[bpbrooksy]

Prologue

The year is 1901.

In an alternate universe, decently close to our own, United League Baseball is the premier organization for American sports. Similarly to the MLB, it really starts to take off at the turn of the century, and will expand with time, bringing with it rich history, exciting storylines, and an unpredictable narrative.

I've always wanted to get deep into a fictional league. I've attempted dynasty reports before -- but made the mistake of keeping the report hidden away in a Word document, waiting for the right time to publish it on the forums, and slowly forgetting about it over time. With this league, things are gonna be different. I'm holding myself accountable by updating here on the OOTP Forums as I go, so that everyone can have access to a real-time account of the league.

That said, this one is gonna be a pretty slow burner.

I admire the dynasties that get into the day-to-day, nitty-gritty operations. With the exception of my singular online league, I struggle to maintain investment in a league where I don't see every pitch, every bad outing, every late pinch-hit single by the 25th man.

So for that reason, during the regular season, this dynasty will be going day-to-day. You'll get a look at each starting lineup, a brief recap for every game, and news and notes from around not just the ULB, but the minors and college/high-school levels. My way of breathing life into this fictional universe is to dig very, very deep into it -- but rest assured that this won't be a page full of text dumps. Ideally, some interesting writing comes out of this!

One more thing...many fictional players recommend simming a decade or two into the future and picking up in the middle of a league with an established history. We're going to start right from the genesis and see this history develop before us. It may make some things like player evaluation more difficult at first, but I think the personal reward for me will be greater in the end.

Let's get started with some background.

United League Baseball

Established right here in 1901, United League Baseball is the country's only professional baseball league, comprised of two subleagues: the Western League (WL) and the Eastern League (EL.) While the nation is full of independent ballclubs, the twelve organizations selected to form the ULB were chosen based mostly on population size. The teams are as follows:

WESTERN LEAGUE
Chicago Railers
Cleveland Steam
Detroit Lightning
Louisville Racers
Milwaukee Mammoths
St. Louis Bluebirds

EASTERN LEAGUE
Baltimore Barbers (that's us!)
Boston Voyagers
Newark Purple Knights
New York Dukes
Philadelphia Generals
Washington Freedom

In addition to this twelve-team setup, each team is affiliated with three minor-league ballclubs: a Triple-, Double-A, and Single-A team with which to populate with prospects and other developing players. (We'll get more into Baltimore's organization as a whole in due time.)

Finally, there are twelve college teams and twelve high school teams from which young players are eligible to declare for the ULB draft.

The Format

Just a little rules/setup housekeeping to keep everyone in the loop with how the league will be operating.

First and foremost: stats only.

The season lasts for 162 games. Prior to the season, a four-week spring training period occurs. Then, a roster of 25 players (which expands to 30 on September 1st) will battle other teams from April until the end of September. The two pennant-winning teams (one from the WL and one from the EL) will then face off against each other in the best-of-seven United League Championship Series.

In the middle of all this, an All-Star Game will be held, during which 25 players from each league will compete against each other to decide home field advantage in the playoff at the end of the year. Not all teams are required to send a representative.

After the conclusion of the season, a selection of sportswriters, as well as players and managers from the league, will vote on that year's Award and Honor recipients. There are three major Awards:

- Diamond Player Award, awarded to the top player in each league
- Golden Arm Award, awarded specifically to the top pitcher in each league
- Silver Skipper Award, awarded to the best manager in each league

Then, there are a handful of "Honors" -- not quite on the same level as Awards, but significant enough to warrant mention and end-of-year discussion.

- Silver Arm Honor, awarded to the top reliever in each league
- Platinum Bat Honor, awarded to the best hitter at each position in each league
- Platinum Glove Honor, awarded to the best fielder at each position in each league
- Bronze Baserunner Honor, awarded to the best baserunner in each league

This league currently operates under the reserve clause. This may change in the future, but I thought it was really important for the early stages of the league for these teams to develop identities and for organizations not to get confusing with too much player movement. Trading is still certainly available for teams (with a July 31st deadline).

The highest salary in the league is shared by seven players, and it's exactly $490. The St. Louis Bluebirds have the league's highest budget, at $18,000.

The Inaugural Draft

Before we took control of our team, the league held an inaugural draft to allow the teams to populate their rosters, all the way down to the lowest level. The draft lasted 108 rounds, and over 1500 players declared themselves eligible for selection (those who went undrafted are now free agents.)

We will spotlight the Barbers soon, and we will look back at the first round as we begin to square off against new teams in the league, but for now, the most pertinent information is that the Detroit Lightning had the opportunity to select first overall. They chose outfielder Seth Weick, a 26-year-old California native who unsurprisingly projects to be a franchise cornerstone with plus speed, vision, and defense. He'll be an interesting one to keep tabs on in the opposite league, as he attempts to live up to the lofty expectations of being the first player ever chosen to play in the ULB.

Looking Ahead

There's not much to cover between the draft and the beginning of the season. We don't know enough about these teams and the players to get a good sense of what's happening in this abridged "offseason". Therefore, we're going to perform what will likely be one of our only time jumps. Spring training is over, but before the regular season commences, we're going to dive into the Baltimore Barbers organization as a whole. After all, we're going to be spending quite some time with them!