AMERICA S MAIL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION. Updated October 13, (2011 points of emphasis or changes in BOLD)

Transcription

1 AMERICA S MAIL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION Updated October 13, 2011 (2011 points of emphasis or changes in BOLD) OBJECTIVE The objective of this league is to provide its members with the opportunity of playing APBA baseball through the mail and to provide an organized method for reporting the results of each manager s play to the other members of the league. MEMBERSHIP 1. There will be two classifications of membership: A. Active Managers A. Stand-By Managers 2. There shall be sixteen Active Managers and no limit will be set on the number of Stand-By Managers. 3. The duties of an Active Manager will include the following: A. Play all games as outlined in the league schedule B. Report all series results and stats to the opposing managers and to the Commissioner C. Pay all dues as set by the Commissioner D. To have fun being a member of this league 4. The duties of a Stand-By Manager will include the following: A. Be prepared to become an Active Manager B. Pay all dues as set by the Commissioner LEAGUE OFFICERS 1. Commissioner MIKE PRYSON: His duties will consist of the following: A. Create and publish all league newsletters and yearbooks B. Collect dues and handle all league financial business C. Settle all protests D. Perform a periodic review of all Active Managers E. Collect all series stat reports from all sixteen managers 2. Player Agent JERRY VUKELICH: His duties will consist of the following: A. Maintain team rosters with trades and Rookie Draft results B. Coordinate the pre-rookie Draft player cut activity C. Generate and distribute the draft list for the annual Rookie Draft to all league managers D. Conduct the annual Rookie Draft D. E. Establish the league schedule NUMBER OF TEAMS AND ALIGNMENT

2 1. There shall be sixteen teams in the America's Mail League. 2. There shall be four divisions with four teams per division. 3. The names of the divisions shall be Aaron, Boudreau, Musial, and Ruth. 4. Each manager may choose an appropriate name for his team. 5. It will take 12 Active Managers to vote in favor of realignment.

3 MAJOR LEAGUE SQUADS 1. There shall be a maximum of 25 players that a team can have on its active roster for any regular season series or league playoff series. There are no limits on the number of roster changes that can be made throughout the year, however for a given series the home and road roster must be identical. 2. Of the active players, a minimum of eight must be pitchers with four of these being starters. 3. Of the active players, each team must have at least two players for each position and four outfielders; one player may be a backup for no more than two of the infield positions. 4. Teams may carry a maximum of 30 active players for the final three series of the season (Series 13, 14,15). RESERVE LISTS Each team may maintain a reserve list from one season to the next. The only names eligible to be on this list are those players who are on that teams roster, but did not receive a playing card for the upcoming season. If these players are ever issued another card, they will be returned to the team's roster. Players may be kept on the list for any number of seasons and there will be a maximum of seven players on this list. Players on this list may also be traded. SEASON 1. The season shall be one hundred and sixty-two games long. 2. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams in each conference will qualify for post-season play. These teams will be determined and seeded as follows: A. Division winners automatically make the playoffs. B. The other two teams making the playoffs from a conference will be the teams with the next best win-loss record in the conference. C. Teams will then be seeded from one to four based on win-loss record. 3. The first round of the playoffs will match the one and four seeds and the two and three seeds from each conference. The series will be a two-three-two seven game format with the home-field advantage going to the team with the higher seeding. 4. The second round of the conference playoffs will be a best-of-seven playoff series between the winners of the first round. The series will be a two-three-two game format with the home-field advantage going to the team with the higher seed. 5. The winners of the conference playoffs will compete against each other in a best-ofseven Championship Series. The series will be a two-three-two game format with the home-field advantage going to the team with the best win-loss record. 6. In the event teams have identical win-loss records, the following list will be used, in descending order, to determine the seeding. The team with the better record gets the higher seed.

4 A. Head-to-head record B. Conference record C. A coin flip SCHEDULE 1. The Commissioner (or manager appointed by the Commissioner) will distribute the schedule at least three weeks prior to the start of the season. 2. Each team will play each team in the other conference eight games, four home and four away. 3. Each team will play each team in its own conference fourteen games, seven home and seven away. 4. The list of due dates for playing instructions, series results, and the team stat report will be listed on the schedule. 5. The Commissioner will attempt to change the league schedule from year to year.

5 STRATEGY All strategy should be based on baseball strategy. Any manager who uses this constitution or the rules of APBA Baseball in an unorthodox manner will be subject to penalty or expulsion from the league. All managers should make the America's Mail League as realistic as possible. TRADING OF PLAYERS 1. Trading of players or draft picks is allowed to take place during the following three periods: A. A period of at least two weeks prior to the Rookie Draft as announced by the League Office. Trading period will generally open as soon as all 16 teams have final stats on file with the Commissioner. All trades made during this time must be phoned or ed in to the Player Agent and the Commissioner. B. Trading will cease on Sunday of draft weekend so that the Player Agent can update rosters. C. Trading may resume from the time you receive your official post-draft rosters until the end of Series 10 of the upcoming season. Trades must be completed and rosters updated before the start of Series When a trade is made all participating managers must report the exact trade in writing to the Player Agent and the Commissioner. 3. Uneven numbers of players may be traded, but at the end of the season all rosters must be cut down to at least thirty-five players prior to the Rookie Draft. 4. Draft Choices may be traded but only for the next Rookie Draft. At the start of the pre-rookie Draft trading period (generally noon Friday of draft weekend), managers may then begin to trade picks for the next year's draft. 5. No Draft Choice may be traded beyond the 5th round of an AML Rookie Draft. 6. All trades are subject to review by the Commissioner. PLAYING RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. The basic APBA Major League Baseball Game will be used. 2. The following rules will also be used: A. optional base coaching B. optional pitching rules C. Advanced fielding rules D. Playing Boards as developed by Dick Davis and Dennis Dvorak E. Modified Sacrifice Boards F. Modified Error Chart G. All boards will be maintained by Pat Vukelich, who will distribute modified boards to managers as needed. 3. There will be no injuries from game to game. 4. For injuries that occur in a game, use the following chart to determine the extent of the injury:

6 J Number Injury Duration 0 Roll 1 die, if odd, player is out the rest of the game. Otherwise, the player continues. 1, 2, 3, or 4 The player misses the rest of the game. 5. The designated hitter will be used. Pitchers are not allowed to bat. 6. Each starting pitcher must have a minimum of three days rest between starts. Managers can establish their pitching rotation in one of two ways. A. First, their rotation can apply to all games in a given series (home and road that assumes the home games are played first). Three days of rest are required between starts and this rest period must be observed as a team transitions from one series to the next. B. The second way a team s pitching rotation can be set is to have separate home and road rotations. Again the three-day rest period must be observed as a team transitions from the home (or road) games in one series to the home (or road) games in the next series.

7 7. All pitchers who start the game must remain in the game until he meets one of the following conditions. This rule applies to all starting pitchers regardless of grade. It is intended to prevent the misuse of relief pitchers. A. He gives up a total of nine walks, runs, and hits B. He gives up four straight hits C. He gives up three straight walks D. He gives up three extra-base hits in one inning E. He pitched the first five innings of the game F. He is injured and must leave the game 8. Only batters with two or more red "31"'s on their card may be used a-the batter for the hit and run play. The hit and run play may only be used a maximum of three batters per game per team. A team with a lead of more than four runs may not use the hit and run play. 9. Pitchers used in relief are limited to pitching three innings before their grade is reduced. As of the fourth inning that they pitch, they will be reduced one letter grade and so on for each additional inning pitched. For example, a B* will be allowed to pitch three innings as a B*, but starting the fourth, the pitcher will be reduced to a C* and then to a D* for the start of the fifth inning. 10. Pitchers who start a game must miss two games before they can next appear as a relief pitcher. Additionally, a pitcher used in relief must miss two games before they can be used as a starting pitcher. 11. The following rules will apply to grade reduction and replacement of starting pitchers: A, Any starting OR relief pitcher who gives up 5 earned runs in 3 consecutive innings will be reduced one grade. B. Any pitcher will be reduced one more letter grade as soon as he gives up seven total runs. C. The pitcher shall also be reduced one letter grade for each additional run given up after 7 total runs (earned and unearned runs). D. After the 5 th inning, any starting pitcher who gives up 8 or more total runs must be removed immediately. E. Any pitcher who gives up 8 or more runs before the 5th inning can remain in the game through the 5th inning, but must be pulled after the 3rd out in the 5th inning is recorded. Beginning with the season, change the references from 5 innings and 8 runs to 4 innings and 7 runs (Go from 5-8 to 4-7). 12. Any starting pitcher will be reduced by one grade for the 10 th inning, another grade for the 11 th inning, and ALL PITCHERS will be reduced to D(1)(W) beginning with the 12 th inning in an extra-inning game. 13. If a pitcher has a "ZZ" control rating, the AML will use the APBA defined rule that has a "14" result in 2 balls rather than a walk for the bases empty and runners on first and third situations. 14. If not otherwise stated in a team's playing instructions, "play it safe with (S) runners" means no stealing, no extra base advancement, and do not score on fly balls. (S) Runners may, however, still be picked off.

8 15. Teams may only pinch-hit or pinch-run for their last player at a position in an emergency situation in the ninth inning or later. An "emergency situation" is defined as trailing (NOT TIED). Any player who then is forced to play an un-carded position will be given the lowest APBA defensive rating at that position. 16. Unlike real baseball, once a DH is forced into a game to play defense due to injury or ejection (and you don't have anyone else on your bench who can fill the defensive void) you may bring in a player off your bench to become your DH. Unlike in real baseball, you do not lose your DH in this situation. The most important rule to follow is: PITCHERS NEVER BAT IN AML PLAY. 17. THREE INNNINGS PITCHED AND YOU SIT: Any relief pitcher who pitches 3 or more innings must sit out one game before he is eligible to pitch again. 18. PICK OFFS OCCUR AS THEY POP UP ON THE BOARDS: Any runner deemed to be picked off due to a board result will be considered picked off, regardless of a manager holding a slow (S) runner. In other words, even if your runner is being held close, he can still be picked off. It was discussed and agreed upon by the group that holding runners applies to base advancement opportunities. It is still possible for an (S) runner to wander off the bag too far and be too slow to get back in time, hence a pick off. PLAYER LIMITS 1. Player limits will be established from the following guidelines: A. All non-pitchers may only play as many games as they played in the corresponding season. B. All starting pitchers shall be limited to their actual number of starts in the corresponding season. C. All relief pitchers shall be limited to their actual number of innings pitched in the corresponding season. D. Any pitcher who pitched in relief in real life, even one game, can be used as a reliever in the AML. If you look at the AML ROSTERS on the league website, you'll see that Jerry has "split limits" on those guys. It shows how many GS and/or IP they can play in the AML. The way we handle it is that as soon as you use one of those guys as a reliever, they are now bound to their IP limits for the season (no matter how many times you use them as a starter, within their GS limits of course, during the AML season). Or, if you use them exclusively as a starter in the AML, they are limited by their GS limits (and they can go over their IP limits just like any other starter). Split grade pitchers are handled the same way. Basically, APBA gives split grades when there is a clear difference in effectiveness of a pitcher as a reliever or starter (ie. if a guy was a lights out setup guy and got an A* grade as a reliever. But, if he also started a game and sucked in that start, he's likely to get a grade of something like D(A*). If the same pitcher had no appreciable difference in effectiveness (say he was a 3.50 ERA reliever and did about the same in a few starts, APBA usually just gives those guys a straight C or B grade. You won't see a grade of B(B*), but that doesn't mean that guys didn't relieve in real life.

9 E. All split-grade pitchers shall be limited to both their actual number of innings pitched and games started, if the pitcher is used in both capacities. If a splitgrade pitcher is only used as a starter, his number of starts will only limit him. If a split-grade pitcher is used only as a reliever, he will only be limited by his actual number of innings. 2. PENALTIES FOR OVER-LIMITS Over-use of players will be dealt with harshly by the commissioner. A. Any starting pitcher who goes over his GAMES STARTED limit will be declared a free agent and immediately removed from a team s roster. This is the one limit that can be controlled by a manager. Should there be a situation where there is a change in managers in mid-season, the Commissioner will work closely with new manager to ensure that the limits are enforced to the best of the new manager s ability. Teams should err on the side of caution (it s better for a pitcher to end up 5 starts under than it is to go 5 starts over). B. Players who go over GAMES PLAYED limits or pitchers who go over INNINGS PITCHED limits will result in penalties. The commissioner will decide on the penalty an the manager who is being punished has the option of appealing the decision to the league as a whole. All decisions involving the handing out of penalties will be logged in a database and used as precedent (ie. If Player A goes over by three games played in 2007, and the commissioner the manager 3 draft positions in an upcoming draft, that decision will be recorded and a similar penalty would likely be rendered in future similar infractions. Of course, factors such as intent, affect that the infraction had on the draft order or playoff races, or repeat offenders will factor into the decision. If a relief pitcher goes over by an inning or two because of an extrainning game in the final series on the road or an unusual injury situation, that information should be substantiated by a note from the road manager detailing why a player went over. If the overage is due to lazy instructions (ie. Not telling the road manager to limit a specific player on the road), the penalty will likely be harsh. Penalties can include any of the following (determined of course by the severity of the infraction in the eyes of the commissioner): A) Player declared free agent and removed from roster B) Manager fined draft pick(s) or assigned a lower draft position in one or more rounds of the draft (ie. If you have the No. 3 pick in the first round, the Commissioner has the right to drop you a few places in that, or any other, round as determined in the ruling). C) Manager could lose a draft pick or draft picks in an upcoming draft. If a manager was to, for example, lose his first-round pick in such a ruling, that manager would fill out his roster at the end of the draft. We must maintain 16 X 35 integrity in our player pool. D) Expulsion from the league.

10 3. There will be no lower limits placed on the players. Since all players are governed by their actual limits, others will see action. 4. The following items are to be used to determine the availability and participation of starting pitchers in post-season playoffs: A. Each starting pitcher must have 3 days minimum between starts. B. Series game limits for a starting pitcher are determined by taking 10% of the number of starts posted on the team playing roster. "Normal" rounding is to be used, e.g., 24 starts on the team-playing roster equates to a maximum of 2 starts in a given playoff series. C. Playoff teams must observe a continuous rotation from one playoff series to the next. If a team wins a series in less than the maximum scheduled games, they have extra off days. The following schedule will be used for the three rounds of playoffs: First Round Second Round Third Round Day 01 Game 1 Day 11 Game 1 Day 21 Game 1 Day 02 Game 2 Day 12 Game 2 Day 22 Game 2 Day 03 Off Day 13 Off Day 23 Off Day 04 Game 3 Day 14 Game 3 Day 24 Game 3 Day 05 Game 4 Day 15 Game 4 Day 25 Game 4 Day 06 Game 5 Day 16 Game 5 Day 26 Game 5 Day 07 Off Day 17 Off Day 27 Off Day 08 Game 6 Day 18 Game 6 Day 28 Game 6 Day 09 Game 7 Day 19 Game 7 Day 29 Game 7 Day 10 Off Day 20 Off 5. To determine limits for batters in playoff games, divide actual number of games played by 20 and round down (i.e. 142 games/20 = 7 playoff games). The only exception is for players who played in less than 60 games. For those players, use the following rule: 1-29 actual games played = 1 playoff game; actual games played = 2 playoff games. 6. The following items are to be used to determine the availability and participation of relief pitchers in post-season playoffs: A. Series inning limits for relief-only pitchers are determined by taking 10% of the number of innings posted on the team roster. Rounding-up is to be used, e.g., 52 innings on the team-playing roster equates to 6 innings in a given playoff series. B. Series inning limits for split grade pitchers are determined by taking 10% (rounded up) of their innings posted on the team roster if they are used in relief only. If they appear in the series as both a starter and reliever, they are limited both by games and innings. C. Series inning limits for start-only pitchers are determined by taking 10% of the number of starts posted on the team playing roster (with rounding up). This represents the number of games that a start-only pitcher can appear in. Within these games they are limited by the relief pitcher rules found in Playing Rules and Regulation section of this Constitution.

11 7. Teams may have as few as three starting-only pitchers on a playoff roster. STATISTICS 1. All teams will keep the following statistics. They must also be reported to the statistician in the order listed. Batters: G, AB, RUNS, HITS, RBI, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, SO, SB, SAC, HBP, AVE. Pitchers: G, GS, CG, SHO, GF, W, L, S, IP, HITS, R, ER, BB, SO, ERA. 2. To make a standard rule for the awarding of a save to a relief pitcher, use the following OFFICIAL MAJOR LEAGUE rule. Credit a relief pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: A. He finishes the game won by his team B. He is not the winning pitcher C. He qualifies under one of the following conditions: 1. He entered the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitched at least one inning 2. He entered the game with the tying run on base, on deck, or at bat 3. He pitches at least three innings 3. Rookie Status will be defined as not having reached 20 innings pitched or 50 at-bats in AML competition. REPORTING BETWEEN MANAGERS 1. Make sure that the playing instructions arrive on time. If for some reason you realize that they will be late, call or write the other manager. 2. Study the opponent s instructions to become familiar with them, then play the games. 3. Total your opponent s statistics and send him a copy along with the line-scores for each game of the series. 4. Upon receiving your road results from the other manager, total them along with your home results. 5. After every even-numbered series and at the end of the season, each manager is required to send COMPLETE TOTALED stats for the season of every player who has played on your team to the league statistician. A. Both the batters and pitchers should be listed in alphabetical order. B. Managers should use complete and send in the "END OF THE MONTH STAT REPORT". 6. It is the duty of all managers to report any problems with lateness to the Commissioner as it happens. 7. Any manager who is continually late with his league material will be removed from his position and the first available Stand-By-Manager will be awarded his team. INSTRUCTION SHEETS

12 1. All instruction sheets should be sent to the opposing manager so that he receives them on or before the due date as indicated on the official league schedule. 2. The following are the basic items which should be included in your instruction sheet: A. Game-by-game lineups B. Pitching rotations C. Player substitutions D. Relief pitching instructions Please make it clear not only who to bring in, but when the subsequent relief pitcher is to be relieved. Don t be afraid to set innings limits on relief pitchers in your instructions to help avoid overuse/abuse. E. Pinch-hitting instructions F. Infield instructions G. Sacrifice instructions H. Hit and run instructions I. Recent trades and roster changes J. Current Active roster - same roster must be used for home and road games in a series 3. All teams, prior to Opening Day, must have a set of default instructions on file with the Commissioner. Those instructions are deemed for use in emergency situations only. Managers who have not received instructions by the 10 th of the month may play home and road games of a series using the default instructions, coupled with statistics on file with the league. The Commissioner should be notified when these default instructions are being used.

13 PROTESTS 1. Anytime a manager wishes to protest a game, series, trade, or anything else regarding the league, he should send his protest in writing to the Commissioner. 2. After consultation between the involved parties and the league officers, the Commissioner will make the final ruling on the protest. The ruling by the Commissioner is appealable to the league as a whole, and a majority of managers may overturn the ruling. AWARDS 1. The following awards will be distributed after each season. Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Pepto-Bismol Relief Pitcher, Player of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. 2. A pitcher will be considered a candidate for the Rookie of the Year award if they have pitched less than a total of 50 innings in prior AML seasons. A batter will be considered a candidate for the Rookie of the Year award if they have less than a total of 100 at bats in prior AML seasons. 3. The award winners will be determined through post-season balloting. The Commissioner will supply the ballots to all Active Managers. 4. At the conclusion of every season, a league All-Star game will be played matching the best of the National Conference against the best of the American Conference. Teams rosters must have 25 players with at least one player from each team. NEWSLETTERS 1. The Commissioner will publish an online newsletter each month during the season and whenever it is needed during the off-season. 2. All managers are encouraged to send material into the Commissioner to be included in the newsletter, as it is your newsletter. All submitted material should be typed, if possible. 3. All managers, Active or Stand-By may receive a copy of the newsletter. YEARBOOKS 1. The Commissioner will publish a yearbook at the end of each season. 2. Stand-By Managers may receive a copy of the yearbook for the cost of printing and mailing. All Active Managers will get a copy with the cost being covered by the dues collected. 3. Any member who wishes to obtain more than one copy of the yearbook may do so at cost. ROOKIE DRAFT 1. During the off-season, the league will hold an annual Rookie Draft.

14 2. The purpose of this draft will be to fill vacant spots on a team's roster. These vacant spots can either occur if a player does not receive a card for the upcoming season or if a manager chooses to cut one or more players from his team's roster. 3. All cuts made by a league manager must be sent to the Player Agent shortly after the completion of the regular season. 4. The Player Agent will notify all managers of those players who did not receive cards for the upcoming season. 5. When all managers have notified the Player Agent of their roster changes, a complete draft list will be compiled which contains those players who are eligible to be drafted. This list will then be supplied to each manager. 6. The league managers will then hold the Rookie Draft where drafting may be done in person, by phone, or by mail. 7. The draft will continue until each team has reached the thirty-five-man roster. 8. The order of the draft will be determined from the team's win-loss record. The eight teams not making the playoffs are guaranteed the first eight draft positions. The second eight draft positions will be determined by won-loss record of the eight playoff teams. All teams will draft in reverse order based on their record. In the case of a tie, the tie breaking system will be: a) Head-to-Head; b) conference record (if teams are from different conferences, the team coming from the weaker conference will draft first since its overall record came from weaker competition); c) coin flip. 1. Dues for an Active Manager will be $0 2. Dues for a Stand By Manager will be $0 DUES 3. Dues may be raised or lowered from one season to the next. AMENDMENTS 1. This constitution may be amended at any time between the end of the season and the start of the next season. 2. Any amendment must be approved by at least a two-thirds majority of those Active Managers who participated in the vote.