Welcome to the MLR. This is what you've missed. (A comprehensive 2-season history)
Hello! If you are reading this, there's a good chance you are joining the league for the first time. I am betting that you may be confused by the league and its history, and not know where to start on researching what has made the MLR's 13-month uptime. That's what this is for. This article will cover most of what made up the MLR's two completed seasons, as well as anything that may have happened in between.
Keep in mind that I'll do my best to ignore any interpersonal things or Discord out-of-game drama. Though a lot of it is pertinent to the game, I'll do my best to focus on just that: the game.
The 2017 Season
Prehistory
The MLR was a toilet dream thought up by reddit user /u/Jayyburdd, known as Jay or Jayy in the community. On August 6, 2017, he posted this proclamation on reddit, wondering if anyone would be interested in a reddit game he thought up. The rules were rudimentary, involving a 1-100 scale and some easily-exploitable rules. Nevertheless, people were into it, and it gained moderate traction.
Jayyburdd decided to use a subreddit he'd had for a previous project in order to see this one through, /r/fakebaseball. He brought in two friends he knew from the real-life Phillies subreddit, /u/JaAm15 (later known as Doc or Jaam in the community) and /u/NintenJew
It would be NintenJew who helped refine the system, changing the range to 1-1000 and suggesting it be continuous (1000 would be a single digit away from 1, not 999 digits away). However, after a disagreement, NintenJew would leave. /u/AdmiralJones42 would be brought in in his place.
The game wouldn't blow up exponentially until Jayyburdd began advertising it in every subreddit, with permissions from the mods. Interestingly enough, the only subreddit who didn't allow it was the Marlins one. This got the game a lot of attention, and soon it had amassed almost 200 signups.
Preseason
The Inaugural Draft quickly gained a lot of buzz. Players began shopping themselves as potential first-rounders, with mock drafts being formed on a wordpress. The Minnesota Twins, manned by /u/SemiCharmedMike, received the first overall pick.
J.P. Panik was an early first overall hopeful in the mock drafts. Though Discord activity was seen as the most-important thing by GMs, reporter Jack Bing was enamored by the shortstop power hitter, seeing it as a sought-after commodity. Graham Othrie, another power shortstop, was consistently within the top 10 projected picks.
The most sought-after hurler was S.A.R. Dinka, a Czech pitcher who was an early activity powerhouse in the league Discord. Early on, he saw himself at the top of Jack Bing's second mock draft.
Along with mock drafts, interviews were published like this one from Nikc Cafardo. Andrew Beninfinity, another early reporter, interviewed Dinka close to draft day.
24 hours before the draft was ready to start, it seemed inevitable that the Twins would pick either J.P. Panik or S.A.R. Dinka. Another challenger approached, however, and it became clear that he was a frontrunner. Twinkie Power, a friend of the Twins GM and fellow irl Twins fan, entered the game. He was quickly put #1 on Bing's third mock draft, with Panik and Dinka dropping to third and fourth.
Power would end up being the first pick in the 2017 MLR Inaugural Draft. He came with his own graphic, broadcast on the draft livestream along with the reveal. The livestream covered the first two draft rounds, the rest done through text.
The draft had come and gone. The preseason had come and gone, and the real season was about to begin.
The Season Begins
The 2017 season was planned to be 22 overall sessions, or 22 games per team. Session 1 came shortly after the draft, with the league impatient to begin. The Washington Nationals @ the New York Mets was one of these inaugural games, a battle against division rivals, and it began the league with a bang.
The Nationals were helmed by Mick Frizzle, or /u/yousmelllikebiscuits. He was joined by irl Nationals fan and OotC statistician Osmosis Jones, or /u/AdmiralJones42. Their pitcher was Jay Bedia, who was relatively unknown around the MLR community, but Frizzle spoke well of him. The New York Mets were GMed by /u/giobbistar21, their pitcher being well-known /r/baseball member Hudson Quin (/u/pieanator).
Quin pitched first, his being the home team, and was immediately pounced-on by a potent Nationals offense. He gave 5 runs in the first, something that shocked the league and made Quin something of a punching bag for the better half of the first season. The Mets would struggle to work up anything resembling on offense, and lose 6-0.
This would be the most one-sided game of the session. Of the 6 games, 4 would end with the teams being within a run of each other. The other outsider was the Blue Jays versus the Braves, where second-overall pick S.A.R. Dinka would spoil a good start with a 7-3 loss to Atlanta. The game actually began as a pitcher's duel, as both teams hadn't delivered a hit in the first two innings.
The Phillies would rally behind the strong bat of their own pitcher, winning 3-2 after falling behind 2-0 to the Twins. The Twins, largely considered to have the strongest draft of the league, would fall to 0-1 on the season.
Perhaps the most exciting game of the first session was that between the Diamondbacks and the Astros. Houston had lost their pitcher prior to the game starting and had to replace him with a new arrival to the league, Willoughby Hoose. Hoose would struggle a tad at the beginning of the game, and the Diamondbacks would go into their last three outs with a 3-1 lead over the Astros.
It is there that Astros slugger Buck Cheeks would flex his muscles and deliver a 2-out, clutch home run with a man on base, tying the game up. The Astros would take it into extra innings, where their own pitcher Willoughby Hoose would deliver the go-ahead run on a double.
By the end of the session, the Nationals would be considered the league's top team. This would only be affirmed in session 2, where they picked up their offensive surge with an 8-5 victory over the Diamondbacks.
Session 2 would see the Phillies fall as Japanese pitcher Oliver Yu made his major league debut. Houston would get their second win, as would Detroit, and the Twins and Orioles would make their records 0-2.
The craziest game of session 2 featured the Mets and the Braves. Hudson Quin would redeem himself with 0 earned runs for most of the game. Braves debutee Cal Tiberius Jr. would do the same, and the game would go scoreless until the eighth.
It would be Junks Tandem, the Braves pitcher in relief, who gave the first blood. The Mets would jump on Atlanta with a 3-run top of the 8th. Amazingly enough, however, Quin would collapse in his half of the 8th. A 3-run triple from Phil Coulson would seal the deal, and the Braves would win a stunner 4-3.
Here is where the first relocation in MLR history happened. The 1-1 Royals, upon new management, were changed to the Oakland Athletics following a team vote. By the third session, they were wearing green and gold.
As the sessions passed, clear lines were being formed to show the game was more than luck. The Nationals began the season 4-0 with blowout victory after blowout victory. The Detroit Tigers began 3-0 until their loss to the Phillies in Session 4, who were climbing steadily after their loss to the then-Royals. By Session 4, the Astros had lost 2 in a row to fall to a 2-2 record.
The Orioles, Twins, and Mets failed to get a win in their first 4 games, working up 0-4 records. The Twins, considered the best team in the preseason, floundered with poor offense and pitching, and sunk to the bottom of the power rankings quickly. The Mets and Twins would swap their struggling pitchers in an infamous trade, where Sonny Streaker would go to New York and Hudson Quin would go to Minnesota. Outfielder James Earl Pwns would also be involved.
The Season Ends
The Twins signed a new pitcher to go alongside Hudson Quin before the beginning of Session 5, a young reddit-only southpaw named Tim Burr. He started against the powerful Diamondbacks offense, known for their high-scoring games. The 0-4 Twins would get their first win behind Tim Burr, a 1-0 shutout where the rookie absolutely commanded the Snakes lineup. Burr quickly became a young phenom, placing third in AL Cy Young voting with only 10.1 innings pitched.
Session 5 would mark another important match, one to decide the National League's best team. The Phillies, fresh off a win against the Tigers, went to war with the 4-0 Washington Nationals. It quickly became a grudge match, the start of an electric rivalry, as the game moved into extras tied 3-3. The ground would collapse under the Nationals, as the Phillies survived a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the 6th. They would proceed to score 7 in the 7th inning, winning 10-3 amidst a contentious battle.
The Phillies and Nationals wouldn't be the only teams at the top of the National League. As the season drew on, the National League was a tight contest as the Braves and Pirates stayed comfortably in the race as well. Cal Tiberius Jr. and Darth Vader solidified themselves as dominant pitchers in the league, fighting for the inaugural Cy Young Award.
In the American League side, the Astros continued to fall. Despite the dominance of their ace Whitt Bass, things were unraveling for the team. the Tigers, once 3-0, began losing as well. The Oakland Athletics were showing themselves fierce competitors behind Cy-Young hopeful Sal Shark, but weren't consistent enough to take sole possession of the league.
As Session 6 and Session 7 came around, so did the ending of the irl 2017 MLB season. The commissioner Jayyburdd figured this would be the prime time to advertise the league, while the offseason promised boredom to the reddit baseball community. Though heavily debated, it was decided that the first season had to be cut short if the advertisements were to happen. After a public vote, the 2017 season was to be wrapped up following the seventh session, with the division leaders going on to a playoff game as the expansion draft was decided.
Tiebreakers
By the end of the seventh session, there were some issues: tiebreakers. With a season only 7 games long, the leagues were all but decided. 2 teams were tied for the American League, the Athletics and Tigers, while 4 teams held the National League lead.
The OotC relied on run differential, a common tiebreaker in real-life baseball. The Athletics were rewarded the American League title, while the Pirates and Braves were eliminated from the National League. Something crazy occurred, however: The Nationals and Phillies were tied in run differential as well, something completely unexpected.
After some arguments and disagreements over how the tie would be broken, it was decided that the Nationals and Phillies would settle it the old fashioned way: a rock-paper-scissors contest, to an extent. Moderated by Hudson Quin, the Phillies and Nats GMs faced off in a private discord server. It was here that the Phillies won the National League. It was also here that the Phillies began worshiping the number 738, for complicated reasons.
The first ever Paper Cup, the championship game, was to be held between the Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies.
The game was close, watched by more than ever. The league had received another successful wave of players after a fruitful ad campaign. Veterans and prospects alike tuned in to see the Phillies barely hold on to the game, winning the first MLR championship by a final of 3-2. Cy Hadd would get the win.
Before the expansion draft, there was one more thing to decide: awards. The American League Cy Young and MVPs were swept by Athletics. Sal Shark won the former while Caleb VanVacter won the latter. The National League Cy Young was won by the Braves' Cal Tiberius Jr., while the MVP was Washington's Mylo Grams.
The 2017-18 Season
Preseason
The preseason for the league's second season was reminiscent of the first. Draft mania was upon the MLR, with more participants than ever. 10 new teams were added, as both leagues were split into two divisions: East and West.
The St. Louis Cardinals got the first overall pick, but they were quick to trade it to the Rockies for a plethora of Colorado's mid-round choices. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays held on to their second overall pick, which was clear early on to be going to J.D. De Las Rosas.
Many mock drafts had Jordan Peppers going first overall to the Colorado Rockies. Jack Bing held steadfast to Garrett Evans, however, and ended up being right as 6 rounds were livestreamed to excited MLR hopefuls. Jordan Peppers found himself drafted third overall by the Boston Red Sox.
The fifth spot proved to be very dramatic, meanwhile. Established players were given the option to exit their former teams and enter the expansion draft, and Johnny Dickshot of the Baltimore Orioles was one of them. A first baseman, he decided to enter the draft as a pitcher, and he intrigued the Minnesota Twins. The Twins, we ended the 2017 season with a 3-game winning streak, wanted to keep the momentum with active players, but weren't able to gain traction on any trade deals for draft picks.
Their solution? They struck a deal with the Phillies, who had procured the 5th overall pick through pick trading. The defending champions had their eyes on Hudson Quin, who was a huge member of the Discord at the time. If the Phillies drafted Dickshot, they would flip him to Minnesota for Quin, and that was exactly what happened. Hudson Quin was stunned by the deal, but quickly settled into Philadelphia.
The Season begins
The 18-session season was under way after a long few weeks of festivities circulating the draft. The craziest game proved to be an 8-7 Astros victory over the new Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros, who jumped out to an 8-2 victory over Los Angeles, were tested down to the wire as the Dodgers jumped back and threatened a full comeback. It wasn't meant to be, however, as the Astros eked it out to win again on Opening Session.
Cy Young hopeful Darth Vader, who was beaten slimly by Cal Tiberius Jr. in the season prior, was in ace form as he shut out the Brewers (who were the New York Mets prior to relocation). The Twins continued their winning streak by beating Superbone Threefinger and the Texas Rangers 5-4. The Phillies won their first game since the Paper Cup in a 3-2 contest against the Padres, similar to their 2017 first victory, while Arizona barely fell 6-7 against the Colorado Rockies.
Similarities between the two seasons quickly began to fade as 2017-18 continued, however. The Brewers got a new pitcher for the first time since the Hudson Quin trade, signing free agent Dan Gerzone. He humbled the defending champions, starting a new Brewers rise while simultaneously beginning a Phillies crash. The Nationals had a hard time starting as well, while the Twins and Blue Jays (who didn't make too much of a splash in their first season) thrived.
Meanwhile, problems with administration began to show. It was around this time that the Red Sox were having troubles with GM activity. Their new GM was sporadic at best, and it showed in the on-field performance. Similar cracks showed for the Cleveland Indians GM, as well as the Colorado Rockies GM. Though the third of this group stayed in power for a while, the Red Sox were put in the hands of a young, up-and-coming member of the community: Eric Lindros. The Indians were given to their catcher at the time, B.B. Bambino Jr.
It was around this time that longtime commissioner Jayyburdd delivered his decision to step down from the role. Staying as GM of the Phillies and a part of the community, he cited a love for the game and less of a love for the diplomatic and technical sides of the league. He was succeeded by Timothy Moyer, known mononymously as Pops, the then-Pittsburgh GM and well-respected member of the community.
The midseason
Canada showed themselves the dominant country in the MLR early on. Three sessions in, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Expos (formerly the Atlanta Braves) were undefeated. Teams like the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners did well at the beginning of the season as expansion teams, while the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals struggled out of the gate. The Tigers continued to sputter, a leaky dam that went unpatched from their first loss to the Phillies in 2017 Season 4.
Cal Tiberius Jr., the defending Cy Young champion, excelled with 2 earned runs in his first 18 innings, a crazy feat that saw him earn two Player of the Session awards. One of the games he dominated over was a shutout of the Phillies. The Phillies embarked on a shockingly brutal scoreless streak, one that spanned from midway through Session 2 to the end of Session 5. Nothing like that has come close to happening before or after the Phillies streak.
The height of the Mariners' dominance, and specifically the Red Sox' misery, came in the fourth session. Newcomer Jarace Walker pitched a shutout against Boston, who lost 10-0 in a shocking execution. Seattle jumped to first in the power rankings, not just over expansion teams but all teams in general. It was this same session that Hudson Quin was chased out of the first inning by the Cleveland Indians, who beat the Phillies 9-0.
This Cleveland victory was needed. At this time, they had come out of what became an extremely notorious game in MLR history. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Cleveland Indians created an embittered rivalry, spurred by the likes of J.D. De Las Rosas and G.H. Morello. Among what this game's moments were bat-flip home runs, hits-by-pitch, and the only ever steal of home in fake baseball history! It ended in a 9-3 Tampa Bay victory, solidifying a bitter AL East feud.
Tampa Bay began a new dynasty in the early 2017-18 season. Following this victory against the Indians, they would go on to neuter the Twins 2-0, and dominated the Discord with fiery personalities. They would beat the Mariners 11-8, who had started a skid after a loss to San Francisco.
Session 5 was home to a rematch regarding another bitter rivalry. The Phillies and Nationals saw themselves as shadows of their former selves, opposites in every sense of the word. The Phillies had traded away a lot of their assets, paired with the passing of their ace Cy Hadd (He didn't die in real life he just left). The Nationals, on the other hand, had kept their core intact, and their core hadn't adapted well to the growing league.
Typical of the Phillies in those sessions, they were simply unable to score throughout the game. Neither were the Nationals, however. It was a bitter pitchers' duel between Hudson Hildebrandt and Phillies newcomer Owen Uridge, formerly of the San Francisco Giants. Hildebrandt took a no-hitter into the fifth, and the game stayed deadlocked until the bottom of the 6th, where the Phillies broke their scoreless streak on a 6th inning walk off home run by Miguel Snow.
Around Session 5, the 2017-18 season had a huge scandal, with new Red Sox GM Eric Lindros being outed as puppeting multiple player accounts. dubbed AltGate by the general populous, he was banned from the league along with his various fake players, who spanned from the Cardinals to his own team, the Red Sox. This marked the end of Boston's woes however. Around this time they were taken over by their first-overall pick Jordan Peppers, and they didn't look back.
1-0. 11-0. 12-5. 1-0. These were Sessions 5 to 8 for the Boston Red Sox, as the wins kept coming. The first 1-0, achieved in Session 5, was the first no hitter in fake baseball history, thrown by Moritz Steifel. Boston was beginning to rise as an up-and-coming tram.
Where the Red Sox exceeded, meanwhile, the Mariners fell. Seattle took a nosedive as they lost more and more through the middle of the season. It was around this time that the St. Louis Cardinals rose to prominence, as well, spurred by their game against the Milwaukee Brewers dubbed The Sadness Bowl.
This game, the last appearance in a Brewers uniform by Sonny Streaker, saw the Cardinals score 2 in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game. When the Brewers exploded on St. Louis with 4 runs in the 7th, the Cardinals jumped on Sonny Streaker again with 5 runs in the 7th, winning the game. This was crushing to Dan Gerzone, who had silenced the Cardinals through the entire game until Streaker came in in relief. It marked the Cardinals' first franchise win, and they kept their luck brewing after that. (Pun intended)
Among the oddest teams as the season reached its midpoint were the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers had some of the best hitting in the league, but could not sustain pitching. Because of that, their record was poor. Despite this, when the All Star break came in Session 9, they had 3 players represented.
Amidst the rise of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jameson Poe returned to playing. Poe had been a first baseman for the Pirates before deciding to GM the Montreal Expos, who had been long without a permanent GM. He grew disinterested, however, and decided to return as a pitcher, and he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Poe started his pitching career with a bang, receiving All-Star buzz despite not pitching for a very long time by Session 9. He also received the first ever article on 501D, a new blog at the time dedicated to consistent MLR articles. (Of which we're still going strong. :) )
The All Star game came quickly. Phillies GM Jayyburdd and Athletics GM gymnastrick received managerial rights for their participation in the Paper Cup the season prior. The game was started by Tim Burr in the American League and Dan Gerzone in the National League. It was an exciting game, ending with a walk off by the American League. It was off position player Henrik Omega.
The Second Half and a League Downsized
As the league went into their second half, a lot of the same stories were happening. The Nationals still struggled and the Devil Rays still thrived with a 2-0 Tampa Bay win in Session 10. The Red Sox eked out a win against the Brewers, and the Blue Jays overpowered the Mariners easily. The Giants won a difficult match against the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6, while Montreal continued Canadian success with an 8-3 win over Arizona.
Session 10 was quiet and normal. Session 11, however, was chaos.
Due to massive league disagreements, a portion of the league population split off from the MLR. due to the sudden drop in playerbase, two teams were removed: The Nationals and the Twins. The Cardinals and Athletics took heavy losses but survived. It was at this time where most of the season's trades went on, as shifting in league population occurred in order to patch some holes. It was temporary, as following sessions saw surprising growth, but Session 11 is seen as the hardest time in league history.
Pops Moyer stepped down as commissioner, and AJ Preller was voted in after a two-round democratic process. He, Zum Boehner, and Sam Wood made up the main members of the new OotC, and reparations were under way.
The Cardinals didn't falter much despite a blown up Session 12 roster. In their return with a new and improved team, they beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-0. The Orioles, however, historically struggled, with only a few wins across their entire two-season history.
The Athletics had a harder time, on the wrong end of a shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Athletics, however, rebounded quickly through smart GMing from former draft stud JP Panik and generosity from other GMs. They'd win Sessions 14 and 15 against the Mariners and Astros, the latter against a division rival. This is the game that likely blew Houston's playoff chances.
This spat left the AL West open for the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were lowkey throughout the season, but always solid under the bats of Barney Summers and Joe Trundle. Their pitcher, Superbone Threefinger, became a beacon of endurance, pitching almost all of the Rangers' innings for the season. They would end up being the first team to clinch their division.
As late season rolled around, multiple teams sprung to life. The Rockies, who always had a potent offense in players like Haywood Jablome and Dick McScrotington IV, steadied their pitching under Cy Young hopeful Hank Murphy. It all came together as they won four of five leading up to the final sessions. The Phillies, meanwhile, also started to rise, winning 6 straight from Sessions 12 to Session 17. The Rockies and Phillies would start a fierce rivalry leading up to Session 18, which is still unfolding today. The Expos, in this race until Session 16, faded with a Session 17 loss to the Mariners.
The Devil Rays fell behind the Red Sox and Blue Jays, but saw themselves in a crucial game for the second wildcard spot with... who else but the Cleveland Indians. A worthy successor to the first game, albeit with two very different teams, the Devil Rays held on to a 7-6 victory to seal the final American League wildcard.
Though confirmed in the playoffs, The Blue Jays began limping home at the end of the season. From Sessions 13 to 17, Toronto's highest scoring game saw 3 runs in their corner. They, however, squeezed a no-hitter between these games, a gem thrown by S.A.R. Dinka against Tampa Bay in Session 15. They're still in the race for the AL East and currently battle Boston for the title in Session 18.
The Detroit Tigers struggled deep into the second half of the league, going through hiccups with various regime changes, but they seem to have gotten over the hump. John Johnson Jr. has cemented himself as Detroit's general manager, and they've steadied themselves under two amazing comebacks in the second half, including a 9-run 6th inning against the Baltimore Orioles while down by 5.
Many players have come and gone. Many teams have come and gone. There are moments I haven't scratched, histories I haven't covered. As I am typing this, history is still molding itself, and will likely be very different by the time you read this. If you have read this thing, thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed my ramblings, and I hope you are excited to be a part of this league. This should go to show you how much the MLR means to us, how much our community has come around to being the best on reddit.
Also, I wrote this in one night, so it is likely very incoherent. Sorry about that, I find it hard to put projects on the backburner sometimes.
See you when the draft comes along. :)
[I would like to really implore you, if you are interested in league history and such, to explore things on your own through databases and ask around to others. There are many stories I didn't put, either through forgetfulness, lack of depth (this could have been 20,000 words), or just bias on my end. This league has many perspectives, feel free to explore them. :D]