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Post by AthleticsGM (Mike) on Dec 17, 2022 16:35:15 GMT -5
Hey everyone, just throwing this idea out there for group discussion. What if we abolished the two league, four division structure in favor of one twenty team league/division? Here are some reasons why I believe this would be a better and more fair way to structure the league.
1. The top eight teams would make the playoffs and remove the possibility of a lesser team getting into the playoffs by virtue of playing in a weaker league/division. Your playoff credentials are based more on your regular season record and less on which league (AL/NL) you happen to play in.
2. The regular season has more importance as there are seedings to play for in a way that doesn't currently exist. In a one division league, the #1 record plays the #8 record, #2 plays #7, and so on. This is the best way to reward teams for performance in the record season. This is how most fantasy leagues I've played in are structured.
3. Unlike real MLB, we don't play teams in our divisions more than other teams. We play each team in the league once and the remaining weeks are totally random. The divisions seem arbitrary and don't really add any strategic elements to the game.
4. This would create more competition and participation in the league. You just need to be in the top 8 to make the playoffs. You don't have to worry about being in the more competitive side of the league and potentially have a top 8 record but not making the playoffs. Your playoffs chances are based on the merit of your own team and nothing else.
Thoughts?
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Post by YanksGM(Matt) on Dec 17, 2022 16:52:45 GMT -5
Love this direction
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Post by PhilliesGM (Jacob) on Dec 20, 2022 10:20:14 GMT -5
The current structure of the league w/ (4) divisions is to mimic real life league as much as possible within reason of our fantasy landscape. We cannot play divisional teams more than the others due to how fantasy in general is structured with 1 week matchups. There is an argument to be made that the divisional structure allows for more competition because even if a team is in a down year, that team still could hypothetically make the playoffs which results in Salary Cap bonus the following year. If the league is restructured and you are in a down year then there is an increased chance the owners checks out or sells out. Using Mets as an example, earlier in the year his team was struggling due to injuries and performance. I believe his exact words in a conversation was "my team sucks" but he was still able to make the playoffs due to improved team play but his division played a huge factor.
I can understand and appreciate owners frustration in the AL at this point as there are several really solid teams competing for a title and there are more rebuilding teams in the NL. I believe that is the crux of this motion to restructure but again that simulates real life MLB such as the log jam of quality teams in the AL East but due to the contract / salary cap structure of the league that balance of competitive teams is FLUID. This same situation occurred during the first (4) years of the league when the top 3-4 teams resided in the NL and there was (4) straight champions from the NL. We voted then and it failed to pass.
The divisional structure provides another layer of strategy to the league that would disappear if restructured and that is making moves in response to other divisional opponents and trading / not trading to divisional opponents. In real life inter-division opponents rarely ever trade with each other and often one-up others in Free Agency in an effort to ultimately try and secure a playoff spot because as we all know in the playoffs anything can happen. With divisional structure you are trying to be better than (4) other teams to make the playoffs but if restructured owners would have to try and be better than (11) teams to make the playoffs.
The (1) league structure mimics more traditional fantasy structures but I think we would all agree that this league isn't traditional and what allows this league to standout is the strategic aspect of being a MLB General Manager. If we restructure we lose a piece of that strategic gameplay.
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Post by Red SoxGM (Brandon) on Dec 20, 2022 11:51:39 GMT -5
Im heavily in favor of a 1 league structure. I understand the desire to mimic MLB as much as possible, and I think we do that well in a lot of aspects. But at the end of the day this is a fantasy league and I think the divisions just adds an unnecessary element of luck to a game that already has plenty of luck in the equation.
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Post by AthleticsGM (Mike) on Dec 20, 2022 12:25:31 GMT -5
I appreciate the discussion on this! Looks like there are strong opinions on both sides. We just have to see how the vote comes out.
But for those who might still be on the fence, some counterpoints:
1. I would argue real baseball tries to have a playoff structure that is most fair for how they schedule the regular season. Again, MLB teams play their division opponents much more frequently than teams in other league leagues/divisions, which is why division winner's receive a better playoff seeding than wildcards. But I believe if MLB played every team roughly the same amount of times like we do, they would also get rid of divisions. So in short, creating the most fair and equitable playoff structure for our league actually is in the spirit of real baseball. Divisions exist in real baseball mainly because of geography and scheduling logistics. Those things don't apply in fantasy baseball.
2. I question if there actually is any strategy with trading as it pertains to divisions. Again, we're not playing teams in our divisions more than once. If you trade a player, you're still facing him the same number of times.
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Post by YanksGM(Matt) on Dec 20, 2022 12:29:03 GMT -5
I dont mind trying to mirror real life as much as possible, I think the league does a great job of that in all respects but divisions, divisions in real life play each other more and if we cant do that divisions drive little purpose, I can barely remember who is in my division most times and since joining the league have completed numerous trades within my division, in fact one of my most active trade partners is in my divison.
If you look last year I think there would be 13 teams incentivized to make the top eight teams (they were within striking distance of the 8 seed), but when you bifurcate the league into divisions it appears to me more people get discouraged from going for it. We had ten teams with below .500 records and most were in massive rebuild/tank mode. In a 20 team league if you have nearly 50% of your teams rebuilding/tanking you need to do something to encourage competitiveness and the elimination of divisions appears to accomplish that.
20 teams battle it out for the top 8 seeds and those top 8 teams enter a tournament based off their seeding 1v8, 2v7 and so on. That would seem to open up the competition and give everyone the feeling they have a shot instead of being predisposed to what division they landed in when they joined the league.
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Post by Orioles on Dec 20, 2022 12:34:16 GMT -5
I believe both sides of this argument has their fair points. The 1 Division point I think goes more to do with fairness. But will probably take some level of competitiveness out of the league. Staying to how we are can and has made it so a really good team doesn't make it, just because there's other good team in your division. Is that fair, seeing how we are all putting money up. Idk honestly myself I'm struggling with it. Maybe that's not an area we want luck of who's in your division to decide another aspect of such a luck based game. I'm an idiot so I hope my ramblings make coherent sense lol
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Post by DodgersGM (Stephen) on Dec 20, 2022 13:18:38 GMT -5
Cycles fellas- because unlike real baseball we all have the same amount of cap space. There are no small or big market teams. Just owner who are good, and owners who are better.
We have a FYPD draft, auction style of both MLB and internationals, and a 6 year contract limit. There exist a few different ways to attack weakness on your roster- depends on your time line. We don’t get to hold players for their entire careers. Contracts rise which creates cap issues, and can force moves for money reasons- like real MLB
Its about good owners and better owners. Changing this and redoing that won’t close that gap.
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Post by DiamondbacksGM (Maddux) on Dec 20, 2022 13:19:43 GMT -5
I am in favor of the 1 league structure. I believe it would lead to a more competitive league. A team that would not make it in our current system would have a better likelihood of making it to the playoffs in a one-league/division system. I believe that this change would affect the teams who are middle of the pack the most, causing people who may have tanked that season to run a competitive team out there and at least give it a shot.
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Post by RaysGM (Paul) on Dec 20, 2022 15:30:20 GMT -5
I don't see how a 1 league structure will make the league more competitive. With one league, I think you can lose up to half the league who believe they can't make the playoffs because they are too far behind the 8th place team. With the divisions, teams who wouldn't have a chance in a 1-league structure could possibly make the playoff because they happen to be in a weaker division for the year (not the same division is weakest every year).
I can understand the frustration of owners whose teams didn't make the playoffs but they had a better record than another division's winner. But as has been said, the strength has gone from the NL to the AL teams lately. Each year would change the strategy. IMHO.
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Post by GuardiansGM (Brian) on Dec 20, 2022 18:15:37 GMT -5
Personally I like the divisions it is unlike most of my other leagues and like others have said has its advantages and disadvantages. I’ll be the first to admit there is NO way my team should have made the championship game last yr but I got lucky at the right time and when I first started the league I checked my division and thought I don’t have to be the best team just try and win my division and who knows.
One option might be to rotate teams every 2 years or 3, 4 years etc because honestly I don’t care if I’m the Cardinals or Red Sox, etc that way the teams are in different divisions every couple of years, etc. just a thought… so for example next year I’m the Rays in the AL East and I get a chance to draft Ray’s players that way owners aren’t in the same division all of the time. Some owners might not want to change team names either. I think either way it’s a great league with great owners and it’s going to be hard as hell to win the ship either way.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2022 10:24:03 GMT -5
Hey guys! I might have been confusing in the text the other day about my thoughts on this. I like having divisions because it IS unique like others have said. I also like them because it IS more of a challenge. However, having said that, I do believe going down to ONE division is better than having multiple divisions. There are a million things about this league that set it apart from other leagues. And there are a lot of other challenges as a team owner in this league.
I always love how we try our very best to mimic real life MLB! And typically, on any subject we discuss, I would always hope that we strive to keep that a part of our league. Correct me if I'm wrong, but i understand the league was divided into divisions to match the MLB with the goal of every team facing others that are in its division each week. However, I don't believe we have been doing that. At least I don't think I have seen us play the same teams in each of our divisions. Somebody probably knows more about whether we have or not. Still, the goal of playing the divisional teams weekend and week out may not be very practical in fantasy baseball. As much as I like copying the MLB, I like having to face EVERY team in the league more than playing only the teams in my division. I just don't know if it would be very fun if we only played the teams in our division. So, if we are not playing the teams in our division, then having divisions becomes unnecessary AND going to one division then becomes more ideal.
So, I really like the idea of going to one division. There are plenty of things that keep this league so fun, so unique and so challenging! And going to one division could easily be just as fun and challenging. Moreover, one division helps create more parity in my opinion. There is less chance of dynasties where one team wins for 4-5 years because they do not have anybody in their own division to challenge them. Therefore, they go straight into the playoffs most years at the top of their division. So, I think one division depends more on genuine talent of the players you have than it does the quality of your division. That is a good thing!
Finally, what is the worst that could happen? we go to one division, and everybody hates it. So, we just go back to multiple divisions, which is another thing that sets this league apart. We all seem to have a hand in trying to make this league better every day. If something doesn't work, then someone brings it in front of everyone and we all discuss it with respect to each other. That is the probably the best thing about our league.
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