What if … Babe Ruth had a chance to hit in Coors Field?
What if … Ty Cobb tried to steal on Johnny Bench?
What if … Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson pitched against each other?
What if … Josh Gibson and his killer bat faced Sandy Koufax and his killer arm?
What if … Shoeless Joe Jackson and Eddie Ciccotte were never banned from baseball?
What if … there was a league out there that could answer all of those questions?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Who Played Baseball) is just such a league.
Featuring more than 2,000 of the greatest baseball players to ever grace the major league baseball diamond since 1900 and more than 100 of the greatest Negro Leaguer’s that should have had the chance, LEG attempts to be an all-out immersion into the greatest sport.
The League
The league will consist of 24 to 32 teams in 4 divisions.
The Teams
Teams will consist of 36 to 40 players using an active roster of 26 players with
the remainder in reserve in the minors.
Each team owner will have full control of his team including the ability to determine what city or region his team is located and which ballpark his team uses.
Each team will also build its roster using salary cap guidelines with various factors each year determining if and how player salaries are affected.
The Ballparks
Based on the region the team is located, owners will be able to choose whether they want to use any existing or historical ballpark or build their own.
Each ballpark will have its own characteristics that confer benefits and penalties to players.
The Players
All players have been normalized to all-time averages adjusted for ballpark factors and a whole bunch of other magical stuff. Put simply, 10 home runs hit in 1919 are not the same as 10 home runs (which I could probably hit) in MLB in 2019.
Our team (me) has compiled normalized annual stats for approximately 2,200 players with the ability to add players on an annual basis.
Players can be signed by teams to single or multiple-year contracts, but are subject to free agency rules based on how and how often they are used as well as when their contracts expire.
Players eligible for the league must have played in at least five seasons unless their careers were tragically cut short, e.g. Lyman Bostock.
Team owners can nominate players to be added to the list of available if they are not already carded.
Injuries and Usage
Usage for all players will be adjusted for a 162-game schedule using AIM.
Teams must have a minimum of four starting pitchers in their rotations.
Injury ratings will be adjusted for pretty much everyone except Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig so just because a player played 154 games in a season will not mean he cannot get a 10-day injury.
Transactions
Trading will be allowed and is encouraged albeit within salary cap limits.
Franchise Points
A unique system will be in place to allow teams to earn and spend Franchise Points.
These Franchise Points can be earned by such things as having players named to All-Star Teams, having win streaks, and so on.
Points can be used to modify/build ballparks that affect player performance or they may just generate additional Franchise Points. They can also be used for organizational improvements such as having a team of Wall Street Legal Beagles to negotiate contracts and possibly reduce costs, purchasing of advanced medical equipment to reduce or in some cases even prevent injuries, hire conditioning coaches, and much more.
Season Progression
Players will not be carded based on their very first year playing in MLB or the Negro Leagues. Starting years will be determined randomly as will each subsequent year and may even include the player’s card is based on their performance in LEG rather than in the majors.
For example, you may have Babe Ruth start his inaugural season in the league using his 1920 54-homer season but then the next year have him use his 1935 6-homer, .181 season.
Schedule
Teams will play 162-game seasons with up to three rounds of post-season play. There
will NEVER be a one-game wildcard playoff.
Opening Day
We are hoping to have the league constitution/guide out within the next couple of weeks with an inaugural draft date to be determined based on when the league owner complement is full.