Question about on-line leagues
 

Hey everybody...

Brand spankin new to the whole ootp experience. In fact, all i have so far is the trial version of 9, but i have pre-ordered ten and i am very impatiently waiting. Where has this game been all my life? How did I NOT know about this game?

So...when 10 finally comes out (and i'm able to stop driving my wife insane) I'd like to join an on-line league. I'm hoping for as real a situation as possible. Can you still get fired in an on-line league? And then subsequently find a new job that was vacated by someone else?

When joining an on-line league, I'd like to know from some of you veterans of the game the right things to look for. I'm sure a good commish is number one, but what else? I think i know where to look, i just don't know what to look for or even what questions i need to ask.

Any advice this newbie can get would be greatly appreciated.

Toby

I know how you feel.

You can't get fired in an online league; you could get booted out of one, but that would certainly only happen if you broke some league rules. You'd never get booted due to your team's performance, unless you displayed incompetence so complete that it was hurting league integrity. Teams do become available in leagues, when owners do leave, for whatever reason. Some leagues have waiting lists, but the average league probably only has one or two people already in line.

You seem to already know the type of league you want (real teams and players, as opposed to fictional), and that's the first step. Getting into a league with a good Commissioner is also important, but poor Commissioners are rare—any Commish who isn't dedicated will simply no longer have a league, in a short period of time. Therefore, look for things in a league that are important to you. Beyond having real teams and players, how detailed of a financial system do you want? How important is having a fancy website? Are you looking for a league with lots of writing, articles, and extra material provided by league participants, or are you just in it for the nuts-and-bolts, the gameplay itself, and will provide all the imagination on your own? A league's website will tell you a lot about a league. Of course, community veterans are a safe bet to place your confidence in, as Commissioners.

Other details to look at are: how often the league sims, in real time; most leagues sim three times a real week. There are exceptions though. The in-game pace of the simming is a factor, too. Most leagues sim between seven and fourteen days within-game per sim (seven, ten, and fourteen days per sim are by far the most common). Some leagues sim differently than that, though. Some burn through complete seasons as quickly as possible, maybe simming a month at a time. Others take it incredibly slowly, and sim at a real-time pace: one in-game day per real-time day.

When v10 comes out, a freshet of new leagues will flow forth. You won't have any trouble finding at least one which fits your criteria; and most of us who are into the online leagues thing don't stop at just one.

Wow...Thanks
 

That was a great response. I hope that whatever league I get into, the veterans are as helpful as you Satchel. If you, or anyone else for that matter, has anything else this newbie should know, I'll take any advice I can get.

Toby

Aside from a good commish, good league-mates are just as important. You want to be able to communicate with them about a number of things. Personally, I dislike playing against other people who refuse to respond to questions about trades, or never post in the league forums, or never really seem to be trying to win. If all you are going to do is send in your export and never talk to anyone, why play online?

For your first online league, I'd suggest trying to find one that is already established with a good core of owners. New leagues tend to drop owners really quickly as people get bored, decide they don't like the league, etc.

Hey guys, just as a follow up on online league questions. I am not a complete noob w/ ootp but I have never been in an online league.

I understand you can set 7-day lineups for simming, but how do injuries work. Let's say my starting CF gets injured on day 1 of the sim, is the AI responsible for putting in a backup or does it go to my depth chart?


Also, let's say your guy sustains a serious injury on day 1 that will knock him out for months. Will the AI make any roster moves like putting him on the DL, or will I get to do that when the sim has been completed?


Thanks for the info

AI will work off your depth chart and not make DL/roster changes. With an injury, you will basically just be short a player for the rest of that sim. With position players, I find it isn't a big deal unless you just don't have any suitable backups. With starting pitchers, it can be a big deal if he still has another start to make. Then the AI sometimes does funky stuff if you don't have extra long guys on the staff.

Anyway, you will then make appropriate roster changes (including DL) at the end of the sim. Not the AI.

Either way, everybody is in the same boat, so it isn't really a giant issue. The fact the injury occurred is still the big issue, not so much that you lost a roster spot for four days.

Thanks a lot, I'm happy to see that the computer won't be batting David Wright 1st for six games due to a freak injury.

I didn't even think of the starting pitcher injuries, good point. When that happens will the AI use your spot starter or do they use guys on short rest?

This is one of the biggest areas of variability in online leagues.

In the league I run, I check the Injury Log every day of a sim, and if a team has sustained an injury which requires a roster adjustment, I make it, following some guidelines that I've made clear to the league's owners. For example, what if a team lost both of its catchers over the course of two or three days? Or lost two or three starting pitchers? These things demand an immediate reaction. Of course, I also follow owners' instructions: they can request, ahead of time, that I perform a particular response, if their team sustains an injury. An owner can also ask me to keep my mitts off his team, no matter what, and I'm happy to follow that command.

I also check everyone's DL before a sim, and re-activate players as soon as they're eligible. What if a team's star player is able to return to the team, one or two games into the sim? It wouldn't make sense for him to sit on the DL for a week, for no reason.

Communication with the Commish is the key. Even if your league doesn't have policies that deal with these things, most Commissioners will follow your instructions, if you clearly declare what you'd like for him to do, in different circumstances. For example, you can tell a Commish "On May 3, bring Pujols off the disabled list. Send Johnson back down to AAA and put Pujols into the lineup."

How a Commish deals with things like this will tell you a lot about the destiny of his league.

As a Commissioner, I need to be in touch with everything that happens, on every team, every day. I safeguard the competitiveness and realism of my league. I am a shepherd, and the owners are my flock.

I will also add something for those interested in real-player leagues. Keep in mind that since most online leagues operate on a faster pace than real life, your real players will begin to disappear after a couple of real years.

I think maybe the most important piece of advice to a newcomer to online leagues is: after you try your first, try a few more. Online leagues are varied in so many different ways. It's not just the obvious things like real vs fictional players, but things you may never think about like: financials or not; full ratings, just potential or just stats; coaches and/or scouts; live drafts or protracted, etc etc. There are countless ways in which online leagues vary and you may find like I have that certain ways are just not to your tastes. Thankfully, though, there are dozens and dozens of leagues out there and chances are, even if you're very picky, you'll be able to find one that's right for you.

Thanks for all the great info guys. I hate to sound like a complete noob but how do you actually join a league? Should I just email the person whose running it or do you visit the website link and sign up that way?

Thanks again

The best way is to check the online leagues forum and wait for someone to post that there is an opening in a league, then contact that person.

Alternatively, you can email the commissioner of a league you are interested and start a dialogue and maybe put your name on a waiting list for the next available opening.

Sounds good, for now I'll just jump in the first one I can get into until I learn to get more picky.