Great news out of SB Nation land for those who are into fantasy sports and/or winning money. For the second straight year, SBN has made FanDuel their exclusive partner in daily fantasy sports. That means Gaslamp Ballers and SBN readers can continue to play daily fantasy baseball with a potential for cash prizes.
Last year the nice folks at FanDuel were kind enough to bankroll me so I could give it a try, and they're doing so again this year. I played pretty often last year and really enjoyed it. For someone who had only ever played fantasy football and was always too intimidated to get into fantasy baseball, FanDuel was a really great way for me to dabble in it without having to A) do too much long-term research, B) prepare for a draft, or C) make a season-long commitment.
None of those things are of concern because of the way FanDuel is set up. When you choose a contest, you are given a set amount of money ($35K) to build your team for the day. The players are listed alongside their salaries for you to pick and choose. You get a pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, and three outfielders. You are free to change up and play around with your lineup up until the start of each contest (or the start of the first game of the day).
Depending on which contest you choose (some are free, some cost a small fee to join, and some have a larger buy-in attached), you have the potential to win small or large amounts of real cash money (unless you live in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, or Washington; in which case you can just play for funsies!). Cash prizes are awarded via PayPal at the end of the last game played each day and you can take your money and go whenever you want - no need to stick through to the end of the season if you find it's not your thing. And you don't even have to get super high up on the leaderboard to win. Often, if you're in the top 100-200 at the end of the day you can still win a few bucks. I actually won money a few times last year (around $20 total throughout the season) while playing almost all Padres on a regular basis, so keep that in mind if you still don't think you're up to par.
For more on how to play, you can read the official rules here or watch the following video:
If that all sounds awesome to you (and it should), SB Nation is hosting a $6,000 one-day Fantasy Baseball league for MLB Opening Day on FanDuel. It's $5 to join and first place wins $1,000 and four tickets to a game. Just click this link here to sign up!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comments below. I'll try to help out any way I can, or at least try to point you in the right direction to find an answer. Other than that, let's have some fun and win some beer hot dog money for the season!