Proffesional Baseball League (PBL)

[cre8tor936]

In the year 2000, the Northern California Baseball League (NCBL) was created by businessman and baseball enthusiast Edgar Reich as an independent league. It was an immediate sensation, and over the years, the NCBL evolved into the Pacific Northwest Baseball League (PNBL), while also adding a team in Vancouver. But Reich wasn't quite done. He wanted to be the sole major league. So he started talking.
He first went to Mexico City and got rights to a team there. He followed this with getting teams everywhere there was no team. He finally negotiated with 9 other independent leagues in an attempt to merge into the Proffesional Baseball League (PBL), while also merging player pools for the Inaugural Draft that would follow.
At this time, there was a PBL team in every MLB city. So it was now time for Rob Manfred to start talking. In first attempts, he discussed the possibility of merging into a 50-team league using a mixed player pool. But this would mean Reich would work for Manfred, which he did not want to happen. So Reich continued to push to buy the team and league rights, and eventually agreed on a total sum of 70 billion dollars to buy out the MLB, thus officially creating

The Proffesional Baseball League!

Note: Every post will end with me letting you know whether you should post questions/comments, or if you should wait for more information.
Wait this time.

[cre8tor936]

12/1/22
PBL commisioner Edgar Reich announces the 48 (technically 46) cities that will receive PBL teams, including the Mexico City team and six teams in both Canada and California.

1/1/23
The time has finally came for the PBL inaugural draft. The draft is a 101-round, straight draft determined by financials, which were determined by the GDP and GDP per capita of each city (I learned a lot about economies while doing this lol).

23-year-old Dominican starting pitcher William Lopez, known as Pulpito back home, was drafted first overall by the San Francisco Golden Eagles. When asked about this honor, he responded “I can’t even speak right now. I just need to revel in the moment. But one thing I will tell you is that starting pitchers get injured more than any position players, so there’s the worry of getting injured an all this glory goes to nothing.”

Now here's where I come in. I decided to be the general manager of the Boston Pilgrims (which wouldn't come as a surprise if you read my description). I manually drafted 32 players for the Pilgrims before letting the AI finish.




I will be covering my top draft picks in detail next. Like last time, please do not respond until I'm done with this information dump. I made this account on Tuesday when I was already halfway through the season, so I'm writing everything now. I'll hopefully be more free over the weekend, as I don't have any school/schoolwork to do. I've caught a cold, which I'm unsure about if it will help or hinder the cause. Anyways, if you're reading this, thanks!

[cre8tor936]

As promised, here are my top draft picks. I'll be saving Zack Hammond for later, and will be commenting on each player's success later on.

1st Round:

Greg Lowe was my first rounder and the 6th overall player drafted. I think I made a good choice. The Avoid K's is worrying, and his speed, defense, and personality aren't anything special, but his hitting is elite, and, what's more, he's only 25.

2nd Round:

Jon Silva was the 54th overall player drafted. The biggest positives are his elite power and discipline and his defensive versatility. The biggest downsides are his other ratings, which grade out as bad to decent. Silva seems like a nice "three true outcomes" player and a good 1-B superstar.

3rd Round:

Pat Romero was the 102nd overall player drafted. It was probably a bad idea to draft a 34-year-old closer/stopper in the third round, but we were a team that was trying to contend from the start (note: team focus is Build A Dynasty), and we figured to grab an elite reliever. However, given his stamina and overall ratings, I couldn't have asked for a better CL/ST than Cadillac (unless I could make him 10 years younger).

4th & 6th round:


I probably waited too long to focus on starting pitching, but alas. I'll give both individual and combined feedback:
Hernandez: Young, more complete and promising
Lowe: In peak, needs help on stuff but otherwise is good all around.
Both: Low staminas (meaning a pitch count limit of 90), mostly control pitchers, good in the clubhouse
Hernandez is likely the ace by the end of 2023 and beyond. Lowe is a more interesting case, but if we pray to the TCR gods, we should have a very good starting pitcher in him for the next three years or so.

I'm not quite done yet, so save your questions/comments. Thanks!

[cre8tor936]

We'll be focusing on coaching this time.


If you looked at the spreadsheet above, you might see a list of former MLB players listed as managers or coaches. This was one of the compromises that Edgar Reich had to make. Any former MLB player, if they so wished, could decide to manage a PBL team, and if the owner agreed, they would receive a contract on their terms (of course, Mr. Reich had to approve of the contract first).
Anyways, the Pilgrims would receive Jason Varitek as their manager, Ryan Lavarnway as their bench coach, and Dustin Pedroia as their hitting coach (every Pilgrim must learn the way of the laser show), leaving me with the task of finding the other coaches. I will provide a short summary of why I hired everyone:
Ramirez: Inexperienced and similar values as me
Glasgow: Best "Teach pitching" rating with a neutral pitching focus
Drews, Sadowski: Could teach IF, OF, and running
Sophus: Best "Highly Favor Tools" guy on the market
Lainez: Looking to upgrade, best ratings on preventing arm/leg injuries
Minor League Managers: Best ratings with a sabermetric strategy
Minor Leauge Hitting Coaches: Best "Teach hitting" ratings with a patience hitting focus
Minor League Pitching Coaches: Same as Glasgow

I will be discussing the various international leagues I've created next time. Thank you, and hold your questions/comments!

[cre8tor936]

As promised, I will be discussing my various international leagues I've created. I created them for three reasons:

1. To increase the player pool for the PBL.
2. To create a place for random 35-year-old second basemen to go to when they're no longer needed in the PBL.
3. To create a place for me to go if I get bored of the PBL.

Anyways, here are the leagues:

ABL

League Reputation: 8
Minor Leagues: AAA & AA
Team(s) I would root for: Tokyo, Kobe, Seoul, Kyoto

LABL

League Reputation: 8
Minor Leagues: AAA & AA
Team(s) I would root for: Santiago de los Caballeros

BBL

League Reputation: 6
Minor Leagues: AAA
Team(s) I would root for: Glasgow

EBL

League Reputation: 6
Minor Leagues: AAA
Team(s) I would root for: Zagreb, Zagreb, and Zagreb

In the next post, we will start to move forward in time to some very early trades. Save your questions/comments and thank you for reading!

[cre8tor936]

1/4/23
Just three days after the inaugural draft, the Pilgrims general manager is already itching for some trades. He seeks out Orlando Castro and Jon Vargas of the San Diego Destroyers and Salt Lake City Saints, respectively. They all went to college together, and formed a tight bond. The Pilgrims GM talks to Mr. Castro first, and agrees to trade Tylor Matthews for Chris Perez.
(Note: I will be referring to myself as the Pilgrims GM because my GM's name is my name.)

I drafted Tylor Matthews to be a back-of-the-rotation arm, but his first scouting report was not impressive enough for a 36-year-old. I drafted around 7 big-league starting pitchers in case of injury/ineffectiveness, and I decided I could part with Matthews without receiving a starting pitcher in return.
In return, I'd receive Chris Perez, a fringe big-leaguer. However, he was simply trade bait for the Saints, who would give me...

Dave Stantz, a mediocre outfielder. I liked his hitting profile and personality, so I figured he'd be a good stash in Triple-A Waxia. I'd be comfortable with promoting him if one of my big-leaguers got injured.


I wasn't done with SLC yet. When I took a second look at Alberto Escobar, my projected #3 arm, I saw his stamina was 40. I had/have guys in the rotation with a 45 stamina, but 40 is where I draw the line. So I searched and found the best possible player I could get in return on SLC, and he goes by the name of...

Allen Hiltner/Hiltz. I had changed his name because every time I saw it it reminded me of the name of a specific German dictator, so I changed to something harmless. Whatever you wish to call him, Allen will put up decent numbers. He's nothing special, but he at least has the stamina to pitch five innings without dying.

We will next be covering Opening Day and the first amateur draft, however, I will cover this in the morning. By tomorrow night, I should be able to receive questions/comments and start simming further in the franchise. But for now, hold your questions/comments, and thanks for reading! Good night.

[cre8tor936]

5/1/23
Welcome to Opening Day! I slept in a little today, but I'm back. Spoiler alert: we lost 4-2.
(Note: Everything is pushed a month later, starting with Spring Training starting in actual spring/late March and Opening Day on the first of May. Our goal this year is to play November baseball.)

I made sure to reset everyone's service time (while also turning of RoY for this year), so no one had any large contracts and no one could refuse being demoted (the PBL doesn't even use the right to refuse rule), so I felt free in choosing the roster.
Here was the lineup:

And here were the pitchers:

I think we lost for two reasons:

1. The offense, which is our biggest strength, was pretty average today.
2. I didn't warm up a reliever while Fernandez was reaching his pitch count and didn't have a ready reliever until the damage was done.

I'll be covering the first amateur draft next. Save your questions/comments, and thank you for reading!

[cre8tor936]

7/4/23

It's the 4th of July, which is the perfect time for the debut amateur draft!

Note: Sam Lysy was not signed
Round 1:

I chose Mike Taylor over two other players (don't remember who they were) but I think I made the right choice. His biggest strength is his hitting, specifically his contact, but he also has speed, a good personality, and if he defects from second base/Jon Silva is still on the squad, he can move to left field. He'll be the only draft pick to play above rookie league in his first year, and will spend the year in AA after a quick introduction in A. I really like him and hope he can contribute by 2025 or so.
Round 2:

Sam Schlee doesn't have anything that sticks out about him, he seems just good overall. Good defense, good hitting, and a mediocre personality have me looking at him as the starting catcher by 2025/26. Hopefully, he can end the year in A, but will start the year in the rookie league.
Round 3:

Joe Bruner is also nothing special. He does have the neccesary stamina to put up innings. Best case scenario, he's a #2/#3 starting pitcher by 2026 or so.
Round 4:

Looks like we'll have every variation of John on this team. Rivera looks like a solid third baseman, but due to Greg Lowe, he might have to change positions. He shouldn't be in the bigs until 2026, so we have more time to convert him/Lowe.

A blockbuster trade happened on the first of August, we'll cover that next. Save your Qs/Cs and thanks for reading!

[cre8tor936]

8/1/23
Major Trade Alert:

I'll first discuss who I gave up, and then who I recieved.

It was hard to part with Hammond, but I knew his bat could be replaced in one way or another. The Destroyers do get a really good player, but no real defensive value.

Dilworth is a pretty good player, but he's 34. I would've kept him had he been 10, or even 5 years younger. I knew that he wouldn't stay this good for a while.
Now the pieces we received:

I'm a big fan of Jake. He reminds me of Jon Silva, with his hitting profile, age, and personality. However, the thing that makes him stick out is his defense. He could probably improve his error rating, but is otherwise a Gold Glove-caliber player.

I DID NOT REALIZE HE WAS 36 WHEN I MADE THE TRADE. Ignoring that, he's a righty crusher who's mediocre in every way. I'm not a huge fan of Feaster, but he'll do. It's easy to find good first basemen, because this is probably the only year of Feaster.

I think we won the trade. I'll be doing a two-part All-Star Break check-in next, and will then be able to accept questions/comments, and get back to simming. So save your Qs/Cs for now, and thanks for reading!

[cre8tor936]

8/15/23
Greg Lowe wins the first Home Run Derby!

8/16/23
Forget two parts, I can give you all the information in one really long post. But first, I thought I would share two interesting things about other teams:

1. Remember that Alberto Escobar guy? He may or may not have been an all-star this year. Can't say the same about Hiltner/Hiltz.
2. Remember that William Lopez guy? He was placed on the trade block. Of course, their asking price is through the roof.

Here's the leaderboards right now:


Anyway, we had three All-Stars this year: Greg Lowe, Cadillac, and Eric Luster, my 11th-rounder in the inaugural draft. I'll give feedback on them first:

Greg Lowe: He's tied for 2nd in the NL (Northern League) in home runs and won the HR Derby. He likely won't be the MVP, but I'm still happy with his production.

Pat Romero: He's silenced the doubters. His ERA is below 1. His ERA+ is above 600. He has not let up a single home run. His WAR is above 3. If he can keep this up, he'll likely put up the best season I've seen from a reliever. WE LOVE CADILLAC!

Eric Luster:

I wasn't expecting the Jet to be this good, but he's just been killing it. When I drafted him, his overall was 2.5 stars. However, is BABIP is .355, so he might not be able to keep it up.

Here's feedback on some more of my top players:

Jake Hubinger: He's only played 13 games in a Pilgirms uniform, but he's been solid. His offense peak seems to be above-average this year, so we'll hope he can recach his peak in 2024, if not later this year. However, his defense has been stellar, so I'll definently take his production this year.

Jon Silva: He's been hitting as well as Hubinger, just without the stellar defense. He's been good, not great. Expecting more from him.

John Fernandez: He's been injured for most of the year, and when he wasn't injured, he was below average. I know we haven't seen the best of him, so I'm hoping we'll see the real Fernandez in the second half of the season.

Bentley Lowe: He's performed as well as I thought he would, and I'm perfectly happy with that.

Here's our pitching:


And our hitting:

Oh look, Dave Stantz ended up in the bigs!

Finally, our team stats:

First of all, I'm happy with our performance. I couldn't have hoped for anything better. I do have feedback on our performance:

• We need to get better in extra-inning games.
• Not surprised that we're much better against RHP. Ideally, I'd have some lefty crushers. Maybe Feaster's replacement could be that.
• We've been consistently good, which makes me happy.
• I'M SO PROUD OF OUR OFFENSE. I knew it was good, but I didn't know it would be the top offense. The only major issue is strikeouts and maybe speed, but it doesn't seem to impact us that much.
• The pitching's been pretty good. Some relievers have been really good, and some have been really bad. In the rotation, everyone produces average-above average outings. But hey, what works is what works.
• The defense is not the best. Hopefully Jake Hubinger can change things.

Overall, I'm happy with where this team is at right now. However, this information dump is over for now, so...
I WILL BE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS NOW!
Ask about the league settings, other teams, other players, or any other specifics. I'd be happy to answer any of your questions.
Thank you for reading and have a good day!

[cre8tor936]

9/16/23
I'm back! The trade deadline has come and gone, and we made three moves in that final week. I'll cover the first two trades in this post, and then the final trade in another post.


FLASHBACK TO 9/11/23
1B Matt Feaster, 37 and SP Danny Rodriguez, 22 for 1B Tony Dunn. 30. You've already seen Feaster's player card. I wanted to get rid of him because I wanted a multi-year option at first base and a lefty kiler.

I did have to give up this starting pitcher. He may be 22, but his stats show he's probably not getting much better. He'd been oft-injured since mid-May, and when he returned, didn't have a spot in the rotation.

The third first baseman this team has had, Tony Dunn looks solid. His hitting is only slightly worse than Hammond's, and is the first real lefty killer we've had. In the four games between the trade and the deadline, he got 7 hits, so he seems to fit here.

9/14/23
Next, we traded RP Raul Salazar, 26 for RP Mike Schaefer, 24.

I was reluctant to trade Raul, because I liked his ratings. His ERA was 5.17 (with a FIP of 5.35 and ERA+ of 80), but his BABIP was .352, so I didn't really want to trade him unless I felt we really benefitted.

I think we really benefitted. The funny story was that I was at first trying to trade Salazar for some 30-something reliever. I put Schaefer in the deal, not thinking they'd be willing to give him to me, but to my surprise, they did. I no longer felt the need to get that 30-something reliever. I like the look of Schaefer, and he'l see a big role as a backup stopper. If anyone can replace Romero when he's gone, it's Schaefer.

This is part 1 of a two-part post, so save your Qs/Cs and thanks for reading!

[cre8tor936]

9/15/23
The final trade I made may have been the best. It was SP Matt Hoyos, 24 and SP Robert Hinzo, 19 (a 20/20 player) for RP Ricardo Vasquez and a 2nd round draft pick.


Matt Hoyos is similar to Danny Rodriguez. The only difference is he's 2 years older and slightly worse. The package we gave up was barely anything.

I'm not a huge fan of Vasquez, but I saw him on the blcok and thought I might try to get him. He was really easy to get, which might be due to the fact that CDMX is rebuilding. He'll definitely be a key man in the pen.

Feel free to ask any questions, tell me any comments, and give me any advice. I'd love to hear it! Thanks for reading!

[cre8tor936]

Sorry for no update in a while, I've been really overwhelmed with classwork. However, I've been inspired by ballerguy13's Red Sox rebuild series (link here, would highly recommend: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=349474)
I will not document this series and will take a break from the Pilgrims. I don't know when I'll come back, but I'll probably be more likely to if I receive comments, questions, or advice. Have a good day, or week, or month, and I hope I'll see you soon!