My Fictional League, Details and Questions

Cadieux39 · 09-09-2015, 03:04 PM

I got OOTP 15 a few months ago and have been addicted to it since. Not having played a true baseball sim since the early 2000's I was pretty lost and overwhelmed at first but sure enough with a few hours spent and many mistakes made i've customized a very enjoyable Fictional League.

Depending on comments, questions, discussions, I can continue to add to this thread.

For Starters, The league:

(Professional Baseball League)
Starting in 1978 (randomly chosen) Player statistics and salaries are based on 1978.

24 Teams, 2 sub leagues with 2 sub divisions. Playing 124 games per season.

The league is based in North America with 4 Canadian major league teams. All team names are fictional with a historic flare and touch to them. Also a little Hockey influenced.

(Minor Leagues)
There are two divisions of minor league ball to support the (PBL) AAA and AA. Nothing special for these leagues, they play 96 games.

(Independent baseball)
The Independent Baseball League, yes it lacks a creative name, is a collection of 11 clubs with no affiliation to the PBL. It provides an alternative place for players and managers to operate. The leagues salary cap is set at 1.2 Million, and will be adjusted accordingly as salaries inflate. Most players in this league are rookies recently cut or undrafted, and veterans unable to sign in the PBL.

(Feeder Leagues)
I created a 30 team NCAA division (using real schools and team names) as well as a 12 team CIS division (That's the Canadian NCAA) along with this i created a 12 team Highschool league based out of the USA. **Note i totally screwed up my settings for Highschool, in that i told the Ai to create all new players as 15 year olds. This resulted in no high school players in the first 3 years of amateur drafts**

All of these feeder teams create an ample amount of young players who become the amateur pool for the PBL. I feel pretty confident that i could expand the PBL or IBL and not worry about stretching the talent thin. There is about 700 amateurs available in every draft with only 240-260 (depending on supplemental 1st round) being selected by the PBL. 24 teams x 10 rounds of drafting. **note** I saw in a very helpful post about custom leagues that you should have at minimum 5 rounds of draft choices per minor league. In my case 2 minors leagues x 5 = 10 Rounds.

**Biggest helpful note** If you're starting a fictional league for the first time, leave commissioner mode on. This will allow you to fix most mistakes you make in the setup, such as where players are from... budgets... roster rules...

Onto the actual league history.

I selected the Montreal Wanders as my team to manage.

The Wanders play in the East conference in the "Historic 6" Division.

Historic 6 Division = Montreal Wanders, Toronto St.Paticks, Boston Irish, New York Knickerbockers, Philadelphia Americans, Detroit Athletics.

I am 4 seasons into my Fictional league and so far it has been a blast.

**Question** Now in my first season i ran into budget issues for nearly half the clubs in the PBL, half of the teams were considered over their projected budget, those teams could not trade, sign F.A. or do any significant roster moves in the first season, If anyone knows why that happened let me know. My guess was that the fantasy draft which set everyones rosters caused the budget issues.

(My first 4 years in a recap)
In the fantasy / inaugural draft, i selected a 1 star skill but 4.5 star potential pitcher thinking he would grow into a star for me. This player unfortunately saw his potential tank down to 2 stars and is currently a 1.5 star skill MR. So far he is my biggest bust.

But a second major flop is in the making, with the 4th overall selection i took a SP from Purdue again .5 stars in skill but 5 star potential. So far 3 years later this SP has grown to 1.5 stars in Skill and potential has dipped to 4 stars. At 25 years old i wonder if he will ever reach potential.

The story of Rick Marshall, at 40 he was selected by Detroit, he is a 4.5 star skilled player. I learned who this player was because, with a strong season and a Championship as a member of Detroit, he signed a HUGE contract with New York, at which point as a 41 year old 1B, he crushed a league record 47 HR (remember 124 game seasons) won a second championship and he was the easts batting champ... at 42 he did it again 43 HR, amazing numbers helped New York to the semi-finals and was the east batting champ again! (As selected by Computer btw, i didn't make the selection) Age finally caught up to Rick as he returned to Detroit and as a 43 year old he spent most of the season hurt but still smashed 10 HR in only 50 games. His skills also dropped to 3 starts. I assume the old man will retire, but I am amazed of his dominance at that age.

Jordan Cole, just to compare with Rick Marshall, was my star veteran. He was 35 y/o in 1978, a 4.5 star RF.... age hasn't treated Jordan well... now he is 39, overpaid 1.5 stars in skill and was used in a backup role in 1981. He is no Rick Marshall... A stark contrast to how the game ages players.

(Results of Standings and league 1978-1981)

1978 Montreal finished 6th of 6 in the division, Detroit dominated the east and swept Vancouver in the PBL championship.

1979 Montreal surprises even me, edging out New York for the division, unfortunately those damn Knickerbockers defeated me in round 1, 3 games to 0. New York Knickerbockers won the PBL championship

1980 Montreal dominates, finally i think i've got a team to win a championship. I signed two impactful players from the '79 Knickerbockers. With nearly a .700 win % Montreal is the best team in baseball... And they Lose... in round 1 vs the Brooklyn Greys. Brooklyn gets to the finals but lose in 7 to the San Francisco Blue sox.

1981 A second kick at the can. Montreal ties New York for the division but lose the 1 game playoff. Montreal is the wildcard team and plays Brooklyn... again. Montreal loses... again.. 3 games to 1... again... Brooklyn then falls to the Knickerbockers who lose to Vancouver in the PBL championship.

1982... In progress.

So that is 3 playoffs in a row and 3 straight losses in the first round. New York Knickerbockers are the only team out spending me. So i am either overpaying too many bums. Or i have terrible luck. Also note those who like cheering for bad New York teams, fear not, the other east division (Atlantic) has a team called New York Minutemen. A mediocre team at best often finishing behind Brooklyn, Chicago, and Atlanta.

Hope you enjoyed the read. If you have questions or comments on settings, results, or the leagues setup let me know.

For the big College buffs, LSU has 2 national championships in 4 years. Duke and Penn State won the other 2.

09-09-2015, 03:04 PM	#1
Cadieux39 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Canada Posts: 65	My Fictional League, Details and Questions I got OOTP 15 a few months ago and have been addicted to it since. Not having played a true baseball sim since the early 2000's I was pretty lost and overwhelmed at first but sure enough with a few hours spent and many mistakes made i've customized a very enjoyable Fictional League. Depending on comments, questions, discussions, I can continue to add to this thread. For Starters, The league: (Professional Baseball League) Starting in 1978 (randomly chosen) Player statistics and salaries are based on 1978. 24 Teams, 2 sub leagues with 2 sub divisions. Playing 124 games per season. The league is based in North America with 4 Canadian major league teams. All team names are fictional with a historic flare and touch to them. Also a little Hockey influenced. (Minor Leagues) There are two divisions of minor league ball to support the (PBL) AAA and AA. Nothing special for these leagues, they play 96 games. (Independent baseball) The Independent Baseball League, yes it lacks a creative name, is a collection of 11 clubs with no affiliation to the PBL. It provides an alternative place for players and managers to operate. The leagues salary cap is set at 1.2 Million, and will be adjusted accordingly as salaries inflate. Most players in this league are rookies recently cut or undrafted, and veterans unable to sign in the PBL. (Feeder Leagues) I created a 30 team NCAA division (using real schools and team names) as well as a 12 team CIS division (That's the Canadian NCAA) along with this i created a 12 team Highschool league based out of the USA. Note i totally screwed up my settings for Highschool, in that i told the Ai to create all new players as 15 year olds. This resulted in no high school players in the first 3 years of amateur drafts All of these feeder teams create an ample amount of young players who become the amateur pool for the PBL. I feel pretty confident that i could expand the PBL or IBL and not worry about stretching the talent thin. There is about 700 amateurs available in every draft with only 240-260 (depending on supplemental 1st round) being selected by the PBL. 24 teams x 10 rounds of drafting. note I saw in a very helpful post about custom leagues that you should have at minimum 5 rounds of draft choices per minor league. In my case 2 minors leagues x 5 = 10 Rounds. Biggest helpful note If you're starting a fictional league for the first time, leave commissioner mode on. This will allow you to fix most mistakes you make in the setup, such as where players are from... budgets... roster rules... Onto the actual league history. I selected the Montreal Wanders as my team to manage. The Wanders play in the East conference in the "Historic 6" Division. Historic 6 Division = Montreal Wanders, Toronto St.Paticks, Boston Irish, New York Knickerbockers, Philadelphia Americans, Detroit Athletics. I am 4 seasons into my Fictional league and so far it has been a blast. Question Now in my first season i ran into budget issues for nearly half the clubs in the PBL, half of the teams were considered over their projected budget, those teams could not trade, sign F.A. or do any significant roster moves in the first season, If anyone knows why that happened let me know. My guess was that the fantasy draft which set everyones rosters caused the budget issues. (My first 4 years in a recap) In the fantasy / inaugural draft, i selected a 1 star skill but 4.5 star potential pitcher thinking he would grow into a star for me. This player unfortunately saw his potential tank down to 2 stars and is currently a 1.5 star skill MR. So far he is my biggest bust. But a second major flop is in the making, with the 4th overall selection i took a SP from Purdue again .5 stars in skill but 5 star potential. So far 3 years later this SP has grown to 1.5 stars in Skill and potential has dipped to 4 stars. At 25 years old i wonder if he will ever reach potential. The story of Rick Marshall, at 40 he was selected by Detroit, he is a 4.5 star skilled player. I learned who this player was because, with a strong season and a Championship as a member of Detroit, he signed a HUGE contract with New York, at which point as a 41 year old 1B, he crushed a league record 47 HR (remember 124 game seasons) won a second championship and he was the easts batting champ... at 42 he did it again 43 HR, amazing numbers helped New York to the semi-finals and was the east batting champ again! (As selected by Computer btw, i didn't make the selection) Age finally caught up to Rick as he returned to Detroit and as a 43 year old he spent most of the season hurt but still smashed 10 HR in only 50 games. His skills also dropped to 3 starts. I assume the old man will retire, but I am amazed of his dominance at that age. Jordan Cole, just to compare with Rick Marshall, was my star veteran. He was 35 y/o in 1978, a 4.5 star RF.... age hasn't treated Jordan well... now he is 39, overpaid 1.5 stars in skill and was used in a backup role in 1981. He is no Rick Marshall... A stark contrast to how the game ages players. (Results of Standings and league 1978-1981) 1978 Montreal finished 6th of 6 in the division, Detroit dominated the east and swept Vancouver in the PBL championship. 1979 Montreal surprises even me, edging out New York for the division, unfortunately those damn Knickerbockers defeated me in round 1, 3 games to 0. New York Knickerbockers won the PBL championship 1980 Montreal dominates, finally i think i've got a team to win a championship. I signed two impactful players from the '79 Knickerbockers. With nearly a .700 win % Montreal is the best team in baseball... And they Lose... in round 1 vs the Brooklyn Greys. Brooklyn gets to the finals but lose in 7 to the San Francisco Blue sox. 1981 A second kick at the can. Montreal ties New York for the division but lose the 1 game playoff. Montreal is the wildcard team and plays Brooklyn... again. Montreal loses... again.. 3 games to 1... again... Brooklyn then falls to the Knickerbockers who lose to Vancouver in the PBL championship. 1982... In progress. So that is 3 playoffs in a row and 3 straight losses in the first round. New York Knickerbockers are the only team out spending me. So i am either overpaying too many bums. Or i have terrible luck. Also note those who like cheering for bad New York teams, fear not, the other east division (Atlantic) has a team called New York Minutemen. A mediocre team at best often finishing behind Brooklyn, Chicago, and Atlanta. Hope you enjoyed the read. If you have questions or comments on settings, results, or the leagues setup let me know. For the big College buffs, LSU has 2 national championships in 4 years. Duke and Penn State won the other 2.