[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by raidergoo

I am now analyzing the data I have collected.

Here are some points:

• Initially, draft pick trading will be prohibited. There are two possible ways to change this. One would be by amending the rule set, the other would happen if trading of draft picks became permitted by new collective bargaining between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. I think the likelihood of MLB/MLBPA negotiations to allow pick trading to be pretty high. But, for the time being, draft pick trading will be disallowed in this league.

• Initially, scouting will be turned off. The split in the poll is about 50-50 to use scouts. That's not high enough for me, and the intensity of those who dislike vs. like is clear, too. One of the ideas behind my league is to make things work-friendly, and scouting really puts a dampener on that.

• Initially, coaching will be turned off. The split is better than using scouting, but it is not decisive. The effects of coaching in OOTP are not really measurable, and with all the minor league teams, there would be a whole lot of them required. I'd rather put the focus on the players than the coaches.

• Free Agency rules will not change. A player may be granted Free Agency after completing six seasons in the big leagues.

• There will be compensation for the loss of Free Agents.

• No decision has been reached on how to compensate for the loss of a Free Agent.

• There is soft support for the DH in the AL, and very, very little adding it to the NL. No decisionhas been reached yet. I am leaning towards polling the AL GM's before the league starts play to check their interest on continuing the use of the DH rule in American League play.

• There will be a special conference before the league starts play to handle the populating of the Hall of Fame. This question had a decisive answer, with 80% support for calling for a special conference to select HoF members.

• There will be a salary cap, and media contracts will be equal. The cap will be a soft cap, using a luxury tax to share the wealth.

• Trading of recently drafted players will be permitted.

• Teams will be permitted to relocate their teams. I will have to give a good deal of thought to this. I would want only about 3 teams (out of 30) to even consider this as a possibility.

• The Expos will be kept in Montreal. Polling for was actually just slightly better than 50% to keep the Expos in place. Private discussions with people led me to this answer. Keeping the Expos makes my league a little different. The Toronto Blue Jays were the second-most requested club (Yankees were first), and the email addresses for guys requesting TOR were from Canadian in origin. Having two clubs in Canada throws the Canucks a bone. Besides, a lot of my in-laws are Canadian, so take off, eh?

• Hidden players will not be used.

• A team will not have the right to override a player refusing to be DFA. You will have to suck it up, and either carry the player on the main roster, or release them.

• Utilities are considered nice luxuries. No preference is shown for either Getch or Statslab. IM will not be mandatory.

• A full five levels of minors will be used. We'll be using ghost players too, so you don't have to field full clubs, nor will you have to worry about the pitching coach in Missoula, Montana.

• A writing component will be mandatory. It will be one article per season. A GM should be able to write something like this article on the 2018 Tigers Hot Stove League. It's short and sweet. Since the (current) projected pace is two OOTP seasons per calendar year, a GM would have to spend 10 minutes on this twice a year.

• GM's that choose to be more involved will be generously compensated. Cash and budget will be awarded to people who create stories and graphics for others to enjoy.

• Feeder leagues will be used. College level feeder leagues will come from NCAA teams. This was a rather decisive result, with nearly 80% support. High School feeders will be used, but no decision on how to name them. The current math has 40 college level and 40 HS level teams. This is subject to change.

• The league will be a talent only league. Not enough people are willing to go the Full Monty with stats only. The ratings scale has not been chosen.

A clever observer will note that not all polled questions have been answered.

I do not have an estimate when the league will launch. I do expect it to be before the start of the MLB postseason. I am starting to contact people to confirm their interest and team.

Additional details will follow, with a formal announcement concerning this in the future.

I have started to confirm GM spots from people that have asked.