Franchise Mystery League - recruiting new managers

The Franchise Mystery League has one opening for a new manager, starting 10/15/22. We are currently playing our 6th season under this format and we believe we have ironed out the wrinkles to make the system work.

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Do you think you know the mystery player card sets inside and out? This league combines the Mystery Game with the franchise concept and is based on the number of "cards" each player has with each team.

So, for example, in the '70s set the following "5 card" players each have 5 cards with their "franchise" team:
Mays/5 Giants, Aaron/5 Braves, Brett/5 Royals, Stargell/5 Pirates, Guidry/5 Yankees

Likewise, the following "4 card" '70s players have 4 cards with their franchise team:
Andujar/4 Astros, Fritz Peterson/4 Yankees, Bob Watson/4 Astros, Al Oliver/4 Pirates

Same with "3 card" players:
Buckner- 3 Dodgers/2 Cubs; Singleton- 3 Orioles/2 Expos; McCovey- 3 Giants/2 Padres; Reggie Smith- 3 Red Sox/2
Gamble- 3 Indians/1 Yankee/1 White Sox; John Ellis- 3 Indians/1 Yankee/1 Rangers; Hisle- 3 Twins/1 Phils/1 Brewers

In our league, these "5, 4, 3" players are called "franchise" players, and they can only be drafted by their franchise team. No other team should attempt to draft them. Notice that players that have no cards with a team IN THE LEAGUE are free agents and can be picked up by any team.

"2 card" players fall into two categories:
A. Regular 2 card players - have 2 cards with one team IN the league. They can only be drafted by that one team.
B. "2/2/1" Players-- have TWO cards with one team in the league and TWO cards with another team in the league and ONE more card with another team.
'70s examples: Madlock- 2 Giants/2 Cubs/1 Pirates; Claudell Washington- 2 A's/2 White Sox/1 Rangers

These 2/2/1 players can only be drafted by the TWO teams that had them for at least TWO seasons. In the draft Hal decides who gets them based on how high they are ranked.

Finally, all 1 card and 0 card players are free agents and can be drafted by any team.

So that is the basic idea. Here are the rest of the league rules as they appear on our homepage:

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Latest FML rules - '70s version (10/22)

* "Team" players: Have at least 1 card with their team. Each manager must keep a minimum of 15 team players on their roster. Traded team players count toward the 15 player minimum on their new team.

* "Franchise" players: A player with 5 or 4 or 3 cards with one team in the league may only be drafted by that one team and is reserved to their team for the first 120 games of the season. A franchise player that is dropped after the season begins may be picked up by any team.

* "2 card" players: A player with 2 cards with one team in the league may only be drafted by that one team. A player with 2 cards with two teams in the league may only be drafted by those two teams. (If a 2/2/1 player is drafted by both of his 2 card teams, HAL decides who gets him based on how high he is ranked.) If a 2 card player is NOT drafted by his league team(s) he may be picked up on waivers or during the season by any team.

* A player with only 1 card or with 0 cards with any team(s) in the league is a free agent and may be drafted or picked up by any team at any time.

This is the '80s team analysis we use for our franchise draft.

For each team listed there are three numbers. The first number is the number of 3 - 4 and 5 carded PITCHERS for the team. The second number is the number of 3 - 4 and 5 carded HITTERS available for the team. The third number is the total number of 3 - 4 and 5 carded PITCHERS AND HITTERS available for the team (1st number + 2nd number).

So for example Atlanta has 7 pitchers with 3 - 4 or 5 carded seasons. They have 11 hitters with 3 - 4 or 5 carded seasons. 7 + 11 = 18 PITCHERS AND HITTERS with 3 - 4 or 5 carded seasons with the team.

TEAM * 3/4/5 PITCHERS * 3/4/5 HITTERS * 3/4/5 pitchers and hitters *

ATLANTA 7 11 18
BALTIMORE 11 17 28
BOSTON 9 12 21
CALIFORNIA 7 11 18
CHI CUBS 6 7 13
CHI WHITE SOX 8 14 22
CINCINNATTI 9 12 21
CLEVELAND 5 19 24
DETROIT 9 11 20
HOUSTON 11 13 24
KANSAS CITY 8 14 22
LA DODGERS 8 14 22
MILWAUKEE 9 17 26
MINNESOTA 7 16 23
MONTREAL 11 13 24
NY METS 11 12 23
NY YANKEES 5 10 15
OAKLAND 11 12 23
PHILLADELPHIA 8 14
PITTSBURGH 11 17 28
SAN DIEGO 10 8 18
SAN FRANCISCO 7 11 18
SEATTLE 10 13 23
ST. LOUIS 10 12 22
TEXAS 6 17 23
TORONTO 12 18 30

This is the player set analysis we use when we play the '60s. It gives you an idea how many franchise and team players are available for each team.

(For each team listed there are three numbers. The first is the number of 3 - 4 and 5 card PITCHERS for the team. The second is the number of 3 - 4 and 5 card HITTERS available for the team. The third is the total number of 3 - 4 and 5 card PITCHERS AND HITTERS available for the team (1st number + 2nd number).

For example Atlanta has 12 pitchers with 3 - 4 or 5 cards. They have 18 hitters with 3 - 4 or 5 cards. 12 + 18 = 30 PITCHERS AND HITTERS with 3 - 4 or 5 cards with the team.

TEAM * 3/4/5 PITCHERS * 3/4/5 HITTERS * 3/4/5 pitchers and hitters *

ATLANTA/MILWAUKEE 12 + 18 = 30 --
BALTIMORE 14 + 18 = 32
BOSTON 9 + 20 = 29
CALIFORNIA 6 + 19 = 25
CHI CUBS 14 + 12 = 26
CHI WHITE SOX 13 + 15 = 28
CINCINNATTI 14 + 19 = 33
CLEVELAND 9 + 13 = 22
DETROIT 14 + 14 = 28
HOUSTON 8 + 8 = 16
KANSAS CITY/OAKLAND 13 + 18 = 31
LA DODGERS 15 + 19 = 34
MINNESOTA 11 + 14 = 25
NY METS 9 + 16 = 25
NY YANKEES 14 + 18 = 32
PHILLADELPHIA 14 + 11 = 25
PITTSBURGH 12 + 17 = 29
SAN FRANCISCO 12 + 16 = 28
ST. LOUIS 9 + 14 = 23
WASHINGTON/TEXAS 18 + 15 = 33

Latest FML rules - '70s version (10/22)

* "Team" players: Have at least 1 card with their team. Each manager must keep a minimum of 15 team players on their roster. Traded team players count toward the 15 player minimum on their new team.

* "Franchise" players: A player with 5 or 4 or 3 cards with one team in the league may only be drafted by that one team and is reserved to their team for the first 120 games of the season. A franchise player that is dropped after the season begins may be picked up by any team.

* "2 card" players: A player with 2 cards with one team in the league may only be drafted by that one team. A player with 2 cards with two teams in the league may only be drafted by those two teams. (If a 2/2/1 player is drafted by both of his 2 card teams, HAL decides who gets him based on how high he is ranked.) If a 2 card player is NOT drafted by his league team(s) he may be picked up on waivers or during the season by any team.

* A player with only 1 card or with 0 cards with any team(s) in the league is a free agent and may be drafted or picked up by any team at any time.