AAA players are being eliminated from Open Leagues. see @adlorenz 's response, and my own and ideas how to better improve AAA players , rather than just eliminating them. be sure to let admin and @adlorenz know how you feel. see the thread in the 2/18/2021 patch update

There will be no AAA players, this may or may not be a permeant change. I am always open to listening to the community, but the combination of fake names, understanding the value of these AAA players (or their real names), and debate around trading AAA players for $200,000 bench players, this seemed like something to explore for open leagues only.

i may be as fairly new GM but i see this as a very negative move.
a) always fun to see who you get, luck of the draw
b) will now force GMs to draft/spend $ on bench players. $80m is already a tight # that results in repeat players for many GMs
c) this will dilute the regular roster of players. 8 hitters @ $5m to x 600 abs each, now will be $40m to get 6000 abs for ~12 players?
d) the average AAA players are valued at around $1.6m for hitters and $1.2m for pitchers, that equates to 12M of lost value to every team.

honestly the way to avoid fake names, understanding their value, the debate of trading these players..... is to simply unmask their identities. you can simply allot each team approx 12 million worth of 6/2 players.

you can even add more fun for the GM by allowing the GM to pick a collection of players. unknown players, but grouped as speed/defense/pitching/power/contact based players, and prior to the season the GM selects their player groups that fits their rosters needs.

again im just a new guy, but really think this needs to be put in all the open league commentary boxes so you can see the responses, not just in this kinda hidden thread

There are plenty of theme leagues involving unknown AAA or randomness in the players you can draft if you're into that kind of thing. B through d on your list are all good things, will make open league player performance a lot closer to real life.

I'd be in favor of making changes every year or so just to keep things fresh. This change makes me want to play an open league just based on it being different than the usual.

I see potential issues around it being harder for a new owner to overcome drafting mistakes, but overall don’t see this as much of a negative. AAA players, real names or not, are an area where sim knowledge really separates experienced owners from newer owners. The extra $ needed to fill a roster are irrelevant as the minimum IP/PA are the same and the recommended PA/IP are solidly in-line for a team without AAA.

This will definitely shake things up in OLs and I’m kind of excited to see how it plays out. Besides, Adam already said it’s an idea they may reverse as they see how it plays out. I say we give it a few months at least to see the actual effects. It could be quite interesting in a good way.

Of the many reasons newbs come and go, I've never heard it's because of not understanding AAA use and rates and identity their first couple of OLs. We've all been there in the beginning and in perseverance bridge this lesson curve despite other reasons they leave. If taken away completely, they'd have 0 recourse to recoup on a poor first draft, usually playing time related which would only add to other reasons of initial disheartenment, plus after their initial beatdowns lump them along with the rest of us into the new reality of paying more in the draft center for more playing time per position at generally speaking weaker rates.

My solution to the non-issue of eventually getting there newb AAA knowledge and keeping AAA while addressing other manipulation therein . . .

. . "and debate around trading AAA players for $200,000 bench players" . .

is and has all along been quite simple : keep AAA, but either disallow their use in trades, or limit it to AAA-for-AAA; there's actually decent mystery matches within these often enough without the other calculated and planned shenanigans.

I don't like it, just because it is change. BUT, that being said, I think there is middle ground - namely either the ability to draft your own AAA with real players, or have real players assigned. If you want, you can limit AAA trading to AAA players only if you wish, but it really becomes moot when the real players are identified. That being said, we'll adapt or start theme leagues that mirror the old open leagues.

I think they should have done a 5% across the board decrease in salary with removing AAA players

I know many don’t like AAA, but majority of owners who don’t like it don’t play OL’s anyways.

I think the solution that most people asked for was just naming the AAA and getting rid of the fake names.

I like the idea of drafting your own AAA too, but that would further the gap between new and veteran players. Randomness is the only way to keep that fair

I have no issue in and of itself with play what you draft, if this is part of the reason for getting rid of AAA. If newbs coming in unawares of previous issues have an understanding of for the rest of us a new reality, no problem (although the recommended draft center playing time numbers will have to be reshuffled again to make up for weaning off of previously padded AAA playing time we'd now be without).

However, it's also apples/oranges too simplistic yet dramatic to cut off its head entirely in order to address other issues within that can be solved otherwise. Either don't allow AAA to be traded, or only straight up.

Also, if no OL AAA, then how are newbs to have an understanding of their use prior to graduation to theme play that does often use them and when the deck was previously already stacked against them their first couple go arounds.

Also also, eliminating them I believe would too adversely affect roster composition. Position playing time would then have to be accounted for more full-time, which not only costs more for the extra playing time, but often at worse rates than can found in less than full-time players. That tier of not quite full-timers now become less viable, unless you want an active roster of more platoons which comes at a cost when forced without 8 previous safety nets. That 600 PA guy you wanted knowing he'd need an occasional day off for a AAA now becomes a 700 PA guy with probable worse rates and more expensive, or an additional active roster platoon. Now you're down an arm.

Is this all possible in the name of change is sometimes painful ? I spose. Is it necessary when there's other very simple fair changes ? Nope. Is it more fun ? Nope.

There's just too much adverse effect without other changes; higher cap, bigger active roster. Let's just leave it at thanx for the thought but no thanx except for trade limits.

As a few folks have mentioned above, I'd like to know the reasoning behind the decision to do away with AAA in OL. It's always been a great part of OL's in my opinion, and if there is some issue that needs to be addressed (like trading AAA for non AAA), just limit that. Otherwise it's the "throwing out the baby with the bath water" approach.

I always used and enjoyed AAA in Open Leagues, but I think it's worth giving this a shot. And the benefit of keeping the cap at $80M is you'll have more realistic results than if you boosted it to 90 or 100.

As for this hurting newbies more than experienced owners, I don't see it that way. Plenty of newbies never call up their AAA, or use them only for pinch hitting. It was generally veteran owners who were getting their money's worth with AAA.

If you really like rookies, there are plenty of theme leagues out there that use them. "OG Twist" is in Season 89 right now in the Classifieds; it's an 80M single-season team twist that uses 6/2 average AAA. Heck, you can even start your own "Open League Classic" theme that uses AAA.

What, precisely, is the problem with having to draft slightly more IP/PA, and thus slightly weaker players? This will lead to more players being usable and performance a lot closer to real life (with the exception of HRs from modern players, but that's not changing until we get dynamic pricing).

For new players (I'm talking brand new players, not people who have run a few teams), there is a ton to learn about the sim. Not having to deal with AAA is one fewer thing to worry about on your first attempt. Even if you give AAA guys the real names, you still have to do a bunch of searching through the draft center or baseball reference to figure out how good your prospects are. Anyone who's played a few open leagues and wants to move on theme leagues is already a fairly dedicated customer, I can't imagine they're going to abandon the site because they have to spend a few minutes reading up on AAA. Making things simpler for brand new players is a move in the right direction.

As for cookies, those are 100% inevitable at any cap level with or without AAA until dynamic pricing is introduced. I can promise you 2019 Marte is going to remain very popular in a no AAA open league world.

As mentioned above by 06gsp and I'll piggyback as a reminder from one of my earlier points, AAA name and rate identity is not a big deal. Nobody has left because of it. Newbs Day1 know nothing about it, and anyone still around Day2 moving forward have the readily available tools to unwrap with anticipation their mystery presents. I'm probly an outlier you have my permission to laugh at about it, but I went all in nerd with laminated 3x5 cards of criteria ranges and know my entire 8-member farm in 10 minutes. However you figure out yours, it's not a big deal and a non-starter in their complete removal.

This leaves as the 3rd and final option specifically mentioned by adlorenz as to their possible detriment. Trades. This has been touched on politely here and with much more fervor elsewhere multiple times, but the planned calculated manipulation is the most easily resolved solution in the history of ever without getting rid of them altogether. Either no trading of them at all. Period. Or, keep it in-house with AAA-for-AAA only. Period.

I'm trying to stay on task regards AAA. Yes, points of potential collateral damage have been raised that can come to their own conclusions; budget, roster size. Maybe admin wasn't aware in their think-tank about that fallout and good at then for letting this go public for those issues to be raised. Maybe they have those concession changes in mind and paired with AAA but haven't mentioned them yet. But none of them or anything else is valid enough for their complete removal. Easiest fix ever.

By the way, this happened really fast, while somehow of more leveled fair playing field significance dynamic pricing remains blowing in the wind.