How do fantasy sports leagues fit into the larger story of the male loneliness epidemic? You might be surprised.

By Jordan Ritter Conn | March 27, 2026 | THE RINGER

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He lived in the suburbs. Alpharetta, Georgia, just northeast of Atlanta. Beautiful wife, three beautiful children. Cubicle job, pleasant enough, with solid pay. Sometimes, during coffee breaks at work, Joey Triplicata and his buddies talked baseball. Braves fans, all of them, perennially hopeful, perennially disappointed. Most watched a game or two a week, went to Turner Field a few times a year.

This was 2008. But when Joey got back to his desk, he wanted more. He wanted to hear from the people who were glued to 162 games a year, who tracked prospects, who dived deep into statistics with complex acronyms, who could rattle off the FIP of random middle relievers just for fun. He wanted to commune with the sickos.

On ESPN’s message boards, he found them. Men, mostly, from all across the United States, logging on to talk ball. They sat before screens in offices and “computer rooms,” at cubicles and kitchen tables. They had debates about men named Edinson Volquez and Jair Jurrjens and speculated on whether they could trust the production of Ryan Ludwick or Jermaine Dye. 

Joey had started playing fantasy sports a few years earlier, and baseball quickly became the version he loved most. There were endless statistics to study and players to track, games almost every day of the week from April to September. He played with complete strangers, in leagues hosted by… Read More HERE

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