League Rules

1901 til now league

1. Basic Pitch: This is a non-contract league playing from the beginning (1901) through present day where all the players on your roster are imported (1 AB/ 1 IP), but the players with less than the minimum stats (25 IP, 100 AB) get placed on your holding team. You own the players on your holding team, but you cannot play them until a year where they have the minimum required stats.

I envision 2 possible scenarios: a) we have in the neighborhood of 8 - 10 owners, and the order you pick your team is the reverse of the order in which you draft free agents. b) we have 5 to 6 owners, and each person has 2 teams (1 AL and 1 NL), and the order you select in one league is the reverse of the order you select in the other league. The one we use will be determined by how many owners we have.

You will have the franchise forever: there will be good and bad seasons, an initial draft, and trades and waiver claims throughout. Keep these in mind when you choose your team.

When you join the league, type “I’m in!” in the chat box, to indicate that you are interested in the format, and to secure your place in the order to choose a draft spot in whichever scenario we end up with.

Every year, you get all your franchises’ imports. If they have 25 IP or 100 AB, you get them on your major league roster; otherwise they go to your holding team until they have enough AB or IP to be usable.


2. How are players acquired?

First season USED: 1901

Minimum AB/IP? 100/25

EXCEPTION: IF YOUR 2ND CATCHER HAS LESS THAN 100 AB, TELL ME, AND I WILL DOUBLE HIS STATS SO HE CAN PLAY.

Duplicate players are permitted in the initial cohort, but not in import cohorts. When imported, a player that is eligible to be placed on multiple teams will be placed solely on the team where he had the most AB or innings pitched that season.

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.

If we have 14 or fewer owners, we will either do a 1 or 2 round draft of the unowned players, or I will import a second season (1902) so that you have enough pitchers to use. I will make this decision after we know how many owners we are going to have. I expect to run a 3-round draft of players from the undrafted teams. BE SURE YOU PICK TO FILL THE HOLES YOU HAVE -- IF YOU DON'T HAVE 8 PITCHERS AND 11 PLAYERS THE SIMS WON'T RUN, AND YOU WILL FORFEIT.

3. Updating personnel:

Progressions: Unpredictable. Plateau range: 28 - 31 until 1935. From 1935 through 1961, 29 - 32. From 1962 - 1999, 30 - 32. From 2000 forward, 31 - 33.

Imports and Minimums? 25 IP, 100 AB

Stat changing. Yes, unlimited as long as the players meet minimums (25 IP, 100 AB). 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.


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

“Anyone can question the fairness of a trade, and forward a review request to the trade review committee. I will select 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.”

Free agents/waivers? Yes, once games start.

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

154 games until 1962, then 162 games. 4 man rotations from 1901 - 1974, and 5-man rotations thereafter. Injuries: 5 days for a player, 8 days for a pitcher. 26/7 rosters (26/33)

5. Playoffs: FROM 1901 THROUGH 1961, THERE WILL BE 6 TEAMS IN EACH LEAGUE. THE TWO DIVISION CHAMPIONS MEET IN A BEST-OF-7 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 (@ head 2 head winner)


MY BASIC EXPECTATIONS OF EACH OWNER:

⇒ Your commitment is season to 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 mid-season 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.

All of the above mentioned changes must occur DURING THE OFFSEASON, if that wasn't made clear. The only exception is when you acquire a player mid-season, by waivers or by trade, you can make one of the above position changes if you tell the commissioner RIGHT AWAY.


Off season duties:

Free agents that are 40 or older will be retired.

Unpredictable progression after world series. Plateau range: 28 - 31 until 1935. From 1935 through 1961, 29 - 32. From 1962 - 1999, 30 - 32. From 2000 forward, 31 - 33.

Imports: You get all the imports from the next season that are not already in the league (25 IP/100 AB minimum). Those with fewer AB or IP than the minimums will be placed on the holding team. NOTE: You get all the players on your team's roster that are not already in the league. If they meet the league minimums, they are on your varsity roster. Otherwise, they go to your holding team until they meet league minimums.

Stat changes: unlimited with minimums for importing (25 IP/100 AB minimum)

Owners inform the Commissioner if a holding team player can be stat changed to the present season to become eligible. Don't expect that I will go through all your holding teams! You check it out, give me a heads-up, and I will fix it.

Cuts to a certain roster limit. 26/7 (or 26/33, depending on how you interpret it). Since all players who are cut are eligible for waiver claims, I will have to make the cuts if you don’t. IF YOU NEED MORE TIME TO GET YOUR ROSTERS READY, MESSAGE ME. OTHERWISE, EXPECT THAT I WILL MAKE CUTS ON ANY ROSTER THAT IS NOT AT LEAGUE LIMITS BY THE ANNOUNCED OPENING PITCH. If it comes to this, don't complain after.

Turn drops and trades on

Opening Day/Waivers


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	1902 - 1902
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	7
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)