Up The Ladder is playing Season 4 and there is an opportunity to join the league by taking over an existing franchise. The team will be free to you this season.
We build teams with an increasing payroll structure seasons 1 through 5. In season 6 we reset the payroll to $70,000,000 and go up the ladder again. There are going to be players of different eras on your team and a full compliment of AAA players that you can use to build your team into a winner.
Here are some details about the league:
Season 1 - $70,000,000
Season 2 - $80,000,000
Season 3 - $90,000,000
Season 4 - $100,000,000
Season 5 - $110,000,000
At the end of season 5, we go back to the bottom rung of the ladder for team salary and then go back up the ladder.
An important note regarding franchises. They will be recognized by city and not by nickname. So, if you pick the Atlanta Braves you have access to players that played for Atlanta - not Boston, not Milwaukee. The same is true for any franchise that relocated during its existence. If a franchise, simply changed their nickname then each iteration of the team is considered a new franchise for purposes of this league.
This next part of the league description is an idea I have stolen from bheid408. Each team will receive 50 AAA players ( 30 & 20 ) - real names, real players.
Season 1 - below average quality players
Season 2 - average quality players
Season 3 - above average quality players
Season 4 - way above average quality players
Season 5 - random quality players
You will build your future teams with a combination of your original team and the AAA players that you receive. The league will have no draft.
Here is a more detailed explanation:
The original 25 players you select are available to you as long as they have a season of play that you have not already used. Once you use a season you cannot use it again. In order to keep one of your original 25 players you must use a season of play that is associated with the original franchise.
Example - you have 1970 Jim Palmer on your initial squad. You can use any other Jim Palmer season with Baltimore other than 1970 in any future seasons.
To fill out your roster for Season 2 you will be able to keep as many or as few of the AAA players you received in Season 1.
Example - you received Catfish Hunter as a AAA player. You can include Catfish Hunter on your 25-man roster in Season 2 and use any year of play associated with him that you wish.
Each season you will receive a fresh batch of AAA players, so you keep them from one season to another or you lose them.
A quick summary: You pick a franchise. Build a team subject to a salary cap using any player from franchise history. That's your original 25-man roster. Future rosters are built through the original 25-man roster and AAA players that were assigned to your team. You build your second squad subject to a salary cap and repeat.
Rules:
Draft - none
I/R - none
DH - none
Trades - yes, you can trade players. But trades must be in the season of play. You cannot trade future seasons for players.
Trade vetoes - 12 votes are needed to veto a trade.
Salary cap - each season will have a salary cap that pertains to the 25-man roster on opening day.
AAA - you can call up and send down AAA players at will subject to the league transaction deadline.
* A change of franchise will be permitted only in the event of owner turnover. The new owner will have the option to change their franchise prior to their first full season in the league. Ownership changes after the season has started do not count as a full season in the league. The new owner would give up all players on the current team - including AAA players - in order to start a new franchise.