FEDERAL BASEBALL LEAGUE OFFICIAL RULE BOOK

FEDERAL BASEBALL LEAGUE OFFICIAL RULE BOOK Version 1.0 Updated Season 1 2/4/2018 WWW.FBL-OOTP.COM

1. League Overview a. History of the League b. Roles and Responsibilities c. Fictional Concept d. Game and Sim Schedule 2. League Structure and Rules a. Roster Rules b. Pitching Rotations c. Post Season Rules and Structure 3. League Transactions a. Player Trading Overview b. What Can be Traded? c. Free Agency d. Amateur Draft e. International Free Agents 4. League Financials a. Overview b. Contract Rules c. Salary Settings & Team Expenses 5. GM & League Customization a. Stadium Modifications 6. Owner Prizes & Participation a. League Prizes b. GM of the Year Prize

1. LEAGUE OVERVIEW The Federal Baseball League (FBL) is an online fictional league that has an initial 16 team field that plays 150 games a season. We sim on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 7 days each sim. Slack serves as the main form of communication and information hub for the league, including trade submission. We also use StatsPlus for enhanced statistics and the full draft utility. The season consists of a balanced schedule that breaks down like this: 18 games (9 home and 9 away) vs division opponents - 54 total games 12 games (6 home and 6 away) vs subleague division - 48 games 6 games (3 home and 3 away) vs interleague opponents - 48 games Basic settings include: Scouting is Enabled Accuracy is Very High Ratings 20-80 Stars Are Enabled Coaches are Disabled Injuries are set to LOW with delayed diagnosis off Suspensions are on and Normal All personality and chemistry settings are on. Aging Modifiers Batter Aging Speed=.750 Batter Development Speed= 1.000 Pitcher Aging Speed=.750 Pitcher Development Speed= 1.000 Talent Randomness=67 a. League History Following the economic collapse in 2008, Major League Baseball was rendered financially insolvent and filed for bankruptcy. The decline of television viewership coupled with the length of games and sheer selfishness of owners to turn a profile (like the Pittsburgh Pirates) Major League Baseball was schedule to disband in 2014. Government Intervention (2014-2017) Following the 2014 season, owners made a last ditch effort to then commissioner Bud Selig and congress. Despite petitions and protesting, the US Government was brought in to run the franchises by appointing shareholders for each team. These shareholders were commissioned by a select board of US Senators, haplessly named the National Past-time Select Committee. This committee was chaired by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and he appointed 120 special shareholders (4 per team) to run the franchises. The league ran with marginal attendance increases over the 2015, 16, and 17 seasons. Following the 2017 season, national budget debates and lack of congressional leadership put the newly formed league in peril of collapse. Special sessions of Congress met but with no avail as the government was set to shutdown in early 2018. With the pending shutdown in sight, the special committee released rights of Major League Baseball and the league rights and contracts of all players was purchased by a group responsible for running New Japan Pro Wrestling. With this

happening, all players were given Persona non grata status preventing them from playing baseball again in North America. Formation of the Federal Baseball League Following this immediate action, real estate tycoon Bob Smith decided to create a new national league, a league for the people run strictly by funding of various wealthy entrepreneurs. Proposals were heard by over 215 investors but the newly forming league had a very aggressive timeline to begin play in the spring of 2018. Smith and the commissioning group then awarded franchises to 16 individuals: b. Roles and Responsibilities Currently, the only position within the league is the League Commissioner who is responsible for maintaining league integrity, rule enforcement, and simulating games. c. Fictional Concept It is very important to understand the ground rules of a fictional league. A fictional league is just that, not Major League Baseball nor anything that replicates the real game. d. Game and Sim Schedule The league will sim Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with times TBD. Offseason, post-season, and pre-season schedules will be announced to the group prior to advancing to those stages. 2. LEAGUE STRUCTURE and RULES The Federal Baseball League is made up of two sub-leagues (conferences), the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Each sub-league is made up of two divisions of four teams each. The divisions are broken down to the Atlantic, South, Mid-West, and Pacific Divisions. The minor league structure consists of a AAA, AA, A, and Rookie league with no age restrictions currently. Each level is governed by a roster max of 30, 30, 40, and 40 respectfully. Major league roster size is currently set at 26 with no age restrictions; the use of a 40 man roster is also in place. a. Roster Rules The FBL will use a designated hitter (DH) in both sub-leagues. There are currently no foreign player restrictions (other than international complex max of 50) in the league. The length of waivers is currently set at 14 days, designated for assignments (DFAs) 21 days, and DL lengths are 14/60. All players that are DFA and expire during a sim will be released if they refuse minor league assignment. Other Settings Include: Option Years Are Enabled Right to refuse assignment is disabled Ghost Players Disabled Rule 5 Draft is Disabled Designated Hitter for Both Leagues b. Pitching Rotations

Regular Season May Use a minimum of 4 Man Rotation Playoffs minimum of 3 Man Rotation No Pitchers Listed as MR can be placed as SP without converting them (This is done for contract reasoning) If discovered that this rule is abused 1st Will be Warning and 2nd Will Be 1 Million Dollar Fine c. Post Season Rules and Structure Following the end of the regular season, 8 total teams will compete for the Federalist Cup which is comprised of pure sterling silver and lined with 24-carat solid gold. Teams will be seeded based on regular season record. The two division winners will be seeded 1 and 2 with home field advantage during the first round. The playoff schedule will be aligned and each round will not begin until the previous round is complete. The schedule format will be: Round 1 (Divisional Round) Best of 5 (2h, 2a, 1h) Conference Championship Round Best of 7 (2h, 2a, 1h, 1a, 1h) Federalist Cup Series Best of 7 (2h, 2a, 1h, 1a, 1h) Home field for the Federalist Cup Series will be based on record. The seeding tiebreaker will be head to head record with the second tiebreaker being run differential. There will be no specific playoff roster rules aside from standard roster rules. d. NEXT GROUP 3. LEAGUE TRANSACTIONS League transactions are methods to obtain players. There are three main ways players can be obtained: trades, free agency (which includes international players), and the amateur draft. a. Player Trading Overview Trades make online leagues enjoyable and offer an experience that is different from the solo method of gameplay. Slack is the main form of communication within the league and will be used for advertising players along with trade submission. You can utilize the trade block method within the game but you should also post that player (or the fact you updated your block) on the #trade-block room within the Slack group. The main ground rule with trading is to be respectful to other owners, not every owner will view players the same way.

All completed trades should be posted in the #completed-trades room within the Slack Group. Posting should look like this (Note the second team should reply to the initial message as a post): It is important to include the league level of each player. Trading deadline will always be on August 31 st. b. What Can Be Traded? Trades typically involve players but this league allows a few other assets to be dealt (with the exception of front office personnel-ie scouts). The following are permitted to be dealt: Players (including recently drafted players) Draft Picks (only rounds 1-3 of the current draft If before June 1 or the following draft after June 1) note: Draft pick trading will not be allowed until after we reach the off season of season 1 Salary Retention Teams may elect to retain a percentage of a player s salary to make a deal work but no more than 50% retained. Remember, all salary retentions remain until that contract expires or is released. Cash CANNOT be dealt and all trades will be processed AFTER a sim. c. Free Agency Free Agency is granted to a player once they accrue 4 years of minimum service years. A year consists of over 200 days so players will accrue a year at 150 days in the majors. Players will then also be eligible for arbitration after 3 years, so essentially a player can be cost controlled for the first 3 years while year 4 will be an arbitration year before they officially hit free agency. Minor league players reach free agency after 6 years of service years. To prevent a minor leaguer from becoming a free agent, they must be placed on the 40 man roster. d. Amateur Draft The draft will begin each season in early June and will be conducted in S+. The draft is feed by two feeder leagues (high school and college levels). The draft will consist of 15 rounds with enough players for 17. The draft pool releases during spring training and the draft utility will be live by opening day. The draft order for season 1 is the reverse of the initial draft order and will also snake. Each year after the order will be determined by order of finish from the previous season. e. International Free Agents International free agents are released on July 2 nd and teams will have a established hard bonus cap of $10 million. Please remember, this expense comes off of your total revenue and you should not be in the red at the end of the season. 4. LEAGUE FINANCIALS

a. Overview League financials are tricky to understand. Initially, teams were set up on a balanced format (same tv deals, budgets, etc). Over time, these numbers will evolve. While the league uses a hard salary cap of $100 million, league financials are also important for scout signing, stadium upgrades, international free agents, and amateur draft pick signing. Knowledge of the financial system is important. b. Contract Rules Please note the following rules: All FA Bidding Will Be Done inside the game For Players 25 and Under Must have min. of 3 year contract if average salary is over 550K Players cannot be signed for more than 5 years Incentive clauses are disabled due to having a salary cap Vesting options are NOT allowed 10/5 Rule is disabled A buyout must = 25% of that year's contract. So if the final year is set for $20,000,000 then the buyout must = $5,000,000 Contracts must not see more than a 25% difference from the highest end to the lowest end. IE: If you sign a player to a 4 year deal and you want to back end load him, this would be legal: Year 1: $5,250,000 Year 2: $6,000,000 Year 3: $6,500,000 Year 4: $7,000,000 (7,000,000 x.25=$1,750,000 subtract that by $7,000,000 to get $5,250,000 An example of an illegal contract: Year 1: $5,250,000 Year 2: $6,000,000 Year 3: $6,500,000 Year 4: $10,000,000 (10,000,000 x.25=$2,500,000 subtract that by $10,000,000= the lowest the contract can be which is $7,500,000 Player must have one year of service time before extensions can be negotiated If an owner is found violating this rule, the player will be released immediately, and will only be refunded 50% of the total contract value that was charged to their player expenses. c. Player Salary Settings & Team Expenses Average Development Budget=6 million Average Scouting Budget=4.6 Million Salary Cap=100 Million Min. Salary=350K Super Star Salary 13.5 Million Star Salary 10 Million Good Salary 6 Million Above Average 3.5 Million Average 1.5 Million

Below Average 1 Million Fair Quality 600K Poor Quality 400K Attendance Settings: Average Ticket Price=25.00 Average Attendance is 30,000 Team Revenue Settings: Average Media Contract 35 Million Same For Every Team Average Local Media=15 Million (All Teams Have been edited to 15 Million to start with 1 year contracts) Average Merchandise Revenue=6.5 Million Full budget available No Revenue Sharing Cash Max=25 Million SALARY CAP is $100,000,000 5. GM & LEAGUE CUSTOMIZATION a. Stadium Modifications Adding Seats 1,000 seats cost 2 million and stadium is capped 50k seats Request needs to be placed before Jan 1st of the prior season to be added the following season Money comes from the cash on hand and must have money available Will be taken at the start of Spring Training The stadium form can be found HERE. b. Relocation No rules currently in place. 6. OWNER PRIZES & PARTICIPATION a. League Prizes League prizes will be established to increase activity within the league. There will be two main prizes handed out, each of $25 sent via PayPal. The first prize will be sent to the Federalist Cup Champion while the second will be awarded in the same $25 amount to the most active, non-playoff owner awarded by a special formula. b. GM of the Year Prize The GM of the Year is awarded to the one, non-playoff GM that expresses a number of traits throughout the year. This will be awarded through a point system with the following breakdown: Every export = 1 point Every Article = 3 points (cap of 5 per season) Team Preview = 3 points (limit 1 per year before the end of spring training Amateur Draft Recap = 3 points (limit 1 per year before the end of June)

Participating in league votes, including all-star balloting (2 points each) Penalties Include: 2 nd violation of a league rule = loss of 5 points Abusive behavior toward another owner in the chat or via email = loss of 5 points All cheating will result in immediate removal. League rules will be voted on after each season during the owners meetings. Should there be an immediate rule change, changes will be marked in red.