Friends,
A year ago, I had a goal of creating the first OOTP promotion/relegation league with real teams and real players. A year later, I would say that I succeeded in that goal. However, this achievement did not come as easy as I thought it would, and it continues to be a challenge for me to maintain.
With a heavy heart, I would like to announce that following the 2021 playoffs, I will be resigning as commissioner of the CLUB, and will be dissolving the league.
This decision was not taken lightly. I have taken much into consideration, but feel it is best for me and for our GMs as a whole. There are many reasons for me making this decision:
- Most notably, the amount of additional work required to make this league run in a fair, fun, and realistic manner is enormous. I simply cannot continue doing the work to ensure compensation picks are distributed correctly, finances remain correct, among other things.
- After 4 seasons, I believe that this league doesn’t allow for all 30 teams to have something to “play for” and remain involved the entire season. This is not what I expected. However, it seems that the bottom half of the league can easily tune out and not have a chance at winning.
- While this is not a top reason, I think GM involvement simply hasn’t been there after a year of this league running. We have a few very committed GMs, but the league simply doesn’t seem to draw everyone in.
Simply put, I think the format of this league simply isn’t sustainable with what OOTP currently has to offer. I am not ruling out a come-back if OOTP improves their game and makes this format more feasible, but I do not see these changes happening with OOTP20.
You may notice that time/money is not a contributing factor in my decision. I am not done commishing OOTP leagues. Moving forward, be on the lookout for a new league on the OOTP boards once OOTP20 comes out. I would not be against starting a new league with the standard MLB format.
Again, I would like to thank you for your support and participation in the CLUB this past year. It has been a very unique league, and we’ve all contributed to its success. I hope I can remain in touch with you guys, and I wish you the very best.
Aaron