Ok here are the rules. These are not set in stone and I am willing to switch things up if thats what it takes. However, these are pretty loophole free in my opinion. I am sure there will be some bumps in the road along the way with regards to how CBS handles some things, but I think we can iron it out fairly easily.
Commissioner:
The Commissioner’s post for the following season will be filled at the end of each current season by a vote of the team owners. Each team has one vote. In case of a tie, then the executive committee will vote to break the tie. This season, {tpc} will serve as the commissioner, solely. Commissioners get no break on any fees or expenses. The Commissioner is responsible for the day to day operation of the league and all that encumbers. Decisions by the commissioner are final unless appealed to the Executive Committee.
Executive Committee:
The Executive Committee will consist of no less than three members: Two owners TBD by the commissioner and {tpc} will serve as members of the Executive Committee. Additional members will be appointed if any one or more of the three is not available to make a timely decision.
Appeals:
All decisions of the Commissioner (e.g. trades, eligibility, availability, etc.) are subject to appeal to the Executive Committee. Any appeal must be submitted to the Commissioner within 48 hours of the offending decision/ruling. The Executive Committee will then meet as soon as possible to rule on the appeal. All decisions of the Executive Committee will be made by a secret majority vote. Executive Committee decisions are final and can be appealed one time per year per team to a super majority vote (2/3) of all team owners, with each team having one vote.
Draft:
The draft will be conducted as late as possible prior to the start of the season and adjusted so all team owners can participate. All team owners will mutually agree on a date, time, and place no earlier than one week before Major League Baseball’s regular season play begins. If a date, time, and place cannot be agreed upon then the Commissioner will make said choices.
Draft positions will be determined by a randomization method using CBS Sports software. Each team will then fill out their roster using a snake method until all teams have the allowed amount of players on their team.
A mid –season meeting will be held via email and/or the CP messaging system. This will be used to bring up any rule changes for current year or next and to make sure everyone is confident that the league is running as smoothly as it is should be.
Team Composition:
Each team will be comprised of the following players:
Active Roster:
Catcher (1) First Baseman (2)
Second Baseman (1) Shortstop (1)
Third Baseman (1) Outfielders (4)
Starting Pitchers (5) Relief Pitchers (2)
Inactive Roster:
Reserves (3) IF (1), OF (1) and P (1)
Position players may play in either the American or National Leagues. A player’s position before the start of the season is determined by the position played for 50 or more games the previous season. In the event that a player has played at more than one position for 50 games then the player is eligible for either position. After the start of the season, a player may be eligible for another position once the required minimum of 50 games has been met at that position. Players who are recognized as
Designated Hitters (DH) shall have their position for draft purposes be either First Baseman or Outfielder based upon whether that player was mostly an infielder or an outfielder during his last season’s play on the field.
Reserves are players you may use as a bench to substitute for any regular player on your roster (no more than one time per week) or first choice for replacement of regular players placed on the Disabled List (DL). This means the respective slots of the players that were moved remained locked for seven days. May also be traded like any other players on your roster and replaced if they are placed on the Major League Baseball DL.
Note: One time per week means just that. Say player A is inserted for player B on Monday at 12 pm then player A and player B are LOCKED in their positions until The following Monday at 12 pm. Exception: If the newly inserted player is injured you may replace him with a player from the free agent list. The replacement then enjoys the same status as the player he replaced and may be removed when that player was scheduled to be UNLOCKED.
Starting Pitchers BEFORE the draft are those players who have pitched in a starting role the previous season played (in major, minor or college competition) at least (3) games and have NOT made more appearances in relief for that season.
Relief Pitchers BEFORE the draft are those players who have pitched in the role of middle relief, long relief, set-up or as a closer during the previous season played (in major, minor or college competition) at least (3) games and have NOT made more appearances as a starter for that season.
Once a
Starting Pitcher has made 5 relief appearances AFTER the draft, that starting pitcher is NOW a relief pitcher and must be moved or dropped accordingly. Once a
Relief Pitcher has made 2 starts AFTER the draft, that relief pitcher is NOW a starter and must be moved or dropped accordingly.
Free Agent Pool consists of all Major League Baseball and Minor League players not drafted, reserved, or owned by any team in the league. The players in this pool are available on a first come first serve basis. When a player is released back into the pool, the commissioner must wait at least 24 hours before acquiring this player to allow ample time for other teams to see the move. This only applies to the commissioner. All players’ designation, eligibility, status, position, etc. are subject to review and final determination by the Commissioner.
Supplemental Free Agents are those players who sign contracts to play in the Majors during mid-season. During the first 72-hours after such person has signed a contract, all teams interested in acquiring that player must contact the commissioner. Rights to the player will be given to the team with the worst overall position as of the date that player signed his contract.
Statistics Tracked/Scoring:
Each teams standing will be determined by cumulatively rating all Active Players on a team’s roster in a number of offensive and pitching categories. Those statistics that will be followed will be:
Offensive: Batting Average
(AVE)
Home Runs
(HR)
Stolen Bases
(SB)
Runs Batted In
(RBI)
Total Bases
(TB)
Runs
(R)
Pitching: Wins
(W)
Saves
(SV)
Strike Outs
(SO)
Earned Run Average
(ERA)
Innings Pitched
(IP)
WHIP
(WHIP)
Points for each statistical category will be awarded based upon a teams standing in that category using a 6x6 rotisserie method as shown above.
Example: In a six-team league, the team whose players (while active) have accumulated the most HRs will get six points. The team with the second most HRs will get five points, third place four points, and so on.
Transactions & Trades:
Transactions are moves by which a team drops a player from their roster and selects a new player from the free agent pool. The new player begins to collect statistics towards that team immediately, unless the dropped player has already begun play for that day in which case the old player would continue to collect statistics for that day and the new player would start the following day. Under no circumstances can a team be credited with both players’ statistics for that same day. Each team is allotted 3 transactions per half season. Any transactions not used per half will be lost at the end of that half. Bonus transactions can be gained by trading players up to a maximum of three per half; more about this will be said under “
Trades”.
Replacements for players placed on Major League Baseball’s Disabled List (DL) are available from either a team’s bench or from the free agent pool. If a replacement for an injured starting player is made from a team’s bench then the position previously held by the player on the bench may be filled with a player from the free agent pool until the injured player is reactivated off the DL. Until the player is reactivated in you’re starting lineup, on your bench, or dropped the injured player remains property of that team for fourteen days. On the fifteenth day, if the free agent replacement has not been signed by dropping a player to sign him, then the free agent player will be released back into the free agent pool and the formerly injured player will be placed in the position of the replacement automatically.
Trades occur when two or more teams agree to exchange draft picks and/or players on their respective rosters. All trades must be approved by the commissioner. Once a team trades a particular player, that player cannot return back to his original team for at least one calendar year. Teams are allowed an unlimited number of trades during the season until the trading deadline at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 31[sup]st[/sup]. To encourage trades, each team participating in a trade will be given one
Bonus Transaction for each player or draft pick traded. These bonus transactions may be used like, and in addition to, the regular transactions described in “
Transactions”. Additionally, ½ of any unused bonus transactions (rounded up) will carryover from the first half of the season to the second half of the season. However, a team’s carryover plus regular transactions have a maximum of 6 total for each half. This means the maximum number of transactions you can make in each half is 6, regardless of how many players you may have traded. Regular transactions will be assessed first and once exhausted then bonus transactions will be applied to a team’s moves. There is no carryover from one year to the next.
Rocker Rule--If a regular roster player is suspended or demoted to the minors during the season the team holding his rights can place him on "Inactive Service". This costs 1 move and works like the DL replacements. This would allow a team to keep his rights but still fill the roster spot. When the player comes back up to the majors or serves out his suspension, his return is treated like a DL return. The team has 14 days to reactivate or it becomes automatic and the added player is released. If the suspension extended beyond end of the current season, you could still protect that player but if the suspension ran into the start of the next season & you wanted a replacement it would still cost you a move at the beginning of next season to buy a replacement player (even if you "bought" one the previous season). Likewise if you draft a suspended player you may buy a temp replacement - cost is one move. Again, this may only be used for a "Suspended or Demoted" player.
Entry Fees, Prizes & Charges:
The franchise or entry fee for each team is $50. Part of this fee will be used to pay for the CBS Sports commissioner service with the rest going into the prize pool.
Prize money from the Prize Pool will be divided among the top three teams at season’s end on the following basis:
First Place - 40% of Pool
Second Place - 30% of Pool
Third Place * - 20% of Pool
Forth Place ** - 10% of Pool
* - (So long as there are at least six teams competing. If less than six teams competing the Pool is divided between First Place – 2/3 and Second Place – 1/3 with no Third Place prize share.)
** - (So long as there are at least ten teams competing. If less than ten teams competing the Pool is divided between First Place – 50%, Second Place – 35%, and Third Place – 15%.)
Miscellaneous:
To better and more efficiently operate the league, each team must maintain and provide the following information to the league’s commissioner:
- Daytime Telephone Number
- Nighttime Telephone Number
- E-Mail Address
Note: Remember, if you do not speak directly with the commissioner, time dating on transaction communications will be used to determine the exact date and time of transmission of communication. The more info you communicate the less chance of a mistake or dispute.