League Rules

Welcome to Best of the Best 1965-2022!

Franchise Assignments:

Every year each owner will need to pick a different franchise and cannot repeat franchises (until they have been used by every owner) This means that if you are the Yankees one year, the next year you will need to be someone else. This continues until you have used all 30 teams in baseball, or until the league reboots. This is designed to give every owner a chance to be the historically strong teams as well as allowing everyone to gain some understanding of each franchise and baseball history.

**We will have a franchise draft at the start of each offseason to determine who gets what team** For the first year we will pick teams based on a random number generator. Every year after that it will be inverse order of the standings to determine draft order, any teams with the same record that order will be determined by H2H, then run diff. The World Series teams being the last 2 to pick and the 10 playoff teams will be the last 10, otherwise it is on reverse order of regular season wins. The front office will keep track of which owners have owned which teams to help everyone avoid repeating ("Win Totals" link will show this). (If owners quit and new owners join, it's possible someone may end up repeating franchises before going through all 30 (we will try to prevent this as much as possible), but eventually you will get a chance to be most MLB franchises)

Records: We will be keeping records of which owner has used which teams, most wins per franchise, most wins per owner. Even if you have a team you don't like or that you feel is not as strong, you still have the challenge of trying to set the record for most wins for the franchise. (See "Win Totals" link)

-------------------------DRAFTING TEAMS------------------------------------------

**Rules for Drafting/Creating Rosters and Plus Players:

Just like auto league favorite teams, owners will get to select 4 seasons from their franchise to create their team (except Giants, Red Sox, and Astros*, who each get 3 seasons). If gbacci, the PC webmaster, ever changes the numbers of seasons a franchise gets for 1965-present Fav Team leagues, it WILL affect how many seasons a team gets in BOTB as well.

This is a unique draft in which you pick your franchise of choice, then select four years from that team's history (based on the year range of this league: 1965-2022). You will then select a roster from the players available. You can pick up to 25 players for your major league roster and 10 additional players for the minor leagues.

**To qualify, a player needs 125 ABs or 35 IPs. Starters with less than 85 IP must be RP. No duplicate players will be allowed on the same team, but Duplicate players can exist on different teams. If pitchers have below a threshold for IP, they are imported as a RP and their stamina is adjusted. To keep things simple, fair, and consistent, no adjustments will be made. You can either live with them as a RP, or not draft them. There will be no adjustments made to Position Players positions or ratings either (this includes dWAR).

**2020 Starting Pitcher exception. Not a single real life 2020 SP made it to 85 IP, and the site allows these pitchers to be imported as starters, so this rule will guide us: 2020 Starting Pitchers must have at least 56 Innings Pitched to be eligible to be imported as starters (56 innings pitched was the threshold for CY eligibility--for example Max Fried had 56 IP and was a CY finalist, while Dan Plesac had 55 IP and was not). Any starting pitchers from 2020 with fewer than 56 Innings Pitched will be adjusted and switched to RP with 40 pitch count.

You will be assigned a team and you must use that player pool to draft teams. You will get to pick your years and your players from that year pool. Failure to use your assigned team or trying to use some one else's players will result in the owner being immediately booted.

Rosters:

Rosters will consist of 26 in your majors, and 5 in your minors. Initially, you will draft 35 players (because that's what PC has you do), then add Plus/Upgrade players by sending message to Sheikyerboudi and REVEJB... then AFTER drops are turned on, you will drop players until you get down to 31. League messages will be sent out, and home page will be updated to tell everyone what to do and when to do it, step by step. It will be your responsibility to complete each step: initially you must draft your team, then send Plus players if you have them, then do the drops and get your roster to 26 and 5.

WAIVERS
So what will we do with all those dropped players? Shortly after the season begins we will do waiver additions (order determined by team record) around day 10. The sim schedule will move to 24 hours to allow everyone time to submit claims. REMEMBER, you must also pick who to drop when you submit a claim, or the computer will automatically drop you first player by alphabetical order.

You are required to set the lineup, rotation, and bullpen of your team, and you will need to do this each season because your franchise and roster will change.

OHTANI RULE: He is one player, but 2 roster spots if you import him as both a hitter and pitcher. This creates a few unique rules. 1. If you use both a hitter and pitcher of Ohtani, you MUST use the same season for both. You cannot have the 2021 SP and the 2018 DH. 2. You may not trade one without the other - in other words, you can't trade hitter Ohtani and keep pitcher Ohtani. 3. If you have both versions of Ohtani on your roster, and want to "Upgrade" him, both versions have to be Upgraded to the same season, and will count as 2 PLUS spots. 4. You may, however, use 1 PLUS for Ohtani as a pitcher or hitter only, as long as that is the ONLY version of Ohtani on your team. If you want to add Ohtani as a hitter and pitcher, that will take 2 PLUS spots. Any questions on Ohtani should be directed to the commissioners during the team building period.

-----------PLUS PLAYERS------------------

A PLUS player is any player not currently on your drafted team who meets the following conditions:
1. has enough AB/IP to qualify
2. played for your team in the season being added, and during the 1965-2022 time frame.

UPGRADES - If you like you may choose to upgrade a player currently on your roster to a "better" season that he played with your team in the 1965-2022 time frame, this upgrade would take the place of 1 of your PLUS spots..

(3 Seasons: Astros, Giants, Red Sox)

AL EAST
Baltimore (PLUS 5)
Boston (PLUS 1) [3 seasons]
New York (AL) (PLUS 0)
Tampa Bay (PLUS 4)
Toronto (PLUS 6)

AL CENTRAL
Chicago (AL) (PLUS 4)
Cleveland (PLUS 0)
Detroit (PLUS 2)
Kansas City (PLUS 7)
Minnesota (PLUS 4)

AL WEST
Houston (PLUS 1) [3 seasons]
Los Angeles (AL) (PLUS 4)
Oakland (PLUS 3)
Seattle (PLUS 3)
Texas (PLUS 4)

NL EAST
Atlanta (PLUS 1)
Miami (PLUS 7)
New York (NL) (PLUS 3)
Philadelphia (PLUS 2)
Washington (PLUS 2)

NL CENTRAL
Chicago (NL) (PLUS 2)
Cincinnati (PLUS 3)
Milwaukee (PLUS 4)
Pittsburgh (PLUS 6)
St. Louis (PLUS 1)

NL WEST
Arizona (PLUS 4)
Colorado (PLUS 4)
Los Angeles (PLUS 0)
San Diego (PLUS 5)
San Francisco (PLUS 5) [3 seasons]


--------------PARK EFFECTS---------------------------
Beginning with the season 1 reboot, each franchise has 2 options to choose from for park effects, the current (2022) version and a historical one. The following are the options for park effects:

AL EAST
Baltimore
2022 Camden Yards RHB Mild Boost LHB None
1983 Memorial Stadium RHB None LHB None
Boston
2022 Fenway Park RHB Big Boost LHB None
1986 Fenway Park RHB None LHB Mild Disadvantage
New York
2022 Yankee Stadium RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Disadvantage
1967 Yankee Stadium RHB Big Disadvantage LHB Mild Boost
Tampa Bay
2022 Tropicana Field RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Big Disadvantage
1999 Suncoast Dome RHB None LHB None
Toronto
2022 Rogers Centre RHB None LHB Mild Disadvantage
1987 Exhibition Stadium RHB None LHB None

AL CENTRAL
Chicago (AL)
2022 Guaranteed Rate Field RHB None LHB None
1983 Comiskey Park RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
Cleveland
2022 Progressive Field RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Big Boost
1968 Cleveland Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
Detroit
2022 Comerica Park RHB Big Disadvantage LHB Big Disadvantage
1984 Tiger Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Boost
Kansas City
2022 Kaufmann Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1980 Royals Stadium RHB None LHB None
Minnesota
2022 Target Field RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB None
1999 Metrodome RHB Big Disadvantage LHB Mild Boost

AL WEST
Houston
2022 Minute Maid Park RHB Mild Boost LHB None
1986 Astrodome RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
Los Angeles (AL)
2022 Angel Stadium RHB Mild Boost LHB Big Boost
2000 Edison Field RHB None LHB None
Oakland
2022 Oakland Coliseum RHB Big Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1990 Oakland Coliseum RHB None LHB Mild Disadvantage
Seattle
2022 T Mobile Park RHB None LHB Big Disadvantage
1996 Kingdome RHB None LHB None
Texas
2022 Globe Life Field RHB None LHB Mild Boost
1999 Ballpark at Arlington RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Big Boost

NL EAST
Atlanta
2022 Truist Park RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
1978 Fulton Co. Stadium RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
Miami
2022 Loan Depot Park RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1994 Joe Robbie Stadium RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
New York
2022 Citi Field RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
1976 Shea Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
Philadelphia
2022 Citizens Bank Park RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
1975 Veterans Stadium RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
Washington
2022 Nationals Park RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
1999 Olympic Stadium RHB No Effect LHB Mild Disadvantage

NL CENTRAL
Chicago (NL)
2022 Wrigley Field RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
1985 Wrigley Field RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
Cincinnati
2022 Great American Ball Park RHB Big Boost LHB Big Boost
1975 Riverfront Stadium RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
Milwaukee
2022 American Family Field RHB Mild Boost LHB Mild Boost
1980 County Stadium RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
Pittsburgh
2022 PNC Park RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1965 Forbes Field RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
St. Louis
2022 Busch Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Big Disadvantage
1999 Busch Stadium RHB No Effect. LHB No Effect

NL WEST
Arizona
2022 Chase Field RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB No Effect
2003 Chase Field RHB Mild Boost RHB Mild Boost
Colorado
2022 Coors Field RHB Big Boost LHB Mild Boost
1993 Mile High Stadium RHB Big Boost LHB Big Boost
Los Angeles
2022 Dodger Stadium RHB Big Boost LHB No Effect
1965 Dodger Stadium RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
San Diego
2022 Petco Park RHB Mild Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1984 Jack Murphy Stadium RHB No Effect LHB No Effect
San Francisco
2022 Oracle Park RHB Big Disadvantage LHB Mild Disadvantage
1971 Candlestick Park RHB No Effect LHB No Effect

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Playoffs:

Playoffs will be a total of 5 teams per league, each Division winner plus 2 wildcards will make the playoffs.

Wildcard teams play each other for a 1 game series, best record hosts the game. In the event of a tie for the 4th and 5th spots, the head to head matchup will be used first, then run differential to determine who hosts the game.

Division round is best of 5. 2-2-1 format.
Championship series will be best of 7. 2-3-2.
The world series will be the same 2-3-2 format and the best record will host. The tie breaker rules will be the same as the wildcard.

DIVISION TITLE AND WILD CARD TIE BREAKERS (as voted by league prior to season 1 of reboot)
The league will adopt slightly altered MLB rules, as of 2022, and do away with tie breaker games. In the event of a tie for the division title or final playoff spots, the following criteria will be use to break the tie, in order:
1. Head 2 Head Record
2. Intradivsion Record (only if H2H is a tie also)
3. Intraleague Record (only if H2H and Intradivsion Record are both ties)
4. Run Diff (only If the first 3 are all ties)
5. Coin Flip (only if the previous 4 are all ties)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other general rules and notes

Free Agency:

Free Agency will be opened up after the waiver period has run

Trades:

Trading will be allowed, but each trade will be reviewed by the commissioners to ensure fairness. Owners' goal should be to exchange players for mutual benefit where there is a need, nothing more and nothing less. Any trade deemed too lopsided can be simply reverted or put to a league vote.
--Limit of 5 total trades per franchise per season
--Limit 2 players per team for any trade (no team swap deals)
--Limit of 2 trades between franchises per season (again, no team swaps)
Trade Deadline is at Day 100.

Ghost Teams: If the league is short of an owner(s) a ghost team will be created by the commissioners. They will set the roster, lineups, etc. There will be no trading allowed with a ghost team. A new owner will be found for the ownerless team in the offseason.

Schedule: As per vote, we will change the schedule yearly, so each year the front office will import a different schedule to be used.

There will be 6 sims per day. We will set it up for user sims every 4 hours during regular season.

Slumpbuster will be set for a max of 5 days
Days off and fatigue will be used.
Pitchers HR allowed will be used.
Allow surprise bunts will be set at balanced.
Awards: All-stars will not be used or selected, but we will have MVP/CY for AL/NL

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**Offseason/Season Order of Events and Deadlines:
1. Ring and trophy awarded to World Series winner
2. All players deleted
3. Franchise draft Teams imported, Draft order announced
4. Franchise draft: There will be a 6 hour time limit for owners to select a team. In the event that an owner fails to pick within the required time, a team will be assigned by the following method: If the owner has not previously been the team listed as his favorite team on his User Page, he will be assigned that team. If the owner has previously been his favorite team, a team will be selected using a random number generator and that number (1-30) compared to the alphabetical listing of teams. We want as many owners as possible to pre-rank, at least once they are a few picks away, and check in frequently to PC to make their pick.
5. Teams will be re-assigned and the ability to draft teams will be turned on. Team will have a 2 WEEK DEADLINE to build their teams before drops and trades are turned on. Any team no built at the deadline will have their team built for them by a commissioner and be subject to removal from league.
6. AFTER your team draft is complete (35 players) and you are done adding and deleting players, then you can send in Plus requests, which will be recorded on league homepage.
7. Once rosters are complete, drops and trades will be turned ON and everyone will have a 1 WEEK DEADLINE to get their rosters cut to 31 players (25 majors 6 minors), and make trades prior to opening day.
8. WAIVERS will be executed early in the season, typically around day 10, where a 24 hour sim schedule will be put into place for the 1st 2 waiver rounds to allow all owners to submit waiver claims. Owners must also select a player to drop when submitting claims for waivers or the 1st player in alphabetical order will be auto dropped.
a. Owners must also select a player to drop when submitting claims for waivers - or the 1st player on your roster in
alphabetical order will be dropped.
b. Owners who accidentally drop a player should contact a commissioner prior to the next Waiver round is ran (24 hours)
c. If the dropped player is claimed by another team, you may still request that the player be returned prior to the next
sims running (4 hours)
d. Once the player in question has played in a game for another team, he is that team's property and any requests to
have him returned will have to be negotiated between the owners - the Commissioners will no longer be involved.
9. Waivers will run for 3 playing days, then free agency will open up for remainder of season.
10. Trade Deadline at Day 100, roster add/drops will be turned off at day 160
11. At the conclusion of regular season: stats will be archived, including team records, and MVP/CY will be awarded. Playoff teams, seeding and schedule will be announced

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Rules may be revised at times and edited or modified, for the betterment of the league.
Years will be added once they are imported onto PC (2023, 2024, etc)

League Settings