Welcome to The Big League
TBL is a fictional baseball universe run in Out of the Park Baseball — established in-game in 2001, with 32 human-run teams across two conferences (Ice and Fire) split into the Jade, Sapphire, Ruby, and Topaz divisions. We are not bound by real-world MLB rules or customs, and we like it that way.
Your First Week
- Set up Slack. Slack is the league's main communication hub. Set your display name to Name - City (e.g. “Pete - Toronto”) and make your team logo your avatar.
- Get on StatsPlus. StatsPlus handles exports, scouting, draft management, and sim tracking — with mobile drafting and real-time updates.
- Install the graphics. League logos and uniforms are in the Links section on StatsPlus.
- Find your team channel. Every team has a private Slack channel where live scores land during each sim.
- Export your team. Then confirm it actually reached the server via the Export Tracker — the in-game export screen doesn't confirm delivery.
- Say hi. Introduce yourself in the #the_dugout channel. We don't bite. Much.
How Sims Work
Regular-season sims run on a five-week rotating cadence: Week 1 is Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; Weeks 2–5 run Sunday through Thursday. Weeknight sims start at 9 PM Eastern, Sunday sims at 10 AM Eastern. A season is 14 regular-season sims plus the playoffs, then 8 off-season sims on consecutive real-world days. Full details on the Schedule page.
Export before every sim. Occasional misses are fine; four in a row without a heads-up and the Commissioner starts managing your team for you — nobody wants that. If you'll be away more than two sims, just say so.
Big sims, including the whole postseason, are called live on the broadcast feed — and every past stream is there to watch back.
Where to Post What in Slack
- #commish_announcements — official league word. Check it before every sim.
- #commish_actions — need something from the Commish? Post here, not DMs. Trade lineup instructions, fixes, nickname requests, all of it.
- #tradeblock / #tradewants — who you're selling / what you're buying.
- #trade_notifications — completed trades, posted automatically.
- #scores, #highlights, #injuries, #draft_notifications — automated feeds from StatsPlus.
- #proposals — pitch a rule change; #polls — official league votes.
- #opening_day — post your Opening Day lineup and expectations each season.
- #call_ups — celebrate your prospects on call-up day.
- #hall_of_fame — Hall of Fame ballots and arguments.
- #league_news — standings, signings, recaps, and awards; #press_releases — your press releases and creative masterpieces.
- #all-time-leaders — all-time Top-50 leaderboard movement, tracked after each sim.
- #the_dugout — general chat; #off-topic — everything that isn't TBL.
Rules in One Minute
- Trades process before each sim — post roster instructions in #commish_actions or traded players go to the DFA list.
- Trade deadline: before the regular season's 10th sim (the first sim in August, in-game).
- Off-season order matters: arbitration hearings run 11/23, free agency opens 12/02 — arbitration comes first.
- Budgets are set by the Commissioner (typically $165–230 million) and lock at off-season sim 5. A negative budget on Opening Day means a 150% tax the following season.
- Each GM may assign one player nickname per season.
- Rebuilding is fine; tanking is not.
- Any GM can propose a rule change — bring it to #proposals with clear reasoning.
The full rulebook lives on the Rules page.
Who to Bug
Paul — Commissioner. Questions, problems, weird stuff in your save: post in #commish_actions or send a DM. There are no dumb questions, only unexported teams.