The NWPEE (No Whining Progressive, Early Edition) is a unique 16-team, double-season progressive league in our 6th season (1890/1955). We need 1 owner for season 7 (1891/1956). If anyone is interested in joining, post here or sitemail me and I will add you to the league forum.
The NWPEE is unlike traditional progressives in a number of ways. If you are new to progressives, you are certainly welcome to join (prior prog experience is not necessary). If you are an experienced prog owner, please do read the below, as there are some important elements of our league that may be different than what you are used to. In any case, please only reply if you intend to stay in the league long term. Our minimum expectation is that a new owner will stay in the league for at least 5 seasons (roughly 1 calendar year.)
What makes us unique? A few 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. And we are efficient and punctual in running the league. This is not a league for owners who have trouble meeting deadlines, or whose access to the internet is sporadic. For example, we do all rounds of all drafts on the clock, including round 1. 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; every team has the exact same chance, 1/16, of getting the top draft pick. 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. And we let the "luck of the draw" stand, whatever the outcome. If an owner gets the #1 pick three seasons in a row (unlikely, but certainly possible), so be it. If the team with the worst record in the league draws a terrible pick, so be it. This league rewards savvy drafting, trading, and team-building strategies, not the expectation of high draft picks. Please be 100% comfortable with this concept if you plan on joining.
3.) We use a unique system of contract points. Each team has up to 75 contract points they can use each season. Contracts are divided among your players based on how many seasons you want to keep them. IR seasons do count against your contract point cap. Once you have signed a player to a particular contract, you may not reduce or extend the terms of that contract (though you may choose to cut a player who is still under contract.) This system has proven to have 3 significant effects that make the NWPEE very different from a traditional progressive:
-- There is much more strategy around drafting and annual roster management. You have to make very difficult tradeoffs.
-- The annual draft pool is MUCH deeper than in a traditional progressive. In addition to being a 16 team league drawing from 2 MLB seasons (which already makes the draft pool very deep), every season there are very good players whose contracts expire and who therefore return to the draft pool.
-- There is much more annual roster turnover. The NWPEE looks quite a bit like modern MLB in this regard, with each team having a small number of long-term players, and then a bunch of guys signed to 1-season contracts who turnover frequently. It's not unusual for teams to have 10 or fewer keepers each season.
4.) We recently approved a 2-phase expansion plan that will bring us up to 24 teams. Full details of this expansion are in the league forum.
Beyond all of that, the NWPEE is just a good, solid fun league with good owners and a fascinating mix of eras. The 1890s bring some big offensive numbers and high-IP pitchers, but also severe defensive liabilities. The 1950s guys often have better normalized pitching numbers, but can't be used as often. Their defense is better, and they hit for more power (though HR numbers are restrained by 19th century pitching). How you combine the strengths and weaknesses of each era will really determine your fate. Again, your roster-management skills will be really tested here.
Sitemail me or post here 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.