MMBL 2010 CONSTITUTION
League Structure:
The MMBL is made up of 24 MLB franchises. The Major League will be split into two leagues, each with three divisions (East, Central, and West). We will be using version 10 of the Diamond Mind simulation with the previous season’s disk (2009 season disk).
Gameplay:
· The MMBL will use Inter-League Play. Each team will play a complete 162 game schedule. Teams will play a total of 18 games against each team in their division, 12 games against every other team in their league, and 3 games against each team in a Rival leagues division. This division will rotate each year
· This is a continuous ownership league
· Managers will play 1 week of games each week.
· File Exchange/Transfer: The process is as follows.
o Each week the commissioner will publish a PLAYBALL file.
o Managers will download the PLAYBALL file and create a MP for that weeks games.
o This file will need to be uploaded to the Yahoo Groups site in your team folder so the HOME Team can download that MP.
o Games will be played as agreed then results will be posted to the league with a summary (as is done with mp’s).
o The commissioner will then assimilate these into the database and post it to the league with the process starting over.
· Unless contact is made with the league office at least 24 hours before the results are due, with an excuse (acceptable to the league office), late results will be ignored and series’ will be simulated.
· In the event of playing an un-owned team the commissioner will manage the mp of the franchise (unless decided otherwise) and the other manager whether home or away will be permitted to play the series.
· In the Major League post season there will be eight teams taking part. These will be the three division winners and one wildcard team from each league. The divisional series’ will be a “best of five” whilst the League Championship and World Series will be a “best of seven”. Home advantage will be determined by record alone.
· Throughout the season Net-Play is encouraged however this is not mandated due to individual commitments. This is an arrangement that must be made between consenting managers. During the post season it is envisaged that series’ will be played using Net-Play. This will be assumed to be the case unless good reason is given to the league office. The World Series however, must be played head to head unless both participants consult with the commissioner and all parties agree.
· Game Settings:
o Weather settings will be used
o clutch and jam ratings will not be employed
o bullpen warm-up will be turned off
o Injury rating will be turned on
o NL Teams will not have a DH, AL teams will employ a DH
o There is a Home Team DH rule in the Major Leagues if applicable for Inter-league games
o The current Era will be used
· Major League teams will play in their normal stadiums.
Roster Management
1. General Roster information
i) To keep the tradition of the league alive all rosters will consist of 50 players.
ii) All rosters will consist of a 25-man active roster which is part of the larger 40-man expanded roster. Each team will have a 10-man minor league roster as well.
iii) The 25-man active roster must consist of all eligible CARDED players
iv) The 40-man expanded roster consists of the 25-man active roster plus what could be a combination of CARDED and UNCARDED players
(a) Because of the nature of the game each team must carry at least 35 CARDED players to be able to manage injuries and allow for September call-ups.
(b) The 40-man roster should consist of those players you want to protect at the end of each season so they would not be eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft that will be conducted each offseason.
v) The remaining 15 players (5 from 40-man roster plus 10 man minor league roster) can be either CARDED or UNCARDED. In the end a team must have a minimum of 35 CARDED players at all times.
vi) Any UNCARDED players can be selected from all levels of professional baseball.
vii) During the course of the season you may promote/demote players whenever you make a new MP.
viii) You CANNOT RELEASE or SIGN players on your MP. This must be done on the master database by the commissioner ONLY.
2. The 40-man expanded roster
i) All teams “major league salaried” 40-man roster can consist of any combination of CARDED and UNCARDED players.
ii) The 40-man roster consists of the 40 players you want to protect each season going forward. There are several ways a player can be added or removed from the 40-man roster.
(a) ADDING to 40-man roster
(i) via trade
(ii) via free agency
(iii) via Rule 5 draft
(iv) via waiver claims
(b) REMOVING from 40-man roster
(i) via trade
(ii) via waiver claims
(iii) via release
(iv) via retirement
(v) via under/over use of player as per league rules
iii) During the course of each season changes can be made to the 40-man rosters via any of the methods above
iv) You can move players from your 40-man roster to your 10-man minor league system, but they must pass thru waivers to do so. See the waiver system explanation below.
v) A player can be released from your 40-man roster and your team altogether, but they will also go thru waivers to give the other teams an opportunity to claim that player before they become a free agent.
vi) At the end of each season all teams will need to decide on which players will make their 40-man roster.
(1) The 40-man roster does not have to consist of 40 players before the Rule 5 draft.
(2) Teams will need to leave open slots on their 40-man roster in order to take part in the Rule 5 draft
vii) If a player on the 40-man roster is over/under used during the course of the season they will immediately become a free agent
3. Minor League roster
i) A team’s minor league roster will consist of all drafted players that were UNCARDED for the season in play as well as any CARDED players not on the 25-man active roster.
ii) At least 10 players on your Minor League roster must be CARDED to be able to use to promote/demote to your active roster in the event of injury or usage issues to get you thru the 162 game season.
iii) Teams will have a maximum of 25 players on their Minor League Roster.
iv) The Minor League roster can consist of any player in organized baseball that you want to draft and (if you like) protect from season to season. All levels are available for drafting.
v) Any minor league players will be drafted during the normal offseason draft.
4. The Rule 5 Draft
i) At the end of each season all teams will decide on who will make up their 40-man rosters
ii) All players not on a 40-man roster are eligible to be drafted by teams with open spots on their 40-man roster.
iii) The draft will last as long as teams want to make selections with order determined by order of finish, last goes first.
iv) Teams must have available slots on their 40-man roster in order to participate
v) A team can lose multiple players in the draft
vi) Any player chosen in the Rule 5 draft must immediately be placed on that teams 40-man roster and must remain there for the entire season following.
vii) The draft will take place approximately 3 weeks after the end of the DMB season.
5. The waiver system
i) If a team wishes to remove a player from their 40-man roster for purposes of outright release or to assign them to your 10-man minor league roster they must pass thru waivers.
ii) A team places a player on waivers by sending a note to the league stating that Player X is being put on waivers
iii) Teams willing to make a waiver claim must make that claim via email to the commissioner within 24 hours of the player being posted
iv) By placing a player on waivers, a team effectively says they no longer want the player and are giving all other teams a chance to pick him up.
(1) If a player isn't claimed by any team in either league, he can be traded to anyone even if the July 31 trading deadline has passed. The player can also be outright released or sent to the minors.
(2) If a player is claimed, but only by one team, the player can be traded only to the team that claims him.
(3) If a player is claimed by more than one team, the club with the worst record in that player's league gets priority -- and the player can be traded only to that team.
(4) If a player is claimed only by teams in the other league, the club with the worst record in the other league gets priority -- and the player can be traded just to that team.
(5) If a deal can't be worked out or the team doesn't want to trade that player, he can be pulled back off waivers once. If he is placed on waivers again before September, he can't be recalled a second time.
(6) Or, if a team is just hoping to dump a player's salary, it can simply allow a team which claimed that player to have him.
v) If a team successfully claims the player, he is added to that team's 40-man roster.
vi) The waiver order is determined by current standings from worst to first. Each team will have the opportunity to claim the player
6. Offseason Cuts and Draft
i) The Offseason Draft will take place sometime in January after the latest season disk comes out
ii) In order to participate in the Offseason Draft a team will need to have available roster slots. Any players not designated as being on the 40-man roster can be cut at this time without need to clear waivers.
iii) Teams can choose to cut as many players as they like in order to participate in the draft
iv) Over/Under used players will immediately be cut at the end of the regular season
v) The Offseason draft will last as long as needed. Teams can draft as many players as they wish as long as they have available roster slots.
vi) Order will be determined by order of finish from last to first. Tiebreakers between teams with similar winning percentages will be determined by Runs Scored. Secondary tiebreakers if needed will be determined by Runs Against
vii) CARDED and UNCARDED players can be selected during the normal course of the draft
viii) At the completion of the draft all teams must have 50-man rosters consisting of at least 35 CARDED players and a maximum of 15 UNCARDED players
7. Major injury/illness
i) In the event of injury or major illness that prevents a player from appearing throughout a season and therefore not being issued a card by the database the following year, a card may be requested from the commissioner. This player will have zero stats and must remain on the team’s farm roster for the entire season. The player may be cut at any time (the card will be lost) or traded (and the same restrictions apply to the new owner).
ii) If the player remains injured for a second year in succession he will be lost from that team with no compensation made. There is no compensation for a player who through any other reason e.g. form/demotion to the minor leagues, does not appear on the season disk.
8. Free Agency
i) Each week up to and including July 31st, teams are entitled to make one free agent signing per week.
ii) Managers will be required to send lists of players privately to the commissioner they wish to sign and the name of a player they wish to cut, should the signing take their roster above 50.
iii) For the first three weeks of the season the free agent draft order will be based on the previous season’s record. This will follow the order determined in the pre-season draft itself. Starting on from week 4 free agent signings will be determined by season record in the first instance, run difference in the second and a coin toss in the third.
iv) In the event that a manager’s list does not yield a player, no signing will be made and no cuts made in lieu. Similarly, if a manager does not provide a player to cut where a signing would take their roster above 50, no signing will be made.
9. September 1st roster expansion
i) On September 1st Major League rosters will be able to be expanded to 40 players.
ii) If a team doesn’t have 40 CARDED players, only those CARDED players may be called up
10. Disabled List
i) In the event of an injury to a Major League player, that player can either be placed on the Disabled List if the injury is of long length, or left as-is on the roster and he will automatically be activated to play again once the injury heals.
ii) If a player is put on the Disabled List when creating your bi-weekly MP, you must promote a player to take their place to remain at 25 active players.
Usage:
During the course of the year, players can be used in other positions…please bear in mind that if a player is not carded for a certain position, DMB will still compensate for that during game play…but if you want to use players in different positions, this is a guide to that:
· Catchers can play 1B and corner OF
· 1B can play corner OF
· 2B can play 1B
· SS can play 2B/3B
· 3B can play SS/1B and corner OF
· OF can play any OF position and 1B
Position Players:
· Maximum usage: 110% PA
· Minimum usage: 50% PA
· Any position player with less than 50PA is not subject to minimum usage but they must NOT exceed maximum usage limits
Pitchers:
· Starting Pitchers:
o Maximum: 110% of Batters Faced
o Minimum: 50% of Batters Faced
· Relief Pitchers/Swingmen:
o Maximum: 110% of Batters Faced
o Minimum: 50% of Batters Faced
All players are subject to the Minimum Usage requirement unless they have missed 40+ games due to injury.
Any player that exceeds usage limits during the season will be immediately dropped from the roster and made a free agent. They will not be eligible for post season play.
Trading
1. Non waiver trading is allowed until the July 31st trading deadline. Any player on your roster can be dealt before this date without having to pass thru waivers first.
2. After July 31st any player that a team wishes to trade must put that player thru waivers.
1. If a player clears waivers any trade of that player can go thru
2. If any team blocks the trade by claiming the player on waivers, the source team can either pull back the player from the trading block or make a deal with the team that made the waiver claim. The teams have 48 hours to make a deal. If no deal is made the player returns to the source team
3. The waiver trade deadline is August 31st of the DMB season
3. After the August 31st waiver trade deadline, trades will not be allowed until after the World Series is completed
4. Both parties must agree and a note announcing the trade by one party and another confirming the trade by the other party must be posted league wide.
5. Trades will be made on disk at completion of weeks games so MP’s can be created by both teams with new players for following weeks games
6. Players traded must still meet minimum and maximum usage requirements or that player will be lost to free agency at the end of the season. Players who have already met maximum usage restriction cannot be traded during the season
7. Draft picks for current season and 1-year in the future may be dealt during draft or during season.
Important Dates for 2010 season
1. February 1st – Cuts to 35 due
2. February 8th – Draft begins
3. March 8th – Draft ends
4. April 5th – 2010 Season Begins
5. July 31st – (DMB season) – non-waiver trading deadline
6. August 31st – (DMB Season) – waiver trading deadline
7. September 1st – (DMB Season) – expansion to 40-man rosters
8. November 22nd – Rule 5 Draft