[sharkmgs]

I'm trying to re-create the history of the Detroit Tigers as if they never hired Randy Smith in December 1995. Things were swell, until I got to the draft -- which was filled with unrealistic MLB-caliber players. So my question is really two-fold: (1) I'm looking for general hints to make my scenerio realistic without duplicating real life; and (2) how do I 'dumb down" the drafts so that I get realistic talent that has to go through the minor leagues.

Any advice/tips/etc would be GREATLY appreciated.

[timmermac]

It kind of depends on whether or not you want real players to come into the league after you start. If you do want the real players, then I don't think there's a way to do what you're looking for. If, however, you don't want anybody that actually started playing after your start year to import, then there's an option under either rules or options in the league setup that you can uncheck to prevent the import of real players.

Also, you'll probably want to set up a college feeder league to generate talent to fill up your amateur draft pool. I, personally, would do a 2 subleague set up with 10 10-team divisions in each subleague. I also wouldn't bother naming the colleges or anything like that. That way, you might get some undrafted free agents at some point. I would also probably set the draft at something like 50 rounds.

[sharkmgs]

Thank you, timmermac.

As a follow-up: If I wanted to have both "historical" and fictional players out of the draft, would I just set up the feeder leagues as you suggested and allow the import of historical players? Or will that lead to a problem of "too much" talent. Although, since I'm in 1996 I guess the historial players will dry up in fairly short order.

[TribeFanInNC]

Two of our esteemed mod makers in the community (Gambo and Spritze) have made a database that you can use which will add players based on their professional debut (i.e. when they were drafted or signed internationally). This is fundamentally different than the historical dbase that comes with OOTP, which adds players based on the major league debut. The thread for it is below; I think you can download it from PadreFan's site (linked in his sig in that thread). I think this might give you what you want, real players that still need developed.

Upated database for Final patch and FINAL update to GamboDB

Personally, I have never used it but a lot of people in the community like their work.