Five teams are available: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds.
We just passed the mid-point of our season. The Cubs and Astros are in the Wild Card hunt. The Orioles are just sitting on the periphery of contention. The Pirates and Reds, two recent expansion teams, are building up.
The Whalehead League is a test of our knowledge of real-life players and team building, using OOTP as our engine.
WLB is a longtime league with a rich history of over 30 years. The league has played various simulations over the years. We switched over to OOTP in 2019. WLB is a competitive, detail-oriented league that plays one season in one year.
WLB is a real-world OOTP league, which only plays with current, MLB-affiliated players, using a unique ratings update process.
Contact our Commissioner for more info!
Additional Details
OOTP Version: 24 (we all update to the most current version at the end of the MLB season and after our World Series)
Format: Real-World MLB. all real players, updated annually to current OOTP game ratings.
First Season Ever: 1990
First Season using OOTP: 2019
Current Season: 2024 – Mid-Season
# of Teams: 24
Communications: We use Discord and Stats+ Web. Invitations will be shared when applications are accepted.
Days Per Sim: Varies, based on the time of year. Schedules are published for the off-season and regular season (stored in a Google Sheet). Regular season games are played daily starting in January and running through the end of April and in September. In May through August and in the off-season, we export Monday-Friday.
Export Requirements: At least once a week
Incentive Point System: Used to encourage active participation
Game Settings
WLB League Rules: Covers most league-specific info, including additional info on topics on this page.
League Finances: Our revenue system is set up so the range of team revenues is limited so that the bottom revenue teams have at least 60% of the top revenue team (the Yankees). Details can be found in the league rules.
First-Year Player Draft: 20 rounds (25 rounds of players). The draft pool consists of players added to mid-season Top-30 prospect lists and sufficient players to fill out the pool from the top rounds of the most recent MLB Draft. Our next draft will take place in April 2025 (real life).
IAFA: Starting in January 2025 (thanks to the ability to import/export player pool) we will use OOTP’s IAFA system
Winter Leagues: Caribbean Winter League (AA to MLB – 3 year max ), Arizona Fall League (AA/AAA)
Other Unique Features: Competitive Balance Picks (CBP) based on revenue. Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) picks.
Test.