Newbie, help me with what I want to do?

Chisoxfan83 · 08-24-2024, 10:58 AM

Hi everyone,

I have been a faithful player of the mobile version of OOTP for years but have always been a little scared of the massiveness of the true PC version. However my son has a steam account and we bought it and it seems to work fine on my old laptop lol

Anyways, this is what I want to do. Can you give me the easiest steps to do it? I can’t figure it out.

I want to create the “Orlando Dreamers” as an expansion team and start with an expansion draft that I control for them. I am fine with a second expansion being created too but I don’t want to control their draft.

How do I do this? It’s something I always wanted to do in mobile but didn’t exist.

Sorry to be such a newbie

Pelican · 08-26-2024, 11:11 PM

No worries. And condolences on being a Chisox fan this year.

Under League Settings, League Actions, there is a choice for Expansion. (It will be grayed out during the season; available during the off-season.) Best to set up expansion rules at the end of the season. It will let you designate one or more expansion teams, set up the draft rules, and conduct the draft. You could do just one expansion team, but that would create schedule difficulties - lack of balance. With two - or more - the AI can draft just fine.

Having done this a number of times, I have some thoughts/suggestions.

First, give your expansion team [1] enough money to sign some free agents, [2] an experienced coaching staff, and [3] a full minor league system (which initially will involve signing minor league free agents).

Second, I would limit the protected list for established teams to twelve (or less) players. By default, players with less than three years MLB experience cannot be drafted. If you keep that rule (which I strongly recommend), most teams can protect most of their rosters. Only marginal guys will be left over. The teams with older, established players will face some challenges and tough decisions on who to protect. That's good, as it promotes parity in your league.

Third, I would resist the default setting, that allows established teams to add a player to the protected list, for each player lost in the draft. That keeps the pool of players at least somewhat strong. And again, promotes parity, and the strong get weaker.

In sum, the expansion draft (OOTP and MLB) is set up to yield a weak haul of players . This is why expansion teams always suck. But you can tighten the rules and make the new teams at least competitive. You should have plenty of money (because the salary base for your mediocre draftees will be low) to sign free agents to fill gaps.

You'll find that the AI will leave some guys with bloated contracts unprotected, as teams hope an expansion team will take them off their hands. You probably don't want those guys, but it might be worth it to take a risk.

There are all kinds of theories and approaches to expansion. I'm firmly in the camp of take the most talented player available - not drafting to need. If that's three or four pitchers in the first three or four rounds, fine. If you end up without a shortstop, you can sign a free agent or make a trade.

The biggest hardship for expansion teams is not the mediocre players in the draft, but the lack of an organization. Expansion teams will not have participated in the amateur draft, and won't have a minor league system until their first year. Talent will necessarily be thin, at all levels. (As a sort of hack, you can start with minor league teams a year or two in advance of the first MLB season, but it's tough to do.)

If I could, I would allow the future expansion teams to participate in the amateur draft, for a year or two or three before their inaugural MLB season. But the most you can do in OOTP is choose for the expansion teams to draft first, in the amateur draft before their first season.

I don't believe that expansion teams have to suck. I think it is in everybody's interest to be competitive. But OOTP follows the IRL scheme to make these teams weak, and can only be tweaked at the margins.

Good luck!

Chisoxfan83 · 09-01-2024, 03:48 PM

This was a hall of fame post! Thank you so much for the great detail as to how to do this. I am following your steps now.

Being a pathetic White Sox fan that moved to Florida is partly why I am playing out the Orlando Dreamers thing. A team very very unlikely to happen now that Pat Williams has passed but a fun alternate universe all the same

08-24-2024, 10:58 AM	#1
Chisoxfan83 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2021 Posts: 8	Newbie, help me with what I want to do? Hi everyone, I have been a faithful player of the mobile version of OOTP for years but have always been a little scared of the massiveness of the true PC version. However my son has a steam account and we bought it and it seems to work fine on my old laptop lol Anyways, this is what I want to do. Can you give me the easiest steps to do it? I can’t figure it out. I want to create the “Orlando Dreamers” as an expansion team and start with an expansion draft that I control for them. I am fine with a second expansion being created too but I don’t want to control their draft. How do I do this? It’s something I always wanted to do in mobile but didn’t exist. Sorry to be such a newbie

08-26-2024, 11:11 PM	#2
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 3,216	No worries. And condolences on being a Chisox fan this year. Under League Settings, League Actions, there is a choice for Expansion. (It will be grayed out during the season; available during the off-season.) Best to set up expansion rules at the end of the season. It will let you designate one or more expansion teams, set up the draft rules, and conduct the draft. You could do just one expansion team, but that would create schedule difficulties - lack of balance. With two - or more - the AI can draft just fine. Having done this a number of times, I have some thoughts/suggestions. First, give your expansion team [1] enough money to sign some free agents, [2] an experienced coaching staff, and [3] a full minor league system (which initially will involve signing minor league free agents). Second, I would limit the protected list for established teams to twelve (or less) players. By default, players with less than three years MLB experience cannot be drafted. If you keep that rule (which I strongly recommend), most teams can protect most of their rosters. Only marginal guys will be left over. The teams with older, established players will face some challenges and tough decisions on who to protect. That's good, as it promotes parity in your league. Third, I would resist the default setting, that allows established teams to add a player to the protected list, for each player lost in the draft. That keeps the pool of players at least somewhat strong. And again, promotes parity, and the strong get weaker. In sum, the expansion draft (OOTP and MLB) is set up to yield a weak haul of players . This is why expansion teams always suck. But you can tighten the rules and make the new teams at least competitive. You should have plenty of money (because the salary base for your mediocre draftees will be low) to sign free agents to fill gaps. You'll find that the AI will leave some guys with bloated contracts unprotected, as teams hope an expansion team will take them off their hands. You probably don't want those guys, but it might be worth it to take a risk. There are all kinds of theories and approaches to expansion. I'm firmly in the camp of take the most talented player available - not drafting to need. If that's three or four pitchers in the first three or four rounds, fine. If you end up without a shortstop, you can sign a free agent or make a trade. The biggest hardship for expansion teams is not the mediocre players in the draft, but the lack of an organization. Expansion teams will not have participated in the amateur draft, and won't have a minor league system until their first year. Talent will necessarily be thin, at all levels. (As a sort of hack, you can start with minor league teams a year or two in advance of the first MLB season, but it's tough to do.) If I could, I would allow the future expansion teams to participate in the amateur draft, for a year or two or three before their inaugural MLB season. But the most you can do in OOTP is choose for the expansion teams to draft first, in the amateur draft before their first season. I don't believe that expansion teams have to suck. I think it is in everybody's interest to be competitive. But OOTP follows the IRL scheme to make these teams weak, and can only be tweaked at the margins. Good luck! __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.”

09-01-2024, 03:48 PM	#3
Chisoxfan83 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2021 Posts: 8	This was a hall of fame post! Thank you so much for the great detail as to how to do this. I am following your steps now. Being a pathetic White Sox fan that moved to Florida is partly why I am playing out the Orlando Dreamers thing. A team very very unlikely to happen now that Pat Williams has passed but a fun alternate universe all the same