League Rules

Great 1969 League Rules:

1) Everyone starts from the franchises they ended 2020 with: that is team and city, not players. You get to pick one franchise to keep; the other goes into a pool that owners draft a 2nd team from, in reverse order of their retained 1969 team’s record. If you kept a NL team, you will draft an AL team, and vice versa. In the case of 54Pete54, for whom both teams were expansion teams, he will draft 2 teams, and his NL draft choice will be the reverse of his AL draft choice.

2) 162 game season. Each series is 3 games. 4-man rotations: 5-man rotations will begin in 1975.

3) Player Acquisition:

You receive the players on your 1969 roster with at least 100 AB and 35 IP, plus the 1970 imports that are not already in the league. If there is a player who played for two teams in 1969, he will be assigned to the team he played for the most in 1969 (by AB or IP). When a player is imported in 1970, or a subsequent year, and players for two or more teams during the year of import, the same rule applies. ANY PLAYER DISPUTE, AS TO WHICH TEAM HE BELONGS TO, MUST BE LODGED BEFORE CUTS ARE DUE, OR YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO APPEAL.

4) A player is yours until you cut him or trade him.

4a) Beginning with the 1972 season, Teams must be down to roster limits by game 1 (26 ml, 9 minor league). After game 2, Commissioner will fix any roster not in compliance.

5) Roster limits: 26 ML, 9 minor league. Rosters must be trimmed after imports and before opening day. Owners will be given a day’s grace (24 hours from first pitch) to fix their rosters; after 24 hours, and after game 2, any team that is over roster limits will be trimmed by me. I can trim them by any process I choose, but I cannot leave you with fewer than 9 pitchers, or 11 position players when I am finished (I.e. I cannot cause a forfeit.)

6) After game 5, upon the request of one of the owners, the commissioner can extend minor league rosters to 14 members, and turn on waivers.

7) Unpredictable progression will be used. 30 - 34 will be the plateau period. This will make this league different than any other 1969 league you have played in: You won’t know what 1973 Jimmy Wynn will look like in 1970. And, having 4 SP under 25 years of age in 1971 does not guarantee you anything in 1976, except that all 4 should still be under 30.

8) Unlimited trades and stat changing, as long as the stats you change to are at least 100 AB or 35 IP. Once games start, if a player is caught stat-switching to a year where the minimums are not met, the player will be removed from the league for the season, and will only return if imported. I make a distinction between an owner turning himself in before games start, and the Commissioner or another owner catching him during the season.

Anyone can question the fairness of a trade, and forward a review request to the trade review committee. BabeRuth21, 54Pete54, and Rosilver will be the members of this committee, and majority rules. If for some reason there is a tie (as with an abstention), the Commissioner will break the tie. The Commissioner will oversee the performance of this committee. Requests to have trades reviewed must be made within 1 week or 20 games from the trade, whichever comes first.
Your franchise cannot acquire players between games 140 and the end of the World Series. You can, though, move players between your minor and major league roster.

EXPANSION: A running record of team wins will be kept. Prior to the 1977 season, the team with the fewest wins will have the option of switching to either the Mariners or Blue Jays. The team with the 2nd fewest wins will have the option of switching to the unchosen expansion team(s), or the team given up by the owner with the fewest wins. This will continue until all the teams have the option of switching to an unchosen expansion team, or a discarded team. The same will happen prior to the 1993 season, and prior to the 1998 season. NOTE: switching to an expansion team, or choosing a discarded team, means adopting that team's name and icon, and getting their imports (INSTEAD OF your original team's imports) from that point forward.

Playoffs:

9) 7 playoff teams per league: 3 division champions, plus 4 wild card teams. NEW FOR 1975: Wild card rounds are best of 3. The 3 division winners and the 1 remaining wild card team play best of 7 series. Your opponent is chosen by regular season record, but a wild card team can never host a series, unless the World Series features 2 wild card teams. This gives more owners a chance to make the playoffs while still making winning the division mean something.

Tie breakers: If both teams would make the playoffs, then the tie is resolved by head to head, then run differential. If one team is in, and the other out, then it will be a single game, winner take all tiebreaker. No team that is tied for a playoff berth will be eliminated without a chance to win their way in (or lose their way out.)

In addition to a World Series winner, this league will name a "Manager of the Year" to honor the executive with the most combined wins. Having the best overall record between your two teams is truly a monumental achievement and should be celebrated.

General Rules:

10) You may not trade players between your own teams.
11) Trades, waivers, and free agency will be closed after game 140. They will be re-opened after the World Series.
12) A player can have his primary and secondary positions switched if he played half the games in his current season, or 25% of his career games at the position. A player can be switched to the position he played most in his career even if it is not his primary or secondary position when he was acquired. A SP can be switched to RP as needed, but only during the offseason. If a player is listed as primary DH, he can be switched to his secondary position if he has a fielding percentage.

Expectation of owners:
13) Owners are expected to read messages on a daily basis. Owners will be given a minimum of 48 hours from the time of posting to complete the act required. After the 48 hours, it is not a defense for the owner to say that he did not see the message.

14) Every owner is expected to field a team (9 pitchers and 11 fielders) every game. Failure to do so, making the sims not run, results in a forfeit.

Please keep all conversations clean
Please don't be rude to fellow owners
Please be active, if not active for 14 days you may be removed from the league
We all love baseball and that's why we're here. So Just have fun and enjoy!


Offseason duties:

Empty the free agent pool.

Unpredictable progression, plateau period is 30 - 34.

Imports

Stat changes. Owners caught cheating on stat changing will lose the player for the season.
Imports, 100 AB or 35 IP.

Teams must be down to roster limits by game 1 (26 ml, 9 minor league). After game 2, Commissioner will fix any roster not in compliance.

Waivers can begin after game 5, upon request.

Elastic Clause: I reserve the right to add any additional rules necessary to make the league run smoothly.

League Settings

Year Range of Stats	1978 - 1978
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	9
Keepers	(40 keepers)
Change Stats Allowed
Free Agency	(waivers)
Drops
No-Drop List
Player Fatigue
Batter Injuries	(7 games max)
Pitcher Injuries	(10 games max)
Use Pitcher's HR Allowed Stats
Allows Max Surprise Bunts
Min Batters Pitcher Must Face	1
Slump Buster	(1unlimited days)
On Fire	Classic
User Sims	(every 3 hours)