HLCYGL v9 – The All-Star edition
Welcome to the next season of J4Ms’ How Low Can You Go League, where your GM and Manager skills will be put to the test by building a major league team on a minor league budget. I will be your host for our 9^th iteration.

Congratulations to mjkrunner who took out a hot team from just4me to win his 1^st HLCYGL title! Mjkrunner will be spending the offseason in a little farmhouse in Durham, NC, enjoying the spoils of victory while the rest of us study his masterpiece season, particularly the part where he won 119 games AND won a WIS World Series… in the same season! How is that possible???

An additional congratulations to last season’s winners of the additional GC prizes: ledfoot picked up the Comeback Kid award for most improved owner from his previous HLCYGL season by a whopping 39 games! And this was no sandbag event. Ledfoot went from 80 wins his previous season to the 2^nd highest HLCYGL win total ever of 119 games! That would have been a record this season if it weren’t for rbow923 who set the bar with 123 regular season wins in v8. Gsv91518 took the Better Luck Next Year award, winning 97 games but finishing 22 games behind ledfoot in division play and 2 games out for the wild card. Another tough season for some of our best teams!

To encourage varying strategies, each season the salary cap and rules are adjusted but within low cap limits. Last season (v8) the salary cap was lowered from $27M to $20M and included additional support from 15 below average AAA. The extra players gave us all 40-man rosters to manage which both helped and hurt: helped some teams manage fatigue, hurt teams whose owners weren’t able to dedicate as much time to the AAA shuffle needed to take advantage of it.

This season, we will once again take advantage of having extra AAA help. Heck, we’re even going to let you draft all-star caliber players. Just maybe not all-star caliber seasons. We will not have the limited IP restriction as a safety net in the draft center but we will still have the overall 875 IP/162 restriction. We will also continue to abstain from setting a minimum on PA/162 however, we will note the teams who drafted fewer than 4000 PA/162 in v8 all ended up with well over 100 losses.

For this iteration, v9 will raise the salary cap to $32M and we will tweak the u-pick AAA from 15 below average AAA of your choice to 3/4 u-pick AAA!!! That gives you a roster of 32 players, the same as the roster sizes for the ML all-star teams. So, while we’re at it, our other restriction will be: all of your players must have made at least one all-star roster during their career. The season you choose does not have to be their all-star season. We will utilize https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/bat-register.shtml to validate eligible players. This gives you 2199 players to choose from (and at least 10k available seasons) with a potential to roster a maximum of $39,100,563 on your active 25-man roster, staying under the cap for the $40M TOC.

The extra AAA maintains many of the strategy opportunities we had last season, but without the need for so much shuffling. But most teams will still need to do the shuffle (I’m practicing the Icky shuffle right now…oh, wait…wrong sport). If you are new to low cap leagues or like the idea but have struggled building competitive teams, it is highly recommended to draft between 4500-6000 PA/162 and between 1000-1300 IP/162. Drafting more than this could water down the talent you will have on the field. Drafting less can lead to the Fatigue Death Spiral we all try to avoid. And yes, too few PA’s can send you into the pitching death spiral. Fatigue leads to errors. Errors lead to more pitches thrown by your pitchers each inning. More pitches each inning equates to less innings per game. And so the spiral begins…

No DH, WW, trades, transaction deadline, clones, or PA minimum. There is a league minimum for innings of 875 IP/162. The league minimum does include your AAA pitchers. All seasons and stadiums are available. Injuries are on.

Additional prize: We will continue with the same prizes as we had for last season and I intend on keeping them in place for as long as I am commissioner. Future commissioners may change this at their discretion. The two available prizes are: 1) The Better Luck Next Year award - The non-playoff team with the most wins (tie’s are split between teams), and 2) The Comeback Kid award – This award is for the team with the most improved record from their previous HLCYGL season (ties will also be split). An owners previous season does not have to be the leagues most recent previous season. For example, if an owner played in v1 and v2 but hasn’t played since, that owners v2 record would be considered their previous season and used to calculate the difference. All owners with a previous season are eligible. We will only be using the seasons that are attached to the current league, v1 thru v8. Any seasons not currently attached to the league will not be eligible for the Comeback Kid Award.

For those that have never played a low cap league, these leagues will typically require once a day management at a minimum. This iteration is no exception!!! Your players will get tired but so will everyone else’s. Some will play well above their real life numbers. Other’s won’t. But most will meet or exceed their real life performance.

This is a great opportunity to play with some of your childhood favorites, those who don’t get much visibility at caps above $60M, or those minor league prospects who didn’t quite breakout in the majors. These leagues play similarly to real life and success, even at the individual player level, is often very rewarding. Come check us out! This is a great place to experiment and still be competitive.

We’re aiming for 24 teams, standard WIS format but can go to 16 or 20 if we stall. You can sign-up here and enter your team as we near filling. League # will be posted below once the World Series ends. New owners are always welcomed and encouraged. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. We have a lot of good owners who are happy to share some of their knowledge and experiences in these ultra low cap leagues. Just ask away!

League # MLB140019
Salary cap: $32M
AAA: 3/4 Below Average, You pick
Restrictions: minimum 875 IP/162 ***Does include your AAA pitchers***; All players must have made a minimum of one ML all-star roster to be eligible for this league. This includes your AAA players
1933-2023 Players Stadiums (All-Star era only)
No: DH, WW, trades, transaction deadline, clones, or PA minimum
Injuries on
Additional prize: A $5 WIS gift card to the Better Luck Next Year and Comeback Kid awards winner at the end of the season

Come join one of the more enjoyable and challenging leagues. If you like to tweak teams daily, this is definitely a league for you! Corked bats, juiced balls, and Vaseline all permitted and encouraged. The winner of last season’s World Series spent the season getting managerial advice from Annie Savoy. Do you have the talent to catch Annie’s attention this season?


The Comeback Kid Award
Rule Clarifications

1. Only teams with previous seasons attached to v8 (v1 thru v7) and are traceable via the team history window are eligible for the Comeback Kid award.
2. Any iterations prior to v1 are not traceable via the history window and therefore, are not eligible.
3. Owners with 2 teams in their previous season must use the team with the highest regular season win total when calculating their win difference.
4. Owners with 2 teams in the current season will use the team with the highest regular season win total when calculating their win difference.
5. The league is not open to owners taking 2 teams until 5 full days have passed without a sign-up
   1. A full day is defined as the time period between 1200 AM and 1200 AM the following day, PST.
6. The number of owners permitted to have two teams is determined by league size:
   1. 16 team league – 4 owners maximum – must have 7 full days of inactivity to claim
   2. 20 team league – 5 owners maximum – must have a minimum of 17 owners to claim
   3. 24 team league – 6 owners maximum – must have a minimum of 21 owners to claim
7. Once the eligibility criteria above has been reached, claims for 2^nd teams are on a 1^st come 1^st served basis in the forum only.
8. Scores will be calculated by total regular season wins from this season minus the total regular season wins from their previous season.
9. The owner with the greatest increase in regular season wins will be awarded the Comeback Kid award and prize. Ties will be split between owners equally.
10. Owners with negative scores (get worse, not better) will be required to do 20 push-ups and post a video of it on TikTok…just kidding.

Owners eligible for the Comeback Kid award and their season of eligibility

Team Name	Season/League	Owner	W	L	PCT	C	LC	DC	WC	2-TEAMS
Tampa Bay Rays in the Sim	Season 8 - MLB139197	31013	66	96	0.407	0	0	0	0
1986 Fleer #396	Season 1 - MLB133090	_JJP_	82	80	0.506	0	0	0	0
mendoza's line with no mendoza	Season 7 - MLB138548	3dayrotation	64	98	0.395	0	0	0	0
Low-Budget Ballers	Season 6 - MLB137808	Area51man	100	62	0.617	0	0	0	0
Roustabouts Lite 8	Season 8 - MLB139197	batgems	83	79	0.512	0	0	0	0
No use for a name	Season 8 - MLB139197	BeAllEndAll	94	68	0.58	0	0	1	0
SIOUX CITY SEVEN	Season 4 - MLB135318	bigdaddysalm	42	120	0.259	0	0	0	0
Pesky Banks Won't Give Me Money	Season 6 - MLB137808	boyznm1	9	153	0.056	0	0	0	0
Wallbangers	Season 6 - MLB137808	brian1648	68	94	0.42	0	0	0	0
Cheap Owner	Season 8 - MLB139197	champsx5	28	134	0.173	0	0	0	0
Low Cap Newbie	Season 4 - MLB135318	chewy3344	91	71	0.562	0	0	0	0
Sarah Jessica Parker Ugly	Season 3 - MLB134578	dbrom	82	80	0.506	0	0	0	0
Can't Hit, Can't Pitch, Can't Win	Season 2 - MLB133802	dhomard	73	89	0.451	0	0	0	0
Spare Change Champs	Season 8 - MLB139197	Disco Dogs	102	60	0.63	0	0	1	0
SF SubScrubs	Season 3 - MLB134578	eliasr	46	116	0.284	0	0	0	0
Cookie & ****	Season 1 - MLB133090	emanes10	96	66	0.593	0	0	0	0
Peckham Roses	Season 4 - MLB135318	ermocito	66	96	0.407	0	0	0	0
Below the Basement	Season 8 - MLB139197	fatguyrd	60	102	0.37	0	0	0	0
40 of the finest	Season 8 - MLB139197	fillies	99	63	0.611	0	0	1	0
Lower 9	Season 8 - MLB139197	gsv91518	97	65	0.599	0	0	0	0
Goat Run Gunners	Season 1 - MLB133090	Hagsag	61	101	0.377	0	0	0	0
Team 113	Season 8 - MLB139197	Horsepicker	65	97	0.401	0	0	0	0
Avogadro’s Number	Season 8 - MLB139197	jmh5711	94	69	0.577	0	0	0	1
Echo & the Bunnymen	Season 8 - MLB139197	jpeterso	91	71	0.562	0	0	0	0
Sporty Spice	Season 2 - MLB133802	jtvaughey	65	97	0.401	0	0	0	0
No 1B, Everyone Covers as Needed	Season 8 - MLB139197	just4me	99	63	0.611	0	1	0	1
Never Enough	Season 7 - MLB138548	Kaboom69	64	98	0.395	0	0	0	0
Kentucky 3A	Season 8 - MLB139197	ledfoot	119	43	0.735	0	0	1	0
Could use Mustard/Peacock/Professor Plum	Season 8 - MLB139197	Lewb	83	79	0.512	0	0	0	0
The Weak Bunch	Season 6 - MLB137808	littlereb	46	116	0.284	0	0	0	0
Foli's Gang	Season 8 - MLB139197	mifflinblitz	92	70	0.568	0	0	0	0
Bargain Basement Bashers 3.0	Season 8 - MLB139197	mjkrunner	112	50	0.691	0	1	1	0
40 Men and a Baby	Season 8 - MLB139197	Pipeline	69	93	0.426	0	0	0	0
Songs That Made The Hit Parade	Season 8 - MLB139197	rbow923	123	39	0.759	0	0	1	0
Dem Budget Bums	Season 8 - MLB139197	reds141	93	70	0.571	0	0	0	0
Detroit Space Monkeys	Season 2 - MLB133802	szczubelek	13	149	0.08	0	0	0	0
GP's To-Low-Too-Count	Season 8 - MLB139197	tab316us	31	131	0.191	0	0	0	0
Free Willy II	Season 1 - MLB133090	Taxman2008	52	110	0.321	0	0	0	0
Delusional Minor Leaguers	Season 8 - MLB139197	tgrun	80	82	0.494	0	0	0	0
Clueless in Seattle	Season 2 - MLB133802	tomhanrahan	86	76	0.531	0	0	0	0
No Moneyball	Season 8 - MLB139197	trd3	72	90	0.444	0	0	0	0
Trenton Lows	Season 2 - MLB133802	Trentonjoe	84	78	0.519	0	0	0	0
Chichester Swans	Season 7 - MLB138548	wgasa	87	75	0.537	0	0	1	0
The Keystone Cops	Season 8 - MLB139197	WillsRoyals	63	99	0.389	0	0	0	0
Quantity over Quality	Season 7 - MLB138548	willthrash	52	110	0.321	0	0	0	0
iykyk	Season 2 - MLB133802	wink0094	91	71	0.562	0	0	1	0
Feculent Faeries (4)	Season 8 - MLB139197	xebutarmac	30	132	0.185	0	0	0	0
Abreuve Nos Sillons	Season 6 - MLB137808	yanks250125	87	75	0.537	0	0	1	0
Dollar store discounts	Season 2 - MLB133802	zoldab1	89	74	0.546	0	0	0	1
1:32:12	Season 5 - MLB137012	zoom123	48	114	0.296	0	0	0	0

	Owner	Previous Season Wins	Current Season Wins
1	BeAllEndAll	94		(94)
2	fillies	99		(99)
3	xebutarmac	30		(30)
4	Horsepicker	65		(65)
5	trd3	72		(72)
6				0
7				0
8				0
9				0
10				0
11				0
12				0
13				0
14				0
15				0
16				0
17				0
18				0
19				0
20				0
21				0
22				0
23				0
24				0

x

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I'm going to give it a go. I hope it fills.

EDIT: I have changed my mind. This is way too restrictive and a bear to put together. Sorry. I'm out.

Posted by tgrun on 4/29/2024 4:26:00 PM (view original):
I'm going to give it a go. I hope it fills.

EDIT: I have changed my mind. This is way too restrictive and a bear to put together. Sorry. I'm out.

Yes, it's true. This draft was a bit more challenging than previous drafts. Although, with two screens, I was able to use my normal search parameters in WIS on one screen and have the All-Star list open on the other screen, and that made it a little easier to find eligible players. But it still took me much longer than I thought it would to build this team and I still have no idea if they will be any good. But on paper, names only, they look pretty formidable!

Sorry to see you take a pass on this iteration. I try to make it appealing to all of our core low cap owners but looks like I missed the boat on this one. Maybe we'll see you back on the next one.

definitely in