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OFFICIAL RULES

Last update: August 05, 2014

The following rules and bylaws define the competition that is Bitnet Fantasy League Baseball (OBFLB). If you are interested in finding out more or joining the league, send e-mail to the league waiting list keeper, Jim Teresco (terescoj@teresco.org).

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  1. Object
  2. Teams
  3. Trading Points
  4. Rosters
  5. OBFLB Seasons & OBFLB Drafts
  6. Lineup Cards
  7. OBFLB Player Eligibility
  8. Owners Protests
  9. Player Activity Minimums/Penalities
  10. Statcards
  11. Statistical Categories Of Competition
  12. Minor League Pool
  13. Playoff Games
  14. Forfeiture Rules
  15. Rule Changes
  16. Administration/Hierarchy

1. Object

To assemble a team whose starting lineup and pitching staff perform well enough to win your division then to win the OBFLB World Series, and bask in the circle of green phospheresence! Actually, none of us use BITNET anymore, and we probably don't look at green screens, but hey, we've been here a while..


2.
Teams

The OBFLB is made up of 24 teams which are divided into three 8 team leagues. Team's rosters are comprised of active Major League Baseball (MLB) players from any of the 30 MLB teams. League/Divisional format is subject to change and is determined prior to each season. Each team has an Owner/General Manager who is responsible for all team activities and has a vote in league matters. GM's are encouraged to have one or more Assistant General Managers (AGM's) who can help out and run the team during vacations, etc.


3.
Trading Points

Trading Points (TP's) are the lifeblood of OBFLB teams. They have many uses which include:

Upon the conclusion of each season and the end of free trading, prior to the retention/release declarations, teams will receive Trading Points (TP's) based upon their win/loss record. The amount of TPs awarded after each season will be determined by the teams finish in their division.

When the previous season had 4 divisions, then TPs shall be awarded in the following manner.

1st in the division 450 TPs
2nd in the division 550 TPs
3rd in the division 650 TPs
4th in the division 750 TPs
5th in the division 850 TPs
6th in the division 950 TPs

When we have 3 divisions, then TPs shall be awarded in the following manner.

1st in the division 450 TPs
2nd in the division 525 TPs
3rd in the division 600 TPs
4th in the division 675 TPs
5th in the division 750 TPs
6th in the division 825 TPs
7th in the division 900 TPs
8th in the division 975 TPs

In the event of expansion, the expansion teams will receive the the same as the worst team + the average number of TP's held by the existing teams.


4. Rosters

Each Team's roster shall consist of no more than 25 active players. There must be one player for every position and enough pitchers to prevent pitching penalities. Should the number of players on a roster exceed 25, the most recently acquired player or players shall be dropped. By utilizing the Disabled list teams could have more than 25 players

Disabled List

Players who are placed on a Major League Baseball (MLB) Disabled List (DL) may be placed on the OBFLB DL for 15 TP's. A player on the OBFLB DL does not count against the 25 man limit, thus, a team may sign or trade for replacement player(s). A player must be reactivated within 10 days of his activation in MLB from the OBFLB DL or else he will be released and placed in the OBFLB Free Agent Minor League pool.

During the mid-season break, players on the DL may be kept on the OBFLB DL and retained (for 50 TP's the same as 'active' players) for the second half OBFLB season. Also see OBFLB Drafts.


5. OBFLB Seasons / OBFLB Drafts

OBFLB Seasons

The OBFLB usually plays two, 'split,' seasons during the MLB season. A OBFLB season consists of a regular season, which is typically about 10 weeks, followed by playoffs and a week of competition for the OBFLB World Series. The league presidents determine an appropriate schedule each year, taking into account the MLB All-Star break.

A regular season series consists of 8 games (stat categories). Which teams and who they play are determined by random draw. This process is necessary to schedule 2 full seasons in a major league season. The league winners then advance to play each other in the much heralded OBFLB World series.

OBFLB Drafts

Since the OBFLB plays more than one season per year, the drafts between these two seasons must be short and to the point to prevent not utilizing any significant portion of the season. During these drafts, each team must retain at least 7 but no more than 15 players on their roster (including any Disabled list players for the Mid-Season break between seasons). There are to be no other transactions allowed during a draft, except the drafting of players.

The first round that a particuliar team drafts in, is determined by the sum of all players retained plus 1. Example: If you retain 10 active players and 1 DL player, you join the draft in the 12th round. The draft rounds continue until each team has 25 active players.

The order of the draft will be in inverse order of:

a. Each team's won/loss record from the previous season
b. If one or more teams have equivalent won/loss records, the inverse order of Division standings will be used.
c. If one or more teams have equivalent Division standings, the draft order for the tied teams will be alternated.

Power Rating is determined by assigning a value of 1-24 (24 for best, 1 for worst) for the cumulative totals or averages for the previous season. Combining all of these values for a team into 1 total is that team's 'Power Rating.'


6.
Lineup Cards

Lineup Cards should contain the names and ML team names of a player at each regular postion (non-pitching) and DH. One or more backups may also be listed. The backups will be used if the starting player does not play (1 PA minimum). One player can be put down as the backup for more than one position. However, if that player must play one of those positions because the starter has not played, he cannot play as the backup for one of the other positions. In other words, no player can play two positions for a week. The first three listed outfielders are considered the starters and the remaining outfielders are backups. Substitution Order: When more than 1 substitute is listed at a position, this list of substitutes should be considered a depth chart. Even if the 1st substitute listed is a starter at a different position, the 1st sub should be moved into the starting pos., as long as the starting position he is being removed from has a 1st sub. backup, over any 2nd substitute listed. Each lineup card shall also contain all starting pitchers listed in order of playing preference and all relief pitchers in order of playing preference.

For Player eligibilty - see section 7.

Each week's lineup card shall be sent through e-mail to the opposing team owner and to the league Webmaster (lineups@teresco.org) in an appropriate format. Owners should also set their rosters and lineups in the league's stat server. Lineup cards for each week of baseball are to be submitted by Monday Noon (Eastern time) for the upcoming week of play. This is strictly enforced because some games are played early Monday afternoon and all lineups must be in before the games start. Any team from which a card has not been received will be required to be using the most recent lineup card on file with the Webmaster. All teams' starting lineups will be made available on the Web server.


7. OBFLB Player Eligibility

GENERAL: Any active MLB player.

NOTE: Players drafted or signed as free agents who remain in the minor leagues or are sent down to the minors may be retained and carried on rosters. Players with no MLB affiliation (e.g., unsigned college players, Japanese players) may not be signed or drafted. Only MLB Statistics may be used in weekly competition of the OBFLB.

OBFLB Player Eligibility By Postiton(s) Played:

  1. OBFLB Pitching (Non-Positional) Player Eligibilty:

    If a pitcher starts a game during a given week of competition his statistics will only be considered if he is listed as a starting pitcher (SP).

    If a pitcher doesn't start a game during a given week of competition, his statistics will only be considered as a relief pitcher (RP).

  2. OBFLB Positional (Non-pitching) Player Eligibility:

    A Player will be eligible for the position that he is listed on a OBFLB roster if he gets at least 1 PA and if he:

    1. Played the position he is listed at during the week in question.
      Reference: Box score and date
    2. Past Performances at a position,
      1. Pre-All Star Game season: Played the position in 8 or more games during the previous MLB season or 6 or more games during the current MLB season.
      2. Post-All Star Game season: Played the position in 6 or more games during the current MLB season.

      Ref: Baseball Weekly lists each team's players and games played by position at least every other week during the season.
      Ref: The Sporting News Pre-Season Baseball Annual lists each teams players and Games played by position for the previous season.
      Ref: The Sporting News (TSN) Baseball Register and Who's Who in Baseball list positions played with the leftmost or first entry being the most often played position.


8.
Owners Protests

If, during a week of competition, an owner, upon reviewing his opponent's lineup card, suspects any player ineligibility and the two competing owners cannot work it out, protests may be submitted to the teams' league president. The protestor is advised to have complete information, use the references that are listed for player eiligilbity, send copies to each league president and the opponent you're accusing.

The Statute of Limitations (time limit) on all player eligibility protests 2 weeks from the stats due date.


9.
Player Activity Minimums/Penalities

The OBFLB has certian playing minimums in order to reflect the requirements and actualities of a MLB Roster. No team in MLB live on relief alone and, accordingly, all teams in the OBFLB must conform to league minimums for pitching requirements.

Starting Pitching: Each team must have a minimum of 4 pitchers which start a game each week and may use stats from a maximum of five starters. If a team has only three pitchers which start, the team ERA and WHIP are increased by 50% for the week. If a team has less than three pitchers which start, the ERA and WHIP categories are forfeit. If more than five pitchers start, only the stats from the first five on a lineup card, must be used.

Relief Pitching: If at least 2 relief pitchers appear for the week, there is no penalty. If fewer than 2 RPs appear, the team ERA and WHIP are increased 50% for the week. The maximum number of relief pitchers that can be used is equal to the number of eligible SPs divided by two and rounded up. In other words, with five starters a team can use three relievers, but with four or three starters a team can only use a maximum of two relievers. With less than 3 starters, the allowable maximum defaults to the same number as the required minimum (i.e., 2 RPs).

Positional (Non-Pitching) Players Non-activity Penalities: A team must have a player eligible for every position which plays each week. If a player does not appear during the entire week of play, a minimum of 1 ab, or is otherwise ineligible, that position will bat 0 for 15 with 0 RBIs and Runs scored for the week. This is a damaging penalty and should be avoided at all costs.


10.
Statcards

The league's stat service generates statcards each week to determine winners of the week's matchups. Each owner should check his own stats and those of his opponent to ensure the correct players have been used.


11.
Statistical Categories of Competition

The statistics used by the OBFLB to determine wins and losses are detailed below with explanations of what each one measures:

  • Positional players (Non-Pitching) Categories
    • Batting Average - Tried and (some may say not so) True. This statistic measures hits per at-bat and is determined by dividing the number of hits in one week by the number of at- bats in that week. (Hits/ABs)
    • Runs Produced Average - The OBFLB's departure from Gross RBI's. This statistic measures runs produced per at-bat. The formula is ((Runs + RBI's) - HR's) / AB
    • Stolen Bases - The total number of stolen bases during a week.
    • Home Runs - The total number of home runs during the week.
  • Pitching Categories
    • Earned Runs Average - Earned Runs per 9 innings is a standard measurement of an effective pitcher. (ER/IP) * 9
    • WHIP Ratio - This is a rough approximation of baserunners a pitcher allows each inning. (BB + H) / IP
    • Wins - The total number of wins during the week.
    • Saves - The total number of saves during the week.

Each week a team wins two points for each of the stats above which is better than the team they are playing. Ties are split with each team earning a single point in the tied category. Hence there are a total of 16 points available each week.

Reference: The official stat source for the OBFLB is the USA Today Baseball Weekly. Each week, Baseball Weekly prints the cumulative stats for all MLB players. Owners are expected to keep past copies of the paper to subtract stats to find the weekly (net) production. Alternatives are to use an online stat service which provides stats Monday-Sunday for both leagues, or to compile daily boxscores from your daily paper. Baseball Weekly costs $1.00.


12.
Minor League Pool

The OBFLB Minor League consists of all players which are on the rosters of MLB teams and their minor league affiliates and MLB free agents, that are not on a current roster of any OBFLB team. The entire pool of players in the OBFLB Minor League are considered free agents. OBFLB owners can and do compete with each other during the Post OBFLB draft and regular seasons for the services of these free agents.

  1. Free Agent Classification(s)

    Free Agents are defined into two groups; Type A and Type B.

    • Type A Free Agents: A OBFLB minor league player who has NOT been on the roster of any OBFLB team during the current OBFLB season (Post OBFLB draft, regular season & playoffs).
    • Type B Free Agents: A OBFLB minor league player who has been on the roster of any OBFLB team but was subsequently released during the current OBFLB season (Post OBFLB draft, regular season & playoffs).
  2. Free Agent Acquisition(s)

    Free agents are acquired by placing a bid (See Minimum Bids below) by Friday at Noon Eastern Time each week during OBFLB seasons. The team with the highest bid, above the minimum for that type free agent, is awarded the player in question. If equal bids are submitted for the same player, the team which is the first to bid is awarded the player in question. TP's that are spent through this bidding process will be deducted from the awarded team's current balance.

    Note: Team owners who have submitted bids should take into account the fact that you may not know if you will 'win' the bidding contest (if any) until probably after you've submitted your weekly lineup card. Owners should fill out their lineup cards accordingly

  3. Minumum Bids for Free Agents:
    • Type A Free Agent Minimum Bid: 40 TP's.
    • Type B Free Agent Minimum Bid: 20 TP's.

13. Playoff Games

The number and organization of playoff games shall be be determined by the league based on the structure of Leagues/Divisions and the number of teams.

For purposes of playoff eligibility and/or advancement, the following tie-breaker system will be used:

  1. The team that has gone more seasons without being in the playoffs will advance. This rule will commence using 2002 playoff data and beyond.
  2. If the teams remain tied after employing method (1) above, The tied teams will next be compared on a category-by-category basis using seasonal stats, with 2 wins awarded for an outright victory in a category and 1 win awarded for a tied category. The team with the best record in this head-to-head matchup will advance.
  3. If the teams remain tied after employing method (2) above, then seasonal power ratings will be used to determine playoff eligibility or advancement. The team with the higher power rating will advance.

14. Forfeiture Rules

If the League feels that an owner is unjustly taking advantage of the league by not sending in stats cards on time, working reasonably with other owners, etc, as a first warning, it will be cause to forfeit one week's play. When forfeiture occurs, the team in question will lose 8 games that week, while their opponent will win the amount he would have normally. Repeat offenders could risk losing their teams.


15. Rule Updates

To change an existing rule, a group of 5 owners must contact the Presidents with a proposal that they all endorse as written. In addition to outlining the proposed rule change, the proposal should include the motivation(s) behind the rule change.

Once the proposal and requisite endorsements are received by the Presidents, they forward the proposal to the league for a two week discussion period. During the period, the pros and cons of the proposal will be discussed. In addition, owners can offer alternative proposals meant to accomplish similar goals in different ways or to less or more of a degree.

Alternate proposals can get on the voting ballot if they are endorsed as written by 5 owners. Note: An owner who endorsed the original proposal MAY endorse a new proposal. However, an owner may only endorse ONE "alternate" proposal. Also note that an endorsement is not (necessarily) the equivalent of a vote for that proposal.

At the end of the two week discussion, the original proposal, status quo, and any alternate proposals will be presented to the league for a vote using a preference voting system.

As part of their vote, each owner ranks in preference order the proposals presented (including status quo). If after counting everyone's first preference, no option gets a majority, the last-place option is thrown out and the vote is re-counted, with anyone whose vote was for the last-place option replaced by their second choice. For more than 3 options, this continues until some proposal has a majority of the "top ranked among the remaining choices" votes. If there's a tie for last, the one with the most second place votes will be kept and the other eliminated.

If there is a tie for first place involving status quo, status quo wins out. If status quo was a rejected option, then the President's votes break the tie. In the case of tie among the Presidents, the President with the longest seniority breaks the tie.


16. The OBFLB Administration & Hierarchy

The League is run by 2 Presidents, One from each League (Eastern and Western). The Presidents are empowered to do anything and everything needed to keep the league healthy and fair. Should The Presidents come to an impass between them, the decision will be ruled on by the league commissioner.

Make no mistake, The owners have to work together to make the make the league work. The presidents are here to provide continuity, structure and settle disputes, but it's an owners league. Should you decide to participate, make sure you hold up your end of the duties. When you fail, you let down 23 others!

 

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