CMSC 150 - Spring 2017 - Applications in MLB, Part 3

        
 Description of Topic:
            So far, I've discussed how CS has influenced statistics and player evaluation for real life ball clubs as well as helping create a virtual baseball experience that is very realistic for the average baseball fan. However, a baseball simulator like MLB: The Show is not the only way a fan can enjoy the sport outside of simply watching the games. For the last several decades, many fans have started playing a mini-game called Fantasy Baseball, which uses real life players and their stats. At the beginning of the season, each member of a fantasy league chooses their roster in a draft format, where players take turns selecting their favorite stars of the real world to play on their team. Once the season begins, teams face off, trying to win more scoring categories than their opponent. These can be Total Bases, Stolen Bases, strikeouts, walks, home runs, etc. The server calculates the scoring automatically, so if Buster Posey goes 2-3 with a single, double, and stolen base, it will give you the total number of points scored for the day (1 for the single and stolen base, 2 for the double = 4 pts). The mini game also determines automatically who qualifies for the playoffs and manages the free agency and trades that happen within the league.

Users take turns selecting their favorite stars, which in turn earn them "fantasy points" during the real life season

Relation to CS:
           The program of the website that manages the league takes care of all the intangibles, to allow the user to focus solely on figuring out which players they feel will help their team the most. ESPN's fantasy site provides each player with each the average point total per game of each player, their position eligibility, among other useful tid bits. A site such as this incorporates many aspects from any normal website, such as Facebook or foxsports.com. Usually though, it takes to box score of every MLB game to determine the point totals for each individual player, whose points are given to the team owner that has that specific player on their team. Computer science has contributed so many different ways for a baseball fan to follow their favorite sport, and this pattern should only go more and more in depth moving forward.