Ask a group of fantasy baseballers what’s most fun about playing in leagues and more often than not, trading will be their response. Who doesn’t love to wheel and deal? Who doesn’t love to banter back and forth with their friends, talking up your own players while cutting down a number of theirs? And, obviously, who doesn’t love looking back on a deal they made and know they did a better job than their counterpart and set themselves up for a winning season? Trading is fun, trade talk is awesome and winning a trade puts you on top of the world.

But something has happened to trading in recent years. The talk isn’t as abundant as it used to be and frankly, I’ve found myself more frustrated by what talk there is. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s the leagues in which I play. Maybe it’s because I’m 45 and not hanging out at the bar with my league mates five nights a week. Maybe I’ve just learned more over the years and prefer to let my team marinate over the first month without making snap judgments anymore. Or maybe…just maybe…it’s all of you.

First of all, let’s talk about trade etiquette. I’m not sure about what your process is, but when I’m looking to make a trade, there are two things that I do.

  1. After I evaluate my team’s strengths and weaknesses, I do the same for each and every other team in the league. Yes, evaluations are subjective, but I usually get a pretty clear picture as to which teams make for better trade partners with me. My strengths are their weaknesses and vice versa.
  2. I make a legitimate offer.

We can start with Step 1. It sounds simple and easy, doesn’t it? Well it is. The problem is that few people actually do this. How many times has someone come to you offering something you simply don’t need? You’re first in saves, last in wins and they offer you David Robertson for Gerrit Cole. What the hell is that? Why in the world would I even consider that move? Or how about the fact that you’re struggling for power and they offer you a starter and a speedster for Anthony Rizzo? Seriously, people, if you want me to trade with you, then offer me something I need and don’t just blindly ask for guys who, if you actually studied my roster, are the only ones keeping me afloat in certain categories. It’s really not that tough of a process.

And as for Step 2, well, this is probably where I get the most frustrated. First of all, if you want a player on my team, make a friggin’ offer. Seriously. Don’t come to me and ask me what I want for one of my guys and most definitely, do NOT come to me and ask me what I am willing to give you for one of yours. That’s just ridiculous. If I wanted to make a trade, I would have come to you. Don’t strike up a trade conversation by putting the onus on me. That’s not how this works. If you want to shop a guy to me, then make an offer. Are you too insecure about your ability to evaluate a player so you want me to put a value on him for you? If that’s the case, then you’re just setting yourself up to be swindled.

And for those who do actually make a first offer, make it a good one. Give me a reason to discuss the deal. If you’ve looked at my team, you know what I need and you know where my surplus is found. Don’t give me some bullsh*t offer like my Mike Trout for your Trevor Story and Jerad Eickhoff. It insults my intelligence. Some people say that the initial offer is just the first step in a negotiation, but when you make a stupid offer like that, I won’t even discuss the deal with you any further. You’ll get a simple “no thanks” and not hear another word. Some people turn around and counter with a deal that is just as stupid, but all that does is perpetuate a conversation I have zero desire to endure. I mean, do you really think that’s a deal I would make? If I offered that deal to you, would you make it? Ask yourself these questions before you propose any more stupidity.

This isn’t rocket science, people. Yes, you want to be the one who comes out on top after a trade is made, but let’s not make it so painfully obvious that every offer you propose makes it look like I’m trading gold bars for chocolate bars. Some of the best trades made are the ones where both parties actually win. You don’t have to be the shark who devours his prey each and every time, and if you are, then you need to start playing in a more competitive league. No one wins every trade they make. That’s why they make a few of them. It’s give and take. And if you’re the only one taking, at some point, your league is going to wise up and finally stop giving.

Remember, a bad trading reputation in your league spreads a lot faster than a good one.