[blackrussian]

im building a 1984 historical league. i should preface this by saying that it will be sort of a hybrid league; im not too worried about fictional players. but that issue is at the core of my question.

what im trying to do is build up the minor leagues by importing players from the lahman db who have not necessarily appeared in the majors yet, starting with the 1983 draft and working backwards (say 6-7 years).

for example, the montreal expos drafted pitcher brian holman in the 1st round of the 1983 draft. he did not debut in the majors until 1988 (which is when he would normally be available through the amateur draft in a typical historical league), simply having a typical progression through the minor league system.

so in one sense, this system is a bit more realistic b/c im introducing players into the league when they actually began their pro career in the minors. i do often have to adjust ratings, esp. for those that had limited playing time in the majors.

the main problem becomes subsequent drafts. if i introducce brian holman in my 1984 league, i have to be sure i delete him when he becomes available in 1988 when his major league career began. the other issue is what i do for these subsequent drafts to make sure i have enough players available in the draft (since many of them will already be on various minor lg teams)... the obvious answer is fictional players.

another thing im throwing in this '84 league are players who never actually made it to the majors at all. unfortunately, minor lg stats are not easy to find so right now this will largely be cosmetic (ie player names) but makes things a touch more interesting.

i was wondering if anyone has tried running a league like this and if so, what kind of experience they had with it.