Loopholes

So the topic of having only one injury proof catcher came up on another thread. What happened is, someone drafted a player who can play catcher but it is not their primary position. When they did not receive that player, the computer gave them a player who can not catch. They were left with only one catcher. In the past this allowed a manager to go through an entire season with only one catcher who could never get hurt. .... There is one more similar but small loophole I can think of that you could exploit. On the first night of a new season, you can actually drop a player after 10:00pm and what will happen is, that player will be used in your first three game series but if you drop him after 10 and before midnight EST time you will NOT receive a salary cap penalty. Therefor a manager could use a couple of top notch starting pitchers, dump them the first night after 10 but before midnight and pickup two more similar top notch starting pitchers gaining a tiny advantage of not having to use the back end of their rotation for the first several games. My question is, is this cheating. Or if we all know about these loopholes is it just taking advantage of the rules that are in place?

I honestly didn't know that the game engine could permit this, where catcher is the secondary position, and you miss out on that pick (leaving you with only one catcher).

Given that the game rules specifically say that you must have at least 2 catchers on your roster, I think that the right thing to do is to bring your roster into compliance with the rule.

What you call is it a "labelling" issue, but it's certainly inconsistent with the written game rules to not have at least 2 catchers on your roster.

From the game rules:

"Your Roster

Your in-season roster requirements vary slightly depending on which Player Set you're playing. Click on your Player Set below to show your requirements.


2007-2012, 1999, Btt90s | ATG VI, VII | 1986 | The '70s Game | Btt80s

[This is from the 2007-2012 roster requirements]
At all times, you must have at least 24 players and no more than 28 players on your roster.
You must have at least 13 and no more than 17 hitters.
- At least two of those hitters must be eligible to play catcher.
You must have at least 10 and no more than 12 pitchers.
You must have at least 5 pitchers who have starting pitcher Endurance ratings (e.g. S7).
You must have at least 4 "pure" relievers (i.e. a relief rating (e.g. R2) but no starter rating).
You must have at least 1 pitcher who has a closer Endurance rating (e.g. C4)."

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/help/rules#draft

Please note that the rules don't just say that you have to DRAFT 2 catchers. They say later on, under rosters, that "at least two of those hitters must be eligible to play catcher."

It doesn't make that requirement for any other fielding position - just catcher.

Thanks for the clarification. I would not try to use a team that only had one injury proof catcher, but I know it has been done. It could be used to a pretty decent sized advantage, but like you mention it is against the rules.

I think you can get away with having just one catcher on your team but you will not be allowed to make any roster moves until you get a second catcher. No pickups, no trades. So your draft better be very good to make it all season with just the one catcher.

If you have to go through all of that, it is probably not even worth it.