The following is a suggested "Constitution" for your fantasy league. Keep in mind that these are only suggested rules, so feel free to tamper with whatever you like to adjust it to your league's needs. These rules have been used and modified over the past dozen years by various rotisserie leagues, so they are fairly well time-tested. Any suggestions or corrections are always welcome.
TABLE OF CONTENTS| Chapter |
Title |
| 1 | Teams and Rosters |
| 2 | Auction |
| 3 | Position Eligibility |
| 4 | Fees |
| 5 | Player Salaries |
| 6 | Prize Money |
| 7 | Standings |
| 8 | Stats |
| 9 | Trades |
| 10 | Waivers |
| 11 | Free Agent Eligibility |
| 12 | The Reserve List |
| 13 | Minor Leagues |
| 14 | Roster Protection and Contracts |
| 15 | Governance |
1.1. There will be ____ teams in the __________ Baseball League consisting of (a mix of American and National, only American or only National) league players. Each team will consist of 27 players (23 starters and 4 minor leaguers).
1.2. A team's roster consists of the following players:
1.3. There is a minimum innings requirement for all staffs of 900 innings. Anyone who does not achieve 900 innings, will be placed last in the categories of ERA and WHIP.
2.1. Each team must acquire 23 players at a total cost not to exceed $260 (not real money). A team need not spend the maximum.
2.2. Teams will nominate players for acquisition in random order.
2.3. The following players are eligible for the major league auction:
2.4. If an ineligible player is selected in the auction and his ineligible status is not declared at the time of the auction, league executives have from the end of the auction until twenty-four hours before the start of the first game of opening day to uncover this error. If the error is uncovered, the team who selected the illegal player must pick a replacement player from the free agent pool. This replacement will count as a free agent in all aspects, including the $10 salary and counting towards the free agent limit. The ineligible player will then be released outright and cannot be resigned until such time he is legally eligible.
2.5. The team bidding first opens with a salary bid of at least $1 for any eligible player and the bidding proceeds at minimum increments of $1 until only one bidder is left. That team acquires the nominated player for the final bid amount. The process is repeated, with successive owners nominating players to be bid on, until every team has acquired a squad of 23 players by requisite position.
2.6. No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford. For example, a team with $3 left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of $2 for one player. (Leaving $1 for the other unfilled roster spot.)
2.7. No team may bid for a player who qualifies only at a position that the team has already filled and that team has already fulfilled its utility position.
2.8. After an owner acquires a player, he immediately chooses the position that player will fill. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the auction.
2.9. The salary of a player acquired in the major league auction is his final bid amount.
2.10. Following the major league auction, a four-round minor league draft will take place to pick the four minor league players for each team. In the first year of the league, the order of selection in the first round will be random and will be reversed in subsequent rounds. In all other years, teams will draft in reverse order of the previous year's finish for all rounds of the minor league draft.
2.11. The salary of a player drafted in the minor league draft is $5.
3.1. A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, he may be drafted only at the position(s) at which he appeared most frequently.
3.2. Once the season is underway, a player becomes eligible for any position at which he appears at least 5 times.
3.3. The position eligibility of minor leaguers who have no major league experience will be determined by their projected fielding position for the upcoming season. This position must be confirmed by a minimum of 5 owners present at the minor league draft.
3.4. Once the season is underway, a minor league call-up who is signed as a free agent and has no prior major league experience will qualify at (a) the position he played in the minors if he is signed before he actually plays a game or (b) the first position he plays in the field in the major leagues if he is signed before he plays 5 games. After 5 games at one position, the usual position eligibility rules take effect.
4.1. BASIC: The entrance fee is _______.
4.2. All fees must be paid by DRAFT DAY! Unless arrangements have been made, commissioner has right to freeze rosters until fees are up to date.
4.3. All transactions made throughout the season are free.
5.1. The salary of a player does not change unless the player becomes a free agent, or is signed to a long-term contract.
5.2. The salary of a player acquired in the major league auction is his auction price.
5.3. The salary of a player drafted in the minor league draft is $5.
5.4. The salary of a player called up from the free agent pool during the season is $10.
5.5. When a player is claimed off waivers, his salary either becomes $10 or remains the same, whichever is higher. If the player clears waivers (i.e., is not claimed), then he becomes a free agent. If he is subsequently acquired, his salary becomes the same as a free agent, $10.
6.1. All fees shall be paid promptly, collected, and wisely invested by the League Treasurer, who is empowered to subject owners to public humiliation and to assess fines as needed to insure payments are made to the League in a timely fashion.
6.2. The money shall be divided among the first four teams in the final standings as follows:
6.3. The major league season is divided into two 13-week halves.
7.1. The following criteria are used to determine team performance:
7.2. Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the ten categories, and given points for each place. For example, in a fifteen-team league, the first-place team in a category receives fifteen points, the second-place team fourteen, and so on down to one point for last place. The team with the most total points wins the pennant.
7.3. In case of ties in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points by totaling points for the rankings at issue and dividing by the total number of teams tied.
7.4. In case of ties in total points, each team involved in the tie is compared to all other teams involved in the tie in each individual category. One point is given to each team for leading in a category. The team with the most points using this method wins the tiebreaker. If, after this method is used, it is still a tie, the tie stands.
8.1. RotoLeague will be the recommended statistical service chosen and will constitute the official statistics for our league. Any problems with statistics/player moves etc. must be reported to the secretary within 7 days. After that, any changes fall under the discretion of the commissioner.
8.2. The effective date of any transaction for purposes of statistical calculation is the day of the transaction if the transaction occurred before Noon Eastern time. If the transaction occurred on or after Noon Eastern time, it is effective the next day.
8.3. Performance statistics of a player shall be assigned to a Rotisserie League team only when he is on the active roster of that team.
8.4. Standings and Transactions will be tabulated daily on-line and available on the Internet.
8.5. All regular season statistics from Major League Baseball, including any extra games necessary to determine playoff teams, will be included. Statistics from Major League Baseball's playoffs are not included.
9.1. From the completion of the major league auction until the first day of the major league season, rotisserie league teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit and without position requirements.
9.2. From the first day of the major league season until midnight of All-star day, rotisserie league teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit, so long as the active rosters of both teams involved in a trade reflect the required position distribution upon completion of the transaction. This would include subsequent pickups, drops, etc.
9.3. From the Wednesday after the scheduled All-star game through August 31, trades may take place freely between teams within 2 spots either way in the current standings. No other trade may take place (1st place may trade with any of the 2nd 3rd or 4th place teams; Last may trade with the 2nd 3rd or 4th last teams).
9.4. No trade may take place from September 1 until the last day of the regular season.
9.5. Trades made from the last day of the regular season until two weeks before the major league auction are not bound by the position distribution requirement.
9.6. No trade may take place from two weeks before the auction until the auction. Trades are official once both sides have posted the trade online.
9.7. There are no limits to the number of trades a team may make during the season.
9.8. Minor league draft picks and auction money may not be traded at any time.
10.1. Any player may be released at any time by his rotisserie team.
10.2. When a player is released, he is placed on waivers for 7 days. Within those 7 days, the lowest placed team to claim the player acquires the player. The most recent standings shall be used to determine the lowest placed team.
10.3. When a player is claimed off waivers, his salary either becomes $10 or remains the same, whichever is higher.
10.4. After the 7-day waiver period has passed, if the player has not been claimed, he immediately becomes a free agent and is available to all teams.
10.5. The team who waived the player cannot claim the player off waivers. That team must wait until the player clears waivers and becomes a free agent before reacquiring the player.
11.1. Any player who is on an active major league roster, not owned by another rotisserie team, and not currently on the waiver list may be acquired as a free agent. Minor league players, players on the disabled list, and players not on a major league roster are not eligible to be acquired as a free agent.
11.2. No free agents may be acquired between the last day of the previous season and Opening Day of the current season.
11.3. Free agents may be picked up from Opening Day of the season until midnight on the second to last day of the season.
11.4. After a player is released to the free agent pool, he is eligible to be claimed by all teams on a first-come, first-served basis.
11.5. Each team is limited to a combination of 40 free agent and waiver acquisitions per season. In addition, a team cannot acquire more than 25 players in any one half of the season. The major league season is divided into two 13-week halves.
12.1. A team may replace any player on its 23-man roster who has been placed on the Disabled List, sent down to the Minor Leagues, been designated for assignment, or been released by his major league team.
12.2. A reserved player is removed from a team's active roster on the day the transaction was recorded, if it was recorded before Noon Eastern time. If the transaction was recorded on or after Noon, the player is removed from the team’s active roster on the next day. The player is then placed on the team's Reserve List.
12.3. There is no limit to the number of players a team may have on its Reserve List.
12.4. Reserving a player protects a team's rights to that player.
12.5. Once a specific action has been taken to remove a player from its 23-man roster (via release or placing him on the Reserve List), a team is then free to activate a player from reserve, its minor league roster or select any eligible player from waivers or the free agent pool. The salary assigned to a player selected from the free agent pool is $10. When a player is claimed off waivers, his salary either becomes $10 or remains the same, whichever is higher.
12.6. Once a player has been activated from the Disabled List, called up from the minor leagues, or acquired by another major league team, that player must be recalled from the Reserve List within 7 days. For example, if a player is recalled from the DL on Friday May 5, he must be recalled by Friday May 12. If the player is not recalled within this time period, he will be automatically placed on waivers.
12.7. There are no limits to the number of Reserve/Activate moves a team can make in one season.
12.8. A suspended player may not be placed on the reserve list. If a player is suspended by Major League Baseball for seven or more days, he may be waived, but not reserved. If a player is suspended for six or less days, he must remain on the active roster of his rotisserie team.
13.1. Following the major league auction, a four-round minor league draft will take place. In the first year of the league, the order of selection in the first round will be random and will be reversed in subsequent rounds. In all other years, teams will draft in reverse order of the previous year's finish for all four rounds of the minor league draft.
13.2. Only players who qualify as a rookie in the major leagues are eligible for the minor league draft.
13.3. When a player is drafted in the minor league draft, he is placed on the team's minor league roster. This protects a team's rights to that player.
13.4. If a player drafted in the minor league draft is activated by his major league team prior to September 1, the team has 7 days to activate that player. If the player is not activated within this time period, he will be automatically placed on waivers.
13.5 Once a player is activated by his rotisserie team, that player loses his minor league status.
13.6. If a player remains on his team's minor league roster, he is not bound to a contract.
13.7. A minor league player may be retained from one season to the next without his salary counting towards the team’s $260 salary cap.
13.8. Each team has a maximum of four minor league players he may retain from one season to the next. In the minor league draft, a team may only draft enough players to reach the four-man minor league roster limit.
13.9. Once a player is activated, waived or reserved from the minor league roster, he cannot be put back on the minor league roster. The only way a player can return to a minor league roster is if he is drafted in a subsequent season's minor league draft.
XIV. ROSTER PROTECTION AND CONTRACTS
14.1. From season to season, each team must retain between 7 and 12 players, excluding minor league players. There is a limit of 4 minor league players a team may keep from one season to the next.
14.2. The names of the players being retained must be recorded on distributed worksheets with the league secretary by midnight exactly two weeks before the next auction. No trades may take place from the time the worksheets are due until the auction.
14.3. After two seasons (a season is defined as any part of a major league season) of a player being owned by any rotisserie team without having been released to the free agent pool, the player must be signed to a long-term contract, given his option contract, or released. Players who have been in the minor leagues from Opening Day through August 31 are not bound by this restriction. Their service time does not begin until they are called up to the major league roster during the season before September 1.
14.4. If a player is released, he is made available to all teams in the next major league auction.
14.5. If a player is given his option contract, his salary remains the same for one season. After that season is complete, the player must be released and made available for the next major league auction.
14.6. If a player is signed to a long-term contract, his salary will be raised by $5 for each year of the long-term contract. For example, if a player’s salary is $9 and a team wishes to sign him to a three-year contract, his salary is increased by $15 to $24.
14.7. If a player is released before the end of his contract, the team releasing that player will be penalized as follows: The team's salary cap will be decreased by $1 for each year in the total number of years in the contract. For example, if a player is signed to a 4-year contract and is released during his second season, the team waiving the player will have $3 removed from his allotted salary cap in the next season, leaving that team with only $257 instead of the usual $260.
14.8. A player may be signed to only one long-term contract. After the contract has expired, the player must be released and made available for the next major league auction.
14.9. Minor league players are not bound by contract until they are called up to the major leagues prior to September 1. A minor league player may be retained from one season to the next without his salary counting towards the team’s $260 salary cap.
14.10. Trades do not affect the contract status of a player.
15.1. The decision of the Commissioner supersedes the rules herein and is final in any disputes. He also has the power to change a rule with an unforeseen loophole post de facto (After the fact) for the benefit of the league. The overall good of the league as a whole will be greater then the benefit to any sum of its constituents.
15.2. All owners (known as the Committee Of the Whole) designate annually an Executive Committee composed of five team owners in good standing. The current Commissioner (self-appointed for life) is _____________. The Commissioner will be responsible along with ____________ (secretary) to keep the everyday operations of the League running smoothly.
15.3. Rule changes, pronouncements, and acts of whimsy after the inaugural auction are determined by majority vote of the Committee of the Whole.
15.4. The Executive Committee will be established to oversee and overturn any trade deemed detrimental to the competitive balance of the league.
15.5. We recommend using the RotoUmpire service to resolve any league disputes.
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