New 30-team league format: opinions

[luckeroll]

I like the option of a bigger league but I am afraid of how long it would take to load the league within a week. Also I prefer the 24 team format as an option as well. It would be nice to have a 24 team format with one league NL and the other AL. Depending on the league you are in it will create different approach in managing thus making playoff/interleague games more interesting.

Lastly the 24 team leagues will be more for the hardcore SOM players. I would be more apt to play in a keeper league if the talent level is more diluted.

[Runnin Rebel]

Now that it sounds like we have the technology, how close are we to having an "Old School" option where we build TWO divisions of six or eight teams as in pre-expansion days.

In this scenario the wild cards (IF we Must, I favor NO wild card) would be the runner-ups with the best record even if they are from the same division. I think this would be a nice option especially for the 70's, 1969, and ATG III.

Personally, I don't think the 30-team option would work since very few people play out an entire season AS PLAYED. Most of the teams constructed here are more or less All-Star teams playing an 162-game schedule.

[maligned]

To summarize what people have said...the 30-team option seems interesting if the following are in place:

1. An improved draft system.
2. Lower salary cap options to accomodate teams' having less players to choose from.

I agree...I would even be willing to wait a week and a half instead of a week for a league to fill...:)

[CHARLESBELL]

My view is that any league with more than 16 teams is not going to be workable as an autoleague because a month into the new season those leagues will simply never fill. Another consideration is that the more teams there are, the more players there will be who do not make the playoffs. Again, for non hard core players, why would anyone want to compete against 15, 23, or even 29 other players instead of 11? So I believe that only hard core players are likely to more than just dabble in the larger team formats.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't have them. What I would envision is that all leagues start as the standard 12 team format, and then expand automatically. For normal autoleagues, once the initial 12 spots are full, the 12 players have the option of increasing the league size to 16, then 20 if they get 16, then 24, then 30. Must be unaminous. This also allows theme leagues to expand the number of teams as desired/needed or stop when no one else wants in and still use the autoleague format. For private leagues the league size can be set in advance to more than 12, with the option of increasing the size still available. My opinoin is that this allows the flexibility we need and would mitigate the real problem of diluting the pool of players with many different "fixed" formats.

Several have mentioned improving the draft system, which would be absolutely necessary. With many more teams, the disparity in team talent will be much wider in an autoleague as players will get fewer of their first picks and the consolation picks will go much deeper into the pool. That will leave less help in the FA when the draft is done, and HAL's draft choices will weigh more heavily on who ends up with the better team. This can be partially offset with lower salary caps, but my concern with a straight autodraft in large leagues is that I'll be stuck with what HAL gives me with little chance of improving the team after the draft.

So, the larger team format needs to have an improved autodraft system which somehow takes the above into account. I'd also suggest that a live draft system would be accessible and used by more players if it was a selectable option for all leagues. The live draft system I envision would have the improved autodraft combined with the live draft system - including automatic email notification letting folks know when their pick is due. Then if no pick is made and no proxies are ready the improved autodraft would make the pick so that there are no skipped picks and in order to finish in a reasonable time.

[vinci60]

24 teams seems a very reasonable and workable compromise.

I play much fantasy sports (not much Strat), and always the best leagues are those with a number of teams that is somewhat lower, but not much, than the number of real teams. You want enough players to easily fill the fantasy teams, but not so many that everybody will get an all-stars team. At least personally, I like the challenge of finding the best fit for my team among the not-so-famous players, and the wide field of teams, because both give you a much more realistic feeling.

Finally, as an occasional Strat player, I would prefer the 24-teams league, rather than thel 12-teams. And... about filling the leagues: if the price for a team was lower, be sure that you would have your leagues very quickly filled. $25 is a very steep price for a fantasy team. You end up having, with all due respect, just a little group of players, always the same people, playing over and over again against each other. But, that is another discussion...

[Detroit-Tigers]

Would you welcome the new format as an option, in addition to the default 12-team league?
Yes

Which do you think you would play more if both were available?
Yes, something like a few more theme leagues.


- Would you prefer an exact parallel of the current MLB format (30 teams, but asymmetrically 14 in the AL + 16 in the NL), or a more symmetrical one (5-5-5, 5-5-5)?
Definately symertrical

- Or would you prefer an alternate format other than 30 teams?
I think you leave this as an advanced option to create leagues how we like them. 4,5,6 per division, with 3,4,5,6 divisions. Advanced only. Maybe have a couple preset ways (30 teams, 5,5,5; 24, 4,4,4)

[wavygravy2k]

1. I would welcome the new format as an option but I still think the default 12-team league would still be the most popular format. A 30-team format would mean less free agents available to work with which might not be that fun. I played in an NL-only league once and remember the starting pitcher pool being very thin.
2. I imagine, it would be difficult for SOM to change the format and scheduling in the future if the MLB were to decide to add expansion teams or realign. So, maybe a symmetrical format would make more sense. If someone wants to create an MLB league they can move the Brewers back to the AL.

[BILLHANSEN]

I think 30 teams dilutes the talent too much (just as in the current real setup).
24 teams with 4/6 team divisions (no wild card) is the setup that truly rewards the best teams.

[RWhite411]

[color=green:922225c2d3][/color:922225c2d3]I heartily endorse the 5-5-5 format and would, certainly, try it. It would be hardcore, I know, but would put a little more emphasis on manager ability than the luck of the draft.
I would, also, throw my hat in for the expanded draft options. More position specific stuff.

[LARRYLANG]

I don't really care how many teams are in the leagues...I like the 1 game at a time....Yes it would take a hell of a lot longer to do a league but being able to try and get hal to do what you want would be great in a game by game scnerio.....Wouldn't it be nice to set your linups for one game at a time..That is what I want....The 24 or 30 team option definately appeals to me as I like theme leagues and this would be an awesome opportunity to do themes...But game by game is what I really crave. :D