Round 1 Themes, 2026 Topic

A shoutout once again to the theme committee in suggesting and refining these. Blame all of us equally if you don’t like any of it. We aim for a mix of themes you can create in just the Draft Center and ones that involve some baseball-reference research for those who like that. We try to make roster verification manageable and avoid especially confusing or convoluted setups. We hope you enjoy building these. So with no further ado…

2026 WIS Championship - Round 1 Themes

All leagues will have:
  1. No Waiver Wire
  2. No AAA
  3. No Trades
  4. Injuries ON
  5. No restrictions on split season players (can use either combined or partial - Note that in a franchise theme, you must use a version who played for the selected franchise)
  6. No 300k exception (except 100m theme)
  7. Team name requirements (see individual themes, as some have them)
  8. No 2026 players can be used in any Round 2 league even if released before the final deadline
4/22/2026 1:57 PM (edited)

70M

Franchise Lustrum

Pick any of the original 16 franchises and choose 1 player from that franchise for each 5-year period (1901-1905, 1906-1910…..2021-2025)


DH: No

Seasons: 1901-2025

Clones: Yes

Park: Any stadium used by your franchise 1901-2025

300K exception: No

Team name: Include your franchise

4/22/2026 1:08 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:23 AM

80M

Long Live the Long Ball

You must draft at least 200 home runs. All of your pitchers must have a HR/9 of 0.75 or higher.


DH: No

Seasons: All

Park: Must be at least +2 for HR to both LF and RF

Clones: No

300K exception: No

4/22/2026 1:09 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:24 AM

100M

Twisting in a Straight Line

Pick any historical team. You can twist as many players as you choose under this restriction: one player can be twisted one season, one can be twisted two seasons, one can be twisted three seasons, etc. You cannot skip numbers. You can twist in either direction. Everyone you don’t twist must use their season with the selected historical team. You may use <300k players either if your historical team doesn’t have enough eligible players or you just prefer them to fill out roster spots.

Any player who appears on the Baseball-Reference page with a game played or inning (or partial) pitched for that team is eligible to be twisted. They do not need to have a sim-eligible season to be used as a twist.

DH: No

Seasons: All

Park: Use your selected team’s home ballpark.

Clones: No

300K exception: Yes

Team name: Include your historical team

Example:
You choose the 1927 Yankees. You can use one twist to 1926 or 1928, then one to 1925 or 1929, then one to 1924 or 1930, etc. So twists could be:

11: 1916 Bob Shawkey

10: 1917 Herb Pennock

9: 1918 Urban Shocker

8: 1919 Dutch Ruether

7: 1920 Joe Dugan

6: 1921 Bob Meusel

5: 1922 Pat Collins

4: 1931 Babe Ruth

3: 1930 Lou Gehrig

2: 1929 Tony Lazzeri

1: 1926 Ray Morehart

4/22/2026 3:19 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:24 AM

110M

Franchises Across Eras

You must use each of the below columns and rows once, in any combination you choose. Select one franchise from each column and match it with one of the eras (rows). Draft 5 players from each of your franchises in the selected era (row) only. You must spend at least $20M on each combination.

DH: Yes

Seasons: 1920-2025

Clones: No

Park: Take any stadium used by one of your franchises during their selected era

300K exception: No

Column A: Yankees, Giants, Red Sox, Dodgers

Column B: Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Athletics

Column C: Tigers, Pirates, Indians, Braves

Column D: Phillies, Orioles, Twins, Reds

Column E: Angels, Rangers, Mets, Astros

Row 1: 1920-1940

Row 2: 1941-1961

Row 3: 1962-1982

Row 4: 1983-2003

Row 5: 2004-2025

Example:

1920-1940 Athletics
1941-1961 Indians
1962-1982 Orioles
1983-2003 Dodgers
2004-2025 Astros

4/22/2026 1:18 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:24 AM

125M

Egalitarian Pandemonium

All 25 players must have a salary between $4 million and $6 million, inclusive.

DH: No

Seasons: All

Clones: No

Park: Any stadium with a park factor between .99 and 1.01, inclusive

300K exception: No

4/22/2026 1:19 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:24 AM

140M

From Aaron to Zwilling, Part I

Build your team using players whose last names all start with a different letter. In Round 2, you will build an $80M roster using the same 25 players. Round 1 will have a DH. Round 2 will have no DH.


DH: Yes

Seasons: All

Clones: No

Park: Any stadium any of your players called home

300K exception: No

4/22/2026 1:24 PM (edited)
Q&A
4/21/2026 12:24 AM
I’m starting to post the themes now!
4/22/2026 1:09 PM
Posted by redcped on 4/22/2026 1:09:00 PM (view original):
I’m starting to post the themes now!
4/22/2026 1:24 PM
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