Preamble

The As-Yet Unnamed Baseball Replay League (the "League") is a baseball replay league using the Strat-O-Matic computer game to play a 162-game season using team rosters assembled by the League's managers through an annual draft and trades. Each League season shall be played using MLB statistics from the prior season.

While some baseball knowledge is required to meaningfully participate in the League, no foreknowledge of the Strat-O-Matic game itself is required. There is no hand-eye coordination component to the game - results are based purely on statistical formulae derived from the actual MLB performance of the players. For more information on the game, please visit: www.strat-o-matic.com. Those who are familiar with the Strat-O-Matic game believe that it takes extremely little time and effort to learn.

Unlike most rotisserie baseball leagues, there is no inherent gambling function in the League. The winner of the League World Series gets no reward other than the satisfaction of having ground his or her fellow owners into the dirt. A true baseball fan needs nothing more.

1. Franchises

1.1.

There will be 24 teams in the League, divided into a DH league and a non-DH league.

1.2.

Each league will be composed of twelve teams, divided into three divisions of four teams each.

1.3.

No person may own multiple teams in the same league. A single owner may own a team in each league provided that a new owner wanting a team shall have precedence over an existing owner wanting to add a second team. No owner shall be forced to surrender a team already under such owner's management to a new owner, however.

1.4.

No owner shall be admitted to the League if the Commissioner determines that such person may be unable or unwilling to carry out the obligations and responsibilities of an owner under the rules of the League, including the ability to properly evaluate and consider trade offers.

1.5.

Each owner is responsible for choosing a city in which to locate their team and a nickname.

1.5.1.

Changes to city and nickname may be made during the offseason with permission from the Commissioner; this permission shall be granted provided that the proposed name is not obscene, offensive, or duplicative of another team.

 1.6.

Teams may switch divisions and leagues by petitioning the Commissioner. The Commissioner will recommend to the League which teams will switch. Realignment will be considered a Trivial vote, but the realigning owners will have veto power over the proposed change.

2. Scheduling

2.1.

Teams will play twelve games against teams outside their division and 22 against teams within their division for a total of 162 games.

 2.2.

Each series will consist of five or six games to be played within a two-week window beginning at 12:01 am on a Tuesday morning.

 2.3.

The commissioner will produce a calendar and schedule for the league at least two weeks before the season is to start. No series may be played prior to the designated start date without the prior permission of the visiting manager.

2.4.

Road instructions should be provided to a manager by 11:59 PM on the FIRST Friday of a series. Roster moves, if any, are also to be made as part of these instructions.

2.4.1.

Any manager not receiving road instructions by such time may play such series using the preset computer manager for such away team (including letting the computer manager determine lineups), and shall use the roster designated prior to the season.

2.4.2.

Road instructions may be as detailed or simple as the away team desires, and it is the duty of each home manager to follow such instructions to the best of his or her ability. Ambiguities and contradictory instructions, and any decisions to be made outside of the scope of such instructions, may be resolved by the home manager in good faith, with appropriate adjustments (if any) to account for the starting rotation to be used in such series. The road instructions may contain a computer manager, but this is not required.

2.5.

In the event that the computer manager is used, it shall be free to determine lineups that may not parallel the preset lineups (unless otherwise designated by the away manager in timely road instructions).

 2.6.

In the event that a team will not be able to play their home games for a given series, they must notify the Commissioner, league Statistician and their opponent one week before the road instructions are to be sent for the series in question.

2.6.1.

In such event, or in the event that a home manager does not play a series within the designated time, the away manager shall be entitled to play such series, using the computer manager and the pre-set roster for the home team (unless the home team timely sends road instructions to the away manager).

2.6.2.

If the away manager declines to play such series or fails to do so within the designated time (or, if the away manager is playing a series because the home manager failed to play such series during the designated time, within the next two week period), the league Statistician (or any other manager designated by the Commissioner) shall play such series, using the autoplay feature and the default rosters.

2.6.3.

If any team does not have an active owner, the Statistician for such league (or his designee) shall send road instructions for such team. The away manager shall be automatically authorized to play the away series against such team, during the regular time allotted for such series to be played.

2.7.

The schedule will be constructed such that, in the final series of the season, each team will play their home and away series against the same opponent.

3. Playoffs

3.1.

Three division winners will advance to the playoffs, along with a wild-card team with the best record in each league that does not win their division.

3.2.

The wild-card team will play the team with the best record unless that team is in their division, in which case they will play the team with the second best record.

3.3.

All playoff series will be seven games long, in a 2-3-2 format and will also be played over the course of two weeks.

3.4.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs home field will go the team with the better record, unless that team is the wild-card team. Home field for the World Series will alternate between leagues.

3.5. The Commissioner will create a “Playoff League” and implement the following schedule using the Calendar feature in strat:

Days 1-9 Division Series, with days 3 and 7 being off days for “travel”

Days 10 and 11 off

Days 12-20 League Championship Series with days 14 and 18 being off days for “travel”

Days 21 and 22 off

Days 23-31 World Series with days 25 and 29 being off days for “travel”

3.6 Any one game playoffs that are needed to break ties will be counted as part of the regular season for usage purposes, but pitcher fatigue will be carried forward into the postseason, allowing for one off day between the one game playoff and the start of the postseason.

4. Eligibility

4.1.

All position players having at least 40 plate appearances (at bats plus walks, sacrifices, and hit-by-pitches) and pitchers having at least 20 innings pitched are eligible for a roster.

4.1.1.

Any eligible player meeting this criteria in the past but not for the current season may be kept on the 35 man roster by a team already owning such player, but may not be drafted. These players may not be used during the season and are automatically eligible to be kept for the next year.

4.2.

A free agent is a player who is not on the active or inactive roster of any team in the League. There will be a free agent draft supervised by the Commissioner during each offseason.

 4.2.1.

Teams must have less than 35 players on their combined active and inactive rosters at the time that a pick is made in the draft.

 4.2.2.

Any free agent eligible for a roster may be drafted.

5. Active/Inactive Roster

5.1.

Teams will have an active roster of 26 players and an inactive roster of 9 additional players.

5.2.

Changes may be made to the default active and inactive rosters between series. For the final three home and away series of the season, the full 35-man roster shall be active. Owners may choose to deactivate some players for these series to prevent overuse, so long as the remaining active roster is consistent with the rule of two qualified players per position.

6. Playing Rules

6.1.

All games will be played on the Strat-O-Matic computer game.

6.2.

The “Do Not Use Injuries” option will be used for both regular and post season games.  Most "super-advanced" rules will be activated, including super-advanced pitcher fatigue rules, "weather effects," “clutch hitting” and "park effects," but not "pitcher injuries," "home field advantage," "pitch counts," or "forced daily injuries."

6.3.

Internet "face-to-face" play may be used only if both managers consent, provided that manager shall take all reasonable efforts to ensure that playoff games are conducted in person or using the "NetPlay" feature.

6.4.

Each team shall submit to the Commissioner a default computer manager and roster and a pitching rotation for the upcoming season. The default computer manager and roster shall be used in the event that road instructions are not submitted.

6.5.

The pitchers used in the rotation shall be followed, although the road manager may alter the order of such usage for his team within the road instructions for a series and the home manager may alter the order of such usage for his team during the series.

6.6.

If any play results in an injury to the pitcher, the play should be undone using the "Delete Last Play" function. Pitcher injuries are not allowed.

6.7.

A pitcher may not appear defensively at a non-pitcher position, or start a game as the DH, unless no other players are available to bat in a particular game. A pitcher may be used to pinch hit for a position player, but he MUST bunt. In the non-DH league, pitchers may pinch hit for other pitchers without restriction. Pitchers may pinch-run at any time in either league.

7. Usage Requirements

7.1.

At the beginning of every series, teams must be able to demonstrate that they have at least one backup for every position on their team within their current active 26 man roster.

7.2.

A player may start at any position for which he is rated.

7.3.

A player may not play out of position unless there is nobody eligible to play such position that is available, due to injury. No player may be intentionally removed from a game if it leaves the team without an eligible player to play that position.

7.4.

For purposes of all positional rules, any outfielder is considered to be qualified at all outfield positions (with defensive rating adjustments made by the computer game).

7.5.

The home manager shall report to the league Statistician any occasion where a player is played out of position during a series.

 7.6.       

The following players may have unlimited usage:

                7.6.1. 

A batter having 600 or more MLB PA. 

                7.6.2. 

Batters having a batting average under .200.

7.6.3.    

Pitchers having an ERA over 6.00.   Such pitchers who started at least 1 game will qualify to make up to 32 starts.  Such pitchers who did not start at least 1 game may not be used as a starter.

7.7.        

All players not described in Section 7.6 shall have the following limitations on usage.

7.7.1     

Batters are limited to a maximum 115% of their MLB PA for the season (“adjusted PA”).

7.7.2.    

Pitchers are limited to their MLB IP+15% (rounded up to the next whole inning) (“adjusted innings”).   A pitcher may not start more than 115% of the number of games started in the past MLB season.  Any pitcher may be used in relief, regardless of whether they actually appeared in relief in MLB.

7.8.        

Under normal circumstances, a manager may not intentionally exceed the usage limitations described in Section 7.7. 

7.8.1.  

Managers are expected to deactivate players who have reached the limitations on usage described in Section 7.7.

7.8.2.    

The Commissioner is empowered to take any and all appropriate actions to prevent willful violations of this rule. 

7.9. Any player that fails to reach 65% of their adjusted PA or adjusted IP automatically become free agents after the season is complete.

7.9.1.     Any manager may appeal this result to the Commissioner with respect to a particular player due to special circumstances (including failure of a home manager to follow timely road instructions).

7.9.2.     Under normal circumstances, a team that changes managers should not expect to retain any player that was underused during the prior season.

8. Injuries

8.1.

Games will be played with the “Do Not Use Injuries” setting activated. 

During the regular season, pitcher fatigue will not carry through beyond the series presently being played and each team shall receive the maximum "rest" period before each series begins.

9. Post Season Starts and Usage

9.1.

Any starting pitcher having more than 10 starts shall be available to start the one-game playoff between tied teams at the end of a season. Statistics accumulated during these games count towards regular season statistics, including usage limitations.

9.2.

All batters who are unlimited during the regular season are also unlimited in the postseason. Non-unlimited batters shall have 15% of their adjusted PA for the entirety of the postseason.

9.3.

Any pitcher who started a game in the MLB regular season can start games in the postseason. Pitchers who are unlimited in the regular season, or who qualified for the MLB ERA title, are unlimited in the postseason. All other pitchers have 10% of their adjusted innings, always rounded up to the nearest full inning, in each postseason series.

9.4.

The playoff roster for each team shall be fixed prior to each series and shall consist of 26 active players.

10. Offseason Management

10.1.

The Statisticians shall, within a week after the end of the League's regular season, post on the League website the list of all players who have become free agents as a result of overuse or underuse.

10.2.

Rosters shall be due from all managers to the Registrar on or prior to December 26.

10.2.1.

Each team shall be limited to no more than 25 players on its pre-draft roster.  Following the submission of the pre-draft roster, and subject to the limitation in rule 10.4.5, a team may exceed this limit by acquiring additional players through draft or trade. 

10.2.2.

This roster shall be the only time that a team is permitted to waive a player from its roster.

10.3

The draft shall occur through an on-line webpage or other system as selected by the commissioner.  The draft shall commence on January 1 unless the commissioner, for good cause, sets a different date.

10.4.

Trades are permitted at any time from the conclusion of the regular season until the deadline for the submission of final rosters set by the commissioner.

10.4.1.

Trades are not considered official until reported to the Commissioner. If a team changes ownership, all unreported trades will be considered invalid.

10.4.2.

All trades are final, pending protests, and all players shall change hands at the time of the trade. Draft choice compensation may be conditional, but all conditions must be announced at the time of trade.

10.4.3.

Trades may not be made if it would result in a player ending up on an owners roster who spent a portion of the offseason on the roster of another team owned by that owner.

10.4.4.

Owners may trade picks only for the current year's draft (i.e. draft picks may only be traded between the start of the trading period and the time that such pick is made).

10.4.5.

After the completion of the draft, every team must maintain 35 players on its roster at all times (e.g. trades must be for equal numbers of players).

                10.4.6.

                No team may at any time have more than 35 players on its roster.

10.5.

The commissioner shall set and announce the deadline for the submission of final rosters.

10.5.1.

Each team's final roster must include players capable of starting 162 games, pitching 1450 innings, and 6400 plate appearances (in the DH league) or 5900 plate appearances (in the non-DH league, not including pitchers).  For purposes of this rule, unlimited batters shall be deemed to have 650 PA and unlimited pitchers shall be deemed to have 200 IP.

10.5.2.

Any manager failing to achieve this shall have players removed from the roster (such players to be chosen by such manager) and replaced by the league Statistician with free agent unlimited players until the final roster is in compliance with this rule.

10.6:

In-Season Trades. 

10.6.1.  

There shall be a ten day window for in-season trades beginning between July 1 and July 10.  The Commissioner shall set and announce the exact time for this trading period.

10.6.2.

Trades may not be made if it would result in a player ending up on an owners roster who spent a portion of the offseason on the roster of another team owned by that owner.

10.6.3.  

Each team must have 35 players on its roster following the trade.  Each team must further be able to demonstrate that the team has enough remaining plate appearances, innings pitched, and back-up players for each position to complete the season.

10.6.4.  

Owners may not trade picks for the upcoming draft.

11. The Annual Draft

11.1.

The Annual Draft will encompass all available free agents. All teams will be able to draft from both the NL and AL pools of eligible fee agents. Ineligible players may not be drafted.

11.2.

The draft will be done in inverse order of record with the following exceptions:

11.2.1.

Draft position in the 1st Round only for the teams with the worst 5 records will be determined lottery-style, with the worst record receiving 5 balls, the second-worst team receiving 4 balls, etc.  Ties within the bottom 5 teams will get the same number of balls.  If there is a tie for the fifth-worst record, the tying teams will all participate in the lottery.

11.2.3.

Home record will be used as a tiebreaker, with the better home record picking first. If the two teams remain ties, face-to-face record will be used if possible, with the better face-to-face record picking first. Finally, if the teams remain tied, a coin flip will be used to determine pick order.

11.2.4.

Between the first and second rounds of the draft there will be a “Sandwich Round.”  Participants in the Sandwich Round will be teams meeting the following criteria: (a) won 81 games or more; and (b) did not qualify for the playoffs.  Selections in the Sandwich round will be in order of record. (i.e., best to worst). Any participants in the sandwich round that finished the regular season tied will pick in the reverse order that they pick in rounds 1 and 2. 

11.3.

The annual draft will begin on January 1, and will continue until all teams have 35 players on their roster.

 11.4.

Draft picks will be submitted by email or through another similar online mechanism as chosen by the Commissioner.

 11.5.

The Commissioner is responsible for organizing a fair and efficient method for completing the draft. The schedule of deadlines (if any) for picks must be announced and agreed upon at least two weeks in advance so that people can plan accordingly.

11.6.

If an owner's pick is skipped because he or she missed a deadline, he or she can make the skipped pick at any time.

11.7.

Once a team reaches the 35 player limit, that team shall not make any further draft selections.

12. Stadia

12.1.

No stadium may be used by more than one team.

12.2.

Teams who wish to change stadiums during the offseason may revoke their stadium. They will then be eligible to draft among available stadia.  The stadium draft shall take place via email.

12.3.

The Commissioner will set a deadline for teams to renounce their stadium and enter the stadium draft, but this deadline will not be set until after the official ballpark ratings for the coming season become available. The draft will commence as soon as possible after this deadline passes.

12.4.

The order for the stadium draft shall be randomly determined each year.

12.5.

A team which has its Major League stadium replaced by the Major League team which plays in it automatically inherits the new stadium without any penalty.

13. Voting

13.1.

Each owner will have one vote on any matter bought to vote before the League.

 13.2.

Issues will be designated 'trivial', 'minor' and 'significant' by the Commissioner.

13.2.1.

Trivial issues pass automatically, but shall be changed to minor at the request of a team owner.

13.2.2.

Minor issues require a majority vote to pass.

13.2.3.

Significant issues require a 2/3rds majority.

13.3.

All proposals for votes shall be submitted to the Commissioner on or prior to December 15, and the Commissioner shall distribute all such proposals, with their designations, on or prior to December 20.

13.4.

All votes shall be cast by December 31, unless an issue arises at another time that the Commissioner determines is of an emergency nature, in which case the matter shall be subject to vote at a time designated by the Commissioner.

14. Governance

14.1.

The League will have the following officers: Commissioner, Registrar, Statisticians, and a three-member Review Board.

Commissioner

14.2.

The Commissioner shall serve a one-year term. A new Commissioner is elected by majority vote of the League membership (with a two-person runoff held if no person obtains majority support in the initial election).

14.2.1.

The Commissioner can be removed from office during the season only by a 2/3 vote of the League membership.

14.3.

The duties of the Commissioner include:

Creation and Distribution of the League schedule.

Keeping the League website and historical sections up to date.

Distributing proposed constitution changes (which may be submitted by any member) to the League members and overseeing voting on constitution changes.

Serving on the Review Board as necessary.

Appointment of other League positions (other than Review Board).

Maintenance of the waiting list of inactive members.

Serving as a focal point for new members to ask questions about the League.

14.4.

The Commissioner shall be empowered to take any action that such person deems appropriate in the best interests of the League (subject to review by the Review Board upon protest), including the imposition of penalties for overuse of players, failing to follow road instructions, deliberately playing batters out of position (or failing to maintain a roster reasonably likely to avoid the necessity of playing batters out of position) or other actions inconsistent with the rules of the League.

Review Board

14.5.

The Review Board consists of three members elected by majority vote of the League membership (with one or more runoffs held until three persons each obtain more votes than any other candidate).The Review Board members serve a one-year term of office.

14.6.

The Review Board rules on all protests submitted by League members.

14.7.

No League member may rule on a protest involving his own team. If a Review Board member is involved in a protest, he shall be replaced first by the Registrar and finally by the Commissioner (unless such person is also involved in such protest, in which case the remaining members of the Review Board may select a third member to rule on such protest).

14.8.

The Review Board shall issue a ruling on a protest within two weeks from the date the protest was filed and a ruling on a trade dispute within a week of the date of dispute.

14.9.

Any member may submit a protest to any decision of the Commissioner, of any trade, or of any other matter.

14.10.

In a trade dispute, the Review board may choose to reverse the trade. The Review Board may only overrule a trade in the interest of substantial fairness to the League.

14.11.

The Review Board may not overrule any rule of the League.

14.12.

The Review Board, upon upholding a protest involving the play of a particular game, may require such game to be replayed.

14.13.

A unanimous vote of the Review Board is required to uphold a protest.

14.14.

The decision of the Review Board is final.

Registrar

14.15.

The Registrar is appointed by the Commissioner and serves a one-year term.

14.16.

Duties of the Registrar include:

Keeping track of current rosters.

Overseeing the annual Free Agent draft.

Maintaining the free agent list, distributing the list to the League members on or prior to December 5.

Maintaining the membership and officers lists.

Overseeing an in-season election to replace the Commissioner.

Statisticians

14.17.

The Statisticians are appointed by the Commissioner (one for each league) and serve a one-year term.

14.18.

Duties of the Statisticians include:

Maintaining the scripts to run the League website and allow for automated statistics and results processing.

Maintaining the statistics database for their respective leagues.

Reporting any players playing out of position to the Commissioner, as well as both team owners in which such event occurred.

Reporting to the League any players who will become free agents as a result of overuse or underuse.

15. Elections

15.1.

All nominations for Commissioner and Review Board shall be submitted to the Commissioner on or prior to December 15, and the Commissioner shall distribute all such nomintations on or prior to January 1.

15.2.

Elections shall take place by email with all votes to be sent to the Registrar for tabulation by 12:01 pm Central Time on January 10.

15.3.

A new Commissioner or Review Board member shall begin service upon election. The Commissioner shall appoint the Registrar and Statisticians for the upcoming year after elections results are announced.