1) Basic Rules of the Game
A) We will have an auction with each owner having a salary cap of $260 to fill all 23 positions on his team. The positons will be as follows == Two Catchers, One 1B, One 2B, One 3B, One SS, One CI, One MI, One UT, Five OF, Nine Pitchers. == The scoring stat catagories will be a 5 X 5 using Batting Average, Home Runs, RBI's, Steals and Runs Scored. The pitching catagories are Wins, Saves, ERA, Ratio, Strikeouts.
B) During the Auction, in order to create consistancy, money checks may only be made at the end of a complete cycle of bids, i.e. between the last owner and the first owner in our bidding cycle.
C) All DL Replacement Players picked to substituted for the first 23 Roster Players will be eligible for stats from the Opening Day of the Season, even if our Auction is after the season started.
2) Keeping Players
A) We will retain players from one season to the next. An Owner may keep a maximum of 11 players. Topper Players are not counted in this total and may not be kept.
3) Player Substitution
A) We have daily transactions with a deadline of 5 minutes before the first MLB game that day. An unlimited number of substitutions
may be made for injuries, but the substitutions
for poor performance will be limited to twelve moves
total during the season. -- Note that a player who is
replacing a DL or ML player are Linked to each other.
If one is traded, both are traded. If the Active Linked
Player is placed on the NL DL or sent to the Minors,
he must be dropped from your team (unless a move is used
to keep him) in order to replace him. The replacement becomes Linked to the
same DL player. When the DL player is ready to be activated,
the replacement player MUST be dropped. There is not a
choice of dropping the DL player or the Replacement Player.
You do have the option of keeping the Replacement Player
and dropping another player or the DL Player at the cost of a Move. In this case the Replacement
Player would become a Topper for next season and receive a $10 salary or his current salary, whichever is lower.
B) Note that a player can be activated from the Fantasy DL while still on the NL DL, but cannot be put back
on the Fantasy DL without the Owner winning a Bid on a new player or
bidding $0 and winning the same player previously dropped (not a Move). A new $0 replacement may not be used. The move would be reversed. == This type of transaction can also be used when a Topper Move has been made. The player taken off the DL can be put back on it if the player dropped in the Topper transaction is picked up with a $0 bid. In this instance the player won in the $0 Bid would become the active link of the DL player.
C) If a player is on the DL, activated and immediately sent to the Minors, the same linked player would remain.
D) If a player is "Designated for Assignment", the Owner has the option of putting him on the ML List or dropping the player. The option of dropping the player is eliminated as soon as the player is assigned to a ML team. If the Owner chooses to drop the player, he may win a player with a $0 bid who will become a Topper and receive a salary of $10 or the salary of the dropped player, whichever is lower.
4) Bidding On Players
A) All Players picked up in mid-season must be done through FAAB Bidding and may be kept for next season. (see FAAB Procedure).
B) All Players obtained in a Bid to replace a Linked Player will NOT BE Linked to the DL/ML player due to a Move being used. When the DL/ML is ready to be activated, he may replace any player (meeting position requirements) without using a Move.
C) During the regular season only players on the NL 25 man (or 40 after September 1) active roster may be bid on. A player must be on an active NL roster before the FAAB runs to be a valid bid.
D) A transaction may not be protested later than 48 hours after the time it is either approved or denied by the Commissioner.
E) If an owner should win more bids than he has moves remaining, he shall not be credited with winning any of the bids and would lose any remaining moves he might have.
F) Any player won in a bid before July 1, will be in his first contract year. Any player won on July 1 or after will get a zero for his contract year and the following season will be the first contract year.
5) Player Salaries and Contracts
A) A Player won in the Auction will have that salary for the first two seasons of his contract. The salary will increase $5 for the third season. All seasons starting with the fourth will have a $10 salary increase for each year. Note that a Topper player won in the Auction will be on his first year regardless of who owned the player the previous season.
6) Salary Cap and Illegal Bids / Trades
A) Each Fantasy Team will have an In-Season Salary Cap of $290. At no time during the season may the Team Salary exceed this amount. The Team Salary on Auction Day will still remain at $260. == After any trade is made, both rosters must be legal or the trade will be reversed.
7) Players Coming From the AL
A) A player coming to the NL in a trade can be bid on by any owner. The owner losing a player on his active roster to the AL in a trade will make a $0 bid to replace the player. The replacement player will receive the salary of the player lost or $10, whichever is lower. The player will be a Topper player. == If the player lost is on the Fantasy DL, the active link will become a Topper at his current salary or $10, whichever is less.
8) Position Problems When Activating from the DL/ML
A) If when activating a DL/ML player, position requirements can
not be met due to the DL/ML player having a different position
than the active link and it is impossible to switch players
positions to meet the requirements, the following options are
available.
1) Use a move to keep both the link and the DL/ML
player and drop a third player. The link player will receive his current salary or $10, whichever is lower. The player will be a Topper player.
2) Use a move to keep the link
and drop the DL/ML player. The link player will receive his current salary or $10, whichever is lower. The player will be a Topper player.
3) When an active linked player is Poached and the DL / ML link does not fit the position, a owner may get a replacement player with a zero dollar bid to replace the Poached one. If this option is used, the DL / ML player must be dropped and the zero bid player becomes a Topper with the salary of the DL / ML player or $10 whichever is lower.
9) Trading Periods
A) The League will have "Trading Periods". The first period is from the end of the Auction through August 31 at 11 PM CT. The next Period begins January 1 and ends on a "floating date" in March which is two days before we turn in our Keeper Lists. The January period can have trades where the postions do not match the in-season rules and your roster does not have to stay at 23 players. Trades may not be made other than during these two periods.
10) Position Requirements on Auction Day
A) Players are eligible for any position in which they played 20 games in the last season or one game this season. If a player did not play 20 games at any position last season, he is eligible for the position in which he played the most games.
B) Any player that has not played in the Majors may be used at a position he has played during Spring Training. Once the season starts, he must play at that position by April 15 or he is no longer eligible.
C) When a player is picked up in mid-season who has not played in the Majors before, his position can be the one he played in the Minors.
11) Disabled and Injury List
A) Each team will have an Injury List and a Minor List (this will also apply to players that are suspended) for inactive players. When a player is put on this list he can be replaced on your team and you still retain the rights to the inactive player. When the player is active again, he MUST be activated by the Fantasy Team by the Second Monday 8 PM deadline after the player is activated by his NL team (If a player is activated on a Monday, this counts as the First Monday). The Owner does have the choice of dropping the DL / ML Player and keeping the Replacement Player by using a move. In this case the Replacement Player would become a Topper Player and receive a $10 salary or the dropped players salary, whichever is lower.
B) If a player remains on the Fantasy Injury/Minor List after that time, EITHER the Inactive Player or Active Link is subject to being dropped. Any Owner may request to the Commish that the player be dropped. The dropped player would then be eligible to be bid on in the next days FAAB run.
C) A player who is on an active NL roster may not have a replacement player picked up for him.
12) Multiple DL Moves in One Transaction
A) If an Owner activates a player from the DL / ML, uses a move to keep the active link and puts another player on the DL / ML in one move, no link will be attached to the DL player since a move was used in the transaction.
13) Minimum Innings Pitched and Minimum At Bats
A) Each team must pitch a minimum of 1000 innings or they do receive zero points in ERA and Ratio. The minimum at bats is 4250 or that team will receive zero points in BA.
14) Mid-Season Rule Changes
A) After the Fantasy Season has started (after Auction Day), if any Rule Change is voted on, it must receive YES votes from at least 75% of the league in order to become a new rule.
15) Players Traded to AL or Released
A) If any player should be released from his NL team or traded to the AL, the Fantasy Owner will retain rights to that player as long as the player is on the Active Roster of the Fantasy Team. A replacement may be gotten using a zero dollar bid. The new player will be a Topper and get a salary of the dropped player or $10, whichever is lower. You may also use this free move to activate a player from the DL or ML and keep any linked player as a Topper.
16) Deadline for Making FAAB Bids
A) The last time a player may be bid on is in the FAAB run of September 16 at 12:07 AM CT. The only exception to this is the $0 DL / ML replacement players. They may be bid on all season.
17) Changing Keeper List
A) If AFTER turning in your Keeper List and BEFORE Auction Day, a player on the List is lost to the AL, you have the option of adding another player from your Winter Roster to the List. If an Owner happens to put on his Keeper List a player who is in the AL or one that is not playing this season, that player may be dropped from the Keeper List, but no other player added as a replacement.
18) End of Season Winter Roster
A) At the end of the season, each Owner must turn in his WInter Roster. It must consist of 23 Players that fit the positions indicated in the
rules. No Salary Cap is in effect on the Winter Roster. Please send me an email with the moves you wish to make on your inactive players.
== You must decide which end of Links you are
keeping and drop the other end. If you keep the active link, the DL / ML player
becomes a Topper Player. This DOES NOT count
as a Move.
== Any Players on the Injury or Minor List
that does not have a Link may be activated and any
other player dropped or the Non-Linked inactive player may be dropped. This DOES NOT count as a Move.
== If you want to retain both ends of a Link and drop a
third player, you may use a Move (if any remain) to
do this. In this case, the active Link becomes a Topper Player. If you use this option, please email what the move was.
== If an Owner has no DL / ML players, he must send me an e-mail to express his desire
to play next season.
== If no action is taken by an Owner on his
Winter Roster, I will assume that there is no interest
for the following season and seek another person to take over the team.
== When trading players during the Winter, trades may be made without
regard to position (i.e. you may trade two pitchers for
two hitters), uneven trades (2 for 1) may be made and
your roster does not have to be at 23 players.
19) First Year Owner Voting Privledges
A) Any Owner who has not participated in our league in a previous season, may not vote on rule changes. He may have voting privileges on everything else that does not involve league rules.
20) Owner Vacation Rule
A) If an Owner is going to be out of town and unable to make transactions on his players, he may state in a message the time period he will be away and this freezes his roster. The Owner will have until 8 PM on the day after his return date to make all moves. If an Owner chooses to use this rule, no transactions may be posted by him during the dates indicated. If he chooses to prematurely end the roster freeze by stating this and making a transaction, this will be allowed.
21) Player Eligibility at Spring Auction
A) A player selected in the Auction must be on a NL team Active Roster or Injury List.
22) DL/ML Replacement Players at Auction
A) Replacements for DL players selected at the Auction will start getting stats at the beginning of the season as do the other 23 active players.
23) September and October DL Rule
A) After August 31, injured players are often not put on the NL DL due to roster expansion. For our purposes, a player may qualify for the DL during September and October, if he has an injury and has missed six consecutive games. He may then have a replacement as in a normal DL transaction. Also if one of our sites list the player as "Out for the Season", but not on the DL, he may be replaced immediately. There is no limit on these type of special DL transactions and they may not be claimed from the DL by other owners. When bidding $0 to replace him, do not drop or attempt to to put him on the DL. Instead send the Commish an email when you make your bid that you are going to replace "Joe Blow" DL player, without giving me the name you are bidding on. After you win the bid, I will put him on the DL.
24) Computer Use During Auction
A) Computer use during the Auction is permitted, provided the software only serves database functions and does not function as a management program which recalculates values of players as the Auction proceeds. This would give the user an unfair calculation advantage. John Benson's software is an example, but others of the same type are also covered by this rule.
25) Breaking Ties In Standings
The tie-breaking procedure for the standings are as follows:
A) The tied teams are ranked in each category as in the normal standings (In a three-way
tie, the top team gets 3 points - second, 2 points and last, 1 point). The points are totaled
for each category and the most points gets the higher place in the standings.
B) If a tie still exists after the first tie-breaker, the tied teams will take their total innings pitched and multiply by three. To this number they will add the total at bats. The higher of this composite number will determine the higher place in the standings.
26) Determining League Champion
A) Our Fantasy League Champion will be determined by Regular Season stats as put out by the National League. This includes any extra games that are played to determine the four NL playoff teams.