Minihouston - Editor-in-Chief
Lots of movement from the Commissioner's office as we prepare to kick off the new league. We'll do our best to keep everyone updated via the blog. But the
HBD discord (click for the invite) also has a specific section for our world to have conversations in; whether its rules, trades, or just general discussions about the league. As we've said, you are not required to join but definitely helps build the world's community.
Our official league world rules are still a work in progress, and nothing in concrete at the moment; but wanted to be transparent about our goals with them. I hope it's clear in the below that my goal is still to allow people to build teams the way they like but tries to address some of the deliberate tanking that occurs on some worlds.
- It's sometimes hard taking input for ALL owners as there are so many different opinions; to help minimize that I'll have a revolving committee that I get feedback from as issues or conflicts arise.
- It will likely include 3-6 league owners that have proven they are committed to the league. After our first few initial seasons, any committee member will be required to have at least 3-4 seasons in Hardball Stitches under their belt. This is to give owners time to get familiar with the history of the league before volunteering for the committee. It also shows that they are committed to the development of the world. My preference is that they have discord, as it's much easier to have a group discussion there; but will still take into consideration those who do not want to bother with another website/login.
- The committee will be revolving as each member serves a short term; how long is TBD. This is to help ensure one small group is not controlling the direction of the league and to help keep each other accountable in our decisions.
- A "soft" 55 minimum win requirement.
- I'm typically against a MWR as I think it's the easy solution to try and address tanking without addressing some of the real issues of tanking. That said, that is why I'm calling this a 'soft' 55. Don't get me wrong, 55 will still be the requirement; but also understand that life is not black & white. Is a team who wins 53 or 54 that was on pace to win 60 who had a bad injury or stretch of unlucky sims really any worse that a team who didn't have those things occur and won 55 games? Not in my opinion; they are near equals just one got unlucky. Perhaps their Gold Glove Shortstop made an error that cost them a game. For any franchise that falls under 55 wins; the committee will take a look back at their season and try to determine if they put in enough effort to still produce a solid team. Some examples that I personally would be focused at looking into are:
- Was there a fire sale; where they could have held on to one or two ML talents and made it easier to get to 55 wins.
- Did someone with ML experience get demoted to the minors just so the team wouldn't perform as well or to save on years of experience?
- What Free Agents did they add in the off season? Was there even an effort, and what talent level were they? Signing AAA/AAAA guys says that you are not trying very hard.
- How much money did they transfer? I have less sympathy for someone who missed 55 wins yet still signed $25+ in IFA.
- What promotions did they make in an attempt to stay above the line? And when were they made? Right at roster expansion is likely too late in the season to try and focus on your 55 Wins.
- Players should be within 50 rating points of the average fielding ML position for any position they play. The one offs where a player fills a position in extra innings or because everyone is tired will be given a pass. But if they routinely play at a position, they will need to fall within this requirement. This one definitely has to be unique from other HBD worlds. And while I've debated at what point should the min. requirement be set? So I welcome any feedback, for now my thought is this:
- Under the current HBD, there is no DH in the National League. And I fully understand that there might be a DH type that a National League team wants to play at 1B/LF/RF; and to me that's fine. That's strategy of losing fielding for their improved bat. What the rule is intended for, is to keep DH/C/1B types out of the prime defensive positions - 2B/SS/3B/CF.
- 1B would be 40s across the board. So even if you have 0 range like some DH types, they could still play 1B. A DH would need at least a 5 range to play in LF and a 15 range to play in RF.
- If/when the DH is added to the National League, I think we could readdress how close to league average a player must be - even if it stays at the current 50.
- No current restrictions on pitchers; though the easy one to add would be a minimum requirement on a pitcher's control. I don't care if the guy has 90 splits with a 90 P1; 30-40 control is going to be awful. Would appreciate feedback on this one if you want to share.
- Trades will be reviewed independently from any other non-trade action. This allows for teams to make a 2 for 1 + 2 for 1 deal if they see fit. I will ask that as soon as the deal is made, they post about it in global trade. Then it will be up to the other owners to address the trade in their own opinion. What this rule is intended for and those where the non-trade action comes into play, is having Team A agree to place a claim on Team B's waived player as an attempt to get around that players No-Trade clause.
- Minor leagues should be maintained properly and not ignored. Positions players should not be pitching. Pitchers should not pitch consecutive days at 0% rested.
- Now this is VERY gray on purpose. I'm not interesting in policing every team at all levels. If you have a complaint about another owner; please send me a trade chat and let me know. I will then address the issue with the team by giving them a warning. I'm only warning a team twice before the committee addresses their team. While I wouldn't remove someone from the league for their awful minor league team; it's not going to be ignored either. Let's have some respect for the world and our community and don't let things get out of hand.
Here are a sample list of punishments that the commissioner and committee may apply to an infraction. Other actions may be taken as well as determined by the committee. Considering the group we are trying to put together for this world, I do not expect any issues; but just trying to lay the groundwork in case an issue does come up.
- Removal from league
- Payroll restrictions
- Transfer restrictions
- Draft pick loss
- IFA blackout
Here are a list of other rules that have been thought about but not on the current list to be included.
- Spending limits are not on my list, because as I said I'd like to allow people to build their franchises as they see fit; but as noted above, they are on the infractions list.
- I get that IFAs can get expensive, but they are also a crapshoot. You might have $30M to spend but not find the right guy until late into the season - and that's if your scouts even find them.
Final note - WISBob gets a bye, I'm not going to be the one to kick out the owner of HBD. 😁
