I've been playing HBD for a very long long time. It was a few years ago that another long-time HBDer suggested a different and unique rule to combat tanking. I agreed with him that in theory it should work, without the obvious downsides of standard anti-tanking measures such as min-win rules.
Anyone who is in a world that has a MWR (min-win rule) knows that it doesn't solve tanking; it merely sets a slightly higher bar for the tanker to aim for. Also, the standard punishment (expulsion) is problematic as well, due to the difficulty of finding people to populate worlds in this era of declining interest.
The idea is to come up with a rule that doesn't just make a new target for tankers to aim for, and punishes without expelling offenders. I believe that the anti-tanking rule we have implemented here from the beginning in Aaron world meets both of these criteria. Please read the rules below, and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message!
Here are the rules:
- Permanent MLB locations and team names; no franchise name changes or relocation
- Maintain your minors or you're out
- Veteran's committee of four owners plus the commissioner will decide on all issues of contention.
- First overall pick in the draft must be a two-pitch pitcher. If the first overall doesn't sign, and type D compensation results, the type D pick must be a two-pitch pitcher. This rule only applies if the current owner was in control of the team for the entire previous season.
- More teams can end up being required to draft a 2-pitch pitcher if they finish the season with less than 60 wins at the ML level. If a team (currently owned by the same owner who controlled the team for the entire previous season) fails to achieve 60 wins in a season, the committee will be charged with determining if they:
- Hoarded prospect money to spend on IFAs
- Traded away solid ML talent for minor league players
- Held superior ML players back in the minors
- Failed to sign enough ML-level free agents to be competitive
These items can all be easily looked up and referred to. If the committee finds that a franchise that finished with less than 60 wins has committed any one of these actions, it shall rule that the team may only draft a 2-pitch pitcher with their first pick in the draft.
These rules are designed to make this world the best, and they're working IMO. The main purpose of the anti-tanking rule is to eliminate blatant tanking. Here's a rundown of the most losses teams from the beginning:
1. Minnesota 117
2. Cincinnati 106
3. Kansas City 103
4. Washington DC 104
5. Cincinnati/Kansas City 105
6. Kansas City 103
7. Kansas City 108
8. Pittsburgh 103
9. Seattle 108
10. Houston 106
11. Oakland 106
12. Montreal 110
13. San Francisco 106
14. Chicago Cubs 106
15. San Francisco 108
For the last 9 seasons, one team has finished last more than once. The rule is designed to punish you for finishing last, so people try not to finish last. In theory, you should want to win games all season long, especially if you're near the bottom of the standings.
If you've made it this far, the openings are
Texas Rangers
Anaheim Angels
Oakland Athletics
Sitemail
shobob if you're interested
3/24/2024 12:58 PM (edited)