Owners wanted for '14 Franchise League

Hi everyone...we started filling a new 2014 season Franchise Only League. The rules for the league are posted with the league listing. It's a 24 team league, hoping to fill it soon. Jump in if you like!

Are players from teams not included in the league free for anyone ie if the Brewers are not chosen is Lucroy up for grabs for any team or are they eliminated from the League

Are players from teams not included in the league free for anyone ie if the Brewers are not chosen is Lucroy up for grabs for any team or are they eliminated from the League

Good question - as it is set up now, the top teams are already taken and the remaining teams don't even have enough talent to get to an $80 million cap.

I've gotten this question now a few times, so it's got me thinking. The league posted rules called for only allowing teams to utilize players who are "carded" to your chosen team or those who were acquired through trades. That was the reason for the higher salary cap (85mil),to allow for 2-1, 3-1, or 3-2 type trades and expanded rosters. I also feel that trades will be necessary because of the ballparks. I don't think just because a franchise had a good actual record in 2014 that the players on the roster fit ideally to the ballpark of the franchise. So, I'm not sure the 2014 record guarantees how your team will perform in The strato game. Especiallly since you can utilize your roster player settings differently than maybe they were used in real life. However, in the interest of fairness, once the league is filled, I am open to suggesting a ONE ROUND/ONE PLAYER draft from the remaining 6 clubs that weren't selected. The draft order would be made up by the reverse order of the actual regular season records as listed on baseball-reference.com for the 2014 season. Ie, if you select AZ you would have the first pick and be allowed to select one player. If AZ is not in the league then the team with the worst record on that list (that is in the league) would select first. This addendum to the league rules would have to be approved by the league owners, though, since we already have 11 owners who have joined the league. I do think people would agree to it, but I won't know until I throw it out to the group once the league is finalized.

Agreed - actual wins during the season is not the best parameter to measure a team's potential. Salaries are the most important factor if you want a league by "carded" teams.

Here is a list of the 2014 catalog - sorted by total salaries (regular, not the unleashed set) by "carded" teams. The "#" lists the number of players (pitchers and hitters) for each team. There are only 4 teams with total salaries exceeding $85M and you can see that is a stretch because the SOM roster limit is capped at 28.

# Total Salary
LAD 32 91,660,000
LAA 34 90,760,000
OAK 31 90,170,000
BAL 34 85,050,000
WAS 31 84,850,000
PIT 30 84,050,000
SF 34 80,640,000
NYY 32 77,240,000
SEA 33 75,380,000
DET 29 74,970,000
CLE 30 73,820,000
STL 32 73,060,000
CHC 32 71,790,000
TOR 31 71,170,000
COL 30 70,740,000
MIL 30 70,550,000
ATL 27 66,430,000
MIA 31 66,290,000
KC 31 63,130,000
NYM 28 62,930,000
CIN 29 62,260,000
TB 32 61,950,000
HOU 29 61,010,000
MIN 30 59,690,000
SD 33 58,950,000
TEX 34 57,730,000
PHI 30 57,560,000
CHW 27 54,280,000
ARI 32 53,810,000
BOS 26 48,940,000

IMHO, it would be difficult to compete with any of the teams after the top twelve or fourteen teams. Maybe a league of 12 would be a good idea with a one free agent draft as suggested. Or a random draft of team instead of the early birds picking the top teams at the beginning.

That is a good point on the salaries. But this league is not set with the "unleashed" cards, do you know the salary breakdowns of the regular set?

That is a good point on the salaries. But this league is not set with the "unleashed" cards, do you know the salary breakdowns of the regular set?

Sorry - edited. This is a listing of the regular set - not the "unleashed" set.

We've got 13 teams now at the time of this posting. So we'll stay with the 24 teams and hope to fill it quickly. Once, the league is full I will put out an email to all the owners suggesting a one round/one player draft and go from there. If you like a challenge, and like to talk trades, jump in!

Looks like the league is filled! Let's get that vote going. I vote yes.

I wish you guys the best of luck... I just wanted to add my three cents... Part of what keeps me out of these franchise leagues a lot of the time is being tied to the ballpark. As I think someone pointed out in this thread, sometimes the franchise for that season is not made for their ballpark... Having the freedom to choose ballparks is important to me..

I also am wondering (out loud) if all 24 teams will be able to compete with that 85 million dollar salary cap?

I guess since I am not in this league I should just butt out.. Sorry for the intrusion, I hope you guys have lots of fun.