Here are a couple of solutions/ideas:
1. I believe in the rules of the game, there needs to be more emphasis on how to set up your minors and the benefits of having enough players and making the playoffs. For instance, I explain to each newbie that, like me, they should carry about 15 position (with 2 catchers, and 1-2 players for each position, minimum) / 15 pitchers (6-7 SP minimum).
2. It also needs to be stated somewhere, what the actually numbers are to get a Spring Training or Playoff bump. (Ex. Position Player A needs to have 10 ST game appearances or 30 ABs. Pitcher Player B needs to have 10 ST game appearances or 10 innings. Playoffs, 10 ABs/3 games, etc etc.)
3. I am the commish in Second City and I have spent hours monitoring everyone's minor leagues, informing them, chasing them to fix it. In the last 5 or 6 seasons we instituted a MWR of .250 at each minor leagues level. If they fail at 2 levels within 2 seasons they lose $5MM in payroll the next season. The owner must sign a minor leaguer of the commissioners choosing to a $5MM contract. It was initially met with complaining by several owners. Most of them were trying to put more money towards their ML payroll. When I did an analysis of the previous 15-20 seasons, it was typically the same owners that fell below the .250 MWR. I explained that in 55 seasons at that time (55 x 5 levels = 275 minor league seasons) I never had 1 fall below the .250 MWR. If you have the proper amount of players at each level, it is nearly impossible to not meet the .250 MWR. The first season or two we had 3-4 owners penalized. The past few seasons, no one has been penalized at all. It works!!!
4. The drafted players MUST have a higher durability coming in, and the durability MUST increase MUCH faster. A real life college player is playing about 60 games a season plus summer ball, tournaments, and inter-team games. I just saw a IFA position player(future All Star level, projected 89 overall) signed and he had an initial durability of 37, that's a ridiculous, unrealistic number. If it should start at that level, then it needs to be increasing 4-5 ratings points per bump. Players are immediately put with trainers and workout routines when they sign. The amount of durability ratings increase could correlate to Training Budget.
5. There needs to be better ratings bumps for players that are properly progressed through the minors. I typically have a low number of players retire because I move most of them up every season. Fewer retiring players leads to more of a group of free agents to sign from. PLUS less that you will need to sign from season to season. A ripple effect. This also needs to be spelled out in detail in the rules of the game.
6. There should be a minimum of draft picks that have to be signed. Look at historical data from the ML. Do they sign 90% of their draft picks? 80%. Make the number slightly lower than what really happens, in that case say 70-75%. If by the 2nd game of Rookie Ball they haven't offered 75% of their draft picks, AI will automatically make offers from the bottom up until the percentage is met.
7. After any ML draft, there are a ton of undrafted free agents available. Maybe AI populates a bunch of players after the draft that also require a small signing bonus. It should be at least $20,000 to incentivize signing your own lower picks first.
8. 5th or 6th year minor league players holding out for a couple of million dollars a year is stupid. Them asking for it is stupid. They should ask to be put on a 40 man roster, ST invite, a small signing bonus (maybe $250,000), and/or major league minimum contract with options. Why should they be asking for more than what a 1st year ML gets when they weren't good enough to have been promoted.
9. I like either more pronounced ratings bumps for minor league playoffs or small cash/credit incentives for top 2 finish in the minor league playoffs. Maybe $5 for winning it and $2.50 minor league WS loser.
7/7/2021 12:27 PM (edited)