2023 - Rules discussion and suggestions for the league

[Northumberland Reivers]

Please use the thread below for any points to raise about potential changes for the league, suggestions of how we could improve things, and anything else you think should be brought to my/others' attention

[Bubs]

I personally do not have any suggestions to bring forth.

My only ask is that we plan to vote on any potential changes in one of two ways to assure a fair opportunity for all:
* Prior to the FYPD & MLB auction, so that any changes can go into effect before the 2023 season (PREFERRED)
OR
* After both the draft & auction, but not making the changes until after the 2023 season.

Looking forward to see what changes other owners are considering!

[Lowered Expectations]

I think something needs to be done with the minor leagues like only flagged players can be put in the minors. It will let you keep unflagged players down but if you bring them up it wont let you put them back down without a flag. way too much discussion about what is what and the rules in this area.

[Bubs]

Addition by Contraction

First off, I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I want to make sure and capture everything I can think of, but know my lack of brevity will shine through, so please bear with me.

While this league has had 20 teams in it for three seasons plus a gap year, there have been 12 owners here since the inception of the league in 2019. One of those has recently announced a departure – newfieyoda & the Montreal Expos, your active participation & annual playoff status will be sorely missed. At best, we will be at 11 still active from nearly 4 years ago, which is not too shabby, considering a loss of 7 after COVID, which has now yielded 3 more teams active ever since! Personally, I prefer the larger league size and would vote for staying as it is. However, as Garreth has opened the discussion up in a recent email, I wanted to toss out a suggestion for a 16-team league. (NOTE: There are 4 teams that have had new ownership for every single season, so my working theory as of writing this is to simply remove those four teams – all of which have teams on the 2023 Fantrax site that are currently unowned.)

Quick details:
A 16-team league, set up with four divisions
25 weeks of games, including a lengthier opening week & All-Star week
12 inter-divisional games (1x every opponent)
6 intra-divisional games (2x every divisional opponent)
7 weeks of playoffs
Modified payout schedule

This format gives more importance to the division winners, which has been a topic of discussion in the past. The idea would be to play a divisional game in week 1, followed by 4 games against one other division. Repeat this process two more times, starting in week 6 & week 11, for a total of 15 weeks. The last 3 weeks of the regular season (weeks 16-18) would be against each divisional foe once more to crown divisional winners, who get byes through the first round of the playoffs.

In the 1st round of playoffs (1 week only – week 19), the 13th-16th ranked teams start a two-round playoff for the 1st overall draft pick in Consolation Bracket #3 (CB3). Meanwhile, the 5th-12th seeds face off in a one-week playoff to determine who will advance & who will move down to Consolation Bracket #2 (CB2).

In the 2nd round (after re-seeding the winners and losers of 5th-12th; 2 weeks long – weeks 20 & 21), the top 8 seeds start a two-week quarterfinal round. Seeds #9-12 start a two-round playoff for the 5th overall draft pick in CB2. CB3 concludes, and the winner chooses between the #1 pick & no payout OR the #4 pick & half of the annual buy-in. The loser gets the other option. Picks #2 & #3 go to the winner and loser, respectively, of that losers’ bracket.

In the 3rd round (after re-seeding the winners and losers of 1st-8th; 2 weeks long – weeks 22 & 23), the top 4 seeds continue to the semi-final round. Seeds #5-8 start a two-round playoff for the 9th overall draft pick in Consolation Bracket #1 (CB1). CB2 concludes, with inverse distribution of draft picks #5-8, based on bracket results.

In the 4th round (after re-seeding the winners and losers of 1st-4th & 5th-8th; 2 weeks long – weeks 24 & 25), both the playoffs and CB1 conclude, with normal distribution of draft picks #13-16 & inverse distribution of draft picks #9-12, respectively, based on bracket results.

Buy-in remains at $50 each. Fantrax Premium is currently $100 ($99.95). Payouts are as follows:
• $225 – Winner
• $100 – 2nd
• $50 – 3rd & 4th
• $50 – division winners
• $25 – consolation bracket winners (CB3 is money OR pick, not both; selected by winner)
Total payout is $700

Draft Pick Payout Layout by Brackets (does not include Division Winners, $50 x4):
• CB3:
o 1st – CB3 winner (winner can instead select 4th pick & CB3 bracket payout $25)
o 2nd – CB3 loser bracket winner
o 3rd – CB3 loser bracket runner-up
o 4th – CB3 runner-up (+ CB3 bracket payout of $25)
• CB2:
o 5th – CB2 winner (+ CB2 bracket payout of $25)
o 6th – CB2 runner-up
o 7th – CB2 loser bracket winner
o 8th – CB2 loser bracket runner-up
• CB1:
o 9th – CB1 winner (+ CB1 bracket payout of $25)
o 10th – CB1 runner-up
o 11th – CB1 loser bracket winner
o 12th – CB1 loser bracket runner-up
• Playoff:
o 13th – playoff loser bracket runner-up (+ 4th place payout of $50)
o 14th – playoff loser bracket winner (+ 3rd place payout of $50)
o 15th – playoff runner-up (+ 2nd place payout of $100)
o 16th – playoff winner (+ winner payout of $225)

Final thoughts:
• This keeps more teams engaged, as there is always something to play for, regardless of ranking.
• With 11 active owners since 2019, & 3 more since 2021, this makes for a strong 16 team group
• This awesome league setup type can be preserved for years to come, while growing in longevity.

If you are still reading, thanks for your patience!

Sincerely,
-Bubs