Unique, Realistic Dynasty League Opening

[RobR]

Now entering its 10th year, Mendoza Baseball is a hobbyist site run by volunteers dedicated to developing the most realistic Major League Baseball franchise ownership game possible. If you've been successful at traditional fantasy games and are looking for a new challenge, this could be the game for you.

There are 9 different leagues with openings. You can browse available teams at http://mendozabaseball.com/signup.asp. I'll be starting my 5th season in the Estalella Classic league and 2nd in the Mendoza AL Classic league.

Mendoza is a sabermetric, dynasty format that is designed to emulate the economics, strategies and transaction rules of MLB as closely as possible, warts and all. The scoring is based on an intricate but intuitive system where player values are calibrated to be similar to advanced metrics like Value Over Replacement Player. Mendoza has everything you would want in a challenging fantasy format, including:

* E-Bay style free agent auctions
* 25-man active rosters, 40-man major league rosters and 20-man minor league rosters
* Reserve clause and arbitration simulator
* Multi-year contracts
* A waiver system
* Designate relievers as closers (high leverage), setup, or long relief (low leverage)
* A full-blown economic model with revenue sharing
* Very deep leagues with dedicated owners that stick around for the whole year (and beyond)

Let me know if you have questions.

[gswett]

Sounds VERY interesting. How much does it cost?

[D Wrek]

Sounds VERY interesting. How much does it cost?

Hey gswett,
I play in a Mendoza league and absolutely love it.

How much does it cost? Well thats tough to answer. I believe to get a team its like 30 bucks.

But the tricky part. At the auction you pay real money for players. You want Polanco for $6? Yep thats 6 real dollars.
There is a soft cap of around $150, and a hard cap of around $200. If you go over 150, you pay a luxary tax.
The great part. Its not just about winning your league, its also about finishing in the black or red. The higher you finish, the more money you get back. So you could play small market, have a $60 budget, finish 6th, and still win money. On the other hand, you could spend $200, finish 3nd and could owe money.
You think you're out of it this season, dump some salary and try to get back into the black. You think you got a shot, trade some good contracts for some stars and make the push.

The 1st 3 years of service for a player, you can keep them at the salary you signed them for. Then the next 3 yrs theres an arbitration process. So young players are usually very valuable. After 6 years they become free agents and you can sign them for up to 3 years (if your league allows multiple year contracts). Those players can become pricey. Kind of like real baseball huh?

Theres a Word format of the rules on the site that Im sure explains it better than I, I highly suggest checking it out.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Lefty]

Hey gswett,
I play in a Mendoza league and absolutely love it.

How much does it cost? Well thats tough to answer. I believe to get a team its like 30 bucks.

But the tricky part. At the auction you pay real money for players. You want Polanco for $6? Yep thats 6 real dollars.
There is a soft cap of around $150, and a hard cap of around $200. If you go over 150, you pay a luxary tax.
The great part. Its not just about winning your league, its also about finishing in the black or red. The higher you finish, the more money you get back. So you could play small market, have a $60 budget, finish 6th, and still win money. On the other hand, you could spend $200, finish 3nd and could owe money.
You think you're out of it this season, dump some salary and try to get back into the black. You think you got a shot, trade some good contracts for some stars and make the push.

The 1st 3 years of service for a player, you can keep them at the salary you signed them for. Then the next 3 yrs theres an arbitration process. So young players are usually very valuable. After 6 years they become free agents and you can sign them for up to 3 years (if your league allows multiple year contracts). Those players can become pricey. Kind of like real baseball huh?

Theres a Word format of the rules on the site that Im sure explains it better than I, I highly suggest checking it out.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

So when is a team's salary measured against the cap - at the end of the season?

[RobR]

Always.

[Freedom]

Absolutely awesome! Daunting. Just the kind of challenge I like. Thanks guys. I'm gonna go check this out.

[RobR]

A quick update, as much to bump this as anything. We've filled two leagues and the rest have picked up owners, but there's still some teams available.

[Vinny]

I am interested and have sent an email to the commish. Can you lead me to the available teams? It looks like the site has not been updated to reflect.

[RobR]

Glad to hear you're interested. Please PM me and tell me which league you're trying to join and which team you want. I'll try to ping the commish. To browse available teams, go to: http://mendozabaseball.com/signup.asp

[Vinny]

Rob - sorry for the tardiness. My real job got in the way. I joined the Fritsch NL Only and picked up a team there - the former Teddy Ballgame. I am thinking of doing an AL only team as well. The Mendoza league looks great and I know I will have fun turning around the NL team. Thanks for putting this on the site!

[RobR]

Bump as there's still teams available.