Writing Rewards Discussion

[Commissioner Erick]

Among the topics discussed about the league was the topic of rewards for writing. This is a sensitive topic so right of the bat, NOTHING ANYBODY DOES REGARDING HOW OFTEN OR INFREQUENTLY THEY WRITE WILL AFFECT ANYTHING REGARDING GAMEPLAY OR MANAGEMENT.

Fundamentally, we're here to manage baseball teams, not contemplate the 4th round of the 2013 draft, or draft rankings of prospects in the Korean League. I cannot have that be the objective, and wouldn't want to do that even if I could. Plus, there's also the consequence of perhaps having writing quality judged which is something that can legit cause apprehension and shame.

However, having the league take on a life of its own and having content produced about the league is a joy, and one of the reasons I have this league on a slow schedule. Reading others work IS a reward in and of itself. However, there could be stuff where if you write substantially you get to do something like re-name a player you drafted in a later rounds, or rename your ballpark, or give a player a custom nickname, or change the name of your Double-A team.

I don't exactly know how to score this, and I don't like naming players manually (there's something sacred about a name), but giving a nickname to a player is fine. One thing I will never do is remove nicknames. When we start getting fictional draft players and you have guys with nonsensical nicknames like Dikembe "The Murph" Smith, we're keeping those names no matter what.

If there are any thoughts, feel free to make them known!

[TJbrewers]

+1 to allowing cosmetic rewards. Why not? And I am not one who will get any rewards more than likely.

[Ben_Dodgers]

I like the idea of cosmetic rewards.

[tigersgm_Steve]

What constitutes 'cosmetic rewards'. Thanks ;-)

Actually, I sort of know what you mean (non-performance type stuff) but I thought a few examples might be fun for us to read.

[tigersgm_Steve]

Maybe uniform changes could be one....subject to conforming to whatever the commish defines as team appropriate (no name changes, etc.)

[Commissioner Erick]

Maybe the best writers get to change minor league names (not in the West Indies or Canadian League cause those are my babies). So the Akron Rubber Ducks could be changed to the Akron Fire Ants or something. Team names are probably the biggest reward because it's a bit of a task to add the logos, change the uniforms (I click random a few times and see what stupidity the system comes up with), and all that.

Instead of Comerica Park you can change Detroit's stadium to Chipotle Field. Or Cafe du Baseball. Or Stadium of Excellence. Or The Tiger Den. Or The Pit of Teen Angst McFuck You. I'll allow pretty much anything. You can also do this with minor league stadiums.

Also, if you have a player named Ramon Smith, you can add a custom nickname, so he becomes Ramon "The Sun God" Smith. Or Ramon "Big Unit" Smith.

[NYMets_Nige]

New logos? New minor league parks? Chsanging newly drafted player's names?

[Commissioner Erick]

Yes to the above, except the logos of the Canadian Rookie League.

I don't want actual name changes, but I think being given the ability to add nicknames is a good one.