Salaries Out of Whack II

[georgefc3]

There was a thread a while ago about salaries being out of whack. I think this issue should be revisited.

When the game starts in 2002 or 2003 the salaries make sense, in my opinion. When players renew and ask for really big salaries, they are generally VERY good players.

Player Rating Inflation
However as time goes by the skill levels of the players goes up. In 2002 or 2003 you will see quite a few starting players that have contact ratings of B+ or B. As time goes by it seems that the quality of players goes up and that you need A or A+ in every position if you want to have a winning team. I am playint the Texas Ranger team in the 2002 league. We are currently in 2028. I have six players with A+ contact ratings and three with just an A. Most players also have very good power and other ratings.

I don't think this is a problem. My point is that the quality of the players in the league has improved. Not just for my team, but for all teams in the league.

Contract Renewal
When it comes time for contract renewal, the players ask for enormous raises. I believe in the free market, so I don't really have a problem with that. It also affects all teams equally. My good players will probably be released into the free agent pool rather. I don't want to pay them 75+ points per season, especially if I can sign other quality players cheaper.

But...

What ends up happening is that everyone releases the top quality players into the free agent pool. So you may see six super shortstops all asking 100+ points per season. Since everyone is on a budget, that price is pretty much out of the question. Sometimes computer teams sign these guys at high prices but that hurts their team. :-)

The Worst Part
The worst part is this. Salaries for players are supposed to drop through the free agency period. Indeed they do. But 100 point shortstop will likely still be there at the end of free agency. His price might drop to 50 points, but that is still a lot of money for the average team. Especially if there are two or three other super shorstops still available. What ends up happening is that these good players often remain free agents through most of the year until their price drops to a point where someone can afford it.

I believe that, in real life, ball players are interested in playing and will drop their price to match the market. It is very unusual to see a player of ARODs caliber not signed at the beginning of the year.

Solutions
#1 - This would be the easier to program. This would adjust the amount how quickly the price for players drop through free agency. Have the price drop more quickly.

#2 - Test the quality of players in the league. Adjust salary demands and the letter ratings of the players. If a league is stocked with top quality talent, then compare a player against the league average.

In my opinion #2 is the better solution but would likely be harder to program. It would also be helpful in other ways. If you have two left fielders and both have A+ contact and power, who do you start? If you normalized the ratings, it would turn out that one is really an A, the other is an A+ or A-.

Comments anyone?

[dturkenk]

Another point along the same lines is that salary demands tend to increase tremendously as the years go on, but revenue stays relatively flat across the league. This is what leads small markets to not be able to afford the FAs that George is talking about.

[faulk28]

have the player accept the highest offer at the end of free agency...since most players in real life want to keep playing...in that way you be accepting the market price for that player based on what gm's are willing to pay...also it would encourage bidding on the superstars to stop other gm's from getting a steal...it also may stop the problem of gm's signing superstars at the end of the year(at least slow down the # of players left)

[wase]

yeah this is a major problem. in a league that im playing in, i bidded for mike piazza for over 60 pts in the offseason. as it turns out, the current bid for him was not high enough for him and he decides to sit out the first few games of the season. the next day i log on, he in is another team for about 40 pts! that just doesnt make sense. :mad:

[takaplan]

You bid on him for 60 pts. A day later he is on another team for 40 pts.

What are the lengths of the contracts? Many players seeking job security would rather take a pay cut and accept 40 pts over 7 years rather than a larger chunk of money, like 60 pts, for only 1 or 2 years.

I'll forward this thread to Clay; thank you very much for your feedback.

[faulk28]

i had it happen to me before where i had a max bid for scott sullivan...nobody bid me up they just waited 'til the end of free agency and signed him for much less than my max bid...

[georgefc3]

The Max Bid Issue is a different issue, but one that should be explained carefully to BBM.

This is a separate but troubling issue.

Basically if you want to ACQUIRE a player and the current bid is way below his asking price you need to follow a special procedure.

The situation:
Player is at 3 points, wants 15 to sign. It is the last round of free agency with one minute to go. You want to wait until last minute so no one overbids you in the last few seconds.

You bid 15 points. The computer registers 4 points and asks you for a max bid. You must then hit the "BID" again. Finally, you must reenter the desired bid INCLUDING the right number of years. If you flub either the price or the number of years your bid will be rejected and you will not get the player.

Also, if you set a MAX BID and no one bids against you, the player will not accept the max bid even it meets his requirements. When I want a player in the last round I will sometimes avoid bidding on him, especially if he is near the target price. I let the turn lapse and then get the player once the last round of the FA period is over.

Main Issue of this Thread
Again this is a separate issue from the main thread. That issue is that players get stronger and very much more expensive as the years go by. And by 2025 many players do not get selected in the FA draft, sometimes waiting til late summer.

[faulk28]

because you are talking about players not getting signed, but if you had the players accepting the highest last bid at the end of free agency the max bid makes much more sense...also if the players took the best offer on the last sim then most players would be signed... and at more of the fair market price gm's are willing to sign them for

[georgefc3]

The underlying issues are different...

The salaries are out of whack because the players have improved. My suggestion to BBM is that they evaluate the skill quality of the league at the end of the year and NORMALIZE the ratings (and salary demands) of the players. Hopefully this would have several beneficial affects:

#1 It would make it easier to RESIGN players instead of RELEASING them at the end of their contracts
#2 The letter grades of the players would be measured against the LEAGUE rather than a fixed standard. This would stop grade inflation in older leagues.
#3 It would also solve the problem of players not being signed at the end of free agency.

The first two issues are ones I've seen discussed numerous times here in the forum.

I haven't wanted to go into why players get better in older leagues. And I won't. But I would ask anyone to compare the level of quality of players in 2002 and then compare it with a new league. Night and day. In 2002 and Beyond, the average contact rating for a starting batter is AT LEAST an "A", and might be shaded to A+. In my MOGUL CHALLENGE league, I have 4 B+, 3 B-, a C+ and a C-. In 2002, I have 6 A+ and 3 As.

Pretty stark difference, would you agree?

My point is that BBM seems to evaluate players against a fixed standard. And it also seems that players get better against this standard over time. I don't have any issue with this, it is not a problem. BUT... I think that players need to be compared against EACH OTHER rather than a fixed standard.

Agree? Does this make sense?

:eek:

[faulk28]

that's why i rarely sign any of my players because they ask for too much regardless of how you look at it...unless i sign them at the beginning of the season...anyway the fact that as the season goes on they begin to want more $ then as they go to free agency they want even more $....but i do agree with you in that they need to do something with the ratings and how to compare them...