MMBL 2004 CONSTITUTION
League Structure:
o
The MMBL is a league where both a Major League and a Minor
League team are managed by the owners and two separate seasons are played
concurrently. The MMBL is made up of 24
MLB franchises and 24 Minor League Franchises.
The Major League will be split into two leagues, each with three
divisions (East, Central, and West). The
Minor League will be split into two leagues, each with two divisions. We will
be using version 9 of the Diamond Mind simulation with the previous season’s
projection disk (2004 Final Projection Disk for this season).
Gameplay:
o
The Major Leagues will NOT use Inter-League Play at
all, preserving the mystique between the AL and NL. Each team will play a
complete 162 game schedule. Teams will play a total of 66 division games and 96
non-division games. The 66 divisional games will be balanced playing 22 games
(11 home and 11 away) against each of the 3 divisional rivals. The 96
non-divisional games will be balanced evenly playing 12 games (6 home and 6
away) against each of the 8 non-divisional teams. The
series each week will be 5 game series for the first 30 games of the year, then
will expand to 6 game series for the duration of the year. The first 30 games
will be against divisional opponents. Then the teams will play its 96
non-divisional games. The final 36 games of the season will again all be
divisional matches for the final pennant run.
o The minor leagues will play a totally balanced 132 game schedule. They will play 12 games (6 home and 6 away) against each of the 11 teams in the league. Each weekly series will be 6 games. These games may be played by the home manager or may be simulated by the CM if the owners do not want to spend the time playing the minor league games. There will be no injuries for the minor league season.
o Managers will play two weeks of games each week. We are trying to catch up this season so we are using the 2005 Projection Disk before the end of 2005.
o
File Exchange/Transfer: The process is as follows. In week 1
the commissioner will publish the database. Managers will then need to
scrutinise their team making all roster changes etc before exporting an mp to
the league list. The commissioner will then import the mps and release the
“Week 1&2 PLAYBALL file”. Games will be played as agreed then results will
be posted to the league with a summary (as is done with mp’s).
The commissioner will then assimilate these into the database and post it to
the league with the process starting over.
o
Unless contact is made with the league office at
least 24 hours before the results are due, with an excuse (acceptable to the
league office) , late results will be ignored and
series’ will be simulated.
o
In the event of playing an un-owned team the commissioner
will manage the mp of the franchise (unless decided otherwise) and the other
manager whether home or away will be permitted to play the series.
·
In the Major League post season there will be eight teams
taking part. These will be the three division winners and one wildcard teams
from each league. The divisional series’ will be a “best of five” whilst the
League Championship and World Series will be a “best of seven”. Home advantage
will be determined by record alone.
·
In the Minor League post-season there will be 4 teams taking
part. The two division winners in each
league will play a league championship series of 7 games. The Minor League Championship series will be
7 games between the winners of the LCS.
·
Throughout the season Net-Play is encouraged however this is
not mandated due to individual commitments. This is an arrangement that must be
made between consenting managers. During the post season it is envisaged that
series’ will be played using Net-Play. This will be assumed to be the case
unless good reason is given to the league office. The World Series however,
must be played head to head unless both participants consult with the
commissioner and all parties agree.
·
Weather settings will be used, clutch and jam ratings will not
be employed; and bullpen warm-up will be turned off. Injury rating will be
turned on in the Major League database, but there are NO INJURIES in the minor
leagues. There is a Home Team DH rule in the Major Leagues. In the Minor Leagues all teams play with a
DH. The current Era will be used as well.
·
Major League teams will play in their normal stadiums. Minor League teams will play in a neutral
park.
Rosters
·
Because of the way this league works, your Major and Minor
League rosters on their respective databases will be 50-man rosters.
·
The Major League roster will consist of the 25 players that
are on your Major League roster and the Minor League roster will consist of the
25 players in the minors
·
During the course of the season you may promote/demote
players whenever you make a new MP.
Whatever promotion/demotion you make on one database must be made on the
other…For Example:
o
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On
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On
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Update lineups/rotation to reflect
any promotion/demotion made
o
The steps above ensure that you keep a 25-man active roster
on each database
·
This is a continuous ownership league and teams retain their
players throughout the offseason until the cutdown and the preseason draft. During the offseason there is no limit to roster size, however free
agent signings cannot be made.
·
In the event of injury or major illness that prevents a
player from appearing throughout a season and therefore not being issued a card
by the database the following year, a card may be requested from the
commissioner. This player will have zero stats and must remain on the team’s
farm roster for the entire season. The player may be cut at any time (the card
will be lost) or traded (and the same restrictions apply to the new owner). If
the player remains injured for a second year in succession he will be lost from
that team with no compensation made. There is no compensation for a player who
through any other reason e.g. form/demotion to the minor leagues, does not
appear on the season disk.
·
Each week up to and including July 31st, teams are entitled
to make one free agent signing per week. Managers will be required to send
lists of players privately to the commissioner they wish to sign and the name
of a player they wish to cut, should the signing take their roster above 50.
For the first three weeks of the season the free agent draft order will be
based on the previous season’s record. This will follow the order determined in
the pre-season draft itself. Starting on from week 4 free agent signings will
be determined by season record in the first instance, run difference in the
second and a coin toss in the third. In the event that a manager’s list does
not yield a player, no signing will be made and no cuts made in lieu.
Similarly, if a manager does not provide a player to cut where a signing would
take their roster above 50, no signing will be made.
·
On September 1st Major League rosters will be
able to be expanded to 40 players.
·
In the event of an injury to a Major League player, that
player can either be placed on the Disabled List if the injury is of long
length, or left as-is on the roster and he will automatically be activated to
play again once the injury heals.
·
If a player is put on the Disabled List when creating your
bi-weekly MP, you must promote a player from your minor league team and if you
like you can sign a free agent to take that minor leaguers spot until the major
league player returns from the disabled list.
For example:
o
Gary Sheffield is lost for 25 days to injury
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When
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Usage
·
As we are using the projection disk for this league…usage is
done a bit differently.
·
All player usage is combined between time spent on both
Major and Minor League rosters.
·
Being that we use a projection disk where final positions
may change for many of the players during the course of the year, players can
be used in other positions…please bear in mind that if a player is not carded
for a certain position, DMB will still compensate for that during game play…but
if you want to use players in different positions, this is a guide to that:
o
Catchers can play 1B and corner Of
o
1B can play corner OF
o
2B can play 1B
o
SS can play 2B/3B
o
3B can play SS/1B and corner OF
o
OF can play any OF position and 1B
·
Position Players: (Maximum usage)
o
No position player may play more than 150 combined games
unless DMB has that player carded for more
o
Catchers can play a maximum of 135 games unless DMB has
carded that player for more.
o
Players must be farmed immediately upon breach of 150 (or
max) games played. If gross over-usage
occurs (exceeds by 5 games), that player will be released immediately.
·
Position Players: (minimum usage)
o
Position players cannot be protected at the end of the
season unless they reach 250 PA
·
Pitchers: (Maximum usage)
o
No Starting Pitcher may start more than 35 games unless carded
for more by DMB
o
Any pitcher with a SP rating may start 35 games, but once
that total is reached he cannot be switched to relief.
o
No Relief Pitcher may pitch in more than 100 relief innings
unless carded for more by DMB
o
Any pitcher with a MR/CL rating may pitch up to 100 innings
unless carded for more
·
Pitchers: (Minimum Usage)
o
Any pitcher that starts at least 1 game must reach 300 BF in
order to be protected in the offseason.
o
Any pitcher used strictly in a relief role must reach 150 BF
in order to be protected in the offseason.
·
All players are subject to the Minimum Usage requirement
unless they have missed 40+ games due to injury.
·
Any player that
exceeds usage limits during the season is ineligible to participate in the post
season
Offseason
·
At the completion of the Major League World Series, the
commissioner will calculate usage for all players and create a usage
spreadsheet for each team. Owners will
be able to dispute any usage issues at that point.
·
After usage is determined, owners will then send in a list
of 35 protected players from their roster to the commissioner
·
The Commissioner will create the next season disk with the
latest Projection Disk for the upcoming season with all 35-man rosters created.
·
A Draft will be held to fill the remaining 15 roster
spots. Draft order will be determined by
win-loss percentage (lowest percentage gets #1 pick). The order will remain constant through all
rounds of the draft.
Trading
·
Trading is allowed until August 31st trading
deadline and then will restart at the conclusion of the World Series
·
Both parties must agree and a note announcing the trade by
one party and another confirming the trade by the other party must be posted leaguewide.
·
Trades will be made on disk at completion of weeks games so MP’s can be created by both teams with new players for
following weeks games
·
Players traded must still meet minimum and maximum usage
requirements or that player will be lost to free agency at the end of the
season. Players who have already met
maximum usage restriction cannot be traded during the season
·
Draft picks for current season and 1-year in the future may
be dealt during draft or during season.