League Rules

2012 Play It Forward League

1. Basic Pitch: This is a non-contract league that begins in 2012, and moves forward.

Upon joining, you pick a team. 2 teams are excluded from your selections: the NY Mets and the Oakland A’s, plus any team picked by someone who joined before you.

2. How are players acquired?

First season USED? 2012

Minimum AB/IP: 75 AB/25 IP (1st season), and 100 AB/30 IP thereafter.

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. (As such, under this rule, protests can only be lodged prior to game 1 of an import season. During the 2nd 2017 season, there would be no players eligible to dispute.)


3. Updating personnel:

Progressions: type: Unpredictable. Plateau range: 30 - 32

Imports and Minimums: 100 AB, 30 IP

Stat changing: 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! 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.”

Free agents/waivers? Yes. Waivers will always be based on inverse order of team strength, calculated by pennant chase just before first pitch, for the first ten games, and by record for the remainder of the season. The Commissioner is expected to make this change, but he often forgets: the change will be made either after 10 games, or upon receipt of a reminder from one of the owners.

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

Full leagues, set up as was the majors in 2012. 162 game season. 5-man rotations. Injuries: 8 days for a player, 15 for a pitcher, maximum. 26/35 are the rosters (or 26/9, if that makes more sense.)

Sims will run every 10 hours.

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.

5. Playoffs: 6 teams in each league make the playoffs: 3 division winners, and 3 wild card teams.

Seeding:

1) best division winner
2) 2nd best division winner
3) worst division winner'
4) Best wild card team
5) 2nd best wild card team
6) worst wild card team.

In Round 1, #6 @ #3, #5 @ #4. Best-of-3, all games in the host city.

Round 2: #1 hosts the 4/5 winner. #2 hosts the 3/6 winner. Best of 5: 2 games at the visitor, 3 at the home team.

Round 3: LCS: best of 7: 2 - 3 - 2, at the higher remaining seed.

World Series: best of 7: 2 - 3 - 2

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:

Commissioner reserves the right to "retire" any free agent who has reached 40 years of age.

Unpredictable progression, plateau 30 - 32.

Imports: You get all the imports from the next season that are not already in the league (30 IP/ 75 AB minimum)

Stat changes: unlimited, with minimums: 30 IP, 100 AB

Cuts to a certain roster limit: 26/35 for opening day.

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

1) determine team strength through pennant chase for waivers. After 10 games, switch waivers to a record-based system, or, if not after game 10, as soon as someone reminds the Commissioner, and he receives the request. (In other words, if I forget to change it after game 10, and after game 18 Rosilver reminds me, but I don’t see the reminder until after game 19, the change will be made for the Game 20 waivers).

2) 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	2013 - 2013
Roster Size (Majors)	26
Roster Size (Minors)	9
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 3 hours)