expansion schedule

[millhousebc]

When you guys expand your leagues, does the league schedules, especially the minor leagues, change so everyone plays the same amount of games, or do we have to do the math and figure a total number so every team plays X number of games a year? Hope that makes sense.

[progen]

Originally Posted by millhousebc

When you guys expand your leagues, does the league schedules, especially the minor leagues, change so everyone plays the same amount of games, or do we have to do the math and figure a total number so every team plays X number of games a year? Hope that makes sense.

This is the only way I play OOTP, with an expansion team. When you expand, the game will take care of your minor league teams and the schedules for each level. I don't touch anything. I may change the minor team names and locations, to center around the parent club.

Also, when you initially set things up, make sure you check the box for the expansion teams to draft first in the first season. Can't do that if it's fictional. And what I do for the draft, I usually allow teams to protect 26-28 players, to make it much more of a challenge. AND, I up the service years from three to four. If you leave it at three, you'll get quite a bit of good, young players to draft, many first round picks at AAA, or AA. Doesn't seem that realistic to me.

Patience is the key. I'm in my third season with the Expos, and went 72-90, first season without a hundred losses. Hope this helps!

[Leo_The_Lip]

Originally Posted by millhousebc

When you guys expand your leagues, does the league schedules, especially the minor leagues, change so everyone plays the same amount of games, or do we have to do the math and figure a total number so every team plays X number of games a year? Hope that makes sense.

I started up a new Expos expansion this week using the Live Start teams. I ran it for ten years then expanded. The minor leagues expanded as expected, and I changed to more suitable names. However, I did notice no DSL teams created for Montreal or Vancouver. Not an issue at the start, however once your Complex starts pushing out older players, you should look to create these teams.

Hope you have as much fun with this as I have over the years.

[progen]

Originally Posted by Leo_The_Lip

I started up a new Expos expansion this week using the Live Start teams. I ran it for ten years then expanded. The minor leagues expanded as expected, and I changed to more suitable names. However, I did notice no DSL teams created for Montreal or Vancouver. Not an issue at the start, however once your Complex starts pushing out older players, you should look to create these teams.

Hope you have as much fun with this as I have over the years.

Hey, good point on building up some history. I usually only do 5-7 years, but have done 10 before. Forgot to mention that, and yes, there are no DSL teams. Usually, after the first season, I'll add a DSL team for both expansion teams. Also, your ticket price the first season is $16. That's too low, I generally raise it to at least 22, or more. Enjoy!!

[millhousebc]

Guess what I'm asking is, when adding say 4 teams, do the schedules adjust so every team plays the same amount of games, or do you have to calculate that yourself

[Leo_The_Lip]

Originally Posted by millhousebc

Guess what I'm asking is, when adding say 4 teams, do the schedules adjust so every team plays the same amount of games, or do you have to calculate that yourself

Yes, all teams have the same number of games. However it likely won't be a balanced schedule.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by millhousebc

Guess what I'm asking is, when adding say 4 teams, do the schedules adjust so every team plays the same amount of games, or do you have to calculate that yourself

I assume you're relying on the in-game scheduler to create schedules for you, in which case the answer is "maybe." It largely depends on your league setup. If you have a straightforward, one-division league (like the AL and NL before 1969), then there's a good chance that the scheduler will create a perfectly acceptable schedule. As things get more complex (more teams, more divisions) the scheduler struggles more to get the numbers right, and if you add interleague play, you can just forget it - the scheduler can't handle that.

If you have a more complex setup, your best bet would be to look at the schedules in your OOTP schedule file, or else look for something in the schedule mods forum to see if there's something that fits your league structure.

[Pelican]

Don’t want to hijack this thread based on the OP schedule question; but I find the idea of protecting 25 or more players extreme - particularly when all those with less than three (or four) years MLB time are automatically exempt. That means than teams can protect close to their entire roster of forty.

In my most recent expansion, using 2022 rosters, teams could protect only fifteen players initially, then one additional for each player drafted and lost. I used three years for the automatic exemption.

This resulted in two expansion teams that were competitive, the Buffalo Wings (AL East) moreso than the Charlotte Stingers (NL East). No established team was decimated; although the “rich” did get poorer. The AI is smart about contracts. Some guys on long, expensive deals were not protected - and not drafted.

I doubt that MLB would ever go with as few as fifteen protected players. The existing owners want to protect their investment, and don’t care if the expansion teams lose a hundred games. The theory is that people will support even a lousy expansion team for a few years. But it should be noted that protecting fewer players means more parity, fewer dominant teams, more competitive pennant races.

The expansion teams were also more likely to sign free agents, since they were closer to competing. The mystery for the expansion teams is that you are ending up with twenty-five players who have never played together before, new manager and coaches, new venue, new lineup, new rotation, new system. You can’t predict if they will play well together.