The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Fantasy Baseball League

COMPOSITION: Since it's inception, the GBUFBL has expanded several times and now numbers 15 teams. In the early days the standings were computed by hand and all the owners lived in Western Maryland and Eastern West Virginia. Today, the stats are compiled electronically and franchises have been based in such places as Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon and even Hollywood, California. In fact, because fantasy teams are able to freely pack up and move with their owners and because a couple of teams change owners each year, it's kind of hard to keep track of the geographical diversity in the league.

RULES: Each team consists of 14 position players and 9 pitchers. There is a salary cap of 300 "dollars"; no real money is involved but each player has a "salary" (taken from the current season's Sporting News Fantasy Baseball Owners Manual) ranging from zero (for players whose production or playing time is expected to be minimal) to $40 or more (for superstars). Each team is scored in five batting categories (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored and stolen bases) and five pitching categories (wins, saves, ERA, WHIP* and strikeouts). First place in a category is worth 15 points (the number of teams in the league) and last place is worth one point. Whichever team finishes the season with the highest total is the winner. There is no monetary reward, only the respect of one's peers and the tackiest, gaudiest trophy money can buy.

*WHIP, sometimes referred to as "ratio", is a pitcher's total of hits and walks allowed, divided by his innings pitched.