League Rules

Party Like it’s 1999 Holding Team League

1. Basic Pitch: This is a non-contract league that begins in 1999, and moves forward.

Each person has a team: you select in the chat box upon joining. After everyone has joined and picked their team, I may elect to take a 2nd one, as I will have to make the cuts for the unowned teams anyway.


2. How are players acquired?

First season USED? 1999

Minimum AB/IP: 1 AB/1 IP. However, if you don’t have at least 75 AB and 25 IP, you will be placed on the holding team.

Are duplicate players allowed? In the first year, yes. In subsequent import classes, a player goes where he had the most ABs or IPs.

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.

3. Updating personnel:

Progressions: type: Real

Imports and Minimums: 1 AB/1 IP. However, if you don’t have at least 75 AB and 25 IP, you will be placed on the holding team.

Stat changing: Not necessary

Trades: Yes! As many as you want. 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.”

Rosters will be 26/10 (or 26/36), and must be set before Game 1. I will fix them after game 1, if you have not done so. Waivers can begin after Game 5, or whenever after game 5 someone tells me to turn them on.

Draft: None.

The Commissioner is permitted, and required, to fix any roster not in compliance at the season’s start. The Commissioner will remove the player(s) with the lowest ratings (rank) first, but not so that the team is without a position player for each position, 2 catchers, 5 starting pitchers, and 6 relief pitchers. If you do not put your roster in compliance by the deadline, and you did not ask for an extension in a timely fashion, and the lowest rated player on your team is Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux, well…oh, well.

When there is a draft, the window will be 30 minutes. You are invited, and encouraged, to pre-rank. I check to see who has pre-ranked at the beginning of each round. If you have pre-ranked, I will select for you at the beginning of your turn. If you tell me that you will be there to pick in person, I will wait 10 minutes for you to make your presence known (not to pick – to let me know that you are there, and are deliberating.) After 10 minutes, if you are not there, I will pick for you. If you did not pre-rank, and you are not present, after 30 minutes the computer will pick for you. It is not always what seems like a rational choice.

I do this because it has been my experience that when I am present, the draft runs smoothly, and every time I am not, all shenanigans break loose. I am fine with being present for the whole draft, but I don’t want to spend my whole life doing that. Please be present or pre-rank.


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

Each person will have 1 team. 162 game season. 5-man rotations. Injuries: 8 days for a player, 15 for a pitcher, maximum.

Sims will run every 3 hours.

5. Playoffs: In each league, 3 division winners and 3 wild card teams. The two best division winners receive a bye in the first round. The 3rd division winner hosts the last wild card team, and the best wild card team hosts the 2nd best wild card team. Best of 3, all in the host city.

In round 2, best of 5 (2/3) , the best division winner hosts the winner of the wild card series, and the 2nd best division winner hosts the winner of the series involving the 3rd division winner.

Round 3 pits the 2 survivors against each other – best of 7.

The World Series is best of 7: the 2 league champions.


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


Rules about ties for a playoff spot:

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 these are insufficient, I will make an arbitrary decision.
⇒ 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
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Unless you like to treat yourself poorly.
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 if his pitch count is less than 90, or a RP to a SP if his pitch count is greater than 49, but stamina (pitch count) 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. In Baseball Reference, this can be determined by “Games”, “Games Started” (GS), or “Complete Games” (CG), and any one of these that supports your claim will be sufficient.

During an offseason, a player can be switched to the position they played most in their career (by “Games” (G)), 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:

Real progression.

Import season: You get all the imports from the next season that are not already in the league (1 AB/1 IP. However, if you don’t have at least 75 AB and 25 IP, you will be placed on the holding team.)


Stat changes: unnecessary.

Cuts to a certain roster limit: 26/36 for opening day.

Draft (if requested).

Opening Day: As soon as the stated starting time arrives, and in the absence of a written request (league email) for an extension:

Ensure compliance of the roster limits before first pitch.

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	1871 - 2026
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	10
Keepers	(40 keepers)
Change Stats Allowed
Free Agency
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 3 hours)