The goal of our MLB 16 The Show league will follow along the lines of any PX1 league. We want to create an authentic simulation of both roster management and gameplay. Some rules are unwritten. You should play and manage your team in a way that is consistent with real life. If you have to ask if it is realistic, it probably isn't. We can help guide you, but you should be a simulation purist at heart and understand the guiding principles.
Gameplay
Bunts
Bunts should be realistic in nature. Sacrifices are natural and can be used. Bunting for base hits should be rare. It can happen occasionally with really fast guys, but it should not happen every game and very, very rarely more than once in a game.
Steals
This was exploitable last year so we will have to see how it plays out. You should typically only steal with fast guys who have good steal ratings. Sometimes its ok to steal 2nd with a guy on 3rd. If it proves to be too easy to steal (meaning you almost never get thrown out) use judgement and don't exploit it. W e're only playing 40 games. In 162-game season, the top guy only steals about 50-60 bags. That equates to about 12-15 leading the league in here. Doesn't have to be exact but use good judgement and respect your opponents and the CPU.
If you elect to steal, you are committed to it. It is not realistic to stop mid way if you see it is a pitch out. If the defense guesses right, that's just good strategy.
Pitching
You should use a variety of pitches and mix in balls within the strike zone and out of it. The fastball is still the most thrown pitch in real life and it should be in here as well. Occasionally you may face a batter and give him 2-3 breaking balls in a row. However, you should not always rely strictly on off-speed and breaking balls. You need to know how to mix up your pitches and change levels and keep hitters off balance. Yes, you can attack a user who cannot hit those pitches but do not be a jerk about it. You can still set them up and get them out with fastballs. Nobody wants to see a stead diet of the same thing over and over (unless its fastballs) so mix it up.
Likewise, you should move the ball around inside the zone. Yes, impatient hitters can be exploited as well, but we shouldn't just be throwing pitches out of the zone. It can be a difficult balance. However, we're not here to embarrass opponents and we want everyone to have fun. You can still beat your opponent without exploiting the same hole over and over again. Yes, you could theoretically so that in real life. That's just hard to simulate in leagues like this where not everyone is at the same skill level. Again, use your best judgement and remember we're here to have fun and compete not kick sand in our opponent's face
.Base Running
Again, be realistic in your decisions. Don't advance to third from 1st on a ground ball to the infield. Don't play cat-and-mouse games with your opponent trying to get them to throw the ball away or throw to the wrong base. Again, its a video game and not everything is as natural as professionals do it. Sometimes you don't need to take that extra base on a misplayed ball if its happening often. Sometimes you don't have to advance on an obvious game glitch. Just keep in mind your playing a new friend (and playing friendly with the CPU) and make smart decisions accordingly.
Also, don't dive into first base every close play. I don't know that it makes a huge difference, but its not realistic and should be used sparingly.
Fielding
We won't put a rule on throwing guys out at 1st as BigTexas18 has shown numerous examples. However, its still pretty rare and you shouldn't be trying to do it often. If an opportunity presents itself, cool, but don't try to force it unnaturally.
Team Management
Trades
Trades must be submitted and approved by the trade committee. This is to ensure trades are realistic looking and that users are not exploiting the CPU or another user. Trades will be allowed with the CPU as long as they are submitted and approved by the committee before being processed in game. Just keep your fellow members in mind and think about real life trades before trying to pull one off with the CPU. Nobody should be trying to fleece the CPU and loading up their team just to win a league with friends. Be smart, be tactical and be fair.
Trade Committee: majesty95 BigTexas18 NightHawkTH32
Free Agents
Free agents to start the game will be dispersed through a waiver system similar to what we use in Madden. First-come, first-served isn't always fair to everyone who cannot hop on right away when we activate the league. This will ensure as fair a playing field for everyone as possible.. In-season free agents will be limited to one per real life week after the waiver period. Off-season free agency will be handled by the in-game mechanic.
Pitching Staffs
Realistic use of pitching rotations should apply. MLB uses 5-man rotations. Occasionally the 5th starter will be skipped for #1 if there was an off day. However, you should generally use your 4th and 5th starters every time through the rotation. Starters should always have four days off in between starts during the regular season. Three-man rotations can be used in the playoffs.
You can change your pitchers in a game at any time before you actually throw a pitch. We use quick counts so its impossible to change pitchers without there being a count. So just change them before you actually throw a pitch to a batter. You can also use the bullpen option to put the pitcher in at the start of the inning to avoid bringing them in with a count as well.
Miscellaneous
Streaming
All games need to be streamed via Twitch (vs user and CPU). Please post in the scheduling thread or live chat when you are playing so other can watch if they are available. Also, PM me your twitch channel and I can add it to the "streams" portion of the forum to make it easy for guys to find you as well.
Gameplay Rankings
All user vs user games should be submitted on the "Rankings" page for the forum under "Submit Results". This is to get an aggregate record of all PX1 users W-L record in user vs user games and also to gauge the sim gameplay of users who compete here. The winning team should always submit the game result to avoid confusion. All game results should be submitted as soon as possible after the completion of games (but within 24 hours max). All results should be confirmed within 24 hours of being submitted by the winning team. If your opponent has not submit (if they were the winner) or confirmed (if they lost) within 24 hours, please send them a reminder to do so and co-copy myself and BigTexas18 so we can keep an eye on it.
Scheduling
Please post in the scheduling thread as soon as possible after advance to schedule with your opponent(s) for the week. Everyone should post in an attempt to schedule within 24 hours of advance. If you have not posted within 48 hours or have not responded to your opponent's post within 48 hours you will be removed from the league. Unfortunately MLB 16 does not give us the option to put users on auto-pilot like Madden (that I can find) so this is a harsh but necessary rule we have to impose to keep games flowing smoothly. Remember, we do not have the option to put a user on auto-pilot. So if you have not been attempting to schedule (or have only made a half-hearted attempt) you may get removed from the league so your opponent can play. The best course of action is to take a few minutes every day and check the forum to stay on top of scheduling.
All game
Settings
Division Type: Divisional
Number of Playoff Teams: 10
World Series Length: 7
LCS Series Length: 5
Division Series Length: 3
Wildcard Series Length: 1
Season Length: 40 games
Schedule Type: Flex Manual
Advance Deadline: SUN 11 AM CST
Series Schedule: 3 series per week
Trade Approval: Committee
Rosters: OSFM (Operation Sports Full Minors) v2.2
Make sure to set all of your Roster Management, Lineups, etc to MANUAL
Last edited: