Advice, Suggestions, & Comments on Fictional Historic League

[SkinnyDoc]

I was looking to get some feedback on a fictional league that I'm going to create. I have just gotten back into OOTP after a bit of hiatus (first played OOTP2) and am looking for suggestions and feedback on my league.

The League:

The league will be started in 1957. I believe several folks have done a historical league based on the Pacific Coast League becoming the "third" major league. I want to start with a 16 team league that will address regions of the country that the NL and AL has ignored up until this point, namely the west coast and the southern portions of the country.

8 teams will come from the PCL and the other 8 will come from the southern region of the country.

The league "could" be financed by oil businessmen, perhaps other companies in the southern region (Coca Cola?, any others come to mind?), and west coast interests for the PCL.

The Teams:

From the Pacific Coast League:

Hollywood Stars (moved to Salt Lake City in 1958)
Los Angeles Angels
Portland Beavers
Sacramento Solons
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals
Seattle Rainers
Vancouver Mounties (moved from Oakland in 1956)

My questions on PCL teams:
1. Could the Los Angeles area support 2 major league teams right off the bat? My answer would be no. If not, is Salt Lake City a viable option?
2. Is Sacramento a large enough city at this point to be a viable location for a team?
3. Phoenix, AZ was the 29th largest city in the 1960 census, and the S.F. Seals moved there in 1958 when the Giants came to town. How does Phoenix figure in in people's opinion?
4. What about Denver, CO? The AAA Denver Bears are there in 1957.

Possibilities of southern regional teams:
1. Houston, TX - 7th largest city. The Houston Buffaloes - class AA Texas League in 1957.
2. Dallas, TX - 14th largest. Dallas Eagles - class AA Texas League
3. New Orleans, LA - 15th largest. New Orleans Pelicans - class AA Southern Association
4. San Antonio, TX - 17th largest. San Antonio Missions - AA Texas League
5. Memphis, TN - 22nd largest. Memphis Chickasaws - AA Southern Association
6. Atlanta, GA - 24th largest. Atlanta Crackers - AA Southern Association
7. Louisville, KY - 31st largest. Louisville Colonels - AAA American Association
8. Ft. Worth, TX - 34th largest. Ft. Worth Cats - AA Texas League
9. Birmingham, AL - 36th largest. Birmingham Barons - AA Southern Association
10. Miami, FL - 44th largest. Miami Marlins - AAA International League
11. Richmond, VA - 52nd largest. Richmond Virginians - AAA International League.

Minor Leagues:

Which minor leagues and/or teams would switch to be affiliated with the new leagues?

In 1957 the minor leagues were:
International League - AAA
American Association - AAA
Texas League - AA
Southern Association - AA
South Atlantic League - A
Western League - A
Eastern League - A
Carolina League - B
Northwest League - B
Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League - B
California League - C
Southwestern League - C
Northern League - C
Florida State League - D
Midwest League - D
NY-Penn League - D
Alabama-Florida League - D
Arizona-Mexico League - D
Georgia-Florida League - D
Nebraska State League - D
Sooner State League - D

I believe I would start with 3 classifications in the minors. I feel that a lot of the minor league teams in the southern and western regions of the country would switch.

The Players:

What would be an estimated % of players (imported rookies) that would go to the new league?

Also, is there a way to import certain players from the Lahman or other databases? Or is the easiest way to import all the players and then just delete a certain number of them from the draft pool?



Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.

[spark240]

Is your idea that this is a new configuration for 1957, but that baseball history through 1956 has matched the real world?

If so, my own approach would be to leave MOST of the minor league structure alone, at least at first. That is, most minor leagues will remain affiliated with the old major leagues (or independent). This would be partly out of uncertainty for the new leagues' chances of success, partly for reasons of in-force contracts. I might give the new majors just a couple affiliated minor leagues, from among those that are in the same western and southern territories.