SUGGESTION
When a new league is created that's using a schedule that's significantly different in length from a standard major league schedule, scale the various fixed dates for events accordingly so that they fit the longer/shorter schedule.
REASON
As it stands now, the fixed dates for events stay set at the current major league settings. But say you create a league which uses a schedule which ends a few days into September — the game will keep a Sept. 1st setting for roster expansion. So if the player forgets to check that setting, they end up with roster expanion happening only a few days before the end of the season.
Having such dates scale according to the calendar length of the season makes it easier for folks creating a league since they don't have to worry about forgetting such settings, they'll be properly scaled to their league.
PRIORITY
Medium/High
The Suggestion in Detail
As mentioned, fixed dates for events, such as the trading deadling or roster expansion, don't scale to the calendar length of the league. These events should scale, based on the proportion they have in a current standard major league season.
For example, here are the actual fixed dates for some MLB events:
- May 15 (first date a player released after Aug. 31 and before opening day can be re-signed by the releasing team)
- June 16 (first date a player signed as a free agent in the off-season can be traded)
- July 31 (last date for waiver-free trading until the close of the regular season)
- Aug. 15 (players added to the 40-man roster after this date and before the Rule 5 draft can only be removed from the 40-man roster by being released; they cannot be outrighted to the minors)
- Aug. 31 (last date for post-season roster eligibility; players released after this date and before opening day cannot be re-signed by the releasing team until May 15)
- Sept. 1 (active player limit expands from 25 to 40)
- Nov. 20 (filing date for major and minor league reserve lists)
- Dec. 1 (last date for former clubs of a declared free agent to offer salary arbitration in order to be elibible for compensation)
- Dec. 7 (last date for a declared free agent to accept offer of salary arbitration from former club)
- Dec. 12 (last date to tender contracts to players)
- Mar. 11 (last date on which contracts can be renewed by clubs)
If a major league schedule which starts on, say, April 2 and ends on Oct. 1, the above fixed dates work fine.
But if a minor league schedule which starts on April 6 and ends on Sept. 4 was used for the league, the above fixed dates now do not fall proportionately in the same place in the season as is the case in the major league schedule. The roster expansion date, for example, now falls three days before the close of the season. This is not a desirable situation.
To scale such fixed dates to a different schedule, the proportion of where those dates fall in a major league season is used as the reference point. Below are the listings for how far into the regular or off-season the event dates fall:
May 15 = 1/4 of the way through the regular season
June 16 = 2/5 of the way through the regular season
July 31 = 2/3 of the way through the regular season
Aug. 15 = 3/4 of the way through the regular season
Aug. 31/Sept. 1 = 5/6 of the way through the regular season
Nov. 20 = 1/4 of the way through the off-season
Dec. 1 = 1/3 of the way through the off-season
Dec. 7 = 3/8 of the way through the off-season
Dec. 12 = 2/5 of the way through the off-season
Mar. 11 = 8/9 of the way through the off-season
A schedule which starts on April 6 and end on Sept. 4 is 152 days long. The normal July 31 trading deadline falls 2/3 of the way through a major league regular season. For a 152-day schedule, 2/3 of the way through the season would be 101 days into the season. So 101 days are added to the April 6 opening date; the result is that the trading deadline would fall on July 16. This scales the trading deadline to fall proportionately in the same place (2/3 of the way into the season) in the shorter schedule as it does in a standard major league season schedule.
Off-season dates are scaled similarly, except that they are scaled according to how far through the off-season the date falls rather than the regular season.
Applying the above fractional values means a 152-day schedule starting on April 6 would see the event dates adjusted as follows:
May 15 moved to May 14
June 16 moved to June 5
July 31 moved to July 16
Aug. 16 moved to July 29
Aug. 31 moved to Aug. 10
Sept. 1 moved to Aug. 11
Nov. 20 moved to Oct. 27
Dec. 1 moved to Nov. 13
Dec. 7 moved to Nov. 22
Dec. 12 moved to Nov. 27
Mar. 11 unchanged.
Scaling the fixed dates in this way means all the dates are falling proportionately in the same place as in a standard major league season. This is much better than leaving them unadjusted, which can lead to unbalanced situations (such as the example of roster expansion happening only a few days before the end of the season). It also frees the player from having to calculate and enter adjusted dates manually as is the case currently.
Though such date scaling as outlined above would occur automatically by the game after the league is created and the schedule specified, the player would still be able to go to the appropriate screen and enter in other dates if desired. So if the player wanted to change the scaled trading deadline date from July 16 to another date, say July 10 or July 22, they'd still be able to do that.
The scaling is intended as a convenience so the player doesn't have to do such proportional date adjusting manually.