The No Whining Progressive is a unique single-season progressive league currently finishing up our 31st season (1991).
We do not have openings very often, and we usually fill spots from a word-of-mouth waitlist, but we now need 1 exceptional owner to take over the Texas franchise (AL) for 1992 - see below for roster and team details.
This team is, candidly, in lousy shape, although with some exceptional young players, including Gary Sheffield and Sammy Sosa at the start of their careers, and the basis of a formidable rotation in Kevin Appier, Kenny Rogers, Al Leiter, and Wilson Alvarez. They will likely be terrible for a season or two, but there is a lot to build on, or trade with, if you enjoy rebuilding challenges.
What makes us unique? A couple of things:
1.) Our philosophy is summarized in the name of the league; no whining here. All owners take complete responsibility for their teams, and for the well-being of the league as a whole. If you miss a draft pick, we move on without you. If you leave a player off your keeper list inadvertently and someone else drafts him, you lose the player. Don't get the wrong idea - we're not a group of sharks. We just expect everyone to be accountable. We've all been in leagues where a couple of owners take forever to hit deadlines, or are sloppy with their keepers, and just expect everyone else to put up with it. Not here.
2.) Tanking is not rewarded in any way. Our draft order is completely randomized (though non-playoff teams draft ahead of playoff teams in each round). There is absolutely no incentive not to put your best effort into winning, and many of us take pride in winning more games than we "should" based on our payroll in any given season. Note that this means unlike most leagues, you can't just rebuild by waiting around for good draft picks, because there is no guarantee you will get them.
3.) Because of the above rules, and in general just having a great group of owners, we trust each other. So another rule for example is that vetoing trades is not allowed. Trades in which one team gets the better of another are a part of baseball history, and we don't police those trades out of existence.
Interested? Love the 90s? Like seeing the leaderboards flush with Gwynn, Bonds, Clemens, Thomas, Bagwell, Maddux, etc? Come on in and give us a try, we'd like to have you.
Other rules are pretty straightforward: 24 teams in standard OL format, interleague play, no cap, DH in AL only (Texas is in the AL), etc.
We also draft our own AAA from the leftover 1992 players and supplement as needed with up to 6/4 below average AAA, though 1992 is the last season we will use SIM-generated AAA. Starting in 1993, because of the MLB expansion to 28 franchises, there should no longer be any need for these players and we will no longer allow owners to use SIM-generated AAA players.
Sitemail me if you're interested and I'll add you to the league forum where you can see our league history, previous drafts, complete rules, etc.