Over the past two weeks, possibly the biggest event in the BBL, the draft, took place for Season 4. An assortment of both old and new coaches, much larger than any in previous seasons, chose the teams and players that they would go through the upcoming season with. Tuesday morning saw the end of the draft, with the selection of none other than Season 3’s Ace Wilson champion, Chucky Flinder.

Eleven of last season’s twelve coaches returned for a new season, the only absentee being psanchez55, who because of life events was unable to continue playing. They were initially joined by eleven new coaches, for a total of twenty-two, although two of the new coaches left without explanation in the opening rounds of the draft, lowering the total to twenty. There are twenty-four teams in a full BBL league, so four coaches volunteered to lead a second team to fill out the league: veterans Eauxps I. Fourgott, GreenDayEagles, and Ellman, along with new coach Jyknight.

The initial round of the draft was where coaches chose their team, home field, and division slot for the season. Returning coaches received priority for this round, and most of them kept a team or a home field from last season, including defending champion Ellman’s winning team, the Cleveland Indians, and league commissioner Yurya’s signature Green Monsters. Only two coaches went for something completely new: Season 1 champion Schlim Shady continued his trend of doing something new each season, this time coaching the Pittsburgh Pirates at Cement Gardens, while Season 3 veteran jibbodahibbo left his old teams behind to coach the Junior Brewers at Scrapco Field. After the returning coaches had their say, the new coaches were able to pick their teams and fields, followed by the secondary teams to round out the league. Distribution of veterans and newbies through the divisions varied, from the AL West, which housed the four coaches who joined last season, to the NL East, which consisted of three newbies and Eauxps’s secondary team (which would pick last in every round).

After fields and teams were chosen, the draft moved to players – but trading season also opened, and the coaches began swapping their assigned picks like mad. Eauxps started with the fifth overall pick, and paid some steep prices to obtain the first and fourth as well (though split between his two teams). New coach aesnop quickly gained a reputation for being a rabid trader, and he and two other coaches (Jibbo and Season 3 veteran Mavfatha) were able to swing a series of deals that ensured that each of their teams would have their full roster by the time the seventh round was over (and Mavfatha’s roster would be full by the end of the sixth round). Only four teams never traded any of their draft picks: Eggy216’s Toronto Blue Jays, ArGarBarGar’s Oakland Athletics, gmchappe’s Boston Red Sox, and Jyknight’s secondary team, the Montreal Expos.

Eauxps’s secondary team, the Atlanta Braves, bookended the player draft, picking reigning Goldie Glove champion Henri Deschenes with the first overall pick and, much later, Flinder with the last overall pick. 214 players were chosen in between, with different focuses for different coaches: some prioritized big bats, some went for speedy players, others prioritized a strong defense above all else. Coaches had a much greater array of information about the players readily available this season than they’d had the previous season: more specific knowledge about fielding abilities came in the form of throwing arm ratings, while position priority ratings allowed coaches to have greater knowledge of how their AI defenses would take shape. Some coaches went even further, going on scouting campaigns to see exactly how well certain players could hit or throw. Overall, this season’s draft saw a much greater emphasis on defense, and AI defenses, than previous seasons, with several coaches carefully selecting players so as to optimize the positioning of their fielders.

A larger assortment of players was also available this season, as thirty-one players who had been forbidden to play last season, owing to the fact that each plays identically to a Pro Kid, were added to the draft pool. As a result, the end of the draft had stronger players available than in last season – for example, Flinder had been a mid-round 8 pick in Season 3. Certain players, including Season 2 MVP Jay Green, had also been specially assigned by the league to substitute for custom players, and with only a single custom in play this season, they also were released to the general pool.

Now that the draft is concluded, the preseason is underway. Coaches will be practicing with their teams in exhibition games, rosters are about to be finalized with the trade deadline on Thursday, and here on the BBL News Center we will provide previews of all six divisions. The greatly anticipated start to the regular season will be on Sunday, August 18.