The Changing of the Guard '60-'70s League

[BDWard]

Hello everyone. With the success of the "When It Was Just A Game '50s-'60s League" and several batches of new player cards in the ATG6 series, I thought it was time to give a '60s-'70s ATG6 theme league a shot. The rules are set forth below:

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]*[/b:1b4c7fbd1b] ATG6, $100 mil cap, 12 teams, no DH (there was no such thing in the 1960s and the early 1970s), waivers, 10% drop, advanced;

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]* Eligibility is ANY CARD BASED ON A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON OF ANY PLAYER WHO PLAYED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN THE 1960s OR 1970s [/b:1b4c7fbd1b](at any time during the period 1960 through 1979, inclusive), even if appearing in only one game, as set forth in http://www.baseball-reference.com/ . For example, any Ted Williams or Carl Furillo card could be used, as both played in the bigs in 1960. Below is a link to the list of big league players who played their final game in 1960 and thus would be eligible for this league:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1960-finalyear.shtml

Also, Kirk Gibson, Tim Raines and Jeff Reardon would be eligible, as all 3 had a "cup of coffee" in the bigs as late season call ups in 1979 (Raines had no official plate appearances and was used only as a pinch runner in 6 games!). Below is a link to the list of big leaguers who made their major league debut in 1979 and thus would also be eligible for this league:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1979-debuts.shtml

Satchel Paige's Negro League card would NOT eligible, as it is not based on a major league baseball season, but his 1948 card would be eligible, since he had one MLB appearance in 1965. NeL cards are ineligible, since none are based on a major league baseball season.

All told, there are more than 700 hitters' cards and 500 pitchers' cards available from which to choose, although there are obviously many players with multiple cards.

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]* [color=red:1b4c7fbd1b]16 round serpentine draft run on Diamond Dope with randomizer to determine draft order, with the last round for picking a unique MLB stadium from either the 1960s or 1970s. Once a stadium is picked, it cannot be used again. In the Diamond Dope player draft, please draft the card you intend to use to help curb player hoarding. The clock will be off the first 2 rounds to give people a chance to get situated. Beginning with round 3, there will be a 3 hour clock for draft picks. The clock will run on the weekends, but will be off over night, likely from Midnight to 8:00 A.M. Eastern Time. Exceeding 3 hours puts one at risk to have a pick skipped. The use of proxies is highly encouraged. [/b:1b4c7fbd1b][/color:1b4c7fbd1b]

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]* [color=red:1b4c7fbd1b]Random division assignments AFTER the Diamond Dope draft. [/b:1b4c7fbd1b][/color:1b4c7fbd1b]

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]*[/b:1b4c7fbd1b] Autodraft to follow after division assignments. Put your Diamond Dope picks on the bottom of your autodraft card. For the 10 non-Diamond Dope picks, any version of the player's card may be used.

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]* [color=red:1b4c7fbd1b]The Ted Williams Rule. Since Ted Williams has cards in the pre WWII card set the autodraft will use the entire card set, but only those who played Major League Baseball at any time during the period 1960 through 1979 are eligible to be listed on the autodraft card. A cursory review of the card set seems to indicate that Williams is the only player from the pre WWII set who is eligible for this league, but do your own research to confirm this. [/b:1b4c7fbd1b][/color:1b4c7fbd1b]

[b:1b4c7fbd1b]*[/b:1b4c7fbd1b] Ineligible players assigned during the autodraft must be cut prior to the start of the season.

You may have to do a little research to determine if a player is eligible, but that's part of the fun.

The manager list is in next post in this thread.

[BDWard]

Manager list in order of sign up:

1. BDWard
2. tomwistar
3. ironwill1
4. andycummings65
5. bontomn
6. bmilner
7. thaibill
8. ShakeyBoomer
9. PJK
10. misterg78582
11. carr20
12. mrharryc

I’ll have a randomizer run around 7 PM on Friday 4-20-12 to determine the draft order, will create the Diamond Dope draft and we’ll be up and running.

Monitor this thread for future updates by clicking the [color=darkblue:579e9b3be0][u:579e9b3be0][b:579e9b3be0]WATCH THIS TOPIC[/b:579e9b3be0][/u:579e9b3be0][/color:579e9b3be0] link below.

Good luck everyone!

[andycummings65]

Bernie, can I make a suggestion that we allow a stadium to be drafted at any point in the draft? A certain stadium may be in someone's strategy, and if it is, they could draft it at a point that makes sense to them, that fits their priorities for their team.
If not, no big deal.....

[BDWard]

Andy: I love suggestions and thank you for yours. Suggestions are especially good when they come before we know the draft order.

As most everyone probably recalls from our '50s-'60s league, the same suggestion was made after the rules had been published and well into the draft, giving me a chance to rethink it then.

The reason I decided to do stadiums in round 16 instead of any time in the draft is that the talent pool for our league is not anywhere near as deep as the full ATG6 set or even the post WWII set, so those teams picking near the bottom are at a disadvantage, even with a serpentine draft. Picking a stadium in round 16 in theory helps level the playing field for those people stuck with picks near the bottom of the first round. With a limited talent pool, I'd much rather have an earlier player draft pick than an earlier stadium pick. As an example, as I said in the thread last league, I would have gladly traded my early stadium pick to have had an early first round pick and a shot at Mathews, Mays, Mantle or Dimaggio. Instead, with my low first round pick I got Lou Boudreau, who doesn't even get drafted in many ATG6 $100 mil leagues.

Besides, if I remember correctly, everyone pretty much got a stadium well suited for their team. Andy, even you got your righty park, despite having a low stadium draft pick, although it may not have been your first choice.

My personal preference is to draft a stadium at any time when using the full ATG6 set, as the talent pool is much deeper and as a result, there is no significant disadvantage to having a low first round pick. Such is not the case in this theme league. Let's keep the stadium pick in round 16.

Who knows, Andy, maybe you'll get your early stadium pick this time around! If not, I'm sure there will be more than a few managers who'd be willing to trade picks with you to assure you of an early stadium pick!

[andycummings65]

Not doing it for me necessarily.....just think it's fairer to let managers place stadium priority as they see fit....wasn't saying it last season just for me either.....whatever you decide is fine by me though

[BDWard]

As set forth above, the manager list is as follows:

Manager list in order of sign up:

1. BDWard
2. tomwistar
3. ironwill1
4. andycummings65
5. bontomn
6. bmilner
7. thaibill
8. ShakeyBoomer
9. PJK
10. misterg78582
11. carr20
12. mrharryc

Frank Bailey ran a set of random numbers for me, which can be seen at the following link:

http://forums.sportingnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=5376877#5376877

The results are below:

Research Randomizer Results

1 Set of 12 Unique Numbers Per Set
Range: From 1 to 12 -- Unsorted

Job Status:

Set #1:

1, 8, 12, 9, 10, 6, 7, 3, 2, 11, 4, 5

Based on the random numbers, the draft order is as follows, based upon the position on the above manager list:

1. BDWard
2. ShakeyBoomer
3. mrharryc
4. PJK
5. misterg78582
6. bmilner
7. thaibill
8. ironwill1
9. tomwistar
10. carr20
11. andycummings65
12. bontomn

The draft is up and running on Diamond Dope.

Also, regarding the stadium issue, I've carefully considered Andy's arguments. Andy is nothing if not persistent, but my position remains unchanged. We'll just have to agree to disagree. I remain steadfast in my belief that the most fair course of action is to draft stadiums in reverse order of the 1st round player picks, so [b:586ba4b83e]stadium picks will remain as being made in Round 16 only.[/b:586ba4b83e]

Good luck everyone!

[BDWard]

Gentleman: Our prior '50s-'60s draft and our current draft seem to have been getting hung up in the same place in the evenings.

While I understand that we all have lives, responsibilities and commitments aside from online Strato, merely because the clock is off for the first two rounds and will be off from 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. Central time is no reason to delay picking.

With 1 evening pick on day 1, just 7 picks on the first full day and just 14 picks on day 2, we aren't exactly setting any speed records for the draft. As slow as I thought the '50s-'60s league draft was with 16 picks on day 1 and 17 picks on day 2, this draft is painfully slower.

Please be considerate of other league members and use proxies if you are unsure whether you will be around to make your picks or if you know that you will be unavailable.

To those of you who have to "sleep on" your picks, please keep in mind that there are probably several people picking behind you who are chomping at the bit to make their next pick and are checking several times each hour to see if you've made yours. While I understand that some picks may require some extra thought, this is not akin to grave matters of national security that require deep thought. If you're like me, the pick in your mind when you go to bed usually doesn't change over night. The next time I get inspiration for my pick in a dream will be the first time.

Let's move this thing along. - Bernie W

P.S.: Don't forget that the 3 hour time limit for picks goes into effect as soon as I make my pick to conclude round 2, which will happen shortly after my pick arises, most likely first thing Monday morning.

[BDWard]

The 3 hour clock is now on and we've already got 6 picks made today.

Let's see if we can keep this thing moving and knock out 3-4 rounds today.

Batter up, misterg!

[BDWard]

Gee, with 5 big money starting pitchers and 4 2nd basemen going in the last 15 picks, we're experiencing a mini-run on those positions. Hey guys, save some for me, will you??!!

[BDWard]

Steve (carr20) asked me a good question about ballparks through league mail in a league we are in together. The question is as follows:

[b:fdea41e920][color=red:fdea41e920]"I am assuming that Fenway 67 and Fenway 78 are two different parks. Is that correct or does the selection of one Fenway kill all Fenways?"[/color:fdea41e920]
[/b:fdea41e920]

In general, different years are considered different parks. So, for example, Fenway ('67, '71, '78) Metropolitan '65 '71, '78), Shea ('64, '71, '78) and Wrigley ('63, '66, '78) could each have 3 different parks in the league, since all three parks have 3 different years.

I hope this answers the question and clears up any confusion that may have existed regarding the parks issue.

Also, yesterday we knocked out 35 picks in the draft. Good job guys! Let's see if we can keep this thing moving and do the same or better today.