League Rules

New League Rules (tentatively called the "Crackpot League" after the idea's creator...)

Greatest League of All Time

1. Basic Pitch: This is a non-contract league. The teams used will be the ones with the most wins from the starting year forward, so no one gets stuck with a bad team. Teams will be assigned randomly: League members will be assigned a random draft order, and then the teams utilized will be assigned randomly. IF there are 12 members, then the 12 best teams (teams with the most wins since that starting season) will be in the league, and the starting year will be after 1968. I think the earliest year I would choose is 1919.

If you absolutely hate the team you were assigned, you can trade with another owner, or trade for a team that is NOT being utilized because it was not one of the best ‘x’ number of teams, but then you instantly become the weakest team in the league: no complaining that your team sucks. If I get the Boston Red Sox and 54Pete has the Oakland A’s, it would make sense for us to trade; but think long and hard about trading if someone offers you the 1901 Washington Senators.

Each interested person (in the league concept) gets one team. In the event that this produces an odd number of teams, the Commissioner will take a second team. The league will cap at 16 teams.

2. How are players acquired?

The initial season will be 1953. Once that year is determined, we will do the assignation, and all players on that roster will be assigned to you, but players with less than 50 AB and 20 IP will be assigned to your holding team. Duplicate players will be allowed in the original importation, but in subsequent offseasons the imports will not include duplicates: an import belongs where he had the most ABs or IP in the import season. Anytime an original cohort duplicate goes into the free agent pool, I reserve the right to delete it. If this is unclear, feel free to ask.

ANY ISSUE ABOUT WHICH TEAM A PLAYER BELONGS ON MUST BE RAISED PRIOR TO THE FIRST GAME, OR THE RIGHT TO APPEAL IS WAIVED. Once a player “suits up” for a game, he belongs to that team.

Real progression will be used. In Season 2, or thereafter, a player needs 50 AB or 20 IP to be eligible. If, in season 2 or later, you have a player who does not meet these minimums, he will be placed on your holding team, and there he will stay until he has a season where he meets these minimums, you cut him, you trade him, or he retires in real life.

Imports in season 2, or later, require 50 AB or 20 IP. Once imported, if in a subsequent season a player dips below those minimums, he goes on your holding team. Down the road, no later than 1962, a player will have to meet higher minimums to be imported and/or compete.

Stat changing? No, no need: we use real progressions.

Trades: YES! But no trades, or waivers, after game 140 and before the end of the World Series.

There will be a trade stoppage between game 80 and game 90, whenever I get the chance to stop progress. You are encouraged to send me an email close to, but prior to, game 80, stating which player(s) on your roster are on the trade block that midseason, and I will send this list out to the league.

Trade offers are due to the selling team owner by 24 hours after games pause. Owners have an additional 24 hours to accept or decline all offers received. After 48 hours from the trade break’s inception, games will resume.

NOTE: The trade deadline is game 140. Any trade, or waiver claim, filed after this point will be reversed by me, whether or not I turn trades and waivers off. (For those of you who aren’t commissioners, I get a notice every time either of these things happen, so you're not going to fool me. You may, however, perturb me.)

Rosters will be 26/35 during the season. After the World Series ends, progressions will occur, and players with insufficient AB or IP (less than 50/20) will be moved to the holding teams, and players on the holding teams that suddenly are eligible again will be moved back to the varsity roster.

Then imports will occur.

After this, you will be required to cut down to 22 players, in anticipation of the draft and waiver claims. IF YOU FAIL TO MAKE THESE CUTS, I WILL MAKE THEM FOR YOU, BECAUSE THE CUT PLAYERS ARE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE DRAFT. The draft will begin not sooner than 36 hours after cuts are due, and I will allow you until 2 hours before the draft to reclaim cut players (tell me who you want back, and which players you are cutting in their stead.) Once this deadline passes, the option to reclaim cut players is deemed waived. As time progresses, I will revisit the number (22) above, and possibly increase it. 9 everyday players plus 4 SP plus 7 RP plus 2 prospects = 22, so 22 should be easy to cut down to. If you are one of the 7 owners that DON'T have the NYY, you'll be thankful that I chose 22 instead of 30. And note that you won't have to cut down to 22 until AFTER the 1953 season, and after 1954 imports are imported.

The draft will begin as a 1-round affair, but after the first offseason where a draft is used I may choose to extend that. Players from unused teams will not DELIBERATELY be imported to the free agent pool for the purpose of being drafted.

At the conclusion of the draft, waivers will commence after game 1. Waivers will proceed in the same order as the draft: inverse order of last season’s standings.

Once games begin, if you have too many players on your major league roster, I get a message after every game that your team is in violation of roster limits. I find these to be totally annoying. Be advised that I will deliberately put your best players in the minors so that I stop getting these messages, and to encourage you to take care of your own team in a timely manner.

4. League set up, number of games, rotation size, injury length, and roster size:

162 games in a season, 4-man rotations through 1974, and 5-man rotations after that. Injuries will be limited to 10 games for everyday players, and 15 games for pitchers. Rosters will be 26/35 (aka 26/9), but you will be expected to cut to 22 players in anticipation of the draft and waiver claims.

5. Playoffs: We will have one 8-team league, where the top 5 teams make the playoffs. The regular season champion gets an automatic World Series bid. Teams 2 - 5 will play a best-of-3 round. The winners advance to the Wild Card Finals, which will be best-of-5. The last wild card team standing will play against the regular season champion in the World Series.

Rules about ties for a playoff spot:

A wild card team never hosts a series against a non-wild card team.

If teams tie for a playoff spot:
⇒ If both teams would be “in”, use head to head record as a tiebreaker. Run differential is the 2nd tie-breaker.
⇒ If one is in, the other is out, 1 game playoff (use tiebreakers to determine the home team.)
⇒ If more than 1 team is tied, and all the teams are in, use run differential to resolve the tie. If some are in and some are not, use run differential to reduce the number of play-in games. For example, 4 teams are tied for 3 openings. Arrange them in the order of their run differential. The best two scores are in; the 3rd and 4th have a 1-game playoff for the last berth.


MY BASIC EXPECTATIONS OF EACH OWNER:

⇒ In this league, I expect owners to commit to long-term participation. If you must leave, I expect it to be during the off-season. When you join, you will be expected to actively run your team until the end of the season, which is when the regular season ends for non-playoff teams, or when your playoff team is eliminated. If you quit without my blessing, I will share this information with other commissioners.

⇒ Actively running your team means that you read messages once per day, meet all deadlines, and communicate any difficulties to the commissioner.

⇒ I will provide a minimum of 48 hours between a posting of a deadline, and the deadline. Ignorance of the deadline will not be an excuse for failing to meet the deadline.

⇒ If you will be away, and unable to get your messages, give the commissioner advance notice. Inactivity for ten (10) days, or repeated failure to meet deadlines, may result in your being booted from the league.

⇒ 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.

⇒ Read and be familiar with the rules immediately upon joining: it may affect your desire to be in the league, or your desire to pick a certain team.

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!


General rules:

Each offseason, you can switch a SP to RP, or a RP to a SP, but stamina will remain “as is.”. You can change it back the next offseason if you like, but no changes between first pitch and the last out of the World Series.
You can switch a player’s primary and secondary positions if they played 50% or more games THAT season at their secondary position, or at least 25% of their games for their career at their secondary position.
During an offseason, a player can be switched to the position they played most in their career, regardless of the requirements of General Rule #2.
You can switch a DH to his secondary position, as long as he has a fielding percentage.


Off season duties:

The free agent pool will NOT be emptied.

Real progression for all teams. Players who don’t meet the 50 AB/20 IP threshold will be swapped out to the holding teams. Those on the holding teams who now qualify will be swapped back to the varsity roster.

Imports: 20 IP or 50 AB to be imported.

Cuts to a certain roster limit: 22. If you don’t make the cuts, I will. There will be a 36-hour break between cuts due, and the draft beginning. You have until 2 hours before the scheduled starting time of the draft to reclaim a cut player by offering a swap. Once this deadline passes, your option to reclaim is waived. I think a reasonable chance to fix an error is warranted: this philosophy should not be interpreted in a way to place more work or grief on my life.

Draft. Inverse order of last year’s finish.

Turn drops, waivers, and trades on. Waivers in inverse order of last year’s finish.

Opening Day


NOTE: Minimums for imports, and stat changing, and roster limits and cut limits are listed based on 1953 team sizes. I will revisit them on an annual basis and change them when it is appropriate.

Elastic Clause: I reserve the right to create new rules as necessary to deal with problems as they arise.

League Settings

Year Range of Stats	1954 - 1954
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	10
Keepers
Change Stats Allowed
Free Agency	(waivers)
Drops
No-Drop List
Player Fatigue
Batter Injuries	(5 games max)
Pitcher Injuries	(8 games max)
Use Pitcher's HR Allowed Stats
Allows Max Surprise Bunts
Min Batters Pitcher Must Face	1
Slump Buster	(1unlimited days)
On Fire	Uses WAR
User Sims	(every 3 hours)