League Rules

OK, if you’ve come this far, then hopefully you’re comfortable with the premise that if you join this league there will be seasons where your team is just going to suck, and there will not be much that you can do about it. Hey, someone’s going to end up managing the 1916 Athletics.
Here’s how we we’re going to do this:

1. The league will start with the 1901 MLB season and progress forward one season at a time. I do have a plan to incorporate the 19^th century at some point, but right now there are a few too many logistical challenges with that era.
2. In season 1, once we have 16 owners, we will have a draft of the 16 MLB teams from 1901. Randomized draft order usingwww.random.org.
3. For the 1901 season, we will use Alternate WIS Format B, which entails:
   1. 162 games
   2. 16 teams divided into 2 leagues and a total of 4 divisions
   3. 4 playoff teams (the 4 division winners; there is no wildcard in this format)
   4. No interleague play
   5. EDIT: All teams must use their actual ballpark
   6. EDIT: All teams should be entered with the exact name they used during the actual season, with no other information included in the name (such as year, your initials, etc)
4. This is different from the way MLB was organized in 1901, but it will allow us to have 4 postseason teams rather than 2…and will lead to some real drafting strategy as discussed below.
5. The 8 NL teams will be in NL, aligned geographically (4 easternmost teams in the NL East, etc.) The 8 AL teams will be in the AL, also aligned geographically.
6. Subsequent seasons will use different formats, to reflect the way baseball changed over the years. These are summarized in the next post, with additional notes to explain things like how we’re dealing with the Federal League in 1914-15.
7. Once you have chosen your team, you will go into the draft center and enter your actual players from that season. You can use the “load historical team” feature if you want…this is often the easiest and cleanest way to build your roster, but it’s not infallible. Occasionally players are missed when you load a team that way. If you prefer to draft your players individually, keep in mind that:
   1. For players who were traded or otherwise appeared for multiple teams in a single season, you MUST use the partial-season version of that player. If the player did not get enough PA or IP with your team to warrant a partial-season version then you cannot use him.
   2. All players who played for your team in real life, and are in the WIS database, must be on your roster.
   3. Only players who played for your team in real life may be used in games. This is important, because many teams, especially from the early years, do not have 25 players in the database. In such cases, you will draft additional $200,000 players from the database (from any 19^th century season) to fill out your roster, but these players MUST:
      1. Be manually set to rest at all times
      2. Be manually removed from your player rest, defensive replacement, and PH hierarchies.
   4. In other words, these non-roster players may not be used in games, unless WIS slots them in because of some sort of emergency, and owners should take every possible step to ensure that doesn’t happen.
   5. It is quite likely that some teams will be short of PA or IP, perhaps even very short. So be it.
   6. EDIT: there are no $200K pitchers from the 19th century. You can roster any $200K pitcher from the database, under the same rules as above.
8. We will use “draft your own” AAA with the following parameters
   1. Each season, the theme rules will be set for a number of AAA players sufficient to allow the team with the largest real-life roster enough slots to incorporate all of their players.
   2. Teams that have more than 25 players in the WIS database will draft these additional players into AAA slots. These players MAY be used in games, and the transaction deadline will be set as late as possible to allow for roster moves throughout the season.
   3. Teams with unfilled AAA slots can either draft your own $200K players to fill the AAA slots, or just let WIS fill those slots with random AAA players, but in either case, those players MAY NOT be used in games. They should remain in AAA the entire season.
   4. Again, the purpose of AAA is to include as many real-life players as possible; no SIM-generated AAA players should ever be used in games in this league.
9. By all means, do your best to win as many games as you can with the players you have! This is important for several reasons, including…
10. …This is NOT a keeper league. Each season we will redraft from the pool of available teams. However, unlike with season 1, these drafts will not be random. Instead, owners whose teams most overachieve in the current season will receive the highest draft picks for the next season. “Overachievement” will be defined as “greatest relative improvement in winning percentage.” Or for those who prefer a formula: (WIS winning percentage – MLB winning percentage)/MLB winning percentage. So, if you get stuck with a terrible team in year 1, fear not. If you can win a few more games than they did in real life, you’re probably in great shape to draw a better team in season 2. If, because of owner turnover, we have new owners in the league, they will draft last in their first season (we will use random.org to generate the order for new owners if there are more than one in any given season.)
11. There will be real drafting strategy here. Do you pick the best remaining team available when it’s your turn? Or the team with the greatest possibility of improving on their real-life record? Or, since we’re using 4-team divisions, you may prefer to take a team with less talent, but a better divisional draw.
12. Obviously we are not allowing trades or waiver wire here. We will use the DH in the AL starting in 1973….but that’s something like 15 calendar years in the future and who knows how many of us, or WIS, will be around at that point, so if you rabidly hate the DH, please don’t let that dissuade you from joining.

1901 Divisional Alignment (real life winning percentage in parentheses)

AL East
Baltimore (.511) 2chair
Boston (.581) DoctorKZ
Philadelphia (.544) joerat1
Washington (.459) bublooo

AL West
Chicago (.610) dbrom
Cleveland (.397) hersheybear
Detroit (.548) dippedncrack
Milwaukee (.350) dilligafdbp

NL East
Boston (.500) winnetka1
Brooklyn (.581) contrarian23
New York (.380) italyprof
Philadelphia (.593) crazystengel

NL West
Chicago (.381) rickysdad44
Cincinnati (.374) ozomatli
Pittsburgh (.647) specsman
St. Louis (.543) hacker7

Owner list: contrarian23; ozomatli; DoctorKz; dbrom; italyprof; 2chair; bublooo; crazystengel; dilligafdbp; winnetka1; rickysdad44; joerat1; hacker7; dippedncrack; hersheybear; specsman

Waitlist: fatboydad54; redwingscup; bigfatjew

AL East Team Rosters (including PA/IP totals)

Baltimore Orioles (16 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Bresnahan	394		Foreman	234
Brodie	427		Howell	359
Donlin	657		McGinnity	466
Dunn	491		Nops	216
Foutz	100		Total	1275
Hart	284
Jackson	486
Keister	575
McGraw	376
Robinson	310
Seymour	714
Williams	692
Total	5506

** Note there are six other players in the WIS database listed as Baltimore, but who actually belong to Milwaukee. These players are listed with Milwaukee's roster below. Only the above players should be used for Baltimore in 1901.


Boston Americans (14 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Collins	733		Cuppy	112
Criger	344		Kellum	58
Dowd	765		Lewis	377
Ferris	672		Mitchell	130
Freeman	653		Winter	288
Hemphill	709		Young	443
Parent	701		Total	1408
Schreckengost	366
Stahl	710
Total	5653

Philadelphia Athletics (18 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Cross	537		Bernhard	307
Davis	626		Fraser	395
Dolan	447		Milligan	40
Ely	217		Piatt	167
Fultz	729		Plank	311
Geier	284		Wiltse	198
Hayden	280		Total	1418
Lajoie	694
McIntyre	416
Powers	545
Seybold	601
Steelman	123
Total	5499

Washington Senators (15 players)

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Clarke	567		Carrick	395
Clingman	655		Lee	320
Coughlin	668		Mercer	219
Dungan	744		Patten	310
Everitt	167
Farrell	748
Foster	534		Total	1244
Gear	238
Grady	467
Quinn	346
Waldron	441
Total	5575

AL West Team Rosters

Chicago White Sox (16 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Burke	203		Callahan	257
Hartman	614		Griffith	318
Hoy	764		Katoll	248
Isbell	729		Patterson	373
Jones	750		Piatt	62
McFarland	677		Skopec	82
Mertes	743		Total	1340
Shugart	542
Sugden	205
Sullivan	469
Total	5696

Cleveland Blues (24 players)

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Beck	676		Bracken	120
Bradley	657		Braggins	39
Connor	159		Cristall	58
Donovan	86		Dowling	306
Genins	135		Hart	188
Harvey	217		Hoffer	118
LaChance	672		McNeal	102
McCarthy	472		Moore	300
McGuire	83		Scott	149
O'Brien	483		Total	1380
Pickering	737
Scheibeck	428
Shay	96
Wood	439
Yeager	174
Total	5514

Detroit Tigers (17 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Barrett	756		Cronin	264
Buelow	309		Frisk	90
Casey	713		Miller	399
Crockett	136		Owen	68
Dillon	365		Siever	347
Elberfeld	610		Yeager	240
Gleason	726		Total	1408
Holmes	707
McAllister	404
Nance	647
Shaw	230
Total	5603

Milwaukee Brewers (21 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Anderson	718		Garvin	305
Bruyette	114		Hawley	216
Burke	315	Listed as BAL	Husting	257
Connor	137	Listed as BAL	Reidy	357
Conroy	663		Sparks	249
Donahue	147	Listed as BAL	Dowling	61	Listed as BAL
Duffy	372		Total	1445
Friel	489
Gilbert	643
Hallman	717
Hogriever	301
Jones	76
Leahy	143	Listed as BAL
Maloney	372
Waldron	353	Listed as BAL
Total	5560

NL East Rosters

Boston Beaneaters (20 players) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Carney	70		Dinneen	364
Cooley	309		Lawson	54
Crolius	261		Nichols	377
DeMontreville	727		Pittinger	331
Gammons	121		Willis	359
Hamilton	499		Total	1485
Kittridge	502
Long	657
Lowe	610
Moran	225
Murphy	218
Rickert	76
Slagle	348
Smith	76
Tenney	597
Total	5296

Brooklyn Superbas (19) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Dahlen	659		Donovan	419
Daly	687		Hughes	299
Davis	122		Kennedy	102
Dolan	329		Kitson	335
Farrell	353		McCann	41
Gatins	247		McJames	109
Irwin	315		Newton	126
Keeler	769		Total	1431
Kelley	643
McCreery	441
McGuire	389
Sheckard	724
Total	5678

New York Giants (22) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Bernard	99		Denzer	73
Bowerman	241		Doheny	88
Buelow	89		Magee	51
Davis	637		Mathewson	398
Ganzel	664		Phyle	200
Hickman	496		Taylor	418
Jones	114		Total	1228
McBride	335
Miller	77
Murphy	162
Nelson	173
Selbach	657
Smith	94
Strang	683
Van Haltren	716
Warner	361
Total	5598

Philadelphia Phillies (17) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Barry	326		Donahue	353
Cross	633		Duggleby	319
Delahanty	719		Orth	326
Douglass	219		Townsend	167
Flick	709		White	274
Hallman	584		Total	1439
Jacklitsch	156
Jennings	402
McFarland	366
Slagle	242
Thomas	698
Wolverton	478
Total	5532

NL West Rosters

Chicago Orphans (19)

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Chance	330		Eason	258
Childs, C	320		Hughes	360
Childs, P	281		Taylor	322
Delahanty	82		Waddell	284
Dexter	569		Total	1224
Dolan	210
Doyle	349
Gannon	74
Green	683
Hartsel	742
Kahoe	293
Kling	314
McCormick	540
Menefee	203
Raymer	568
Total	5558

Cincinnati Reds (23) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Bay	204		Case	32
Beckley	741		Guese	52
Bergen	380		Hahn	438
Corcoran	149		McFadden	54
Crawford	652		Newton	197
Dobbs	569		Phillips	328
Fox	200		Stimmel	179
Harley	695		Sutthoff	82
Irwin	328		Swormstedt	31
Magoon	609		Total	1393
McBride	154
O'Brien	66
Peitz	345
Steinfeldt	492
Total	5584

Pittsburgh Pirates (19) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Beaumont	718		Chesbro	336
Bransfield	710		Doheny	90
Burke	68		Leever	206
Clarke	701		Phillippe	345
Davis	468		Poole	94
Ely	295		Tannehill	295
Leach	476		Wiltse	52
O'Connor	257		Total	1418
Ritchey	711
Wagner	721
Yeager	117
Zimmer	312
Total	5554

St. Louis Cardinals (19) - TAKEN

Player	PA/162		Pitcher	IP/162
Burkett	779		Harper	358
Childs	110		Jones	89
Donovan	669		Murphy	191
Heidrick	624		O'Neill	48
Krueger	690		Powell	392
McGann	543		Sudhoff	320
Nichols	392		Yerkes	40
Padden	627		Total	1438
Richardson	70
Ryan	372
Schriver	219
Wallace	675
Total	5770

Here is our list of owners...I have assigned each of us a number...I will get a HOF owner who is NOT in this league to randomize us for the draft.

1. contrarian23
2. ozomatli
3. DoctorKz
4. dbrom
5. italyprof
6. 2chair
7. bublooo
8. crazystengel
9. dilligafdbp
10. winnetka1
11. rickysdad44
12. joerat1
13. hacker7
14. dippedncrack
15. hersheybear
16. specsman

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

16
3
1
10
8
4
13
5
12
14
2
9
6
11
15
7

Timestamp: 2016-03-31 21:47:31 UTC

Damn that was fast. OK, here, is our draft order:

1.) specsman - Pittsburgh Pirates
2.) DoctorKz - Boston Americans
3.) contrarian23 - Brooklyn Superbas
4.) winnetka1 - Boston Beaneaters
5.) crazystengel - Philadelphia Phillies
6.) dbrom - Chicago White Sox
7.) hacker7 - St. Louis Cardinals
8.) italyprof - New York Giants
9.) joerat1 - Philadelphia Athletics
10.) dippedncrack - Detroit Tigers
11.) ozomatli - Cincinnati Reds
12.) dilligafdbp - Milwaukee Brewers
13.) 2chair - Baltimore Orioles
14.) rickysdad44 - Chicago Orphans
15.) hersheybear - Cleveland Blues
16.) bublooo - Washington Senators

This is going to be a wild and wacky season. Since it's 1901, my players will have sharpened spikes on their cleats. We will slide with cleats high. We will welcome collisions at the plate. My pitchers will throw at opposing hitters and argue with the ump when a pitch over the batter's head is called a ball. Everyone on my team will be a brawler, mauler, and baller. We will drink like fish, smoke like chimneys and spit tobacco like Josey Wales. My team's foul language would make General George Patton blush with embarrassment. We will make the worst goons in NHL history look like a bunch of pacifist vegans.
What we will not do, with the 13th pick in the draft, is win many games.

Start things off with the Pirates

By proxy, Doc takes Boston Americans.

And I will take the Superbas.

A few quick things:
-- please use the park that your team actually used in 1901. I believe they are all available, but if not sitemail me and we will figure out the best park to use...most likely one that was historically close, or WIS park if there are just no good alternatives
-- It turns out that there are no $200k pitchers from the 19th century, so if you need to fill a pitcher's slot on your roster you may choose ANY $200k pitcher from the database. $200k position players should be from the 19th century though; there are plenty.

What I'm most excited about for this league is the quality of owners. Against lesser competition, it would be easy to sneak up the draft order after a season or two by finding a team likely to over perform it's real life W-L. Against the owners we've got here, though, what's more likely is that in order to do that, you'll simply need to out manage them.