What if the '94 Strike Season Folded? A Sim

Trav876 · 11-11-2023, 10:16 AM

In this OOTP Sim, coming into the 1995 season we have a new league, with new teams, but real historical players...

NOT the MLB players, who, in this alternate universe, decided to get paid out and walked as the MLB folded (whether they will enter the new league down the road, or just stay retired, or go play overseas, or whatever, is TBD). But instead, the players in this 1995 season are the minor leaguers who were already on these minor league teams.

We went ahead & did an inaugural draft as well, to a) try to get the fans interested, and b) due to all of the current players having been originally drafted by their parent organizations who have now folded.

I have taken over as the Colorado Sky Sox GM, including designing a new ballpark (wait until you see what it is below).

Or check out the video here-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FznSb7PpgbQ

LEAGUE DETAILS

I decided to take this opportunity to tweak some things vs. how the former MLB was doing it. Some are probably more "player friendly," while some are more "club friendly," but we have an actual commissioner who is NEUTRAL and cares about integrity of the game! Who woulda thought...

*All players are on the "league minimum" for year 1 & 2 ... top 5% are the Super 2 (meaning, they start arbitration 1 year early) and otherwise arbitration starts after year 2 for everyone else. This arbitration is merit based (KBO style), so it doesn't just continually increase. If a player has a bad year, salary can go down during Arbitration period. This will give teams more $ to play with if they just had a bad year, because their payroll will be less.

*4 years of service before free agency (same w/ minors, 4 years), instead of the former MLB's 6.

*Qualifying Offers for later round picks (2017 CBA) ... lottery system enabled for the rookie draft (Importing real historical players from that time period).

*135 games... interleague play ... only an East/West from NL & AL, & 2 wildcards from each league

*Every team has a AAA, AA, and A.

*Unchecked adjusting league modifiers, so it should kind of run away with how the league "randomly" evolves?

*Erased all history- since it's a new league, so players can set new records, etc. on teams & in MLB (it's still called "MLB," ... so in this Universe, once the prior MLB League folded, their name was able to be used).

*As for team's market size, fan interest, etc., I evened every team out to be the same at the start. THIS WAS BEFORE THE INAUGURAL DRAFT. So as the game evolves, it should change. Revenue sharing is at 50% and everything else is very similar to the 1995 default.

*Each year, I can re-evaluate some of the financials & league set up if needed. Can also expand/retract if needed (if retracting, the players on the team being removed will be picked up through a free agent draft). If a team is last in their division for 3 years in a row, they'll be retracted.

PLAN & STRATEGY AS THE SKY SOX GM

I am building around my ballpark which is ridiculous. 475 to CF, 450 to the power allies. There is a chance lefties can pull homeruns down the line, because I put the wall at 5 ft out there and only 325 feet down the line. But then it goes to 400 feet pretty quickly, and again 450 in right center. According to the park factors, lefties are at 20% of what normal parks would be for hitting homeruns. Righties will have a very tough time to hit HRs, as down the LF line is 400, plus a 20 foot wall, and wind blowing in from LF. OOTP park factors estimate 2.2% of normal HRs are going to be hit by RHB in my park

Thus, I am not concerned about getting HR hitters. Doubles and triples are up around 2x. Averages are up around 20%. So I'm trying to find high contact guys and high gap power guys.

As for pitching & defense, this will be the challenge. We'll probably lead the league in lowest HR given up, but also in highest BA and extra base hits. Thus, I'm trying to find high movement & high stuff guys WHO ARE GROUNDBALLERS. Since you have to give & take somewhere, I'm not concerned if their control isn't great. Also, trying to get good defenders who have lots of range... both in the infield (with groundball pitchers) and outfield (with it being extremely huge).

Obviously we do have games on the road too, but with half our games at home, I think it's worth building the team around my ballpark, with it being so extreme.

jksander · 11-11-2023, 10:21 AM

This looks fun!

Trav876 · 11-12-2023, 08:21 PM

In the below video, we'll be starting at the 1995 Trade Deadline of this new League, and finishing up the season. See if the Colorado Sky Sox in their extreme, newly developed ballpark, can make the playoffs.

With the park being such a hitter friendly park (minus homeruns), Sky Sox are looking to trade for pitching upgrades. See how that goes ... and see if they can overcome their unfortunate injury plague of Pickering and Allensworth, two top young outfielders who have been carrying the team all season.

Check it out here: https://youtube.com/live/LqJGgoB25Iw

Trav876 · 11-14-2023, 04:55 PM

Here we go with Video #3-

https://youtube.com/live/aaAc9gny8Cg

Lots of highlights from this one. We're moving into the 1995 off-season ... and we've got a surprise! Former MLB players are back into the game, being entered now as free agents!

Many have appeared to decline in their abilities (or simply have dropped relative to the players who played a full 1995 season), but some are still sharp as one would expect in real life. Or is my scout just off?

See what off-season moves are made, including the Rule 5 Draft & Rookie Draft.

We (Sky Sox) were going after it during FA Signing...

11-11-2023, 10:16 AM	#1
Trav876 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 293	What if the '94 Strike Season Folded? A Sim In this OOTP Sim, coming into the 1995 season we have a new league, with new teams, but real historical players... NOT the MLB players, who, in this alternate universe, decided to get paid out and walked as the MLB folded (whether they will enter the new league down the road, or just stay retired, or go play overseas, or whatever, is TBD). But instead, the players in this 1995 season are the minor leaguers who were already on these minor league teams. We went ahead & did an inaugural draft as well, to a) try to get the fans interested, and b) due to all of the current players having been originally drafted by their parent organizations who have now folded. I have taken over as the Colorado Sky Sox GM, including designing a new ballpark (wait until you see what it is below). Or check out the video here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FznSb7PpgbQ LEAGUE DETAILS I decided to take this opportunity to tweak some things vs. how the former MLB was doing it. Some are probably more "player friendly," while some are more "club friendly," but we have an actual commissioner who is NEUTRAL and cares about integrity of the game! Who woulda thought... All players are on the "league minimum" for year 1 & 2 ... top 5% are the Super 2 (meaning, they start arbitration 1 year early) and otherwise arbitration starts after year 2 for everyone else. This arbitration is merit based (KBO style), so it doesn't just continually increase. If a player has a bad year, salary can go down during Arbitration period. This will give teams more $ to play with if they just had a bad year, because their payroll will be less. 4 years of service before free agency (same w/ minors, 4 years), instead of the former MLB's 6. Qualifying Offers for later round picks (2017 CBA) ... lottery system enabled for the rookie draft (Importing real historical players from that time period). 135 games... interleague play ... only an East/West from NL & AL, & 2 wildcards from each league Every team has a AAA, AA, and A. Unchecked adjusting league modifiers, so it should kind of run away with how the league "randomly" evolves? Erased all history- since it's a new league, so players can set new records, etc. on teams & in MLB (it's still called "MLB," ... so in this Universe, once the prior MLB League folded, their name was able to be used). As for team's market size, fan interest, etc., I evened every team out to be the same at the start. THIS WAS BEFORE THE INAUGURAL DRAFT. So as the game evolves, it should change. Revenue sharing is at 50% and everything else is very similar to the 1995 default. Each year, I can re-evaluate some of the financials & league set up if needed. Can also expand/retract if needed (if retracting, the players on the team being removed will be picked up through a free agent draft). If a team is last in their division for 3 years in a row, they'll be retracted. PLAN & STRATEGY AS THE SKY SOX GM* I am building around my ballpark which is ridiculous. 475 to CF, 450 to the power allies. There is a chance lefties can pull homeruns down the line, because I put the wall at 5 ft out there and only 325 feet down the line. But then it goes to 400 feet pretty quickly, and again 450 in right center. According to the park factors, lefties are at 20% of what normal parks would be for hitting homeruns. Righties will have a very tough time to hit HRs, as down the LF line is 400, plus a 20 foot wall, and wind blowing in from LF. OOTP park factors estimate 2.2% of normal HRs are going to be hit by RHB in my park Thus, I am not concerned about getting HR hitters. Doubles and triples are up around 2x. Averages are up around 20%. So I'm trying to find high contact guys and high gap power guys. As for pitching & defense, this will be the challenge. We'll probably lead the league in lowest HR given up, but also in highest BA and extra base hits. Thus, I'm trying to find high movement & high stuff guys WHO ARE GROUNDBALLERS. Since you have to give & take somewhere, I'm not concerned if their control isn't great. Also, trying to get good defenders who have lots of range... both in the infield (with groundball pitchers) and outfield (with it being extremely huge). Obviously we do have games on the road too, but with half our games at home, I think it's worth building the team around my ballpark, with it being so extreme. __________________ 1993 Colorado Rockies & Beyond. Working Towards Building a Dynasty (Vidoes & Posts) Volume 1 (Retired, Video Playlist) 1993 - 2009 with the Expansion Colorado Rockies, MLB Sim Replay, Career Mode Last edited by Trav876; 11-11-2023 at 12:26 PM.

11-11-2023, 10:21 AM	#2
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,604	This looks fun! __________________ A Fledgling “Free Agency” Movement in the Post-War World -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Daily Double Baseball (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

11-14-2023, 04:55 PM	#4
Trav876 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 293	Coming Into 1995 Off-season ... What If 1994 MLB Folded? Here we go with Video #3- https://youtube.com/live/aaAc9gny8Cg Lots of highlights from this one. We're moving into the 1995 off-season ... and we've got a surprise! Former MLB players are back into the game, being entered now as free agents! Many have appeared to decline in their abilities (or simply have dropped relative to the players who played a full 1995 season), but some are still sharp as one would expect in real life. Or is my scout just off? See what off-season moves are made, including the Rule 5 Draft & Rookie Draft. We (Sky Sox) were going after it during FA Signing... __________________ 1993 Colorado Rockies & Beyond. Working Towards Building a Dynasty (Vidoes & Posts) Volume 1 (Retired, Video Playlist) 1993 - 2009 with the Expansion Colorado Rockies, MLB Sim Replay, Career Mode Last edited by Trav876; 11-14-2023 at 06:26 PM.

11-12-2023, 08:21 PM	#3
Trav876 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 293	Video #2 Live Sim- What if the '94 Strike Season Folded? A Sim In the below video, we'll be starting at the 1995 Trade Deadline of this new League, and finishing up the season. See if the Colorado Sky Sox in their extreme, newly developed ballpark, can make the playoffs. With the park being such a hitter friendly park (minus homeruns), Sky Sox are looking to trade for pitching upgrades. See how that goes ... and see if they can overcome their unfortunate injury plague of Pickering and Allensworth, two top young outfielders who have been carrying the team all season. Check it out here: https://youtube.com/live/LqJGgoB25Iw __________________ 1993 Colorado Rockies & Beyond. Working Towards Building a Dynasty (Vidoes & Posts) Volume 1 (Retired, Video Playlist) 1993 - 2009 with the Expansion Colorado Rockies, MLB Sim Replay, Career Mode Last edited by Trav876; 11-12-2023 at 10:10 PM.