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Le Grande Orange · 09-02-2007, 03:08 PM

Suggestion

Recreate more of the major league player assignment rules used in the past through the use of RULE SETS.

Reason

The way many of the key rule areas work have changed considerably over the years. The amateur draft, the Rule 5 draft, options, free agency, trading, etc., have all undergone many revisions which change how a GM does his job. And since being the role of a club GM is a key part of the game, then recreating these different rule eras would add both to the realism and challenge of playing the game, as well as giving players more ways to customize their leagues.

Priority

HIGH.

The Proposal in Detail

Being a club General Manager is a key part of playing OOTP. The rules which a GM has to operate under has a great impact on how difficult that job is.

OOTP should recreate as many of the current rules which affect a GM as is possible. That means things like the fourth option year, a stay of less than 20 days in the minors not counting as an option, a minimum stay of 10 days in the minors when optioned down (except when replacing an injured player), not being able to re-sign a player released after Aug. 31 until May 15 of the following season, the 10-and-5 rule, etc., these should all be incorporated into the game since they directly affect how a GM would do his job.

But these rules were also quite different in earlier years, changing the challenges a GM faced, sometimes substantially. Let's look at some examples.

Options — From 1921-30, a player only had two option years. Only having two options years on a player obviously adds some challenge to a GM managing his roster. From 1953-64, between July 31 and the end of the minor league season (including any playoffs), players could not be optioned to nor recalled from the minor leagues (except to replace an injured player). Think of the challenges that poses: for August and part of September, you can't move players to or from the minors. That means you have to make your decisions as to which minor league players you want on the major league roster for those five or six weeks by July 31st. This naturally adds a lot of challenge to being a GM.

Trading — At present, the only time a trade requires a waiver is between July 31 and the end of the regular season; the rest of the time a trade is waiver-free. From 1953-85 trades within a league operated the same, but interleague trades were restricted. In the off-season and before the trade deadline, interleague trades required the player to clear waivers inside his league before he could be traded to the other league. After the trade deadline, the player had to clear waivers in both leagues before he could be sent to the other league. This of course made trading much more difficult, since it meant there were far less teams available with which a GM could trade. Think of the challenges that would pose.

Disabled List — Before 1941, there was no disabled list at all. From 1941-48, there was a DL but it was quite limited, allowing only two players to be placed on it and lasted 60 days (which was lowered to 30 days in 1949). From 1973-80, the regular DL allowed for three players and lasted 21 days; there was also a supplemental DL which allowed one non-pitcher to be placed on it for 15 days; and there was a 60 day emergency DL on which any number of players could be placed. Think of the challenges faced by a GM when the DL only allowed a limited number of players to be placed on it, or when there was no DL at all.

Outrighting — Currently, once a major league player clears waivers, he can be sent outright to the minor leagues. If the club decides it wants or needs that player again, he can be reacquired simply by purchasing his contract from the minor league team. But before 1965, a player sent outright to the minors could not be reacquired until after he had gone through the Rule 5 draft. This meant that once a player was outrighted he couldn't be acquired by the same team again until after the season; think of the challenge that poses for a GM handling the roster.

Rule 5 Draft — From 1931-64, the years of experience and number of players which could be selected varied by minor league level. At the AAA level, only one player with 4 or more years of service could be selected from a given club; at the AA level, it was only one player with 3 or more years of service; for the remaining levels, there was no limit on the number of players with 2 or more years of service could be selected from a given club. In 1965 the draft became completely unrestricted and any player not on a major league club's 40-man roster could be selected. In 1967 a player couldn't be selected until he had at least 2 years of service, and in 1969 it became at least 3 years of service. Think of how these different rules would affect what a GM would do during the draft.

Now, to allow all of the above mentioned scenarios to be individually selectable as options would be enormously complicated, since it would mean a bewildering number of choices to the user as well as presenting a vast number of potential combinations the AI would have to accommodate. This would simply not be practicable. To make the use of these older rules more manageable I propose the use of RULE SETS.

A rule set would be a group of rules designed to be used together as a group, with a set mimicking the rules in place during a given time period in the major leagues. By combining rules into sets, it considerably reduces the number of combinations to be tested and coded, and it prevents rules from different eras being used together (which would almost certainly cause issues). Rule sets also allow for fairly specific historical period recreations.

How many rule sets would there be in total to reflect fairly accurately the history of the majors? I estimate about two dozen or so, depending on how precisely one wants to mimic the years in which the rules changed in reality. Note that not all rule sets are completely different from each other; in some cases there are only small changes between one rule set and another.

As an example, here's what the free agency era would look like if recreated as rule sets, with notes about what changed from the previous rule set:

1976-80: Free agency introduced, with the process being quite different than it is now. Threshold for a player to be able to refuse a minor league assignment reduced to 5 years from 8. Players could demand a trade.
1981-85: Free agency process altered, allowing for professional players to be used as compensation. Disabled list rules revised. Off-season waiver-free interleague trading period increased in length.
1986-90: Free agency altered again, with the process becoming very similar to the current system. Amateur draft rules substantially changed. Trade deadline moved to July 31 from June 15. Restrictions against interleague trading removed. Arbitration eligibility increased to 3 years from 2 years.
1991-96: Disabled list rules revised again. Arbitration changed to allow "Super 2" eligibility.
1997-02: Restrictions against repeat free agency loosened.
2003-06: Order of drafting in amateur draft changed so that picks no longer alternated by league.
2007: Minor changes to free agency process. Free agent compensation revised. Rules regarding amateur draft and Rule 5 draft altered. Right to demand a trade eliminated. Contract tender date moved to Dec. 12 from Dec. 20.

The user would then select the rule set that most interested them, e.g. they might pick the "1976-80" rule set or the "1991-96" rule set, etc.

As can be seen from the list, some rule sets offer substantial differences between them while others only modest or minor differences. But each set offers a different environment in which a league could operate, and that's the important feature, since different environments means different challenges to a GM.

09-02-2007, 03:08 PM	#63 (permalink)
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Scheduleslovakia Posts: 6,109	Suggestion Recreate more of the major league player assignment rules used in the past through the use of RULE SETS. Reason The way many of the key rule areas work have changed considerably over the years. The amateur draft, the Rule 5 draft, options, free agency, trading, etc., have all undergone many revisions which change how a GM does his job. And since being the role of a club GM is a key part of the game, then recreating these different rule eras would add both to the realism and challenge of playing the game, as well as giving players more ways to customize their leagues. Priority HIGH. *The Proposal in Detail* Being a club General Manager is a key part of playing OOTP. The rules which a GM has to operate under has a great impact on how difficult that job is. OOTP should recreate as many of the current rules which affect a GM as is possible. That means things like the fourth option year, a stay of less than 20 days in the minors not counting as an option, a minimum stay of 10 days in the minors when optioned down (except when replacing an injured player), not being able to re-sign a player released after Aug. 31 until May 15 of the following season, the 10-and-5 rule, etc., these should all be incorporated into the game since they directly affect how a GM would do his job. But these rules were also quite different in earlier years, changing the challenges a GM faced, sometimes substantially. Let's look at some examples. Options — From 1921-30, a player only had two option years. Only having two options years on a player obviously adds some challenge to a GM managing his roster. From 1953-64, between July 31 and the end of the minor league season (including any playoffs), players could not be optioned to nor recalled from the minor leagues (except to replace an injured player). Think of the challenges that poses: for August and part of September, you can't move players to or from the minors. That means you have to make your decisions as to which minor league players you want on the major league roster for those five or six weeks by July 31st. This naturally adds a lot of challenge to being a GM. Trading — At present, the only time a trade requires a waiver is between July 31 and the end of the regular season; the rest of the time a trade is waiver-free. From 1953-85 trades within a league operated the same, but interleague trades were restricted. In the off-season and before the trade deadline, interleague trades required the player to clear waivers inside his league before he could be traded to the other league. After the trade deadline, the player had to clear waivers in both leagues before he could be sent to the other league. This of course made trading much more difficult, since it meant there were far less teams available with which a GM could trade. Think of the challenges that would pose. Disabled List — Before 1941, there was no disabled list at all. From 1941-48, there was a DL but it was quite limited, allowing only two players to be placed on it and lasted 60 days (which was lowered to 30 days in 1949). From 1973-80, the regular DL allowed for three players and lasted 21 days; there was also a supplemental DL which allowed one non-pitcher to be placed on it for 15 days; and there was a 60 day emergency DL on which any number of players could be placed. Think of the challenges faced by a GM when the DL only allowed a limited number of players to be placed on it, or when there was no DL at all. Outrighting — Currently, once a major league player clears waivers, he can be sent outright to the minor leagues. If the club decides it wants or needs that player again, he can be reacquired simply by purchasing his contract from the minor league team. But before 1965, a player sent outright to the minors could not be reacquired until after he had gone through the Rule 5 draft. This meant that once a player was outrighted he couldn't be acquired by the same team again until after the season; think of the challenge that poses for a GM handling the roster. Rule 5 Draft — From 1931-64, the years of experience and number of players which could be selected varied by minor league level. At the AAA level, only one player with 4 or more years of service could be selected from a given club; at the AA level, it was only one player with 3 or more years of service; for the remaining levels, there was no limit on the number of players with 2 or more years of service could be selected from a given club. In 1965 the draft became completely unrestricted and any player not on a major league club's 40-man roster could be selected. In 1967 a player couldn't be selected until he had at least 2 years of service, and in 1969 it became at least 3 years of service. Think of how these different rules would affect what a GM would do during the draft. Now, to allow all of the above mentioned scenarios to be individually selectable as options would be enormously complicated, since it would mean a bewildering number of choices to the user as well as presenting a vast number of potential combinations the AI would have to accommodate. This would simply not be practicable. To make the use of these older rules more manageable I propose the use of RULE SETS. A rule set would be a group of rules designed to be used together as a group, with a set mimicking the rules in place during a given time period in the major leagues. By combining rules into sets, it considerably reduces the number of combinations to be tested and coded, and it prevents rules from different eras being used together (which would almost certainly cause issues). Rule sets also allow for fairly specific historical period recreations. How many rule sets would there be in total to reflect fairly accurately the history of the majors? I estimate about two dozen or so, depending on how precisely one wants to mimic the years in which the rules changed in reality. Note that not all rule sets are completely different from each other; in some cases there are only small changes between one rule set and another. As an example, here's what the free agency era would look like if recreated as rule sets, with notes about what changed from the previous rule set: 1976-80: Free agency introduced, with the process being quite different than it is now. Threshold for a player to be able to refuse a minor league assignment reduced to 5 years from 8. Players could demand a trade. 1981-85: Free agency process altered, allowing for professional players to be used as compensation. Disabled list rules revised. Off-season waiver-free interleague trading period increased in length. 1986-90: Free agency altered again, with the process becoming very similar to the current system. Amateur draft rules substantially changed. Trade deadline moved to July 31 from June 15. Restrictions against interleague trading removed. Arbitration eligibility increased to 3 years from 2 years. 1991-96: Disabled list rules revised again. Arbitration changed to allow "Super 2" eligibility. 1997-02: Restrictions against repeat free agency loosened. 2003-06: Order of drafting in amateur draft changed so that picks no longer alternated by league. 2007: Minor changes to free agency process. Free agent compensation revised. Rules regarding amateur draft and Rule 5 draft altered. Right to demand a trade eliminated. Contract tender date moved to Dec. 12 from Dec. 20. The user would then select the rule set that most interested them, e.g. they might pick the "1976-80" rule set or the "1991-96" rule set, etc. As can be seen from the list, some rule sets offer substantial differences between them while others only modest or minor differences. But each set offers a different environment in which a league could operate, and that's the important feature, since different environments means different challenges to a GM. __________________ . "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our abilities and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win." . Last edited by Le Grande Orange : 09-02-2007 at 03:48 PM.