In-Person/Online Hybrid auction draft suggestions

[rickipll]

We are an established league that used to have in-person drafts until Covid. This year. we're looking to hold an in-person auction draft with 10 of the 12 owners planning on attending and 2 joining remotely (either via phone or zoom.) I'm looking for suggestions on how to best conduct this draft. Some owners have expressed concerns regarding doing the in-person draft with Poster Boards and then having to manually enter the players into the Onroto Platform. Do you have any suggestions/best practices on how to run a Hybrid draft auction. Thanks

[Riverdome]

Help me understand "poster boards?" Does your league show the in-person draft results so everyone can see? Maybe we're the weird league but we expect everyone to monitor their own draft results. Come prepared and stay current, or get left behind

[rickipll]

I agree with the sentiment :-) However, we have some old -school (and OLD) players who have been playing since 1988. So the last time we did an in-person draft, we had a poster board for each team that was updated after every player bought.

[Howie M]

we have had an owner or two have to draft via phone here and there since the late 1980s, at least a half-dozen times.
it's a little complicated but not insurmountable.

doesn't hurt if the phoners/Zoomer Boomers elect not to have by far the most money in the late stages - in that scenario, maybe be a little aggressive earlier to get a decent team together, and then the end-stage doublechecking of who's still available is more manageable.

and if they can't keep up with exactly who is owned by exactly which team, that hardly strikes me as fatal. maybe you bid a buck on a backup catcher, not realizing that the owner with the most money also needs one so he gets him for 2. in that scenario, almost 50/50 that your consolation prize turns out better anyway. and so on.

plus if they are old like me,they should show up with printouts and a pen and cross off each name as the player is nominated anyway.

[JonE]

For years, we drafted by phone, and we used poker-style bidding: that is, Team A nominates a player for $1, then Team B can top that bid or drop out, then Team C can top that bid or drop out, etc. Once that player is purchased -- essentially, every team but one drops out -- then Team B nominates a player, Team C can bid or drop out, Team D is next, etc. That makes sure that the online players always have a turn and don't get their bids swallowed up by noise in the main room or by tech glitches.

I am pretty sure OnRoto allows you to enter "offline" draft results either in real time or after the fact. Consider assigning this task to one of the online owners, or a helper. That would allow new-school owners to use the website in more or less real time.

[Riverdome]

For years, we drafted by phone, and we used poker-style bidding: that is, Team A nominates a player for $1, then Team B can top that bid or drop out, then Team C can top that bid or drop out, etc. Once that player is purchased -- essentially, every team but one drops out -- then Team B nominates a player

Jon, that sounds like it would take awhile. Did that solution result in longer drafts?

[Howie M]

we did a COVID Zoom auction in 2021, and one of the owners didn't seem to realize that we could hear everything - everything - he said.
I think the only owner who didn't notice him griping about a rival owner seeming discombulated was - that guy.

he also complained because as Commish, I would repeat each name and give the team and position eligibility in case anything got lost in the translation, so to speak. as if any of our owners - with an average of almost 30 years experience in this league - didn't know who all the nominated players were, or something.

[circle360]

We are an established league that used to have in-person drafts until Covid. This year. we're looking to hold an in-person auction draft with 10 of the 12 owners planning on attending and 2 joining remotely (either via phone or zoom.) I'm looking for suggestions on how to best conduct this draft. Some owners have expressed concerns regarding doing the in-person draft with Poster Boards and then having to manually enter the players into the Onroto Platform. Do you have any suggestions/best practices on how to run a Hybrid draft auction. Thanks

We have done this the last few years

We set up a google meet for all league members

Then did the auction on fantrax.

A handful of people were in person.

The draft has actually gone faster as well.

We used to do a live and on the phone draft. Since 3 people dont live close. That took longer. Since the people in person werent sure who was bidding at times on the phone. Which made the draft go longer at times

[usualsuspects]

For years, we drafted by phone, and we used poker-style bidding: that is, Team A nominates a player for $1, then Team B can top that bid or drop out, then Team C can top that bid or drop out, etc. Once that player is purchased -- essentially, every team but one drops out -- then Team B nominates a player, Team C can bid or drop out, Team D is next, etc. That makes sure that the online players always have a turn and don't get their bids swallowed up by noise in the main room or by tech glitches.

I am pretty sure OnRoto allows you to enter "offline" draft results either in real time or after the fact. Consider assigning this task to one of the online owners, or a helper. That would allow new-school owners to use the website in more or less real time.

If I recall, read carefully the original RLBA Constitution calls for the bidding to “proceed around the room” or words to that effect. It is actually pretty fun. A different strategy to the bidding for sure. Although it always boils down to a pair of bidders at the end, you do know that no lurker can come in with a late jump bid to hose you..

[JonE]

Jon, that sounds like it would take awhile. Did that solution result in longer drafts?

It was longer at first but we quickly got faster. The key is learning that, for example, this year Team C is always bidding immediately after Team H, and immediately before Team F, so you figure out when it's your turn and when you can relax or when you have to lean in. Our auctioneer got faster at calling the team names, we got faster at responding, and then eventually we stopped using the auctioneer because we could self-police. We weaned ourselves away from making $1 and $2 bids on the Sotos and Judges of the world, and if anyone did try a $2 bid there was someone nearby who would jump it to $25 or $30 so the serious bidding could start. We learned that if we said "Team C passes," people didn't always hear us or pay attention, so we might have to say "Team C pass" a couple more times. We learned that when only two or three teams were still bidding, someone could say "Down to you two" and they would just go back and forth.

Also, I think it helped by making it less chaotic. There was a lot more side talk when everyone was gathered in one or two rooms. But when you have to listen for each team, it focuses your attention more.

For about a decade now we have used an online platform. It is certainly efficient, but I miss hearing people's voices -- and there was more cross-talk too. We open up a phone or Zoom each year, but it's mostly an image of ten guys staring at their computers quietly.