League Rules

1. OVERVIEW
This league is an advanced setting that will challenge all players to be there best, a CEO. The league simply wants CEOs who are active in order to maximize the final and realism. CEOs who are less active will perform worst and negatively affects the entire league. CEOs who will miss numerous days should notify the commissioner?s office proactively. This league is designed to be fun! CEOs unable to maintain this fun environment will be removed. Being respectful of one another is required!

League commissioner is JoeyRex. Vice-commissiones are wallercrawler74 and yankeebb. Please feel free to reach out with questions or comments.

*THE LEAGUE OFFICE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EXECUTE WITH DISCRETION IN ANY EVENT TO ENSURE FAIR PLAY, AND A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL! IF ALL GOES WELL THIS WILL BE VERY FEW, AND FAR BETWEEN BUT AS GM MUCH OF THIS IS IN YOUR HANDS TO WORK WITH GOOD INTENTIONS.

League Objective: a highly competitive league that stresses the business of baseball (both on and off field) while being nothing more than fun with like minded pc users. If you have any concerns during your play, this league MANDATES YOU FIRST MESSAGE THE LEAGUE OFFICE (Commissioner/Vice). Public forums are not for such and are not effect tools for such (forums are not monitored for league issues). Want to address an issue? Make known directly to commission. IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND EXPECTATION FOR THIS LEAGUE!

*This league expects owners to make an effort to improve their team each year. Rebuilding is a process but no effort to improve and you are subject to being replaced. This league works best if all owners are competing at their highest level they can. A true test of their skills! If you do not log on for more than 7 days without messaging the league office for 7+ days, you are subject to being booted.

*ALL TRADES ARE SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY THE LEAGUE OFFICE. ALMOST ALL TRADES WILL BE ALLOWED UNLESS IT IS CLEARLY LOPSIDED AND PROVIDES ABSOLUTELY NO BENEFIT TO ONE OF THE TEAMS. MAKE ONE TRADE LIKE THIS IT WILL BE VETOED AND YOU WILL BE WARNED, IF YOU MAKE ANOTHER TRADE LIKE THIS AFTER BEING WARNED YOU WILL BE BOOTED. THIS IS TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE LEAGUE!

2. CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ONE LEAGUE SEASON
A. World Series ends, deadline for contracts to be signed with players you want to keep: Rookie, PC, Arbitration, Franchise, or Tender.
B. Rosters are cleared.
C. Players & contracts progressed, aged and retired. Position changes, SP to RP conversions, prospect creation, and stadium renovations may be proposed to league office.
C. Trading turned back on.
D. FA Bidding begins,
E. Rookie draft takes place at agreed upon & announced date.
E. Day 1 - Opening day takes place on announced date. Sims are set for 6 hour play. Position changes, SP to RP conversions, prospect creation, and Stadium renovations are closed.
G. Day 90*- All Star Break.
H. Mid-year Free agency (comprised of Historical Players, IFA and any contracts cut due addition of a new CEO)
I. Day 130*- Trade Deadline.
J. Day 145*- Free agency (ability to sign and drop players in free agency) turned off.
L. Day 183*- Season ends, playoffs follow.
M. Off-season.

* The deadlines may be moved forward or backward slightly based on the sim schedule but an announcement will be made to the league.

3. TEAM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
A. Cap Space - Teams in this league all start with the same parameters of 40 keepers, $250m in Cap Space. Maximum MLB roster size is 25, max in your organization is 40. CEOs are responsible for monitoring this, the site does not. This is different than pro baseball with the intention of starting every CEO on a more even playing field.
This league emphasizes both the on field and front office game play. Payroll usage and understanding is a huge aspect of this league and will directly translate to success, or lack thereof, to a team?s on field win/loss record.

B. CAP PENALTIES
You may go over budget during the off-season, but by game 1, your team must be at or under budget or you will be penalized. Once the season starts, you must remain within your budget for the entire season. This will be strictly enforced and you will not receive a warning or time to get back under budget.

First offense for going over budget (during the season over budget during season) will result in the most recent player(s) acquired that resulted in you going over budget will be removed from your roster AND your teams salary cap will be reduced by half of whatever amount over budget you went. For example, if you go over budget by $10M during the season, in addition to losing the player, your payroll will be reduced by $5M.

Second offense will result in the same as above and the loss of 1 third-round draft pick (from upcoming draft). If you do not have a 3rd round draft pick, you will lose your upcoming 2nd (or 1st if you have no 2nd). If you have no upcoming picks, you will lose your NEXT year?s draft pick.

Third offense will result in the same as the first offense PLUS your next 1st round draft pick.

Fourth offense may result in your removal from the league. Manage your budgets!

C. Bonus Signing Money
This money is NOT a part of the PC salary cap. Each team gets $5m each off season to bid. Any unused Bonus Signing Money carries forward to the next season. Maximum of Bonus Signing Money a team can have is $40m. Minimum of Bonus Signing Money a team can have is $0m. Bonus Signing Money can be traded in increments of $5m. Bonus Signing Money team totals are listed on the homepage ONLY.

3. NEW CEO SECTION 🆕
The following rules have been instituted to make poorly ran organizations manageable. Requests should be made to the League Office within 2 weeks of joining if you joined in the middle of the season, or before the season begins if you joined during the off-season.

A. Cutting Contracts 🆕.
New CEOs are allowed to cut players signed to contracts. If that is the situation you will have a one time chance to cut and/or reduce contract years on no more than 3 contracts at no penalty. This must be done by deadline as messaged by commissioner.

B. Important NOTE for Inexperienced CEOs 🆕.
In Pennant chase when a player shows up on a contract page (the immediate page after clicking on your team name from league page, standings or anywhere else for that matter) he’s always on your team one year longer than what the number actually says. I.E Expiring means 1 (or at the end of the current season he’ll be FA), 1 means 2, 2 means 3 and so on and so forth. This is because the contracts on your “My team page” actually show what your budget is going to be for next year. Odd nuance indeed, but it is what it is it’s a great site in spite of this oddity.

4. ROSTER MANAGEMENT

A. Draft
The amateur live draft will be conducted during the off-season. Teams unable to be present are advised to rank their draftees list (top right of my team page), so that the best opportunity to get the players they want as automatic will be used for CEOs who are not in attendance. Picks may be traded, but no more than the next draft (ex- If playing season 2020, CEOs can trade picks for 2021 only). All trades involving picks must be messaged to the league office and will be pending approval. This will help prevent from lop-sided transactions. There will be 2 rounds in the draft as a default, but case by case we may choose to add or remove rounds to balance the player pool. The draft order is determined in two parts. Part I is worst record previous year up to best record of non-playoff teams. Tie-breaker for teams with the same record is run differential....the worse run differential gets the better pick. Part II is for playoff teams they are seeded based on round of playoff exit, with the tie-breaker for teams leaving in same round being regular season record. Thus, team winning world series obviously getting last pick. To enter a live draft, click on the “draft room” link in red bar to top right of page.

B. “Real Team” Prospects-
Every off-season, a team will be permitted to have one prospect created from their teams real MLB minor league system. The team must email the league office with "PROSPECT" in the subject. The prospects will be created to become regular contributors (at the very least as they progress) but will NOT BE SUPERSTAR MVP CANDIDATES unless they progress that way. All created “Real Team” prospects will posses rank/stats in a similar range. “Real Team” prospects will have some traits that mirror their real counterparts. For instance, a speedy outfielder will have a higher speed stat line.

“Real Team” prospect’s have option to to switch to their authentic PC stats. Here?’s how:
1) “Real Team” prospect has played at least one season in the CEO league with their fictional stats. The prospect is not required to make an appearance in a game. Simply remain on a roster maintaining their prospect tag suffices.
2) “Real Team” prospect has played at least one season in MLB and has PC stats available that meet minimum league requirements of position players > 150 plate appearances; or relief pitchers > 25 innings pitched; starting pitcher > 75 innings pitched. *(rule added prior to 2021 season) Upon switching to the player?s real mlb stats, player?s stats are doubled/converted to a 162 game season, if necessary to meet 300+ at bats > 50+ innings pitching for a RP > 150+ innings pitched for SP so that future progressions are more consistent with player pool.
3) “Real Team” prospect played at least one season in the MLB and has stats great enough to meet league requirements. Only the most recent PC stat line is eligible to be imported.
4) EDIT RULE TO TAKE EFFECT FOLLOWING 2027 SEASON AND PRIOR TO START OF 2028 OFFSEASON “Real Team” prospect age WILL reflect his real age. Remember, all “Real Team” prospects are 20yo when they make their CEO debut HOWEVER, THEIR AGE WILL CHANGE TO THEIR REAL AGE WITH THE STAT CHANGE.
5) “Real Team” prospect NOT eligible to switch to authentic PC stats once that prospect reaches 28 years of age. Once they’ve reached their top progressed stat line, they cannot be switched.
6) “Real Team” prospects may only switch to their authentic PC stats one time. Once those stats are imported, the “Real Team” prospect may never switch to another PC season stat line.
EX) Bobby Witt Jr may be selected as the Royals CEO “Real Life” prospect. He competes in the CEO League with fictional stats created. After he does play in the MLB and does accumulate stats to meet minimum requirements, the Royals CEO may change his fictional CEO League stat card to his actual MLB stats.
7) Limited to one per CEO league off-season (RULE CHANGE - will take effect on opening day of 2025 season).

Prospect rights can be traded but restricted to only the next submission. If you trade the prospect rights, the other team gets to choose an additional prospect from their real MLB system they want created. “Real Team” Prospect’s age will be 20 regardless of their real age at the time of creation. Once you request a prospect and the league office begins creating that prospect, your prospect for that season is locked and cannot be changed.

C. Mid-Year Free Agency-
An extra opportunity to add talent each season will exist during the All-Star break. This will feature any NEW CEO contract cuts, historical players and International Free Agents. Total number of Mid-Year Free Agents will vary yearly. All bids will be SIGNING BONUS ONLY. If CEOs wish to retain a mid-year free agent, a contract must be signed or prospect tag maintained. All teams bid with accumulated Signing Bonus Money (not PC team budget). Example- Twins may bid on a player with a bid of $10m. That $10m is separate from PC cap money. If the Twins win their bid, $10m will be deducted from their Signing Bonus Money NOT their salary cap as listed on their PC team page.

For 2019 season only, all teams begin with $10m. Each subsequent year, $5m will be added to any unused $. Max = $40m; Min = $5m. Bonus Signing Money can be traded in increments of $5m (min total of $5m is a must).

Important information:
1) Signing Bonus Money can be used for Mid-Year Free Agents only.
2) All teams may submit a bid on any player.
3) Teams may not bid more than their Signing Bonus Cap allows. Ex- if a team has $10m, they may only bid a maximum of $10m total on all bids.
4) Teams may bid on as many free agents as they wish. Just can’t bid more Signing Bonus Money than they possess.
5) A winning bid does NOT sign the player to a contract. Winning bids does put the player on the team’s roster for the remainder of that season. CEOs may determine best avenue for this player to remain on their team via eligible contract options.
6) A tie Mid-Year FA bid by two teams is resolved by:
A) team with current worst winning percentage wins player’s rights.
B) if still a tie, team with worst run differential wins player’s rights.
C) if still a tie, team with greatest GB margin in their division wins rights.
D) if still a tie, team that submit their bid the earliest/first wins player’s rights.

D. Off-Season Free Agency-
Players with a contract (albeit a Rookie Contract, Pennant Chase Contract, Arbitration Eligible Contract or Franchise Contract) that expire at the end of the season will become free agents. Those free agents will be put into a bidding fashion, players will be awarded via Total Contract Value ($m x years). Example- a 3yr 6M offer wins over a 4 yr 4M offer. In case of a tie bid, teams will be offered one rebid. If still a tie, rebid sent in earliest wins the player.. Bids of zero dollars are available as well, but the player will become a free agent at the end of the season so this should not be used for someone you want long term. That player will not affect the contract list, but will take a place on the teams? player roster toward the 40 max. This will allow teams with little cap space to fill their rosters. We will be doing blind bidding, which means once bidding starts, you send a message to the commish with your bids and at the end of the bidding period the team that submitted the highest total contract value will win the rights to the player. Bidding will last a league announced designated time.
The maximum contract length you can offer is 10 years. Players under contract WILL NOT retire so a team is welcome to offer a 39yo a 10 year contract. However, your team will have the financial responsibility to fulfill that contract or buyout that contract.

E. Designated For Assignment -
1) CEOs may release a player at anytime and will be responsible to pay 1/2 of total contract value spread EVENLY over any amount of years up to 10. Total contract value is rounded up (ex- team wants to buyout $7m x 3yr contract will have to pay $11m). Teams can choose to increase the buyout in order to spread payment over more years. Using the same previous example, a team would only be able pay $11m over 1yr as $11m is not divisible by anything but 1. Teams could choose to pay $12m over 2, 3, 4 or 6 years. WARNING- DFA BuyOuts will take a roster spot. Teams will not gain that roster spot back until DFA contract has been paid. A contract can only be DFAd once meaning once that DFA buyout is set, you can not rework that deal for extra cap space a following year.
2) released players become DFAs.
3) DFA players are eligible for claim by league teams by a league announced deadline.
4) teams making the claim would be responsible for the second 1/2 of the total contract value. New team must spread EVENLY over any amount of years up to 10 (and can choose to increase the total contract value same as DFA 1 scenario).
5) if unclaimed, player will become a free agent. Note- releasing team still responsible for 1/2 total contract value buyout.
6) a player in the final year of their contract (designated by a single $) may be released at anytime without penalty as their contract was paid in full at beginning of the year. To do so, you must message the commissioner.

F. Off-season Player Progressions-
Players will be progressed 1X after each season. Players in the majors and minors are ALL progressed at CLASSIC potential. This will allow the players to have realistic stats throughout their careers. A player will reach their peak at 28 and begin to gradually decline at age 33 (peak is age 28-32). All players in this league must have a minimum of 300 abs; 100 innings (SP); or 35 innings (RP). All players originally imported into the league will have stats doubled to meet the minimum for progressions. Justification is that a player with a limited stat line will progress at a rate much greater than a player with a full stat line. The result is, a player with a limited stat line is rewarded for such while a player who played a full season is not valued in the same manner. The goal is to create a minimum stat base so that progressions are assessed in the most uniform fashion possible. During the off-season, unsigned players of all ages are subject to retire with older ages at a much higher frequency. Signed players will not retire.

5. CONTRACT SYSTEM 👁?🗨

A) Prospect Tags-
All players selected via the amateur draft, ?Real Team? prospects and Mid-Season Free Agents that meet age qualification will be tagged with a PROSPECT TAG. Prospect Tags are FREE for the entire season. To qualify for a Prospect Tag and remain FREE after league progressions, the player:
i) must be 18-24yo
ii) must not have APPEARED in any game during the season/career. Appearing in 1 game despite accumulating any stats nullifies the Prospect Tag at the end of he year.

If a team wants to keep a player that does not meet the criteria listed above, the team must:
i) contact the league office prior to progressions to sign player to a ROOKIE CONTRACT.
ii) sign player to a PC contract via the player?s card. This is done entirely by the owner (number of years) and player ($).

B) Pennant Chase (PC) Contract-
This feature is possible on any unsigned players card. All negotiations are conducted as owner controls the number of years and player controls their yearly salary. IMPORTANT- See section 3B of rules on how PC contracts are paid. Once a player has a PC Contract, that player is ineligible for Arbitration. Players with a PC Contract can be Franchised or Tendered.

C) Rookie Contract-
Any player who is 24yo or under and no prior league appearances qualifies for Rookie Contract. All rookies will be paid $4m x 3yrs and designated with a Rookie Contract Tag. Any player (including rookies) must have a contract prior to progressions unless they meet qualifications for a Prospect Tag (which are free).

D) Arbitration Eligible Contract-
Any player that fulfills all 3 years of their Rookie Contract are eligible. Players with PC Contracts that have ended of any length are NOT eligible for Arbitration.
Pay Scale will be for Year 1:
SP $14m
RP $10m
C/1B/3B $10m
SS/2B $12m
OF/DH $10m
Year 2 = +$2m for each position.
NOTE > Players position for arbitration determined by where they played the most games in the previous season. In case of a tie on positions played, the position with highest $ takes precedent.
CEOs may sign a player to a PC contract following the player?s year 1 or year 2 of an Arbitration Eligible Contract. NOTE- This is done via the league office. CEOs must will notify commissioner as player will control yearly salary while CEOs control # of years. Players will NOT accept less than their Arbitration Eligible pay that was just completed. Players may require more which would be based entirely off their player card option via PC (commissioner?s method for players salary is simply using their PC player card option). Be aware, playing under an Arbitration Eligible contract shortens length CEOs may sign a player to a PC contract following the player?s year 1 or year 2 of an Arbitration Eligible Contract. NOTE- This is done via the league office. CEOs must will notify commissioner as player will control yearly salary while CEOs control # of years. Be aware, playing under an Arbitration Eligible contract shortens the MAX contract a player will sign: after year 1 = 4 years & after year 2 = 2 years..

E) Franchise Tags-
CEOs may Franchise Tag one player on their team. Each team is limited to ONLY one tag total. Opportunity to tag a player is only offered during the off-season. During the same off-season, CEOs can remove a tag from a player (player would then become a free agent) and switched to a different player as CEO chooses. Tags are limited to no more than 2 years on the same player as following the 2nd franchise tag year, the player WILL BE a free agent without any mechanism to resign by that team.
To be eligible: any player that has completed all 3 years of their Rookie Contract; any player that has finished both years of Arbitration Eligible contract or any player with an expiring PC Contract ending of any length.
Pay Scale will be for year 1 contract:
SP $20m
RP $15m
C/1B/3B $15m
SS/2B $18m
OF/DH $15m
Year 2 = Expiring PC contract just all others contracts (doesn?t count vs cap) REVISED FOLLOWING 2021 Season
NOTE > Players position for franchise tags will be determined by where they played the most games in the previous season. In case of a tie on positions played, the position with highest $ takes precedent.
Following year 2 of a Franchise Tag, the player WILL become a free agent. These players are NOT eligible for an extension or tender!

F) Player Tenders-
Player tenders are one of your riskier options as a CEO to keep a player under contract. CEOs can tender a player by signifying what round draft pick (email the league office with the subject tender(s), the full player name, and what round pick you?d like to tender) against that player to get something in return in case you lose him to another team. Obviously, if another team signs that player, you are awarded the pick from that team equivalent to the tender. If the tendered player is not signed by another team, you get the player back with a 2 yr contract per details below:
1st Round Pick Tender = $2M less than 5 highest paid MLB players at that position from the season just completed.
2nd Round Pick Tender = $4M less than 5 highest paid MLB players at that position from the season just completed.
Tender contract values will be announced prior to off-season commencing.

Teams bidding on players that have been tendered a draft pick must have that round draft pick OR higher for the upcoming draft or their bid will be disqualified. So, if a player has a 2nd round tender, in order to bid on him teams must have a current 2nd round pick or 1st round pick. If all they have is a first, that will be the pick given to the team who placed the tender. If all they have is a third they will not be permitted to bid on the tendered player. If a team bids on a free agent that has a 1st round tender and the team has multiple first round picks, the lowest pick (better pick) will be the pick awarded to the team losing the player.

ADDITIONAL- A player coming off a Franchise tag cannot be tendered. A tendered player CAN be Franchised but not vice versa.

6. TRADE DEADLINE
The trade deadline will be APPROXIMATELY day 120 each season. The deadline will be adjusted to real calendar for ease of play. The league office will announce the trade deadline. No trades after this deadline will be allowed. Trades will be monitored by the league office (CEOs may also message commissioner to alert). If the trade includes any draft picks, the trade notice will need to be immediately sent to the league office for approval. If a player that is traded for has a contract, the new owner team is responsible for the remainder of the contract. Draft picks can be traded for upcoming season (ex- league is playing 2019, draft picks for 2020). No out year draft picks can be traded! Only commodities can be traded (players, picks that lead to a player, right to create a prospect which leads to a player, Signing Bonus Money increments of $5m). Money, Cap Space, Boost...can not be traded.

7. OFF-SEASON TASK
A. Awards
This will be a league CEO led activity. CEOs willing to take the lead on this will be welcome to oversee league award such as: silver sluggers, gold gloves, rookie of the year, most improved, reliever of the year....PC Awards for CY Young and MVP will be used at a minimum.

B. Position Changes
During the off-season, CEOs may request 1 player to swap his primary and secondary stats at no cost to you. No player request allowed or processed during the season. (SP to RP conversion rates were edited PRIOR to 2027 season) If SP is converted to a RP, their stats will be divided until their innings pitched is between 40-79. H/9 will go down by about .3, bb/9 will go down by about .3 and so/9 will go up by about .5. Stamina will equal 25. In the case of a RP converted to a SP, the reverse above is true as well as innings would be doubled until 150+ and stamina = 90.
Position players may only change to their secondary positions. Their defense will worsen as a result.
Secondary position can be switched to another position as follows: SP -> RP; 1B -> LF; 2B -> 3B or LF; 3B -> 1B or RF; SS -> 2B or 3B; OF -> 1B.
If a player's secondary position is INF or UT; upon doing a position change, owner must declare a primary position. INF/UT may NOT be a primary position.

C. Player Boost
Each off-season (after progressions), a team may request no more than 2 players (1 hitter and 1 pitcher) and both must be 28 years of age or younger.
Boost Options are:
Hitters:
energy (CAN NOT EXCEED 162 GAMES) will go up 1-5 energy
fielding (CAN NOT EXCEED .985)- will go up about .05-.10%
speed (CAN NOT EXCEED SPEED OF 8)-will go up 1
Pitcher:
SP stamina (CAN NOT EXCEED 100)-will increase stamina 3-5
RP stamina (CAN NOT EXCEED 27)- will increase stamina 1-2

D. Off-season Stadium Renovations
Each off-season, CEOs may use cap $ to alter your stadium how you would like it. $3m for 1 side renovation. $5m for both sides

7. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

A. Lineups and Team Strategies
-Players playing beyond their endurance are at greater risk of injury (see my team page top middle/right for players needing rest).
-The order of your bench is used to decide pinch hitters and such. Order accordingly when choosing starters.
-Editing your strategy is a function to choosing things like who can be pinch hit for, who can pinch hit, how often you try to steal bases etc so be sure to utilize this, and of course monitor to what?s working and what is not based on your team strength?s and weaknesses.

B. All Star Process
-The all star break is a time where off days are granted to rest up your team so you can revamp your team for the stretch run.
-This league will take up to 5 real days off and 5 sim days off for the all star break
-All stars will be selected by Pennant Chase.
-All star starters will not receive any bonuses other than having a star for being selected as an all star.

C. Playoffs
- MLB’s Playoff System adopted prior to the 2022 season is followed. The playoffs are made up of 6 teams from each league.
#1 Seed = Best league record
#2 Seed = Second best division winner
#3 Seed = Third best division winner
#4 Seed = Best record among wild card teams
#5 Seed = Second best record among wild card teams
#6 Seed = Third best record among wild card teams
In case of any tie, seeds are determined by:
a) head to head record
b) intra divisional record
c) inter divisional record
-Format:
Wildcard Series = best of 3; home team is #3 & #4 seed for all games.
Divisional Series = best of 5 (2-2-1); home team is #1 & #2 seed for games 1, 2 & 5.
Conference Series = best of 7 (2-3-2); home team is better seeded team for games 1,2, 6 & 7.
World Series = best of 7 (2-3-2); home team is better seeded team for games 1,2, 6 & 7. Home field for the World Series goes to the team with the better regular-season record, regardless of postseason seed. If the two teams have identical regular season records, then head to head; inter division record and intra division record applies.

Playoff Schedule:
Regular season ends
Tiebreaker or day off
Wildcard Game
2 days off
Divisional Series begins (day off after game 2)
2 days off
Championship Series begins (day off after game 2 and 5)
2 days off
World Series begins (day off after game 2 and 5)

D. Relocation and Team Name Changes
CEO Baseball will follow MLB so no relocation or expansion until such happens with MLB. When a team moves or changes their name in MLB, we will respond accordingly in this league.

League Settings