The theme committee is happy to announce the Round 2 Themes so you can get started now on them if you'd like. I appreciate all the help from the group in helping us develop challenging themes that are also fun to research and build, and hopefully aren't too close to anything you've done before.

2026 WIS Championship - Round 2 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 exceptions
7. Random alignment in all leagues, except 100M
8. Team name requirements (see individual themes, as some have them)
9. No 2026 players can be used in any Round 2 league even if released before the final deadline

70M
Mile High Mania
You must play in Coors or Mile High Stadium. No player salary can be higher than $5,280,000. Make sure you draft enough IP/PA!

DH: No
Seasons: All
Clones: No
Park: Coors or Mile High
Alignment: Random
300K exception: No

res for 70M Q&A

80M
From Aaron to Zwilling, Part II
Build your team using players whose last names all start with a different letter, using the same 25 players you used in Round 1. Round 2 will have no DH.

DH: No
Seasons: All
Clones: No
Park: Any stadium any of your players called home
Alignment: Random
300K exception: No

res for 80M Q&A

100M
Division Drafts
Round 1 rankings determine division alignment (1-12-13-24 in NL East, 2-11-14-23 in NL Central, 3-10-15-22 in NL West, 4-9-16-21 in AL East, 5-8-17-20 in AL Central, 6-7-18-19 in AL East). Owners will nominate any single season in order from 24-1. Each division will then hold a draft using exclusively players from the four selected seasons for their division.

Division drafts will require owners to select the specific season and salary of each player as they draft. A player will go off the board for that division once any season is selected. Draft order for the first round will go from highest-ranked owner down (e.g., 1 drafts first, then 12, then 13, then 24). Subsequent rounds will go from lowest cumulative salary to highest.

DH: No
Seasons: All
Clones: No
Park: Any stadium in use in any of your four seasons
Alignment: By Round 1 standings as above
300K exception: No

res for 100M Q&A

110M
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Take any season between 1936 and 1999 and take three teams from that year to make up your roster. The three teams will be known as
The Good. Any team with a winning percentage >= .550. Take any 7 players from this team for your roster.
The Bad. Any team between .425 and .500 winning percentage. Take any 7 players from this team and, for a little extra help from this weaker roster, take 1 clone (any year/team) of one of your chosen 7 players.
The Ugly. Any team with a winning percentage <= .425. Take any 7 players from this team and, for even more help from this weakest roster, take any 3 clones from these 7 players from any of their WIS seasons. You can use 3 clones of one player, clones of 3 different players, or some other combination.

So, your roster consists of 7 players from each of the three teams from your season, plus the 4 clones.

DH: No
Seasons: Selected seasons from 1936-1999, but clones may come from any season
Clones: Yes
Park: One used by one of your three teams
Alignment: Random
300K exception: No
Team name: Include your chosen year

Q: So for the $110m theme, is it 3 clones from the ugly, or 4? I see both listed above. I'm guessing 4, since 7+7+7 plus 3 clones equals only 24 players
A: No, you take 1 clone from The Bad and 3 clones from The Ugly.

Q: Can a Bad team have exactly a .425 or .500 winning percentage?
A: Yes

Q: We are to take 7 players from the sub-.425 Ugly team, and then are allowed to clone thrice. But only from that group of seven, correct?
For example, I pulled up 1936 AL and looked at the first sub-.425 team which is the Browns. They have Hornsby and Bottomley on that team, so one might think there is hope.
But, if one is required to draft 1936 Bottomley, then other versions of him don't help unless you want to stick him in the OF. Hornsby only had 6 PA for the Browns but would have plenty of good infield seasons to clone if desired. And there are few if any good-enough-to-twist pitchers. But if you did find one to clone, you would have to roster their 1936 version as well, yes?
A: So your clones would have to come from up to 3 of the players you rostered from the 1936 Browns. If Hornsby doesn't have a WIS season with them, you can't clone him. But if he did, in theory you could use 1 or 2 or 3 clones of him, if you wanted to. And yes if you wanted clones of Bottomley, you'd have to roster his 1936 version as one of your 7 from that team.

Q: Just want to make sure for these purposes, teams that finished between .501 and .549 just don’t exist at all?
A: That is correct. You wouldn't be able to use those teams.

Q: Is clones just a flat yes? So I could pick ... let's say the 49 Red Sox qualify as bad and the 51 Red Sox are good ... and have 49 Ted Williams and 51 Ted Williams both on my team?
A: The Good, Bad, and Ugly teams all have to come from the same year.

Q: Is there any restriction regarding partial & combined seasons (i.e. are only partials usable) or can combined seasons be used? This happens any time a player played part of the season on one team and then got traded to another. Curious if combined seasons are only allowed if you are using both teams, or if there is no restriction on combined seasons like I understand it to be.
A: You can use either a partial or combined season as long as you are using the player version with the franchise you select. So if Joe Schmo played for the Phillies and Cardinals and has partials with both and you are using the Phillies, then you can only use his Phillies partial or his Phillies combined. If he only has a combined with the Phillies, you could also use that. You would not have to use the Cardinals as one of your other teams unless you wanted one of Schmo's Cardinals seasons instead.

120M
WAR: What Is It Good For?
Using the top 500+ players in BB-ref’s rankings for Career WAR (excluding some 19th century, Negro Leaguers and inning-compiler pitchers), we created two sets of boxes. The top 10 are in Group 1, players 11-20 and 21-30 are in Group 2, players 31-40 and 41-50 in Group 1, etc.

Pick one of the two groups and use exactly one player from each of the 25 boxes labeled A-Y, from any season you choose. If you choose Group 1, all your players must come from the Group 1 boxes. No crossing over.

DH: Yes
Seasons: All
Clones: No
Park: Any
Alignment: Random
300K exception: No

Group 1	Group 2
Box A	Box A
Babe Ruth	Stan Musial
Walter Johnson	Rogers Hornsby
Cy Young	Eddie Collins
Barry Bonds	Ted Williams
Willie Mays	Grover Alexander
Ty Cobb	Kid Nichols
Henry Aaron	Alex Rodriguez
Roger Clemens	Lou Gehrig
Tris Speaker	Rickey Henderson
Honus Wagner	Mel Ott
Box B	Box B
Joe Morgan	Mickey Mantle
Warren Spahn	Tom Seaver
Carl Yastrzemski	Nap Lajoie
Eddie Mathews	Christy Mathewson
Phil Niekro	Frank Robinson
Cal Ripken Jr.	Mike Schmidt
Roberto Clemente	Lefty Grove
Bert Blyleven	Greg Maddux
Cap Anson	Albert Pujols
Adrian Beltré	Randy Johnson
Box C	Box C
Al Kaline	Robin Roberts
Jimmie Foxx	Chipper Jones
Eddie Plank	Charlie Gehringer
Wade Boggs	George Davis
Mike Trout	Roger Connor
Steve Carlton	Fergie Jenkins
Gaylord Perry	Pedro Martínez
Bob Gibson	Ken Griffey Jr.
George Brett	John Clarkson
Tim Keefe	Mike Mussina
Box D	Box D
Brooks Robinson	Justin Verlander
Arky Vaughan	Nolan Ryan
Zack Greinke	Rod Carew
Robin Yount	Clayton Kershaw
Luke Appling	Tom Glavine
Ozzie Smith	Jeff Bagwell
Mookie Betts	Pete Rose
Bobby Wallace	Curt Schilling
Jim McCormick	Joe DiMaggio
Sam Crawford	Dan Brouthers
Box E	Box E
Paul Molitor	Harry Heilmann
Johnny Bench	Rafael Palmeiro
Lou Whitaker	Frankie Frisch
Bill Dahlen	Derek Jeter
Max Scherzer	Bobby Grich
Paul Waner	Ted Lyons
Reggie Jackson	Alan Trammell
Frank Thomas	Barry Larkin
Jim Thome	Ron Santo
Larry Walker	Ed Delahanty
Box F	Box F
Robinson Canó	Johnny Mize
Eddie Murray	Gary Carter
Iván Rodríguez	Scott Rolen
Red Ruffing	Carlos Beltrán
Carlton Fisk	Tim Raines
Carl Hubbell	Rick Reuschel
Jim Palmer	Manny Ramirez
Kenny Lofton	Tony Gwynn
Edgar Martínez	Fred Clarke
Pee Wee Reese	John Smoltz
Box G	Box G
Al Simmons	Freddie Freeman
Graig Nettles	Don Sutton
Ryne Sandberg	Buddy Bell
Ernie Banks	Luis Tiant
Kevin Brown	Duke Snider
Miguel Cabrera	Willie Randolph
Dwight Evans	Goose Goslin
Ed Walsh	Craig Biggio
Don Drysdale	Paul Goldschmidt
Roberto Alomar	Andre Dawson
Box H	Box H
Red Faber	Joe Cronin
Billy Williams	Reggie Smith
Joey Votto	Chase Utley
Bob Feller	Willie McCovey
Vic Willis	Richie Ashburn
Lou Boudreau	Aaron Judge
Ken Boyer	Roy Halladay
Juan Marichal	Dave Winfield
Hal Newhouser	Jackie Robinson
Andruw Jones	Billy Hamilton
Box I	Box I
Home Run Baker	Sal Bando
David Cone	Joe Jackson
CC Sabathia	Jake Beckley
Mark McGwire	Early Wynn
Dennis Eckersley	Jesse Burkett
Manny Machado	Willie Davis
Stan Coveleski	Gary Sheffield
Todd Helton	Jim Edmonds
Jack Glasscock	Keith Hernandez
Tommy John	Harmon Killebrew
Box J	Box J
Jim Bunning	Dazzy Vance
Bob Caruthers	Bobby Abreu
Vladimir Guerrero	Andy Pettitte
Joe McGinnity	José Ramírez
Nolan Arenado	Zack Wheat
Mark Buehrle	Sherry Magee
Cole Hamels	Chris Sale
Urban Shocker	Ichiro Suzuki
Evan Longoria	Mike Piazza
Bret Saberhagen	Yogi Berra
Box K	Box K
Dick Allen	Tim Hudson
Eddie Cicotte	George Sisler
Darrell Evans	Joe Torre
Sammy Sosa	Willie Stargell
Mordecai Brown	Billy Herman
Jack Quinn	Enos Slaughter
Rube Waddell	Whitey Ford
John Olerud	Frank Tanana
Bobby Bonds	Shohei Ohtani
Chuck Finley	Larry Doby
Box L	Box L
Eppa Rixey	Will Clark
Jim Wynn	Bill Terry
Jack Powell	Dave Stieb
Max Carey	Johnny Damon
Francisco Lindor	Mariano Rivera
Chet Lemon	Bill Dickey
Joe Mauer	Robin Ventura
George Uhle	Bryce Harper
Joe Gordon	Orel Hershiser
Bob Johnson	Luis Aparicio
Box M	Box M
Hank Greenberg	Joe Medwick
Jeff Kent	Vada Pinson
Gabby Hartnett	Tony Pérez
Willie Keeler	Ian Kinsler
Stan Hack	Ron Cey
David Ortiz	Jerry Koosman
Joe Sewell	Bucky Walters
Sam Rice	Wilbur Cooper
Kevin Appier	David Wells
José Cruz	Elmer Flick
Box N	Box N
Bid McPhee	Jose Altuve
Joe Tinker	Jimmy Collins
Fred McGriff	Minnie Miñoso
Babe Adams	Billy Pierce
Waite Hoyt	Harry Hooper
Jim O'Rourke	Bert Campaneris
Norm Cash	Jack Clark
Lance Berkman	César Cedeño
Larry Jackson	Dwight Gooden
Dustin Pedroia	Burleigh Grimes
Box O	Box O
Luis Gonzalez	Bob Elliott
Johan Santana	Torii Hunter
Earl Averill	Joe Kelley
Brian Downing	Jason Giambi
Toby Harrah	Jim Kaat
Carl Mays	Kenny Rogers
Bobby Doerr	Mark Teixeira
Brian Giles	Dave Bancroft
Kirby Puckett	Tommy Bridges
Tony Phillips	Silver King
Box P	Box P
Félix Hernández	Ted Simmons
Jamie Moyer	Orlando Cepeda
Eddie Rommel	Fred Lynn
Brett Butler	Mark Langston
Jimmy Sheckard	Roy Oswalt
Bernie Williams	Wilbur Wood
Nellie Fox	Dizzy Trout
Bobby Veach	Ellis Burks
David Wright	Mickey Cochrane
Dutch Leonard (1933-53)	Jacob deGrom
Box Q	Box Q
Jimmy Key	Buddy Myer
Sandy Koufax	Wally Schang
Marcus Semien	Bob Lemon
Jim Fregosi	Ralph Kiner
Dennis Martínez	Tommy Leach
Ed Konetchy	Heinie Manush
Andrew McCutchen	Kiki Cuyler
Doc White	Johnny Evers
Joe Judge	Mickey Lolich
Dolf Luque	Charles Bender
Box R	Box R
Ryan Braun	Buck Ewing
Larry Gardner	Jimmy Rollins
George Mullin	Ron Guidry
Hippo Vaughn	Bobo Newsom
Carlos Correa	Heinie Groh
Miguel Tejada	John McGraw
Bob Shawkey	Jim Rice
Giancarlo Stanton	Curtis Granderson
Frank Viola	Tony Lazzeri
Josh Donaldson	Devon White
Box S	Box S
Gene Tenace	Chuck Klein
Roy White	Vern Stephens
Hoyt Wilhelm	Dizzy Dean
Mike Cameron	Murry Dickson
Frank Chance	Art Fletcher
Matt Williams	Willie Wilson
Dale Murphy	King Kelly
Mark Grace	Thurman Munson
Del Pratt	Lave Cross
Bartolo Colón	Edd Roush
Box T	Box T
Alex Bregman	Rusty Staub
Lou Brock	Lon Warneke
Tony Fernández	Javier Vázquez
Brad Radke	Omar Vizquel
Adam Wainwright	Roger Peckinpaugh
Christian Yelich	Jesse Tannehill
Vida Blue	Larry French
Claude Passeau	Augie Galan
Herb Pennock	Addie Joss
Buster Posey	Juan Soto
Box U	Box U
Harry Stovey	Bill Freehan
Earle Combs	Red Lucas
J.D. Drew	Steve Rogers
Dixie Walker	Ben Zobrist
Rocky Colavito	Chuck Knoblauch
Jim Gilliam	Matt Chapman
Red Schoendienst	Jimmy Ryan
Troy Tulowitzki	Carlos Delgado
Zack Wheeler	Lonny Frey
Larry Doyle	Matt Holliday
Box V	Box V
Travis Jackson	Sam Thompson
Gerrit Cole	Nomar Garciaparra
Al Dark	Brett Gardner
Noodles Hahn	Mel Harder
Carlos Zambrano	Cupid Childs
Gil Hodges	Steve Finley
Milt Pappas	George Foster
Bob Welch	Rabbit Maranville
Julio Franco	Corey Seager
Adrián González	Fred Tenney
Box W	Box W
Al Oliver	Mel Stottlemyre
Xander Bogaerts	Dolph Camilli
Charlie Keller	Jack Chesbro
Jack Morris	Matt Olson
Jon Lester	Fielder Jones
Roger Bresnahan	Amos Otis
Cliff Lee	Jorge Posada
Curt Simmons	Sad Sam Jones
Hugh Duffy	Elmer Smith
Tony Oliva	Ken Williams
Box X	Box X
Darryl Strawberry	Ben Chapman
Gary Gaetti	Schoolboy Rowe
George Springer	José Canseco
Nelson Cruz	Lenny Dykstra
Phil Rizzuto	Hughie Jennings
John Candelaria	Davey Lopes
Curt Flood	Don Mattingly
Bill Nicholson	Felipe Alou
Plácido Polanco	Wally Berger
Sam McDowell	Harry Brecheen
Box Y	Box Y
Ken Singleton	Jason Heyward
Roy Thomas	Cy Seymour
Roy Campanella	Mike Tiernan
Doug DeCinces	Fernando Valenzuela
Jason Kendall	Dick Bartell
Yadier Molina	Andy Van Slyke
Jim Perry	Claude Osteen
Eddie Stanky	Tom Candiotti
Trea Turner	Jack Fournier
Harlond Clift	Rich Gossage

Q: $120M, Group 1, Box P, which Dutch Leonard?

1913-1925 Dutch Leonard
1933-1953 Dutch Leonard

A: 1933-53 Dutch Leonard

130M
The Alternating Chain
Start with any hitter season from 1920-2001 you choose as your starting point. This player also determines which ballpark you will use. Then take any teammate of that player and use one of their pitching seasons moving forward in time. Then take any teammate of this second player and use one of their hitting seasons moving forward in time. Continue alternating hitters and pitchers until you reach the end of your chain, so you will have 12 pitchers and 13 hitters.

Remember: You must go forward in time at least one year with each link, so you will have 25 different seasons on your roster.

DH: Yes
Seasons: 1920-2025
Clones: No
Park: Use your first player’s home ballpark (or WIS Park if unavailable)
Alignment: Random
300K exception: No

Q: If the teammate you are linking played only one game that season (but they were teammates that season according to Baseball Reference), is that within the rules? Or does it have to be a player who appears in the WIS database for that season?
A: Yes to the first question. Any teammate from the same season regardless of how much they played (minimum 1 game). No WIS season is required.

Q: Does the teammate you use as a link have to have been on the same active roster at the same time as the first player?
A: No. For the purposes of this theme, a "teammate" played for the same team in the same season, whether or not they played together. They could even have been traded for each other.

Q: Does the teammate you use as a link have to have played in a game, or can they have been injured all season? For example, Chipper Jones and Greg Maddux played on the same Braves team from 1993-2003, but Jones missed all of 1994. So, can you use Chipper as a Maddux teammate from 1994?
A: No, they must have played at least one game to show up on the same BB-Ref page. In this example, you could only use Chipper if you used a Maddux season when they both played for the Braves (1993, 1995-03).

Q: I choose Babe Ruth 1920. Bob Shawkey played with Ruth in 1920. So I choose... not 1920 Shawkey, but 1925 Shawkey.
Lou Gehrig played with Shawkey in 1925. So I choose ... not 1925 Gehrig but 1930 Gehrig.
A: Yes. Correct.

Q: In the teammate chain, Bonds and Bonilla were teammates in Pittsburgh, but if I take 96 Bonds with the Giants, can I take a Bonilla season after 96 even if he's not on the 96 Giants?
A: No, Bonilla is not a teammate of Bonds on the 96 Giants so if you used 96 Bonds that would not be possible without a few other links in between (including a pitcher).

The Ugly. Any team with a winning percentage <= .425. Take any 7 players from this team and, for even more help from this weakest roster, take any 3 clones from these 7 players from any of their WIS seasons. You can use 3 clones of one player, clones of 3 different players, or some other combination.

So, your roster consists of 7 players from each of the three teams from your season, plus the 4 clones.

So for the $110m theme, is it 3 clones from the ugly, or 4? I see both listed above. I'm guessing 4, since 7+7+7 plus 3 clones equals only 24 players