What if the MLB season doesn’t finish?

If the season shuts down early for whatever reason, are there league winners? Is money paid out? What number of games is an official season? People are asking in my leagues.

An official season is determined by MLB. We’ll have to roll with however they choose to handle things going forward.

If it has to end early without playoffs and whatnot, money will be returned to everyone who paid, minus the administration fee as established by our prize terms. I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me but you can figure it out by dividing the total prize pool by the teams in your league.

There won’t be league winners in the case of an incomplete season, which basically means no trophies in the trophy case.

Thanks!

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Bumping this because it seems especially relevant today.

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You will be charging a full fee for a season not completed?

Since Ottoneu does not have ads on the site and doesn’t profit off of customer information, its only source of income is the annual administration fee. We plan on operating this season - keeping league roster information, processing trades, etc - even if the MLB season is ended early. The operational expenses related to keeping the lights on for a year are not tied to whether or not there are baseball games, so the administration fee is essential to keep Ottoneu running. So, if you want to have your team in 2021 and beyond, the administration fee this year will help ensure that we can keep going until the pandemic is more under control.

So at the $20 tier, yes, this year of Ottoneu will cost the same as any other year of Ottoneu.

At any prize tier, Ottoneu cannot and will not take money reserved for league prizes. If the season is canceled, that prize pool will be returned.

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if the season gets shut down early, does the roster freeze go into effect immediately until arbitration? or would there be a lag period? or does the end of season date remain what it is now?

We will probably move into offseason mode earlier and have a very long period post-arbitration and pre-keeper deadline to prepare for 2021. This is not 100% finalized but seems to make the most sense.

Niv please consider an out for money leagues in which the majority of owners want to stop this season. Anyone impacted by a team with an outbreak loses. Now they’re going to play 7-inning doubleheader games: no impact on the MLB owners or players, they get paid, but for every time a team plays a doubleheader an owner who owns an offensive player on that teams loses 22.2% of 2 games which make up 1/30 of the season. That we would pay the admin fee to keep our teams we’ve had for a decade is understandable. That we are forced to pay into a prize pool for a season that requires dumb luck more than good planning and scouting is infuriating.

Ottoneu is not legally allowed to change prize terms mid-season. This isn’t a personal choice or anything I have control over.

Just to be clear: Ottoneu is not allowed to change prize terms once prize money has been collected.

This was addressed multiple times in the last thread and you have repeatedly refused to acknowledge it so I am not sure what else to tell you.

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iIt wasn’t mid-season in the last thread was it? It was pre-season and most (all but 2 of the 12, both of them new members of our 10-year old league) of my $100 league wanted to not play for prize money this year, and you said “sorry, hands tied, rules, I got your money and you’re playing for money and if MLB says it’s complete it’s complete” but there was nothing stopping you from sending us all back our money then, before the season began, except your stubborn refusal to do that.

Unfortunately prize money was collected in January so Ottoneu was bound as of then. Sorry if this was not clearly expressed.

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For everyone following along, Ottoneu is adhering to legal advice given after the MLB season was delayed and will continue to do so.

This thread is about the MLB season being canceled, so future posts about prize money for a completed MLB season will be removed, since that topic has been covered.

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Seriously, you have been in this league for ten years and have received great service on this website or you wouldn’t still be here. Niv has explained that he is bound by federal rules because this website has prize money. What, he should go to jail for you guys? The season is what it is, Niv, you or me have no control over what MLB does. Chill out! Niv deserves his admit fees as this is a year round endeavor. Think about it just adding all the rookies drafted in June, trades, retirements etc. It never ends. If the season doesn’t finish or it does finish you guys get your prize money. Make a side agreement that everyone gets their money back and send it to each other. Niv is bound by federal rules.

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If MLB stops the season at some point, can we have at least a 5 day period to start and finish any auctions and trades? We would normally know the end of season date and be able to adjust to an offseason roster accordingly. Being able to make a few adjustments in case of an emergency shutdown would allow everyone to go into offseason with a roster they liked. Thanks for navigating through this season!

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Yeah this seems likely as well. Moving into offseason early makes sense, but it probably won’t be all at once - maybe a week or even two lag so it can be relayed out to everyone and auctions, trades, waivers etc can be planned accordingly.

Thanks Niv! Definitely glad to have Ottoneu this year and having that flexibility really helps.

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