Matt Truss. He will be your in-season storyteller, and starting next week, he’ll begin to tell your story. The RCL story. And I can’t wait. (I’m talking about eating…)