Baseball is the PERFECT GAME LEAGUE
Rules
and Regulations
Created February 7, 2004
Revised January 21, 2006
I. The League
II. Playing
Requirements
III. League Czar
IV. Vice-Czars
V. Playing
Season
VI. League
Vital Info
VII. Naming of
Teams
VIII. Logos
IX. Post-Season
X. Team
Rosters
XI. The Draft
XII. Usage
XIII. Player
Transactions
XIV. Injuries
XV. Retaining
Players
XVI. Playing the
Games
I. The League
The Baseball is the Perfect Game League, founded in 2004, is a computer
simulation of real baseball using Diamond Mind Baseball, a statistics-oriented,
text-based game in Windows format. The league operates, in large part, via
e-mail and through the league's Internet home.
II. Playing
Requirements
All members of the league must own a registered copy of the most recent version
of DMB (Version 9 for ’06) and have purchased the current season version of the
team disk. Pirated copies of DMB are illegal and are not allowed in the BPGL.
There are no dues or fees to play in the BPGL.
III. League Dictator
The daily affairs of the Baseball is the Perfect Game League shall be
administered by the League Dictator. The League Dictator (LD) is a benevolent
fellow, but will smite you quickly to ensure the league's integrity and
well-being. The LD has the authority to impose rules and issue decrees which
are deemed in the best interest of the league. The League Dictator, much like a
Supreme Court Justice, serves for life.
IV. Vice-Dictators
An advisory body, appointed by the League Dictator and known as
vice-dictators, shall counsel the Dictator on matters that pertain to the
overall good of the league. The League Dictator will frequently poll the
vice-dictators on issues affecting such things as rules changes, eligibility
matters, infractions. In addition, the vice- dictators will assist the League
Dictator in gathering and checking Manager Profiles and usage figures during
the season.
The BPGL will consist of two leagues, each containing two 6-team divisions. The
LD named each of them for players he admired (including former Ranger standout
Geno Petralli)
All teams will play a 162-game
regular season schedule, to include in 2006:
12 games (6 home, 6 away) against
teams in their own division;
6 games (3 home, 3 away) against teams in two other designated divisions;
5 games (3 home, 2 away or 2 home, 3 away) against teams in the remaining
division.
The schedule will be divided
into months.
Each manager will play his
road games on his own computer.
NOTE: The PGBL will play road
games in an effort to counteract the broad disparity between home and away
records that exists in many online DMB leagues. Some of the home-away disparity
is inherent in DMB (an accurately programmed home field advantage). By shifting
the home field bias to the computer manager, the PGBL attempts to even out the
edges that the real-life manager already enjoys.
The schedule for reporting games will be as
follows:
1st of each calendar
month- Free agent and trades for the coming month are due
5th of each month-
managers must post an MP and a list of starting pitchers for his games.
5th of each month-
Games can commence (managers who have posted their mps and rotations can play
Netplay games as soon as both teams are prepared in terms of MPs and
rotations…this can be as early as the 1st)
20th of each month-
game results that are played offline (not via Netplay) are due
25th of each month-
game results that are played via Netplay are due (to give managers more time to
play live)
The League Office will post TWO
databases each month. After games are played and the results are
compiled, the Office will upload a “Don’t Play From This One” database, which
is for use in analyzing your stats, boxes and preparing Free Agent pickups.
The League Office will then post
a “Play Your May Games From This File” database on the 2nd of the month after
FA and Trade transactions are finalized. This database is used to prepare
your MPs, rotations, AND to play your games for that month.
The Dictator realizes the two
databases concept is confusing to some, but works well once everyone
understands it.
VI. League
Vital Info
The Baseball is the Perfect Game League will field 24 teams for its 2004
season. There are no plans for expansion at this time.
The league will not use the
DH.
The bullpen warm-up rule will
not be used.
Managers may use the DMB
pitch-by-pitch feature, either full-time or in selected situations.
Injuries will not be used in
the 2006 season.
There will be off days
scattered throughout the actual disk schedule. Managers may plan accordingly on
pitcher usage.
Managers commonly will employ
a five-man pitching rotation. However, managers are allowed to use a four-man
rotation. Managers playing in "human" mode should heed the DMB
fatigue table when using a starter on "short" rest. As a concession to real life fatigue, managers may NOT start
pitchers with less than 3 days rest.
Ballparks may be assigned to
one team only. Teams may change to an available park in the off-season, subject
to the dictator's approval. When a team's real-life park is no longer used, the
BPGL team can either assume the new stadium as its home or elect to move to any
available park. (Note that the LD has removed
the restriction against switching parks more than once in a career. A
team could theoretically switch parks every off season, but if that becomes a
destructive trend, the Dictator reserves the right to change his benevolent
mind and slap the wrist of managers employing this practice.)
VII. Naming of
Teams
In order to preserve some semblance of dignity as well as promote a uniform
style, team names should follow a standard format:
[Home Site][Nickname]
Home site is the name of a
city, state, Canadian province or other foreign entity. It is not the name of a
TV show, a brand of beer, etc.
Example of an acceptable
name: The Richland Ravens
Unacceptable name: The Alito
Filibusters (On the other hand, the Britney SpearChuckers might work)
Nicknames shall be animals,
notable figures and appropriate symbols or icons of American or global culture.
While the League Dictator frowns upon soccer-inspired, singular-noun nicknames
– the Burn, the Galaxy, the Phlegm – exceptions may be made under various and
clever circumstances. Example: the Bentfield Borg (It was futile to resist) and
the Pompano Circumstance.
VIII. Logos
Managers are encouraged to develop a team logo and submit it in .GIF or .JPG
form for inclusion on the Web Site.
IX. Post-Season
At the end of the regular season, the four division champions will advance to
the post-season playoffs.
In addition, the four teams
with the next-best records regardless of division will qualify for the playoffs
as wild cards. The four division champions will be seeded in order, followed by
the wild-card teams. Teams will be reseeded after each round of the playoffs.
All series will be
best-of-seven. All series will use the 2-3-2 format to determine home field
advantage, just as in major league baseball. There will be off days after all
series' second and fifth games.
At the end of the first
round, the highest remaining seed will face the lowest remaining seed. The
other two teams will meet in the other semifinal.
The two winners will meet in
the BPGL World Series. The team with the best record, as in all series, will
have home-field advantage.
All playoff games must be
played head-to-head, either in person or using the brilliant Netplay feature
inherent in DMB9. If, for some reason, a playoff game is not able to be played
using one of these methods, the manager who
can’t make it shall appoint a proxy who will be approved by the League Office.
In the event of a tie for a
division title or wild card berth, a one-game playoff will determine the winner. The game
will be played at the home park of the team which had the better head to head record between the two teams during the regular season. The game will be considered an extension of the regular
season, and NEITHER TEAM will have its fatigue reset for the game. If three or more teams
tie for a division or wild card, two teams (A & B) would play the initial
game and the 3rd team (C) would then play the winner. All
games would happen on the same day in B’s home park. A, B and C slots
would be determined by a random lottery.
X. Team
Rosters
The active roster for each team shall be 25 players. An additional three
players will make up the franchise's respective "farm" team for a
total of 28.
Managers may designate any 25
players as active for a particular series. The only caveat is that teams
must have at least 5 starting pitchers and 2 catchers among the 25. So a
team could use all 28 players in a given monthly period. But managers
should note that nobody can sign FAs or execute trades during that period.
The roster size was set at 28
in an effort to thwart the use of "super platoons" in DMB. Teams are
encouraged to make use of the free agent list throughout the season, as players
reach their usage limits.
If a position player who has
been announced as "signed" (protected) for the following season
reaches 50%
or more of his allowed usage, a manager will be granted an exemption to keep
the player on his roster and not have him count against the 28-man limit. This
exemption is known as the Protected Reserve List (PRL). The manager can then
sign another player from the free agent list. NOTE: The protected player may
not be reactivated and used once he has been granted a roster exemption.
XI. The Draft
The Baseball is the Perfect Game League’s annual player draft will be held,
preferably in February or early March, using a combination of the PGBL chat
room, player lists and a live draft session. The initial rounds will be live,
either online or in person, until all teams have at least 25 players. The final
three rounds will be conducted using player lists.
Batters with at least 100 plate appearances and
pitchers with at least 35.0 innings pitched will be eligible for selection.
Combined statistics are used
for players who played on multiple teams during the Major League baseball
regular season.
The order of each round of the
draft will be determined by a lottery based on won-loss record of teams that
don’t make the playoffs. The team with the best winning % that missed the
playoff will have the highest chance of getting the #1 overall pick. (Ties for
lotto seeding will be broken by home records, with the better home record
getting the favorable seed. If that fails to resolve the seeding, the
better record over the final 2 months of the season will be used, and as a
final tiebreaker the records within their league will be used. Any
unresolved ties at that point would be broken by a random lottery draw). The
final eight positions will be taken by the playoff teams, with spots filled in
order of their elimination.
XII. Usage
The intention of The Perfect Game Baseball is to simulate real-life baseball as
much as possible. To that end, players who were used sparingly in a given role
or position should not be used regularly in that role in BPGL. Again, the
spirit of the rule is to approximate the most recent MLB regular season.
The 110% Rule
All batters will be limited
to 110% of their real-life plate appearances (PAs).
In addition, certain players
will be restricted as to how many PAs they are permitted from either the left
or right side. The restrictions will be confined to:
A. Players who batted more than 60 points higher from one side, or
B. Players who had combined on-base and slugging percentages that were more
than 140 points higher from one side.
Those players who are
restricted may bat only 100% of their real-life PAs from their best (higher)
side.
Once a restricted player reaches his 100% against that side, he is not allowed
to start or pinch-hit against that side. He should, therefore, be removed from
all saved lineups against the side.
Because a restricted player can continue to start against his other (weaker)
side, however, he is likely to continue to passively accumulate plate
appearances against the restricted side. If he does, each percentage point over
100% will be added to the player's total usage percentage. Once the player
reaches a combined 110%, he may not bat any more in the PGBL season.
EVERYDAY
PLAYERS - Players who came to the plate 450 times or more are considered
"everyday" players. They are not
restricted, even if they meet criteria A or B above. But they
must still meet the 50% minimum against LHPs and RHPs and are still bound by
the 110% rule for maximum usage.
The 50% Minimum Rule
In an effort to stem the use
of "super platoons" and "super pinch-hitters" that take
advantage of DMB's extremely accurate L/R splits, all position players must
accumulate at least 50% of their real-life appearances from BOTH sides of the
plate in order to remain on the protected list and also to be eligible for
post-season play.
This rule sets a minimum standard of playing time. The 110% rule, in most
cases, sets a max.
We don't expect managers to be accountants. We simply want to give pitchers a
fairer chance at achieving their real-life numbers. It is the opinion of the
League Office that the 50% rule does not require a lot of attention. An
easy-to-monitor balance can be obtained by planning well for the draft and then
making periodic adjustments to the team's MP.
Starting pitchers are allowed
110% of their real-life starts, not to exceed the maximum number of games
started by any pitcher in major league baseball the previous season. If a
pitcher both starts and relieves, he will be restricted to either his maximum
number of allowable starts or 110% of real-life batters faced, whichever occurs
first. NOTE: Pitchers who are listed exclusively as a starter may be used in
relief, if necessary (the computer manager does this all the time). If they are
placed in the bullpen on a Manager Profile, they should be listed in either the
Mop-Up or Long relief roles. (Not as set-up men or closers).
Relief pitchers are allowed
110% of their real-life batters faced. Neither SPs nor RPs are required to adhere
to any certain percentage of their real-life
batters faced versus LHBs or RHBs.
IMPORTANT: Players who exceed
the 110% rule by 5% or more in any category (100% for restricteds) may be
declared free agents for the next season.
League managers are
encouraged to investigate and report potential violations of the usage rule. In
most cases, a usage problem can be dealt with by farming out a player or by
removing him from your primary lineups (the #1 and #2 lineups on your Manager
Profile).
However, the league office
reserves the right to discipline chronic or flagrant violators of the usage
rule. The penalty may be as harsh as having the league office declare a player
ineligible for the rest of the season and playoffs and designated as a free
agent for the next season.
Positions
If a player is rated at a position in the
current season disk, he can start (and play) that position until he uses up all
his available PAs this BPGL season. So if you have a utility fielder who
is rated AV at SS, Fr at 3b and Pr at 2b, you can play him at ANY of those
positions all season. This is a departure from our original rules, but
the Dictator feels that this gives BPGL managers the proper flexibility and
causes less headaches than the old way.
DHs without listed positions
will be assigned the last position(s) they regularly played in the major
leagues, regardless of when that may have been. In most cases, they will be
given a range rating of Poor and an error rating of 200.
Outfield positions are not
automatically interchangeable. If a player is
rated in LF, but not RF, he can only start games in LF. He could come
into a game as a RF if there were no RFs left, but this should be
used as an emergency measure, not a way to get 2 LFs into the game every
day.
In the event of an ejection,
a manager may play a player out of position.
IMPORTANT: Because of the
usage rules, you must make certain that you have enough PAs, IPs and GSs for an
entire 162-game season.
As an unofficial guideline,
your team's pitcher innings should total at least 1350. Each position should
have at least 158 PAs against LHP and 464 against RHP. Please draft
accordingly.
PLAYOFF USAGE:
Batters with 300 plate appearances -- no usage limit...unlimited ABs in PGBL
post-season
Batters with under 300 PAs -- 10% of their real-life Plate Appearances
Restricted players -- 10% from their restricted side (NOTE: restricted players
in the PGBL regular season remain restricted in the playoffs, even if they have
300 or more total PAs. They are still limited to 10% against their restricted
side).
Starting pitchers get 10% of their real-life starts (rounding DOWN . . . which
means that a pitcher must have started at least 10 games in real life to start
in the playoffs). Relievers get 10% of their real-life BFPs.
Rosters are limited to 25 (a maximum of 12 pitchers) and must be turned in
before the playoffs begin. No changes to the rosters are allowed once the
playoffs begin.
You can use any pitching rotation you want. There will be off days after Games
2 and 5, where applicable.
We will use weather effects.
Pitchers listed as starters-only can be used in relief.
XIII. Player
Transactions
Player movement is governed by the following calendar:
Trading ends on July 31 at 11:59
p.m. Central
From then until the end of
the regular season – Rosters frozen. No trading allowed.
End of World Series until end
of draft -- Trading allowed, including trading of draft choices (current draft
only).
When does a trade take effect?
Trades will not be official until BOTH managers report the trade in writing
(email, please) to the league office and the League Dictator confirms the
trade. Please enclose the word TRADE (all caps) in the subject line of your
email message to avoid any problems.
If the trade is confirmed 24
hours prior to the deadline for the current period and both teams have
concluded playing their road games for that period, the players will be sent to
their new teams in time for the next playing period. Trades confirmed after
that time will not take effect until the succeeding period.
As outlined above, draft choices may be traded during
the season. But to avoid the temptation for a manager to trade away his
entire future draft for a one-year run and then drop out of the league, the
following rules apply:
A) A manager trading away draft picks must promise to stay in the league next
season.
B) No manager can give up more than 3 of his top 5 picks, and must retain at least one pick in the top 2 rounds. A manager could, for instance trade his 1st and 2nd round picks away in a deal that included a 1st or 2nd round pick from another team. Again, the purpose of this rule is to make sure any "orphan" franchise has a draft pick to build with in the next draft.
XIV. Injuries
We will not use the DMB injury system.
IMPORTANT: The only changes
you are allowed to make on your database are the ones using the FARM and
PROMOTE commands. If you change the names on your roster, your statistics will
not import properly and the league office will know that you have altered the
database. The League Dictator may require you to replay the games.
Do not make any SIGN or
RELEASE changes on your database, unless the League Dictator gives you the
go-ahead to do so. And even then, you must make certain that you have uploaded
your results to the Yahoo site before making any roster changes.
XVI. Retaining
Players
In an effort to maintain continuity in our league, as well as ensure a quality
pool of players for the draft, teams will be required to sign exactly 12
players for the following season.
The list of players must be
submitted to the League Office by 11:59 p.m., Central Time, on the date
announced by the League Dictator.
At least 3 of the 12 players
signed must be pitchers.
A team that trades a
"signed" player also trades his "contract" and that player
becomes a signed player for his new team. The team that trades the player away
does not inherit an additional draft pick from the league, nor does the new
team lose one of its draft picks. Please remember that draft picks may not be
traded during the regular season.
Why does the BPGL allow such
few players to carry over from season to season? A good question, but one that
hits at the core of our league philosophy. We want to emphasize the draft as
the primary means of building a franchise. We want all managers to feel that
they can become competitive without a lengthy rebuilding process. We want a
balanced league, not one with a collection of 110-win teams at the top and
several 95-loss teams at the bottom.
XVI. Playing
the Games
Instructions will be provided, in great detail, on how to report statistics and
Manager Profiles to the league office. Most of the instructions can be found
online by clicking Help! on
the BPGL web page and on the DMB version 9 disk.
For the cybernetically
challenged, step-by-step instructions will also be provided to teach you how to
get the proper database into your DMB active player directory.
Managers should review their
Manager Profiles and update their depth charts and saved lineups before each
playing period. Since we are playing entire
months at a time, managers ARE allowed to prepare an MP for each opponent. However, managers are not allowed to
"target" certain lineups to certain pitchers using the saved lineups.
In other words, managers are not allowed to stipulate "Use lineup #4
against Randy Johnson" or anything similar.
Manager duties
A PGBL manager has four responsibilities during each playing period:
1. Read the league's Web Site
and your e-mail on a regular and timely basis.
2. Play your ROAD games,
unless the schedule says otherwise.
3. Upload your exported statistics to the league yahoo site and
notify either the LD or the entire league.
4. Upload the an updated MP
and rotation to the league yahoo site every month.
5. If you have a family, health or other issue
that takes all your time, PLEASE email or call the commish (979)
830-4226. In order to ensure a competitive league filled with committed
managers, I will give your franchise to an active manager if you are gone
longer than 30 days without notifying me.
In addition, managers are
strongly encouraged to make regular submissions – "press releases" --
to the league's web site. The more fun we have and the more we keep in contact,
the more interesting the league will be.
Let's play ball.