While impatiently waiting for an official MLBC update, I took the liberty to put together my own fantasy game using the MLBC NFTs and MLB stats. I have the basic “play game” logic implemented and could use some teams to test it out.
Background image courtesy of Pixabay
What is MLBC
Feel free to skip this section is you are already familiar with the game.
For those who stumbled across this article by chance, MLB Champions is a NFT bobble-head collecting / fantasy baseball game developed by Lucid Sight. It is currently unclear what the future holds, as they are heads down revamping the game for the third time.
Here is what we’ve seen so far:
- 2018: Completely block-chain focused Web App. I joined after this season so I don’t know much about it.
- 2019: The season started with the Web App and the ability to use on and off chain figures to play. By the end of the season we also had a mobile app. During the baseball season, you had your own fantasy version of each team based on the figures you owned. After each game you could earn more figures.
- 2020: What we’ve been told to expect is a focus on the mobile app and off chain NFTs. You can train your players using simulated games and you can use your top figures in their fantasy games during the season. We will have to wait and see what form the game takes.
If you are interested in buying your own MLBC NFTs, you should head on over to opensea. Due to the large amount created during the 2019 season, as well as uncertainty over what the future holds, you can find a lot of good deals.
Note: I receive referral bonuses from anyone who uses the above link.
What is Winterball?
Winterball is something which has been promised by Lucid Sight since 2018. It’s the ability to play simulated baseball games in the off season. Tired of waiting for an official version, I threw my own together. I spent under a week’s worth of work designing and coding the game playing logic in Java. The code is quick and messy, but that is actually part of the point. If an individual can make something in their spare time, an established game company should certainly be able to do it as well. I am hopeful they will release their promised Winterball before I have the chance to polish up my version.
At this point I only wrote the game playing logic. As Crypto Slam clearly demonstrates, there already are methods of extracting the figure data from MLBC and the block-chain so I didn’t see any reason to re-write it. MLB also has their official API for extracting data from their site, so anyone can get the stats they need. If I end up waiting too long for the official app, I will properly flesh out my program and make it usable for the public, but for now I’m just testing the back end logic.
How do I Join?
I am looking for SIXTEEN players to submit teams for the Unofficial Winterball 2020 World Series. Once I receive the teams, I will load the data into my program and run the games.
A team consists of TEN minted NFTs, one for each position plus either a Relief Pitcher or Designated Hitter. You can only have one of a given player, but they can be from any team. With the exception of the Designated Hitter, the position you play them in MUST match the position shown on the NFT.
If you are interested in submitting a team, please fill out the following Google Form. For each player, please list their Crypto Slam URL. Since I am doing so much manually, this will ensure I get the correct figure.
Signups close Monday, February 10th, at 23:59 EST.
What Makes a Good team?
A casual fantasy sports player like myself may be happy submitting their rarest players at random, but most people want some idea how things are scored. All stats are based on the player’s most recent season. That means if you have a Babe Ruth its based on 1935. If you have a player who retired in 2018, then it will be 2018.
- FIELDING: Base and Glove/Bat rarity influence ability. The Base has more weight.
- BATTING: The player’s AVG is their primary stat. Hits, walks, doubles, triples, and home runs play a role as well.
- PITCHING: The player’s base ability is determined by their WHIP.
- PITCHING ENDURANCE: I calculate Innings Pitched Per Game (IP/G) using Innings Pitched and Games and use it to determine how long they can effectively pitch.
- PITCHING RARITY BONUS: Base and Glove rarity will increase a pitcher’s endurance. Both Base and Glove have equal weight.
What to Expect?
First off, don’t expect a fancy UI, this is a bare bones program. I will likely try and improve the format as games go on, but expect it to be text based and ugly. I will post a sample of the output as soon as I fix a couple lingering bugs.
The Winterball World Series will consist of three rounds like the real thing, playoffs, semi-finals, and finals. Since there isn’t much customization between games, the playoffs and semi-finals will be best of three. The Finals will be best of five. If I find any substantial bugs, or enough people request it, I’ll consider increasing the number of games.
I am currently planning on running a single set of games a day. So when the series officially starts I’ll post again with the game one results from the playoffs. Provided you gave me your contact info, it’s optional, you will have the chance to change TWO players on your team and adjust your batting order and when you switch pitchers. After going over the results thoroughly for bugs, and applying any needed changes, I will run the next set of games. It will likely be several days between each set.
Results will be posted to both Medium and Steemit, so if you wish to keep up to date, that is where to go.
I look forward to seeing you on the field and may the best team win!