Tiebreakers

[Huckleberry]

Okay, so unfortunately the 2108 IBL season taught us that OOTP does not handle 3-way ties correctly. Therefore we are going to have to do something to get this handled appropriately in the future.  Currently the constitution says that OOTP will schedule tiebreaking games when necessary but I think we should change that up. Here's my proposal:

I started out with wanting to stay as true to the real life procedures as possible while still also considering what OOTP does.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_tie-breaking_procedures

Situation #1 - Two teams tied for division placement only, not division championship or wild card (tiebreaker required by revenue model)

1. Team with worse head-to-head record AT team with better head-to-head record.
2. If head-to-head record is tied then coin flip will determine host.

Situation #2 - Two teams tied for division lead or wild card spot

1. Team with worse head-to-head record AT team with better head-to-head record for division title/playoff berth.
2. If head-to-head record is tied then coin flip will determine host.

Situation #3 - Three teams all tied for division lead or single wild card spot but not division lead

1. Teams are designated as A, B, or C.
2. Teams are given their choice of designation in order of their head-to-head record in games between the tied teams.
3. If all three teams are tied in head-to-head record, a random draw will determine designations.
4. If two teams are tied for best head-to-head record, a coin flip will break that tie. Head-to-head record between the remaining two teams will determine next choice.
5. If a single team gets first choice but there is a tie for second choice, a coin flip will determine second choice.
6. Team A will host Team B.
7. A/B winner will host Team C.
8. If the A/B winner wins the final game and the A/B loser and C are in the same division, Situation #1 tiebreaker becomes necessary for the A/B loser and C.

Situation #4 - Three teams all tied, two for division lead in one division and third from other division with only one wild card spot available

1. Situation #2 tiebreaker is executed for two teams in same division for that division title.
2. Third team hosts loser of Step 1 game for wild card spot.

Situation #5 - Three teams all tied, two for division lead in one division and third from other division with two wild card spots available

1. Situation #2 tiebreaker is executed for two teams in same division for that division title.
2. Based on new regular season records, third team will be Wild Card #1 and loser of Step 1 game will be Wild Card #2.

Situation #6 - Three teams all tied for division placement only

1. Execute Steps 1-6 from Situation #3 tiebreaker.
2. Based on new regular season records, A/B winner will finish in highest position of the three tied teams, Team C will finish second among the three tied teams, and A/B loser will finish in the lowest position of the three tied teams.

DRAFT ORDER

Draft order will still be determined by OOTP and because the above tiebreaker games will be considered regular season games then the order should go in reverse order of regular season records.


If a four-way tie were to actually happen then it will simply be a "semifinal/final" tiebreaker bracket if possible. If it gets screwy with teams from different divisions then I will figure that out when the time comes.

[APMP]

I like this. 

My only note is that I'd be fine with Situation #1 being handled without a game being played...since no postseason berth is on the line I feel less inclined that it needs to be "settled on the field."  Maybe a tiebreaker hierarchy like the following could work: 1) Head-to-head record between the teams, 2) If head-to-head tied, then better run differential (could be run differential in only the head-to-head games or even across the entire regular season), 3) If run differential also tied, then coin flip.

[Huckleberry]

Agreed it's not really necessary competition-wise. But it has to be played because the revenue calculations are automated based on division finish. I guess I could rewrite that to split money in the event of ties but I'm lazy.