Dust off your crystal ball, it's time for MLBTR's first-ever free agent prediction contest! Predict destinations for our top 50 free agents, with the chance to win fantastic prizes and bragging rights over your friends and the MLBTR writing team.
How To Play
- Click here to make picks for our top 50 free agents. For each player you can choose any of the 30 teams, as well as Retirement or Japan.
- A Facebook account is required to participate in this contest. You can log in with the button up top, or by using the Save Your Picks button at the bottom.
- Feel free to leave your picks incomplete for now, as long as you save them using the button at the bottom. The contest is open now and runs until midnight central time on Sunday, November 6th. Make sure to have something chosen and saved for all 50 players by the Sunday deadline, or else you will not be eligible for the contest.
- The leaderboard will rank contestants by "batting average" on correct picks, once players start signing. The leaderboard will show everyone's full names and Facebook profile picture.
Rules
- Final picks must be saved by November 6th at midnight central time – no exceptions.
- MLBTR writers are not eligible for prizes.
- One entry per person, please.
- With regard to prizes, ties in batting average will be decided by totaling the ranking number of each correctly-guessed free agent and taking the lowest total, rewarding contestants for being right on better free agents. If people are still tied after that method is applied, prizes will be distributed at MLBTR's discretion by choosing among tied contestants randomly.
- Prize winners must respond to an email message within 48 hours.
Prizes
- $1,000 in cash prizes to be distributed among the top five finishers
- Three Baseball's Greatest Games DVD sets from A&E
- One-year digital subscription to Baseball America, 2012 Prospect Handbook, 2012 Almanac, 2012 Great Parks Calendar
- Three copies of Baseball HQ's 2012 Forecaster book, three copies of Baseball HQ's 2012 Minor League Analyst book
- $50 coupon code for American Needle headwear
- One-year subscription to Baseball Prospectus
- One year unlimited services at Fantasy Judgment
- Three 2012 Bill James Baseball IQ iPhone apps
No way to do this without a Facebook account? That’s too bad…
I agree.
I deleted my facebook account a few months ago, why do you guys have to go and do this? What was wrong with just providing an email?
Much easier for people to use multiple emails than multiple facebook accounts. Plenty of people have multiple emails set up already. i doubt many have multiple FBs accounts.
Many people do have multiple fb accounts though.
What if we change it to millions have multiple email accounts whereas thousands have multiple FB accounts.
Still not close to being true. Maybe 100,000’s.
Prove it.
That cuts both ways.
I got sick of arguing.
I for one, have three email accounts and 1 FB.
So you = everyone on earth who uses the internet?
Mmmm. I don’t think people have multiple Facebooks… What purpose would that serve? Unless they created multiples just for this.
In the instances I’ve seen, its for having one with their real name to be friends with relatives and be vet-able for jobs, and another one with a nickname to post pictures that have bongs in them.
lol hahah
Victory.
In the instances I’ve seen, its for having one with their real name to be friends with relatives and be vet-able for jobs, and another one with a nickname to post pictures that have bongs in them.
No, me = an example. Did FB hurt your feelings?
Yeah I have accumulated about 12 email address over the years, most of which i don’t use anymore and have 1 FB account… makes perfect sense to me.
My point exactly. Over the years I have personal email, work email, school email, but I am one person with one Facebook.
Do you work for facebook?
I wish. Time for facts: In May 2009, it was said there were about 1.9 billion email users and 2.9 billion email accounts. (AND THAT WAS IN 2009!!)
Facebook has about 800 million users today. Thus, for every one FB account, there are 3.625 email accounts. And I am sure there are more than 2.9 billion email accounts today.
You’re not part of everyone? You just said you don’t have a fb and now you’re saying that everyone has one. Make up your mind.
Makes sense to me. Best way on the internet to limit to one entry per person.
You don’t really believe that do you? I can make just as many dummy Facebook accounts as I can e-mail addresses.
ya, but it is a lot more work to do so with FB accounts. Plus plenty of people have multiple email accounts. I have three (plus multiple ones that my fiance has). I could submit 6 with little effort. However, there is no way that go through the trouble of setting up 6 FB accounts.
Never signed up for Facebook but I highly doubt it requires too much energy and most likely less than 5 minutes. People that want to cheat are going to try to cheat regaurdless. The best way to avoid multiple entries would be one entry per household.
Well you are the 1%. Alot of us dont use it much but I thought that everyone had one… I you dont then just make one jeez
Actually facebook takes setting up multiple accounts for the same person pretty seriously. If you have any intention of winning, chances are you’ll want to use a fb account with your name. Fb won’t let you make 9 accounts for the same person in real life, even if you use different emails.
“If you have any intention of winning, chances are you’ll want to use a fb account with your name.”
Wouldn’t this be the same as if you just registered with your name here at MLBTR? If you win the prize here, you are going to want it in your name. I’m fairly confident Tim could moderate that and make sure there is only 1 entry per name.
Except by using facebook Tim doesn’t have to moderate anything. There will probably be hundreds of entries, and I doubt that is the best use of his time.
I’m sure facebook has software that does this for them, so why not take advantage of this? If it means a little integration and outsourcing for a better product, I do not see the downside.
Facebook vs E-Mail…. If you have an email go make a facebook account…stop complaining…
How about giving us a choice? Facebook does not = the internet.
You have the choice to use a free website or not, and you have the choice to make a FB account or not.
You do have the choice. Participate or not. The terms of participation = use a facebook acct.
oh my god get over it
MLBTR should just make it so that only members who have over 50 posts on here can enter and must provide a facebook. Problem solved and no one will make dummy accounts. If they do make a dummy facebook (which is kind of pointless) they still need an account on here which needs 50 replies or posts.
Would you really like people like me, who dont really comment on here that much, making 50 spam posts just to be eligible??
So 25 posts…but the point is that making 50 or 25 spam posts takes more time and effort than it does to just make a facebook or email.
agreed..what a bunch of whiners.
AGREED.
I have no interest in providing this data to Facebook, whose constantly shifting privacy settings leave me with little assurance that anything they know will really remain private. Moreover, even if you trusted Facebook, you have no idea who might buy Facebook in two years. What’s more, I doubt that I would have legal recourse if Facebook, despite my insistence that they not do so, shared private information in a way that harmed me.
Can it be made possible to do it just with an email?
If not how about a second competition, with just email, for lesser prizes?
yeah – exactly what I want…everyone that posts in here to have my name and facebook addy. Sounded like fun but guess it was not meant to be
Wait, what exactly are you worried about?
Jon, do you work for facebook?
No, not at all. I realize that facebook has received a lot of bad press regarding matters of privacy and content tracking, but I guess that I am just less optimistic then most people that that kind of crap isn’t happening all of the time on the internet. If you use a web browser, much of the same stuff is happening already.
Some of the real problems with facebook regard the material (and rights to that material) you post up on facebook. However, that is easy to solve by just not putting pictures, etc. onto facebook.
I was writing mostly in jest, but thanks for answering and making your stance clear (without hostility to boot!).
I really just do not understand why an independent website would choose to incorporate a 3rd party social networking site to make a poster able to post opinions on. I don’t necessarily want to know or be friends with everyone who posts here, I just want to gague what fans think of certain things happening in MLB, and maybe talk about people’s ideas on things. Facebook can stay out of it.
I guess I assumed that they didn’t develop their own commenting section (because that is probably not easy) and therefore needed to use a third party (ex. disqus). The third party just happens to be set up in such a way that people can post using one of a variety of other 3rd (4th) party means (ex. yahoo, facebook, disqus, etc.).
I agree that I don’t need to become friends with people on here, but I do wish there was a way to boost accountability. Some people get really out of hand.
How is the banning/moderating system failing this site? Seems to work fine as is.
Better get used to it. Newspapers and magazines are doing the exact same thing now. As are other forums.
It won’t last.
Whatever you say Nostradamus
Whatever you say Nostradamus
So. excited.
I am licking my chops on this one! I could use a few extra Fazools!
This should be fun!
I also like how “Prize winners must respond to an email message within 48 hours.” Why not a facebook message? Why not just do the whole thing via email?
The email is the one the person has connected to Facebook, which right off the bat solves the problem of people not submitting valid email addresses or putting in typos when they add theirs. The use of Facebook also makes it much less likely that someone submits multiple entries.
How does that solve multiple entries? I have like 4 different facebook accounts with different names.
Didn’t say it solves it, it just makes it less likely.
Doubt it. Every girl I know has facebook and none of them have ever been to the site here. I’m sure I would have no problem doing 8-10 entries thru people that have facebook that could care less about MLBTR.
they’ll give you their passwords? Seems unlikely.
Why do I need their passwords? I see a lot of people with facebook every day. “Hey sign into your facebook account so I can get in this contest. If I win the prize will be in your name”
If you are offering prizes, you need to physically send them somewhere don’t you? Providing an online form for email with a valid mailing address is better, that way you can cover the “only one submission per household” thing you are worried about.
In future can you please stay away from facebook? It’s really a terrible site and company, and there’s really nothing to say it won’t go the way of myspace/friendster etc at any given moment. It already has lost a bunch of users due to its more intrusive interface. I personally do not like it, and will not use it again.
Open to non-US??
Yes.
Everyone was making fun of Tim’s list, but it’s actually really hard.
I’m actually pondering changing MLBTR’s comment system to Facebook Connect. I think real names add a ton of accountability. I love the idea of this contest’s leaderboard showing real names of contestants, not handles. Future MLBTR contests are likely to require Facebook accounts. That said, I understand the desire to keep things private.
That would be quite disappointing. I’m sure my teenage sister will love it though.
That would be a huge loss for me.
The decision to link MLBTR to a Facebook account is still not enough of an incentive for me to ever create an account on that site.
I don’t have a problem with the contest going through facebook, but I’m with everyone else on the facebook connect idea.
[Channeling inner Al Borland]
I don’t think so, Tim
Wouldn’t matter. People can create bogus Facebook accounts pretty easily.
Tim I don’t mind it. If people knew how many companies, organizations, etc track their internet usage they wouldn’t have a problem using facebook. With proper security settings you would have the same security as you have using public wireless.
I use google chrome so they know ALL of my browsing data so connecting via faceboook is the least of my concerns.
That said, I totally agree with the accountability piece. At the end of the day, it can be really difficult to have a legitimate conversation on any site’s comment section.
Tim, with all due respect, I don’t want some of the crazies who roam these comments knowing my real name, even if I know theirs. I’m sure others agree with me on this.
I don’t feel comfortable with people on here knowing me as anything but JacksTigers. That tells everyone all that they need to know about me on a baseball site. My name is Jack and I like the Tigers. If I wanted to do that, I would use the MLBTR on facebook thing to comment. I really don’t want people knowing my brothers name, my parents names, my grandparents name, and my school name. That’s just way too much for me to have on a baseball website. I don’t think I would comment on here anymore.
Aren’t there privacy settings?
Yes, but still, I’d still rather you know me as JacksTigers than Jack [Last Name]
Aren’t there privacy settings?
come on…i use a fb on here but i laugh at the names people have ARODINYOURPUJOLS lol
Please no. I, like others, can understand if you want to do this for contests in which you give away prizes, but please do not force us to use Facebook in order to comment. I am willing to create a Facebook account to participate in this contest, but I’d prefer to have the choice of using Disqus for just commenting. Also, thank you for letting us know that you are considering this and allowing us to reply to you and give our thoughts, mucho appreciado.
I’m done with this site if you make FB a requirement to post. They did that on Metsblog for a few days, people were livid, the number of comments dropped ten fold, don’t make that mistake please.
Can’t play then I guess since I have no intention of joining Facebook.
Its pretty bad that the end game to this attitude of wanting “accountability” is that you have to sign up for facebook, or else your voice is taken away. You’re really saying: no facebook = no voice. So why even bother having this site if you aren’t going to act independently? Why not just make it a “facebook application”?
Tim I love this site and have read it literally every time I’ve been on the internet since you started it, and I love commenting on it. Please don’t force facebook on your audience. I have no problem signing up for MLBTR at MLBTR, but I have a huge problem with signing up with a 3rd party so I can use one of my fave sites. I’m not alone either.
So Tim says Facebook Connect would improve accountability?
So, I thought I’d go check out MLBTR’s facebook page. Sure enough the very first post(?) is reminding all of the commenters of the commenting policy. haha All that having anything to do with facebook will do is drag more goofs in here. Every article posted on there has pointless bantering with no real conversation. Gee, I can’t wait.
As a FB mod for a couple of their pages, yes…this is accurate.
Why do people keep whining about the way a free contest with prizes is being run?
Because I always disagreed with the direction of facebook in that they are taking being nosy to a comedic degree and using me as a way to pay for advertising. People said to me “Why are you complaining about a free site you have no obligation to sign up for?” and so I deleted my facebook account and now all these sites that are not facebook are saying I have to sign up for the site I have no obligation to sign up for, in order to win money.
Is it even a free contest? Its actually not if I have to sell myself to facebook so facebook can sell more ads.
This isn’t about facebook.
It never was about facebook.
If you don’t like facebook you don’t have to do this contest.
Stop annoying everyone else.
I want to do the contest, that’s the whole point!
But I can’t because of…
Well that’s too bad. Now stop complaining about it.
I don’t understand what the problem is. You can just make an account on facebook and you never have to touch it again. You can just have it so you can comment on here. You never have to go anywhere near it again once you create it. You don’t even have to use real information. What’s the problem?
because he’s too hip for facebook.
Damn hipsters..
haha what?
You have made 17 comments about it. We understand that you don’t like facebook. Now, all of the time you spent complaining, you could have made one. If you don’t want one, don’t make one. Nobody is going to change the whole format of the contest to accommodate you. It’s not all about you.
Youre really counting my posts in a thread?
He could be exaggerating.
Not at all.
Deffinitley. Why?
You act like facebook is a prostitution ring.
It is.
No, that’s craigslist.
So what happens with FA’s that sign before the contest entry due date?
If a third of these guys are signed by Sunday night, do they
a) Not count as part of the total
b) Only get counted if you already had your pick in before they signed
or
c) Let people who haven’t submitted their picks choose them correctly, while scoring potentially as incorrect for people who submitted their picks in advance?
Just trying to understand if there’s any benefit to doing this now as opposed to Sunday night.
At most you’re going to see a handful of guys sign before the deadline. All picks are editable up until the deadline, so you’ll want to go in beforehand and make sure you didn’t miss any freebies. It’s like writing your name on a test and getting points for it. Everyone should be a few people still might miss out.
In other words if someone signs this week we’re going to give that one to you, but only if you go in and manually make that pick.
Awesome, thanks Tim. Just wanted to make sure that the entry form wasn’t going to gray-out that player after they signed, locking the early entries into a wrong choice.
Tim; when’s this contest’s end date? If two there’s a couple guy’s
sitting on the fence where they want to sign (or if they want to
retire), and there’s a number of people within a correct pick or two of
each other for the lead in this contest, how long do they have to wait
for the title?
And how does one officially count as retired at the end of the period? Do they simply not have to have signed, or do they have to have filed papers and done a press conference?
My policy is no FB so I sadly cannot participate in this contest. Personally, I think it is a real shame to cut out so many people. If someone is determined to cheat, the switch from email to facebook is not going to get in their way.
You’re cutting yourself out…
How about a phone number to enter. That seems like a real option. Winner has to answer the call!
Or an email form where you enter your address because, you know, there are actual physical prizes on offer that have to be sent somewhere, right? And then you simply instruct a “one entry per household” rule. Easy.
People complaining about facebook: cry me a river.
I will cry you not a river, but an ocean of tears.
And then someone on facebook will post about it, and Mark Zuckerburg will sell the story of those tears for advertising money.
I stopped counting too early. Make that 19.
Obsess much?
Huh?
Why are you counting my posts in this thread, you weirdo/stalker?
Counting is not stalking.
I’m just excited for the contest, and don’t really care if it requires facebook to sign in. Way to make the offseason more exciting, MLBTR!
Agree 100%
Would love the $50 gift card from American Needle. I own a hat from them (1918 cardinals hat) and its the best hat i’ve ever owned
I’d get angry over not being able to enter because I refuse to join facebook, but the prizes kinda suck so I don’t see what the big deal is. On a side note, as thousands of people leave facebook, isn’t aligning this site with it NOW a pretty stupid gamble?
$1000 in cash kinda sucks?
I was kind of hoping one of the prizes would be Keith Law coming to your house and cooking dinner. Or at the very least getting a signed copy of “Cooking With Keith” because if he can’t cook it, he could show you how it’s done!
If he doesn’t want it, I’d be happy to take it off of his hands.
It should be a round trip ticket to Chicago to hang out with Tim Dierkes
Someone must be rich…potential to win 1,000 with no entry fee for doing something I do anyways seems pretty legit to me.
I’d get angry over not being able to enter because I refuse to join facebook, but the prizes kinda suck so I don’t see what the big deal is. On a side note, as thousands of people leave facebook, isn’t aligning this site with it NOW a pretty stupid gamble?
Oh I am sorry you guys are complaining about a free contest that has prizes because you have to use facebook? Seriously if its that big of a deal then just dont play! Tim set up the details and if you dont agree dont play!
Thank you Tim for setting this up, I am looking forward to playing and while I do not think I will win I am curious to see what the best “batting average” is. Thanks again guys!
Exactly. You all need some cheese with that whine?
Paul > Pete
I started doing the contest, I got really really bored about half way thru the list, what a sorry crop of FA’s
I’m just confused as to why Juan Rivera and Casey Blake aren’t on the list…
top 50 only..
i like this but its a lot harder than i first thought it would be
As Joe Morgan (or most fox sportscasters) would say “key #1: You’ve really gotta know where these guys are headed if you really wanna win this contest”
are people honestly complaining about a FREE contest?
Its not free if you have to sign up for facebook!!!!! Christ…
This makes no sense considering Facebook is also FREE!!!!! Christ…
IT COSTS YOUR SOUL
Ouch.
Cool, nice stalking “JacksTigers”, even without facebook! Funny story, you know my real first name, I don’t know yours….
I’m not joining a freaking site that sells my “likes” for money, to win money on another site. Facebook is so underhanded with its privacy policies. They’re as evil a company as they can be, people need to be deleting their accounts there, not using them exclusively.
Have you not read the overwhelmingly negative response to this contest and Tim’s post saying he’s thinking about doing away with Discus and use fb only? Why are you singling me out? Do you work for facebook? Why are you such a fan of a site that doesn’t give a crap about you?
His first name is Jack….
Pete its one thing to say “not doing the contest ef fb” but to drag it on and on and on is just being dumb. We get it, you dont like facebook.
I just added Pete on FB
delete this, reply fail
delete this
so you have to have an iphone for the app and a facebook account to join contests now? geez… so i guess the target market for this site isnt people over the age of 25.
i can live without the contests,
but please dont make commenting connect to facebook.
It’s so rough needing an iPhone for an iPhone app. Someday soon you might need an Android for an Android app!!! THE HUMANITY
It seems like someone who wins this sort of contest should land a guest writer gig on MLB Trade Rumors, no?
I think it would be funny if mlbtr let the winner write one post saying how they won and rubbing it in, for instance if they bat .400 they can make ridiculous comparisons to ted williams, if they get more right than tim they can rub it in etc. Also have the post sticky at the top for a day. That would be funny.
It appears @twitter-15165733:disqus is against the Facebook idea (I understand why) because he doesn’t want people he doesn’t know finding him and adding him as friends, yet for whatever reason he posts here with his Twitter account which is even easier to add someone as a friend because they don’t need your approval to follow them, where as Facebook you need to have the person approve you to be their friend.
Pete, if you oppose the Facebook thing (I’m not saying I blame you) then why do you post on Public forums with your Twitter account? Yes Twitter doesn’t give out your real name but does it make a difference if someone knows your real name or not? So long as no one gives out their address, phone # etc. I don’t see this being such a big deal.
Also, you do know you can put up a fake name if you want on Facebook don’t you?
I am trying to do this and I don’t see Anaheim on the list. Tough contest if I can’t pick a team.
That’s because they would be under Los Angeles.
One more prize idea: ESPN insider. Come on, you ALWAYS recommend it.
I prefer a 1 year membership in the Jelly Of The Month Club
This was a fun thread. Makes me sad I wasn’t here when all this was going down.
Oh it was sooooo much fun lol. There are some people on here that really hate FB!!!
For real. Like I said, they don’t want people adding them as friends yet here they are posting with their Twitter account. No it doesn’t give their real name but you can still have a bunch of strangers read everything you post.
Why can’t I use my Google+ account to sign up for the contest? :'(
Can’t you just deny all of the random people that will potentially friend request you?
I saved my picks yesterday but don’t see my name on the “leaderboard”. Does this mean that the picks were not registered, or is the leaderboard incomplete? Thanks.
Well that blows. Just wanted to do this for fun, wasn’t interested in the prizes. Not about to make a facebook just for this… lol. Oh well, good luck to all who sent in their predictions.
Real Question…
When is the contest “over”? What if some guys just don’t get signed until…? If nobody signs Juan Pierre (please), do we wait forever? How about the opening of Spring Training, or at least opening day?
BTW, just read the comments so I could post an actual question, and Holy S*$#, Batman, what is going on?
I have NO problem with using my Facebook account to play the contest. I, for one, am tired of people not being accountable for what they say or do on the internet. This tool would be even 1000 times more beneficial if there was true accountability for what is posted and done. I am tired of cyber-bullying by chickens who don’t have the courage to stand up and let everyone know what jack-asses they are. And people who flame or spam or otherwise disrupt quality discourse on the web only because they cannot be identified.
I have seen a couple of sites that use FB (or other sites with fairly real ID policies), and I am fine with it. I am willing to stand behind what I say and do on the web. Otherwise, it just wouldn’t be worth doing.
Guess i shoulda read through all the comments before posting myself. I’m wondering the same thing; this could go on forever.
I can’t see myself on the leader-board, what is up with that
Same. Maybe they’ll update it overnight or something. You’re not alone, don’t worry.
Hey Tim reopened the contest so you can still edit your picks now. Classy move. Make sure you get your picks in now.
Hey Tim reopened the contest so you can still edit your picks now. Classy move. Make sure you get your picks in now.
hey, do you know how i can view my picks, i know i can’t change them but i don’t know how to view them again
Oh man i hope i maderight picks enough to get me in the top 3 so i can get 1K in cash and that World series Collection!!! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!!!
Tim; when’s this contest’s end date? If two there’s a couple guy’s sitting on the fence where they want to sign (or if they want to retire), and there’s a number of people within a correct pick or two of each other for the lead in this contest, how long do they have to wait for the title?
And further, if you do affix an end-date, if a guy’s not signed by then does he count as unsigned or retired or what? Does someone have to go in, sign their retirement papers, and do an in-tears press conference to count as retired? What if they sign a one day contract with a team for the intent of retiring as a member of that team?
how can I check my standings, how my predictions are doing ?
how do I check my standings and how my predictions are doing ?