THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503100079
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
ONE DAY LAST August, Jerry Heath was the head of a thriving, six-figure business, a company he built from scratch just 10 years before.
A day later, the world no longer needed his services. When major league baseball went on strike, Heath Data Service went dead in the water.
With no major leagues, there was no rotisserie baseball, and hence no need for Heath's specialized service: providing statistics to fantasy leagues.
``This has been my employment for some time,'' Heath said. ``I have no side ventures. This is my entire support.''
While that's hard for some people to believe, when you consider that Heath Data provided services to 262 leagues last year and charged each a minimum of $500, it becomes quite believable.
Heath Data is one of the five biggest companies of its type in the country, Heath says. Admittedly, it's a small industry, with about 60 companies all told.
``Our entire business has been rotisserie baseball since 1985,'' Heath said. ``The first five years we operated out of our home. Since 1990, we've had an office.''
As recently as a dozen years ago, there was no such thing as a rotisserie baseball statistician.
But in 1984, Heath, who had recently started a computer software business, read a newspaper article about rotisserie baseball. He had a hunch it might catch on.
His hunch was right. Rotisserie, in which ``owners'' draft teams of major league players and use a statistics-based points system to determine league standings, took off in the mid-1980s.
So, too, did the demand for people who could do the time-consuming work of compiling statistics and standings.
In recent years, Heath's business had grown to the point where he used a handful of seasonal employees, especially at the beginning of the year when rotisserie rosters came rolling in.
Heath expects to get most of his customers back when the strike is settled, but he wouldn't be a surprised if he loses a few.
``I've heard from quite a few leagues and there's a lot of interest in still having a season,'' he said. ``But I would expect there will probably be some casualties.''
Heath's business won't be one of them. He doesn't get any revenue during the winter anyway, so if the strike is settled fairly soon, he expects to be OK.
``It's pretty much our savings we've gotten by on,'' he said.
When last season was canceled, Heath reimbursed his customers by giving them credits toward this year. So far, though, there hasn't been a this year.
``I believe the reason baseball is in the situation it's in right now is primarily because of the owners' inability to restrain themselves,'' Heath said. ``On the other hand, I have very little sympathy for the players.
``We're one of those firms that neither players nor owners really think about, but we are just as dependent on Major League Baseball as they are.''
And that's no fantasy. by CNB