DIAMOND MIND CLASSIC KEEPER LEAGUE RULES
1. LEAGUE STRUCTURE
There will be 16 teams, with two leagues. Each league shall consist of two divisions, with four teams in each division. Each team will be run by an active owner.
2. LEAGUE SEASON REPLAYS
A. SALARY CAP
There will be a 100 million dollar salary cap for the duration of the league. The total of all player salaries cannot exceed this limit at any time.
B. ROSTERS
After all player raises/nontenders/signings (See # 3 ), each owner will pick a 25 man active roster. Owners shall submit lineups, depth charts, pitching rotations, bullpen roles and managerial profiles to the league commissioner. Players on the team but not on the active roster will be assigned to the “farm”. Once the season has started, it shall be permissible for a team to have more than or less than 40 men on their roster. This situation could result from a 1 for 2 trade; adding an additional player(s), etc.
C. GAMES
The season will be 168 games long. Most days during the season a full 3 game series will be played. Game results and injuries are reported after each series. Normally these results will be accompanied by either team pitching reports, team batting reports, league batting leaders or league pitching leaders. Owners may change their lineups, rotations, put injured players on the disabled list, change manager profiles or take other such actions by advising the commissioner via a post on the current season’s roster thread. Alternatively, if an owner has the Diamond Mind Game, he may make any adjustments to lineup, rotation, profile, promotions/demotions to the farm in the game and email the appropriate file to the commissioner. AT NO TIME WILL ANYONE USING THE DM GAME RELEASE PLAYERS OR SIGN FREE AGENTS! These actions MUST be done by the commissioner to prevent corrupted data. Owners using the game will inform the commissioner of their intent to release a player or sign a free agent via post on the season thread or email. The commissioner will then make these adjustments in his (commissioner’s) master data base, and the appropriate file will then be sent to the manager.
D. PLAYING TIME LIMITS
1. Maximum playing time limit: During the course of a simulated season, any batter exceeding 110% of their real life Plate Appearances or pitcher exceeding 110% of their real life Batters Faced will be ineligible for further play during that season, including the playoffs.
2. Minimum playing time limit: Players with less than 50 PA or BF in real life for the particlar season being played will be eligible only as replacements for a player at their position who goes on the DL. Players with less than 100 PA or BF will be eligible only as injury replacements and as September call ups and will not be eligible for post season play except as injury replacements. This will apply to each season going forward.
E. DESIGNATED HITTER
The Designated Hitter Rule will be used for all games.
F. PLAYOFFS
At the end of the regular season, the four division winners and the non-division winner in each league with the best record (wild card position) will compete in the league playoffs. The team with the best record in each league will receive a first round bye. The other division winner and the wild card team will play off, with the winner then playing the team with the first round bye for the league championship.
3. OFF SEASON ACTIVITIES
At the conclusion of each season there will be a three week dormant period. No player movement will be allowed during this time. After the three weeks an offseason thread will be started. Once the offseason thread is put up, trades may be made and posted at any time. Additionally, the following activities will occur on a schedule posted by the commissioner:
Each owner will submit their list of nontendered players (players who will not be offered a new contract) within one week of the startup of the offseason thread. Any player not listed as a nontender will be assumed to be remaining on the roster and their salary will count towards the teams cap.
1. The date, time and procedure for the rookie draft shall be set by the commissioner in a post to the offseason thread.
2. Players who debuted in the real major leagues in the upcoming replay season will be drafted through a Rookie Draft. Only players who made their first major league appearance in the coming season are eligible for the Rookie Draft. The draft will be in inverse order of the previous year’s final league standings, except the first round (see Rule 3 below), and will be a straight draft.
3. The first round only will be held using a lottery to determine draft position, with the prior year’s six playoff teams excluded. The playoff teams will draft in inverse order of the prior year’s finish, in positions 11 through 16. The other ten teams will be allotted chances based on their position the prior year, with the worst team getting 10 chances, next worst nine, on up to one chance for the 10th worst record. A random draw will then be held to slot first round draft positions for these ten teams. NOTE: Should one of the playoff teams have a worse record than a none playoff team, that playoff team shall still be excluded and the none playoff team will take their spot for purposes of the lottery.
4.Salaries for drafted rookies will be as follows:
a.) First 4 players drafted: 3 million dollars.
b) Next 4 players drafted (5th through 8th): 2.5M.
c) Next 4 players drafted (9th through 12th): 2M.
d) Next 4 players drafted (13th through 16th): 1.5M
e) Next 8 players drafted (17th through 24th): 1M
f) Next 8 players drafted (25th through 32nd): 750K
g) Next 16 players drafted (33rd through 48th): 500K
h) All remaining players drafted: 250K
5. Beginning with the 1979 draft, the rookie draft shall consist of four rounds or 64 players. Any undrafted rookies will go into the free agent auction (Section C below). There will be a supplemental fifth round through the 1985 rookie draft, so that any owner who has traded for a fifth round draft pick does not lose those picks. Beginning with the 1978 season no fifth round or lower draft picks shall be included in any trades.
6. Each rookie is signed to a six year contract with an annual salary based on the above chart. At the end of the six “team controlled” years the player becomes a free agent.
C. FREE AGENT AUCTION
An auction of all free agents shall be held. The starting date and time of the auction shall be determined by the Commissioner.
Any player who is not tendered a contract by his team or whose contract is expiring shall be entered into the free agent auction. The Free Agent Auction shall be conducted as follows:
1. Preliminary bidding will begin on the day and at the time as set by the Commissioner.
2. Any owner may make an offer on any free agent player by posting the player’s name and his offer to the Free Agent Auction thread.
3. For the first 48 hours, any owner wishing to bid higher on a player in the auction must exceed the current bid by at least 250K. Then:
a) The first official list of bids is posted. Any player whose bid is not topped within the next 24 hours is considered signed by the bidding team.
b) A new list is posted after 24 hours. The minimum bid increment increases to 500K. Any player not receiving another bid during this phase is considered signed by the bidding team.
c) A new list is posted after 24 more hours. The minimum bid increment increases to 1M. Again, any player not receiving another bid during this phase is considered signed by the bidding team.
d) After 24 hours at the minimum 1M bid increment, the auction becomes a live auction. Minimum bid increment remains at 1M. Any player who does not receive another bid within 10 minutes is signed by the last bidding team. This phase lasts until no further bids are made.
D. OVERBID PENALTIES
1. If an owner exceeds the 100 million
salary cap in the course of either free agent auction their highest
bid will be disallowed and the player they bid the most on will be
lost to them (the owner cannot have the player he bid the most for).
He will also have a 5M reduction in salary cap imposed upon his team
for the subsequent season (for example, if the overbid occurred
during 61-62 offseason the penalty would be enforced in 1963). If
multiple bids must be rescinded to get under the cap then the
reduction will be 5M for each bid that is in violaton.
2. Any
player(s) for whom a bid is disallowed due to cap violations will be
offered to the second highest bidder at their last bid price if they
are still in a position to and want to sign that player. If the
second highest bidder can't take the player or chooses not to sign
the player then that player will be made available to any interested
owners via sealed bid.
3. If a new manager takes over a team that is due to have a salary cap penalty imposed because of the above rule, the penalty shall not be imposed.
E. CONTRACT LENGTH
Contract lengths are determined as follows and are at the discretion of the team:
1. Winning bid less than 5M, contract can be one to three years.
2. Winning bid between 5M and 7.75M, contract length can be one to four years.
3. Winning bid more than 8M, contract length can be one to five years.
F. ADDITIONAL PLAYER SIGNINGS
After the Rookie Draft and Free Agent Auction, any team may sign any remaining player at the minimum wage (250K). Should two teams put in a claim for the same player at the same time, he will be awarded to the team with the worst record at the time of the claim.
G. FULL ROSTER
At the conclusion of this entire process every team must have 40 players under contract. Any team with less than a full 40 man roster will have 250K in salary assigned to each vacant roster spot. At no time during this process may a team exceed the 100 Million dollar salary cap.
H. LINEUPS
Submit lineups, pitching assignments and managerial profile to the commissioner. Season begins.
4.
FREE AGENCY
A. ELIGIBILITY
1. Players will be eligible for free agency following their sixth season (i.e. the rookie class of 1962 will be free agents for the 1968 season; class of 1963 will be free agents in 1969, etc).
2. Any player not tendered a contract also becomes a free agent.
B. FREE AGENT “HOMETOWN DISCOUNT” RULE
1. Any player taken in the Rookie Draft who is still with their original drafting team when they become eligible for free agency
(end of sixth season) will have a
“hometown discount” option applied to them for the free
agency auction.
2. The hometown discount will allow the
original draft team (hometown team) to submit an opening bid prior to
the free agent
auction. This bid shall include the length of the contract offer in years. Any other team wishing to bid on that player will have to beat this opening bid by at least 20%, rounding up to stay with 250K intervals, and also match the contract length in years. If the hometown team’s inital bid is surpassed by a bid at least 20% higher by any other team (rounded up to next 250K), then the auction will proceed as normal with no further advantage to the “hometown team”.
3. If the “hometown team” resigns the player, the same option will be available to them when the first free agent contract
expires, assuming the player is still with the “hometown team”.
4. The “Hometown Discount” will only apply to players taken in the Rookie Draft who remain with their original team.
Players obtained via trade or
signed as free agents will not be eligible for the hometown
discount.
5. If the hometown team
chooses not to bid on a player entering free agency, that player will
be auctioned in the normal
fashion.
6. Players signed via the Hometown Discount Rule are eligible for multi-year contracts. Contract length will depend on the salary paid, as follows:
a) Players signed for 8 million or more, contract may be up to 5 years.
b) Players signed for 5 million or more, contract may be up to 4 years.
c) Players signed for less than 5 million, contract may be up to 3 years.
LENGTH OF THE CONTRACT IS AT THE OWNER’S OPTION AS LONG AS IT IS PROPER UNDER THE ABOVE GUIDELINES.
5. FRANCHISE PLAYERS
Beginning with the 1970 Rookie Draft, each team may designate one player as a Franchise Player per decade (1970 to 1979; 1980 to 1989; 1990 to 1999; 2000 to 2010). Rules concerning Franchise Players are:
A. ELIGIBILITY
The player must be one that was originally drafted as a rookie and retained by the designating team.
B. DESIGNATING A FRANCHISE PLAYER
The designation of Franchise Player shall be made after the player’s fourth season. Once the Franchise Player designation is given a player, he is automatically given a two year contract at 12M per year. Once this original two year contract expires, the designating team may continue to sign the Franchise Player to one year contracts, each at 12M per year.
C. DURATION
The Franchise Player remains with the designating team for as long as the team owner desires, at the 12M per year salary. The player does not become a free agent after his sixth season.
D. TRADING A FRANCHISE PLAYER
A Franchise Player who is traded by his original team loses the Franchise Player tag and is treated as follows:
1. If the player is traded during his two year contract period (player years 5and 6), the contract remains in effect for it’s duration, and the player becomes a free agent when the contract expires (end of player year six).
2. If the player is traded once he is on a one year contract at 12M (past the sixth player year):
a. If traded during the season, his current contract for 12M will be valid through the end of the season. The team trading for the player has the option of signing the player to a contract extension, based on the salary structure outlined in section b below. If they choose not to resign the player, he becomes a free agent.
b. If traded during the off season, the acquiring team must sign the player to a contract. The amount of the contract will depend on the number of years the player is signed for: one year contract, 13M per year; two year contract, 14M per year; three year contract, 15M per year; four year contract, 16M per year; and five year contract, 17M per year. The player may not be signed to a contract for more than five years. When the contract expires, the player becomes a free agent.
6. EXPANSION
A. The league may expand at any time in the future upon agreement of a majority of the owners
B. The method and procedure for this expansion will be determined by discussion and mutual consensus of the current owners.
7. STADIUM MOVES
An owner gets one free stadium move over the life of their franchise. Moves may also be made with a change of ownership or if your stadium went inactive in real life. Any stadium move requests not covered by this section shall be dealt with on a case by case basis and may result in a salary cap deduction to pay for the move.
8. AMENDMENTS TO RULES
These rules may be amended at any time by a majority vote of active owners.