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BBGiovanni · 06-19-2022, 04:08 PM

I think the last time I finished up a P/R season I posted about this, but once again I'm amazed how fun/dramatic the stretch run in a P/R league is.

I'm playing the Pirates in the second tier of my AABBA setup, and they've been literally tied with the Marlins for the second/final promotion spot for like 6 weeks. Philadelphia is in first, but they haven't run away with it so up until the last week they could have stumbled back into a three way scrum. Now they're 4 up with 6 to play, probably safe. PIT and MIA don't have any head-to-head games in the last week so it will be 6 days of hectic scoreboard watching.

But that's just a regular pennant race. The fascinating thing in some of these P/R leagues is the DEPTH of the races. I JUST (

) discovered the "wild card" table, and it shows the top four teams in line for playoff berths and everyone else. Puerto Rico is 4 games out of the last spot with 6 to play but they're 8--2 in their last 10 and probably better than their record. At the other end of the world, Portland is bad but Tampa is wretched and slumping and Milwaukee has awakened from a year-long slumber so there's still some drama in the relegation zone.

That all means there are only SIX teams out of 16 that don't have something directly at stake in the last week of the season. But literally every one of those teams, at least in the next to last series of the season, is playing a team scrambling for a playoff berth or trying to avoid relegation. There's no hiding. It's great. And this race isn't even the tightest.

In the top tier, Toronto is running away with the pennant, and the top 5 slots are basically spoken for. And the 2 teams promoted last year are going back where they came from, RIP Baltimore and Charlotte. But that last playoff spot... with 6 games to go FOUR Teams are separated by two games, and the Cubs still even have mathematical life. In the PBL only six teams have nothing to play for, and that's just because BAL/CHA are so rotten Atlanta easily stayed out of relegation. And 2nd place, which means a first round playoff tournament bye, has been neck and neck for months, if not half the year, between the Gothams and Sunrays.

But like last year the real dogfight is down in the third tier, the Interstate League. Here too the pennant is decided with Nashville running away with it. And another big tug-of-war for the second promotion/bye spot with San Antonio coming back furiously to try to get back up to the MBL where they started. And Las Vegas and Sacramento are pretty safely in the postseason. Like the PBL the last playoff spot is up for grabs with four teams all within 3 games.

The part that REALLY makes this a big cage match is the scrum at the bottom. Indianapolis is in 12th place, but they're only 5 games ahead of Ottawa (sadly about to become the first Canadian team to be relegated). And they're only 3 ahead of Salt Lake, currently in the second relegation spot.

That means there is only ONE team, Durham, that has nothing to directly play for in the last week of the season. New Orleans is 5 games out of the last playoff spot so in all likelihood they'll join that list soon... BUT. That's only two out of 16 teams. And did you notice the LAST PLACE team has only 85 losses? How's that for a change from whole MLB divisions where only one team is above .500?

And this is all with the game-created round robin 150 game schedule that makes head to head matchups rare. I can't wait for next season because Ruwisc just made me a true 150 game round robin schedule that starts with two rounds of 2 game series so that all teams have played each other 4 times in the first couple months of the season. Then it shifts to 3 game home and home series for the rest of the year, so there will be four meetings with each team, no more hiding from the tough guys or beating up on the bums.

Anyway, this is my annual appeal for people to try out a promotion/relegation game! Especially if you are a simmer, I play almost all my games out (and an annual international tournament too) so I've only seen a couple years of evolution. Try it and see!

06-19-2022, 04:08 PM	#1
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,874	Fun with Promotion/Relegation! I think the last time I finished up a P/R season I posted about this, but once again I'm amazed how fun/dramatic the stretch run in a P/R league is. I'm playing the Pirates in the second tier of my AABBA setup, and they've been literally tied with the Marlins for the second/final promotion spot for like 6 weeks. Philadelphia is in first, but they haven't run away with it so up until the last week they could have stumbled back into a three way scrum. Now they're 4 up with 6 to play, probably safe. PIT and MIA don't have any head-to-head games in the last week so it will be 6 days of hectic scoreboard watching. But that's just a regular pennant race. The fascinating thing in some of these P/R leagues is the DEPTH of the races. I JUST () discovered the "wild card" table, and it shows the top four teams in line for playoff berths and everyone else. Puerto Rico is 4 games out of the last spot with 6 to play but they're 8--2 in their last 10 and probably better than their record. At the other end of the world, Portland is bad but Tampa is wretched and slumping and Milwaukee has awakened from a year-long slumber so there's still some drama in the relegation zone. That all means there are only SIX teams out of 16 that don't have something directly at stake in the last week of the season. But literally every one of those teams, at least in the next to last series of the season, is playing a team scrambling for a playoff berth or trying to avoid relegation. There's no hiding. It's great. And this race isn't even the tightest. In the top tier, Toronto is running away with the pennant, and the top 5 slots are basically spoken for. And the 2 teams promoted last year are going back where they came from, RIP Baltimore and Charlotte. But that last playoff spot... with 6 games to go FOUR Teams are separated by two games, and the Cubs still even have mathematical life. In the PBL only six teams have nothing to play for, and that's just because BAL/CHA are so rotten Atlanta easily stayed out of relegation. And 2nd place, which means a first round playoff tournament bye, has been neck and neck for months, if not half the year, between the Gothams and Sunrays. But like last year the real dogfight is down in the third tier, the Interstate League. Here too the pennant is decided with Nashville running away with it. And another big tug-of-war for the second promotion/bye spot with San Antonio coming back furiously to try to get back up to the MBL where they started. And Las Vegas and Sacramento are pretty safely in the postseason. Like the PBL the last playoff spot is up for grabs with four teams all within 3 games. The part that REALLY makes this a big cage match is the scrum at the bottom. Indianapolis is in 12th place, but they're only 5 games ahead of Ottawa (sadly about to become the first Canadian team to be relegated). And they're only 3 ahead of Salt Lake, currently in the second relegation spot. That means there is only ONE team, Durham, that has nothing to directly play for in the last week of the season. New Orleans is 5 games out of the last playoff spot so in all likelihood they'll join that list soon... BUT. That's only two out of 16 teams. And did you notice the LAST PLACE team has only 85 losses? How's that for a change from whole MLB divisions where only one team is above .500? And this is all with the game-created round robin 150 game schedule that makes head to head matchups rare. I can't wait for next season because Ruwisc just made me a true 150 game round robin schedule that starts with two rounds of 2 game series so that all teams have played each other 4 times in the first couple months of the season. Then it shifts to 3 game home and home series for the rest of the year, so there will be four meetings with each team, no more hiding from the tough guys or beating up on the bums. Anyway, this is my annual appeal for people to try out a promotion/relegation game! Especially if you are a simmer, I play almost all my games out (and an annual international tournament too) so I've only seen a couple years of evolution. Try it and see! __________________ Let's Go (San Jose) Giants, Let's Go Mets! Current Project: WBAT/AABBA: Organized Base Ball And the "New Normal" World Baseball Aid Tournament 2023 trophy round underway!