Looking For "Friends" to join "Our League".

[atabakin]

Hey guys. So, I'm a little late to the party and I'm not sure the best way to navigate dozens of pages within this thread, so I'm hoping someone can help me out here.

My FTP team, the Virginia Freeloaders, made a pretty rapid ascent to Perfect. Never won fewer than 91 games working my way up through Iron, including titles at Bronze and Silver. I can't say I was promoted too quickly, because I won 95 games in Diamond and made the World Series. Last season was my first in Perfect, and I was not relegated despite losing 102 games. Now I'm 3-23 and almost certain to be relegated for next week.

I'm not making nearly enough points to even consider an upgrade, so I'm thinking about doing an overhaul, gradually over the next week or two so as not to be considered "tanking." I think this league/set of leagues would be a nice fit, but I have some questions.

1. Am I eligible to join if I jettison all my live/future legend players, even though I played several seasons not within the parameters of "Our League"?

2. Are historical cards of active players eligible? For example, the Live Miguel Cabrera is obviously a no, but what about his cards from earlier in the decade?

3. Is getting packs through Challenge Mode ok?


I'll have to turn over half my roster in order to be compliant, but I'm willing to start the process if I get the go-ahead. Hopefully I'll be able to join you guys in Diamond next week.

[Kushiel]

As long as you never spent money on the team, I think the answer to all 3 questions is yes. If I am incorrect one of the founders will say so soon; I am sure. My Armadillos came into the league late the same way having made it to Gold level.

[stl jason]

Originally Posted by atabakin

Hey guys. So, I'm a little late to the party and I'm not sure the best way to navigate dozens of pages within this thread, so I'm hoping someone can help me out here.

My FTP team, the Virginia Freeloaders, made a pretty rapid ascent to Perfect. Never won fewer than 91 games working my way up through Iron, including titles at Bronze and Silver. I can't say I was promoted too quickly, because I won 95 games in Diamond and made the World Series. Last season was my first in Perfect, and I was not relegated despite losing 102 games. Now I'm 3-23 and almost certain to be relegated for next week.

I'm not making nearly enough points to even consider an upgrade, so I'm thinking about doing an overhaul, gradually over the next week or two so as not to be considered "tanking." I think this league/set of leagues would be a nice fit, but I have some questions.

1. Am I eligible to join if I jettison all my live/future legend players, even though I played several seasons not within the parameters of "Our League"?

2. Are historical cards of active players eligible? For example, the Live Miguel Cabrera is obviously a no, but what about his cards from earlier in the decade?

3. Is getting packs through Challenge Mode ok?


I'll have to turn over half my roster in order to be compliant, but I'm willing to start the process if I get the go-ahead. Hopefully I'll be able to join you guys in Diamond next week.

Originally Posted by Kushiel

As long as you never spent money on the team, I think the answer to all 3 questions is yes. If I am incorrect one of the founders will say so soon; I am sure. My Armadillos came into the league late the same way having made it to Gold level.

yep... team just needs to be FTP (no money spent at any point), and no Live 2019, Future Legend or the new Player of the Month cards... any other historical card is eligible (so you can use card like Unsung Hero Steven Pearce 2018, or Rookie Sensation Ronald Acuna Jr 2018 if you wanted)...

CM packs are fine (that's the only way my team gets a pack... paid off nicely once with a Diamond live card I sold for 15K)

[atabakin]

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. I'll start the transition process this afternoon unless anyone objects. Looking forward to it!

[allenciox]

Well, over the last season or so, the Energizer Bunnies have revamped the squad, primarily among starting pitching, but also some pieces along the infield to upgrade the defense. We still KEEP GOIN' but we are close to no power remaining. But it is no longer the case that we just try to slug it out and eventually score more runs than the opposition, now we also try to be stingy.

Here is our old Starting Pitching:

Harry Brecheen (92)
Frank Tanana (90)
Dizzy Dean (89)
Paul Splittorff (88)
Jim Bunning (88)

Tanana, Dean, and Splittorff were sold off and Bunning was moved to the Bullpen to make room for the NEW rotation:

Greg Maddux (89)
Bret Saberhagen (93)
Steve Rogers (92)
Garland Braxton (92)
Harry Brecheen (92)

Every one of these starters are high stamina (all are >=95 STM except for Brecheen who is 89) which should help with getting pitching achievements; also helps with reducing reliance on bullpen, since, as noted before, there aren't a lot of good reliever choices at gold level who are not LIVE players. I do have one addition to my pen, Pedro Borbon (80), my new closer.

For hitting, I have sold off some key pieces, including:

SS Phil Rizzuto (93)
2B Hanley Ramirez (87), who I had platooned at 2B with Travis,

to make room for more defense, and in some cases to generate income to buy my new starters. My new offense (with new pieces starred):

C Smoky Burgess (86)
1B *Rod Carew (87) (replaces Murphy, who is now a super-sub)
2B Cecil Travis (85) v. R, *Jose Oquendo (74) v. L (also late-inning defensive sub)
SS *Joe Cronin (89) (DEF at SS increased from 96 to 113)
3B Wade Boggs (87)
LF Harry Walker (76)
CF Garry Maddox (87)
RF Tony Gwynn (77)

So now, my only diamond players are my SPs My offense is even less focused on home run power, with the highest POW in the starting lineup at 44. We will see how things play out, but, interestingly, at this point, my era is the lowest in the league, despite being in a hitter's park...

I am also down to about 400 prestige points, so will not be making any other changes for a loooong while.

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by bsta93

Added Brooks Robinson for the stretch run for $3,300. Hoping he can give us a little more offense than Tim Wallach's 37 OPS+.

I know that he was a better hitter early in his career, but when I think of Brooks's hitting, I remember him at the end of his career when he sais his wife said he couldn't come home until he was batting his weight, so he had started dieting!

[sabakon]

I have been unable to access discord for a while...looks like I am in now.
Salem is in the middle of a 6 game OL series with another 3 later today...fingers crossed

[OMGPuppies]

Originally Posted by allenciox

Well, over the last season or so, the Energizer Bunnies have revamped the squad, primarily among starting pitching, but also some pieces along the infield to upgrade the defense. We still KEEP GOIN' but we are close to no power remaining. But it is no longer the case that we just try to slug it out and eventually score more runs than the opposition, now we also try to be stingy.

Here is our old Starting Pitching:

Harry Brecheen (92)
Frank Tanana (90)
Dizzy Dean (89)
Paul Splittorff (88)
Jim Bunning (88)

Tanana, Dean, and Splittorff were sold off and Bunning was moved to the Bullpen to make room for the NEW rotation:

Greg Maddux (89)
Bret Saberhagen (93)
Steve Rogers (92)
Garland Braxton (92)
Harry Brecheen (92)

Every one of these starters are high stamina (all are >=95 STM except for Brecheen who is 89) which should help with getting pitching achievements; also helps with reducing reliance on bullpen, since, as noted before, there aren't a lot of good reliever choices at gold level who are not LIVE players. I do have one addition to my pen, Pedro Borbon (80), my new closer.

For hitting, I have sold off some key pieces, including:

SS Phil Rizzuto (93)
2B Hanley Ramirez (87), who I had platooned at 2B with Travis,

to make room for more defense, and in some cases to generate income to buy my new starters. My new offense (with new pieces starred):

C Smoky Burgess (86)
1B *Rod Carew (87) (replaces Murphy, who is now a super-sub)
2B Cecil Travis (85) v. R, *Jose Oquendo (74) v. L (also late-inning defensive sub)
SS *Joe Cronin (89) (DEF at SS increased from 96 to 113)
3B Wade Boggs (87)
LF Harry Walker (76)
CF Garry Maddox (87)
RF Tony Gwynn (77)

So now, my only diamond players are my SPs My offense is even less focused on home run power, with the highest POW in the starting lineup at 44. We will see how things play out, but, interestingly, at this point, my era is the lowest in the league, despite being in a hitter's park...

I am also down to about 400 prestige points, so will not be making any other changes for a loooong while.

I've had my eye on 89 Maddux for some time. Nice acquisition. Same for Rogers. It will interesting to see how well the changes work. Omg. I just saw the latest boxscore. Somehow we torched Maddux. What a slugfest.

[Argonaut]

Originally Posted by Charlatan

I forgot to tell you guys... I did the Challenge mode for free packs on Sunday and the pack I got for Annandale actually had a usable card (yeah, imagine that!). It was a 89 OVR Randy Myers (a reliever). So I put him on my roster.

Now he's got a 20+ ERA in 2 IP, but still, he was usable!!

That was good luck. I actually bought Randy Myers the conventional way (can't remember how much PP). He's one of the few Gold and higher historical relievers available that fit my team. He's done alright, and made the All-Star game one year. I'll keep scouring the market for bullpen pieces, some of which may be SPs.

[Magus978]

Originally Posted by OMGPuppies

How much pp do you have, and what position are you looking to upgrade?

372 as of this posting. I'd like to keep adding to the starting rotation so I don't have to rely on the likes of Dock Ellis and Claude Osteen for good performances. Osteen's delivered as my #5, but Ellis has been pretty lousy from the moment I got him.

[sabakon]

Hey! You guys might appreciate this - my favorite baseball - autographed by Johnny Mize, Enos Slaughter, and Bob Feller.

[Charlatan]

I love stalking your team because they're so good and I periodically check out your roster for ideas since my Monuments are in the same league. So thanks for posting this!

Originally Posted by allenciox

Well, over the last season or so, the Energizer Bunnies have revamped the squad, primarily among starting pitching, but also some pieces along the infield to upgrade the defense. ..

Harry Brecheen (92)
Frank Tanana (90)
Dizzy Dean (89)
Paul Splittorff (88)
Jim Bunning (88)

Tanana, Dean, and Splittorff were sold off and Bunning was moved to the Bullpen to make room for the NEW rotation:

Greg Maddux (89)
Bret Saberhagen (93)
Steve Rogers (92)
Garland Braxton (92)
Harry Brecheen (92)

I've said it before here but that Maddux is a great card. I paid 12k for mine and he's been awesome.

Every one of these starters are high stamina (all are >=95 STM except for Brecheen who is 89) which should help with getting pitching achievements; also helps with reducing reliance on bullpen, since, as noted before, there aren't a lot of good reliever choices at gold level who are not LIVE players.
I do have one addition to my pen, Pedro Borbon (80), my new closer.

I have Borbon on the Monuments (I think that's where he is) and he's been consistently great. Really good choice.

For hitting, I have sold off some key pieces, including:

SS Phil Rizzuto (93)
2B Hanley Ramirez (87), who I had platooned at 2B with Travis,

to make room for more defense, and in some cases to generate income to buy my new starters. My new offense (with new pieces starred):

C Smoky Burgess (86)
1B *Rod Carew (87) (replaces Murphy, who is now a super-sub)
2B Cecil Travis (85) v. R, *Jose Oquendo (74) v. L (also late-inning defensive sub)
SS *Joe Cronin (89) (DEF at SS increased from 96 to 113)
3B Wade Boggs (87)
LF Harry Walker (76)
CF Garry Maddox (87)
RF Tony Gwynn (77)

I've got a smallball team and I recognize a lot of these guys. Curious why you went with the 87 Carew over the 83 one (not criticizing the decision in any way, honestly curious). Seems like you pay around 5k more for the 87 and the benefit doesn't seem THAT significant.

Did you think about the 89 Boggs? The 89 plays much better defense at 3B (89 vs 72) with a little dropoff in offense of course - and their prices are comparable for some odd reason.

Do you think the increased defense at SS matters a lot? Is there a way to measure the difference (check the ZRs? See if your defensive efficiency improves?)

And how important do you consider defense at LF? Off the top of my head I think Walker is a 50 at CF so maybe he's in the 60s in LF... given that you jettisoned a SS for more defense do you allow your corner outfielders to be in the green?

So now, my only diamond players are my SPs My offense is even less focused on home run power, with the highest POW in the starting lineup at 44. We will see how things play out, but, interestingly, at this point, my era is the lowest in the league, despite being in a hitter's park...

I am also down to about 400 prestige points, so will not be making any other changes for a loooong while.

My smallball team will be very much like this I think. I want to get Maddux for CF but I can't replace Willie Davis, who is only a 70 OVR but who has been hitting great for me so far.

And I am seeing the same thing you're seeing with respect to team performance: my guys play in a hitter's park but we are near the top in ERA and K (and AVG and runs scored...) due to some good interior defense.

Thanks for the breakdown. Interesting stuff!

[OMGPuppies]

Originally Posted by sabakon

Hey! You guys might appreciate this - my favorite baseball - autographed by Johnny Mize, Enos Slaughter, and Bob Feller.

Aina Haina features the 83 Mize

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by atabakin

3. Is getting packs through Challenge Mode ok?

Never played challenge mode. How do you earn packs for PT from it?

[mcdog512]

Originally Posted by atabakin

3. Is getting packs through Challenge Mode ok?

I believe it is. If not, I'd be disqualified.

[mcdog512]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Never played challenge mode. How do you earn packs for PT from it?

You can get a single free pack every 72 hours playing challenge mode. Each time you get an achievement you have a chance at a free pack. It sometimes takes playing though a season or two. Make sure you are signed in and select challenge mode.

[stl jason]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Never played challenge mode. How do you earn packs for PT from it?

just play... eventually you earn a pack from various achievements... one pack every 72 hours (I typically sign into CM on Sun/Wed to nab 2 packs a week)

if you do a historical challenge mode, it's easier/quicker to get the pack if you're strong team (as many players will go with the '27 Yankees)...

[Goliathus]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Never played challenge mode. How do you earn packs for PT from it?

From what I understand, you have a chance to earn a pack for every achievement you triggered. The pack can be normal or gold(random). Once you get a pack, there will be a 72 hours cooldown before you can get another one. If you just want to farm the pack on autopilot, just sim 1927 Yankees until you get a pack.

[OMGPuppies]

Whenever i get tired of doing the challenge mode to get the free packs I pull something good from them. Definitely a must do for f2p players.

[allenciox]

And how important do you consider defense at LF? Off the top of my head I think Walker is a 50 at CF so maybe he's in the 60s in LF.

Actually, Harry Walker is an 81 at LF --- much better LF than CF.

Carew 83 vs. 87 was a difficult choice. I was leaving myself open to get either ... the main difference is that Carew 87 has significantly better EYE rating than Carew 83 and slightly worse defense at 1B. When someone put a Carew 87 on AH for short period (I think it was 3 hours) and I discovered I could get him below market rate (I paid about 8800 for him) I decided to pick him up.

By the way, because of being beaten up by you and by others on an extended road trip, my team era is down to 8th best at the moment.

As far as SS defense is concerned, I have just noticed that Maddox was getting 12 to 15 ZR every year (103 DEF in CF) while Rizzuto's was only getting 4 to 5. I will see whether the increased DEF at SS makes much difference.