Comprehensive League Rules

The Greater Chicago Strat-O-Matic League is a 20-team baseball league that uses the latest version of the Strat-O-Matic computer baseball game from www.strat-o-matic.com to replay seasons based on the previous year’s MLB stats.

Our draft officially starts at 7PM CT on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend and takes place on-line over a two-week period such that the 3-day holiday weekend always falls in the middle, with whatever portion remains to be completed live and in person and/or via conference call or chat on the Sunday following President’s Day.

Year	Protect Lists Due (Tuesday, midnight)	Draft starts (Friday, 7pm)
2024	January 9^th	February 9^th
2025	January 7^th	February 7^th
2026	January 6^th	February 6^th
2027	January 5^th	February 5^th
2028	January 11^th	February 11^th
2029	January 9^th	February 9^th
2030	January 8^th	February 8^th
2031	January 7^th	February 7^th
2032	January 6^th	February 6^th
2033	January 11^th	February 11^th
2034	January 10^th	February 10^th

During the draft, the roster is filled up to 41 players. Anyone can be drafted, included players who did not appear in the majors the previous year, but only batters with 50 or more MLB AB or pitchers with 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) will be eligible to play and appear on your 26-man major league squad during our season.

You must draft sufficient players to maintain a 26-man major league roster over the course of the entire season, and to help ensure this, you are required to have a minimum of 625 at bats plus walks (AB+BB) at each fielding position, a minimum total of 6250 total AB+BB for the entire team and 1475 total innings of pitching on your roster by the start of our season. For more details see Draft Regulations and Roster Restrictions.

We then play a 162-game schedule over the 7 months from March to September. Managers submit their roster and rotations to the Game Manager early in the month (typically due on the 9^th), after which the pitching matchups are published. Managers then submit the lineups that they are going to use to face those pitchers, along with a manager profile and other player settings to the Game Manager (typically due on the 21^st each month). The games are then played near the end of the month by the Game Manager and the results are posted. See Regular Season Monthly Procedure for more details. Of course, following the regular season, we have a playoff and World Series. Four division winners plus two wildcards advance to the playoffs.

October to early January is typically set aside as an “off-season” during with the playoffs can be completed and managers can review their stats from the just completed MLB season and make plans and deals for the subsequent season. One month prior to the draft we announce our protect lists. Each team can protect up to 25 men on their roster. If a team protects fewer than 25 players, they will receive extra draft picks in rounds 17 and beyond. See Draft Regulations for more information.

YEARLY TIMELINE

While there may be some variation year to year, this should serve as a good guide.

Early January	Protect lists due to Roster and Picks Manager. This occurs 41 days prior to President’s Day which occurs anywhere from January 5^th to the 11^th.
2 days later	Maximum 2-day grace period for resolution of invalid protect lists.
one week later	Protect lists published by Roster and Picks Manager; website updated by Web Manager.
January 12	Pre-draft trade deadline (any trades made after this are considered to take place after the draft). Excess draft picks are forfeited (this ensures that each team will be at 41 players at the end of the draft). It is the responsibility of the Roster and Picks Manager to perform this check.
by January 15	Newsletter updated by League Secretary and website updated by Web Manager.
January 24	Ballpark changes due to League Secretary.
Friday 10 days prior to President’s Day	Draft begins at 7PM Central Time on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend (10 days before the Monday holiday) DUES AND FEE BALANCES MUST BE PAID PRIOR TO SELECTING.
Two weeks surrounding President’s Day weekend	Draft takes place on-line for the 2 weeks surrounding President’s Day weekend. Website updated during 2-week draft as time permits.
Sunday after President’s Day	Completion of the draft in-person and via online chat or conference call.
After End of Draft	All trades that were announced after the January 12^th deadline and during the draft take place now; Roster and Pick Manager publishes updated roster and pick lists. Trading officially resumes, reported to Roster and Picks Manager. Newsletter updated by League Secretary and website updated by Web Manager.
March - September 2^nd of each month	Trade deadline for that month's games, processed by Roster and Picks Manager. Game Manager will distribute an updated zip file.
March - September 9^th of each month	Computer Manager (.MGR) files containing 26-man rosters (initial Major/Minor setup) and pitching rotations (Starter Schedule) due to Game Manager.
March - September 13^th of each month	Game Manager will distribute an updated zip file. Pitching matchups published, newsletter and website updated by League Secretary and Web Manager.
March - September 21^st of each month	Computer Manager (.MGR) files containing final player settings and manager tendencies, along a separately attached default lineup number specifications document/spreadsheet for each game due to Game Manager.
March - September by 30^th/31^st of each month	Monthly results published by Game Manager along with an updated zip file, newsletter and website updated by League Secretary and Web Manager. Games results for July will be published no later than the 26^th.
by June 13	Call for rule change proposals to be nominated and seconded. Call for Executive Committee nominations.
by June 30	Last call for rule change proposals to be nominated and seconded. Last call for Executive Committee nominations.
July 9	Deadline for rule change proposals to be nominated and seconded. Deadline for Executive Committee nominations.
July 13	Rule change and Executive Committee election ballot published for inspection.
July 24	Final rule change and Executive Committee election ballot published.
August 2	Season trade deadline; Voting on rule change proposals and executive committee election due. Draft picks for next season become available for trade after deadline.
September 9	Rosters expand, unlimited major league roster of eligible players for final month’s games. Playoff rosters for potential playoff teams must be submitted.
by October 15	Playoff leagues created by Game Manager and playoff information published by League Secretary and Web Manager.
October/November	New manager initiation, if necessary, by Executive Committee, Game Manager, Roster and Picks Manager.
October 31 through November 30	Newsletter and website updated as time permits by League Secretary, Roster and Picks Manager and Web Manager.
December 9	Team name and code changes due to Game Manager, League Secretary, and Web Manager; deadline for division changes to Game Manager, League Secretary, and Web Manager.
by December 31	Schedules for upcoming season published newsletter and website updated by League Secretary and Web Manager.

LEAGUE STRUCTURE

1. We have a 20-team league that consists of four divisions as follows:

Division 1 (Capitol)	Division 2 (Midwest)	Div. 3 (South Central)	Division 4 (Coastal)
Greg Edens (JAM)	Rich Domovic (CHI)	Steve Linke (AAR)	Wes Davies (BUR)
Frank Lopeman (COL)	Jim Aldrich (DYE)	Brian Anderson (HMA)	Alan Dyche & Glenn Panner (CRC)
Doug Salzwedel (HUC)	Mike Wilson (GGG)	Steve Seydell (HOH)	Tony Calabrese (CUB)
John Stryker (VRN)	Ralph Madara (SRD)	Jim Calabrese (NYY)	Steve Felson (DAL)
Mike Gahalla (WRK)	Mike Aldrich (TAM)	Joe Ingraffia (OAK)	Adam Smith (DUB)

2. Divisional changes can only occur if:

a) All managers involved agree to the move.

b) A majority of non-involved managers approve of the move.

c) In case of a managerial vacancy, a veteran manager may switch divisions with a team getting a new manager with only majority approval of the non-involved managers (i.e. approval of the new manager is not needed). Should more than one veteran manager wish to change divisions with that team, then selection will go in draft order.

d) Changes can only take place between the end of the season and prior to the December 9 deadline.

3. Rule change proposals and executive committee nominations will be called for and submitted prior to our mid-season meetings, after which the rule changes and the executive committee election will be voted on. Any manager may suggest a proposal, but to appear on the official ballot and be voted on, proposals must be nominated by a member of the Executive Committee and then seconded by a member of the Executive Committee (other than the person who nominated it). Proposals must be nominated and seconded prior to the July 9 deadline.

4. The rule change and executive committee election ballot will be published by July 13 with a 7-10 day inspection period to follow during which questions can be asked and the final language of the proposal worked out by the submitter, nominator, and the seconding person. The final ballot will be published around July 24 with votes cast by the season trade deadline in early August.

5. Rule changes only need approval by a simple majority of the managers to pass unless other specific requirements have been set forth elsewhere in the rules (such as the 3/4 majority to change the designated hitter rule). Rule changes that are passed will take effect for the next season unless earlier enactment was specifically set forth and approved as part of the change. For those rule changes that may be voted as For/Against, a third option of “With the Majority” shall be allowed. The option, With the Majority, allows a manager that has no strong feeling about which way to vote on a proposal to cast his vote with how the majority of the league votes (either for or against). If there is a tie in the voting for a proposal, then the With the Majority votes shall not be counted.

6. The mid-season meetings take place at the time of our season trade deadline, which comes at the end of month 5 (July) and prior to month 6 (August) games. Typically, this is around the first full weekend in August.

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE AND ROSTER

1. Each team plays a total of 162 games, 18 games against each divisional opponent (9 home and 9 away in 4 and 5 game series) and 6 each against each non-divisional opponent (3 home and 3 away in 3 game series).

2. A manually created fixed schedule will be published before the beginning of each season based on the results from the previous season. There will be 7 months of games with 21-24 games per month and a total of 19 off days: 2 off days during each month except for month 3 which has 3 off days (i.e. 6 months with 2 off days and one with 3), then 3 days off between months 4 and 5 for an All-Star break, and 1 off day at the season trade deadline between months 5 and 6. This 7-month schedule is played from March to September.

3. Our league is a DH league and it would require a 3/4-majority vote to change the DH rule.

4. Injuries will not be used during the regular season or playoffs. Each manager must control player usage through roster, pitching rotation, lineup and strategy maintenance.

5. All regular season games will be played on the computer using the latest Strat software in “Autoplay” mode with manual pitching and line-up selections. This means that only the initial lineup and starting pitchers can be selected; the actual game play will be run by the computer based on your other manager and player settings.

6. As of Version 2018, all Strat-O-Matic Super-Advanced and Max rules are in effect except for the following:

· “Force daily injuries” (because we do not use injuries)

· “Pro-rate injuries to length of season” (because we do not use injuries)

· “Allow extra pre-1920 errors” (because this is not pre-1920)

· “Limit all injuries to current game only” (because we do not use injuries)

· Allow Defensive Shifts (voted out by league vote in 2017: Link to bulletin board discussion)

· Extreme Batter-Pitcher Matchups

7. Any new features added to the Strat game will automatically be utilized by our league unless there is a 3/4 majority vote to turn the feature off. Upon receiving the new version of the Strat game, the Game Manager shall review the game and notify the league of available new features. The league then has until the March 2 trade deadline for March games to call for such a vote. Any manager may request a vote on a feature, and it only takes one such request for the vote to be taken. Votes will be due by March 9. If no call for a vote is posted by March 2, then a consensus is assumed, and the feature will be used for the entire year and any subsequent vote could not take effect until the following season.

8. During the first six months each team is limited to a 26-man major league roster. The roster is set by the 9^th of each month and sent to the Game Manager via Computer Manager (.MGR) file and cannot be changed after that. Those players not on your 26-man roster at the roster deadline will be in the minors for that entire month.

9. During the seventh and final month (September) rosters expand. You may call up any remaining eligible players to your major league roster for that month. There is no limit to the number of call-ups, if those players do not fall under other restrictions (such as <20 IP or <50 MLB AB total) and are not used up. Note, however, that there is a limit in the computer game itself to only using 15 pitchers at any one time.

10. If Strat-O-Matic issues player card corrections, the Game Manager shall be responsible for incorporating them into the game. This shall include all corrections issued by Strat-O-Matic and may occur anytime during our replay season.

11. If MLB has a season with fewer than 40 games per team, the GCSL replay for the following year will be cancelled. The average MLB team number of games played will be calculated by adding all completed games for all MLB teams and then dividing by the number of MLB teams.

REGULAR SEASON MONTHLY PROCEDURE

1) For the first month (March): each manager must establish a computer manager strategy profile and a 26-man major league roster.

2) Manual computer manager submissions will no longer be allowed. All monthly submissions must be submitted using a Computer Manager file (.MGR) generated by the game. All managers will be required to buy the game or work out an agreement with someone to input their changes and provide a Computer Manager file for their submission. The lineup assignment will continue to be a separate manual submission.

3) By the 2^ndof each month: all trades that are to be in effect for the upcoming month must be reported on the official league website on or before midnight CT on the trade deadline for that month (usually the 2^nd). All trades must be confirmed by all other managers involved. See rule #1 under the Trading Restrictions section for complete details on the trade reporting and confirmation process. This applies for the first five months of the season. There is a season trade deadline prior to month 6 (August) games, such that all trades made after that deadline are for the following season.

4) By the 9^th of each month: each manager must submit his pitching rotation to the Game Manager for the upcoming month's games, along with any roster changes for the month. He may also submit strategy and manager profile changes if he wishes, although those are not due until the 21^st. If the manager fails to submit a pitching rotation to the Game Manager for a given month, then he shall be subject to a fine and his rotation will be the last five starters used the previous month, or the last four if only four starters were used, subject to usage limitations, of course, and at the discretion of the Game Manager. All changes submitted must be in the form of a Strat-O-Matic computer manager file (.MGR).

5) By the 13^th of each month: The Web Manager will publish the pitching matchups for the month and publish updated reports from the game, including computer manager reports.

6) By the 21^st of each month: Each manager must submit their lineups. There are two methods that may be used to specify lineups:

a) Manual: At least 2 and up to 10 lineups would be assigned in the game. The manager must declare which lineup is to be used for each of the upcoming games that month based on the starting pitchers published on the website. It is preferred that the most used lineup vs. Left-handed pitchers is assigned as lineup 1 and the most used lineup vs. Right-handed pitchers is assigned to lineup 2.

b) Draft League Mode No Rest: The Team->Lineups and Usage function can be used to have HAL select your lineup based on the settings you define in your lineup section. To use this the following must be set on the Lineups and Usage page: Team Lineup set to Draft League Mode No Rest, Minor Leaguers set to INELIGIBLE, Overusage set to Ignore Overusage, and the Override League Options checkbox must be set. If you use this method, you may use up to 50 lineups. The Game Manager will not review your lineups for correctness for this method. If you make a mistake where you played a player out of position, HAL will replace that player on its own. Please see the Strat game rules for a description on setting up your lineups when using Draft League Mode.

Final strategy and manager profile changes must also be submitted. If a manager fails to submit lineups for a given month, then he shall be subject to a fine and his lineups will be the default 1 vs LH and 2 vs RH lineups from the previous month, with eligible substitutes used for any players who were sent down to the minors, at the discretion of the Game Manager. All strategy, manager and lineup changes submitted must be in the form of a Strat-O-Matic computer manager file (.MGR).

7) By the last day of each month: The Game Manager shall have played the games on the computer and will forward the results including complete stats, standings, league leaders, next month's schedule, trades, rosters, draft listings, and current computer manager profiles to the Web Manager to be published.

8) The dates above represent the earliest that a deadline may come in a month. For example, lineups will usually be due by the 21^st, and never earlier than the 21^st. The Game Manager may, however, occasionally push back a deadline by one or a few days depending upon the circumstances. The season trade deadline, for example, will almost always be pushed back if August 2^nd falls on or near a weekend, and the subsequent roster/rotation deadline for August will often be pushed back from the 9^th to give managers more time to assess the impact of last-minute trades that were made and to plan their usage for the last two months.

9) All deadlines are midnight Central Time (CT) as observed in Chicago.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND SPECIAL PLAYOFF RULES

1. Six teams qualify for the playoffs, 4 division winners plus two wildcards with the next best records. The two division winners with the best records get byes. The other two division winners host 7 games series against the wild card teams, with the division winner with the best record facing the wild card with the worst record. The winners of those series then visit the division winners with byes. In short, if the playoff teams are labeled D1, D2, D3, D4 and W1 and W2, then first round is W1 at D4 and W2 at D3. The second round has the W2/D3 winner at D2 and the W1/D4 winner at D1. Those winners then play the Word Series with the team having the better regular season record getting home field advantage.

2. The Wildcard (first) round begins following one off day after game 162 of the regular season and is a 2/3/2 format with the division winner having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

3. The Championship (second) round begins following a minimum of one day off after the previous playoff (wildcard) series ends. The actual start date depends upon how long the preceding wildcard series went. If the preceding wildcard series goes 6 or 7 games, then there is one day off, but if that series only goes 4 or 5 games, then there are two days off before the championship series. Again, it is a 2/3/2 format with the divisional winner who had the bye having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

4. Championship series winners play a best of seven World Series to determine the league champion for that year. The World Series begins following a minimum of one off-day after the last championship series ends. The actual start date again depends on when each of the previous series started and how long they went. If a team wins their championship series in 4 or 5 games, then they are guaranteed at least 2 off days before the start of the World Series. If their championship series goes 6 or 7 games, then they are only guaranteed one off day. The actual number of off days may be greater, however, depending on how long the other championship series and the wildcard series before it went. The World Series is a 2/3/2 format with the team with the best regular season record having home field advantage. There is one day off after games 2 and 5.

5. In case of a tie between two teams for the final wildcard spot or a tie for a division title when the final wildcard has a better record than those division leaders, then there will be a 1-game tiebreaker playoff. The team with the better head-to-head record will host the one game playoff. This one game comes immediately after the end of the regular season; there is no off day. If the head-to-head record is even, then the team with the better division record will host the playoff game. This tiebreaker is played on the computer in autoplay mode, and the statistics count towards the regular season as game 163. The winner of the one game playoff advances to a best of seven playoff series as described above, without an off day between the one game tiebreaker playoff and that playoff series (their series starts the day after game 163).

6. There is no tiebreaker playoff game for any spots other than a tie for the final wildcard or a tie for a division title when the final wildcard has a better record than those two teams. Ties other than for those two combinations will use the following tiebreakers:

For a tie between 2 or more teams all within the same division:

a. Head-to-head record

b. Divisional games record

c. Combined record versus all playoff teams in division

d. Combined record versus all playoff teams

e. Dice roll

For a tie between 2 or more teams where at least one is not in the same division:

a) Head-to-head record

b) Combined record versus all playoff teams

c) Dice roll

If there is a tie for a division title but both teams are still eligible for a wildcard, then the above tie breakers would be applied to determine the division winner and the loser of those tiebreakers would then fall into the wildcard (where they still might end up in a 1-game playoff if tied with another team for the final wildcard).

These same tiebreakers are applied first in the case of any 3 or more-way ties. For example, if there is a 3-way tie for the first wildcard spot, then the team with the best head-to-head record (combined vs. the other two teams) would be awarded the first wildcard and the two teams with the worst head-to-head records (combined vs. the other two teams) would be considered tied for the final wildcard spot. They would play a 1-game playoff with the winner of that advancing. If there is a 3-way tie for the final wildcard spot, then the two teams with the best-combined head-to-head records would play a 1-game playoff and the team that had the worst combined head-to-head record would be out of the playoffs completely.

7. For a 1-game tiebreaker, any player not used up before the last full series can appear. Currently the last full series is 4 games, so a player used up by game 158 may not appear, but any player that was still available as of game 159 can be used. This also applies to starting pitchers, so the starting pitcher used in the tie-breaker must have a start remaining as per the limits set in the Pitching Restrictions section of the rules. Except for AB/PA/IP being used up as just described, the entire expanded roster used in the final month of the regular season would be available to play in a 1-game tiebreaker game 163.

8. If a manager is going to be away or not available around the time that the Game Manager will be playing the October games and there is a chance they might end up in a tie, then it is recommended that they leave instructions with the Game Manager on the pitcher and lineups to use in their 1-game tiebreaker so as to not hold up the finishing of the season, but this is not strictly required.

9. At the end of the regular season, the Game Manager will create a league in the computer game for each playoff series, and into each playoff league will copy all the possible playoff teams for that series but only include the 26 players on the playoff roster for each team. The usage for these leagues will be multiplied by 0.1 (10%) and these playoff leagues must then be used to play each playoff series.

10. All post-season games will be played on the computer utilizing the human manager option. This means that the managers do have complete control during the playing of the game, but the computer determines the dice rolls and their outcome.

11. Managers must declare their post season roster to the Game Manager before the final month of the regular season. Once declared, your post-season roster becomes fixed for all playoff series.

12. All carded players with 50 or more MLB AB or 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) are eligible for the playoffs with the following restrictions:

a. Starting pitchers must have 50 or more innings to start any one game in a 7-game series, 100 or more innings to start any two games in a 7 game series, and a (*) rating to start games 1, 4, and 7 in any seven game series. Again, these inning limits are based on the Strat reports, which Strat currently rounds. So, for example, a player with 49.2 IP in the major will be able to start a playoff game, because that will round up to 50 IP on the Strat reports. As in the regular season, only the * rated starters can go on 3-days rest; all other starters require 4 days rest between starts.

b. All players are restricted to 10% of regular season IP or AB's/PA's in each series.

c. Pitchers having both a starter and reliever rating can be used in either or both capacities as limited by the rules above and subject to the fatigue factor shown on the Strat fielding report. A starter/reliever may both start and relieve.

d. A pitcher with just a starter rating may relieve, provided he is not fatigued from his previous appearance. He cannot start again after relieving until rested enough to not be fatigued in that start, and in accordance with the other restrictions above.

e. A position player must have 150 or more MLB AB to start a playoff game. Position players with 50-149 AB can be carried on playoff rosters and come into games as replacements (pinch hit/pinch run/defense) but cannot start.

13. A player who reaches the 10% limit for AB/PA/IP must be pulled from the game in progress before they come to bat again or before they pitch to another batter. They may only appear later in the series as a pinch runner or defensive replacement and cannot bat or pitch.

14. Injuries will not be used during the playoffs.

15. The home team manager has the right to request that the visiting team declare their starting pitcher prior to the home team. Once starting pitchers are declared, the home team manager has the right to request that the visiting team declare their lineup prior to the home team.

16. Managers must manually check the STATUS column of the Strat fielding report for fatigue. A reliever who is T-2 (x/2 under STATUS) after the last game of a series or at the end of the regular season is ineligible to pitch in game 1 of the next series if there is only one off-day before it starts. If there was a 1-game playoff due to a tie, then any reliever who was T-1 (x/1 under STATUS) after that game is ineligible to pitch in game 1 of the first playoff series, and any reliever who was T-2 (x/2) is not eligible to appear until game 3 of the first playoff series. If a reliever ever gets to T-3 (x/3), then this rule is extended accordingly, meaning he could not appear in games 1 or 2 of the next series if there was only one off-day between or he could not appear in game 1 if there were 2 off days. This fatigue factor also applies to starter/relievers and starters used in relief for any start following a relief appearance.

17. The World Series winner shall be shipped the traveling trophy. The League Secretary will have a plate with the new winner engraved for attachment to the trophy. The previous winner is responsible for saving the box and packing material and properly repackaging and shipping the trophy to the new winner. The trophy must be shipped such that it can be tracked (i.e. no USPS parcel post; UPS is preferred) and must be insured for $200. The previous winner will be credited the shipping costs up to a maximum of $40 (or $50 to CA). They will not, however, be reimbursed for any replacement packaging should they have not kept the box and packing material, and failure to properly repackage the trophy will result in a $5 fine in addition. The new winner can display the trophy for one year, until the next World Series champion is crowned.

LEAGUE DUES, FINES, AND PRIZE MONEY

1. Dues are $40 per year for all managers, although the League Secretary traditionally only charges $20 for the first year of a new manager (to cover the $20 prize money portion specified in item 4 below). The dues for the Game Manager shall be waived. The Website Manager, League Secretary and Roster and Pick Manager are only required to pay 50% of the dues charged to regular managers.

2. The dues and other fees will cover all operating expenses and supplies required for the computer game. Any manager that incurs expenses due to the execution of his league duties shall submit an invoice and documentation that supports his expenses to the League secretary for re-imbursement.

3. $20 per team will be set aside for prize money and distributed as follows:

a. World Series Champion 30% ($120)

b. World Series Runner-Up 20% ($80)

c. Championship Series Runners-Up 15% each ($60 each)

d. First-Round (Wildcard) Series Losers 10% each ($40 each)

4. Fines will be assessed at $5 each for any manager and paid to the League Secretary who fails to submit game materials to the Game Manager on time. The fine is $10 each for managers who do not submit a complete voting ballot for all rule proposals by the season trade deadline. Attendance at a mid-season meeting is optional, but voting is mandatory. As soon as possible following the close of voting, the Web Manager will publish a complete voting record indicating the votes for each manager. There is a $10 fine for failing to submit protect lists on time, and a $5 fine if a manager needs to use the up to 2-day grace period to make corrections to their protect list. If a manager has not submitted any protect list to the Roster and Pick Manager by the end of the grace period, then the Game Manager shall consult the Executive Committee to come up with a protect list for that team and together they shall consider revoking that managers franchise and beginning the search for a replacement manager.

5. Dues for future seasons are required and paid to the League Secretary once a manager trades any draft pick in the first three rounds or a total of 5 or more later picks (unless higher picks were received to offset the ones traded). If you trade all your picks in the first three rounds you must pay the total $40 in dues, otherwise you will be required to pay the $20 prize money portion of your dues.

6. The Game Manager shall be reimbursed for the cost of purchasing the game software.

BALLPARK REGULATIONS

1. Each manager may design his own ballpark or choose an existing major league stadium.

2. Upon selection of your ballpark, a manager signs an ironclad three-year lease which prohibits relocation or redesign during that time. If you select an existing major league stadium, your factors will vary year-to-year with that park, as per the factors provided in the Strat game, but you are still obligated to stay in that park for three years. You may choose any major league stadium, even if another team has also chosen that stadium.

3. Ballpark effect factors may not vary from right to left by more than (4) either way if you design your own stadium. The range for effects is 0-20 for LH HR, LH 1B, RH HR, and RH 1B and 40-160 for Doubles and Triples. There are only separate RH and LH effects for homers and singles in the game; doubles and triples do not have separate RH and LH effects.

4. Teams that have fulfilled their park lease obligations may redesign their park or relocate prior to the draft. Once any changes are made to your stadium a new three-year lease is in effect. Ballpark changes must be submitted by midnight CT, January 24, each year to the League Secretary. If a lease is up and changes are not made on or before January 24, then the lease is automatically renewed for one more year.

5. You may not trade your ballpark under any circumstances.

DRAFT REGULATIONS

1. After the end of each season, each manager shall designate up to 25 players from their roster as protected for the next season and thus excluded from the upcoming draft. The protect list must be submitted on or before the due date each year to the Roster and Pick Manager. The due date is 41 days prior to President’s Day (early January). There is a maximum 2-day grace period to allow for late and/or incomplete or invalid submissions to be corrected, subject to fines as outlined in rule 5 under League Dues, Fines, and Prize Money.

2. Once the protect lists are published by the Web Manager, managers may trade to increase or decrease their roster prior to the draft. January 12^th is the official pre-draft trade deadline. Any trade not announced to the Roster and Pick Manager on or before January 12^th shall be considered to take place after the draft.

3. Immediately after the January 12^th pre-draft trade deadline, roster and draft picks will be counted by the Roster and Pick Manager. At the protect deadline, any team with more than 16 draft picks (prior to performing any post-protect trades) will forfeit their excess draft picks. This is regardless of the number of players protected on their roster. This will prevent the hoarding of picks going into the draft and the confusion that results when those extra picks start getting traded or are accidentally used by the manager as was the case in previous drafts. You must trade your excess picks prior to the trade deadline of January 12^th each year or you lose them. Any team having less than 41 total players and picks (prior to performing any post-protect trades) will have picks added for them at the end of the regular draft. This ensures that we all start each year balanced and with a 41-man roster. Note: added picks (round 17+) may only be traded as part of a post-draft deal (they may not be traded prior to the January 12^th pre-draft trade deadline or as part of a post-protect deal).

4. Draft order for the first round of the draft is determined as follows:

a) Order of finish of non-playoff teams (best to worst), followed by reverse order of finish of playoff teams (worst to best as clarified by “c” below).

b) Playoff tie breaker rules shall be used as tie breakers for non-playoff teams should teams finish with the same overall record (where the "winner" of the tie breaker is awarded the higher pick).

c) Reverse order of finish of playoff teams (worst to best) shall be determined by World Series winner selecting 20^th, World Series loser selecting 19^th, the Championship Round loser with the higher (better) seed selecting 18^th, the Championship Round loser with the lower (worse) seed selecting 17^th, the Wildcard Round loser with the higher (better) seed selecting 16^th, and the Wildcard Round loser with the lower (worse) seed selecting 15^th.

The draft order for the remaining (2^nd and higher) rounds of the draft will be as follows:

a) Reverse order of finish, with the playoff teams selecting 15-20.

b) Playoff tie breaker rules shall be used as tie breakers for non-playoff teams should teams finish with the same overall record (where the "winner" of the tie breaker is awarded the lower pick).

c) Playoff teams shall be selected in the same order as defined for the first round above.

5. Our draft officially starts at 7PM CT on the Friday of the weekend before President’s Day weekend and takes place on-line over a two-week period such that the 3-day holiday weekend always falls in the middle, with whatever portion remains to be completed live and in person and/or via conference call or chat on the Sunday following President’s Day. Posting of picks prior to the official start is prohibited. The start and end time of the final Sunday session will be determined by consensus to allow 2 minutes per pick. Our 2013 draft will begin on Friday, February 8^th and be held online until Saturday, February 23^rd, with the final live session to finish the draft on Sunday, February 24^th.

6. When drafting on-line there is a maximum of 4 hours for each draft pick selection to be made. The draft window for the first night of the draft from 7 to 10PM Central time will be 30 minutes. Once that time limit expires, that pick is skipped and the next pick in the sequence is up. When the person whose pick was skipped is ready to make their selection, they must first make a post informing the league that they are ready and then they must wait for the current pick that is up to be made. The draft window will pause each night from Midnight to 8AM Central time. For example, if the previous pick was made at 11PM Central time, the timer will not expire until 11AM the following day.

7. When completing the draft in person, each manager will be allowed up to 2 minutes for each draft selection. If the time limit is exceeded, the pick is forfeited, and the manager obtains a pick at the end of the draft. Unused time does not carry over to later rounds.

8. Anyone who is not protected on a roster is available to be drafted. This includes all major and minor league baseball players as well as college and high school players and players in other countries. Players who did not appear in a major league game such that their name is not listed in the Strat computer game shall simply be referred to as “Un-carded”. Players who do not meet our minimum of 50 AB or 20 IP in the majors will be referred to as “Ineligible”. While there is no official limit on the number of un-carded and ineligible players that a manager may select in the draft, each manager must always maintain a minimum of 26 eligible carded players during the season. It is an automatic fine to start a month with less than 26 eligible carded players with usage remaining on your roster.

9. If a manager makes an invalid draft selection, that is, if they select a player already on another team, then the draft just keeps going. The manager that made the invalid selection can jump in and post a correction at any time, but the draft does not stop while waiting for that correction. The draft is allowed to continue with whoever is next in line, and of course any of the players taken following the invalid selection and prior to the posting or announcement of the correction would be off-limits to the team that had made the error.

10. Managers are required to have a minimum of 625 at bats plus walks (AB+BB) at each fielding position (rated for that position), a team total of 6250 AB+BB and 1475 total innings of pitching of which 390 innings must be relief pitching by the March 2^nd trade deadline that comes before the March games at the start of our season. Any manager who does not make draft selections sufficient to meet these minimums has until that March 2^nd deadline to make trades to bring them up to the minimums. Please note that the 625 AB+BB minimum should only apply to 1 or 2 positions on your team at most (that you plan to bat 8 or 9^th). With a total of 6250 AB+BB for your team the average is 694 per position. If a team does not meet the minimums by the March 2^nd deadline, they must immediately cut a player from their roster and select a player from the undrafted pool that has the most PA/IP that covers the position. The player cut may not cause a shortage at another position. They would repeat this procedure for each short position until they meet the minimums. Both the players that they cut and the replacements that are selected cannot be protected and will go into the draft for the next season. For each player pulled from the undrafted pool, the owner will forfeit their 5^th round pick or the next higher pick available - with a replacement pick added after the final round of the regular draft. These added picks may be traded like normal picks. If they do not have a 5^th round pick or higher, their highest available pick will be forfeited.

ROSTER RESTRICTIONS

1. Each team drafts to fill a 41-man roster. The 41-man total is technically established on the January 12^th trade deadline as outlined by item 3 under Draft Regulations. All trades announced after January 12^th and during the draft are officially considered to take place after the draft as shown on the Yearly Timeline.

2. After the draft, managers may increase or decrease their roster through trading.

3. Each team must maintain a 26-man major league roster during our entire regular season. The remaining players on the roster are designated as minor leaguers.

4. A minor league player may only be brought up at the start of the month. Roster moves are due to the Game Manager at the same time as pitching rotations on or before the 9^th of each month. Roster changes are not allowed after the 9^th of each month, i.e. roster changes cannot be made after pitching match-ups have been published.

5. Only batters with 50 or more MLB AB or pitchers with 20 or more IP (as shown on the Strat usage reports and ratings, which means 19.2 MLB IP since Strat currently rounds this value) will be eligible to play and appear on your 26-man major league roster.

6. Following the season trade deadline after month 5, each team must meet the following minimums: 185 PA at each position, 1850 total PA, and 440 total innings of pitching of which 116 innings must be relief pitching. Any hitter listed to play more than 216 PA and any pitcher listed to pitch more than 78 IP, must have a notation listing how they plan on reaching those levels. (For example, a player hitting leadoff in every single game could reach 226PA or a SP could exceed 78 IP if they were a 3-day starter, and the team relief settings were set to the more conservative settings.) The league secretary at his discretion may reject a usage spreadsheet that he feels is not realistic, directing the manager to rework the spreadsheet or obtain additional players through trade. If a manager does not resolve the problems to the league secretary's satisfaction, the team must immediately cut a player from their roster and select a player from the undrafted pool that has the most PA/IP that covers the position. They would repeat this procedure for each short position until they meet the minimums. Both the players that they cut and the replacements that are selected cannot be protected and will go into the draft for the next season. The player cut may not cause a shortage at another position. For each player pulled from the undrafted pool, the owner will forfeit their 5^th round pick or the next higher pick available - with a replacement pick added after the final round. If they do not have a 5^th round pick or higher, their highest available pick will be forfeited.

SPLIT CARD PLAYERS

1. Split card use has been eliminated. Only the Interleague card provided in the computer game will be used for players who played in both the National and American leagues.

TRADING RESTRICTIONS

1. All trades must be reported by posting to the Discussion Board on the website or via email or phone message to the Roster and Picks Manager on or before the midnight CT trade deadline for that month (typically the 2^nd) to become official for that month's games.

All trades must be posted using To <team>: wording. Each player must be listed with their first and last names. All picks must include the year in parentheses. If a team has multiple players with the same first and last name and trades one of them, enough information must be provided to uniquely identify the traded player (such as the player’s MLB team listed on their player card, player’s middle initial or primary position). Each manager that is involved in a trade posted and confirmed that does not meet these parameters may be levied a $1 fine at the discretion of the Roster & Draft Pick Manager.

Trades must be confirmed by all other managers involved. Trades can be confirmed up to 9 hours after the midnight deadline (up to 9AM CT the next morning) but they must have been reported before midnight and must be confirmed unmodified. Any trade reported after the midnight trade deadline, or any trade not confirmed within 9 hours after the midnight deadline, or any trade modified or requiring modification after the midnight deadline will not take effect until the following month. If the following month is September, then the trade takes effect at the end of the season.

If a trade is posted prior to the deadline but not confirmed in time, the owner posting the trade will be given 72 hours from the time of the deadline to post a rescinding of the trade. If a trade is rescinded, the owners may optionally rework the deal and post and confirm a new deal.

2. Trades may be posted ahead of time and declared to not take effect until a later date. The following three time-related conditions are the only ones allowed to be placed on trades:

a) post-season

b) post-protect

c) post-draft

A post-season trade can be announced prior to the season trade deadline for the current season, but it would not take effect until after the season trade deadline (and thus after the season is over) but prior to protect lists being submitted. Any players involved in such a trade would thus finish the current season with their original team.

A post-protect trade can be announced prior to protect lists being submitted but does not take effect until after protect lists are published. Any players involved in such a trade are required to be protected by the originating team, not the destination team.

Post-draft trades may be announced before or during the draft, but do not take place until after the draft. Players and picks involved in post-draft trades are not counted in the 41 (player + pick) limit of the destination team as determined prior to the draft on the January 12^th deadline, and any players taken with the picks involved in a post-draft trade are not restricted from being traded back to the original team or any other team.

These conditions must be applied to the entire trade and cannot be applied to just a portion of it. Once announced and confirmed by all parties involved, a trade with these conditions on them are as iron-clad as a non-conditional trade and cannot be revoked.

3. Except for the three conditions stated above, all other exchanges as the result of a trade must take place immediately at the time of the trade. You may only trade players and picks that appear on your current roster and draft pick listing. The following trades are prohibited:

a) Any player to be named or delivered later stipulations

b) Any future consideration clauses

c) Any conditional stipulations other than the three allowed time-related conditions

d) Any compensation for negotiating a deal

e) Any park trades or options on parks.

4. “Loaning” of players is prohibited. All trades must stand on their own merit and are subject to league veto and fines as per rule 9 below.

5. The trading deadline for the current season is the mid-season meeting that will be held at the end of month 5 and before the start of month 6 (typically the first full weekend in August).

6. Prior to the season trading deadline, the only draft picks a manager can trade are for the upcoming season. After the current season trading deadline has passed, managers may trade draft picks for the upcoming two seasons, but must pay all league dues required for the seasons in which picks are traded as specified under League Dues, Fines, and Prize Money.

7. Off-season trading (trading for the next season) starts after the season trading deadline following the mid-season meetings and concludes at the January 12^th pre-draft trade deadline.

8. A manager may request a vote on any trade deemed not in the best interest of the league. Any questionable trade may be overturned if 3/4 of the non-involved managers feel that the trade is detrimental or appears to be a “loan” transaction. A league vote may be requested for any reason deemed not in the best interest of the league. The reason need not be one specifically prohibited by the rules.

9. Managers found to be in violation of any trading rule are subject to league fines.

10. Trades that have more than one part are strictly forbidden.

PITCHING RESTRICTIONS

1. Pitcher usage is limited to actual innings pitched. The Strat Usage report is checked at the end of each series (but only at the end of 5 game series when they overlap with 3-game series). A pitcher will be removed from the roster after he has run out of IP unless he is scheduled to make a start as allowed by the chart in rule 4 below.

2. Starters require 4 days rest between starts unless they have the (*) designation on the supplemental listing from Strat in which case they may start on 3 days rest. The fatigue factor shown on the fielding report is NOT to be used. I.E. no one can ever start on one- or two-days rest even if the fielding report says they could. And even if the fielding report shows them to have 3 days rest fatigue, they can only start on 3 days rest if they have a (*) rating. The * rating is shown on both the Strat roster report and in their official ratings guides.

3. Starter/relievers that are making at least one start during a month can have their relief status designated as “Never”, “Sometimes”, or “As Needed”. If not specified, then “Never” is assumed.

4. If a pitcher has an endurance rating of 5 or greater and has 47 or fewer IP remaining on his usage, then the maximum number of games he can start during a month will be limited based on the following chart:

In order to Start this many games:	At least this many IP must remain: (No maximum set)	At least this many IP must remain: (With 7 IP Max)	At least this many IP must remain: (With 6 IP Max)
1	3	2	1
2	9	8	7
3	17	15	13
4	25	22	19
5	33	29	25
6	40	36	31
7	47	43	37

If a pitcher has an endurance rating of 4 or less and fewer than 31 IP remaining, then the maximum number of games he can start during a month will be limited based on the following chart:

To Start this many games:	At least this many IP must remain: (endurance=4)	At least this many IP must remain: (endurance=3)	At least this many IP must remain: (endurance=2)	At least this many IP must remain: (endurance=1)
1	1	1	1	1
2	7	6	5	4
3	13	11	9	7
4	19	16	13	10
5	25	21	17	13
6	31	26	21	16

NOTE: Even if a pitcher runs out of innings before a start, the pitcher will be allowed to start the number of games indicated on these charts, then he will start the game as normal without any penalty.

5. The following rule must be applied if a starter/reliever has 31 or fewer IP remaining, and they are being used as a starter such that the number of starts they can make is limited by the charts above. If a starter is making the maximum number of starts allowed, they must be set to relief “Never”. To have relief set to “Sometimes” they must make at least one less than the maximum number of starts. To relieve “As Needed” they must make at least two less than the maximum number of starts. If the pitcher’s endurance rating is 4 or less, they must make at least 2 less than the maximum number of starts to have relief set to "Sometimes" and 3 less than the maximum number of starts to have relief set to "As Needed".

POSITION PLAYER RESTRICTIONS

1. Position players are limited to actual AB's or PA's. Strat usage is checked at the end of series (but only at the end of 5 game series when they overlap with 3-game series). A batter will only be removed from a roster after he runs out of both AB and PA. If a batter has at least one PA or one AB remaining on the Strat usage report, then they can continue in the next series. This is determined by viewing the Strat-O-Matic usage report after each series. Note that currently PA=AB+BB within this report.

2. Players may not start a game out of position except for an outfielder playing another outfield position with the defensive rating subject to Strat rules: someone who is rated in CF can start RF or LF without penalty. Someone who is rated in RF can start LF with no penalty but is -1 for CF. Someone who is rated LF only is -1 for RF and -2 range for CF. Note that for a player that has 2 conflicting OF ratings, (e.g. LF-1, CF-3) we use the strat rule to determine the rating for the third position: When assigning a player who is rated at two outfield positions to play the third (for which he is not rated), base the new rating on the first outfield position listed on his card. For example, a player is LF-1, CF-3. If you needed to move him to RF, use LF as the basis, which would make him a RF-2.

3. There have been a couple of occasions where HAL would not allow certain outfield positioning even though it was within the rules as per 2 above. To correct this, the appropriate outfield ratings can be added to that player's cards at the manager’s request. Please limit requests to only those outfielders that you intend to use at that position, though.

4. If a position player is approaching his AB and PA limit, a substitute should be declared if he runs out of at-bats during the month. A position player will be eligible to bat if he has at-bats or plate appearances remaining at the start of a series. The replacement will bat in the same spot in the order as the player he is replacing in all lineups. Other reasonable defensive changes can be specified in the event of substitution, but manager profile settings cannot be changed. Whatever manager profile is set up at the start of a month will remain in effect for the entire month regardless of usage.

5. To encourage people to maintain adequate usage at the trade deadline, if they run out of players such that then run out of any infield position, or run completely out of outfielders, so that someone must play out of position, they will be fined $10. This is a one-time only $10 fine no matter how many positions they run out of.

LEAGUE OFFICERS

In combination with the Executive Committee, four league officers (Game Manager, Website Manager, League Secretary and Roster & Draft Pick Manager) shall be responsible for administration and management of the league. These officers shall serve terms of unlimited duration and a single person can hold more than one role if desired. Any dues discount for League Officers shall be cumulative for a manager holding more than one role but shall not exceed 100%. League officers shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and may be replaced at any time at the discretion of the Executive Committee. The Game Manager shall appoint a backup manager to perform his tasks if he should be unable to perform them for a given period. The other league officer positions may assign a backup manager position at their discretion. It is the responsibility of the league officers to ensure their backup is sufficiently trained to perform their tasks.

Game Manager
The Game Manager sets up the league on the SOM gaming system, manages monthly .mgr file updates and roster movements, executes the monthly game schedule utilizing instructions received from league participants, submits result files to the Website Manager for publication and sets up the post-season on the SOM gaming system. The dues for the Game Manager shall be waived and the league shall reimburse the Game Manager the purchase price of the game software. The Game Manager shall receive a yearly stipend of $120.

Website Manager
The Website manager manages the website relationship with a league approved 3^rd party vendor, establishes, and manages participant access, publishes (posts) updates received from the Game Manager, Secretary, Roster & Draft Pick Manager and Executive Committee, manages website expense/usage, archives relevant historical information and purges other data as appropriate. The Website Manager shall receive a 50% discount off his league dues.

League Secretary
The League Secretary maintains rules, prepares league schedule, maintains ballpark info, prepares newsletter, oversees compliance with minimum AB/IP requirements, collects league dues, fines and trade fees from participants, pays appropriate league expenses (website, gaming system, ratings file, etc) and prize money, and publish a yearly report of league revenues and expenses. The League Secretary shall receive a 50% discount off his league dues.

Roster & Draft Pick Manager
The Roster & Draft Pick Manager shall maintain roster and draft pick information (including in draft updates). The Roster & Draft Pick Manager shall receive a 50% discount off his league dues.

Current assignments:
Game Manager: Steven Seydell
Website Manager: Steven Seydell
League Secretary: Doug Salzwedel
Roster & Draft Pick Manager: John Stryker

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. The Executive Committee oversees:

· Recruiting, interviewing, and selecting replacement managers for any manager vacancies that occur.

· Nominating and seconding rule change proposals.

· Preparing the rule change ballot and tabulating results.

· Rule interpretation/enforcement.

· Issuing fines.

· Appointing/replacing league officers.

· Conferring with the League Officers to determine if another manager is a detriment to the league and should face expulsion as in the Manager Removal section below.

2. Appointment to the Executive Committee shall be an elected position with a 3-year term. There shall be 3 members in the Executive Committee with staggered term expiration.

3. Any manager may nominate themselves for election to the Executive Committee provided they have been a member of the league for at least 5 full seasons. To ensure that a nominated member agrees to take on the Executive Committee role, they must either nominate themselves or specifically state that they agree to their nomination. All nominations must be submitted to the Executive Committee or on the League message board by July 9^th.

4. Executive Committee nominees shall be published as part of the Rule Change Ballot. Each manager shall vote for up to 3 nominees, assigning 3 points to their favorite, 2 points for their second favorite and 1 point for their third favorite. Voting shall be done by secret ballot and no manager may vote for themselves. The winner shall be the nominee receiving the most aggregate points.

5. The Executive Committee term expires at the conclusion of the regular season. Committee members are not allowed to serve consecutive terms. As their current term expires, they cannot be nominated and voted to immediately serve another term. They must take at least 1 year off before being nominated and voted on again. This is intended to promote broader participation. Example: If a member's term expires at the end of 2011, they are not eligible to begin serving another term starting in 2012 (which will be voted on in the summer of 2011). Their next opportunity to begin serving would be 2013 (which will be voted on in the summer of 2012).

6. If an executive committee member resigns in the middle of his term, the remaining 2 members of the executive committee along with the League Secretary shall assign someone to serve the remainder of the term.

7. Executive Committee member removal

a. If the other 2 members of the Executive Committee agree that an Executive Committee member needs to be replaced, they must notify the manager to be removed that they are seeking to do so. That manager has 10 days to respond.

b. If the other 2 members of the EC and the majority of the League Officers are not satisfied with the response, then they can call for a league vote to replace the manager on the Executive Committee. They will present their charges to the league, and the manager in question can present his response. There will be 10 days allowed for debate before a vote is taken.

c. At the end of the debate period votes will be called for and all managers are required to submit their vote within 72 hours.

d. The manager being voted on does not get to vote. If a majority of the remaining managers vote in favor of replacement, the manager is removed from office. The manager that received the next most votes in the previous EC election but did not win a seat will join the EC for the remainder of the current season. If that manager refuses the position the manager next on the election ballot will be selected. If the election ballot is exhausted with no manager accepting the position, the remaining EC members and League Officers may assign someone to the role for the remainder of the current season. In the subsequent EC election, a special vote shall be made to fill the vacated seat for the remainder of the term, if necessary.

e. If there is not a sufficient majority in favor of replacement, then there cannot be another vote taken on that manager until after the next EC election.

Current Executive Committee (Year term expires):

Frank Lopeman (2024)

Greg Edens (2025)

Jim Calabrese (2026)

MANAGER REMOVAL

If a majority of the members of the Executive Committee combined feel that a manager is a detriment to the league, then after conferring they can issue a warning to that member stating their charges. That manager then has 10 days in which to respond to those charges.

If a majority of the members of the Executive Committee and League Officials combined are not satisfied with that response, then they can call for a league vote to expel that manager. They will present their charges to the league, and the manager in question can present his response. There will then be 10 days allowed for debate before a vote is taken.

At the end of the debate period, votes will be called for, and all managers are required to submit their vote within 72 hours.

The manager being voted on does not get to vote. If there is a two-thirds majority of the remaining managers (not including already existing vacancies) in favor of expulsion, then the manager is removed, and it falls upon the Executive Committee to search for a replacement. For example, with the current 20-team league, a 2/3 majority of the 19 remaining managers (assuming no vacancies) would require a 13-6 or better vote in favor of expulsion.

If there is not a sufficient majority in favor of expulsion, then there cannot be another vote taken on that manager until after the next season trade deadline passes.

EMERGENCIES

1. For any game situation that arises that is not explicitly covered in the rest of the rules, the Game Manager has discretion to use his best judgment and decide. The Game Manager may consult with other managers and/or the Executive Committee as time permits but is not obligated to do so.

2. When the Game Manager makes such a decision, he shall immediately announce the decision with an optional explanation. If any manager in the league disagrees with the decision, then that manager has 15 days in which to call for a vote among the other managers in the league. If a total of 11 or more managers vote to veto, then the decision is overturned, and it goes back to the Game Manager to render a new solution.