The Transcontinental Baseball Association (TBA) commences in 1950. It consists of 50 leagues representing each state, with 328 teams in all. Cities with MLB teams and their affiliates have, by and large, been excluded.
The reputation of each league is reflective of the state involved. The 14 most highly-reputed leagues have 8 teams in them, the other 36 have 6. To further enhance the realism of disparity between each state, I have set the player creation modifiers accordingly.
Here, for those who are interested, is a state-by-state breakdown:
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (CAL)- League Reputation: 9
- Modifier: 1.0500
- Teams: 8
NEW YORK LEAGUE (NYL)- League Reputation: 9
- Modifier: 1.0480
- Teams: 8
TEXAS LEAGUE (TXL)- League Reputation: 9
- Modifier: 1.0475
- Teams: 8
PENNSYLVANIA LEAGUE (PAL)- League Reputation: 9
- Modifier: 1.0450
- Teams: 8
FLORIDA LEAGUE (FLL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0400
- Teams: 8
ILLINOIS LEAGUE (ILL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0300
- Teams: 8
OHIO LEAGUE (OHL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0280
- Teams: 8
GEORGIA LEAGUE (GAL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0250
- Teams: 8
MICHIGAN LEAGUE (MIL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0240
- Teams: 8
MASSACHUSETTS LEAGUE (MAL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0225
- Teams: 8
NEW JERSEY LEAGUE (NJL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0200
- Teams: 8
WASHINGTON LEAGUE (WAL)- League Reputation: 8
- Modifier: 1.0180
- Teams: 8
VIRGINIA LEAGUE (VAL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0160
- Teams: 8
NORTH CAROLINA LEAGUE (NCL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0150
- Teams: 8
TENNESSEE LEAGUE (TNL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0120
- Teams: 6
INDIANA LEAGUE (INL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0100
- Teams: 6
MISSOURI LEAGUE (MIL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0090
- Teams: 6
MARYLAND LEAGUE (MDL)- League Reputation: 7
- Modifier: 1.0080
- Teams: 6
ARIZONA LEAGUE (AZL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0075
- Teams: 6
WISCONSIN LEAGUE (WIL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0060
- Teams: 6
COLORADO LEAGUE (COL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0050
- Teams: 6
MINNESOTA LEAGUE (MNL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0040
- Teams: 6
SOUTH CAROLINA LEAGUE (SCL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0035
- Teams: 6
ALABAMA LEAGUE (ALL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0020
- Teams: 6
LOUISIANA LEAGUE (LAL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 1.0000
- Teams: 6
KENTUCKY LEAGUE (KYL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 0.9980
- Teams: 6
OKLAHOMA LEAGUE (OKL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 0.9900
- Teams: 6
CONNECTICUT LEAGUE (CTL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 0.9890
- Teams: 6
UTAH LEAGUE (UTL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 0.9880
- Teams: 6
IOWA LEAGUE (IAL)- League Reputation: 6
- Modifier: 0.9875
- Teams: 6
MISSISSIPPI LEAGUE (MSL)- League Reputation: 5
- Modifier: 0.9870
- Teams: 6
OREGON LEAGUE (ORL)- League Reputation: 5
- Modifier: 0.9860
- Teams: 6
KANSAS LEAGUE (KSL)- League Reputation: 5
- Modifier: 0.9855
- Teams: 6
NEVADA LEAGUE (NVL)- League Reputation: 5
- Modifier: 0.9850
- Teams: 6
NEBRASKA LEAGUE (NEL)- League Reputation: 5
- Modifier: 0.9800
- Teams: 6
ARKANSAS LEAGUE (ARL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9725
- Teams: 6
NEW MEXICO LEAGUE (NML)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9720
- Teams: 6
IDAHO LEAGUE (IDL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9710
- Teams: 6
WEST VIRGINIA LEAGUE (WVL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9705
- Teams: 6
NEW HAMPSHIRE LEAGUE (NHL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9700
- Teams: 6
DELAWARE LEAGUE (DEL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9690
- Teams: 6
NORTH DAKOTA LEAGUE (NDL)- League Reputation: 4
- Modifier: 0.9680
- Teams: 6
MAINE LEAGUE (MEL)- League Reputation: 3
- Modifier: 0.9620
- Teams: 6
MONTANA LEAGUE (MTL)- League Reputation: 3
- Modifier: 0.9610
- Teams: 6
RHODE ISLAND LEAGUE (RIL)- League Reputation: 3
- Modifier: 0.9600
- Teams: 6
SOUTH DAKOTA LEAGUE (SDL)- League Reputation: 3
- Modifier: 0.9590
- Teams: 6
VERMONT LEAGUE (VTL)- League Reputation: 3
- Modifier: 0.9580
- Teams: 6
ALASKA LEAGUE (AKL)- League Reputation: 2
- Modifier: 0.9550
- Teams: 6
HAWAII LEAGUE (HAL)- League Reputation: 2
- Modifier: 0.9525
- Teams: 6
WYOMING LEAGUE (WYL)- League Reputation: 2
- Modifier: 0.9500
- Teams: 6
I have also set stadium capacities according to the population of the state and the reputation of its league. These initially range from 25000 for the leagues with the highest reputation to 8000 for those on the bottom rung.
The leagues have a shared Rookie Draft in May of each year, as well as a Rule 5 Draft in January. They are allowed to trade freely among one another.
The regular-season schedule is 105 games long and balanced as much as the program allows, with teams only playing the other teams in their own state league. At the end of this, the 50 winners of each league plus the runners-up in the 14 that consist of 8 teams (as explained above) meet in the Lincoln Cup to decide the National Champion for the year. This is a knockout tournament, with participants seeded in order of their regular season record adjusted for the league’s reputation. The 50 champions are always to be seeded above the 14 wildcards.
Those teams who make it deep into this tournament each season will receive a bump in their stadium capacity as a reward: 10% for the overall winner, 5% for the Runner-Up, 2.5% for the losing semi-finalists and 1% for the losing quarter-finalists.
I have decided to do something I’ve seen others on here do that took my fancy. I will be acting as GM / Manager for a franchise until it makes the Lincoln Cup tournament, then move on. I will begin this process by taking over a last-placed team in one of the lowest-ranked leagues from the 1950 season, which I simmed separately just for this purpose, using the existing rosters for all teams .
There are various rules I must adhere to in this exercise, the entirety of which I won’t go into now. But here’s a quick summary:
- From the teams eligible for my involvement, I am allowed to pick the one I best like the look of for whatever reasons that take my fancy;
- If the team I am controlling makes the Lincoln Cup but does not win it, I can only move up one level as far as league reputation is concerned;
- If the team I am controlling wins the Lincoln Cup, I can jump two levels;
- If I am fired from the franchise I am running, I must go down one level;
- If I am fired whilst in one of the bottom-rung leagues I have to move teams within that level;
- If I end up being fired in all three bottom-level leagues, I am not sure at this stage what I’ll do – we’ll cross that bridge yada yada yada.
I won’t bore you with all of the tech specs for this (ad)venture, other than to say that all players will be fictional. Anything else important / relevant in this regard I’ll cover as needs be.
I originally planned for this Association to be even bigger (nearly 600 teams) than the one I have described, but unfortunately file size was a real issue. Even this reduced version is likely to become problematic in that regard a few years down the track. But, until then, this should be a lot of fun.
Before we get started I just want to thank all the modders whose amazing output I’ll be using in this Association, in particular TXRanger – who designed all of the various league logos (including the stunning TBA logo you see below) and a heap of the other graphics, to whom my managerial handle Rex Grant is an anagrammatic homage – and low for his stunning caps, unis and team regalia.