Page 1 of 5 League Rules effective as of 20 January 2018 1. Pre-draft Roster Freezer limitations: Each team is entitled to list twenty-two (22) keeper roster players from the previous season roster prior to the draft, except the TWO teams with the TOP TWO records in each league gets one (1) additional for a total of 23. Roster spots include: a. A player who played the actual prior season within the league. b. A player who is on your roster and did not actually play at all during the prior season. c. A split player who played part of the season in the league and part in the other league. i. A split player must be designated to participate in league play in only one league. He will apply only to freezer and roster limits for the designated league. If released or a free agent, such a player s draft rights are in the league in which he finished the season with at least an appearance in that league (ex: getting traded in August while you are on the DL does not make you a split player you didn t play in the latter league). ii. An owner may not elect to keep only ½ of a player s statistics. Split players will always use their full season worth of statistics, regardless of where acquired. 2. Freezer Farming: A maximum of four (4) additional players may be kept and placed on the farm prior to the season, but they cannot ever be brought up to participate during that COMPUTER-PLAY season. These players do NOT count against the 22 (or 23) Freezer limit, but they do count against the overall roster limit (see, Roster size limitations). Accordingly, there is no minimum freezer requirement. These players must remain on the farm for the entire year. Eligibility requirements to be farmed apply as follows: a. Position player < 200 Plate Appearances b. Relief P < 30.0 IP c. Starting P < 10 GS d. starter/relievers who fit within this rule with >75% of usage from starts are considered starters and are farmable only with < 10 starts e. starter relivers with 25% or more usage from relief appearances are considered relievers only and are subject to Relief P eligibility minimums. 3. Roster size limitations: All teams are limited to a maximum roster of no more than thirty-six (36) players. This limitation applies for the entire year, so if players are acquired through inseason trades a corresponding move must be made to ensure no team can have more than 36 players. 4. Draft and Trading rules: a. Teams draft in reverse order of winning percentage. b. Draft picks may be traded in advance or during the draft, subject to league trade limitations c. Players eligible for the draft are any players who have, prior to or during the season from which the draft statistics were created, previously recorded one major league at bat or 1/3 inning pitched during any season, even if the player did not record those appearances in the present statistical season or several years since (see, Eric Thames return from Japan) d. Trading Rules:
Page 2 of 5 i. Players or picks involved in a trade between owners must have all aspects of the trade contained in the same league; i.e. no interleague trades are permitted, such as an AL draft pick for a NL player. ii. No renting: once a player is traded he is traded in full. An owner cannot trade a player for all or a portion of a season with an understanding that he will be returned later. iii. Future draft picks: these may only be traded after the commencement of the current season draft. (e.g. You cannot trade a 2019 pick during the April 2017- March 2018 season, but you may trade a 2019 pick once the DRAFT held for that league has begun during March/April 2018). iv. Futures: deals contingent on a player s eventual performance are permitted, as are future considerations deals as long as none of such agreements violate any other league rules. e. No Parking: transactions involving players to be frozen on one team s pre-draft roster may be agreed upon at any time, but the actual transfer of all players must be completed either entirely before freezer rosters are due or entirely after those rosters are submitted prior to the draft. i. Example: Team X agrees to trade 4 players to Team Y in exchange for one draft pick. All 4 players must be submitted on EITHER Team X s pre-draft freezer roster OR Team Y s pre-draft freezer roster. The transaction cannot include an agreement to park two of the four players on Team X s roster until after predraft freezer rosters are submitted. This rule was created to discourage use of other teams as a particular team owner s minor leagues ii. Example: Team X agrees to trade 4 players to Team Y in exchange for TWO draft picks. In this instance, Team X may keep 2 of the players on his pre-draft freezer roster as consideration for the trade of one of the draft picks and transfer the other 2 players for the other draft pick. In this instance, the exchange takes place after freezer rosters are submitted but prior to the draft, and the date of exchange is part of the agreement. f. Time limitations: EACH TEAM OWNER IS PERMITTED TWO (2) MINUTES FOR EACH DRAFT PICK DURING THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS OF ANY LEAGUE DRAFT. THEREAFTER, EACH OWNER IS PERMITTED ONLY ONE (1) MINUTE TO MAKE EACH DRAFT PICK. Violation of the time guideline is not punished by proceeding to the next owner s pick, but the owner causing delay shall be subjected to merciless ridicule, sometimes involving personal attacks and profanity. g. GUIDELINES for Player selection in draft i. Compulsory: 1. Catchers: each team must have a minimum of two (2) qualifying (i.e. rated to play the position) catchers on its team and must also have a total of AT LEAST 500 PA s at the position. Catchers are excluded from the 200 PA minimum so you can play a catcher with fewer than 200 PA 2. Starters: Each team must have 5 starting pitchers on its active roster 3. Relievers: Each team must have 6 relief pitchers on its active roster, and must have at least 500 relief innings on its roster. For purposes of calculating the 500 innings, Full Time Relievers (60.0 IP or more) shall count as 75 innings or the actual number of innings pitched, whichever is greater.
Page 3 of 5 ii. Non-compulsory guidelines to keep in mind for the conclusion of the draft: 1. Teams should have 6000 total AB s not including pitchers 2. Teams should have players who are rated at each defensive position. Each rated position should have no fewer than 600 total AB s available by combined players. 3. In addition to the required minimum, teams should strive to have sufficient useable relief pitching to make it through the entire season. For example, in 2017 Washington had the fewest relief innings with 473.2 innings, which averages out to 2.92 innings per game. Miami had the most with 612.0, which was a 3.77 average per game. MLB average is 549 IP of relief per season. 5. Pitcher Use restrictions: a. Pitchers with 28 or more starts are available for UNLIMITED use as starters. b. Pitchers who started between 10 and 27 games are limited to actual games started, subject to league play rules. c. Relief pitchers with 60.0 innings or more are unlimited use d. Relief Pitchers with between 30.0 and 59.2 innings are permitted to meet actual innings pitched, subject to league play rules. e. STARTER RELIEVERS: i. A starter reliever is defined as any pitcher who appeared in both starting and relief roles. ii. Starting pitchers with 25% or more of his overall appearances in RELIEF are limited to 100% for their relief pitching, and cannot exceed ACTUAL starts, subject to league play provisions described elsewhere in these rules. iii. Starter Relievers with fewer than 10 starts cannot start, and can only relieve up to their actual innings, subject to league play provisions described elsewhere in these rules. iv. Pitchers with eligible time as both starter and reliever can be put in a manager profile as either a starter OR reliever initially. Usage is restricted to league play provisions described elsewhere in these rules. 6. Catcher Use requirements and restrictions: Catchers are not restricted by the minimums required of other position players and may be used if they have at least one plate appearance. Each team must have a minimum of two (2) qualifying (i.e. rated) catchers on its team and must also have a total of AT LEAST 500 combined Real-Life plate appearances at the position. Catchers are eligible for unlimited usage if a single catcher has 400 or more plate appearances, BUT anything below 400 PA means they are limited to being used up to 125% plate appearances. For example, if a team chooses to go with two catchers of 420 and 100 PA s, respectively, the backup will be sent down once the lesser player has exhausted 125 PA s (125%). Except for the 125% variance, demotion of the backup/lesser catcher comes into play as identified in the league play section just as any other position player would. 7. Position player Use restrictions: a. Playing time for hitters with 500 PLATE APPEARANCES or more = UNLIMITED USAGE
Page 4 of 5 b. Playing time limits for position players with between 200 and 500 Plate Appearances can be used up to 100% plate appearances. c. Hitters <200 PA overall are not eligible under any circumstances to play in league play. 8. League Votes among Owners: a. Votes to change rules during the season are subject to veto by any owner. b. Votes to change rules prior to beginning a league season must be approved by a majority vote of active (i.e. non-computer) owners. Abstentions count as a no vote (or a vote for the status quo). c. Trades involving new owners entering the league must, for a six (6) month time period, be approved by a majority vote of all owners not involved in the trade. Abstentions count as a no vote. i. To prevent misperceptions, owners are discouraged from providing detailed input regarding the underlying reasons for a trade vote. In the event one or all the owners proposing the trade request further information regarding a disapproved trade, perhaps to facilitate a renegotiation to a transaction the voting members might find acceptable, owners may (but are not required to) provide such additional information. 9. League play a. Seasons will be run by those league members who can participate over several sessions running approximately one (1) month of league games per session. At the end of each session, a report will be generated apprising owners of player usage. b. Owners must review their teams and advise the league of players who must be moved from the active roster to the farm, and who to activate in the players place. Any changes to lineups, position designation and pitching designations must also be specifically made by the team owner. Any team whose owner fails to identify and advise players who need to be moved pursuant to league usage requirements is subject to arbitrary decisionmaking by the league members available to appear when a session is run. c. Players who meet unlimited usage limits are not subject to any monitoring. d. A player who fails to meet unlimited usage requirements is limited and will be monitored for usage. Any limited player who during a given monthly run has reached or exceeded his actual real life statistical compliment (as determined by Starts, Relief Innings, or Plate Appearances) shall be placed on the farm immediately and may not be called up again for the remainder of the regular season. e. An active limited player who during a given monthly run has NOT YET reached or exceeded his actual real life statistical compliment (as determined by Starts, Relief Innings, or Plate Appearances) is eligible to remain active for the next month regardless of how close he is to statistical limits. i. NOTE: each owner has discretion to farm limited players to preserve their statistics at his discretion for possible promotion in a later month; these players are not required to use their statistics over consecutive months. f. Tie-Breaking Procedure: i. Head to Head record between teams with equal records is first tiebreaker ii. Run differential is second tiebreaker iii. Third tiebreaker has not been defined by the league g. Playoffs
Page 5 of 5 i. In each league, the fourth-place team plays a SEVEN Game Series against the First-place team, while Third place plays Second place. Higher seeds have two home games, followed by two road games, followed by alternating one-one-one until four games are won by a team. ii. Winners of the first series play a Seven Game Series. Home field is determined by higher win total or Tie-breaking Procedure outlined above. Series is constructed as two home games, followed by two road games, followed by alternating one-one-one until four games are won by a team. iii. World Series is a Seven Game Series in traditional TWO THREE TWO format. Home field is determined by Win total or Tie-Breaking Procedure outlined above, NOT by the results of the All-Star Game, which is stupid. 10. League Information a. League information website: https://abqdmb.wordpress.com/ b. Owners are encouraged to check the website for league play results, player availability, in-season trades and possible voting discussions. 11. Computer Teams a. Whenever a team does not have a human owner, it shall be owned by the computer and operated according to a majority vote of all owners. The group will collectively endeavor to set up the team and ensure proper playing time limits are observed. b. Trades involving owners with a computer team must be approved by majority vote. Abstentions count as a no vote. Any owner participating in the trade does not have a vote. c. Computer team cannot trade its draft picks, regardless of how overwhelming a trade may be in the computer team s favor. NOTE: Computer team may RECEIVE draft picks as part of a deal. d. Drafting i. Computer teams draft in the position according to winning percentage just as any other team. Playing time limits and requirements outlined above apply to computer teams. ii. Selection of players for the computer team is generally performed by consulting the AUTODRAFT function when available. If acceptable, the player will be selected. If unavailable or unacceptable, an owner or two may suggest possible players based on the specific needs of the computer team. Once the candidate field is narrowed, majority vote determines the player to be drafted in a particular round. 1. Some owners choose to remain silent during this process, due to such stated concerns as self-interest if making the next selection after the computer team. This has been deemed acceptable by the league. 2. Some owners suggest for the computer team players who suck, or in whom they have no interest, as a type of diversion. Not only is this acceptable, but it is a time-honored tradition along the lines of trying to get away with throwing spitballs or stealing signs by a runner on 2 nd base. 12. Reserved for future amendment a. Reserved