[thehynes]

hi BaseballMan, have been reading your posts with interest. Thanks for all the info. I've just started up with OOTP again after a hiatus of a couple of years.
I've started a historical league in 1871 and intend on seeing how far I get with it - managing a team and playing every game. Previous experience of tinkering with teams,league settings etc on a historical sim has put me off so I've just accepted the OOTP version of history and will accept whatever teams it puts into the two leagues at whichever year.
The twist, there has to be a twist, that I'm having in this simulation is that if a player is from Philadelphia, for example, he can only play for a team from Philadelphia. If a player was born in Ohio he can only play for Cincinnati or Cleveland. If a player was born in a state without a team then he is eligible to play for a team from a neighbouring state. If there are no teams in neighbouring states or he was born abroad then he can play for anyone. I'll be interested to see how the balance of power shifts over time as new sources of baseball talent become available- in 1871 I've had to have Brooklyn & Philadelphia 'loan' players out to the other clubs as they havent got enough players - I should think I wont need to do that again after the 1872 influx of rookies.
Anyway, thanks again for your posts - it's good to share the knowledge!

edit - can you refresh my memory on something......at what date would the 1872 rookies appear in my game? I seem to remember a previous incarnation of OOTP that I played had them popping up in June or July or something like that. I would need them appearing before the season begins - any advice most gratefully received!