Question on Free Agency

[RAW]

Is there a way to eliminate free agency while playing in historical games/seasons prior to the beginning of the current free agent system? Currently am playing the latest version of BBM

[PDog]

No

[rich12545]

My 2 cents. This really needs to be fixed.

[ohms_law]

Yup, it really does need to be changed (and it's a change, not a fix. there's nothing actually broken). Personally, I don't care if it makes the game unbalanced or something, at first. It's just fundamentally wrong playing through the early 20th century with free agency on.

[jcbarr]

Yeah I tend to agree with this statement. Player movement such as free agency certainly did not happen in the early 1900's and this sort of change is a big addition to an already great game in my opinion.

[Dwright5]

IMO that would make the game pretty boring until the 1970s. Here's your team, try to trade and draft (btw there wasn't a real draft until 1965, but that's another story). All the negotiating would be gone because contracts in the early days were year by year, take it or leave it, except for the few big stars (Ruth, for example). Anyway I want to see what might happen if Babe Ruth was able to sign with the highest bidder.

[jcbarr]

Once again this is another one of those features that you would want to turn on or off when you start your dynasty. Some people want to have FA right from the start, while others want to follow the timeline as closely as possible, and then others have different wants depending on when and where they start the game.

[ohms_law]

IMO that would make the game pretty boring until the 1970s. Here's your team, try to trade and draft (btw there wasn't a real draft until 1965, but that's another story). All the negotiating would be gone because contracts in the early days were year by year, take it or leave it, except for the few big stars (Ruth, for example). Anyway I want to see what might happen if Babe Ruth was able to sign with the highest bidder.

Doesn't matter. That's the way that is was in reality.

Regarding the draft, that should be turned off prior to 1965 as well. Same thing with contracts, we need to get a Reserve Clause system implemented as well. One hurdle at a time, though.

Look, it really doesn't matter how much "less fun" or unbalancing doing the above may be. The fact is that that's what baseball did during those time periods. It's literally impossible to play in the early 70's or earlier and have a realistic recreation of the game during that time right now.

[RAW]

Agree with Ohms completely. I'm looking for realism. By the way, there were still a lot of trades throughout the 40s, 50s, 60s and before. Remember Ruth was sold to the Yankees. Jackie Robinson was traded to the Giants, but refused and retired instead.
I'm currently playing in 1955, and Robinson was released by the Dodgers after 1954 and signed as a FA with the Yankees and the Dodgers released Don Newcombe and Johnny Podres to FA..don't think that would have happened if we could have the option of not having free agency in our game.

[HoustonGM]

It should be changed, but an option should be added to switch it on or off, rather than forcing it one way or the other.

[ohms_law]

It should be changed, but an option should be added to switch it on or off, rather than forcing it one way or the other.

Since turning on and off things like inflation is possible, I kind of assumed that it would be selectable. Best case would be a year input field for each option. Set it to 0 and it's always on.

[T Rip]

Since turning on and off things like inflation is possible, .

Sorry this is a bit off-thread, but I've been trying to find this for a time. Just where is it that inflation can be turned off/on or slowed or something?

[ohms_law]

League -> League Editor.

[TexanBob]

Put me down for wanting to see what it is like without free agency (pre-1975) and without the amatuer draft (pre-1965). The historical rookies would still be loaded but they would be assigned to their actual teams. Somehow, the AI knows actual teams because a lot of players wind up with their original teams even with the computer's amatuer draft.

Next, it would be fun for the human to be able to draft an expansion team from scratch during a year like, say, 1925 and choose from the other rosters and grow your team that way through trades and receiving a proportionate percentage of fictional rookies.