Clauses, Incentives, etc.

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In a relative thread someone mentioned no-trade clauses, or even limited trade clauses, in a players contract. This is a feature I've been waiting to see in OOTP for awhile now, and I hope it's instituted in either OOTP or ITP. However there are also many more decisions a player has to make. Quick hits on each -

1) Incentives. Player X recieves an additional 1.2M for batting over .300, hitting 30 homers, breaking the 100RBI mark, etc.

2) Loyalty. Now, we all know that OOTP has team loyalty ratings. Might I suggest that in ITP all players start out with a "normal" rating, then as their careers develop, if they enter the free agent market too often their rating drops to "None", or raises to "Endorses his team" if the player, ala Tony Gwynn, is just happy where he is. In turn the managers of other teams may shy away from signing a "None" rated player, realizing that the chances of re-signing him after a short contract are slim.

3) Agents. This would be somewhat relative to the coaches/scouts system in OOTP. It would include the traditional Poor-to-Brilliant ratings regarding such fields as "Money" (overall contract dollars), "Endorsements"(adverts, autograph signing, etc), "Longevity"(ability to negotiate contract length), "Marketing" (Not the word I was looking for, but basically an agents connections. His ability to "sell" a player on a GM who may be on the edge of making an offer)

4) Health regiments. Dieting, workouts, etc. A player wants to bulk up and turn himself into a slugger? Well, if he hits the weights too hard he could be injured. This would also allow a way for developing a player into the 5 tool categories.

5) Demanding trades/Holding out. Often players in OOTP4 ask to be traded, but it's never enforced. It reflects slightly if they're a free agent at the years end, but not enough, in my humble opinion.

6) Also, as in OOTP.. a way to incorporate the team leader ability. Clutch is quite easily developed as a single player, whether for the negative or positive. However a players presence in the dugout is one of those intangibles that sometimes gives a team an extra edge. I'm a Mets fan, but I must say.. the Yankees wouldn't be the Yankees if they weren't a solid, almost family-like team. This could be developed through slumping players coming to you for advice, and how you react. How you react to a missed call by the umps, etc.

That's about as clear as I can get those points. Hope everyone likes them! Hehe. =)

--Patrick W. Kuemper
"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same." ~ Oscar Wilde