League Rules

2025 Double Delight Merlin League Rules

The league is based on the 2025 season. You get all your players with at least 100 AB and 35 IP.
There will be a draft, and your slot in one league will be the inverse of your selection in the other league. You will pick one team from the NL, and one from the AL, and you will merge the 2 teams into 1. You will have so many players to choose from, no one team is going to wreak havoc on the league, so all 16 original teams will be in the draft.
Upon joining, put your desired draft slot in the chatbox. First come, first served.
If your team moves, or changes names, you will have them all the way to 1901, either way: If you take the Baltimore Orioles, you will have the St Louis Browns, and then the Milwaukee Brewers, when it is appropriate.

Player Improvement and Acquisition:

Unlimited trades, unlimited stat changes (100 AB, 35 IP minimum), and full imports (as long as the player is not already in the league). I could lower these numbers, but you will be pulling your hair out with the choices as it is.
Imports: At the start of the second season, you will get all of your team’s players on their 2024 roster that are not already in the league. At the start of the 3rd season, you will get all of the 2023 players that are not already in the league, etc.
In any situation where a player played for 2 or more teams the year he is imported, the player belongs to the team he played for MOST, in terms of AB or IP.
If there are any issues about which team a player is on, it must be raised before the season starts. Once games begin, and a player has "been in uniform" for a game for a team, the right to appeal is quashed.
Stat changes: at the beginning of year 2, you can have your choice between your player’s 2025 stats, progressed, or the player’s 2024 real stats (and age). So, players start old, they youthen, and then (maybe) they get old again. Unpredictable Progression: progress to age 29, and regress beginning at age 33.
Waivers: Players who are cut go into the free agent pool. These players can be acquired by any team through waivers once games start. After game 140, when trades and waivers close, and before the next season’s imports, the free agent pool will be emptied.

Basic Information:
5 man rotation, 26 on ML roster, 40 on franchise roster.
First season: 100 AB, 35 IP. Imports after season 1 will require 35 IP.
Expect 162 regular season games.
A SP can be switched to RP each offseason, or RP can be switched to SP (no change to stamina).
Primary and secondary positions can be switched, if the player played half his games that season, or at least one-fourth of his games in his career, at the secondary position. A player can always be switched to the position he played the most in his career. Also, DH can be switched with the secondary position if the player has a fielding percentage.

The Ohtani Rule: When a player arrives who pitches and hits, he will be imported as a pitcher, and as a DH. He will require 2 roster spots (sorry), but can hit (as a dh) every game, and pitch every 5th day.

Playoffs:
Making the playoffs: The league will have 8 teams.
The top 5 teams make the playoffs. The regular season champion has a “bye” until the World Series.
The other 4 teams, the “wild cards”, are seeded by record. The first round is best-of-5, and the second round is best-of-7. The survivor faces the regular season champion in the World Series.
⇒ If both teams would be “in”, use head to head record as a tiebreaker, followed by run differential. If a 3rd tie-breaker is required, I will make an arbitrary decision.
⇒ If one is in, the other is out, 1 game playoff (@ head 2 head winner)
⇒ Wild Card teams only host when their opponent is a wild card team.


At game 140, waivers and trades will be turned off until after the World Series.


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.
⇒ Actively running your team means that you read messages once per day, meet all deadlines, and communicate any difficulties to the commissioner. If you will be away, and unable to get your message, 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.
⇒ 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.
⇒ It is the owner’s responsibility to field a “simmable” team. In the unlikely event that your team has fewer than 9 pitchers or 11 position players, your team will forfeit games until you do.

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!


OFF SEASON DUTIES:

Empty the free agent pool.

Unpredictable Progression: progress to age 29, and regress beginning at age 33.

Imports: You get all the imports from the “previous” season that are not already in the league (35 IP/100 AB minimum)

Stat changes.

Turn drops and trades on

Trades (all season 99) Trade deadline is game 140. No trades are permitted between game 140 and the end of the World Series.

Cuts: Have your roster down to 26/14 (or 26/40, if you prefer) by opening day, which will be at least 5 days after the conclusion of the World Series. If you need an extension, message me: I have always granted reasonable extensions when requested BEFORE the due date.

NOTE: In the past, there have been issues with people not making their cuts, and not requesting an extension, which often results in me having to use more of my own free time to do these things for someone else. If this occurs, I reserve the right to begin making your cuts by dropping all the players in your minor leagues, and then putting whichever players I want from your major to minor league rosters. I will leave your team simmable, but I will look to make these moves in a way that uses as little of my free time as possible.

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	2024 - 2024
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	14
Keepers
Change Stats Allowed
Free Agency	(waivers)
Drops
No-Drop List
Player Fatigue
Batter Injuries	(8 games max)
Pitcher Injuries	(15 games max)
Use Pitcher's HR Allowed Stats
Allows Max Surprise Bunts
Min Batters Pitcher Must Face	1
Slump Buster	(15 days)
On Fire	Uses WAR
User Sims	(every 2 hours)