I. Creating a Team & Roster

1. Draft Day Auction

   1. Nominating and Bidding
      1. Based on a random draw, an order is chosen to "nominate" players to be bid upon.
      2. Nominating team makes opening bid.
      3. Minimum bid per player is $0.10.
      4. Each bid must be divisible by $0.10.
      5. Bidding proceeds in sequence by each franchise until all franchises remove themselves from bidding, leaving one team with the winning bid.
   2. Winning the Bidding on a Nominated Player
      1. A winning bid is equivalent to signing a guaranteed contract with the nominated player.
      2. A won bid gives the winning franchise the opportunity to do one of the following:
         • keep the player to fill a roster requirement
         • trade the player to a competing franchise
         • release the player. (See section I.B.2 Minor League Roster)
      3. At the end of the draft, payment will be collected from the team possessing (or last possessing, in the case of release) each player won in bidding.
      4. Upon winning a bid, a team must immediately decide whether to utilize one or more of its available options for the signing (see 4. Contract Options).
   3. Luxury Tax
      1. All teams are granted a $28 luxury tax abatement upon the start of the draft. Only teams present at the primary draft are granted the abatement.
      2. At the end of the primary draft, one of two situations will exist:
         • Teams who have a roster value less than or equal to the abatement they possess are assessed no luxury tax.
         • Teams who have a roster value exceeding the abatement they possess are assessed a tax (beyond the roster value) of 5 times the amount exceeding the abatement.
         • Note: Released players are considered part of a team's roster for Luxury Tax considerations.
      3. Luxury Tax collected will be distributed at the end of the Major League Baseball regular season as described in section V.D. Revenue Sharing.
   4. Contract Options
      1. Each team is granted the opportunity to utilize 4 contract options each Draft Day.
      2. Each contract option costs $0.50. The cost of the options purchased apply to the current season's roster value and, thus, the Luxury Tax. The cost of the contract options do not apply to subsequent season(s) roster value; only the cost of the player would apply in the subsequent season(s).
      3. A contract option allows the player to be retained as one of a team's Franchise Players in the subsequent season(s) for the bidding value of the current season, allowing the team keeping said player to bypass the Collective Bargaining system for the player. Conversely, a player signed with contract options is not eligible for Collective Bargaining in the subsequent season(s). A player is also not eligible for Collective Bargaining in the season after the contract option(s) expires. In effect, once the options expire, the player is a free agent.
      4. A team may utilize contract options in any combination on 1 to 4 players or not at all. A single player can be signed with up to 4 contract options. Each contract option applies to one subsequent season. (for example, a player signed with 4 options would cost the same to keep as a Franchise Player for the next 4 seasons.)
      5. Contract options are attached to the player and are transferred with the player if the player is traded.
      6. If a player with contract options is not retained as a Franchise Player, the options expire and the player becomes a free agent.
         • Note: Contract options are not trading commodities.

2. Roster Requirements

   1. Major League Roster. Each team must fill the following positions in the quantity prescribed:
      1. Starting Lineup:
         • Catchers (C) - 1 player
         • First Basemen (1B) - 1 player
         • Second Basemen (2B) - 1 player
         • Third Basemen (3B) - 1 player
         • Short Stops (SS) - 1 player
         • Outfielders (OF) - 3 players
      2. Bench - 6 players meeting the following requirements:
      • At least one player has position eligibility (see item G. Position Eligibility) at:
        • Catcher (C)
        • First Base (1B)
        • Second Base (2B)
        • Third Base (3B)
        • Short Stop (SS)
        • Outfield (OF)
      • No single player is used to meet more than two (2) of the specified bench position requirements.
      • Each player has position eligibility for at least one of the above listed positions or is a Designated Hitter.
      • A player with only Designated Hitter eligibility does not meet any of the specified bench position requirements; another bench player would need to fulfill multiple position requirements.
      3. Pitching Staff - 11 players that have 25 at bats or fewer OR at least 1 pitching appearance in the current season.
      • Note that pitcher eligibility is determined by the upcoming (or current) season, not by past performance.
      • At the beginning of the season, any player may be listed as a pitcher. However, over the course of the season, many players (for example, those who play other positions and do not pitch) will lose the ability to be used as a pitcher on a team's roster.
      • It is the responsibility of each team to insure that they have a complete roster, which may include having additional pitchers in their Minor Leagues (see below). It may also be considered prudent to draft players to meet the Pitching Staff requirements who are likely to actually pitch.
      • Penalty - since there is some variability in pitcher eligibility, a team that either must or that chooses to keep a non pitcher in a pitching roster position will be assessed a substantial scoring penalty (see IV.E. Scoring Penalties).
      4. Flex - Any player, pitcher or batter
   2. Minor League Roster
      1. Draft Day Requirements. Each team must fill the following positions on Draft Day.
         • Infielder (Catcher, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Short Stop)
         • Outfielder or Designated Hitter
         • Utility (any Infielder or Outfielder or Designated Hitter)
         • Pitchers - 3 players
      2. After draft day, there are no position requirements for a team's minor league batters. Minor league pitchers have the same requirements as defined in section I.B.1.c Pitching Staff.
         • Note: A player who does not meet the definition of a pitcher may not be "stored" in a team's minor league pitching roster.
      3. Minor league statistics are not counted towards team totals.
      4. Player Limits:
         1. Until all teams' initial rosters are selected: 6 minor league players
         2. From initial roster selection to subsequent season's draft: 7 minor league batters and 7 minor league pitchers
      5. In order to stay within minor league player limits, a team may release a player. The released player is considered available at the next drafting session (Draft or July Draft).
   3. Pitching Staff Requirements
      1. A team's eleven person Pitching Staff must contain 5 starting pitchers and 5 relief pitchers. The remaining pitcher may be either a starting or relief pitcher.
      2. Definitions:
         • Starting Pitcher is defined as any player with pitching statistics who has appeared as a starting pitcher in at least half of his appearances.
         • Relief Pitcher is defined as any player with pitching statistics who has appeared in relief in at least half of his appearances.
         • A pitcher who has appeared in an equal number of games as a starting pitcher and as a relief pitcher is permitted to fill either role.
      3. Penalty - a team that does not meet these pitching staff requirements is assessed a scoring penalty. (see IV.E. Scoring Penalties)
   4. It is a fundamental tenent of this league that each team must possess a player to fill each of the roster requirements for their Starting Lineup, Bench, Pitching Staff, and Flex. If a team is unable to meet these roster requirements due a trade or other transaction, such transactions will be undone until the roster requirements are again able to be met.

3. Source of Players/Statistics

   • Each team may acquire professional baseball players from any professional league. However, only statistics achieved in the regular season of the National League of Major League Baseball will be valid for scoring and data purposes.

4. League Fees

   • League fees are collected in the form of payment equivalent to the value players won in bidding as described in I.A.2.c.

5. Franchise Players

   1. In subsequent years, a team is permitted to retain up to 7 players from:
      1. Players on their previous year roster whose ownership rights are not currently held by another team via Offseason Draft selection.
      2. Players selected in the Offseason Draft (see section VII. Offseason Draft) from other teams.
   2. Collective Bargaining - Each franchise player is assigned new value based on the following criteria, dependent on Previous Season Value (PSV). Standard rounding rules apply:
      1. PSV $0.10 - $0.20: $0.50
      2. PSV $0.30 - $0.40: 2x PSV
      3. PSV $0.50 - $0.90: $1.00
      4. PSV $1.00 - $2.00: 1.5x PSV
      5. PSV >$2.00: greater of $3.00 or 1.25x PSV
   3. See I.H. Franchise Continuation.
   4. Franchise players must be announced and chosen using the finishing order in the previous season (1st place to last place).
   5. Once a team has specified their franchise players, the team no longer hold the ownership rights to any players it selected in the Offseason Draft. The teams who owned those players in the previous season may choose to retain them as their own franchise players, if they have not yet specified their franchise players.
   6. Minor League Franchise Player
      1. A team may designate a Franchise Player, who has not played in either the National League or American League of Major League Baseball as of the end of the previous regular season, as a "Minor League Franchise Player".
      2. The team must pay the Minor League Franchise Player the value determined by the Collective Bargaining formula (see rule I.E.2. Collective Bargaining), the same as any other Franchise Player. However, the player's value for the new season will remain the same as the previous season.
      3. The Minor League Franchise Player designation may only be applied to a player eligible for Collective Bargaining.
      4. The Minor League Franchise Player designation may only be applied to a player one time in the player's career.
      5. A team may apply the Minor League Franchise Player designation to at most one player in a season.

6. Absentee Team

   1. A team may be created by an owner who was unable to attend the draft using the undrafted remaining players.
      1. Limited Roster: Absentee Teams are required to fill all of the original roster requirements as specified in section 1.B. Roster Requirements.
      2. Player Values: All Absentee drafts are assigned the value of $0.20.
   2. Absentee draft picks are not trading commodities. Though highly unlikely, an Absentee Team's roster value may not exceed an overall amount that would subject the team to Luxury Tax (see section I.A.3. Luxury Tax). An Absentee Team is permitted to purchase Contract Options (see section 1.A.4. Contract Options). Such a team is not eligible for "Thrifty Draft Bonus."
   3. Potential owner should communicate desire to create an Absentee Team prior to Draft Day, if possible.
   4. Absentee Teams should be selected by the end of the first week of the regular season.
   5. Returning franchises may select franchise players as defined in 1E. The remainder of the team is then selected using absentee rules. Note that, based on the timing of an Absentee Team selecting franchise players, such a team may not be able to designate players taken in the Offseason Draft (see rule VIII. Offseason Draft) as franchise players.

7. Position Eligibility

   1. A position player is eligible at any position in which he played at least 15 games in the previous season (American or National League regular season).
   2. A position player is eligible at any position in which he plays at least 10 games in the current season (American or National League regular season).
   3. If a position player has Major League experience prior to the current season but did not play 15 games at any one position in the previous season or 10 games at any one position in the current season, that player is eligible at the position he played the most during the previous season (American or National League regular season), as long as the player did not pitch in 2 or more games in the previous season (as such player would be deemed a pitcher for eligibility considerations). If the position player did not play any regular season Major League games in the previous season, the player is eligible at the positions in which he played at least 15 games in the minor leagues during the previous season or at least 10 games in the current season. However, if the player also did not play in the minor leagues during the previous or current season, the player is eligible at the position he played the most in the Major Leagues during the last season in which he played a game.
   4. A position player with no regular season Major League experience is eligible at the positions in which he played at least 15 games in the minor leagues during the previous season or at least 10 games in the current season. Meeting neither of these criteria for the current or previous season, the player is eligible at the position in which he played the most games in the minors the previous season. If the player did not play in the minor leagues during the previous season, the player is eligible at the position he played the most during the last minor league season in which he played. If the player has no minor league experience, the player is eligible at the primary position that player is expected to play (league consensus on this position must be determined before the player is drafted).
   5. Any player may be listed as a pitcher, as long as they meet the requirements specified under I.B.Roster Requirements. However, if the player does not have pitching statistics, that position is considered empty with regards to the Minimum Player Rules (see IV.B. Types of Categories).
   6. Once a position player is deemed eligible at a position, that player maintains eligibility at that position for the remainder of the current season.
   7. A position player may not be granted position eligibility for more than 2 positions based on minor league games played. For such a player with more than 2 eligible positions based on minor league games, the drafting team chooses the 2 positions for which the player will be eligible for the current season.
   8. "Minor League" teams are defined as teams commonly acknowledged as affiliated with Major League franchises.
   9. A position player is a player who participates in a defensive position in the field of play. This league uses the positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF. Games played where a player does not play in the field (such as designated hitter or pinch hitter) are not considered when determining position player Position Eligibility.
   10. Designated Hitter (DH) - a player who played at least 15 games as a DH and did NOT play at least 15 games at one of the fielding positions in the previous season (American or National League regular season) will be assigned the position of DH. Lacking fielding position eligibility, a DH cannot be used in the Starting Lineup and has stipulations for use on the Bench (defined in B. Roster Requirements). As any other player, a DH can gain additional position eligibility by playing games at one (or more) of the fielding positions during the current season (see G.2). The DH position will be removed from the player if a standard position is added.

8. Franchise Continuation

   1. Each franchise from a season is available for purchase (via league fees) in the subsequent season. The right to purchase/ownership is given to the owner in the previous season.
   2. Each player may only own one franchise.
   3. An existing franchise that is not purchased by an owner from the previous season may be purchased by another player.
      1. Option to purchase will be given to lowest finishing team in previous season. If that owner declines, the option proceeds to the next lowest finishing team. The final option (if all teams decline) is given to a player who did not participate the previous season.
      2. A player who participated in any trades with the available franchise after the end of the previous season is not eligible to purchase the available franchise.
      3. Any disputes will be handled via the established dispute process.

II. July Draft: Enhancing the Rosters

1. Selection Style Draft

   1. Each team is allocated 4 selections of any player meeting criteria specified in I.C. Source of Players/Statistics, unless "Unofficial" July Draft rules are in effect.
   2. In each round of the draft, a lottery will be held. The lottery procedure is:
      1. The teams who score the two highest Monthly Standings Bonus points totals (see IV. Scoring C. Bonus Points) as of the July Draft are not included in the lottery. All other teams are given one chance.
         • Note: If multiple teams tie for the "two highest Monthly Standings Bonus points totals", all such teams will not be included in the lottery.
      2. From the pool of chances, a chance is drawn at random. The team who owns the drawn chance is granted the first pick in the round. From the remaining pool of chances, a chance is drawn at random. The team who owns the drawn chance is granted the second pick in the round. This process continues until all chances in the round are granted.
      3. The teams who do receive the two highest Monthly Standings Bonus points totals as of the July Draft will have the final picks in each round, ordered by their point total rank. Of these teams, the team with the fewest Monthly Standings Bonus points will receive the earliest pick. The team with the next fewest points will receive the next pick. This process of determining picks continues until the team with the most Monthly Standings Bonus points will receive the last pick. If two teams have earned the same number of Monthly Standings Bonus points, the team with the highest rank as of the last month prior to the draft is deemed the higher ranking team.

2. Date

   1. The date of the July Draft will be determined by the teams in the Troyan Fantasy Baseball League, within a 10 day range before or after the Major League All-Star Break.
   2. If 100% participation is not possible, a majority of the league must be present for an official July Draft. Teams that are unable to attend should submit a list of desired drafts, which will be drafted in good faith by the physical participants.
   3. If an official July Draft is not possible, the league coordinator will conduct an "unofficial" July Draft.

3. "Unofficial" July Draft

   1. Each team is contacted in the order of their team rank, based on scoring, starting with the last place team.
   2. Upon being contacted, that team chooses 1 player.
   3. Draft proceeds for two rounds until completed. Note: this may be fewer rounds than in a normal July Draft, as defined in these rules.

4. Player Value

   1. First round draft picks are valued at $0.50.
   2. Second round draft picks are valued at $0.40.
   3. Third round draft picks are valued at $0.30.
   4. Fourth round draft picks are valued at $0.20.
   5. If an "unofficial" July Draft is held, all players picked are assigned a value of $0.50.

5. Trading

   • July draft selections may be traded to other teams. Trades of this nature must be posted on the league web site. (See Section III. Trading)

III. Trading

1. Definition

   1. Players/Commodities may be traded to other teams under mutually agreed upon terms.
   2. There is no limitation to the quantity of trading; trading is an integral part of this league.
   3. Players/Commodities may be traded for any of the legitimate "Trading Commodities."

2. Trading Commodities

   1. Players
   2. July Draft draft picks (current year only)

3. Trading Valuation

   1. Per rule IV.A. Players as Commodities: "The possession of a player is equivalent to the possession of the player's statistics." Thus, a traded player takes all of his statistics to a new team. This differs from other leagues (including Major League Baseball), where a new team only gains the statistics a player generates AFTER the transaction. In order to address this difference and account for the commodity nature of the league's scoring, for trading purposes, players will be valued by combining 2 measures:
      1. Auction Value - the amount bid on Draft Day or the value of the July Draft Pick in the current season. This is a valuation given by the members of the league.
      2. Production Ratio - the ratio of a player's playing time in comparison to an "Ideal" Draftee. This is a valuation earned by playing time. This valuation will not consider the quality of the playing time (i.e. high batting average, low earned run average, etc.).
   2. Production Ratio
      1. "Ideal" Draftee - since competition in this fantasy baseball league is based on accumulating a variety of statistics, an "Ideal" Draftee is a National League player who participates enough to accumulate a substantial amount of various statistics. Arbitrarily, the following ideals are defined for 3 types of players, of which each player will be assigned:
         • Batter - an "ideal" batter is one who obtains 600 plate appearances in the National League. Plate appearances are defined as the total of at bats, bases on balls, hit by pitch, and sacrifice flies (denominator in on-base percentage calculation).
         • Starting Pitcher - an "ideal" starting pitcher is one who obtains 200 innings pitched in the National League. (See rule I.B.2. Pitching Staff Requirements for definition of starting pitcher)
         • Relief Pitcher - an "ideal" relief pitcher is one who obtains 75 innings pitched in the National League. (See rule I.B.2. Pitching Staff Requirements for definition of relief pitcher)
      2. Calculation of Production Ratio
         • The production ratio is equal to the greater of: the division of a player's relevant statistic divided by the "ideal" player of that type OR 10% (0.10).
         • Calculation by type of player:
           • Batter - greater of: (batter's plate appearances) / 600 OR 0.10 (10%)
           • Starting Pitcher - greater of: (pitcher's innings pitched) / 200 OR 0.10 (10%)
           • Relief Pitcher - greater of: (pitcher's innings pitched) / 75 OR 0.10 (10%)
         • Depending on the availability of statistics, each of the above calculations that could apply to a player is computed. The largest production ratio is selected.
   3. Player Trade Value
      1. Trade Value is the greater of:
         • Auction Value x Production Ratio
         • $0.10
      2. The Trade Value is the valuation of each player for all trading transactions. The Trade Value does not pertain to other considerations of player value (i.e. Franchise Players, etc.).
      3. The Trade Value is used in determining "Fair Exchange".
      4. Trade Value is rounded to the nearest cent $0.01.
         • Note: Players gain value for trading purposes as the season progresses and they accumulate more plate appearances or innings pitched. Early in the season, ALL players will have their least value.
   4. July Draft Trade Value - the July Draft occurs at roughly mid season. Thus, for trading valuation, a Production Ratio of 0.50 (50%) will be used to calculate value of July Draft picks. For example, a July Draft pick valued at $0.50 would have a Trade Value of $0.25.

4. Trading Limitations

   1. Through the end of the July Draft, all trading of Trading Commodities are held to a "Fair Exchange" requirement.
      • "Fair Exchange" is achieved if the difference in value between the Trading Commodities of each team involved in a trade proposal is within $0.25.
   2. Restricted trading (by use of the Waiver system described in part E. Waivers) may occur after the July Draft and through the final Saturday in September. All players who are part of a restricted trade must be put on the Major League roster (not placed in the minors or released) for the remainder of the season.
   3. No trading may occur between teams after the Restricted trading deadline until franchise player lists are submitted and finalized for all teams involved in trading (this is expected to occur on the next season's draft day). This absolute trading deadline is intended to prevent the trading of players that a team has no intention of keeping and to alleviate the possibility of "unfair" offseason trades.
   4. Winter Meeting Exception - If a formal Winter Meeting is agreed upon and a majority of the previous season's franchises attend; for the duration of the Winter Meeting, trading may occur where "fair exchange" requirements are met. "Fair Exchange" is achieved if the difference in value between the trading commodities of the participants is within $0.50.

5. Disputes

   1. Any team may dispute a trade on the basis of "collusion"; no teams should work together for the benefit of one team under some organized/planned purpose. Process:
      1. File dispute with league coordinator.
      2. Coordinator randomly chooses 2-3 uninvolved teams to render a decision.
         • This decision should be based on "maintaining a competitive league."
         • A trade is fair if the random teams can see equity in the trade.
         • "Involved teams" will be defined as the team(s) directly involved in the trade and the team disputing the trade.
         • If 2 teams are chosen, decision must be unanimous to overturn trade. If 3 teams are chosen, a majority of these teams must favor overturning the trade.
         • Selected teams are requested to provide an explanation of the decision that gives the basic reason for decision. Responses may be referenced in future judgements to develop a history or consistency to rulings.
      3. Right of Appeal - If trade overturned, teams involved in trade may appeal to entire league to overturn "committee" ruling. 75% or more of all teams must agree to overturn "committee" ruling.
   2. "Adamsky" Scenario (aka "the Lenny Dykstra and Andy Van Slyke for Barry Bonds affair"): Any team participating in a trade that does not believe the final transaction went as organized may approach the coordinator to request a nullification. Upon presenting the argument for and against such a nullification, the ENTIRE league is polled by the coordinator. The decision of the majority will be carried out.

6. Waivers (Restricted Trading)

   1. Placing a Player on Waivers
      1. Any team may place a single member of their roster on the waivers wire by posting the player's name in a predetermined location accessible to all members of the league.
      2. The player will remain on the waivers wire until 7 full days have passed.
   2. Bidding on a Player who has been Placed on Waivers
      1. Any team may choose to offer a bid of eligible trading commodities, meeting a "fair exchange" requirement.
      2. "Fair Exchange" is achieved if the difference in value between the player on waivers and the offered trading commodities of the participants is within $0.50.
      3. Eligible Trading Commodities for waivers are:
         • Waivers Eligible Players
         • Players who pass through waivers in the current season unclaimed. (Please note: players who are claimed off of waivers do not become "Waivers Eligible Players.")
         • Players who were selected in the current season's July Draft.
         • Franchise players
         • The first 5 players obtained on draft day by a team owned by a franchise that did not participate in the previous season.
      4. A team who has bid on a player may withdraw that bid before the waivers period ends.
   3. After the waivers period has ended, one of the following results occur:
      1. If one or more valid offers were made for the player (in the public forum), an offer is randomly chosen and identified as the Offer for Consideration. The team who placed the player on the waiver wire must either:
         • Within 3 days, accept the Offer for Consideration, completing a restricted trade. (Note the Major League roster requirement for players exchanged in a restricted trade.)
         • Reject the Offer for Consideration and withdraw the waiver placement. The player does NOT become a Waivers Eligible Player. If a team does not accept or reject in the 3 day period, the team rejects the Offer for Consideration by default.
      2. If no valid offers were made for the player (in the public forum), the player has cleared waivers and is a Waivers Eligible Player.
      3. Offer for Consideration - the selection of an offer will utilize an appropriately random process as determined by the league coordinator.
   4. Arbitrator - In order to facilitate orderly tracking of waivers transactions, Waivers Eligible Players, and the waivers time period; an individual may be designated as the league arbitrator. This person is responsible for working with the commissioner to insure that all trades and waivers designations are completed properly and reported accurately.

IV. Scoring

1. Players as Commodities - Players are viewed as owning statistics. The possession of a player is equivalent to the possession of that player's statistics.

2. Types of Categories:

   1. Regular Categories
      1. The team with the most of a regular category is awarded (# of teams in league minus 2) points; second place is awarded (# of teams in league minus 3) points; third place is awarded (# of teams in league minus 4) points; and so on. The team losing a regular category has one point deducted from their total.
      2. Regular Categories are: R, H (batting), 23B, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, ERA, SV, SO, WHIP, Holds
      3. Save Rule: a team is not awarded more saves (SV) than wins (W), even if the player statistics result in such a situation.
      4. 23B = 2 x Doubles (2B) + 3 x Triples (3B) + Bases on Balls (BB)
      5. WHIP = (Walks (BB) + Hits (H)) / Innings Pitched (IP)
      6. Minimum Player Rule: a team automatically places last in AVG if more than one batting position possesses no statistics. A team automatically places last in ERA and WHIP if more than one pitching position possesses no statistics.
   2. Bonus Categories
      1. The team with the most of a Bonus Category is awarded 4 points; second place is awarded 2 points; third place is awarded 1 point.
      2. Bonus Categories are: AB, IP
   3. Negative Category
      1. The team(s) with the most of a Negative Category is awarded (2 minus # of teams in league) points; second place is awarded (3 minus # of teams in league) points; third place is awarded (4 minus # of teams in league) points; and so on. The team with the fewest of a Negative Category is awarded 1 point.
      2. Negative Categories are: D'oh! - Batting (DohB), D'oh! - Pitching (DohP)
      3. DohB = Errors (E) + Grounded Into Double Play (GIDP) + 0.5 x Caught Stealing (CS) + 0.5 x Passed Balls (PB)
      4. DohP = Losses (L) + Blown Saves (BS) + 0.5 x Batters Hit by Pitch (HBP) + 0.5 x Balks (BK) + 0.5 x Wild Pitches (WP)
      5. Minimum Player Rule: a team scores as if it possesses the most DohB if more than one batting position possesses no statistics. A team scores as if possesses the most DohP if more than one pitching position possesses no statistics.

3. Bonus Points

   1. Thrifty Draft Bonus: the team that spends the least money on draft day is eligible for a 1 point bonus at the end of the season IF that team wins 3 categories (Regular or Bonus)
   2. Monthly Standings Bonus: overall league standings will be determined at the end of each of the following months: April, May, June, July, and August. The team in first place (based on points and tie breakers) each of these months will be awarded 1 point at the end of the season. The team in second place each of these months will be awarded 0.5 points at the end of the season. The team in third place each of these months will be awarded 0.3 points at the end of the season. The team in fourth place each of these months will be awarded 0.2 points at the end of the season. The team in fifth place each of these months will be awarded 0.1 points at the end of the season. If stats are unable to be collected due to timing or other issues, the monthly standings will be determined as soon as possible after the last day of the month.
   3. All Star Bonus: the team with the most players selected to be part of the National League All-Star team, as of the end of the July Draft, is awarded one point at the end of the season.
   • Note: All-Stars drafted at the July Draft or acquired during the July Draft will be counted towards a team's total number of All-Stars.
   4. Individual Achievement Bonuses:
      1. Top Batter Awards - based on a uniform rating system, the teams possessing the owned players with the highest rating value at each fielding position as of the end of the regular season is awarded 0.5 points to be added to the teams' final overall scores. The positions to be considered are: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, and OF/DH (the top 3 outfielders or the top 2 outfielders and top DH, if a DH has a higher rating than one of the top 3 outfielders). Each position for which a player is eligible will be considered in the selection process; however, a player will only be considered once for all Top Batter awards (ie. a player can only win one Top Batter award). If a player is eligible at multiple positions for which he could be awarded a Top Batter Award, he will receive the award for the position at which he played the most games. A player must have 400 at bats in the National League to be considered for a Top Batter Award. The uniform batter rating system is defined as:
      • Modified Slugging Percentage + On-Base Percentage - D'oh! Factor
      • Modified Slugging Percentage = [1B + (2B * 2) + (3B *3) + (HR *4) + SB] / AB
      • On-Base Percentage = (H + BB + HBP) / (AB + BB + HBP + SF)
      • D'oh! Factor = DohB / 200
      2. Top Starting Pitcher Awards - based on a uniform rating system, the team possessing the owned starting pitcher (see. I.B.2 Pitching Staff Requirements for definition) with the highest rating value is awarded 0.7 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team team possessing the owned starting pitcher with the 2nd highest rating value is awarded 0.5 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team possessing the owned starting pitcher with the 3rd highest rating value is awarded 0.3 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team possessing the owned starting pitcher with the 4th highest rating value is awarded 0.2 points to be added to the team's final overall score. A pitcher is eligible for a Top Starting Pitcher Award if that player pitches at least 100 innings in the National League. The uniform starting pitcher rating is defined as:
         • Quality Starts + 20/(ERA + 1) + 20/(WHIP + 1)
      3. Top Relief Pitcher Awards - based on a uniform rating system, the team possessing the owned relief pitcher (see. I.B.2 Pitching Staff Requirements for definition) with the highest rating value is awarded 0.7 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team possessing the owned relief pitcher with the 2nd highest rating value is awarded 0.5 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team possessing the owned relief pitcher with the 3rd highest rating value is awarded 0.3 points to be added to the team's final overall score. The team possessing the owned relief pitcher with the 4th highest rating value is awarded 0.2 points to be added to the team's final overall score. A pitcher is eligible for a Top Relief Pitcher Award if that player has at least 30 appearances as a relief pitcher in the National League. The uniform relief pitcher rating is defined as:
         • 0.01 * (Relief Appearances) + 20/(ERA + 1) + 20/(WHIP + 1) - Blown Saves
         • Relief Appearances = Games (G) - Games Started (GS)

4. Ties

   1. A tie in any category is tied at the "highest level," resulting in each team that is tied receiving points allocated to the highest position.
   2. Ties result in the positions after being rolled into the higher position.
      • For example: if 3 teams tie for first place, 2nd and 3rd place are rolled into 1st place. The next team would be awarded 4th place.

5. Scoring Penalties

   1. Pitching Staff Requirements: Any team that does not meet the pitching staff position requirements as defined in section I.B.3 Pitching Staff Requirements will be assessed an overall scoring reduction of 10 points.
   2. Luxury Tax Penalty: The amount exceeding the Luxury Tax Abatement for each team will be divided by $1.00. The whole number quotient of this calculation will be assessed as a scoring reduction. This penalty is applied to a team immediately at the beginning of the season.
      • For example: if a team exceeds the luxury tax abatement by $2.20, that team would receive a Luxury Tax Penalty of 2 points ($2.20 / 1.00 = 2.2 = quotient of 2 + remainder of 0.2).
   3. Non Pitcher Penalty: Any team that utilizes a player not eligible as a pitcher on their Pitching Staff as defined in section I.B.1 Roster Requirements will be assessed an overall scoring reduction of 25 points.

V. Winning

1. Determine Winner - The team that scores the most points after combining all categories wins the league. Ranking proceeds downward from that point.
2. Tiebreaker - The team with most first place categories (regular and bonus) wins. If still tied, team with most second place categories (regular and bonus). Proceeds until winner determined.
3. Prize money breakdown:
   1. First Place: 70% of League Fees collected
   2. Second Place: 20% of League Fees collected
   3. Third Place: 10% of League Fees collected
   • Note: League Fees collected reflects the amount collected for team roster minus money set aside for the Derby subcontest.
4. Revenue Sharing - Luxury Tax collected on Draft Day is distributed to those teams that were not assessed Luxury Tax (Eligible Teams) in one of the following manners, depending on the total amount of Luxury Tax collected. Ranking is based on a team's final point total; the Tiebreaker rule is applied where necessary.
   1. Luxury Tax collected is less than or equal to $5.00
      1. 100% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the highest ranking Eligible Team
   2. Luxury Tax collected is greater than $5.00 and less than or equal to $15.00
      1. 60% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the highest ranking Eligible Team
      2. 40% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the second highest ranking Eligible Team
      • Exception: If only 1 Eligible Team exists, 100% of Luxury Tax collected is given to that team.
   3. Luxury Tax collected is greater than $15.00
      1. 50% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the highest ranking Eligible Team
      2. 30% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the second highest ranking Eligible Team
      3. 20% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the third highest ranking Eligible Team
      • Exception: If there are fewer than 3 Eligible Teams, the distribution is changed based on the number of Eligible Teams. If only 1 Eligible Team exists, 100% of Luxury Tax collected is given to that team. If 2 Eligible Teams exist, 60% of Luxury Tax collected is given to the higher ranking team and 40% is given to the lower ranking team.
   4. No Eligible Team Scenario. If all teams were assessed Luxury Tax on Draft Day, the Luxury Tax collected is added to the prize money and distributed as described in section V.C. Prize money breakdown.

VI. Winter Meeting

1. Scheduling - Participating teams may wish to schedule a winter meeting date to discuss rules, future direction of the league, and trades. In order to formalize such a Winter Meeting, a meeting time should be selected and agreed upon by a majority of the league at least 30 days in advance.
2. Trading - If a "formal" Winter Meeting occurs, the Winter Meeting Exception to the Trade Deadline (see "Trading Limitations" under III. Trading) is applied.

VII. Changing League Rules

1. Types of Rule Changes:

   1. Financial Rule Change - a change related to the payment of league fees or other real monetary assessments.
   2. General Rule Change - changes to league rules that do not have a direct impact on the collection of league fees or other real monetary assessments. Rules changes related to drafting, scoring, trading, etc would fall under this category.

2. Proposals

   1. Rule changes may be proposed by any franchise who participated in the league during the last full season and who has an understood intent to participate in the next season (in which rules will be implemented). Any team who meets this participation requirement is said to have "voting stakes" in the Troyan Fantasy Baseball League.
   2. Proposals must be submitted and reviewable to all franchises who have "voting stakes" for review via accepted communication method (email, message board, league web site, face-to-face meeting).
   3. Proposal must explicitly define how an existing rule should be modified or how a new rule should be worded. Rule changes should attempt to reference the specific section of the rules that are being addressed.
   4. Proposal may be debated and modified until a final version is agreed upon.

3. Approval Process

   1. Rule Change Proposals will be put to a vote by the franchises with "voting stakes." The voting period must be a minimum of 2 weeks.
   2. The franchises cast one of the following votes:
      1. Yes - Rule Change Proposal is acceptable
      2. No - Rule Change Proposal is not acceptable
      3. Defer to Commissioner - franchise elects to vote in line with the League Commissioner.
      4. Defer to Remaining Majority (Abstain) - franchise elects to not cast a vote.
   3. Approving/Rejecting Rule Change Proposals
      1. Financial Rule Change is approved if more than 75% of franchises that cast votes (including "Defer to Commissioner" votes) choose "Yes".
      2. General Rule Change is approved if more than 50% of franchises that cast votes (including "Defer to Commissioner" votes) choose "Yes".
   4. Proposals that are rejected may be resubmitted for league approval.
   5. Rapid Rule Change Approval - rules may be implemented without 2 week voting period if proposal is made and approved in a live setting (draft, meeting, etc).

4. Implementation

   1. Change Period - League Rules may only officially be changed in the period following the completion of a baseball season and prior to the start of the following season. More specifically: from the end of the National League regular season to opening day the following season.
   2. Finalization - League Rules (including all modifications and additions) are agreed upon and finalized prior to drafting teams on Draft Day.

5. Limited Right to Veto

   1. League Coordinator has a limited right to alter (or block, in extreme cases) rule changes that:
      1. Create an unnecessary or excessive burden in the maintenance of the league (statistical compilation, website maintenance, etc).
      2. Threaten to destroy the basic "nature of the league." "Nature of the league" may be subjectively based on League Commissioner's values or may be tied to a league approved mission statement.
   2. League Coordinator may not alter (or block) existing, finalized rules.

VIII. Offseason Draft

1. Description

   • The Offseason Draft is a draft to enhance the pool of players from which a team may select their Franchise Players (see section I.E. Franchise Players) in the subsequent season. The players selected in the Offseason Draft come from the "unprotected" rosters of the other teams in the Troyan Fantasy Baseball League. The players selected in the Offseason Draft are not added to the selecting team's roster. Players selected in the Offseason Draft are not required to be kept as Franchise Players in the subsequent season; they are simply available to be kept as a Franchise Player to the team selecting them.

2. Draft Preparation

   1. Following the completion of the Major League Baseball regular season, all teams will be able to designate 10 players as "protected." The players specified will not be included in the pool of available players for the Offseason Draft. The choice of "protected" players may be modified up to the commencement of the Offseason Draft.
   2. The Offseason Draft begins on December 1st.

3. Selection Style Draft

   1. Each team is allocated 2 selections of any player not specified as "protected" from any other team in the league. A player drafted by another team in the Offseason Draft is considered "protected."
   2. Each team selects one player at a time for two rounds.
   3. Draft order in each round is determined by a team's rank in the preceding season, in terms of scoring. The team finishing 4th (or first team not collecting prize money) selects first. The team finishing 5th selects second. This proceeds until the last place team selects. Then, the 3rd place team selects, followed by the 2nd place team, followed by the 1st place team.
   4. Each draft must occur within 3 days. A team that does not make their draft selection within the 3 day period will forfeit that Offseason draft pick.

4. Ownership Rights

   1. The ownership rights to a player selected in the Offseason Draft are owned by the team who selects them.
   2. The ownership rights to a player selected in the Offseason Draft are renounced on draft day if the player is not retained as a Franchise Player by the team who selected the player.

IX. Derby

1. Description

   • The Derby is a subcontest meant to provide all teams a secondary opportunity to compete for prize money. Each team may choose to participate or not; the Derby is an "opt in" competition. Each team will select a subset of players (batters and pitchers) who will accumulate points for various statistics they accumulate. The teams with the most accumulated points will be designated the winners of the Derby. The Derby period is from beginning of the season to the end of the season, at which time the Derby champion will be determined.

2. Participation

   1. Each team may choose whether they wish to participate in the Derby. Such determination will be made at the time their draft sheet is submitted.
   2. Any team whose roster value at the end of the Draft is greater than or equal to $25 may "opt in" to the Derby with no additional expense. Any team whose roster value is less than $25 may also "opt in" to the Derby, but will be required to contribute an additional $2.50 which will be put toward the Derby Prize Money.
   • Note: the additional contribution for the Derby Prize Money does not count toward a team's roster value.
   3. At least 3 teams must participate in order for the Derby subcontest to be held. If fewer than 3 teams opt in, the Derby will not be held in the current season.

3. Roster

   1. Derby roster consists of:
      1. 4 Batters - a player is considered a batter if they have documented batting statistics (accumulated as a position player) in the previous or current season.
      • Note: the league does not currently track batting statistics for pitchers, so pitchers can not be used as batters in the Derby.
      2. 3 Pitchers - a player is considered a pitcher if they only possess pitching statistics (no batting statistics accumulated as a position player) in the previous or current season. Additionally, if a player possess both batting and pitching statistics in the previous or current season (as reported by the league), the player may be designated a pitcher if they pitched a minimum of 10 innings in either season.
   2. The initial Derby roster for each team must be determined at the time their draft sheet is submitted. Players selected for the Derby roster will be designated as "Derby" players.
   3. Each team may make one change to a single position on their Derby roster in each of the months of: April, May, June, July, and August. The team may remove the "Derby" designation from one of their Derby roster and add "Derby" designation to a different player on their team. The change must be made by the end of the last day of each month. Monthly changes do not roll over; if a change is not made in a given month, a team may not make additional changes in a later month.
   4. A player loses their Derby designation if they are traded between teams in the fantasy baseball league. The traded player will result in a Derby Roster for the trading team of fewer than 7 players. The team would be required to use one of their monthly changes to fill the empty Derby Roster position.
   5. Players on the Derby roster are not required to be on the Major League 25 man roster of a given team.

4. Scoring

   1. Players as Commodities - In the same manner used for Scoring in the overall league, players are viewed as owning statistics. The possession of a player is equivalent to the possession of that player's statistics.
   2. Only statistics earned as a member of a National League team in Major League Baseball will be used in accumulating Derby points.
   3. The following statistics and point allocations will be used to develop a point total for each player and Derby team:
      1. Batting
         • Singles: one point earned for each single
         • Doubles * 2: two points earned for each double
         • Triple * 3: three points earned for each triple
         • Home Runs * 4: four points earned for each home run
         • Stolen Bases: one point earned for each stolen base
      2. Pitching
         • Quality Starts * 10: ten points earned for each quality start
         • Shutouts * 25: twenty-five points earned for each shutout
         • Holds * 5: five points earned for each hold
         • Saves * 5: five points earned for each save
      3. The following caveats apply to the accumulation of these statistics:
         • The league does not currently track batting statistics for pitchers, so (as of the adoption of the Derby subcontest) batting statistics earned by pitchers will not be included. If batting statistics earned by pitchers became available in the future, such statistics would be available for Derby scoring.
         • The league does currently track pitching statistics earned by batters, so pitching statistics earned by batters will be included.
   4. A team is not required to earn points in all categories. In fact, a team may decide to focus their roster (especially, their pitching roster) on strengths that do not include all statistics.

5. Winning

   1. The team that scores the most points after combining all specified categories wins the Derby. Ranking proceeds downward from that point.
   2. In the case of a tie, the ranking will be "rolled up" to the higher ranking. For example, if two teams tie for first place, both will both be deemed first place teams and the next ranking team will be deemed a 3rd place team. As another example, if three teams tie for first place, all three will be deemed first place teams and the next ranking team will be deemed a 4th place team.
   3. Derby Prize Money: For each team that opts into the Derby competition on Draft Day, $2.50 ("contribution") will be added to the Derby Prize Money. The contribution for teams meeting the minimum roster value threshold specified earlier (see 9.B. Participation) will have this money transferred from the League Fees collected for their roster. For teams not meeting the minimum roster value threshold, the contribution will be the additional $2.50 collected.
      • Note: the Derby Prize Money is designed not to decrease the overall League Fees collected by more than 10%.
      • Note: Derby Prize Money has no impact or effect on Luxury Tax. The money transferred to the Derby Prize Money does not decrease a team's roster value.
   4. Derby Prize Money Breakdown - the breakdown will be based on the amount of Derby Prize Money collected from teams opting in to the Derby competition.
      1. Derby Prize Money collected is less than or equal to $7.50
         • 100% of Derby Prize Money is given to the highest ranking team in the Derby.
      2. Derby Prize Money collected is greater than $7.50 and less than or equal to $15.00
         • 70% of Derby Prize Money is given to the highest ranking team in the Derby
         • 30% of Derby Prize Money is given to the second highest ranking team in the Derby
      3. Derby Prize Money collected is greater than $15.00
         • 50% of Derby Prize Money is given to the highest ranking team in the Derby
         • 30% of Derby Prize Money is given to the second highest ranking team in the Derby
         • 20% of Derby Prize Money is given to the third highest ranking team in the Derby

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