Home Advantage

Remote drafting was always something the commish had hoped The League! would be able to avoid. The idea was to always have every manager in the same room come draft day. That dream quickly died in the fall of 2006 when Hans decided to be lame and graduate in 4 years instead of taking a victory lap with the rest of his pledge brothers. Since that time, there has not been a single draft where everyone has been in one room together on draft day.

With as many as 4 (2008, 2009, 2016, and 2018, 2021) and as little as 1 (2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020), the amount of remote drafters has staggered over the years. Like Hammy trying to track you down on a Saturday afternoon, there is no telling as to when remote drafters will come around. The list of excuses is, well, it’s long. Some favorites over the years include:

“I’m getting married”

“I have a kid on the way”

“It’s my Honeymoon”

“It’s my Anniversary”

”My back hurts”

“I don’t like fun”

But do remote drafters have an edge? Is sitting at home, sober, with your pants around your ankles any better than being loaded on BLLs in wet board shorts eating food court pizza? Let’s take a look at the math…

Since 2006, there have been 15 seasons that have involved remote drafting. In those 16 seasons, 188 total teams have been drafted - 37 of them remotely and 151 of them in person.

The 37 teams drafted remotely have resulted in 6 Championships, while the 151 teams that were drafted in person have resulted in 9 Championships. Ultimately that means remote drafters have won The League! 40% of the time while only accounting for about 20% of the teams.

Drafting remotely essentially gives you a 19% chance of winning The League! while drafting in person gives you a 6% chance of winning The League!

So while the majority of The League! is sleeping by round 5, forgetting whose turn it is, drafting players that were taken rounds ago, or rocking out to their draft song instead of making their picks, the remote drafters that are sitting comfortably at home are 3x more likely to win it all than those drafting in person.

Oddly, the manager that has drafted remotely the most, Cox, has never won a bobblehead yet accounts for 7 of 37 teams that have been drafted remotely. If you were to remove him from the equation, the numbers skyrocket.

So what can be done to balance things back out in favor of those that make it to Vegas every year? The Commish has hoped over the years that the idea of being seen as a boring, old loser would be enough for people to come to the draft and not use a lame excuse to draft from home. That hasn’t always worked out as planned.

Tactics have been used and will continue to be used to skew things back in favor of those that make it to the draft every year. Remote drafters last year were removed from the Draft Position bracket, pretty much guaranteeing them the least desirable draft position. Further measures, including limiting the time remote drafters have to make their picks, are also being considered.