Newbies against Hall of Famers Topic

I'm curious why newbie teams are placed into the same open baseball leagues as teams that have won 50K+ and 100K+ games?  It basically means I have a very small to minimal chance of being competitive.  I really enjoy so many aspects of this site but I have to say that I am very unlikely to make any more teams if I'm just going to continue to go against HOF managers who already know which players perform well together.  It takes a lot of the fun out of it and that's why I'm here, to have fun.  Are there any suggestions for me?  For example, is it realistic to form and complete a theme league for just newbies and rookies?  Thoughts and discussion are welcome.  
12/26/2012 12:54 AM (edited)
Newbie theme leagues can and do fill... if they present an air of confidence and competence...

Technically there's reduced rewards for experienced owners in open leagues... doesn't stop everyone though... yeah, cookie cutter teams are a problem in the Open League circuit... it can be frustrating... but understand that every time there's an update to the sim, a lot of what was good before won't be, so everyone will start from scratch... Granted, there hasn't been an update in a long, long time...

Really, most people play Theme Leagues and progressives...
12/26/2012 9:53 PM
Thanks for the post uncleal.  So far my experience in open leagues has been bad.  I'm in two leagues with many repeat managers/teams and it doesn't appear that I'll be very competitive.  I didn't expect to win but I at least would enjoy a chance.  Plus, it does get repetitive going up against dead-ball era pitchers nearly every single game.  How many times can I face Addie Joss in a week?!?  
12/28/2012 1:46 PM
There's a lot to be said for getting the same experience the HoF'ers you're going up against got when they were newbies. The only way to become one of them is to do what they did, practice and experiment with different strategies. You can't really expect to win on your first try, anyway.
12/28/2012 3:41 PM
I hear you uublog but I reiterate from my second post that it's not about winning.  I didn't expect to win.  I'm making the point that it takes a lot of fun out of the game, and in my opinion likely discourages newbies from continuing with more teams, by assigning teams to leagues the way this site does.  

So, since this is posted in the suggestions, my suggestion would be to put similar skill levels into the same leagues.  If you reach a certain level then you move into the next groupings.  Newbies, prospects, and rookies go in a league while veterans and HOFers go in another.  Just my 2 cents.  


12/28/2012 9:35 PM (edited)
Posted by jwallerrocks on 12/28/2012 1:46:00 PM (view original):
Thanks for the post uncleal.  So far my experience in open leagues has been bad.  I'm in two leagues with many repeat managers/teams and it doesn't appear that I'll be very competitive.  I didn't expect to win but I at least would enjoy a chance.  Plus, it does get repetitive going up against dead-ball era pitchers nearly every single game.  How many times can I face Addie Joss in a week?!?  
Yeah, I will admit that it takes no skill whatsoever to draft 1908 Addie Joss, who is by far the best value pitcher in the game in the SIM these days. The solution is to make him cost more, but there are always cookies... before Joss it was 1886 Bob Caruthers (not a great pitcher per se, but back when he was cheaper you could bat him 2nd and profit immensely with free PAs), and there were others before him...

Really, learn from experience... spend a few days reading the SimLeagues Baseball forums and seeing what works... the learning curve is greatly shortened if you read these valuable threads... contrarian23 recently posted a thread containing a listing of the best threads to read...

I personally gave up on Open Leagues for the most part long ago, but then I have difficulties at any cap under 100M (progressives exempt) which contributes to not playing. I empathize with your frustration... and at risk of repeating myself... the majority of owners will tell you themes and progressives are a lot more fun... most likely, the single-season simple progressive is the easiest league for a newbie IF you are willing to make the commitment and do the proper draft research... it mimics real baseball most closely, and overall I find requires less "SIM knowledge" then OLs and/or most themes.
12/28/2012 11:36 PM
Posted by jwallerrocks on 12/28/2012 9:35:00 PM (view original):
I hear you uublog but I reiterate from my second post that it's not about winning.  I didn't expect to win.  I'm making the point that it takes a lot of fun out of the game, and in my opinion likely discourages newbies from continuing with more teams, by assigning teams to leagues the way this site does.  

So, since this is posted in the suggestions, my suggestion would be to put similar skill levels into the same leagues.  If you reach a certain level then you move into the next groupings.  Newbies, prospects, and rookies go in a league while veterans and HOFers go in another.  Just my 2 cents.  


 I have felt the same way about this very same thing ever since I played my first open league. Newbies should NOT have to compete against HOFers. I quit playing open leagues a long time ago and only play theme leagues and progressives. If you don't want to start a theme league of your own for newbies keep your eyes open for one in the classifieds. They show up every so often. I think simsoxs and blazingrocks are 2 owners who post them once in a while. There may be a few HOFers in the league but they will have limited numbers of Championships (2 or 3) so that helps level the playing field a bit.
Best advice if you want to have fun and intend to stay around is forget the open leagues. That is where the sharks feed on the little fish.
12/29/2012 10:08 AM
UPDATE: my first full season league just wrapped up:

The Good: I stayed competitive till the end and was 1 game back going into the final game against the division leader.  We were tied through the end of 6 innings but then he took over won in the late innings.  I finished 85-77 w/ a .510 Exp Pct.  I was fortunate to be in the division I was in because the winner had the lowest winning percentage of any division (.537).  

The Bad: 8 teams in the playoffs, all 8 are HOF'ers.  There was one other rookie manager and he went 34-128. 

The Conclusion:   I maintain that some effort should be made by WIS to put similar experienced managers into separate leagues.  The other newbie's 128 loss season is evidence enough.  I will not play another open league unless WIS changes this and I don't see that happening.  .
2/16/2013 1:04 PM (edited)
Newbies against Hall of Famers Topic

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