There is no "Right Way" to play OOTP. Whether Historical, Current, or Fictional - at game detail or at 30,000 feet, we all find our own play to play it. Personally, I've always favored a fictional universe. Maybe it's my love of SciFi or maybe I'm just weird
In any case, my most recent adventure is the creation of a fictional country called the Commonwealth of Columbia, situated weather-wise in an area similar to the Gulf of Mexico. CofC is a small country of about 125,000 square miles (80% the size of California), with a population of 35 million. (see attached map)
In 1947, the Commonwealth Baseball Association was formed, consisting of 18 teams divided into 3 leagues, using a Promotion/Relegation format. For its inaugural season, the 6 largest cities were placed in the 1st Tier National League; the 6 next largest cities were placed in the 2nd Tier American League; and the 6 next largest cities were placed in the 3rd Tier Federal League.
National Commonwealth League
..Chandler Electrics
..Oakpark Eagles
..Empire Bay Cannons
..Bellevue Pilots
..Newport Knights
..Kingston Tigers
American Commonwealth League (w designated hitter)
..Akron Yankees
..Ligonier Rams
..Birkland Bears
..Hillwood Stars
..San Gabriel Missions
..Clifton Pirates
Federal Commonwealth League
..Bedford Falls Angels
..Mt. Gilead Indians
..Euclid Panthers
..Emery Park Vikings
..Canton Terriors
..Alantown Cardinals
30 other, smaller towns all have amateur teams which develop and feed the 12 professional teams in an amateur draft process.
I've played out 5 seasons so far (1947-1951) and thought I might share it with the community.
Although I do keep a detailed Almanac to capture all the details OOTP is capable of, I also assemble a short, seasonal timetable (monthly) which effectively slows me down enough for me to become familiar with the teams and players - AND serves as a "seed" for various stories within the creation.
My ultimate goal is to play out the CofC to the current time window (2018-2019?) and then possibly convert it to an online league with all its accumulated history. The real question will be how attached I am to it at that point
Anyway, I will begin by posting the 1947 season summary after the holidays. Each season currently takes me about 2 weeks to play out and summarize, so it's reasonable to expect I can post a new season every 2 weeks, assuming life doesn't get in the way.
I hope the effort is enjoyable
PS: I will eventually provide descriptions and little side-stories of each of the 18 major cities to provide an "economic/cultural" background for the baseball main story.