Okay, so it’s not really new, that’s a lie. Really it’s a re-brand of a league that existed last year that you probably know as REL2. That’s right, Razz30 is the bastard son of JB’s REL, with a Macy’s makeover, from those dolled up chubby former homecoming queens that work the makeup counter. BTW, I can hear your inner-monologue because I have telepathic powers, and I know you’re asking “why did you rebrand a fantasy league?”. Well to put it bluntly last year was akin to pooping yourself while simultaneously driving head on into a tractor trailer truck, surviving only to find out your wife is now sleeping with your high school bully, and he doesn’t have a job, so he’s going to sleep in your spot in the bed going forward. Now you’re covered in poop, laid up in the hospital with more broken bones than Evil Kenevil, and you’re emasculated as well. Seem dramatic? Maybe, maybe not. Just talk to the guys that lost their best players from forced real life trades. I could go on and on, but why look back? We’re moving forward with a new and improved format, and I’m proud to announce we’re embarking on the first 30 team league in Razzball history. When this job was bestowed upon me, by my predecessor the Notorious M.I.K.E, I promised him I would take Razzball to places they’ve never been before. That place is a 30 team league where people are spending half their FAAB adding Raul Alcantara. It’s real out here!
League Setup
Okay, so it’s really simple, we ditched all the complex rules for something more straight forward. Putting the onus on the owners to reshape their organizations as they see fit. Though I suppose that depends on your definition of simple, mine includes 30 teams, and a jug of Carlo Rossi. For those of you not familiar, the REL setup is based around the concept of you taking over an actual MLB 40 man roster, and then making the decisions on who stays and goes. So every team in the league is an actual MLB franchise (I’m the Mets), and the league was broken into an AL only and NL only league. All of that remains the same only we combined the AL and NL, and did away with separate league pages. Now it’s a single 30 team with two leagues and 6 divisions, just like the real thing.
Now back to the lecture at hand; following the inaugural season around half the owners dropped out. So we had to add between 12-17 owners, the exact figure escapes me. Regardless, we replaced a lot. So while a total restart would have been viable, it seemed unfair to the dedicated owners, who had made good trades and wavier grabs to just blow the whole thing up. These guys stuck it out, and were totally supportive of the transition of commissioner duties from fellow Razzball writer M@, to myself. I felt I owed it to them. So I devised a plan. BTW M@ did a great job getting this league setup in the first place and has been instrumental in helping me with the day to day. RazzSalute M@!
- We allowed all owners to keep 25 total players from last year’s rosters. The 25 would be made up of Major Leaguers and Minor Leagues. You would pick your 25 from a sliding scale of majors and minors, depending upon your team’s strength, and direction. Owners were obligated to keep at least 8 players from their real life organization (minors or majors), and the keeper limits were as follows, no more than 18 Major or 13 Minor League players may be kept, and no less than 12 major leaguers or 7 minor leaguers may be kept. Are you confused yet? Good!
- Each team was required to roster 15 minor league players, and 23 major league players. In order to get each team to their MiLB and MLB limits we had a prospect draft, and a major league auction. Each team was awarded a draft pick in our MiLB draft for each spot they needed to fill, and each team was awarded $10 at auction for each MLB spot that needed filling.
- Only players with major league experience, or those under contract with an MLB organization could be drafted. So no Luis Robert or Shohei Otani.
Rosters and Scoring
- The scoring is very simple and straight forward, it’s a 6×6 roto league with the following categories for hitting (R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP) and pitching (W, SV+HLD, ERA, WHIP, K, QS).
- The intent of the league was to model MLB, with the ultimate goal of it being the closest thing there is to taking over a real life organization as the GM. So we broke the teams into two leagues (AL and NL), and 3 divisions mirroring those of MLB.
- The MLB rosters were as follows: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util – SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P – bn, bn, bn, bn.
- Trades can be made between both leagues, and there so no restriction on adding AL or NL players for AL and NL teams.
- The trade deadline is the MLB trade deadline each year.
Playoffs
You’re going to see the theme here… Just like MLB our playoffs are made up of the 3 division winners from each league, and one at large wild card bid awarded to the team with best record in each league that didn’t win their respective division.
The MiLB Draft
My boss Mr. Albright hates when I do this, but I’m listing 177 picks in my post, so if you’re interested in what the minors looked like click here.
The MLB Auction
I liken it to our free agency, only all the good players get kept. So it’s like free agency, if free agency was last call at your local meat market. Everyone was given a budget of $10 per empty MLB roster spot and were tasked with filling their roster. You can view the auction results here.
I’ll be providing monthly updates on FAAB, trades, and standings once a month. Next week, we’ll dive into the offseason of the 3rd season of the Razznasty.
Follow me on Twitter @ralphlifshitzbb and check out my Live Show every Tuesday @ 9pm on Fantrax Youtube channel.
