How do I start Franchise mode in Long Season?
Pick Franchise from the main menu or the Modes screen, set up your league, choose a club, and set your opening day roster. That is the whole path to your first game.
Your first three decisions
- League setup. The default league has 30 fictional clubs in real cities, two leagues of three divisions, and a 162 game season you can adjust from 20 to 162 games. Four playoff formats are available.
- Your club. Pick the team you will run as general manager.
- Your opening day roster. Set it in the roster, lineup and depth chart editors before the first game.
Play Long Season free to reach the main menu.
The season and its playoffs
The default playoffs take 12 teams. The wild card round is a series of 3 games, the division series is 5 games, and the championship series is 7 games, though four playoff formats let you change that. A season is manageable in scattered sittings because games simulate quickly, and every finished game produces a full box score.
What you manage between games
- Trades, free agency, waivers and the amateur draft, with AI clubs buying and selling at the deadline.
- One AAA affiliate per club with a 25 player cap, and player development over time.
- Injuries rated minor, moderate, severe or season ending, and player morale.
- A scouting staff whose accuracy varies, so reports are not guarantees.
- Payroll with a luxury tax threshold.
- Awards, records, league leaders, power rankings, team analytics and franchise history.
None of it needs a guide to find: the tools open from the club screens between games, and the season proceeds one day at a time through the calendar. Save the franchise to your browser whenever you stop, and export it from the Saves screen if you want a backup.
Watching games
Every game is simulated pitch by pitch. Watch live on a 2D diamond or in a 3D broadcast style view with a scoreboard; the game remembers your choice from game to game.