Research Triangle Transplants League Rules

Index

Object Roster Draft Position Eligibility Statistics & Standings Trades Free-Agents Waivers & Release	Transactions & Priority Player Salaries & Contracts Roster Protection League Fees Prizes League Organization Glossary

1. Object

To assemble a lineup of National League major-league baseball players whose cumulative statistics during the regular season, measured by the methods described in these rules, exceed those of all other teams in the League.

2. Roster

(2.1) Active Roster: A team's active roster consists of 23 players who must be position-eligible.

2 catchers
1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 1 shortstop, and 1 third baseman
1 middle infielder (a player who is eligible at either 2B or SS)
1 corner infielder (a player who is eligible at either 1B or 3B)
5 outfielders
9 pitchers
1 utility player (at any hitting or pitching position)

There is no distinction between the outfield positions or between starters or relief pitchers (but see Minimum innings-pitched.)

(2.2) Inactive Roster: A team's inactive roster consists of up to 6 players total, with no restriction regarding number of hitters or pitchers:

Bench -- Players may be moved to the Bench for any reason.
- Up to 3 maximum on the Bench.
DL -- Players must qualify by being listed on the major-league disabled list.
Minors -- Players must qualify by being sent to a National League minor-league team.
- Up to 3 maximum on DL and Minors (combined <2000> ).

3. Auction Draft

(3.1) Auction: A major-league player draft in the form of an open auction is conducted, usually on the first Saturday monring after Opening Day of the baseball season. Each team must acquire 23 players to fill their active roster at a total cost not to exceed R$260. Salaries of eligible keepers retained from the previous year count towards the R$260. The R$260 active-roster salary cap is only enforced during the Auction Draft.

(3.2) Bids: The team bidding first (the lowest ranked team returning from the previous year), opens with a salary bid for any player, and the bidding proceeds until only one bidder is left. Bids must be in whole $R amounts. That team acquires the player for that amount and announces the roster position the player will take. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the draft by declaring the shift.

(3.3) Rounds: This process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players to be bid on, until every team has a full roster of 23 players. Owners do not introduce players after their roster is full. Owners may pass when it is their turn to introduce a player, but should each owner pass, no owner can pass on their next turn. Owners are limited to 3 passes during the auction until under R$20 remaining in salary cap, or <2000> under 5 active roster positions available.

(3.4) Invalid Bids: A team cannot bid for a player it cannot afford, or one who qualifies only at positions that the team has already filled.

Examples: A team with R$3 left and 2 openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of R$2 for one player. A team with both catcher spots and the utility spots filled cannot bid on a player who qualifies only at catcher.

(3.5) Eligibility: <2002> Any baseball player is eligible for the auction draft. Specifically, NL players, minor-leaguers, AL players, basketball players who think they're baseball players, or the kid down the block with the great arm. Note that only NL statistics count towards the league standings, and also see rule 11.3-Minimum NL Participation.

(3.6) Bench Draft: After the Auction Draft fills the active rosters, the 3 Bench positions are drafted in 3 rounds of draft picks of players. Drafting order is determined randomly and reverses for each round. Players may be moved between the active and inactive rosters after the Bench Draft.

4. Position Eligibility

(4.1) Major-leaguers: <2002> A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, he may be drafted only at the position at which he appeared most frequently. If the previous major-league season did not consist of the full 162 games, the 20-game requirement is prorated. A player also qualifies at any position which the stats service lists them eligible for on the website, to simplify and save time double-checking the website.

(4.2) Minor-leaguers: Players who played mostly in the minors during the previous season qualify at the position they played most frequently in the minors last year. They can also qualify at the position they will play with their major-league team if documented to be different.

(4.3) New position: After the major-league season starts, a player becomes eligible for assignment at any position at which he appears in at least 5 games. This provision also applies to the Auction Draft if the 5 game requirement is met before then.

(4.4) Changes:A player eligible at more than one position may change positions at any time by notifying the League Commissioner.

5. Statistics & Standings

(5.1) Source: STATS Inc. provides the official statistics for the league. Official standings and other reports are computed by the League Commissioner and are published on the Web, weekly if possible. Owners are responsible for viewing this information.

(5.2) Statistics: Statistics of major-league players only count for their team during weeks that they are on the active roster. While on the inactive roster, their major-league statistics are ignored.

The following 10 statistics are used to determine team performance:
Hitting Categories: Pitching Categories:

Batting Average
Home Runs
Runs Batted In
Stolen Bases
Runs Scored

Wins
Saves
Earned Run Average
WHIP Ratio = (Walks+Hits)/Innings Pitched
Strikeouts

(5.3) Standings: Teams are ranked each week, based on cumulative statistics, from first to last in each of the 10 categories and given points for each place. For example, in a 12-team league, the first-place team in a category gets 12 points, the second-place team gets 11, and so on down to 1 point for last. The team with the most total points at the end of the regular season wins the League.

(5.4) Category tie-breaker: Tied teams in an individual category are assigned points by dividing the total points for the rankings among all tied teams.

(5.5) Standings tie-breaker: The standings for teams tied in total points are determined by comparing the teams in all categories with respect to only the tied teams. A further tie is broken by adding each team's total at-bats plus triple the number of innnings pitched. The team that scores a higher total by this participation measure wins the tie-breaker.

(5.6) Minimum innings-pitched: A team that fails to pitch a total of 1000 innings during the season has innings added to their team total at the rate of 1 earned-run and 2 hits per inning until they reach the minimum. This prevents using an "all-relief-pitcher" strategy to gain an unfair advantage.

Example:

                     INNINGS  EARNED RUNS  WALKS+HITS   ERA   WHIP
 Team Finishes with:   975       380         1330      3.508 1.364
 Penalty                25        25           50
                      -----     ------      ------    --------------
 Adjusted stats:      1000       405         1380      3.645 1.380

For reference, the average major-league staff pitches 1450 innings in a season. If the major-league season does not consist of the full 162 games, the innings requirement is prorated.

(5.7) Minimum at-bats: A team that fails to get 4250 at-bats during the season has a number of penalty at-bats added to their team total that is twice the number of at-bats they were short of the minimum.

Example:

                     AT-BATS    HITS    AVERAGE
 Team Finishes with:   4200     1100     .2619
 Penalty                100        0
                      -----    ------  --------
 Adjusted stats:       4300     1100     .2558

For reference, the average major-league team gets nearly 5500 at-bats in a season. If the major-league season does not consist of the full 162 games, the at-bats requirement is prorated.

6. Trades

(6.1) Deadlines: From the completion of the Auction Draft through the first transaction deadline on or after <2003> August 1, teams may make player trades. No trades are permitted from that deadline until the end of the season. Off-season trades are permitted between the end of the season and the Roster Freeze.

(6.2) Position requirements: After a trade, the active rosters of both teams must still comply with the roster position requirements. Trades do not have to be for the same number of players on each team, or the same positions, if the inactive roster(s) of the teams can accomodate the differences. Inactive players may be moved to empty active positions, and excess players may be moved to the inactive roster or waived.

Note: Completing the active positions cannot be a conditional move like waiver claim or free agent bid, as these moves are not guaranteed, and a trade cannot be pending conditional transactions of one of the owners. That could mess up the other team, and is another hassle the Commissioner doesn't need. However, if for some reason the teams do not complete the trade with legal moves, I will VOID the trade if I am not able to contact the owners in time to correct it.

Off-season trades are not bound by the position requirements of this rule.

(6.3) Trading terms: Trades must be complete when reported. They cannot involve explicit or implied terms of future considerations, players to be named later, "trade-backs", cash, or yard work.

(6.4) Collusion: Fair this-year-for-next-year "dumping" trades are allowed, but collusive action between owners (look it up) will not be allowed.

7. Free-Agents

(7.1) Eligibility: <2002> Any baseball player not on a rotisserie roster, or on waivers, is a free-agent. This specifically includes NL players, AL players, players in the minors, and "retired" players. Free-agents can be bid upon and acquired at any transaction deadline.

(7.2) Budget: <2000> Each team has a total yearly FAAB of R$100 with which to gain priority in signing free-agents. The free-agent goes to the highest bidder, at a contract salary equal to the winning bid. The minimum bid is R$5. The winning team's FAAB is reduced by the amount of the winning bid over R$5, so minimum bids of R$5 can be made without reducing the FAAB. The maximum bid then is R$5 plus the amount remaining in the team's FAAB.

(7.3) Guaranteed Contracts: Any free-agent signed for a salary of R$20 or greater is given a guaranteed two-year contract. Such a player cannot be waived for the duration of the contract and must be protected for the following season using a keeper. See rule 11.6 for your only way out.

(7.4) AL Rebate: A team losing a player by trade from an NL major-league roster to the AL, between the Draft and the last Transaction Deadline, may claim a rebate to their FAAB, in the amount of R$5 less than the lost player's salary, upon waiving the player.

8. Waivers & Release

(8.1) Waivers: Waivers occur when a team no longer has room for all of its players on either the active or inactive rosters. If that happens, a team must waive one or more players until the roster rules are met.

(8.2) Waiver Period: The waiver period begins immediately after the next transaction deadline, and lasts 1 week (until the next transaction deadline). Every team is eligible to claim the player by notifying the League Commissioner. At the end of the waiver period, the claiming team that was ranked the lowest in the new standings report signs the player.

(8.3) Limit: A team may acquire on waivers no more than one player in a given week. Should a team want to claim more than one player in a week, they can list an order of preference.

(8.4) Clearing Waivers: A player who clears waivers -- that is, is not claimed by any team -- becomes a free-agent the following week.

9. Transactions and Priority

(9.1) Transaction Deadline: Weekly stats are through NL games of Monday. The deadline for reporting any player transaction to the League Commissioner is 2:00pm each Tuesday during the season, unless otherwise specified.

(9.2) Effective: Transactions are effective (for the purpose of recording player performance) immediately after that reporting deadline. This means that players' stats do not begin to count for his new team until the Tuesday games after the transaction was made. Transactions are still effective during weeks when no official standings are issued due to vacation or other reason. Any exception will be noted on the home page.

(9.3) Season Start: The procedures for starting the season are subject to change from year-to-year based on MLB's Opening Day and the date of the Auction Draft. Common procedures:

If the Auction Draft is after Opening Day	Transactions made and recorded at the Auction Draft are effective retroactive to Opening Day. Transactions recorded between Auction Draft day and the first transaction reporting deadline are effective immediately after that reporting deadline.
If the Auction Draft is before Opening Day	Transactions made and recorded at the Auction Draft are effective immediately. The first transaction deadline is the first Tuesday 2:00pm after the season starts, but see Priority.

(9.4) Transaction Race: There is no benefit to submitting transactions earlier than someone else during the same transaction week. The League Commissioner will complete his team's transactions before looking at any Tuesday transactions, to avoid any conflict of interest.

To help the Commissioner, please use the Subject line of your e-mail to indicate if the note contains transactions, questions, or whatever, especially on Monday/Tuesday.

(9.5) Priority: Conflicting transactions, including claims on a player by more than one team, during a transaction period are resolved with this priority:

Waiver claims (of course only for players on waivers)
Highest bid
For conflicts within a single team's transactions, the order that they appear will determine the priority

Ties are won by the lowest ranked team (including standings tiebreakers) in the latest published standings, then the team winning the tie-breaker "moves to the end of the line" for the next tie-breaker during the same week. Standings made up of less than a full week's major-league games cannot be used to determine tie-breakers; the final standings of the previous year are used instead. Coin flip is the last resort.

10. Player Salaries & Contracts

(10.1) Salary: The salary of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition. The salary of a player:

acquired in the auction draft is his auction price.
drafted in the bench draft is R$10 (1st round), R$5 (2nd round), or R$2 (3rd round).
acquired as a free-agent during the season is the amount of the winning bid.
claimed on waivers is the higher of his previous salary and R$10.

(10.2) Contract length: Players have maximum 2-year contracts. That is, a player drafted at auction may be retained for the following year at the same salary by using a keeper. At the end of the 2-year contract, the current owner may hold and use a topper to sign that player to a second 2-year contract. A player completing a second 2-year contract must be released for the next Auction Draft.

(10.3) Contract: The contract of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition. A player acquired:

in the auction draft or bench draft, or as a free-agent is in his first contract year.
via trade or waivers keeps his original contract status.
by a topper is in his third contract year (first contract year of the second 2-year contract).

(10.4) Contract field: The contract field in reports use the following letters to indicate the contract: A=1st year, B=2nd year (requires a topper to protect next year), C=3rd year, D=4th year (cannot be protected next year), G=guaranteed contract

11. Roster Protection

(11.1) Basics: In the off-season, the number of players on each team's final roster that may be retained for the next season is dependent upon the team's finish in the previous year's standings. This provides some protection against dynasties by allowing the top teams to protect fewer players. It also gives an incentive for even the bottom teams to play hard right to the end of the season, by allowing the last place team to protect fewer players.

(11.2) Number: Each owner has the option to use their limited number of protections on keepers or toppers, based on their finish and the number of league teams the previous season.

Number of Keepers + Toppers (any mix) allowed
League Has 7 8 9
7-9 teams 1st 2nd,3rd,last 4th-next to last
10-11 teams 1st,2nd 3rd,4th,last 5th-next to last
12 teams 1st,2nd 3rd,4th,5th,12th 6th-11th

(11.3) Minimum NL Participation <2002> In order to keep the roster focus on current-year players, players without a minimum National League at-bats (30) or innings-pitched (10) cannot be protected. This requirement can be waived on appeal, in the case of injury being the reason for missing the minimum.

Example: A pitcher on your roster with a contract of 5A cannot be protected with a keeper for the following season if he is not credited with at least 10 innings-pitched in the National League, unless he was injured for the season before the 10 IP could be completed.

(11.4) Roster Freeze: The names of players being protected must be recorded with the League Commissioner at the Roster Freeze which is the earlier of: 1 week before the Auction Draft, and the weekend before major-league Opening Day. The Commissioner will notify all teams of each team's protected lists, including player salaries and contracts, and amount available to spend at the Auction Draft. Players not protected immediately become free-agents and are eligible for the draft.

(11.5) Unprotection: <2000> If a protected player with a non-guaranteed contract is traded to the AL, sent to the minors, waived, released, or goes on the DL between the Roster Freeze and the Auction Draft, or suffers an injury sufficient to likely cause a DL status after evaluation, then the player can be released. This adds the value of the contract back to his draft budget. This does not apply to guaranteed contracts (as they are covered by Rule 11.6), does not entitle the team to a substitute roster protection, and is limited to one drop per team.

(11.6) Guaranteed Contract Escape Clause: If a protected player with a guaranteed contract is not on a NL major-league roster on the date of the Auction Draft or Opening Day, whichever is earlier, they can be released. This adds the value of the contract back to his draft budget, but does not entitle the team to a substitute roster protection.

12. League Fees

(12.1) Fees: <2002> The league entry fee for a season is $100, which covers expenses and prizes. This must be paid before or at the Auction Draft. All fees must be paid before prizes are awarded to anyone.

(12.2) League Expenses: <2002> All fees are payable into the prize pool, except $10 of each team's entry fee pays for the on-line statistics service, and up to $25 total as requested by the host of the Auction Draft for general expenses (not intended to either cover everything, nor imply that the host must spend more)

13. Prizes

(13.1) Prize Pool: The prize pool is based on the number of teams in the league, divided among the top teams as follows:

(% of Prize Pool) #teams in league
Finish 7-9 10-11 12
1st place 50% 45% 45%
2nd place 30% 25% 25%
3rd place 20% 20% 15%
4th place 10% 10%
5th place 5%

14. League Organization

(14.1) Ownership: The League is governed by the membership, consisting of all team owners of up to 12 teams. Co-ownership of a team is allowed, but only one vote per team is allowed, and owners are not allowed to have an interest in more than one team at a time.

(14.2) Rules: The League Commissioner makes rule interpretations and may refer to standard Rotisserie League rule books or consult with team owners. Major format changes will be determined in the off-season by 3/4 majority vote of returning owners. Other rule changes can be made by majority vote or at the discretion of the League Commissioner without need for a vote. Owners may also propose changes and call for a vote on changes.

(14.3) Revocation: Team ownership may be revoked by a 2/3 majority vote of other team owners in cases of collusion or other conduct which undermines the league.

(14.4) Expansion: Change in team ownership preferably is by direct transfer, keeping rosters intact. If the league shrinks, players on the unclaimed teams become free-agents, eligible for the draft. If the league grows, an expansion draft is held before the Roster Freeze to stock the new team(s). Details of this expansion draft are flexible and depend on the numbers of existing, new, and departing teams. Typically the new teams will participate in an expansion draft from a pool of players including the entire rosters of any departing teams, and if expanding, a portion of the rosters of returning teams after they are allowed to protect a number of players.

15. Glossary

Active Roster: the 23 players whose current statistics count towards League Standings
Conditional Move: A transaction which must wait for transaction priority processing to determine whether it will be accepted or not, like a free-agent bid or a waiver claim.
Eligible Keeper: Player who is on an NL major-league roster; may be protected subject to AB and IP minimums
FAAB: Free-Agent Acquisition Budget; the pool of league contract money used to bid on free agents
Inactive Roster: the players whose current statistics do not count towards League Standings
Keeper: protecting a player in the first year of a contract or contract extension for a second year at the same R$ salary.
Major-league players: players who are on a major league baseball roster, either as active or disabled
R$260: R$ stands for Rotisserie dollars -- a system of measuring player and contract values that in this league does not correspond to real dollars.
Roster Freeze: One week prior to the Auction Draft, or before Opening Day, whichever is earlier, keeper/topper lists must be provided, and then rosters cannot be changed until the Auction Draft.
Topper: protecting a player in the second year of a contract by reserving the right to make the last bid on that player the next year by topping the highest bid by R$1. Using a topper grants the holding owner up to a 2-year contract extension at the new salary. To be protected for the second year of the extension, the owner must use a keeper the next year.