Last update: Tue Feb 15 11:51:28 EST 2000
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@cs.rpi.edu).
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, I don't think many of us use BITNET anymore, and I don't know how many of us still look at green screens, but hey, we've been here a while..
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.
Trading Points (TP's) are the lifeblood of OBFLB teams. They have many uses which include:
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 TPsWhen 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 TPsIn 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.
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
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.
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. For 1996, the seasons will be as follows:
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:
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 AB min). 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. An empty lineup card is available on the Web server by using the lineup generator and detailed lineup instructions are at http://www.vu.union.edu/~obflb/statcards.guidelines on the league WWW server.
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 (terescoj@cs.rpi.edu) in the required format. 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.
GENERAL: Any active MLB player.
NOTE: Players drafted in the preseason who remain in the minor leagues or are sent down to the minors may be retained and carried on rosters; Only MLB Statistics may be used in weekly competition of the OBFLB.
OBFLB Player Eligibility By Postiton(s) Played:
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).
A Player will be eligible for the position that he is listed on a OBFLB roster if he gets at least 1 AB and if he:
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.
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.
Statcards are handled by the owners and they are responsible for filling out statcards for both themselves and their OPPONENT. Statcards should contain the weekly stats for each player and each pitcher. They are sent to the person in charge of weekly statistics as electronic mail in the format specified by that same person.
These statcards are used to determine wins and losses each week. The completed cards are sent to the Opponent for the week for verification. When both owners have agreed on the results, one of the owners sends in the completed cards as one msg or file by Midnight Friday CST. The other owner must send in a note stating the stats are correct. Should one opponent fail contact/or respond to the other owner's request for verification, the owner with his cards completed should send them in by the deadline with a note explaining such.
Failure to get your cards to your opponent will result in the loss of points you would have been awarded that week.
More details about statcard submissions (important!!) are available on the Web server at http://www.vu.union.edu/~obflb/statcards.guidelines.
The statistics used by the OBFLB to determine wins and losses are detailed below with explanations of what each one measures:
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.
The OBFLB Minor League consists of all players which are on the rosters of MLB teams 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.
Free Agents are defined into two groups; Type A and Type B.
Free agents are acquired by placing a bid (See Minimum Bids below) in the transaction portion of a lineup card during one week. 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 won't 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
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:
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.
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!