Switching historial league over to free agency

[Boozie1580]

I'm running a historical sim and was wondering about when I'm going to enable free agency as I get closer to the current day. Has anyone done this? The problem I'm anticipating is that when I do enable it, pretty much everyone has a 1 year contract with the reserve clause rules, so when I switch over to free agency in the 1970s won't it just be absolute mayhem? Is there a way around making 3/4 of the league a free agent at once?

[Orcin]

Excellent question! Maybe someone with experience will answer. In the meantime, I am going to speculate that the AI signs a bunch of extensions and some long-term contracts before the free agency date. That's what I would do.

[Boozie1580]

I'm hoping something like that is the case. Has anyone dealt with this?

[mking55]

If you're running a historical sim and didn't change the defaults, the game automatically goes into free agency/salary arbitration mode around 1976. I can't remember the exact year.

You're potential free agents will start emailing you about contract extensions and your finances page will show possible free agents.

It's in the setup and options--league setup--financials. I believe if financials are in use, the game will use free agents at the right time. If no financials, then no free agents (makes sense).

So basically I believe it's all done for you and you don't have to do anything as long as financials are on.

[cheo25]

It should occur after the 1976 season -- that was the first offseason for full free agency. Catfish Hunter was declared a free agent after the 1974 season, but that was a special scenario based on a breach of contract by A's owner Charlie Finley.

I am also currently simming the 1976 season (just as commissioner with no team affiliation), and I've had seen an extension or two made. The Dodgers acquired Fergie Jenkins after the '75 season and locked him up through '78, I think. I'm at work right now so I'm just going from memory of my game. I'm also curious to see how free agency, mixed with an expansion draft, goes down.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by Boozie1580

I'm running a historical sim and was wondering about when I'm going to enable free agency as I get closer to the current day. Has anyone done this? The problem I'm anticipating is that when I do enable it, pretty much everyone has a 1 year contract with the reserve clause rules, so when I switch over to free agency in the 1970s won't it just be absolute mayhem? Is there a way around making 3/4 of the league a free agent at once?

I just did this in my dynasty (fictional, not historical -- I don't think that makes a difference), and it wasn't a very difficult transition at all.

The players who aren't eligible for free agency will get their contracts automatically extended, similar to what happens under reserve-era rules, so you don't have to worry about them. If your current league set-up allows multi-year contracts, then not all of the eligible players will enter the free agency pool right away -- they can't until their current contracts expire. Furthermore, a change from reserve clause to free agency can only take place during the pre-season, so you have all season to offer new contracts to your free-agency-eligible players. All of that cuts the absolute mayhem down to much more manageable levels of mayhem.

If you don't allow multi-year contracts right now, you might want to change that setting before you dive into free agency -- maybe give it two or three years to take effect throughout the league. But even if you don't, there probably won't be a massive flood of free agents once you make the switch-over.

[KentCol]

I haven't simmed historical before so I ask this. If you check allow free agency in the setup does it automatically disable it in the seasons before free agency?

[Boozie1580]

Awesome, thanks a lot for all the responses.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by KentCol

I haven't simmed historical before so I ask this. If you check allow free agency in the setup does it automatically disable it in the seasons before free agency?

No. At least not on 11 and I haven't seen any change in that. I had one league that by 1900 players were making 25,000. Babe Ruth was the 1st million dollar player in 1928. I am only in 1904 in my new historical league which has been converted since 11, so I am interested to see that since i have reserve clause on and all the financial boxes checked to see if it will switch but I should be on OOTP 25 by the time I get to 1976.