Utter Disappointment

[jacobcarson877 2,527]

This has been a really demoralizing week to be a VHLM GM if I’m being entirely honest. So much of our job is to take every single member who comes onto the site, and provide them with the information and the confidence to post forum content and engage with the site. To come out of their shells and forge connections with other members and take advantage of the great social network we have.

 

But this week we have proven once again that the only thing that matters to some people is TPE earning. We have completely stripped away everything that used to simply be fun, and made it a grueling process of maximization and efficiency. And if these comments were about me, who cares I’ll handle it. But the fact that people are putting down the players that I have had the absolute pleasure of having in my various circles here on the forum, and telling them they aren’t worthy of having a spot as a member on this site has been an awful feeling.

 

The fact that multiple people have come out this week outright saying that they don’t feel welcome if they don’t max earn is horrible. And this isn’t coming from the trolls and in no means is this in a joking or sarcastic tone. GMs at EVERY level have shown their true colors this week and have proven over and over again that they do not care on any level about their players as human beings. They see their players as a TPE total, and more importantly a weekly earning chart.

 

I should not be looking at a list of teams and hoping my Marlins don’t get drafted/traded there. I should not be worried about whether my players are prepared to handle the VHL without any support or resources of any kind. I shouldn’t be reading accounts daily of people who don’t feel valued on their current team, or as a prospect of their current organization.

 

I also should not be seeing accounts, regularly of players who had no idea how to do point tasks. I’m sick of watching promising talent fizzle out every time I see them hit certain organizations. I’m sick of seeing players that I’ve known and loved leave the Marlins and immediately go IA. I’m sick of hounding down GMs to come reach out to their draftees and talk to them about their plan with them. I’m sick of having players reach out to me asking for me to trade for them/ draft them to avoid certain organizations.

 

I am in no way perfect, and I’m sure there are plenty of players I haven’t connected to enough. I’m sure my GM style hasn’t clicked with everyone I’ve had the pleasure of GMing. There are plenty of decisions I’ve made that I regret, or I think were beneficial to me but not the player. The longer I do this, the more I learn. But I’m sick of watching the same patterns perpetuate, and watching this cloud of negativity swarming over anyone that doesn’t earn 107 TPE per week.

 

The players see what you’re saying. There are real people behind those players. They aren’t stupid, they know that earning is related to performance. We all balance how much we contribute to the site and how much we try to get out of it. Many people are satisfied being a depth piece, so long as they are still a valued member of their team.

 

No wonder we can’t get welfare + players into the VHL. No wonder they go inactive at a high rate. The odds of actually being valued at every level is apparently pretty low. It doesn’t matter what rules we put in place if we treat these players as if they aren’t valuable.

Edited January 25, 2023 by jacobcarson877
Can't Spell: Too Disappointed

[Aimee 1,119]

Jeeze I know I've been low activity recently but how have I missed all of this happening?? 

[jacobcarson877 2,527]

1 minute ago, aimkin said:

Jeeze I know I've been low activity recently but how have I missed all of this happening?? 

It's been brewing for a while but with the recent FA discussions, trade season and Draft Interviews it's been a recurring theme in the interactions I've been seeing around the league.

[Aimee 1,119]

14 minutes ago, jacobcarson877 said:

It's been brewing for a while but with the recent FA discussions, trade season and Draft Interviews it's been a recurring theme in the interactions I've been seeing around the league.

That really sucks to hear and I'm sorry you've been struggling with all of it. I hope you know you can always come and rant to me if you ever need someone to vent to.

[Spartan 4,398]

I know people joke about me not scouting, and I do leave it fairly late in the draft process. But it boggles my mind how I can be chatting with a prospect just a day or two before the draft and they're thanking me for even talking to them since I'm the first or second team to reach out to them. That's the real joke in the league, how little some GM's do to go beyond just winning (which straight up, they do not do) and to give members a good experience and a fun time. As Gus said in his piece, the M GM's know we've spoken to them about ensuring they have the resources to help their players, but the buck doesn't stop with the M. We're going to start calling out failures in the E and the VHL too, we're just fixing our own issues first.

 

And yes, there will still be league changes coming soon to give some of the lower earning players some value back. I think the larger issue is still that we have perfectly capable and curious members not being given fundamental resources to be the best player they can be, but we will make sure every player has a home.