Heartland Baseball League (Stats Only) With Openings

[udbacker58]

The Heartland Baseball League is a 16 team, semi-stats only, fictional league set in the Midwest. The league started in 1978 and we just finished the 2006 season. We play a balanced, interleague schedule(16/4) of 144 games beginning April 1 and ending in September. The top two teams in each league(North/South) complete in the playoffs for a shot at the Heartland Series. All major pitching and hitting ratings/potentials are hidden while the minor ones(fielding, speed, pitcher endurance) are available. Each team has three levels of minors and we boast a full feeder system of college and high school teams.

This league has been active since January 2013 and we still have several original owners. The commish does not run a team, just the league. We sim in the PM on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday and we sim 1/3 of a month at a time making each regular season complete in about six weeks. We then sim the offseason one month at a time so that they move rather quickly as well. There is no arbitration so players are eligible for free agency after four seasons in the bigs and they become minor league free agents after spending four years in the minors. There is also a $5 million salary cap. With the last patch out, we are making the move to OOTP 18 as we enter the 2010-11 offseason.

Currently have two openings, if interested please PM me here....

[udbacker58]

Still looking for the right GMs for these two teams. Two very good places to start out! CR is on the cusp of a rebuild with a good revenue stream; SB needs just a couple of tweaks to become a perennial contender.

[bpbrooksy]

Always got to throw my $0.02 in whenever we have an opening. I've never been more invested in OOTP than I am through the HBL, because the small size and stats-only focus means you really do get to know everybody, and absorb all of the storylines and minutia and history. Just today I scrolled through the history index for over an hour to see where some of my forgotten players were popping up on the all-time leaderboards.

Two thumbs up!

[Monarch3]

I'm in three leagues and have played a couple of seasons, but have much to learn. What does "stats only" mean?

Thanks!
Philip

[tugafcp]

Hi!

How are you?

I´m interested in join the league, and if possible to take control of the Rebels. I like challenges and see that this team needs a rebuild, well was very appealing...

Just a quick background of me, I started to play the OOTP around 2 years ago, exclusively offline. I played the 16, and a couple months ago I bought the 18. I live in Europe, and I try to follow the MLB games, but having 5hours of difference, it´s hard...

I liked very much to see that this league is semi-stats and only have sims 3x a week.

It will be my first online league, so maybe I will need a quick explanation for the first or second time that I will upload the file to server.

Best regards,
TugaFCP

[LivnLegend]

Hoping for some fine replacement GMs for these two teams!
I have been in this league since the beginning, and it's really a nice set up and an easy going group of guys. Come on in an check it out!

[Monarch3]

Commish,

I tried to PM you, but got a message that you've exceeded your personal storage quota and need to clear space to accept new messages.

I've posted here before, but this is what I tried to PM you:

I have some interest in your league openings, but need a better understanding of what "stats only" or "semi-stats" means.

I've been playing OOTP for somewhere around 6 months and am in three online leagues as GM of the 1874 St. Louis Brown Stockings, 1969 Kansas City Royals, and 2018 Kansas City Royals.

In all of these we have stars for current and potential and ratings 1-5, 2-8 or 20-80. I assume you have neither stars nor these numerical ratings in a stats only league. How do you evaluate a new player? What information is available?

Also, should we get past this question of stats only, which I understand from reading the forum a little is very important to you and others, is it possible to relocate our franchise? What states count as mid-west and can we use real current or past minor league teams?

Thanks for your response.

Philip Hubbard

[Monarch3]

Is anyone around to answer inquiries? Can't PM the commish.

Philip

[udbacker58]

Sorry guys, I just cleaned out the inbox.

Phillip, to directly answer your questions;

*Correct, we only have defensive/speed ratings turned on. We do NOT have scouts on though, so the scouting reports tab gives accurate information on players (primarily useful for prospects). You are forced to use the stats to try and determine the talent/value of a player instead of the ratings. I wouldn't say it is overly hard, just something to get used to, and it leads to some interesting decisions. (is that aging player worth another big contract? is that guy who tore up AAA but struggling in his call-up not good enough or just going though a bad stretch? that middle reliever who just put together an outstanding season, can you trust him next year? is that stud high school pitcher destined to be a reliever or a starter? etc)

*As far as relocation, I don't want to have teams moving all over the place in this league. It has 35 years of history and we don't want GMs to change the location/nickname of a team until you've been in the league over 5 seasons. You're welcome to change the logo/jersey, but until you have to show dedication to the league before being able to move a club.

[Monarch3]

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking on it. More in a PM.

I get what you are saying about relocation. Seems very reasonable to earn that right after playing in the league for 5 seasons. After that long, GM might not feel like moving anyway.

[bradleycchurch]

Sent message. I will take opening if still available