[Jestor]

Thanks for the comment carl, though unfortunately I slightly misled with the Houses reference I'm afraid, as you'll see below.

After much negotiation and traveling to various cities, the inagural list of 24 teams is devised for the World Baseball League. Those of you who may know my predilictions for certain cities from other venues may be surprised somewhat at the following, but further explanation will be below.

Northern League:

East Division
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Boston (MA)
Dover (DE)
Providence (RI)
Washington D.C. (DC)

Central Division
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Chicago (IL)
Lexington (KY)
Minneapolis (MN)
St. Louis (MO)

West Division
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Boise (ID)
Calgary (Canada)
Laramie (WY)
Seattle (WA)

Southern League:

East Division
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Charleston (SC)
Montgomery (AL)
Orlando (FL)
Richmond (VA)

Central Division
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Little Rock (AK)
Nashville (TN)
New Orleans (LA)
Tulsa (OK)

West Division
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Monterrey (Mexico)
San Diego (CA)
Tucson (AZ)
Waco (TX)

It may seem surprising that my hometown of Racine, Wisconsin nor my soon-to-be city of Santa Cruz, California qualified as one of the cities chosen, but that is because they figure into future plans I have for the league. For now, it shall be as it is.

It is purely by circumstance that the two teams that give the assocation the true "World" flavour both are in their league's respective West division. I think it could create interesting storyline potential, however.

When possible, I tried to avoid cities that would compete directly with MLB teams, but personal preferences often came into play when choosing those cities that will be going head-to-head financially with their better-known counterparts.

Two rivalries that I hope have the potential of developing: Richmond vs. Washington D.C. and Lexington vs. Nashville. Put in opposing league for Civil War-related reasons, it'll be interesting to see if the hoped for animosity does come about.

Other notes:

The Batter of the Year Award will be called the Silver Bat, the prize consisting of that item.

Pitcher of the Year Award shall be the appropriately named Emerald Ball, after the composition of the actual award.

Rookie of the Year will be unchanged.

Fielding Awards shall be Diamond Gloves.

The Northern League champions the DH; the Southern League bans it.

Team cash maximums shall be at $50 million, with the minimum salary being $100,000 and no salary cap in place.

The amateur draft will consist of 10 rounds and take place in the offseason; the playoffs composed of the three division winners, plus a wild card. I always did like the wild card, as it helps out a team that may be screwed by being in a tough division. All rounds shall be best of 7.

Coaches and Scouts will be allowed jobs.

And I believe that's all for now. Next report will examine the inagural draft that allocates players.