Team Setup
The initial 16 [28] teams will be setup with the available markets. The market sizes will be set dependent on two things.
  • The relative sizes of the teams in the league. The largest cities will be set to Very Big and down from there. No team will start with lower than Below Average.
  • The proximity of another team. If two larger cities are chosen that are closer together, their market size will be set one tier lower. If no team is close, then the team's market will be set one tier higher. No team will be set lower or higher than one in this way.
  • If at any time, a team move out of or into another team's market, the team's market size will be affected.

Fan Interest will be set to 65 for all teams at start.
Market and Loyalty will then be adjusted by the game. They will only be adjusted otherwise for certain circumstances (new stadium, re-location).
The team name (generally the city name, but could be state or region) and the team nickname are assigned by the owner. The minor league team names are optional.

Fan Interest will change with the game.  The only time this will be changed outside of what changes occur within the game will be with the signing of a Marquee Player (see Free Agents), stadium changes or participation rules..
Initial Draft & Amateur Drafts
The league's initial draft will be held on a day determined most feasible by the commissioner and owners after all owner positions have been filled. The draft order will be completely random, based on what the game fills with the first time "Random Order" is clicked. The draft will be serpentine, to ensure that the teams start at nearly equal talent levels.
When the draft is conducted, the first 15 rounds will be live. This is to ensure that each owner receives his core talent group with the type of players he wants. The remaining 35 rounds will be Computer finished.

Amateur drafts will then be held after free agency every pre-season. They will consist of 10 rounds and draft order will be determined by records, just as the game does now. Amateur drafts will be held live via AIM. If an owner cannot attend the draft, inform the commissioner and something will be set up for your team.
Major League Player Selection (optional)
The original 16 teams get to chose, upon entry into the league, one major league player to have on their roster.
How this works --

Any position player that has played at least 300 major league games is eligible. Any starting pitcher who was pitched in 45 games is eligible, any relief pitcher requires 150. Prospects are not allowed.
The player must be at least 23 years old.
The player must be signed for at least 10% more than his current major league salary. This is to convince him to play for an upstart league. The contracts for all of these players will be 5 years.
 This player has an automatic no-trade clause for the first 2 years of his contract. After that, he can be traded, but his contract will expire at the end of the season he is traded and he will become a free agent.  This player automatically becomes a free agent, there is no contract renewal for him.

The ratings and talent for this player will be set by the commissioner, based on his major league stats, age and past performances.

If a player is picked by two or more teams, the teams will submit blind offers for the player. The minimum acceptable is as above, 10% over his major league salary. The teams losing the bidding will then be allowed to chose another MLB player.***
Rosters
Team rosters will consist of 25 players. There will be no set limit to the number of position player and pitchers, but bear in mind that if not enough of either is held on the roster, team performance will likely suffer.
Players will be allowed to play anywhere but performance will also suffer if they play out position.
The league will be using the designated hitter. The reason for this is that pitchers are often so bad at hitting (often sub .100 averages, striking out 50 times in 60 AB's), that it makes games with pitchers batting for themselves unrealistic. While it is not required that a player's position if listed as DH, it would be helpful for All-Star purposes.
Any size pitching rotation is allowed (3-4-5), also remember the abilities of your pitchers. Also, ALL pitchers will be given a SP and MR endurance rating. Many will have an E rating to simulate the fact that a lot of pitchers would not necessarily make good starters. Your pitchers do not have to be listed as a specific role to pitch in that role, but again for All-Star purposes, it helps.

The league will be using the Option Years option in the game.  This allows for veteran players to refuse assignment to the minor leagues.  If a player refuses assignment you have three options:  keep the player on the roster, release the player outright, or place the player on waivers.  At the end of every season, every team needs to reduce their roster back down to 25, as carrying these players on the team's roster will cause many to refuse assignment beginning the next season.

Minor league rosters do not have to consist of whole lineups and staffs, as the game does not require this for development.

Injured players must be placed on the Disabled List (i.e. not moved to the Minors).

Rosters will be expanded to 40 on September 1st.

The 25 man postseason roster will be set on the last day of the season. Any player that was on the 40 man roster and the disabled list is eligible. Once the playoff roster is set, it is set. Keep this in mind when including injured players. If a player is injured during the playoffs, he is to remain on the 25-man roster.