Vickrey Revisited

Last year, I wrote about the method of FAAB bidding known as the Vickrey Method. Rodger argues that this might be a better FAAB mousetrap.

...if nobody else puts in a claim, then the player is awarded for $1. My actual bid was more in line with Mike's.

For some years, I've been arguing that my league make this sort of pricing standard for all bidding. The high bidder would get a player for a buck over the second highest bid. It's a modified Vickrey.

Anyone use a Vickrey?

I know Tout Wars uses Vickrey. But the version of their web site that's available to the public doesn't show you much. Transactions are listed, but with no winning bids, let alone losing bids.

There's a long, esoteric argument here about the Vickrey Method. For those of you who pore over Rotisserie blogs (and, if you read this blog, you're probably that type of person), you probably are aware of all of the pros and cons.

One of the biggest arguments for the Vickrey Method for FAAB is that a blind FAAB auction isn't equal to the auction we partake in at the beginning of the season. If I bid $20 on Adrian Beltre and you think that's a steal, you'll say $21. I can say $22 or scratch myself and let you have Beltre for $21.

But in FAAB bidding, that simply isn't the case. If I decide that Eddie Bonine is worth $10 next week and the next highest bidder thinks he's worth $3, then tough noogies. I get him for $10.

Under Vickrey, though, I'd get him for $3 (under straight Vickrey) or $4 (under the modified Vickrey most leagues use).

I like the idea of Vickrey because it puts more FAAB into a league during the season, and creates the potential for more bidding wars later on. If enough of these Max Ramirez situations occur, there will be more bidding wars down the line for guys later. That's fun, since part of the game with FAAB is having money to spend.

You can make the same argument the other way, though. Part of the fun of FAAB is the guessing game that takes place every week. If I'm looking to replace a starting pitcher with a "safe" middle reliever, I usually list three relievers in order of preference and slap a $1 bid on all of them. I'd prefer to get the first reliever, but I can live with my second or third choice, too. It's when I really want someone where the guessing game begins. Then I have to decide how much of my money I have to spend, how much I think I'll need later, and how important it is for me to buy Jamey Carroll or Bonine or whoever it is I'm chasing in a given week.

I tend to avoid recommending rules in this space because I don't know how your leagues operate and what the personalities are like in those leagues. I've also never played with Vickrey, so I can't say yea or nay from that standpoint. I do know that giving Ramirez at $1 to the owner who bid $11 is fair in some ways but in other ways doesn't really teach him anything about the nature of FAAB bidding. One of the things I really like about this game is the learning curve, and one thing the better owners do when it comes to FAAB is learn to adjust to their leagues.

Vickrey is another learning curve, I suppose, but it feels to me like the equivalent of letting an owner who shouted out "Erik Bedard - $45" at auction get him for $26 because the previous bid was $25. That owner shouldn't have thrown Bedard out at such a silly price, in all likelihood, and the same argument can be made about certain FAAB bids.