Comprehensive League Rules

· Clarified the deadline for confirming trades as 7AM CT the morning following the trade deadline. A trade must be reported prior to the midnight CT deadline, but can be confirmed up to 7 hours afterwards and still take effect for that month as long as it was not modified from what was originally reported.

· Clarified that all deadlines are midnight CT but that some deadlines may be pushed back.

Also keep in mind these 2010 changes when playing the playoffs and for the upcoming off-season:

· The 100 AB minimum requirement for position players to start playoff games as voted on and passed in 2008 has taken effect.

· Clarified the rules on starting pitchers in the playoffs to say that only * rated pitchers can start on 3-days rest. Previously the rule had only implied this and was just written to say that a * rating was required to pitch games 1, 4, and 7 in a seven game series (this was not voted on but was inserted by the League Secretary under the “Emergency Powers” provision).

· Specified additional details on packaging and shipping the traveling trophy.

OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION FOR NEW MANAGERS

The Greater Chicago Strat-O-Matic League is a 20-team baseball league that uses the latest version of the Strat-O-Matic computer baseball game from www.strat-o-matic.com to replay seasons based on the previous year’s MLB stats. Probably the most important thing for a new manager to know is that we have both a “regular roster” and a “taxi squad”, with unique rules for each.

Our draft officially starts at 7PM CT on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend and takes place on-line over a two week period such that the 3-day holiday weekend always falls in the middle, with whatever portion remains to be completed live and in person and/or via conference call or chat on the Sunday following President’s Day. Our 2010 draft will begin on Friday, February 5 and be held online until Saturday, February 20, with the final live session to finish the draft on Sunday, February 21.

During the draft, the regular roster is filled up to 35 men. Anyone can be drafted, included players who did not appear in the majors the previous year, but only batters with 50 or more MLB AB or pitchers with 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) will actually be eligible to play and appear on your 25-man major league squad during our season.

You must draft sufficient players to maintain a 25-man major league roster over the course of the entire season, and to help ensure this, you are required to have a minimum of 600 at bats at each fielding position (rated for that position) plus 600 AB for a designated hitter and 1450 total innings of pitching on your regular roster by the start of our season. For more details see Draft Regulations and Roster Restrictions.

After the regular roster draft, there is a taxi draft, where the taxi squad for each team is filled to 5 players. Anyone can be drafted for the taxi squad. Taxi draft picks cannot be traded, but taxi players can be traded. Any player on a taxi squad or drafted onto a taxi squad, however, retains their taxi status for the entire season and cannot be used on the regular roster during that season. You will not have access to them until the 20-man protect lists for the following season are announced after the end of the current season. For more details see Taxi Squad Restrictions.

We then play a 162 game schedule over the 7 months from March to September. Managers submit their roster and rotations early in the month (typically due on the 9th), after which the pitching match-ups are published. Managers then submit the lineups that they are going to use to face those pitchers, along with a manager profile and other player settings (typically due on the 24th each month). The games are then played near the end of the month by the League Secretary and the results posted. See Regular Season Monthly Procedure for more details. Of course following the regular season we have a playoff and World Series. Four division winners plus two wildcards advance to the playoffs.

October to early December is typically set aside as an “off-season” during with the playoffs can be completed and managers can review their stats from the just completed MLB season and make plans and deals for the subsequent season. Then towards the end of December, in preparation for the January draft, we announce our protect lists and taxi transactions. Each team can protect up to 20 men on their regular roster, including promoting from the taxi squad to the regular roster. Each team can also keep up to 5 men on their taxi roster, which includes the ability to send 1 man from the regular roster to the taxi squad as an “injured reserve”. See Draft Regulations for more information.

YEARLY TIMELINE

While there may be some variation year to year, this should serve as a good guide.

January 9	Pre-draft trade deadline (any trades made after this are considered to take place after the draft) Excess draft picks above 35 total players and picks are forfeited (this ensures that each team will be at 35 players at the end of the draft)
by January 15	Newsletter and website updated
January 24	Ballpark changes due
Friday 10 days prior to President’s Day	Draft begins at 7PM Central Time on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend (10 days before the Monday holiday) DUES AND FEE BALANCES MUST BE PAID PRIOR TO SELECTING Ballpark effect changes are also due prior to first selection for each team
Two weeks surrounding President’s Day weekend	Draft takes place on-line for the 2 weeks surrounding President’s Day weekend. Website updated during 2-week draft as time permits.
Sunday after President’s Day	Completion of the draft in-person and via online chat or conference call.
After End of Draft	All trades that were announced after the January 9 deadline and during the draft take place now; Trading officially resumes Newsletter and website updated
March 2	Trade deadline for March games
March 9	Opening day 25-man rosters due, pitching rotations for March due
by March 15	March pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated
March 24	March lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by March 31	March results published, newsletter and website updated
April 2	Trade deadline for April games
April 9	Roster changes and pitching rotations for April due
by April 15	April pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated
April 24	April lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by April 30	April results published, newsletter and website updated
May 2	Trade deadline for May games
May 9	Roster changes and pitching rotations for May due
by May 15	May pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated
May 24	May lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by May 31	May results published, newsletter and website updated
June 2	Trade deadline for June games
June 9	Roster changes and pitching rotations for June due
by June 15	June pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated Call for rule change proposals to be nominated and seconded
June 24	June lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by June 30	June results published, newsletter and website updated Last call for rule change proposals to be nominated and seconded

July 2	Trade deadline for July games
July 9	Roster changes and pitching rotations for July due Final deadline for proposals to have been nominated and seconded
by July 15	July pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated Rule change ballot published for 7-10 day inspection period
July 24	July lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due Final rule change proposal ballot published
by July 31	July results published, newsletter and website updated
Last weekend in July and first full weekend in August	Mid-season meetings, as desired, exact date and location TBD
First or Second Sunday in August	Season trade deadline; Voting on rule change proposals due Draft picks for next season become available for trade after deadline
August 9 to14	Roster changes and pitching rotations for August due
by August 15	August pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated
August 24	August lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by August 30	August results published, newsletter and website updated
September 9	Rosters expand; unlimited major league roster for final month’s games Roster changes and pitching rotations for September due Playoff rosters for potential playoff teams must be submitted
by September 15	September pitching match-ups published, newsletter and website updated
September 24	September lineups, final player settings and manager tendencies due
by September 30	Final regular season results published, newsletter and website updated
by October 15	Playoff leagues created and playoff information published
October/November	New manager initiation, if necessary
October 31 November 15, 30	Newsletter and website updated as time permits
December 9	Team name and code changes due; deadline for division changes
by December 15	Schedules for upcoming season published, newsletter and website updated
December 24	20-man protect lists and taxi squad transactions due
December 25-26	Maximum 2-day grace period for resolution of invalid protect lists
by December 31	Protect lists and taxi transactions published; website updated

LEAGUE STRUCTURE

1. We have a 20-team league that consists of four divisions as follows:

Division 1 (Capitol)	Division 2 (Midwest)	Div. 3 (South Central)	Division 4 (Coastal)
Craig Ahrndt (SSB)	Jim Aldrich (DYE)	Adam Arnett (NDF)	Wes Davies (BUR)
Currently Vacant (???)	Mike Wilson (DET)	Doug Salzwedel (HUC)	Greg Edens (CAL)
Frank Lopeman (COL)	Rob Danecker (ACC)	Mark Salzwedel (NIM)	Alan Dyche & Glenn Panner (CRC)
Ralph Madara (SRD)	Scott Whitley (CIA)	Mike Aldrich (TAM)	Adam Smith (DUB)
Rick Graves (CSW)	Rich Domovic (CHI)	Steve Seydell (JEF)	John Stryker (VRN)

2. Divisional changes can only occur if:

a) All managers involved agree to the move.

b) A majority of non-involved managers approve of the move.

c) In case of a managerial vacancy, a veteran manager may switch divisions with a team getting a new manager with only majority approval of the non-involved managers (i.e. approval of the new manager is not needed). Should more than one veteran manager wish to change divisions with that team, then selection will go in draft order.

d) Changes can only take place between the end of the season and prior to the December 9 deadline.

3. Rule change proposals will be called for and submitted prior to our mid-season meetings, after which the rule changes will be voted on. Any manager may suggest a proposal, but in order to appear on the official ballot and be voted on, proposals must be nominated by a member of the Executive Committee or League Secretary and then seconded by a member of the Executive Committee or League Secretary (other than the person who nominated it). Proposals must be nominated and seconded prior to the July 9 deadline.

4. The rule change ballot will be published by July 15 with a 7-10 day inspection period to follow during which questions can be asked and the final language of the proposal worked out by the submitter, nominator, seconding person, and League Secretary. The final ballot will be published around July 24 with votes cast by the season trade deadline in early August.

5. Rule changes only need approval by a simple majority of the managers in order to pass, unless other specific requirements have been set forth elsewhere in the rules (such as the 3/4 majority to change the designated hitter rule). Rule changes that are passed will take effect for the next season, unless earlier enactment was specifically set forth and approved as part of the change.

6. The mid-season meetings take place at the time of our season trade deadline, which comes at the end of month 5 (July) and prior to month 6 (August) games. Typically this is around the first full weekend in August.

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE AND ROSTER

1. Each team plays a total of 162 games, 18 games against each divisional opponent (9 home and 9 away in 4 and 5 game series) and 6 each against each non-divisional opponent (3 home and 3 away in 3 game series).

2. A manually created fixed schedule will be published before the beginning of each season based on the results from the previous season. There will be 7 months of games with 21-24 games per month and a total of 19 off days: 2 off days during each month except for month 3 which has 3 off days (i.e. 6 months with 2 off days and one with 3), then 3 days off between months 4 and 5 for an All-Star break, and 1 off day at the season trade deadline between months 5 and 6. This 7-month schedule is played from March to September.

3. Our league is a DH league and it would require a 3/4-majority vote to change the DH rule.

4. Injuries will not be used during the regular season or playoffs. Each manager must control player usage through roster, pitching rotation, lineup and strategy maintenance.

5. All regular season games will be played on the computer using the latest Strat software in “Autoplay” mode with manual pitching and line-up selections. This means that only the initial lineup and starting pitchers can be selected; the actual game play will be run by the computer based on your other manager and player settings.

6. As of Version 14, all Strat-O-Matic Super-Advanced and Max rules are in effect except for “Force daily injuries” (because we do not use injuries) and “Allow extra pre-1900 errors” (because this is not pre-1900).

7. Any new features added to the Strat game will automatically be utilized by our league unless there is a 3/4 majority vote to turn the feature off. Upon receiving the new version of the Strat game the League Secretary shall review the game and notify the league of available new features. The league then has until the March 2 trade deadline for March games to call for such a vote. Any manager may request a vote on a feature, and it only takes one such request for the vote to be taken. Votes will be due by March 9. If no call for a vote is posted by March 2 then a consensus is assumed and the feature will be used for the entire year and any subsequent vote could not take effect until the following season.

8. During the first six months each team is limited to a 25-man major league roster. The roster is set by the 9th of each month and cannot be changed after that. Those players not on your 25-man roster at the roster deadline will be in the minors for that entire month.

9. During the seventh and final month (September) rosters expand. You may call up any remaining eligible players to your major league roster for that month. There is no limit to the number of call-ups, as long as those players do not fall under other restrictions (such as <20 IP or <50 MLB AB total) and are not used up. Note, however, that there is a limit in the computer game itself to only using 15 pitchers at any one time.

REGULAR SEASON MONTHLY PROCEDURE

1. For the first month (March): each manager must establish a computer manager strategy profile and a 25-man major league roster.

2. By the 2nd of each month: all trades that are to be in effect for the upcoming month must be reported on or before midnight CT on the trade deadline for that month (usually the 2nd). All trades must be confirmed by all other managers involved. See rule #1 under the Trading Restrictions section for complete details on the trade reporting and confirmation process. This applies for the first five months of the season. There is a season trade deadline prior to month 6 (August) games, such that all trades made after that deadline are for the following season.

3. By the 9th of each month: each manager must submit his pitching rotation for the upcoming month's games, along with any roster changes for the month. He may also submit strategy and manager profile changes if he wishes, although those are not due until the 24th. If the manager fails to submit a pitching rotation for a given month, then he shall be subject to a fine and his rotation will be the last five starters used the previous month, or the last four if only four starters were used, subject to usage limitations, of course, and at the discretion of the League Secretary.

4. By the 15th of each month: The League Secretary will publish the pitching match-ups for the month and publish updated reports from the game, including computer manager reports.

5. By the 24th of each month: Each manager must submit at least 2 and up to 5 lineups. The manager must declare which lineup is to be used for each of the upcoming games that month based on the starting pitchers published on the website. Final strategy and manager profile changes must also be submitted. If a manager fails to submit lineups for a given month, then he shall be subject to a fine and his lineups will be the default 1 vs LH and 2 vs RH lineups from the previous month, with eligible substitutes used for any players who were sent down to the minors, at the discretion of the League Secretary.

6. By the last day of each month: The League Secretary shall have played the games on the computer and will publish the results including complete stats, standings, league leaders, next month's schedule, trades, rosters, draft listings, and current computer manager profiles.

7. The dates above represent the earliest that a deadline may come in a month. For example, lineups will usually be due by the 24th, and never earlier than the 24th. The League Secretary may, however, occasionally push back a deadline by one or a few days depending upon the circumstances. The season trade deadline, for example, will almost always be pushed back if August 2 falls on or near a weekend, and the subsequent roster/rotation deadline for August will often be pushed back from the 9th to give managers more time to assess the impact of last minute trades that were made and to plan their usage for the last two months.

8. All deadlines are midnight Central Time (CT) as observed in Chicago.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND SPECIAL PLAYOFF RULES

1. Six teams qualify for the playoffs, 4 division winners plus two wildcards with the next best records. The two division winners with the best records get byes. The other two division winners host 7 games series against the wild card teams, with the division winner with the best record facing the wild card with the worst record. The winners of those series then visit the division winners with byes. In short, if the playoff teams are labeled D1, D2, D3, D4 and W1 and W2, then first round is W1 at D4 and W2 at D3. The second round has the W2/D3 winner at D2 and the W1/D4 winner at D1. Those winners then play the Word Series with the team having the better regular season record getting home field advantage.

2. The Wildcard (first) round begins following one off day after game 162 of the regular season and is a 2/3/2 format with the division winner having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

3. The Championship (second) round begins following a minimum of one day off after the previous playoff (wildcard) series ends. The actual start date depends upon how long the preceding wildcard series went. If the preceding wildcard series goes 6 or 7 games, then there is one day off, but if that series only goes 4 or 5 games, then there are two days off before the championship series. Again it is a 2/3/2 format with the divisional winner who had the bye having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

4. Championship series winners play a best of seven World Series to determine the league champion for that year. The World Series begins following a minimum of one off day after the last championship series ends. The actual start date again depends on when each of the previous series started and how long they went. If a team wins their championship series in 4 or 5 games, then they are guaranteed at least 2 off days before the start of the World Series. If their championship series goes 6 or 7 games, then they are only guaranteed one off day. The actual number of off days may be greater, however, depending on how long the other championship series and the wildcard series before it went. The World Series is a 2/3/2 format with the team with the best regular season record having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

5. In case of a tie between two teams for the final wildcard spot or a tie for a division title when the final wildcard has a better record than those division leaders, then there will be a 1-game tiebreaker playoff. The team with the better head-to-head record will host the one game playoff. This one game comes immediately after the end of the regular season; there is no off day. If head-to-head record is even, then the team with the better division record will host the playoff game. This tiebreaker is played on the computer in autoplay mode and the statistics count towards the regular season as game 163. The winner of the one game playoff advances to a best of seven playoff series as described above, without an off day between the one game tiebreaker playoff and that playoff series (their series start the day after game 163).

6. There is no tiebreaker playoff game for any spots other than a tie for the final wildcard or a tie for a division title when the final wildcard has a better record than those two teams. Ties other than for those two combinations will use the following tiebreakers:

a. Head to head record

b. Divisional games record

c. Combined record versus all playoff teams in division

d. Combined record versus all playoff teams

e. Dice roll

If there is a tie for a division title but both teams are still eligible for a wildcard, then the above tie breakers would be applied to determine the division winner and the loser of those tiebreakers would then fall into the wildcard (where they still might end up in a 1-game playoff if tied with another team for the final wildcard).

These same tiebreakers are applied first in the case of any 3 or more way ties. For example, if there is a 3 way tie for the first wildcard spot, then the team with the best head to head record (combined vs. the other two teams) would be awarded the first wildcard and the two teams with the worst head to head records (combined vs. the other two teams) would be considered tied for the final wildcard spot. They would play a 1-game playoff with the winner of that advancing. If there is a 3-way tie for the final wildcard spot, then the two teams with the best-combined head to head records would play a 1-game playoff and the team that had the worst combined head to head record would be out of the playoffs completely.

7. For a 1-game tiebreaker, any player not used up before the last full series can appear. Currently the last full series is 4 games, so a player used up by game 158 may not appear, but any player that was still available as of game 159 can be used. This also applies to starting pitchers, so the starting pitcher used in the tie-breaker must have a start remaining as per the limits set in the Pitching Restrictions section of the rules. Except for AB/PA/IP being used up as just described, the entire expanded roster used in the final month of the regular season would be available to play in a 1-game tiebreaker game 163.

8. If a manager is going to be away or not available around the time that the League Secretary will be playing the October games and there is a chance they might end up in a tie, then it is recommended that they leave instructions on the pitcher and lineups to use in their 1-game tiebreaker so as to not hold up the finishing of the season, but this is not strictly required.

9. At the end of the regular season, the League Secretary will create a league in the computer game for each playoff series, and into each playoff league will copy all of the possible playoff teams for that series but only include the 25 players on the playoff roster for each team. The usage for these leagues will be multiplied by 0.1 (10%) and these playoff leagues must then be used to play each playoff series.

10. All post-season games will be played on the computer utilizing the human manager option. This means that the managers do have complete control during the playing of the game, but the computer determines the dice rolls and their outcome.

11. Managers must declare their post season roster before the final month of the regular season. Once declared, your post-season roster becomes fixed for all playoff series.

12. All carded players with 50 or more MLB AB or 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) are eligible for the playoffs with the following restrictions:

a. Starting pitchers must have 50 or more innings to start any one game in a 7 game series, 100 or more innings to start any two games in a 7 game series, and a (*) rating to start games 1, 4, and 7 in any seven game series. Again these inning limits are based on the Strat reports, which Strat currently rounds. So for example, a player with 49.2 IP in the major will be able to start a playoff game, because that will round up to 50 IP on the Strat reports. As in the regular season, only the * rated starters can go on 3-days rest; all other starters require 4 days rest between starts.

b. All players are restricted to 10% of regular season IP or AB's/PA's in each series.

c. Pitchers having both a starter and reliever rating can be used in either or both capacities as limited by the rules above and subject to the fatigue factor shown on the Strat fielding report. A starter/reliever may both start and relieve.

d. A pitcher with just a starter rating may relieve, provided he is not fatigued from his previous appearance. He cannot start again after relieving until rested enough to not be fatigued in that start, and in accordance with the other restrictions above.

e. A position player must have 100 or more MLB AB to start a playoff game. Position players with 50-99 AB can be carried on playoff rosters and come into games as replacements (pinch hit/pinch run/defense), but cannot start.

13. A player who reaches the 10% limit for AB/PA/IP must be pulled from the game in progress before they come to bat again or before they pitch to another batter. They may only appear later in the series as a pinch runner or defensive replacement and cannot bat or pitch.

14. Injuries will not be used during the playoffs.

15. Managers must manually check the STATUS column of the Strat fielding report for fatigue. A reliever who is T-2 (2/x under STATUS) after the last game of a series or at the end of the regular season is ineligible to pitch in game 1 of the next series if there is only one off day before the it starts. If there was a 1-game playoff due to a tie, then any reliever who was T-1 (1/x under STATUS) after that game is ineligible to pitch in game 1 of the first playoff series, and any reliever who was T-2 (2/x) is not eligible to appear until game 3 of the first playoff series. If a reliever ever gets to T-3 (3/x), then this rule is extended accordingly, meaning he could not appear in games 1 or 2 of the next series if there was only one off day between or he could not appear in game 1 if there were 2 off days. This fatigue factor also applies to starter/relievers and starters used in relief for any start following a relief appearance.

16. The World Series winner shall be shipped the traveling trophy. The League Secretary will have a plate with the new winner engraved for attachment to the trophy. The previous winner is responsible for saving the box and packing material and properly repackaging and shipping the trophy to the new winner. The trophy must be shipped such that it can be tracked (i.e. no USPS parcel post; UPS is preferred) and must be insured for $200. The previous winner will be credited the shipping costs up to a maximum of $25 (or $30 to CA). They will not, however, be reimbursed for any replacement packaging should they have not kept the box and packing material, and failure to properly repackage the trophy will result in a $5 fine in addition. The new winner can display the trophy for one year, until the next World Series champion is crowned.

LEAGUE DUES, FINES, AND PRIZE MONEY

1. Dues are $40 per year for all managers, although the League Secretary traditionally only charges $20 for the first year of a new manager (to cover the $20 prize money portion specified in item 4 below).

2. During the regular season, there is a $1 per month fee for each team for submitting their manager information (pitching rotations, lineups, and settings). This $1 fee is waived if the manager submits all of their information for that month via exported .MGR files from the Strat computer game.

3. The dues and other fees will cover all operating expenses and supplies required for the computer game. The League Secretary will be paid any balance left over from dues and fees after prize money and expenses are paid as compensation for the time involved in running the league.

4. $20 per team will be set aside for prize money and distributed as follows:

a. World Series Champion 30% ($120)

b. World Series Runner-Up 20% ($80)

c. Championship Series Runners-Up 15% each ($60 each)

d. First-Round (Wildcard) Series Losers 10% each ($40 each)

5. Fines will be assessed at $5 each for any manager who fails to submit game materials to the League Secretary on time. The fine is $10 each for managers who do not submit a complete voting ballot for all rule proposals by the season trade deadline. Attendance at a mid-season meeting is optional, but voting is mandatory. As soon as possible following the close of voting, the League Secretary will publish a complete voting record indicating the votes for each manager. There is a $10 fine for failing to submit protect lists on time, and a $5 fine if a manager needs to use the up to 2-day grace period to make corrections to their protect list. If a manager has not submitted any protect list by the end of the grace period, then the League Secretary shall consult the Executive Committee to come up with a protect list for that team and together they shall consider revoking that managers franchise and beginning the search for a replacement manager.

6. Dues for future seasons are required once a manager trades any draft pick in the first three rounds or a total of 5 or more later picks (unless higher picks were received to offset the ones traded). If you trade all your picks in the first three rounds you must pay the total $40 in dues, otherwise you will be required to pay the $20 prize money portion of your dues.

7. Dues for the upcoming season and all trade fees must be paid prior to a team making their first selection in the draft. If the draft starts and a pick comes up for a manager who has not paid their outstanding dues and trade fees (so that their balance is under $10) then that pick is waived and moved to the end of the regular draft.

BALLPARK REGULATIONS

1. Each manager may design his own ballpark or chose an existing major league stadium.

2. Upon selection of your ballpark, a manager signs an ironclad three year lease which prohibits relocation or redesign during that time. If you select an existing major league stadium, your factors will vary year-to-year with that park, as per the factors provided in the Strat game, but you are still obligated to stay in that park for three years.

3. Ballpark effect factors may not vary from right to left by more than (4) either way if you design your own stadium. The range on effects is 1-20 for LH HR, LH 1B, RH HR, and RH 1B and 40-160 for Doubles and Triples. There are only separate RH and LH effects for homers and singles in the game; doubles and triples do not have separate RH and LH effects.

4. Teams that have fulfilled their park lease obligations may redesign their park or relocate prior to the draft. Once any changes are made to your stadium a new three-year lease is in effect. Ballpark changes must be submitted by midnight CT, January 24, each year. If a lease is up and changes are not made on or before January 24, then the lease is automatically renewed for one more year.

5. You may not trade your ballpark under any circumstances.

DRAFT REGULATIONS

1. After the end of each season, each manager shall designate 20 players from their roster as protected for the next season and thus excluded from the upcoming draft. Any players promoted from their taxi squad to the regular roster must be accounted for on their 20-man protect list. The 20-man protect lists and taxi squad transactions must be submitted on or before December 24 each year. There is a maximum 2-day grace period up until December 26 to allow for late and/or incomplete or invalid submissions to be corrected, subject to fines as outlined in rule 5 under League Dues, Fines, and Prize Money.

2. One player from the regular roster can be moved to the taxi squad as an “Injured Reserve”. Any player can be designated as the injured reserve, there is no restriction, but once designated all Taxi Squad Restrictions apply to that player.

3. Once the protect lists are published, managers may trade to increase or decrease their regular roster prior to the draft. January 9th, however, is the official pre-draft trade deadline. Any trade not announced on or before January 9 shall be considered to take place after the draft.

4. Immediately after the taxi transactions are published following the December 24 due date, the upcoming taxi draft will be set such that each team will draft until they have 5 players on their taxi squad. This setup takes place prior to any post-protect trades are applied. Should a team trade so as to have a different number of taxi squad players prior to the actual taxi draft, the number and order of their taxi draft picks shall not be affected.

5. Immediately after the January 9 pre-draft trade deadline, regular rosters and draft picks will be counted and anyone having more than 35 total players and picks will have their lowest picks forfeited until the total is 35. For example, if you have 21 players on your regular roster and 16 picks in the upcoming draft, you will forfeit the two lowest picks. This will prevent the hoarding of picks going into the draft and the confusion that results when those extra picks start getting traded or are accidentally used by the manager as was the case in previous drafts. You must trade your excess picks prior to the trade deadline of January 9 each year or you lose them. Any team having less than 35 total players and picks will have picks added for them at the end of the regular draft (prior to the start of the taxi draft). This ensures that we all start each year balanced and with a 35-man regular roster.

6. Draft order is determined as follows:

a) Order of finish of non-playoff teams (best to worst), followed by reverse order of finish of playoff teams (worst to best).

b) The above sequence is repeated in all successive rounds.

c) Head-to-head record and then division record are used as tie breakers should teams finish with the same overall record.

7. Our draft officially starts at 7PM CT on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend and takes place on-line over a two week period such that the 3-day holiday weekend always falls in the middle, with whatever portion remains to be completed live and in person and/or via conference call or chat on the Sunday following President’s Day. Posting of picks prior to the official start is prohibited. The start and end time of the final Sunday session will be determined by consensus so as to allow 2 minutes per pick. Our 2010 draft will begin on Friday, February 5 and be held online until Saturday, February 20, with the final live session to finish the draft on Sunday, February 21.

8. When drafting on-line there is a maximum of 12 hours for each draft pick selection to be made. Once that time limit expires, that pick is skipped and the next pick in the sequence is up. When the person whose pick was skipped is ready to make their selection they must first make a post informing the league that they are ready and then they must wait for the current pick that is up to be made.

9. When completing the draft in person, each manager will be allowed up to 2 minutes for each draft selection. If the time limit is exceeded, the pick is forfeited and the manager obtains a pick at the end of the draft. Unused time does not carry over to later rounds.

10. Anyone who is not protected on a regular roster or retained on a taxi squad is available to be drafted. This includes all major and minor league baseball players as well as college and high school players and players in other countries. Players who did not appear in a major league game such that their name is not listed in the Strat computer game shall simply be referred to as “Uncarded”. Players who do not meet our minimum of 50 AB or 20 IP in the majors will be referred to as “Ineligible”. While there is no official limit on the number of uncarded and ineligible players that a manager may select in the draft, each manager must maintain a minimum of 25 eligible carded players at all times during our season in order to field a major league team. It is an automatic fine to start a month with less than 25 eligible carded players with usage remaining on your roster.

11. If a manager makes an invalid draft selection, that is, if they select a player already on another team, then the draft just keeps going. The manager that made the invalid selection can jump in and post a correction at any time, but the draft does not stop while waiting for that correction. The draft is allowed to continue with whoever is next in line, and of course any of the players taken following the invalid selection and prior to the posting or announcement of the correction would be off-limits to the team that had made the error.

12. Managers are required to have a minimum of 600 at bats at each fielding position (rated for that position) plus 600 AB for a designated hitter and 1450 total innings of pitching by the March 2 trade deadline that comes before the March games at the start of our season. Any manager who does not make draft picks sufficient to meet these minimums has until that March 2 deadline to make trades to bring them up to the minimums.

13. A 5-man Taxi Squad is drafted after the end of the regular draft. Teams will draft until they have 5 players on their Taxi Squad. The allotment of taxi draft picks is set by rule 4 above.

ROSTER RESTRICTIONS

1. Each team drafts to fill a 35-man roster. The 35-man total is technically established on the January 9 trade deadline as outlined by item 3 under Draft Regulations. All trades announced after January 9 and during the draft are officially considered to take place after the draft as shown on the Yearly Timeline.

2. After the draft, managers may increase or decrease their regular rosters through trading.

3. Each team must maintain a 25-man major league roster during our entire regular season. The remaining players on the regular roster are designated as minor leaguers.

4. A minor league player may only be brought up at the start of the month. Roster moves are due at the same time as pitching rotations on or before the 9th of each month. Roster changes are not allowed after the 9th of each month; i.e. roster changes cannot be made after pitching match-ups have been published.

5. Only batters with 50 or more MLB AB or pitchers with 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) will actually be eligible to play and appear on your 25-man major league roster.

6. Following the season trade deadline after month 5, each team must meet the following minimums: 178 AB at each position, 1600 total AB, and 430 total IP. A team that does not make these minimums must immediately cut a player from their roster and select a player from the undrafted pool. They would continue with this procedure until they meet the minimums. Both the players that they cut and the replacements that are selected cannot be protected and will go into the draft for the next season.

SPLIT CARD PLAYERS

1. Split card use has been eliminated. Only the Interleague card provided in the computer game will be used for players who played in both the National and American leagues.

TRADING RESTRICTIONS

1. All trades must be reported by posting to the Discussion Board on the website or via email or phone message to the League Secretary on or before the midnight CT trade deadline for that month (typically the 2nd) to become official for that month's games. When reporting trades please indicate the players and picks that are going TO a team, not where they are coming from. Trades must be confirmed by all other managers involved. Trades can be confirmed up to 7 hours after the midnight deadline (up to 7AM CT the next morning) but they must have been reported before midnight and must be confirmed unmodified. Any trade reported after the midnight trade deadline, or any trade not confirmed within 7 hours after the midnight deadline, or any trade modified or requiring modification after the midnight deadline will not take effect until the following month. If the following month is September, then the trade takes effect at the end of the season.

2. A $1.00 per trade transaction fee will be assessed to each manager involved.

3. Trades may be posted ahead of time and declared to not take effect until a later date. The following three time related conditions are the only ones allowed to be placed on trades:

a) post-season

b) post-protect

c) post-draft

A post-season trade can be announced prior to the season trade deadline for the current season, but it would not take effect until after the season trade deadline (and thus after the season is over) but prior to protect lists being submitted. Any players involved in such a trade would thus finish the current season with their original team.

A post-protect trade can be announced prior to protect lists being submitted, but does not take effect until after protect lists are published. Any players involved in such a trade are required to be protected by the originating team, not the destination team.

Post-draft trades may be announced before or during the draft, but do not take place until after the draft. Players and picks involved in post-draft trades are not counted in the 35 (player + pick) limit of the destination team as determined prior to the draft on the January 9 deadline, and any players taken with the picks involved in a post-draft trade are not restricted from being traded back to the original team or any other team.

These conditions must be applied to the entire trade, and cannot be applied to just a potion of it. Once announced and confirmed by all parties involved, trades with these conditions on them are as iron-clad as a non-conditional trades and cannot be revoked.

4. Except for the three conditions stated above, all other exchanges as the result of a trade must take place immediately at the time of the trade. You may only trade players and picks that appear on your current roster and draft pick listing. The following trades are prohibited:

a) Any player to be named or delivered later stipulations

b) Any future consideration clauses

c) Any conditional stipulations other than the three allowed time-related conditions

d) Any compensation for negotiating a deal

e) Any park trades or options on parks

5. “Loaning” of players is prohibited. If a player is traded, that player may not be traded back to the team of origin during the same season through any combinations of trades. For the purpose of this rule, “same season” means the time from one draft until the next draft. I.E. You cannot reacquire a player that you have traded since the most recent draft. The only exception is for players who were drafted and then traded between the draft and the March 2 trade deadline at the start of the season. If you owned a player prior to draft (before the January 9th pre-draft trade deadline) or owned them anytime after March 2, then you cannot acquire that player again until the next draft (after the January 9 deadline the following year). Remember all trades must stand on their own merit and are subject to league veto and fines as per rule 9 below.

6. The trading deadline for the current season is the mid-season meeting that will be held at the end of month 5 and before the start of month 6 (typically the first full weekend in August).

7. Prior to the season trading deadline, the only draft picks a manager can trade are for the upcoming season. After the current season trading deadline has passed, managers may trade draft picks for the upcoming two seasons, but must pay all league dues required for the seasons in which picks are traded as specified under League Dues, Fines, and Prize Money.

8. Off-season trading (trading for the next season) starts after the season trading deadline following the mid-season meetings and concludes at the January 9 pre-draft trade deadline.

9. Managers may veto any trade deemed not in the best interest of the league. Any questionable trade may be overturned if 3/4 of the non-involved managers feel that the trade is detrimental or appears to be a “loan” transaction.

10. Managers found to be in violation of any trading rule are subject to league fines.

11. Trades that have more than one part are strictly forbidden.

PITCHING RESTRICTIONS

1. Pitcher usage is limited to actual innings pitched. The Strat Usage report is checked at the end of each series (but only at the end of 5 game series when they overlap with 3-game series). A pitcher will be removed from the roster after he has run out of IP, unless he has a start remaining as allowed by the chart in rule 4 below.

2. Starters require 4 days rest between starts unless they have the (*) designation on the supplemental listing from Strat in which case they may start on 3 days rest. The fatigue factor shown on the fielding report is NOT to be used. I.E. no one can ever start on one or two days rest even if the fielding report says they could. And even if the fielding report shows them to have 3 days rest fatigue, they can only start on 3 days rest if they have a (*) rating. The * rating is shown on both the Strat roster report and in their official ratings guides.

3. Starter/relievers that are making at least one start during a month can have their relief status designated as “Never”, “Sometimes”, or “As Needed”. If not specified, then “Never” is assumed.

4. If a pitcher has 47 or fewer IP remaining on his usage, then the maximum number of games he can start during a month will be limited based on the following chart:

In order to Start this many games:	At least this many IP must remain: (No maximum set)	At least this many IP must remain: (With 7 IP Max)	At least this many IP must remain: (With 6 IP Max)
1	3	2	1
2	9	8	7
3	17	15	13
4	25	22	19
5	33	29	25
6	40	36	31
7	47	43	37

NOTE: Even if a pitcher runs out of innings before a start, if that pitcher was allowed to start based on this chart, then he will start the game as normal without any penalty.

5. If a starter/reliever has 47 or fewer IP remaining and they are being used as a starter such that the number of starts they can make is limited by the chart above, then if they are making the maximum number of starts allowed, they must be set to relief “Never”. In order to have relief set to “Sometimes” they must make at least one less than the maximum number of starts. In order to relieve “As Needed” they must make at least two less than the maximum number of starts.

POSITION PLAYER RESTRICTIONS

1. Position players are limited to actual AB's or PA's. Strat usage is checked at the end of series (but only at the end of 5 game series when they overlap with 3-game series). A batter will only be removed from a roster after he runs out of both AB and PA. If a batter has at least one PA or one AB remaining on the Strat usage report, then they can continue in the next series.

2. Players may not start a game out of position with the exception of an outfielder playing another outfield position with the defensive rating subject to Strat rules: someone who is rated in CF can start RF or LF without penalty. Someone who is rated in RF can start LF with no penalty but is -1 for CF. Someone who is rated LF only is -1 for RF and -2 range for CF.

3. There have been a couple of occasions where HAL would not allow certain outfield positioning even though it was within the rules as per 2 above. To correct this, the appropriate outfield ratings can be added to that player's cards at the manager’s request. Please limit requests to only those outfielders that you intend to use at that position, though.

4. If a position player is approaching his AB and PA limit, a substitute should be declared in the event that he runs out of at-bats during the month. A position player will be eligible to bat as long as he has at-bats or plate appearances remaining at the start of a series. The replacement will bat in the same spot in the order as the player he is replacing in all lineups. Other reasonable defensive changes can be specified in the event of substitution, but manager profile settings cannot be changed. Whatever manager profile is set up at the start of a month will remain in effect for the entire month regardless of usage.

5. To encourage people to maintain adequate usage at the trade deadline, if they run out of players such that then run out of any infield position, or run completely out of outfielders, so that someone must play out of position, they will be fined $10. This is a one time only $10 fine no matter how many positions they run out of.

TAXI SQUAD RESTRICTIONS

1. Players on a taxi squad are not eligible to play during the season and cannot be called up to the major league roster.

2. Taxi players can be traded anytime, but they retain their taxi squad status for the current season, and thus are not eligible to play. A team may increase their taxi squad to more than 5 players during the season. If so, then that team must cut or promote players sufficiently to have 5 or less taxi squad players at the time that 20-man protect lists are announced.

3. At the end of the season, when 20-man protect lists are announced, one of three things can be done with Taxi Squad players:

a) A maximum of up to 3 players may be released to free agency and into the draft.

b) Any number of taxi players can be promoted and protected on the 20-man protect list for next year's regular roster.

c) Up to 5 players can be retained on the taxi squad.

Even if you have traded to increase your taxi squad, the limit for cuts is still 3 and the limit for retaining players is still 5. So for example, if via trade your taxi squad had increased to 9 players, then you would be forced to promote at least 1 of them to your 20-man protect list, since cutting 3 of them and retaining 5 only accounts for 8 of those players.

4. At the same time that 20-man protect lists and taxi squad transactions are announced, one player from the regular roster can be moved to the taxi squad as an “Injured Reserve”. Any player can be designated as the injured reserve, there is no restriction, but once designated all of the above limitations apply to that player. In order to make this move, there must be room on the taxi squad. I.E. another taxi squad player must be promoted, released, or traded. You cannot retain 5 taxi players and then add an injured reserve to end up with a 6-man taxi squad.

5. There is no obligation to make an “IR Move”, a team can decide not to utilize it. But no more than one IR move can be made, no matter how many open taxi slots a team might have.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. The Executive Committee is in charge of recruiting, interviewing, and selecting replacement managers for any manager vacancies that occur; for nominating and seconding rule change proposals; and for conferring with the League Secretary to determine if another manager is a detriment to the league and should face expulsion as in the Manager Removal section below.

2. The Executive Committee is made up of 4 managers, one from each division. The manager from each division having the best overall record from the past 3 completed seasons combined is required to serve on the Executive Committee, except for the League Secretary who is exempt from such service. Thus the Executive Committee may change each year.

The Executive Committee for 2010 is: Steve (JEF 304-182, .626); Alan/Glenn (CRC 288-198, .593); Rob (ACC 276-210, .568); and Craig (SSB 275-212, .565).

The Executive Committee for 2011 will be determined at the end of the 2010 season.

MANAGER REMOVAL

If at least 3 out of the 5 members of the Executive Committee and the League Secretary combined together feel that a manager is a detriment to the league, then after conferring they can issue a warning to that member stating their charges. That manager then has 10 days in which to respond to those charges.

If at least 3 out of the 5 members of the Executive Committee and the League Secretary combined together are not satisfied with that response, then they can call for a league vote to expulse that manager. They will present their charges to the league, and the manager in question can present his response. There will then be 10 days allowed for debate before a vote is taken.

At the end of the debate period votes will be called for, and all managers are required to submit their vote within 72 hours.

The manager being voted on does not get to vote. If there is a two-thirds majority of the remaining managers (not including already existing vacancies) in favor of expulsion, then the manager is removed and it falls upon the Executive Committee to search for a replacement. For example, with the current 20-team league, a 2/3 majority of the 19 remaining managers (assuming no vacancies) would require a 13-6 or better vote in favor of expulsion.

If there is not a sufficient majority in favor of expulsion, then there cannot be another vote taken on that manager until after the next season trade deadline passes.

EMERGENCIES

1. For any situation that arises that is not explicitly covered in the rest of the rules, the League Secretary has discretion to use his best judgment and make a decision. The League Secretary may consult with other managers and/or the Executive Committee as time permits, but is not obligated to do so.

2. When the League Secretary makes such a decision, he shall immediately announce the decision with an optional explanation. If any manager in league disagrees with the decision, then that manager has 15 days in which to call for a vote among the other managers in the league. If a total of 11 or more managers vote to veto, then the decision is overturned and it goes back to the League Secretary to render a new solution.