Player Contracts

Contracts

Signing Players

Each player on your team "signs" a playing contract with you, the owner, that stipulates the number of years he will play for your team and the salary he will be paid. During the transaction season, you have ample opportunity to sign your players, as well as perform trades and release certain qualifying players on waivers. There are no limits on the total number of players who can be signed to contracts except the roster limits of 22 batters and 18 pitchers, but no player can be signed for more than 6 total years. Warning! Any player you drafted who is still without a contract at the end of the transaction season will be dropped from the roster.

Computer Draftees New!

If you don't fill out a draft card and submit it, the computer will draft for you. Players drafted by the computer will have a graphical 'D' in place of a contract type. During the transactions events these players can either be signed by you or dropped from the roster. If you do not either sign or drop these players, the computer will automatically sign them to a contract type of its own choosing.

Contract Guidelines and Term Limitations

Starting players, pitchers, and relievers may be offered multi-season contracts up to but not exceeding the number of years a player has listed in the pools. For example, a player who played two full years at shortstop cannot be signed for more than two years. Nor can single year contracts be renewed for more years than a player has listed in the pools. No contract can exceed six years, regardless of how many years are represented in the pools. This ensures that all the players from a particular era are recyclable after six seasons. Odd & Ends players and pitchers may be signed for up to 3 years; remember that you choose a particular year and corresponding salary level for odds & ends players. Once a contract has been signed, it is fixed, binding, and cannot be changed.

Contract Extensions

You may sign a player to fewer years than are listed in the player pools. For example, you could sign a player with 5 years to a 3-year Type 2 or Type 3 contract, which gives you the option of resigning that player for a fourth (and fifth) season. Or you can release that player at the end of his contract and draft another player. Contract extensions can be made for only one year at a time and come with a salary surcharge. Note: surcharges also apply to all players signed to one year Type 2 or 3 contracts and to one year players signed to Type 2 or 3 contracts.

Contract Types

There are six different types of contracts. Type 4 is automatically signed by the computer for waiver acquisitions. Types 5 and 6 apply only to Old Timer call ups. A special 'D' type contract denotes a temporary hold which the computer has put on one of its draftees. If you miss a drafting round by failing to send in a draft card, the computer drafts players and places them on your roster. Any player marked with a 'D' must either be signed to a standard contract type by you or dropped by you sometime during the transactions season. Otherwise, the computer will sign its draftees to a contract type of its own choice and these players will remain on your roster.

Type 1

A no-frills contract which comes with big salary discounts but no perks. Type 1 contracts cannot be extended. For example, if you sign a player for a three-year Type 1 contract, that player is permanently removed from your roster after the third year and will not reappear until his era is recycled, even if that player had 4 or more years on the spreadsheets.

Also, players with Type 1 contracts have a "bonus" clause. If a player performs at a level meriting any performance revenues, the player "keeps" half the money, so to speak. You the owner will receive only 50 percent of any performance revenues from players with Type 1 contracts.

Type 2

A mid-level contract which gives you a combination of financial incentives and flexibility. Players receive no bonuses; owners keep all performance revenues. Players can be extended beyond the contract period at their MPV value. Players with Type 2 contracts incur a surcharge for each year their contracts are extended beyond the original contract; players signed to a one year Type 2 contract also incur a surcharge. Players can also be put on waivers for a fee. Currently the fee is set at 15% of the MPV, though this amount may fluctuate.

Type 3

A full-service contract that requires an owner to pay a premium salary in exchange for the greatest flexibility and protection. An owner has the unconditional right to put a player on waivers with no fee. Players receive no bonuses; owners receive double any performance revenues. Players can be extended beyond the contract period at their MPV value. Players with Type 3 contracts incur a surcharge for each year their contract is extended beyond the original contract; players signed to a one year Type 3 contract also incur a surcharge. Finally, players are "insured." This means that if your player is injured, you do not pay that player's salary for the games in which he makes no appearances for the duration of his injury.

Type 4

A partial-season contract signed automatically for every player taken off waivers. Type 4 contracts do not include bonuses or waiver options. You pay the full MPV salary pro-rated according to the percentage of the season a player sits on your roster. The contract expires when the post season is completed and the player is removed from the roster.

Type 5

A partial-season, flat rate, fixed term contract for players called up from the Old Timer Fraternity Roster. Type 5 contracts do not include discounts, bonuses or waiver options. You pay a lump sum according to the contract terms stipulated by the players themselves. No player signed to this contract type can play in the post season. For more details, see Old Timers Fraternity.

Type 6

A partial-season convertible contract for players called up from the Old Timer Fraternity Roster. With this contract, the player remains on the roster until the next transaction season, at which time he can be offered a Type 1, 2 or 3 contract. This contract type is not available after the season date of August 31st. You pay according to the terms set by the players themselves. There are no discounts or waiver options, and players may demand a signing bonus. Players signed to type 6 contracts are eligible for post season play. For more details, see Old Timers Fraternity.

Here's a table for easy reference . . .

Contract Discounts

Let's imagine that you want to draft Mickey Mantle as an outfielder. His MPV is 279. The longer the term of the contract, the more his salary is discounted. Examine the schedule to the left to see how much you might pay per season for the various contract types. Mantle is a prized player, so it's hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't want to sign him for a full 6 seasons. Players of lesser talent, however, take more planning and strategy. Superstars are much more affordable on Type 1 contracts, but they also get to keep 50% of the performance units they earn in the form of a bonus.

Player Randomization

In Nostalgia Baseball, owners draft players instead of specific seasons (except for odds and ends pools where one can in fact select a particular season). Players will often have many seasons represented in their respective pools. This provides realistic fluctuation in performance. As soon as a player is drafted, he is randomized to a particular season, allowing to some extent the real-life unpredictability of player performance. Owners will not know the actual season assigned. Important! Players under multi-season contracts are submitted to the randomizing procedure before every season! The only exceptions to randomization are batters from the odds & ends pools. For these players, you actually choose the particular year you want during the drafting process.