Official Rules For The 2002 Season

 

  1. DRAFT
  1. Refers to the draft location.
  2. Refers to the entry fee.
  3. Each team shall receive a sealed envelope containing a slip of paper with a number on it. The team that draws the slip of paper bearing #1 shall select the position in which it will draft. The team that draws the slip of paper bearing #2 shall select next, and so on.
  4. The order of selection in Round One shall start with the team that opted for the #1 pick, through to the last team. The second round shall start with the team who had the last pick in Round One, working back toward the first pick. The order of selection for Round Three, and all subsequent odd-numbered rounds, shall be the same as the order of selection for Round One, and the order of selection for Round Four, and all subsequent even numbered rounds, shall be the same as the order of selection for Round Two.
  5. Teams shall consist of twenty-five players. Players qualify for any position they had played at least ten games in during the 1999 season. Teams may draft players in any order they like. The following minimums must be met: each team must draft at least one qualifying catcher, one qualifying first baseman, one qualifying second baseman, one qualifying third baseman, one qualifying shortstop, one qualifying left fielder, one qualifying center fielder, one qualifying right fielder, four starting pitchers, and four relief pitchers.

 

  1. ROSTERS
  1. LINEUPS

Each week shall begin with games played on Monday ending with games played the following Sunday. The first week of the season shall include any games played prior to the first Monday, and the last week of the season shall include any games played after the final Sunday. The season ends with the final regular season game. Any games played to break ties for the purpose of determining a playoff spot for MLB will count.

1. BATTING

a. The weekly lineup you submit must consist of one qualifying catcher, one qualifying first baseman, one qualifying second baseman, one qualifying third baseman, one qualifying shortstop, one qualifying left fielder, one qualifying center fielder, one qualifying right fielder, and one designated hitter. Your designated hitter may be any of the players who are not in your starting lineup.

b. A player qualifies for any position in which he has played at least ten games during either the 1999 season or the 2000 season.

c. If a player is designated for a new position before the season starts, he will qualify for that new position provided he plays in at least ten games at that position by April 30. If he has not played in ten games by April 30, the first backup for that position will be inserted in his place retroactive to the beginning of the season.

2. PITCHING

  1. STARTERS

The weekly lineup you submit must have a minimum of four and a maximum of five starting pitchers in your active rotation. You can never have more than five pitchers making starts in any week.
  1. The Four Man Rotation
  1. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, the first backup starter from your bullpen will be used for that week.
  2. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, and you have no starters in your bullpen, the first backup reliever from your bullpen will be used for that week.
  3. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, and you have no pitchers in your bullpen, then you will not be entitled to a substitution for that week.
  1. If one of your starters is used as a reliever, that relief appearance will count, even if you have five other relievers in your rotation.
  1. The Five Man Rotation

a. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, the first backup starter from your bullpen will be used for that week unless you indicate that you do not want your backup starters to be used.

b. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, and you have no starters in your bullpen, the first backup reliever from your bullpen will be used for that week unless you indicate that you do not want your backup relievers to be used.

c. If one of your starters does not pitch in a week, and you have no pitchers in your bullpen, then you will not be entitled to a substitution for that week.

d. If one of your starters is used as a reliever, that relief appearance will count, even if you have five other relievers in your rotation.
  1. RELIEVERS
  1. The weekly lineup you submit must include a minimum of four and a maximum of five relief pitchers in your active rotation.

2. If one of the relief pitchers you select for your active rotation does not pitch in a week, the first backup relief pitcher from your bullpen will be used for that week unless you indicate that you do not want your backup relievers to be used.

  1. If you do not have any relief pitchers in your bullpen, then you will not be entitled to a substitution for that week.

4. Relief pitchers who are not regularly used as closers in MLB games will be credited with net saves.
  1. CLOSERS

Of the relief pitchers in your rotation, you must designate one as your closer. A closer is eligible for saves and blown saves every time that he pitches. A relief pitcher is eligible for a save anytime that he pitches and one of the following is true:
    1. He pitches more than one inning.
    2. The team’s normal closer has already pitched.
    3. The game is in extra innings.

B. ROSTER MOVES AND LINEUP CHANGES

  1. You are entitled to cut one player every week and pick up one player to replace the one you cut. The team who is in last place at the end of a given week gets to make the first cut and pickup of that week, and so on up to the team in first place. If there is a tie at the end of a given week, priority will be granted to the team that was lower in the standings at the end of the first previous week in which there was no tie.
  2. Any player who is cut will not be available to be picked up by another team until the following week.
  3. You may substitute any number of players from your bench with players from your starting lineup and any number of pitchers with pitchers in your bullpen into your rotation on a weekly basis.

C. TRADES

  1. Teams may trade players at any time. Trades are official when I receive confirmation from all parties involved in the trade and will be effective the Monday following confirmation. Monday morning confirmations are acceptable, provided I receive them prior to the start of any games on that Monday.
  2. Trades involving an unequal number of players are permitted. You may also use your weekly pick in a trade. You may make as many trades as you like, but the net result of all trades in any week must be either an equal exchange of players or a differential of one player. The difference must be made up immediately with the weekly cut. The chart below illustrates how each scenario of a legal trade between two teams affects the weekly cut/pickup:

TEAM A ACQUIRES TEAM B ACQUIRES TEAM A GETSTEAM B GETS

one player one player one CUT, one PICK one cut, one PICK

two players one player one CUT, no PICK no CUT, one PICK

one player one player + PICK no CUT, no PICK two CUTS, two PICKS

one player PICK one CUT, no PICK one CUT, two PICKS

two players one player + PICK one CUT, no PICK one CUT, two PICKS

3. Trades between more than two teams are permitted, provided that the net result for each team involved in the trade can comply with Rule 2 stated above.

4. The last day you can make any trades will be August 31.

  1. INJURIES AND OTHER EVENTS
  1. INJURIES

a. If a player in your lineup is placed on the disabled list, your primary backup selection will be placed into your lineup retroactive to the day after that starter last appeared in a game.
  1. If anyone on your team is placed on the disabled list, you will be entitled to an injury reserve pick the day the player is placed on the disabled list so that you always have twenty-five healthy players on your roster. However, you must use that pick to select a player who qualifies for the same position (per rule IIA1b) as the player who was placed on the disabled list.
  2. If you drafted a player who was on the disabled list at the time of the draft, you will be entitled to an injury reserve pick only if that player is still on the disabled list and still on your roster on May 1.

d. If more than one team needs to make an injury reserve selection on a given day, the player closer to last place as of the last previous updated standings will have preference for one selection.

e. If a team needs to make more than one injury reserve selection on a given day, the second selection will be made after every team has had one chance to make one selection.

f. You must cut a player (not necessarily the injury reserve pick) the day the injured player is taken off the disabled list. If you do not indicate which player to cut by the end of the week, I will assume that you are not interested in retaining the player coming off the disabled list, and thus that player will be cut from your roster effective the next Monday.
  1. If you choose to keep the player coming off the disabled list, you must indicate whether or not you would like that injured player placed back in your lineup the

day he returns. Otherwise, your backup will be left in.

2. BENCHED PLAYERS

When someone in your lineup does not play for an entire week, your primary backup selection will be automatically placed into your lineup for that week so that you are not stuck with an empty slot for an entire week. You must indicate whether or not you would like to leave the substitute player in your lineup the following week. Otherwise, your original starter will be placed back in your lineup provided he plays the following week.

3. RETIREMENT

You will be entitled to a pick for any player who announces his retirement during the regular season. If the player who announces his retirement was in your starting lineup, you will be entitled to the statistics for your backup player for that position retroactive to the day following the last day the retired player played.

4. DEMOTION

If one of your players is demoted to the minor leagues, you will not be entitled to a replacement pick. You will not, however, be required to use any weekly cut on the demoted player.

 

III. SCORING

  1. CATEGORY LISTING
  1. The Offensive categories used to calculate your team score shall be as follows:
  1. Runs
  2. Doubles
  3. Triples
  4. Home Runs
  5. Runs Batted In
  6. Stikeouts (fewest)
  7. Net Steals (stolen bases less caught stealing)
  8. Errors (fewest)
  9. Batting Average (rounded to the nearest thousandth)
  10. On Base Percentage (rounded to the nearest thousandth)

2. The Pitching categories used to calculate your team score shall be as follows:

  1. Wins
  2. Losses (fewest)
  3. Complete Games
  4. Net Saves (saves less blown saves)
  5. Innings Pitched
  6. Home Runs (fewest allowed)
  7. Strikeouts
  8. Earned Run Average (rounded to the nearest hundredth)
  9. Hits Per Innings Pitched (rounded to the nearest hundredth)
  10. Walks Per Innings Pitched (rounded to the nearest hundredth)
  1. CATEGORY SCORING

Each of the categories listed above shall be scored in the same manner. The team that leads a given category shall receive a score equal to the number of teams participating. For example, if there are eight (8) teams, and your team has the most home runs, you receive eight (8) points, the team with the second most home runs receives seven (7) points, and so on down to one (1) point for the team with the fewest home runs. Ties shall be split evenly, so that if there is a tie for first place between two teams in a category, each team shall receive seven and a half (7.5) points. USA Today’s Baseball Weekly shall be the official statistic source.

 
  1. AWARDS
  1. There are awards.

Last Updated on 2/28/02
By Don Lecker

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