[kjb023]

Originally Posted by craigwbryant

Can you better explain your overall concept.

Based on describing it as promotion/relegation, I think of European soccer where this practice is still used. However, unlike in American baseball, the lower divisions of European soccer aren't really developmental leagues for the senior league. Teams in the EFL aren't developing talent that will eventually be called up to the EPL, instead the whole team is trying to be promoted to the EPL, very different structure. I would think you would have to scrap significant bit of the structure of American baseball (and by extension OOTP) to make promotion/relegation work. In either sense, I wouldn't think your playoff teams are really part of the conversation for promotion or relegation. They are by definition the best teams in the most senior, or highest, division, there's nowhere to promote them to. Similarly, as the best teams, they're not your candidates for relegation, which is usually reserved for underperforming teams. If you could somehow detach the minor leagues from the major leagues (i.e. the Major League teams don't own the rights of the players on the Minor League teams) I could see a way to work it with league champions progressing to the next level and last place finishers being moved down. However, in the current structure where the Atlanta Braves own all the players on the Gwinnett Braves, what do you do when Gwinnett gets promoted?

Your idea sounds intriguing, but I think there is a lot to untangle to make it work.

Sorry, I may have over-complicated things. What I was looking for was suggestions on how to choose which teams to promote. I'd like to promote two teams. The league champion is a gimme, but who else would I promote? Having the league runner-up get promoted means the league championship series is anti-climatic. Having the regular season's best team get promoted diminishes the playoffs. Seems like it only makes sense to promote only the league champion.