RON SHANDLER began publishing his unique brand of statistical information under the Shandler Enterprises name in 1986. A fantasy leaguer since 1985 and a simulation gamer since 1971, Ron was the first author to develop sabermetric applications for fantasy league play. He is the author of the Baseball Forecaster annual, now celebrating its 36th year of publication; he is the founder of the industry trail-blazing web site, BaseballHQ.com and the First Pitch Forums nationwide conference series. Ron also helped spearhead the creation of the Tout Wars national experts competition, which was the focus of the “Fantasyland” book and documentary film.

Ron’s work has appeared in numerous publications and web sites. He has written for USA Today, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, and currently The Athletic. He has been cited by many sources, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week and Money magazine. Many Major League teams are regular customers of his books and web services.

One of Ron’s most notable research contributions is the “Low Investment Mound Aces Plan,” (LIMA) a fantasy draft strategy that identifies undervalued pitching skills and optimizes resource allocation to construct more productive rosters. Ron began using LIMA in 1998 — four years before Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” year — and it led to four titles and a second place finish in national expert league play from 1998 to 2001. Ron also developed:

• Pure Quality Starts: A measure of a starting pitcher’s effectiveness based on component skills.
• Reliability Grade: A measure of a player’s risk, based on health, experience and performance consistency.
• Portfolio3 Plan: An integrated strategy in which players are evaluated based on skill and risk, and slotted into a three-tiered draft portfolio.
• Mayberry Method: A player evaluation method that embraces the imprecision of the forecasting process by projecting elements of performance using a simple 0-5 scale.
• Broad Assessment Balance Sheet (BABS): A roster construction strategy that evaluates players using broad measures and sets targets as a balance between assets and liabilities.

Ron has an MBA from Hofstra University, is a professional direct marketer and forecasting analyst by trade, and held senior management positions with several international publishers prior to starting Shandler Enterprises. A native New Yorker and die-hard Mets fan, he is married with two daughters and currently lives in Port St. Lucie, FL.