There are many different types of fantasy baseball league formats out there:  AL Only, NL Only, Mixed, Roto, Points, Head-to-Head, Strat-o-Matic, Dynasty, Scoresheet, etc.  Not to mention the different draft variations such as Keeper, Re-Drafts, Auction or Snake-Drafts.

It can be mind-boggling trying to figure out what type of league to join, or form--whether you're just getting into fantasy baseball, or whether you're a seasoned vet forming a new league with some buddies.

That's why I'd like to take a moment and find out what the RotoJoe.com nation favors with regard to league formats and rules...

What type of leagues do you play in? (AL Only, NL Only, Mixed, Deep, Shallow)

Which formats work best for you? (Auction, Snake, Keeper variations, Re-Drafts)

Which types of leagues did you think you'd enjoy or hate, only to find it was the opposite once you dove in and gave it a try?

My Leagues:

Myself, I'm an 'Only league guy.  I focus on my two AL & NL Only leagues.  They're mostly the same guys in both leagues, so we now have it set up so the rules of each league parallel each other.

These are $260 auction keeper leagues with 10-man farm systems.  Keepers are valued at their auction price (you fill out your active roster with $260), and can be kept at contract value for 3 years, with the option to add a fourth for $5.  You can keep up to 12 players each year, but at least 5 must be kept.

The farm system allows each team to draft up to 5 minor leaguers each draft (snake draft for farm players) that have not yet exceeded MLB's rookie eligibility.  Farm players are assigned a value based on the round you draft them, and do not count against your auction budget until you activate them into your active roster, or they are no longer rookie-eligible.

Teams have to have an ACTIVE roster of 14 hitters (2 Catchers, Each infield spot, 1 corner infielder, 1 middle infielder, 5 outfielders and 1 utility player) and 9 pitchers.  If a guy hits the DL, is traded out of the league, or sent to the minors, you have to get them out of your active roster.

We have 2 reserve spots that can be used for either hitters or pitchers.  During September, we extend our rosters by 1 hitter and 1 pitcher, and our reserves go up to 4, but no more free agents can be picked up unless a guy goes on the DL.

Waiver claims are made for people being waived off of another team, coming off of the DL, or entering the league without any ties to other teams.  They are done by random drawing of those interested.  Free agents can be picked up at anytime.

People entering the league via trade (AL player entering a NL Only league mid-season) are subject to a silent bidding process, and can be kept for 2 years.  Bid players also must be kept on your roster for next year's draft unless they are no longer in the league (AL player entering NL Only league, bid on, but then signs with AL team in offseason).  This keeps people from over-bidding for players since there is not FAAB used.  If a cross-league trade happens and an owner loses players out of the league, he has the option of picking up the players coming into the league.  If more than 1 owner loses players, there is a bidding process to determine which owner gets the players (if they want them).

Rules that I don't like:

The main rule I come across that I truly despise, that thankfully I don't have to deal with in my leagues, is the ability to remove players from your active roster to avoid getting negative stats.  This pops up a bunch in head-to-head leagues.

Here's the scenario:  You're leading your beating your opponent, and going into the weekend as long as you hold up your lead in ERA and WHIP, you'll win that week.  So, you bench any pitcher that's supposed to start or that could get into a game that weekend so you won't give up any hits or runs. 

I think this is pretty Busch league.  If you're fielding a team of hitters and pitchers, you should have hitters and pitchers in your lineup.  I don't have any problems with doing this if you are replacing your pitchers with other pitchers that won't play, but just leaving an empty roster spot is deplorable.  After all, the spirit of fantasy baseball is that you can assemble a team of players to beat all of the other teams.  If your team is supposed to have 9 pitchers, you need to field 9 pitchers.  Would you ever see a MLB team trot out there without a center fielder or a catcher because they're weak spots in their lineup?  Or a team only go into a game without any pitchers?  No, because you can't do that in baseball.  So why would you want to do that in fantasy baseball?  Have confidence in your team!  Afterall, you're the one responsible for who you have!

I'm also not a big fan of waiver priorities, but more importantly waiver priorities that vary from week to week.  I like the setup we use where a random drawing is done for players waived by other teams, but free agents can be picked up at anytime (after passing through waivers initially).  Waiver priorities typically work from the bottom of the standings up, which is good in one way, but just because your team blows, doesn't mean you should automatically have first dibbs at whoever you want. 

Waiver priorities that switch from week to week based on standings are even worse!  If you don't pick someone up, and then your team improves, you've just lost all of the benefit of your top priority!  If you're going to use the priority system, whomever has top priority should keep it until they use it. 

That's my story.  So, RotoJoe.com nation, what's yours?