Imagine Sports

What Imagine Sports does

Imagine Sports operates Diamond Mind Online, a historical fantasy baseball simulation platform established in 2005 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The platform enables team owners to draft and manage rosters drawn from a database of over 18,000 players spanning the entire history of professional baseball, including the Negro Leagues and Nippon Professional Baseball. Its core technology is a customized version of the Diamond-Mind engine, originally developed by STATS and acquired by owner Dayne Myers; the engine incorporates park factors, weather conditions, platoon split ratings (BatPlat/PitchPlat), and detailed play-by-play output that has been recognized as PC Magazine Editor's Choice and historically used by ESPN to simulate seasons.

The product portfolio spans three primary modes: Diamond Mind Live (real-time head-to-head play against AI or other owners), Single Player Game (solo AI-managed play at the user's pace), and Multiplayer League (8-team competitive leagues using current MLB players). Beyond these core modes, Imagine Sports supports custom community-created leagues (franchise, progression, captains, salary cap), structured Ladder Leagues with European-style promotion/relegation, and recurring competitive tournaments including the Grand Open Tournament (108 teams) and Masters Tournament. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company's website, which offers a self-serve registration model, free play entry points, buy-one-get-one promotional offers, gift cards, and a legacy Diamond Mind Baseball PC game sold separately at diamond-mind.com.

The business model is product-led and community-led, with teams priced from $4.99 each, paid freemium gameplay for Diamond Mind Live after registration, and tournament/league entry fees as recurring revenue streams. Customer acquisition relies on organic marketing through a blog, monthly newsletter, featured team owner spotlights, and social media on Facebook and X. The company is privately held by founder Dayne Myers with a team of 1-10 employees, no disclosed institutional funding beyond a 2007 Amicus Capital round, and no public revenue disclosures.

Name

Imagine Sports

Legal name

Imagine Sports

Website

https://imaginesports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Imagine Sports operates Diamond Mind Online, a historical fantasy baseball simulation platform founded in 2005 that enables enthusiasts to draft and manage teams from a database of 18,000+ players spanning all of baseball history. The Austin-based privately-held company serves competitive and casual baseball simulation fans worldwide via subscriptions starting at $4.99 per team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online fantasy baseball simulation

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports/Racing Game Studios (MPAFAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Amateur & Grassroots Tournament Organizers (MPAKADAH), Amateur/Grassroots Esports Leagues & Community Tournaments (MPAFADAL)

Keywords

• Fantasy baseball simulation
• Historical baseball game
• Online sports simulation
• Competitive baseball leagues
• Baseball tournament play

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. League/Team Purchases: Customers purchase teams to participate in simulated baseball leagues. Leagues start as low as $4.99 per team. Special promotional offers for new customers include a second team free with first purchase.
2. Tournament Entry Fees: Revenue generated from competitive tournaments including Grand Open Tournament (GOT) and Masters tournament with multiple rounds and prize recognition.
3. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards for Diamond Mind Online products and leagues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Imagine Sports operates Diamond Mind Online, an online fantasy baseball simulation where team owners draft from over 18,000 historical MLB, Negro League, and Nippon Professional Baseball players and manage them through a play-by-play engine that accounts for park factors and weather. Gameplay modes include free Diamond Mind Live (real-time head-to-head), Single Player (solo vs. AI), and Multiplayer League (8-team seasons), along with paid team purchases into leagues and tournaments starting at $4.99 per team, structured Ladder Leagues with promotion/relegation, custom community-created leagues, and large-scale tournaments (Grand Open Tournament, Masters).

Product overview

Imagine Sports operates Diamond Mind Online as its flagship product, a historical fantasy baseball simulation game. The platform offers multiple game modes including Diamond Mind Live (real-time competitive play), Single Player Game (solo AI management), and Multiplayer League (8-team competitive leagues using current MLB players). Custom Leagues provide customer-created formats with varied themes, while structured Ladder Leagues feature promotion/relegation systems. The company also runs competitive tournaments including the Grand Open Tournament and Masters Tournament. A legacy Diamond Mind Baseball PC game is offered separately. Team owners can choose from over 18,000 players throughout baseball history including Negro Leagues and Nippon Professional Baseball.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diamond Mind Online Historical fantasy baseball simulation game allowing team owners to draft from over 18,000 players across MLB history including Negro League and NPB rosters; play unfolds via a play-by-play engine that accounts for park factors and weather, with three free play entry points (Diamond Mind Live, Single Player, Multiplayer League) and paid league/team purchases.
• Diamond Mind Live Free-to-play (after registration) real-time head-to-head mode where team owners manage play-by-play against an AI-managed team or another owner, setting lineup and starting pitcher.
• Single Player Game Solo mode that lets users create their own league, pick a team from baseball history, and manage it against AI opponents at their own pace.
• Multiplayer League Online mode where users join 8-team single-season sim leagues (8 teams) and compete against other team owners using players from the current MLB season; teams start at $4.99 with a second-team-free offer for new customers.
• Custom Leagues Player-created leagues with custom themes such as franchise leagues, progression leagues, captains leagues, salary cap formats, and themed historical tournaments.
• Ladder Leagues Structured competitive leagues operating with European soccer-style promotion and relegation across ranked tiers, including the Standard Association (autodraft) and Random 600 Association (manual draft, Moneyball-era player pool).
• Grand Open Tournament Large-scale multi-round tournament competition; recent edition (GOT XVIII) advanced to Round 3 with 108 teams reduced to 72.
• Masters Tournament Elite tournament featuring linked accelerated seasons (Classic followed by SSG) where participants draft from four franchise/position groups (IF, OF, SP, C/RP).
• Diamond Mind Baseball (PC Game) Desktop PC version of the baseball simulation game sold as a standalone perpetual license; legacy product offered alongside the online platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• ESPN and media companies have used the Diamond Mind simulation engine to simulate seasons
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ESPNcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Diamond Mind simulation engine has been used by ESPN and other media companies to simulate baseball seasons. This partnership established the credibility and realism of the simulation engine before the internet era of online gaming.
• ESPN Classic BaseballcoreTechnology or IntegrationDiamond Mind was originally operated through ESPN Classic baseball before moving to Imagine Sports under Dayne Myers' ownership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Out of the Park Developments (Out of the Park Baseball): Long-running PC/browser historical baseball simulation with deep statistical engine and dynasty/league modes. Closest direct competitor to Diamond Mind Online, serving the same expert baseball-fan niche with a comparable simulation-product model.
• Strat-O-Matic Baseball: Iconic baseball simulation brand (board game and digital) covering historical seasons and head-to-head play. Competes with Diamond Mind Online for the same simulation-purist customer segment and historically similar fan demographic.
• APBA Baseball: Long-established baseball and football simulation brand offering cards-and-dice plus digital formats. Overlaps with Diamond Mind Online in serving historical baseball sim enthusiasts who manage rosters across eras.
• Dynasty League Baseball (Wolverine Studios): PC-based historical baseball simulation with detailed stats and replay leagues. Targets a similar expert-baseball-fan audience with comparable league/replay mechanics.

Broad incumbents

• MLB The Show (Sony / San Diego Studio): Officially licensed MLB console/PC franchise with deep franchise and online league modes. A larger incumbent whose franchise mode competes for time and dollars from the same baseball enthusiast pool, though positioned as a mainstream consumer title rather than a sim purist product.
• ESPN Fantasy Baseball: Largest free season-long fantasy baseball platform, already a distribution partner of Imagine Sports via ESPN's use of the Diamond Mind engine. Competes for the same fantasy-baseball enthusiast attention with a much broader (free, mass-market) offering.
• Yahoo Fantasy Sports: Major free season-long fantasy baseball platform. Competes with Diamond Mind Online for the same expert fantasy-baseball user, though focused on current-player season-long play versus historical sim.

Emerging players

• Football Manager (Sports Interactive / Sega): Leading football (soccer) management simulation with deep tactical and statistical systems. Closest analogue for what a multi-sport expansion of Diamond Mind Online's engine could look like and a benchmark for sport-sim product depth.
• Retro Bowl (New Star Games): Mobile-first football management sim that has captured mainstream casual sports audiences. Illustrates the mobile sports-sim category Imagine Sports does not currently address and the competitive threat of mobile-native depth-and-sim titles.
• Ballpark Pal / Pennant Race (browser sims): Browser-based historical baseball sim communities that compete with Diamond Mind Online for attention in the online sim-league niche. Comparable product format (web-based, league-driven, historical rosters).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imaginesports
• Facebookfacebook.com/DiamondMindBaseball
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imagine-sports

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imagine Sports