The purpose of this post is to define a specific type of project that I set up and conducted over the past 9 months. I’m calling it a “ten-acious” league structure. It could very well be that others before me have put together a league of the same makeup, number of teams, schedule setup, etc. If so, I do not intend to claim ownership of this structure per se. Instead, I want to give it a name because a) the feedback I’ve received about the structure has been positive, and b) it helps to identify what we’re doing going forward if we call it a “ten-acious” style league.
Project Type: Simulation
Season: Any Strat-o-matic (and perhaps other forms of tabletop game) season will be appropriate.
Teams: Ten teams are used in this league. The key is to choose them randomly. The point of this type of league is to attempt to simulate a full season results in a smaller subset of games. If you cherry pick teams for a reason, you will diminish the chances you’ll get a true cross-section of your league. The best way to do this is to use Random.org‘s list randomizer and enter in all available teams for the season you intend to simulate.
Division: This style is intended to model an association football (soccer) league, in the sense that it’s a “single table.” All 10 teams are combined in the standings into one division. This is reminiscent of the AL and NL of the 1960’s, where there 10 teams per league.
Schedule: The league schedule is set up as 18 3-game series. Each team will play its foes 3 games at home, and 3 games on the road. This also has shades of association football (where teams play their league-mates 1 home and 1 away), but blended into a typical MLB motif of 3-game series. It has been found optimal to add off days here and there to decrease the chances of staff aces constantly facing each other, and doubleheader days can also bring about creative rotation usage.
Games Played: Each team will play 54 games. The proprietor of such a league will need to conduct 270 games to complete the regular season.
Rule set: The first league was conducted using Advanced rules, but any rule set would be compatible.
Rosters: The original league structure utilized the end-of-season roster for each team used. In theory, the proprietor could take measures to consider players traded midseason, calculating the point where those players shoud be either subtracted or added to enhance the realism of the team’s roster. Additional players are highly recommended due to injuries that will pile up for some teams.
Injuries & Rest: It is highly recommended that the proprietor use injuries as well as the Super Advanced Rest Chart (SARC). This helps to moderate player usage so that low plate appearance players aren’t overused. Rest rolls can begin at any point, but starting in the 2nd series at the latest.
Lineups: Each proprietor can decide if they want to incorporate real world lineups or create their own. Again, using the rest rules and injuries will bring about the need for daily lineup adjustments.
Playoffs: Playoffs are optional. Recommendation is for the top 4 teams to play semifinal best of 7 series (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3). The champion is then crowned after the winners of those series square off in a best-of-7 finale.
DH Rule?: Again, completely optional to use, but it should be done uniformly across the league.
Tenacious Sports 