A Nostalgia Owners Trade Etiquette
and Survival Guide
by Brad Hickey
This guide was made in the hopes that it would help illuminate the unbelievably deep and surprisingly difficult world of trading. Trading in Nostalgia Baseball can sometimes get very complex and relies a great deal on the ability of the respective partners to send their deal in a timely fashion, deal honestly and fairly with others, and most importantly be as clear as possible in both their demands, timeliness and ideas that they have. If owners don't do things like this, your reputation in the league could be tarnished. This guide contains thoughts from around the league on what other owners find lowly, helpful and truly despicable in other trade partners. The sections of this guide are:
§ When you want to propose a deal……
§ When you receive a proposed trade…..
§ Miscellaneous thoughts on trading……
Well, without further delay, lets move on to section one.
Section 1
When you want to propose a deal…….
Ok, so you suddenly got this bright idea that Mr. Chump in the American League West might be interested in some of your bad players in exchange for the apple of your eye, Mr. Mantle. Laughing softly to yourself, you send an email to Mr. Chump and wait expectantly while you gloat over your genius plot to rob the cradle as it were. But wait! You forgot to send details about the players you were offering, and your tone didn't exactly ring with sincere friendship to say the least. Mr. Chump saw through your clever scheme and now all is lost. Sorry friend, it looks like you proposal was shot down before it was even sent. Maybe these helpful hints will go a long ways toward netting Mr. Mantle next time…
I. State the league you are proposing a trade in---This sounds like it doesn't even need to be said. But even though you may have only one team in Nostalgia Baseball doesn't mean that everyone else has only one team. If they are good enough owners, some may have two, three or maybe even more teams on their plates at a time and so when you offer a trade, may find themselves unsure if they even NEED the trade you offering. Plus, if they do have a lot of teams, the more informative and helpful you are, the more likely they will at least consider the trade since you are helping reduce the research time for them.
II. Draft Pool, Years left, Position and Salary-A lot of owners do not want to do a ton of research for potential trades. In fact many find it rude if you do not give them at least some of the above information to help them. Just think about if you were approached with a deal involving Coco Crisp, who is actually a real player in MLB. If they didn't include any information, you may very well not even respond. But if they tell you he is a SS with high power and low salary, well, then again maybe you DO like the deal! See what I mean? Information is key for the life of a deal.
III. Be Timely and Honest-If you do happen to get a bite on a potential trade, waiting a couple weeks while hoping to stir your trade partner into a frenzy of which you can take advantage of, is unwise to say the least. Nostalgia trades take time, but also are on the clock in a way because most owners want to get the deal done by the next set of games. It takes one week to get the players on your roster and one week to get them to actually play for you. Thus, you can see why many owners want to correspond quickly and timely to maximize the impact of their trade. Also in line with that is the whole honesty factor. If you tell someone it's a deal, then it should be as if you gave an eternal pinky swear and made an unbreakable promise unless there is a very justifiable reason for breaking it off. And just because YOU think something is reasonable doesn't mean your partner will agree. Also, if you want to make sure no feelings are hurt, make sure that you tell everyone that no deal is final until your transmission is sent in to the server. That way it gives you a little wiggle room in such matters.
IV. Bidding Wars---Bidding wars are often used as a way to drive up the price of a player you are offering. The usual way it is done is that you send a mass email to the league and then wait for offers to come in. You then tell team B, hey team A offered this, can you match? On and on it goes until finally the bidding reaches what you consider a peak and you take the best offer. Now, such a thing is no big deal, and a lot of owners do this very thing. The one thing you can do to get off on the right foot is to make all owners aware that you are going to make it a bidding war and that you will try to use the owners against each other. That way there is no chance that an owner will get his feelings hurt. Another thing you can do though it isn't strictly necessary is that you can let the owners in the bidding know what they could do to make their offer sweeter, or why their offer just isn't going to cut it. Try to put yourself in their shoes and I am sure you will understand.
V. Long Term Trading---Some owners enjoy making trades that span multiple years. For instance, owner A may give owner B a good player in return for a draft pick in a draft not yet on the draft pick board, and therefore untradeable as of yet. This is an issue of trust and should be handled with great care. If you do such a thing, make sure that you keep your word, and keep track of what you owe. Nothing is more embarrassing than realizing you have traded the same pick twice!
VI. Leave well enough alone!-When you receive an email declining a trade, and it is obvious that your fellow owner does not want to do the trade or any reincarnation of it, remember that nobody likes a pest. And if you continue to pester people with trades they don't want or simply don't feel helps the, live and let live. You don't like telemarketers and if you keep on with it, you will bring out feelings similar to that.
VII. Intelligent trading---Have you ever had an offer that was to give you a fourth and a fifth OF in return for one of your excellent pitchers? Doesn't seem to make much sense, does it? Keep that in mind when you make trades. Scout out other teams weaknesses or needs. If you try to send offers that are mutually compatible instead of overloading their positions, you may find a much higher chance to get something done.
Section 2
When you receive a proposed trade……
Your name is Mr. Chump. You have just received a "fabulous offer" from the Praying Mantises involving Mickey Mantle and his players "One Arm" Al and Dandelion Laydown and you are trying to figure out how best to respond. Hough you were uninterested in his first proposal, his second proposal has you breaking into a hideous sweat while running to grab an astrology reader to divine whether this deal really is for you. You cannot believe your luck when you find that this is your lucky day and that fortune is supposedly shining upon you at this very moment due to Sagittarius glaring at Capricorn while the seventh house of Jupiter is perfectly aligned with your pet frog. Quickly, in case you are really just dreaming, you type out an acceptance letter to get the deal done. Unknown to you, in mere hours your reputation with other owners will be reduced to the worth of a peso in a Chinese suburb due to your unthinking tomfoolery. Maybe you should have tried some of these ideas…..
I. Do your homework!!!---I cannot stress this enough! More owners get pulled into bad trades because of this than any others. Any deals for your good players should be weighed with care. Questions to ask are what am I getting? What am I losing? Am I really going to gain from this or do I need this? Look at each player you may end up with. How did he fare in the past? Did he hit a lot of home runs because he was in a park the size of a child's sandbox? Or maybe the pitcher being offered has only one year left or is having a good year but is unlikely to do so again. A lot of owners will try to sweeten up their players and make them seem insane, but ask yourself, if they love them so much, why are they willing to deal them in the first place? Also, sometimes owners like to dump players with large salaries. Make sure you have room for it before you take it on! It's not an illegal practice to butter up your players, but it should be illegal when you allow yourself to be duped. You have all the tools you need in the form of draft pools, current records, salary reports etc. Use them!
II. Make Counteroffers---If you ever get a deal that you sort of like, but don't quite want to commit to, why not counteroffer? Some owners start purposefully low, knowing that the owner will most likely raise the price to a more reasonable level. This isn't always the case, but you owe it to yourself to find out how high you can push the limit. Also, it's nice to let the other owner know why you are not interested. The other guy put in a lot of time most likely making the offer, why not give a moment of your time to let them know you at least got the email and respectfully decline? Again, if it were you on the other end, you probably would like to be treated this way too!
III. Be Prompt---Some owners have gotten a trade that they loved but instead of responding quickly and grabbing it with both hands, they waited a day or so too long and lost out because the other owner moved on. This can be especially frustrating if it's a player you feel that could have put you over the top or would have been an integral part of your team. The old saying fits well here…"The early bird gets the worm".
IV. Future Prospects-If you have just started out in Nostalgia Baseball, please realize that your draft picks are your teams lifeblood. Most owners, due to a high learning curve, do not know a good trade from a bad most of the time. Over and over again a new owner has given draft picks that would have netted them incredible players like Babe Ruth, Stan Musial etc to owners who gave them practically nothing in return. Not only might you be saddled with bad contracts, but you also turn your future into a bleak nightmare with little hope of betterment. So in essence, what I am saying is, do not trade your draft picks unless it really makes incredible sense.
V. Don't forget to confirm and send correctly!---Sometimes you may have a trade pretty much ready to go, but for some reason or the other what you say the trade is doesn't quite match with what your trade partner says it is. In the end the trade fails and you have to do it all over again wasting valuable time. There are two ways to put an end to situations like this….First, why not send a confirmation email the night before you send the trade, carefully outlining and confirming that what you think the trade is, is in fact right. Secondly, double check what you put in your trade file to make sure there are no errors. Haste leads to waste they say, and in this case it is doubly true.
Section 3
Miscellaneous thoughts on trading…
These items are simply things to be aware of but are not really necessary to enjoy and be successful at trading.
I. If you want to make a trade, try not to deal within your own division. It is usually unwise to trade with someone who will be directly competing with you for the divisional crown. If you can make a trade that strengthens you and weakens them, that's fine but its still a risky business when you trade this way.
II. One thing that can be a polite action in trading on your part is to ask whether or not the player you are trading is allowed to be used by you the final week he is in your possession. Some owners have been known to throw their pitcher three times in a given week before trading him, which impacts his availability on the other team. It's not a must but why not strengthen owner ties while you have just made a solid trade?
III. Don't ever, if you can help it, be involved in shady dealing. In effect, this is giving up Mickey Mantle for 1 unit from the other team since the owner is your friend and he is long out of the pennant race. This is heavily frowned upon and will probably isolate you if not ultimately have you banished from the league!
IV. Finally, if you want to know the best formula for trading it is this…. Have Fun! If giving up 3 1st round draft picks, 300 units and a solid player for Babe Ruth sends chills down your spine and make you salivate uncontrollably, go for it, though I would suggest that you see a doctor about your saliva predicament! Nostalgia Baseball is one of the funnest simulations around and should be enjoyed accordingly.