DONT JOIN FRANCHISE LEAGUES

You know, you keep getting presented with a lesson, until you learn it.

So....after 30 some FRANCHISE LEAGUES...I have finally convinced myself. I love the idea of franchise leagues but.....
the fix is in.

DO NOT JOIN FRANCHISE LEAGUES
The owner who arranges the franchises, and who of course picks first (and has made sure that he has the best combination of franchises), wins 90% of the time.

the only way to do it, is to have a randomized draft order, two round serpentine draft of franchises, before the autodraft of players.

end of story.

I'm with you MtheB, I avoid Franchise leagues as well, for the following reason:

It appears that most Franchise Leagues are high salary cap leagues created by managers who want to field teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, etc with all their accompanying high priced Franchise carded players.

How can the smaller market teams be expected to compete against these monsters?

Keeping Franchise leagues at lower salary caps would be a logical first step.

And... don't restrict players to the teams which their cards indicate. Instead allow any player card to be used for any player who at one time in his career played for your Franchise, i.e. any Ruth card could be used by the Braves Franchise, or any Randy Johnson card could be used by the Expos Franchise, etc.

I believe that those 2 steps would help to distribute the talent more evenly.

Never did one. So I guess I'll continue to maintain that habit.

Never did one either, but what is the point of a franchise league that lets Ruth play for the Braves? I get the fantasy behind restricting everyone to the franchise they were carded for, but what is the fantasy underlying a league with Ruth on the Braves and Cobb on the A's? At that point seems like you may as well just do a regular league.

I’ve seen guys who do this, but that shouldn’t paint Franchise Leagues in a bad light.
A little thought, a good salary cap, and a randomized draft list is all you need for a successful franchise league.

Many times, guys who do what was suggested above wind up with league that won’t fill because they took the best franchises and can’t get anyone to take the bad ones.

We’re playing two 1970s Franchise Leagues right now (AL & NL) with a more limited pool (late 60s-mid80s) and an 80m cap, and any team has a chance to win. This is a multi season theme, so every manager gets to play every team.

All that to say, Franchise Leagues aren’t bad. At all.

More than once, I've pointed out to the creators of these leagues the flaw in their design.

I literally remember one league where the creator basically said, I get my team and then everyone else picks theirs. Why in heaven's name would ANYONE ever join a league like that.

But, at the same time I do agree that a well thought out and constructed league can work just fine.

Very true!
I joined a theme league once that was so blatantly obvious by the guy that set it up, that I called my team "Rigged Deck"

He, and others are notorious for doing that stuff.

It seems odd not to provide a random franchise draft in one of these leagues. I’ve never played in one that didn’t have a franchise draft to start.

through the years i have been in several where it was a 12 season commitment
and they have been a lot of fun. otherwise I don't play them.

Point was made but title misleading dont join franchise leagues-UNLESS there is a randomizer and a draft