Association vs Tournament vs Exhibition "playoffs" - which option is best?

[stevebydac]

Forgive me, as I searched & also tested but am unsure of the answer...

In my baseball world, I want to set up something akin to college football bowl games, either at the end of a season or during a season.

The idea is to have financially strong "conferences" (divisions) like the SEC, mixed with other divisions that are mid-level (MAC etc) and others that are weak (Ivy League, Patriot League etc). Teams play schedules that are heavily weighted in-division, with only a handful out-of-division games.

At the end of the year, teams qualify to play 10 or so "bowl games" matching up equally talented teams from across the league. (I could have playoffs as well with the division winners)

My problem:
- Exhibition game statistics are not saved, correct? I won't be able to see a record of these in my league's history?

- Association playoff games keep records, but from what I've read they're rather incomplete?

- If #1 and #2 are correct, then single games ("bowls") are impossible, so my solution might be to have perhaps a few small 4 team tournaments of equally matched squads. As it seems tournament records are kept better than association records? Is this the best idea? Or do you suggest something different?

Thank you in advance for your answers & any advice!