SUCK ON IT!

 Overview:

Article I: League Settings
Article II: Salary
Article III: Contracts
Article IV: Trading
Article V: Playoffs
Article VI: Prospect Draft/Farm System
Article VII: Free Agent Draft
Article VIII: Entry Fee/Prizes

Article I

League Settings

* Each team will consist of a roster, with a minimum of 23 players and a maximum of 26. These numbers includes 2 pitching teams.

* Each team will have a farm team, containing a maximum of 28 players, measured annually at the Roster Freeze.

* There will be 2 divisions comprised of 6 teams each for a total of 12 teams.

* Game nights will be determined at the beginning of the season, and typically include every day with a full MLB schedule.  The end of the season will be scheduled such that a full playoffs can be scheduled, without going right until the end of the MLB season.

* Every week will consist of all games played on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday unless the week must be interrupted (beginning/end of season, all-star break, etc).  The specific schedule will depend on the number of weeks available, but will typically involve a 5-game series against every team, a second series against your own conference, and 'rivalry series' for the remainder of the schedule.

* Each team is required to post their lineup on the Yahoo page. Lineups can be changed daily. A lineup will consist of 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, C, C, CI, CI, MI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util, Pitcher. Position eligibility is determined by Yahoo.

* Pitcher refers to an entire team's pitching staff. To denote the selection, the Manager will choose any pitcher from that team for their roster. If that pitcher is traded, the Manager must drop that pitcher and choose a new one. Each team is required to own exactly two pitchers. This will leave some team's pitching unused. Each Manager is allowed exactly one pitching transaction (add/drop) per year. The year re-sets immediately following the annual free agent draft.

* Yahoo's settings will require starting lineups be posted by gametime.

* We will use yahoo as official scoring. Yahoo posts stat corrections each week - the scorers will review the corrections and make the necessary changes each week.

* Games that are postponed or delayed for any reason (rainouts, etc), will simply be as if the game was played, and count as 0’s across the board. Similarly, for double-headers, both games will count.  For suspended games, the scores will count on the day the game was originally scheduled, unless the FCBL playoffs are scheduled to start in the meantime, in which case the end of a postponed game will not count.  Again, Yahoo's scoring will be our default here, with the only exception being that all standings are considered final once our playoffs start, even if Yahoo makes changes after the fact.

* All Manager's are to make their best efforts to yield a competitive lineup consistently.  Fielding a competitive lineup means the putting forth a reasonable effort to ensure all players are healthy and the best quality available to the manager. A manager is not required to call up players on his farm to field his best available team. In situations where there is an illness, or other personal emergency, the Commissioner may (with the league’s votes) take over a team on a temporary basis, until the Manager returns.  If a Manager is failing to make reasonable efforts to field a lineup, the Commissioner may seek the approval of the league to remove that Manager.

* Scoring:

Pitchers:

Run allowed: -1

In the event of a postponed game, the bench pitching team will automatically be used

If both pitching teams are postponed, a score of -6 will automatically be applied for that day

In the event of a doubleheader, only the first pitching game of the day will count towards your pitching score

Hitters:

Hit - 1, Walk - 1, Run - 1, RBI - 1, Double - 1, Triple - 2, Home Run - 3, SB - 2, K - (1)

Scoring is cumulative i.e. a Home Run gets you a point for a Run, an RBI, a Hit and a Home Run (1+1+1+3)=6

* Scoring will be completed manually by the Commissioner, or assigned scorekeepers. Scores will be posted on the forum, and members are encouraged to tally their own scores as a check. Yahoo will be considered the official scoring. Corrections must be noted within 2 weeks of the end of the game, or they will be considered final.  Scoring during the playoffs are considered final at midnight before the first game of the next playoff series.

* Each team will designate a default 'Extra Innings' player. These players will be listed in a stickied thread. In case of a tie, the score of the Extra Innings player will be used to break ties.  Pitching may not be used as your EI player.  Changes to your EI player can be made by posting in the EI thread or the current game-day thread.  Changes can be made at any time for the following game-day, and are assumed to be permanent changes unless otherwise specified.

* You win your match by having your team total more points than your opponent. A win will earn you 2 points, a loss will be 0 points, and a tie (after EI) 1 point.

* The trade deadline will be July 20 of each year, midnight EST.

Article II

Salary

Section I: General

Each team begins with a salary cap of $75 for all years. Player salaries are determined by auction draft and any corresponding RFA raises, or entry draft salaries by draft position.

At no point between the first game of the season and the end of the FCBL playoffs may a team have less than $50 or more than $100 in active player salaries.

If for some reason your team should go over your cap, you are required to bring it back within cap limit as soon as the error is discovered.  If delays persist, the Commissioner may issue warnings and enforce point deductions, beginning at 10 points/game and increasing.  The Commissioner must make a formal warning of point deduction at least 48 hours before any deductions are made.

If a team goes under the cap, the team in default may forfeit draft picks or their draft position.  As an initial remedy, and games the team loses while under the cap may be counted as a win when determining the standings for the draft order, so no benefit is gained from not fielding a sufficient team.

Section II: Free agents
You can add a maximum of 2 free agents to your roster per week (Monday-Sunday), providing they meet Free Agent guidelines, are not currently on waivers, and will not put your roster over 26 active players.

Free Agent Salary is determined as follows:

- A free agent that was not previously owned in the current FCBL season is $1 with RFA status.

- A free agent that was previously owned in the current FCBL season retains their previous salary and RFA/UFA status.

- A free agent that was bought out of an existing contract in the current FCBL season retains their pre-buyout salary and is a UFA.

A player is not considered to be claimed unless another player is dropped or the roster is otherwise ineligible.

The annual deadline for adding free agents will be one week after the trade deadline, subject to 24-hour waiver rules.

Any player that is acquired (traded for or free agent) after the deadline of a gameday is not eligible to play until the next day.

If you drop a player that is in the final year of his contract, you are free of his salary. However, if you want to drop a player that has 1 or more years remaining after the current season on their contract, you must buy that player out for half of his contract, with the salary divided evenly across all years and any uneven quarters added to the earliest seasons.

Example: You sign Player A to a 5 year contract at 1.25/year.  Halfway into season 2, you decide to buy him out.  His total buyout is half of three remaining years plus the current year = 5/2 = 2.50.  His cap hits will be $0.75 in the current year, $0.75 in year 2, $0.50 in year 3 and $0.50 in year 4.

Section III: Injuries/Injury Reserve
THERE IS NO INJURY RESERVE.

Section IV: Waivers
Each owner will be assigned a waiver number, which is the reverse of the previous year's standings (league winner is last).

If you do make a succesful waiver claim, you will automatically be put to the back of the line at waiver #12, and every other owner subsequently moves up 1 spot.

A successful waiver claim will count as one of your 2 maximum pickups for the week.

Players are subject to three types of waivers:

Type A - a player is dropped by another FCBL team. In this case, Yahoo's waiver period will be used, and any waiver claims are submitted through Yahoo.

Type B - a player plays his first MLB game. He is not a part of Yahoo's player pool, and is added by Yahoo. In this case, Yahoo's waiver period will be used, and any waiver claims are submitted through Yahoo.

Type C - a player plays his first MLB game. He was already part of Yahoo's player pool, and so Yahoo has him listed as a free agent immediately following his first game. In this case, a forum post must be made declaring a waiver claim. The player will be awarded the third day after the player's first game. For example, if his first game is played April 21, he will be awarded to the person with the highest waiver priority who makes a forum post claiming him by April 24th at noon EST.

Article III:

Contracts

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PLAYERS

There will be 2 levels of contracts each player can be signed to:

Level 1: Contract Value
Level 2: Contract Extension

Level 1: The Contract Value is the amount you bid on your player which essentially sets his value. This is a 1 year contract.

Level 2: The Contract Extension can be a contract ranging anywhere from 1-5 years, with your player either getting a raise, or his contract value remaining the same based on the values determined by his placing in the league scoring.

In order to sign your player, you must give him a pay increase. This increase will be a percentage of his current salary and is based on how well he performs in the most recent season. This performance rating is based on the most recent MLB season. The percentage increase will be rounded up to the nearest $0.25. Rankings are by position, for all players eligible at that position.

Position Players:

Ranked 1 through 4: 40% increase 1st year, 20% increase subsequent years MIN RAISE: $2.00
Ranked 5 through 8: 30% increase 1st year, 10% increase subsequent years
Ranked 9 through 15: 20% increase 1st year, 0% increase subsequent years
Ranked 16+: 0% increase ALL YEARS

Outfielders:
Ranked 1 through 6: 40% increase 1st year, 20% increase subsequent years MIN RAISE: $2.00
Ranked 7 through 12: 30% increase 1st year, 10% increase subsequent years
Ranked 13 through 30: 20% increase 1st year, 0% increase subsequent years
Ranked 31+: 0% increase ALL YEARS

Pitching:
Ranked 1 through 4: 40% increase 1st year, 20% increase subsequent years MIN RAISE: $2.00
Ranked 5 through 8: 30% increase 1st year, 10% increase subsequent years
Ranked 9 through 15: 20% increase 1st year, 0% increase subsequent years
Ranked 16+: 0% increase ALL YEARS

Example: Joe Mauer is drafted this year at $15.25. If he finishes in the top 4 of catcher scoring this season, it will cost me 40% of $15.25 to sign him for the first year, and 20% of $15.25 to sign him in years 2, 3, or 4. The percentage increases are based on his salary at the time of the extension, and are added on annually.

Original salary: $15.25
Year 1: 40% of $15.25 is $6.25 (rounded up) = $21.50
Year 2: 20% of $15.25 is $3.25 (rounded up) = $24.75
Year 3: 20% again = $28.00
Year 4: 20% again = $31.25

Example 2: Albert Pujols is drafted at $8. He finishes 5th among first basemen which would mean a 30%/10%/10% structure, but is also eligible at Outfield by the end of the year. He is 6th among outfielders, requiring a 40%/20%/20% structure. He requires the higher of the two structures, and his raise would be $3.25 the first year (40% of $8) and $1.75 for each subsequent year.

Exception
In a situation where a player is due a raise at a higher Tier due to being eligible at a position where he may not be eligible for in future years, an exception may be considered where his Tier based on the position he will lose eligibility for is ignored. 

For example:
Joe Smith is eligible at SS and 1B. He plays only 1B all year, and media reports indicate he is not likely to switch back to SS anytime soon.
His stats are such that he is the 12th-ranked 1B, but 6th-ranked SS.  Normally he would be due a Tier 2 raise for his SS ranking, but the Manager may apply to have him be eligible at Tier 3, for his 1B ranking.  The Commish will grant the exception only if, according to Yahoo's eligibility requirements (including future expectations based on media reports) suggest the player will no longer be eligible at that position in the next few years.  If an exception is granted, and the player signed, the contract will not be revisited, even if the player ends up eligible at the alternate position.  A manager may apply for an exception for multiple positions. i.e. a player who qualifies at 1B/2B/SS, but will only be eligible at 1B next year.


Article IV:

Trading

Trades may be completed any time from the last day of the MLB regular season up until midnight EST on July 20th. All trades must be posted on the forum by July 20th to be eligible for that season. Each team may choose to trade players, prospects, draft picks, waiver position, and/or cap. Trades must be posted on the main league page under the transactions tab, and both managers involved must confirm the trade. The Commissioner has the discretion to put any trade to a league vote. If the majority of the league votes against the trade (at least 2/3 must vote), a trade may be overturned. This is only available to the Commissioner if collusion is suspected, or for any reason the trade is considered to violate the ethics of fair play.  Non-league assets (real money, etc) cannot be included in any trade, unless its funny.

The Trade Deadline applies only to assets in use for a current year.  A trade that includes only farm players, draft picks, and future cap may be made at any time.  Farm Players and Draft Picks acquired in a post-deadline deal cannot be used in the current year.

Article V:

Standings

Tie-breaker:
1. Wins
2. Head to head record
3. Most points for, in head to head matchups

4. Random draw, performed by Steve's cat or a suitable alternative (preferably non-human or infant)

Playoffs:

Section I: Round One

6 teams will qualify for the post season. The top team in each division will automatically qualify and receive a first-round bye. The second and third place teams in each division will play each other in a 7-game series.

Section II: Round Two

The division winner will play the winner of the Round 1 series in a 7-game series.

Section III: Championship

Remaining two teams will play each other in a 7-game series.

Article VI:
Prospect Draft/Farm System

To be eligible for the entry draft, a player must meet all of the following qualification:

1. Played 10 or fewer MLB games.
2. Be signed by an Major League team (can be drafted, free agent, international or otherwise)
3. Never previously appeared on an FCBL roster.  If a player has been on an FCBL farm and released, he is eligible to be drafted again.

For additional clarity, if a player was a member of an FCBL farm system, was called up and later returned to the farm, and later dropped from the farm, he is considered to have been a farm player at all times, and is eligible to be re-drafted, and has his 'stretch run' counter re-set as well.

All farm teams are limited to 28 players.  The limit is enforced annually by the March roster freeze.

If a player is listed solely as a pitcher and is drafted, it will be assumed to be in error, and the drafter will have the opportunity to confirm or re-choose so long as the error is noticed within 24 hours of the last pick of the draft being made.

FCBL drafts will take place in July, and should start approximately one to two weeks after the MLB's deadline for signing drafted players.

Round 1 - $2
Round 2 - $1.50
Round 3 - $1
Round 4 - $0.50
Round 5 - $0.50

Call-ups

Voluntary call-ups can be made at any time, subject to a team having the necessary roster and cap space.  Each team is limited to 5 voluntary call-ups (including 'stretch run') per season, in addition to any forced call-ups.

Forced call-ups are made annually at the March roster freeze.  By the March roster freeze, all teams must be compliant with the following rules.  Teams must call-up or release players to become compliant, or the Commish will randomly select players to be released:

- All farm teams are limited to 28 players.

- All farm players can be kept on the farm for a maximum of 6 years.  So for the 2013 roster freeze, any player drafted in 2007 or earlier is no longer eligible.

Stretch run call-ups are a situation where a player can be called-up, accumulate stats for the active roster, and returned to the farm, subject to several rules.  If you wish to 'send down' a player:

- the call-up must have occured during the 'stretch run' - the last week of the regular season or playoffs.

- the player must be 'sent down' by the next season's roster freeze.

- normal call-up rules apply: you must have available roster and cap room for the player.

- any farm player can only be called up and sent down once in their career.  So a player's second call-up is always permanent.

- teams are only allowed one 'stretch run' player per year.  So a team can call up any amount of players at any time (including during the stretch run), but can only send one back down to the farm after the season.

For additional clarity, a player can be 'sent down' and called up in the same offseason.  So for instance, if a team chooses to call up Star Player X for the stretch run, they can send him down prior to the roster freeze, reinstating his farm status.  They could then call him back up at any time (including immediately after sending him down), at which point he would be permanently on the active roster.  This would allow the team to avoid 'burning' a year of the player's active roster eligibility by having him on their roster for the stretch run.

The Draft order will be determined by the previous year’s results. For the first round, the Playoff Champion will draft last, with the remaining teams drafting in reverse regular season standings, subject to tiebreaker rules. A lottery will be held to determine the first overall pick. Only the 4 non playoff teams will be eligible to win the lottery.

 
10th: 50%
9th: 25%
8th: 15%
7th: 10%

For the remaining rounds, teams will draft according to the previous year's standings. Last place will draft first. The playoff champion will draft last. All other places are determined based on reverse order of regular season standings.

Article VII

Free Agent Draft

Every offseason after the first season (March) we will have a free agent draft where we will bid on all players who are:

i) not currently on an FCBL team
ii) have dressed at least 1 MLB game prior to the current season.

iii) Exceptional International Players (defined below)

This will be done to help you bring your roster up to 23-26 players.
The draft date will be set with as much advance notice as possible, and with everyone schedules considered.
There will be a Roster Freeze annually, exactly two weeks before the draft date. All players who are not re-signed or returned to the farm team (subject to eligibility) by the roster freeze are considered free agents.

Exceptional International Players are those who have signed since the previous year's Free Agent deadline and not yet played an MLB game.  The intentional is to allow potentially impactful MLB players to have their salaries determined by the auction process, as opposed to be easily and automatically available to the team with the highest waiver priority.  Not all International signees will be given Exceptional status.  Exceptional status will be granted to any player who is expected to start the year in the MLB (or be promoted very soon) and expected to be impactful in the near term.  Suggestions for players to be given exceptional status can be made at any time, and the Commissioner will publish the Exceptional Player list at least a week prior to the draft.  Exceptional players will be auctioned normally.

Article VIII

Entry Fee/Prizes

The cost to own an FCBL franchise is $25 per season with full payout at the end of the season. Payment must be received by the Commissioner or authorized treasurer each season by April 1.

The prize breakdown will be as follows

Winner of the Championship game: $125

Runner up in the Championship game: $50

Regular Season Champion: $75

Article IX

The FCBL Constitution serves as the rule book for the FCP Baseball League. It is essentially the law of the land, however if future issues arise that aren’t covered in the constitution, amendments can be added with a majority vote or a decision by the commissioners. 2/3 of the league should vote if any significant rule changes are being proposed.

-- Edited by mrdannyg on Monday 24th of March 2014 10:32:02 AM

-- Edited by Dubey on Friday 27th of February 2015 10:48:08 AM

-- Edited by Dubey on Thursday 31st of March 2016 12:46:52 PM

-- Edited by Dubey on Thursday 31st of March 2016 12:48:27 PM

-- Edited by Dubey on Thursday 4th of August 2016 12:38:26 PM

-- Edited by Dubey on Tuesday 20th of March 2018 12:36:30 PM