Golden Years of Baseball League
Constitution
Amended
I. League
Description
The Golden Years of Baseball League (the “GYBL”)
is named in honor of arguably the most exciting years of baseball from the
return of the great stars of the game from fighting in World War II in 1946
throughout the 1950’s. The GYBL, founded in 2005, is a continuous ownership
league that utilizes the most recent version of the Diamond Mind Baseball game
(currently version 9a) and for the inaugural season will use the 1946 Classic
Season Disk based on the 1946 Major League Baseball Season statistics. Each
subsequent year of the GYBL will use the next Classic Season Disk in
chronological order (e.g. 2nd season of the GYBL will use 1947, 3rd
season will use 1948, etc.). The regular season shall run from April through
October.
The league will (1) emphasize the use of Netplay, (2)
seek out owners who believe in good
sportsmanship, understand that this is just a game played for fun and who truly respect their fellow owners, and (3) strive to be the most enjoyable “sim”
league you have ever been a member of.
II. Playing
Requirements
All members of the league must own a registered
copy of the most recent version of DMB (Version 9a) and have purchased the
applicable Classic Season version of the team disk. Pirated copies of DMB are
illegal and are not allowed in the GYBL. Proper ownership of season disks will
be verified with Diamond Mind.
There are no dues or fees to play in the GYBL.
III. League Hierarchy
A.
League
Commissioner
(the “LC”)
a. Shall administer the daily
affairs of the GYBL.
b. Will be responsible for the
league's integrity and well-being.
c. Has the authority to impose
rules and issue decrees which are deemed in the best interest of the league.
B.
Advisory
Board
a.
Appointed by the LC and shall counsel the LC on matters that pertain to
the overall good of the league.
b.
The LC will frequently poll the advisory board on issues affecting such
things as rules changes, eligibility matters and infractions.
c.
Will assist the LC in gathering and checking Manager Profiles and usage
figures during the season.
C.
League Members
a.
Are responsible for
meeting various deadlines and responding as required by LC.
b.
Will be responsible
for sending out instructions (via manager profile export – you may have
separate manager profiles for each opponent) for their team’s road games,
playing their home games and sending in statistics (managers are encouraged to
include a monthly recap) on a regular, timely basis.
c.
For home games
played against opponents MP, will need to ensure that the opponent’s correct
starters are being chosen for each series and correct lineup is used.
IV. League Organization
A. General
Information
The
GYBL will consist of 12 teams divided into two 6-team leagues and each team
will play a 158-game regular season schedule. The intention is to group owners
desiring to play a majority (however, not mandatory that they play 100% of
their games via NetPlay) of their games via NetPlay into the same league in order to afford them the
opportunity to play as many games via Netplay as
possible.
B. Game Settings are as follows:
·
No Injuries (players
may be lost due to ejection or weather)
·
No bullpen warm-up
·
Weather effects are
turned on
·
Clutch and Jam
ratings are in effect
·
No DH
·
The Era will be NL
for the National League and AL for the American League of applicable season
C. 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 and an unacceptable name: The Monica Lewinskys. Nicknames shall
be animals, notable figures and appropriate symbols or icons of American or
global culture. While the LC frowns upon soccer-inspired, singular-noun
nicknames – the Burn, the Galaxy, and the Phlegm – exceptions may be made under
various and clever circumstances.
D. Stadiums
Teams
may change stadiums each season, but the change must be made prior to the
commencement of that season’s draft. Stadium changes will be handled on a
“first come, first serve basis” with priority given to a team that (a) has not
made a recent stadium change and (b) the team with the worst prior season
record.
V.
Annual Entry Draft
A. Overview
There is an issue that every
league (even modern day leagues) has to confront and since the GYBL is a retro
league the issue is even greater due to the 100% hindsight factor. The issue is
how to motivate every team to try to be as competitive as possible every
season, thereby increasing the overall competitiveness of the league.
There comes a point in a season
when teams make a decision whether they can compete or not that season. If the
decision is that they can't, then there is a lot of motivation to unload their
better players, especially players that have no future value. Now you may say,
but that is what happens in the real life so why is it a problem in the GYBL.
The short answer is that in real life they do not have the ability to know
exactly how players are going to perform in subsequent years. Also, in real
life baseball it is a business that has to deal with sagging attendance,
the press, etc. So there are external pressures for teams to field competitive
teams.
Therefore, the GYBL is adapting a
draft structure that rewards teams for winning not for losing in an attempt to
encourage teams to be competitive every season.
B.
Draft
Order Determination
a. The 6
non-playoff teams will be included in the draft lotto process and seeded #1
through #6 based on order of finish (best record is #1 and worst record is #6).
i.
Tie-breakers:
1. Team with
better road record will be lower seed (better seed); if still tied then
2. Team with
better record over final 2 months of the season will be lower seed (better
seed); if still tied then
3. Team with
better record within their own league will be lower seed (better seed); if
still tied then
4. A random
method will be used to break the tie.
b. A lotto will
be used to determine the 1st, 2nd & 3rd
picks overall and will be weighted to favor lower seeded teams (better seeded)
as follows:
First Day % to determine 1st
pick overall:
Seed #1 19% chance Seed
#4 16% chance
Seed #2 19% chance Seed
#5 14% chance
Seed #3 18% chance Seed
#6 14% chance
Note: The 2nd and 3rd
picks overall will be determined on days 2 and 3. The above % would be
recalculated after removing the 1st and then the 2nd day
winners so that the sum of the remaining team’s % would equal 100% each day
(e.g. if Seed #1 won the 1st day each teams % would be adjusted as
follows: [1st day % divided by 81%]).
c. The 4th
pick through the 12th pick would then be determined based on reverse
order of finish during the regular season.
i.
Tie-breakers:
1. Team with
the worst road record will be lower pick (better pick); if still tied then
2. Team with better
record over final 2 months of the season will be lower pick (better pick); if
still tied then
3. Team with better
record within their own league will be lower pick (better pick); if still tied
then
4. A random
method will be used to break the tie.
d.
The for the 2nd Round and through the
remaining rounds of the draft the order will be based on the reverse order of
finish during the regular season with the worst record getting the 1st
pick in each round and the best record getting the last pick in each round. The
Tie-breakers used in c.i. above would be used here
also. The draft will consist of 18
rounds or until a team reaches 30 players on their roster. However, for teams
that were unable / unwilling to protect 12 players; their draft will continue
to proceed in draft order, until they reach 30 players.
C.
Eligible
Players
a. All players on the applicable season’s team disk (that
are not on a protected list) are eligible to be drafted. Very important; please refer
to Restrictions on Protecting Players below.
VI. Team Rosters
A.
Regular Season Rosters
a.
Maximum of 30
players in total.
b.
Active rosters for
each series shall be 27 players and must include:
i.
2 catchers
ii.
9 pitchers, 4 of
which have to be starting pitchers.
iii.
The balance of the
active roster can be any combination of players on the roster.
iv.
You may have a
different active roster for each series, but cannot change active roster in the
middle of a series.
c.
In the final month
of the season all players (not over their usage limitations) on the roster can
be active.
B.
Post Season Protected List (subject to restriction in
VI.C below)
a.
At the conclusion of
each season, each team will be allowed to protect 12 players for the next
season.
i.
The protected lists
will be due at a date determined by LC approximately 2 weeks after the
conclusion of the season.
ii.
There will be an
opportunity to make trades between the end of the season and prior to the
submission of the protected lists.
iii.
If a team’s
protected list is not submitted on a timely basis the LC shall prepare the list
for the team.
C.
Restrictions on Protecting Players
a.
Overused players
cannot be protected (see restrictions below).
b.
Disgruntled players
(as defined below) cannot be protected.
c.
In order to limit a
team’s ability to take unfair advantage of hindsight and stockpile future
superstars before they have bloomed, there will be restrictions on protecting players in the year that they are drafted.
In order for a drafted player to be eligible to be included on a team’s 12-man
protected roster for the next season, he must have the following minimum real-life stats in the applicable
season of the draft:
i.
Batters must have at
least 300 plate appearances.
ii.
Starting Pitchers must
have at least 10 starts.
iii.
Relief Pitchers must
have at least 150 batters faced.
iv.
Swing Pitchers that
both Start and Relieve must have at least 10 starts or 200 batters faced.
Note: This restriction only applies to players in the
year that they are drafted. Any player, on a team’s roster prior to the
annual free agent draft, will not be subject to the above restrictions.
VII. Trading
A.
In-Season Trading
a.
Will be allowed
through the June games on the Season schedule.
b.
A trade needs to be
agreed upon by both managers and reported to the LC by the 20th of
each month and approved by the LC to be valid for the following month’s games.
c.
Teams may not trade
“players to be named later”.
d.
You may trade draft
picks with the following limitations:
i.
Only draft picks for
the next scheduled draft may be traded.
ii.
A team must retain
draft picks in 3 of the first 5 rounds of each season’s draft (these may be
their own picks or picks traded for from another team). This limitation is
suspended for trading of draft picks during the draft (e.g. you may trade any
number of draft picks for a draft, during that same draft).
e.
If a trade puts you
over the 30 man roster limit, you must submit along with the trade the players
to be cut to bring your roster back to the man limit.
f.
If a trade puts you
under the 30 man roster limit, you may submit the free agent pickups in order
to bring your roster back up to the 30 man roster limit.
B.
Off-Season Trading
a.
Will begin
immediately following the conclusion of the World Series.
b.
Will be allowed
during the draft with the following limitations:
i.
A trade during the
draft cannot hold up the making of a draft pick, unless approval received from
LC.
ii.
Only picks in the
current draft can be traded during the draft subject to restriction in VII.A.d.ii above.
VIII. Free Agent Pick-ups
A.
Prior to
Start of Season
a.
Following the annual
free agent drafts, there will be a designated period of time where teams may
cut players and sign un-drafted free agent players from the free agent pool on
a “first-come, first-severe basis”. In the event more than one team claims the
same free agent at the same time, the team with the worst prior season record
will get the player. Free agents that are signed prior to the start of the
regular season will be eligible to be protected for the next season (subject to
the above restriction on protecting drafted players) and play in the playoffs.
B.
During the Season
a.
Starting on the 1st
day of each regular season, teams may select free agents from the free agent
pool. Free agent claims will be awarded on a “first-come, first-serve basis”.
In the event more than one team claims the same free agent at the same time,
the team with the worst record in the current season at the time of the claim
will get the player. A free agent claim must be requested by the 25th of each
month to be valid for the following month’s games. Free agents may be traded
and if they meet the usage restrictions will be eligible for post-season play.
VIII. Player Usage Restrictions
A.
Regular
Season
a.
Batters
i.
Limited to actual
number of plate appearances plus 10% (players with less than 100 at bats are restricted to actual number of plate appearances).
ii.
If a batter has 600
or more plate appearances overall, he will be eligible to be used full time
with no restrictions on plate appearances.
iii.
Batters may only
play at a position in which they received a DMB fielding ratings. This no limit
on how often a player can be used at a position he has received a rating for
other than the plate appearance limits above. Batters may play any position in
an emergency situation at the end of a game or in extra innings.
b.
Pitchers
i.
Limited to actual
starts plus 10% (Starting Pitchers with less
than 10 starts are restricted to actual
number of starts). When calculating a Starting Pitchers’ actual starts plus
10% - you must round down to determine the number (e.g. actual starts of 39
plus 10% would be 42 starts).
ii.
Starting Pitchers
require 2 days rest between starts.
iii.
Relievers are
limited to actual number of batters faced plus 10% (Relievers with less than 30 innings pitched are
restricted to actual batters faced).
iv.
A swingman is a
player who can either start or relieve. He is limited to actual number of
starts plus 10% and/or batters faced plus 10% (note: unless swingman has less
than 10 starts and/or 30 innings pitched in which case the limit would be
actual number or starts and/or batters faced). Example – If you use a starter
as a full time reliever, he is limited to batters faced plus 10%. Example
– If you use a starter as a part time starter and part time reliever, he is
limited to the actual number of starts plus 10% or batters faced plus
10%.
v.
Starting Pitchers
can be used as a starter or as a reliever, regardless of DMB rating. However, a
pitcher must be rated as a starter in order to start a game.
B.
Over Use Penalties
a.
IMPORTANT:
i.
Players who
exceed the usage restrictions must immediately be farmed and are ineligible to
play the rest of the season and in the playoffs.
ii.
Players who
exceed the usage restriction by 5% or more may be declared free agents for the
next season.
C.
Disgruntled Player Restrictions - in order to qualify to be protected for next season or be
eligible for a team’s post-season roster:
a.
All Batters must
reach at least 50% of their
real-life plate appearances.
b.
All Pitchers must
reach at least 50% of their
real-life batters faced.
c.
EXCEPTION – for
players traded at the trade deadline only (trade effective for the July games);
if that traded player reaches 35% usage for his new team (excluding usage from
prior teams), they will be eligible to be protected for the next season and
eligible for a team’s post-season roster.
IX. Instructions for Playing of Games
A.
Monthly Database will
be posted to group site by the 28th of each month.
B.
Manager Profiles (MP) and Starting Rotations should be posted to group site prior to the 1st
of each month.
a.
Separate MPs can
be created for each opponent.
b.
Starting Pitching Rotations can be set each month or for the entire season. When
playing home games or when playing via NetPlay owner
may vary from the posted rotation for his team. Please be sure to allow for 2
days rest prior to each start.
C.
Reset Player Useage prior to hosting games. Do not reset useage
in the middle of a series.
D.
Head to Head Play via Netplay is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory. Series may be
played using manager profiles supplied by the visitors.
a.
Owners are
responsible for getting their home games
played.
i.
Series may be
played out of order, but games within series must be played in order.
b.
Be sure to down load visiting team’s MP from group
site prior to playing games.
i.
If playing against the visiting team’s MP
1.
Home owner is
responsible for ensuring the correct
visitor’s starting pitcher is used. Visiting team’s rotation can be found
at the group site.
2.
Set game options
for visiting team all to “computer”, EXCEPT
for “Lineups/Starting Pitchers” should be set to “human” so the correct lineup
and starting pitcher can be inserted.
3. If incorrect lineups or incorrect starting pitchers are
used for visiting team, the games are subject
to replay by LC.
E.
Upload Series Stats
to group site at the completion of each series, but no later than the 25th
of each month.
X. Playoffs
At the end of the regular season, the team with the best record in each league will
advance to the post-season playoffs. In addition, the two teams with the
next-best record in each league will qualify for the playoffs as wild cards.
Therefore a total of 3 teams will male the playoffs from each league with the
two league champions for the regular season receiving a 1st round
bye. The two wildcard teams in each league will play each other in the 1st
round of the playoffs. In the 2nd round, the 1st round
winners will face the league champions for the regular season in the League
Championship series for the right to represent their league in the GYBL World
Series. The two winners will meet in the GYBL World Series. The team with the
best record, as in all series, will have home-field advantage (exception being
that a wild card team cannot have home field advantage over a division winner
regardless of their records).
All
series will be best-of-seven. All series will use the
All
playoff games must be played head-to-head via Netplay.
If, for some reason, a playoff game cannot be played using Netplay,
the two managers must arrange to "meet" either on the telephone or by
using the league's Yahoo Chat room. The home manager will give a play-by-play,
and the visiting team manager will have the opportunity to relay instructions.
Additionally, a manager may select a proxy to serve as his live representative
for a playoff game. The only exception would be if both owners in a
series agreed to play their games against the computer using the visiting
team’s MP.
In the
event of a tie for a playoff spot, a one-game playoff will determine the
regular season division champion. This game will be considered (as in MLB) an
extension of the regular season and players will be subject to usage
restrictions that applied during the regular season and the stats from the game
will be included with the regular season stats. The game will be scheduled to
take place after one day of rest after the last day on the league’s season
schedule and neither team’s fatigue will be reset prior to the game. The
game will be played at the home park of the team that had the better road
record during the regular season (if still tied, the tiebreakers (2) through
(4) below will be used).
Playoff rosters will be set at
27 players, fixed for each round, and chosen prior to the round starting and
rosters can be made up of any combination of players. It is recommended that
teams carry at least nine pitchers and two catchers per series.
There will be four off days
scheduled between the end of the season and the start of the 1st
playoff series (note: a 1-game playoff to determine division champ may eat into
this rest). There will be two days off
scheduled between series (assuming series goes seven games), however if your
series ends sooner, your team will have more than 2 days rest between series. There
will be no fatigue reset between the playoff series.
There is one day off for travel
after games 2 and 5. Since each playoff series will be played using the same
stat database for starter and reliever fatigue, there will be no mandatory rest
imposed between starts for pitchers (DMB software will penalize tired pitchers)
– only usage restrictions below. Thus, if not played face-to-face, the home
manager in games 1 and 2 will send the playoff stats export file to the home
manager in games 3, 4, and 5, who will then make sure both teams are rested one
day before starting their games and likewise for games 6 and 7.
Playoff teams will be given a
maximum of 7 days to complete each series.
Player Usage
Restrictions – Playoffs
Batters
with 300 plate appearances have no usage limit...unlimited plate
appearances in the post-season
Batters
with under 300 plate appearances are limited to10% of
their real-life plate appearances in each series of the playoffs
Starting pitchers get 10% of their real-life starts in
each series of the playoffs (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 batters faced in each series of the playoffs.
V. Due Dates