League Rules
Commish: cdubb7
Vice: Potholes
BUDGET/ROSTER SIZE
Owners will start with $160 in cap room. Teams are allowed a 50-man organization (25 in majors/25 in minors), and teams are allowed to sign 30 players to contracts. Teams are not allowed to carry less than 25 men on their active roster.
Teams will be allowed to exceed their budget during the offseason and through spring training. If a team exceeds its budget entering the regular season, they will surrender a first-round draft pick and will still need to get under budget. There are no exceptions.
A team exceeding budget during the regular season will be given three real days to get under budget. Otherwise, the team will lose a first-round pick.
Expansion teams starting budgets will be handled in a fair way accounting for "inflation" TBD when the time comes.
DRAFT
At the start of the league, all 16 teams will participate in a snake-order draft. Draft order will be random.
Following the playoffs each season, all teams will participate in the league's rookie draft. Draft order will be determined by the previous season?s standings.
Each rookie class will consist of real-life players who made their first significant contribution that season (approximately 150 ABS, 50/25 IPs). Notable players will be edited by commish to reflect their real-life careers. These changes can be tracked via the transaction log and will be completed before the draft begins.
There will be three rounds of the draft.
If commish is forced to pick for a team, highest-ranked player will be selected. If there are multiple players with the same rank, the absent team will receive the oldest player (as to not incentivize missing picks). Second tie-breaker is potential (order: U, C, A, S).
Run differential will be used for draft order tie-breakers. The team with the worse +/- will receive the more favorable pick. Head-to-head is the second tie-breaker.
ROOKIES
All players with rookie tags will not need to be signed to contracts. These tags will be removed for hitters when they exceed 150 compiled ABs in a single season, and they'll be removed for pitcher when they exceed 50 IPs (25 for relievers). AB/IPs in the playoffs do not counts against the totals for tag removals, just regular season stats. Tags are removed following progressions. When players turn 28, their rookie tags will be removed, regardless of their compiled stats.
When the tag is removed, the player will need to be signed via PC?s standards. The tags will be removed during the offseason, meaning the player will need to be signed before the following offseason. Otherwise, they?ll become free agents.
FREE AGENCY
Free Agency will follow the draft. Teams will send the commissioner their bids in the following format:
-Max years you can bid on someone is 10
Note: Decreasing bids are allowed. Decreasing bids are where the contract values goes down every year.
Example: 5yrs/$10/-$2/$30 - The contract value would decrease $2 every season.
Please be clear when sending in a bid that decreases in value every season
Players should be included with their positions, as this is how bids will be organized and the commish will not check every individual player page while compiling bids. If these are listed incorrectly, the commish takes no responsibility for such errors and reserves the right to award players accordingly.
Following the first phase of bidding in free agency, the top three bidders will be allowed to re-bid (if they desire) on the players. The top three teams (without bids) will be listed on the home page.
There are no restrictions on who can be bid on. Teams can only bid on 30 players in their initial bidding.
Players signed via free agency can not be traded or dropped until after game 60. This does not apply to franchise/tendered players returning to their incumbent team.
Other factors to keep in mind:
- Players signed to $0 contracts will be placed on a winning team (if there?s only one bid) without a contract. If a player has at least one monetary bid, the $0 bid will be ignored. In this scenario, teams offering a $0 bid will not be allowed to re-bid.
- If a free agent receives only one monetary bid and the total contract value exceeds $30, $2 will be deducted from the player's yearly salary.
- If a team wins a bid by more than $40 total, the commish will deduct $2 from the yearly salary.
- Teams can not pick and choose which winning free agent they want to take. All bids are final. If you're listed in the top-3 for a certain player, that will be your final opportunity to pull out of the bidding. Teams are allowed to rescind up to three contracts at this time. Otherwise, you're obligated to the player.
In free agency, be aware of player tenders (see CONTRACTS)
CONTRACTS
Following the season, players with unsigned/expiring contracts (excluding rookies) will become free agents. Teams will have an opportunity to retain their own free agents via the following three methods:
1) FRANCHISE TAG:
Teams can designate one impending FA a franchise player. This means the player will receive at least a three-year or more year contract worth the average of the four highest annual contracts at that respective position. You can franchise a player from 3-10 years.
IMPORTANT: Each player may only be franchised/extended/tendered ONCE throughout their career, with the exception of a player being traded or entering free agency. A player being traded or entering free agency allows the new team to franchise or extend a player once
2) PLAYER TENDER:
Teams can assign a first, second, or third round tender to their FAs. A tender does not guarantee the player's return, but it guarantees some kind of compensation should they be signed to another team.
Teams assigning a player tender are essentially offering a one-year contract for the values below.
- 1st Round Tender: the average of the eight (8) highest annual contracts at that respective position
- 2nd Round Tender: the average of the twelve (12) highest annual contracts at that respective position
- 3rd Round Tender: the average of the sixteen (16) highest annual contracts at that respective position
The player will not automatically accept this offer; he will still enter free agency. All teams (except those without the applicable draft picks) will be allowed to bid on a tendered player, and if the average annual value of a FA offer tops the tender price, the FA bidder will win the player.
However, the winning bidder will have to surrender whatever draft pick was chosen by the original, tendering team for the following year. If a team does not own any of the respective draft picks, they will not be allowed to bid on the tendered free agent.
If a team wishes to bid on a player with a first-round tender, they MUST own their own pick. There are no exceptions.
If a winning team has multiple applicable draft picks for second- and third-round tenders, they will sacrifice the most valuable pick (based on last year's standings). This pick will be frozen the moment the team submits their bid (i.e. the team can't quickly trade multiple seconds in pursuit of giving up the worst possible pick).
Teams placing a player tender can still bid on that player if, for example, they're worried a free agent bid may exceed the free agent price.
If teams don't bid on a tendered free agent, the player will return to his former team on the tender contract.
Teams are allowed to apply each of the tenders once per offseason.
IMPORTANT: Each player may only be franchised/extended/tendered ONCE throughout their career, with the exception of a player being traded or entering free agency. A player being traded or entering free agency allows the new team to franchise or extend a player once
3) EXTENSIONS:
If a player is on the same team for at least five straight seasons, he is eligible to renegotiate his contract in the off-season, once his contract is expiring. Players must play at least one game per season to be eligible.
The formula/process can be found here.
Players are grouped in the following way for extensions: SP, RP, OF, 1B/C, 2B/3B/SS. This is to prevent a dynamic player at a position that is generally paid less from being signed at an absurd discount.
Starting values are determined as follows:
Tier 1 (Rank 90+): the average of the top-5 highest-paid players in the player pool
Tier 2 (Rank 80-89): the average of the top-10 highest-paid players in the player pool
Tier 3 (Rank 70-79): the average of the top-15 highest-paid players in the player pool
Tier 4 (Rank 69 and below): the average of the top-20 highest-paid players in the player pool
IMPORTANT: Each player may only be franchised/extended/tendered ONCE throughout their career.
For info on players with "ROOKIE" tags, see ROOKIES/DRAFT.
IMPORTANT NOTE: remember that PC has an odd quirk in their contract system. Essentially, the player receives an extra year on the contract that doesn't count against the cap. So, if you ink a guy to a five-year, $50 deal, the player will be owed $10 for five years, and he'll be on your roster for a sixth year at $0
ADD/DROP
Following free agency, all free agents can be added freely (assuming the team has the necessary roster room). Each team is allowed five adds in the first 24 hours during which adds are open.
If a team wishes to cut a player, they must message the commish. Teams can release players with no contracts/expiring contracts without any financial penalty. Game 130 is the deadline to cut any players.
Teams are also allowed to cut players under contract. Teams will be responsible for paying 50% of a player's yearly salary for the remainder of the player's contract. The salary for the released player will be subtracted from the team's cap for the respective season(s). If the salary is an odd number, the value will be rounded down (in the owner's favor).
When a player is cut, they will be placed on a holding team. All teams are allowed to bid on the free agent. Bids will be open for 48 hours after the player has been officially dropped. *****Note******* The bidding process is at the commissioner's discretion. Often times a player is released that is worse than free agents already in the free agent pool. If the player is not good enough to attract any bidding, then the player will be released into free agency for anyone to claim, without the bidding process occurring.
PROGRESSIONS
Player progression will take place following every season. Players will peak at age 28 and begin declining at 32. Free agents 45 and over will retire following the season. Players who are not free agents will retire when they're 45, regardless of contract status. Teams will still be responsible for paying the rest of the contract (money will be deducted from the team's budget for each applicable season).
POSITION CHANGES
Teams are allowed a pair of position changes every off-season. For offense, the following rules apply:
-Any player can be switched to first base
-Any player can be switched to their secondary position (excluding "UT" and "IF")
-Any player with a speed of 8 or higher can play any position (except catcher)
-Any 2B/SS can switch to another infield position or OF
Fielding percentage is reduce by .02 when a player's position is changed.
Starting pitchers can be switched to the bullpen. Starters switching to relief will see a .15 improvement in WHIP. Pitcher "position changes" can only be made if the player is 32 or older.
A position player is allowed to be switched back to their original, imported position without any penalty to their fielding percentage. This rule isn't applicable to pitchers. Refer to "League History" to see the list of previous position changes.
TRADES
Trades can include any combination of players, picks or cap. Picks can only be traded up to two years in the future (the upcoming draft and following draft). There are three rounds of the rookie draft, so picks from rounds one, two, three can be dealt.
All trades will be approved by the commissioners. Send all trade details pertaining to picks or cap to commish.
Cap trades are permanent. Teams are not allowed to dip below $130 budget under any circumstances.
Players signed via free agency can not be traded until after game 60. The trade deadline will be on or around game 130 and will be announced well in advance.
New owners, regardless of website tenure, will have every completed trade reviewed by the commish for their first 20 real days in the league. Commissioner has the right to reverse any trade made by these respective teams. This is to reduce the chance that a tenured owner takes advantage of a less-experienced owner.
Starting in 1939 - A player acquired via trade or free agency, can be Franchised/Tendered/Extended again once by the new team, even if they have been Franchised/Tendered/Extended by the prior team. This is to provide more incentive to trade players.
IMPORTED PLAYERS/ROOKIES
Imported player stats are at the commish's discretion. For example, popular players with ugly rookie stats may be edited. Email the commish if you have any questions regarding a player's omittance/inclusion/edited stats. All edits will be completed prior to the rookie draft.
Imported players with an All-Star appearance will receive "A" potential. Imported players with 8+ All-Star Appearances or induction into the HOF will receive "S" potential. All others will be imported with "C" potential.
Imported players 25 or younger will be in the respective year's draft class. Imported players 26 and older will be included in that respective year's free-agent class.
Easter Egg Clause: The commish reserves the right to add random fictional players for pure entertainment value. These players will not exceed two per draft class, will likely be mediocre at best, and will be complete and included in the draft class at the time of the draft room being open.
PLAYER/TEAM AWARDS
PLAYER AWARDS
-All-Stars will be selected by PC, and each player will receive 1 power/fire point and be improved to "A" potential. Players with 5+ All Star appearances will be improved to "S" potential.
-MVP, Cy Young, and ROY will be voted upon by league owners. Winners will receive 1 power/fire point. MVP/Cy Young winners will be improved to "A" potential. Winners of 3+ MVP/Cy Young Awards will be improved to "S" potential.
-Silver Sluggers are awarded to the player in each league with the highest compiled OPS at their primary position for the season. Three OF awards will be given per league. Players must meet PC default AB minimums to qualify. One additional utility/DH award will be given in each league to the player with the highest compiled OPS who is NOT the highest at his position in his league.
Silver Slugger winners will be given the addition of 4 total bases to their real stats at the owner of the player's discretion. Options include 1 HR, four singles, a single and a triple, two doubles, or a double and two singles. This allows owners to improve slugging comparably while increasing either power or contact in the way that they feel best suits the player. If owners do not request a specific combination by a given deadline, the player will be rewarded with one HR.
-Golden Gloves are awarded to the player in each league with the best balance of defensive +/- and compiled fielding percentage at their primary position for the season (at the discretion of the commissioners). Three OF awards will be given per league. CCS% will factor into the catcher awards. Players must meet total PO/A minimums to ensure the winning players are daily positional players (not splitting too much time at DH). If deemed prohibitive or inaccurate, these minimums are subject to change by the commish at his sole discretion.
Current minimums (PO+ A) are as follows:
C: 900
1B: 1300
2B: 500
3B: 250
SS: 500
OF: 300
Golden Glove winners will be awarded .1 dWAR point.
TEAM AWARDS
Teams that make it to the post-season will be rewarded with the following cap increases:
-World Series Winner will receive $4
-League Champs will receive $3
-Regular Season League champs will receive $2
-All wildcards will receive $1
Teams are only eligible to receive one of these rewards each season.
PLAYOFFS
Each league will send its winning team and three wild cards to the postseason. There will be three rounds.
There will be days off granted during the playoffs, allowing for a four-man rotation.
If there are ties pertaining to a playoff spot (not including seeding), there will be a one-game playoff to determine the winner.
Head-to-head is the tiebreaker for seeding, with run differential being the second tiebreaker.
SEASON TIMELINE
Rookie Draft
Free Agency Bidding
Spring Training (user sims set at 2-hour intervals. Commish may increase game frequency to get through faster.)
Start of Regular Season (user sims set at 4-hour intervals)
All-Star Selections
Trade Deadline: Following game 120
Playoffs (one round a day, scheduled sims)
Deadline to re-sign players/former rookies without contracts
Deadline to apply franchise tag/tenders/resign veterans
***********************Changes Coming*******************************
Changes next offseason - 1953:
Cap changes –
Cap top $220
Anyone under $170 will get a $10 bump
Anyone between 170-177 will get a $8 bump
Anyone between 177-184 will get a $5 bump
Anyone between 185-190 will get a $3 bump
Cap will get a bump up in several seasons, based on a re-evaluation. We want to keep the $$ incentive of continuing to compete for all teams, with the balance of the lower salary teams not being at too far of a disadvantage.
To give incentives to spend Permanent cap $$ when you hit your limit:
1. SP to RP change will now permanently cost $1 ****OR**** $3 increase per season for the life of the contract.
2. Stadium change will cost $2 for minor change or $4 for overhaul
3. You can still trade your permanent cap $$
*Note* - You will have 1 full season to spend anything accrued over the cap of $220.
Remove all Free Agents under 30 rank that is over the age of 32
Changes in 5 years:
Retire players at age 40 (Even if under contract)
Current contracts are exempt, but new contracts will be not allow players to be signed past age 40
Some leagues use fictional player progression. To learn more about how players progress, check the Player Potential page.
League Settings
| Year Range of Stats | 1871 - 2020 |
| Roster Size (Majors) | 25 |
| Roster Size (Minors) | 25 |
| Keepers | (40 keepers) |
| Change Stats Allowed | |
| Free Agency | |
| Drops | |
| No-Drop List | |
| Player Fatigue | |
| Batter Injuries | (30 games max) |
| Pitcher Injuries | (30 games max) |
| Use Pitcher's HR Allowed Stats | |
| Allows Max Surprise Bunts | |
| Min Batters Pitcher Must Face | 0 |
| Slump Buster | (5 days) |
| On Fire | Classic |
| User Sims |
