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League Caretaker / Commissioner – Serves as the primary authority for league operations, ensuring smooth gameplay, rule enforcement, and overall management. Responsibilities include maintaining the Discord workspace, website, hosting expenses, league rulebook, recruiting, primary game simulation, and onboarding new GMs. While advisory input is welcomed from league members and the Competition Committee, the Commissioner has the final say in all league matters.
Deputy Commissioner – Serves as the second-in-command and steps in only if the Commissioner is unavailable. The Deputy Commissioner is an active participant in league governance but does not have independent decision-making authority unless acting in the Commissioner’s absence.
Competition Committee – An advisory panel that provides insights and recommendations to the Commissioner. The committee is responsible for understanding the rulebook, assessing how rules impact the league, and anticipating the implications of potential changes. While it does not have direct rule-making authority, it serves as a critical resource for informed decision-making regarding league policies. Members are expected to have a deep understanding of the league’s rules and their practical applications.
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – Responsible for the league’s technical infrastructure, including maintaining the website, hosting services, and ensuring the functionality of league-related tools. The CTO ensures a seamless experience for league members and maintains a professional presence for recruitment and rule reference.
StatsPlus Admin-Only – Manages administrative tasks within StatsPlus without engaging in broader league governance or rule discussions.
League Founder: Don M
League Caretaker and Commissioner: Joe Peters
Deputy Commissioner(s): None
Competition Committee: Joe Peters, Sean S, Don M, Eric H
Chief Technology Officer: Vacant
StatsPlus Admins: Joe Peters, Don M, Jeremy R, Eric H
If GMs don't fulfill their responsibilities, commissioners will intervene. Consequences may include warnings, AI re-organizations, suspension, or expulsion at a last resort.
GM’s are responsible for…
Understanding Game Mechanics – GMs should have a basic understanding of how OOTP functions. While expertise is not required, proactive learning is expected. The OOTP wiki is a great resource. Note: The EPIC rulebook is not an OOTP guide. it covers league-specific rules, not universal game mechanics.
OOTP Updating/Upgrading – The league will always upgrade to the latest OOTP version once it is deemed safe. This includes patches and yearly releases. Some league members, including the commissioner, participate in the OOTP beta team, ensuring informed upgrade decisions. If you have concerns about annual upgrades, contact the commissioner immediately.
Regularly Exporting – Exporting in advance of each simulation is required. The export tracker shows a historical export percentage. Even if you don’t have any changes, export so your history shows that you are an active member. It is ok to miss a few sims, but once a few consecutive sims are missed, a formal inquiry will be made. You may also be contacted if your overall export rate is lower than normal. Refer to chapter 1.5 for info on missed exports.
Reading the Announcements – The #commish-announcements channel is updated daily. It is important to check it regularly for sim notes, sim schedules, and important announcements.
Responding to Discord DMs/email – GMs must respond to messages in a timely manner. Private or direct messages should be answered within 24 hours. Ignoring messages is unacceptable and may result in removal. If you receive an email, it is usually a last attempt to contact you. At that point, the league is likely already considering a replacement.
Voting in Polls – Participating in league polls is required. Polls impact league operations and will be posted in Discord. Voting for season awards and the Hall of Fame is also strongly encouraged. These activities help bring fictional leagues to life. If you are not interested in participating, an online league may not be the right fit.
Be Social – Engage and connect! Online leagues are all about being social. In a league of our size, it's evident when some members stay silent. It's more enjoyable when everyone knows one another, but that's hard when only a few join the general chat. Being active demonstrates your commitment to the league.
Communicating Absences (Vacations) – If you will be absent from Discord or unable to export for over 48 hours, send the commissioner a DM with your absence duration. We can't assume you're active if we're unaware of your absence.
Acting Professionally – All GM’s are expected to conduct themselves appropriately and professionally at all times. This includes your attitude toward other players as well as the management of your organization; all GM’s are expected to do their best to put a competitive team together as soon as possible. All players should be respectful towards each other. This includes harassment of any kind. If someone is harassing you, please report it to the commissioner. Harassment and bullying will not be tolerated in this league.
Protect Competitive Integrity – Every GM must protect league integrity by applying honest competitive strategies. Intentionally making your team uncompetitive by agreeing to one-sided trades, releasing good players, or even regularly starting obvious non-major league caliber players is not an honest competitive strategy. Also, devising ways to “game the system” is not keeping true to the spirit of competitive integrity. Some of the most prevalent ways a GM violates this is through bogus contract options and using the sim system against an opponent. If you have a concern about if something you want to do is considered “gaming the system”, please ask a commish. Your strategy will not be revealed if it’s determined to be ok.
Note for GMs: All GMs are expected to have a basic grasp of baseball rules, OOTP mechanics, and EPIC regulations. Any issues caused by a lack of knowledge will be the GM’s responsibility. If you have questions, ask any one of us. We understand there is a learning curve, but it is your responsibility to stay informed and engaged with the league.
This league transitions to the latest OOTP version annually, but only after confirming its stability. Members should be prepared for these yearly upgrades and must be committed to participating in the league beyond a single version. If a member is not willing to engage with the league through multiple versions, this league may not be the right fit.
If daily exports aren't feasible for you, aim for every other day. Given that each sim spans up to 30 days, missing consecutive exports can significantly impact the season.
Failing to export for 3 consecutive sims may lead to an AI re-organization. While this isn't an automatic action, if your organization suffers due to missing nearly 3 in-game months of exports, intervention may be necessary. Note: This only applies during spring training and the regular season.
If you anticipate missing several exports, please communicate in advance. A GM missing three consecutive exports typically receives an email from the commissioner inquiring about their status. A response is expected within 24-48 hours on Discord, our primary communication platform. Failing to respond in that window may lead to the assumption that the GM has disengaged from the league.
While email communication may occur, by the time it's sent, the process to find a replacement might have already been initiated. Hence, immediate responses on Discord are crucial. The commissioner will assess a GM's past activity and the league's overall standing before deciding on a replacement.
It is important to note that even GMs who consistently export or are active on Discord may still be replaced if their behavior negatively impacts the league. This includes contributing to a toxic environment, consistently missing crucial exports, neglecting important polls, disregarding commissioner guidance, or engaging in other disruptive actions. The health of the league remains a priority.
EPIC is a league consisting of 24 teams throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The 24 teams are divided into two sub-leagues, with two divisions making up each sub-league.
Each GM is responsible for keeping up to date with his/her minor league affiliates. This includes promotions/demotions, lineup and rotation changes, releases and signings, etc. AI assistance with some (or all) of these tasks can be setup in-game by changing the settings in the "Manager Options" screen on the GM Home Page, however it is recommended to handle all of this manually as you will generally find more success. Caution: Commissioners will not "fix" any decisions made by the AI when using those options. Use them at your own risk!
GMs must maintain adequate rosters for all teams in their organization. Each team is required to carry a minimum of 12 pitchers and 12 hitters, including at least 2 catchers. The major league team must also carry a full roster of 27 players.
The highest level of each organization is their Major League (ML) team. Teams at this level have an limit of 27 players on their active roster.
Each of the 24 teams of EPIC will contain a complete minor league system of teams consisting of four levels (AAA, AA, A, RL).
Each minor league level contains a single sub-league with all teams grouped together in a division-less format. Each year minor league teams will play a balanced schedule followed by a playoff event to crown a champion at each level of the minors.
The affiliated minor leagues of EPIC are as follows:
The EPIC postseason begins at the end of the regular season, featuring all division winners and wild cards competing for the EPIC Cup. All rounds are best-of-7 series using the HH-AAA-HH format.
The Postseason includes the winner from each division and 2 wildcard teams in each league. Playoff seeding is based on total wins, with no consideration for divisional standings.
No additional tie-breaker games are scheduled. Tiebreaker 1 is the season series record between the tied teams. Tiebreaker 2 is season run differential. Tiebreaker 3, if ever necessary, will be determined by the commish at the time of the tie and will establish the precedent for future 3rd breakers.
If you're not a playoff team, you are not required to export. Only teams that are playing games during the sim are required to export.
The playoff sim schedule is:
The EPIC runs a unique structure for its league operations that promotes competitiveness and parity. Team's budgets are entirely derived from the standard league-wide media contracts, which ensures that every team has an equal budget
Attendance Baseline per Game: 30,000
Ticket Price Baseline: $0.0 (Teams cannot change ticket price)
Visiting Team's Gate Share: 0%
Yearly Inflation: No current plans
Minimum Days of Service for One Service Year: 172
Minimum Service Years for Free Agency: 6 Years (500 days)
Minimum Pro Years for Minor League FA: 6 Years
Salary Arbitration: Enabled
Draft Pick Compensation for Lost Free Agents: No Compensation
Allow Contract Opt-Outs: Disabled
Minimum Contract Buyout Amount: 10%
Player Dev. Budget Baseline: Disabled
Scouting Budget Baseline: Disabled
Coach Salary Baseline: Disabled
Player Typical Salaries (multiple levels):
These settings establish the typical salary figure for players of differing caliber. These values are used by the computer in a number of areas of the game, such as computer GMs determining contract offers and players assessing the value of an offer. The eight categories of players are superstar, star, good, above average, average, below average, fair, and poor.
The commissioner may adjust these settings before the start of free agency to maintain a healthy and realistic market environment. Any adjustment will be thoroughly tested prior to implementation. Minor changes will not typically be announced
Tip: If a player earns the minimum salary and isn't on your main roster, they'll only count as $82,500 or 16.5% towards your payroll
Contract Years Maximum: 5 years
Contract Extensions: Allowed
National Media Contract Baseline: $80.0M
National Media Contract Fixed?: Yes, same contract for every team
Local Media Contract Baseline: $0
Merchandising Revenue Baseline: $0
Team Owner Controls Budget?: No, entire revenue available
Revenue Sharing: Disabled
Luxury Tax: Disabled
Cash Maximum: $15M
Scouting Settings
Player Rating Scales
Coaching Settings
Report Settings: Top Prospect List: Annually
Storylines: On
Player Injury, Fatigue, & Suspensions
Player Personality Settings: All turned on
Player Development Settings: Default except Dev lab is disabled and TCR is 50
Allow Potential to Influence Minor League Results: Default (On) (upon transition to OOTP 26)
At the start of the offseason, GMs have the opportunity to vote for end-of-season awards in OOTP.
We do not utilize StatsPlus for awards or hall of fame voting.
Trades are essential in any online OOTP league. To truly succeed, mastering the art of trading is key. In EPIC, you can signal your trading intentions in three effective ways: by using the in-game trade block, posting in the "trades" Discord channels, or directly messaging GMs about potential deals. Sometimes, the best trades involve unexpected players. However, being transparent about your available players can be advantageous for you.
GMs are encouraged to be creative when negotiating trades. Unless explicitly restricted in the sections below, all trade structures are permitted.
Teams are permitted to retain salary in trades under the following conditions, modeled after the NHL system to promote realism, flexibility, and cap integrity:
Retention Limit per Player: A team may retain up to 50% of a player’s remaining contract. The retained portion counts against the retaining team’s salary cap.
Retention Limit per Team: A team may have no more than three retained-salary contracts on its books at any one time.
Retention Limit per Contract: A single contract may only involve retained salary in two trades total. This prevents excessive stacking of retained salary across multiple teams.
This structure allows rebuilding teams more flexibility, encourages creative trade strategies, and maintains the competitive balance of the league’s salary cap system.
Trades may include up to ten players from either side, draft picks from the next three seasons limited to rounds one through five, and cash. All players in an organization are eligible to be traded.
In the EPIC, trades are built on mutual respect and trust between GMs. Once an agreement is reached, it is considered binding and must follow the league’s trade confirmation process.
Initial Agreement: Trades begin with a private agreement between two GMs. Once both parties confirm the details, the trade is considered final and binding. A change of heart after this point does not invalidate the agreement. If necessary, a GM may provide proof of the agreement to a commissioner to enforce the trade. However, trades may be canceled if both GMs mutually agree.
Trade Submission in StatsPlus (S+): After an agreement is reached, the trade must be posted in StatsPlus (S+). This is the first step in the league-wide review process, allowing other teams the opportunity to protest a trade if necessary. The official veto process is outlined in Section 3.1.3. If it is not possible to submit the trade through S+ for any reason, the GMs must post the full trade details in the #request-commish-action channel on Discord. This serves as an official record and ensures the trade is reviewed properly.
Trade Submission in OOTP: Once the trade has been posted in S+, both GMs must also submit and export the trade within OOTP. This ensures that the commissioner can process the trade efficiently and prevents unnecessary delays in updating the league file. If a GM is unable to export due to technical issues or other challenges, they must notify the commissioner as soon as possible.
Commissioner's Review: While the private agreement between GMs is considered binding, the commissioner will ensure that both GMs have exported their agreed trades in the system. If one GM couldn't export due to a valid reason but the agreement exists, the trade may still be processed after S+ confirmation.
Commitments made in private conversations are binding. A change of heart post-agreement doesn't invalidate the trade. If a GM provides proof of the agreement to a commish, the trade will be marked valid. Of course, trades may be cancelled if both GMs agree.
Trades will normally be processed before the sim.
Both GMs should leave detailed instructions on where to place players so the commish can process the trade before the sim.
If a trade remains unprocessed after a sim, it’s typically due to one of the following reasons:
The trade was not submitted in OOTP. Trades must be submitted in-game to be processed. Exceptions may be made in cases where an OOTP limitation prevents submission (e.g., a player is in the international complex) or if a GM had already submitted their final export before the trade was finalized.
Trade irregularities. Trades that violate league rules or are formatted in a way that prevents quick processing may be held back until clarified or corrected.
The league update will not be delayed while two GM's debate an unprocessed trade.
Any unprocessed trades will be highlighted in the sim announcement for awareness only and isn't meant as public criticism.
Trades in this league are generally allowed to proceed without intervention. While some trades may be perceived as unbalanced, we prioritize GM autonomy and do not veto trades except in specific situations. However, if a trade meets one of the following criteria, it may be subject to review by the Competition Committee:
Protesting a Trade
Trade Processing and Timing Considerations
Competition Committee Review
Statute of Limitations on Protests
The deadline for trading players will always be August 15th of each in-game year. Trades made on the deadline have to be processed before the sim. Instructions must be left.
NOTE: The trade deadline is a hard time of the export deadline posted by the commissioner in the sim announcement post. Trades must be exported, or confirmed if required, before the deadline time or they will not be processed. Invalid trades are not allowed to be renegotiated past the deadline. This hard deadline time was established to simulate the deadline that real GMs face. However, if the simmer is late, then all trades exported before the simmer imports will be processed.
What is it: In OOTP, players may be offered a no-trade clause (NTC) during contract negotiations. But this can pose challenges if you later decide to trade the player. Remember, a player's choice to invoke their NTC will always be respected and cannot be overridden.
Trading players with an NTC: If two GMs agree to a trade involving a player with an NTC, and the player's destination team is listed as one he would accept a trade to, the trade will proceed as planned even if the player changes his mind after the sim. However, the complete deal must have been finalized prior to the sim.
3-way Trades with NTC: Although OOTP cannot directly process 3-way trades, three GMs can still coordinate one. For example, if Denver’s Jake Sullivan will only accept a trade to Dallas, and Dallas’s Alex Mendoza will only accept a trade to Vegas, the GMs can work out a deal where Vegas sends players to Denver, allowing Sullivan to move to Dallas and Mendoza to Vegas. In cases like this, as long as the NTC conditions are met for each player, the trade will proceed.
NTC Transparency: The list of teams a player with an NTC will accept a trade to is not, and should not be, considered private information. In real life, GMs are fully aware of these details, and it's unrealistic for that information to be hidden in OOTP. I’ve submitted a standing request to the developers to improve transparency around NTCs.
Until then, the commissioner can see these lists and will provide them upon request. If you want to know the teams a player will accept a trade to, simply ask in #request-commish-action, and I’ll share them publicly. Note that the lists are dynamic and may change daily.
GMs are free to make loan agreements in the form of a trade. For instance, if Vegas has two Major League catchers but wants both to gain starting time at the Major League level, they can arrange a loan agreement with another team in need of a catcher. This allows the loaned player to receive the playing time they need while temporarily contributing to the borrowing team.
Loan agreements can vary greatly between GMs, with one side possibly seeking compensation for the loan, such as a player or cash, or the loan could be accepted as a mutually beneficial deal without additional terms. The key condition is that the team receiving the player is responsible for paying that player's salary during the loan, and must ensure they remain under the salary cap with the loaned player on their roster.
Loan Agreement Terms:
Note for all GMs: All players that are on the free agent list are eligible to be signed at any time!
Service Day on Opening Day: A player on the major league roster at the game’s turnover to Opening Day does not receive a service day. Service days are only accrued once Opening Day is simmed forward.
All international free agents (IFAs) will now enter free agency with 6 years of Major League service time. This ensures they are not subject to automatic renewals before reaching free agency, aligning them with traditional free agents.
Any international free agent who appears on the top free agents list at the start of free agency and is 27 or older will be edited to 25 years old.
The reasoning behind this is simple. Most international players signing with MLB teams after playing in foreign leagues are in their early-to-mid 20s, not already past their prime. This adjustment better reflects reality and ensures these players are entering free agency in their prime, rather than aging out too quickly.
(Propose at a later time)
GMs may offer a contract to any player at any time for any amount and without any limitations. However, any contract that is viewed by the competition committee as an attempt at "game or rules manipulation" will be edited to become fully guaranteed. In short, do not offer any contracts that you aren't willing to have fully guaranteed. If you have a legitimate concern about how a contract will be viewed, please ask someone in the league leadership.
The draft order is determined through two separate draft lotteries; Lottery A includes the 10 teams with the most lottery balls, while Lottery B includes the 14 teams with the fewest lottery balls.:
The allocation of lottery balls is based on two factors: divisional standings and overall league activity. For divisional standings, a weighted aggregate of the last 5 seasons is used, with a ratio of 4:4:3:2:1, giving the most recent season and the current the highest weight. This approach balances team performance over time and rewards consistent participation.
There are no tiebreakers for division standings when calculating draft lottery placement. If two or more teams are tied in the standings, each team will receive the lowest standing among those tied. For example, if Denver and Houston are tied for 5th place but occupy the 5th and 6th positions in the standings, both teams will be credited with a 6th place finish, while the 4th place team will remain unaffected.
Activity chances are a calculation successful exports and various other voting opportunities. The exact number of chances may vary from year to year. Ask a commish if you want a full breakdown for any given season. Typically, there will be 33 chances for exports and additional chances for league polls, awards, and Hall of Fame voting.
The formula for determining draft lottery odds is:
(Weighted Divisional Standing * 25) + ((Total League Activity Chances * Calculated Activity %) * X.XX)
X.XX means this formula may be adjusted slightly from year to year to ensure that, in practice, the maximum possible lottery balls are allocated such that 1/3 are based on activity and 2/3 are based on weighted divisional standings.
Calculated Activity Adjustments: GM's will not be penalized if they joined mid-season/offseason. The lotto formula uses a percentage instead of a total to account for this. If a GM has less than 5 activity chances and a percentage below 80%, the "Calc Act%" will be adjusted to 80%. If a GM had no activity chances, their percentage will reflect their team's previous GM's activity.
The draft lottery results will revealed during a live stream using a draft lottery simulator such as https://draftpicklottery.com/.
The lottery will take place on or around opening day. For full transparency, the commish will set up the draft on the website while streaming and will post a screenshot of the results when the draft concludes.
The lottery results will be applied to all rounds.
Will update in the future
League customization is a very important tool to increase immersion and reduce GM turnover. The ability to modify your stadium and park factors, player details, turn former players into coaches, relocating your team, and changing your logos have all greatly improved our enjoyment of the league and really sets our league apart from the others.
Will update later.
Will update later
GM's may change the cosmetic details of players in order to improve immersion by adding family, friends, and etc.
Changes may include name, HT/WT, face, number, and birthday (within 365 days). College players cannot be edited to a HS age (20-19 or 19-18). The commish has the right to deny a change if there are signs of abuse. Changes are not allowed to reflect a real player unless it is a personal request.
Players may be changed at any time, but once a player has been promoted to the EPIC or have been previously traded, they are ineligible to be changed.
To request a change, post in the #request-commish-action channel.
In our league, we value preserving our legacy, so team relocations and re-branding are approached with extreme caution. We've carefully designed our team placements and identities to maintain a consistent and plausible history. The graphics were meticulously selected to fit the league's aesthetic and provides a professional appearance.
Making changes to team identities can disrupt our established history. However, if there's a strong case, we might consider relocations or re-brandings. Minor league re-brandings have a better chance of approval than major league changes.
Simply put, when you join our league, it's about becoming a part of our existing legacy, not redesigning it from scratch.
Will update later
EPIC would like to acknowledge the following people/groups for which, without their efforts in the OOTP space, the league would not be possible.