League Rules

[Columbus Wild]

Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, OF, U, SP, and RP.
Eligibility: Players are eligible at their primary position, plus positions they've played 10 games last year or 5 games this year.
Transactions: Lineups are set once for the start of each period.
Deadline is 30 minutes before game time on the first day of the period.
- Owners may set lineups and change players' positions.
- Only players who are on the disabled list may be placed into injured status.
- Drops are handled by a waivers process.
- The waivers process runs on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
- The waiver order resets after each weeks' games and priority is set in reverse order of standings as of May 1st.  From start of the season to May 1st order will be in reverse order from previous years standings.
- Demoted players remain on waivers for 24 hours.
- Trades must be approved by the commissioners.
- No trades can be made after the trade deadline.
- Owners may make trades during the offseason.

Roster Minimum: You must have a minimum of 25 active players on your roster by opening day.  (C=2, 1B=1, 2B=1, 3B=1, SS=1, MI=1, CI=1, OF=5, UT=2, SP=5, RP=4, P=1)

Roster Limits: 250 is the max number of players you may have on your team.  That includes a 40 man MLB roster and 210 minor league players in your farm system.  If you reach 250 you will have to make some minor league drops in order to draft.

Team Names: Please select a state, city or county followed by a mascot name.  (Ex: Columbus Wild).

Schedule: Weekly scoring periods, starting on Mondays.

Playoffs: Round One will be Week 23 and will match #1 vs #8, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, #4 vs #5. Round Two will be Week 24 and Finals will be Weeks 25 (and 26 if applicable).

Ties in playoffs will be decided by Regular Season record.

Fees: League Entry Fee: $6.50 (Fantrax Fee)

Scoring: Head-to-Head, Individual Categories System.
Scoring based on total stats each period.

The Scoring Period for each week runs Monday through Sunday/ Because Opening Day may be on a Sunday, the Scoring Period for the first week will be Sunday through Sunday. All games will be contested in head-to-head match-ups based on the following categories and winner-take-all values:

OBP = 1 Win
Runs = 1 Win
RBIs = 1 Win
Total Bases = 1 Win
Stolen Bases = 1 Win

Wins + Quality Starts = 1 Win
2 * Saves + Holds = 1 Win
ERA = 1 Win
WHIP = 1 Win
Strikeouts - Walks = 1 Win

TOTAL 10 Wins

Each match-up has a possible 10 Wins at stake. In the case of a tie in any particular category the point values will be split evenly for that category.

Lineup
Each team will set a 25 man lineup one time per week.  The lineup deadline is Monday before the first game.

Positions
10 Pitchers (5 SP and 5 RP or 6 SP and 4 RP)
2 Catchers
1 1B
1 3B
1 Corner
5 OF
1 U pinch hitter (any position)
1 2B
1 SS
1 Middle Infielder
1 U pinch runner/def specialist (any position)

A player must have played 5 games at a position to qualify, or have played that position most in the minors this year. The schedule will be set by Fantrax.

Salary Cap: $115 Million

Transactions: All transactions will take effect at the start of the next weekly time period.

Disabled List Rules: If a player is on the Major League Disabled List, he may be placed on your team's Disabled List.
Players on the 15-Day DL will count against your 40.
Players on the 60-Day DL will not count against your 40. You may place 60 day DL players on injured reserve.  Once the player is activated in MLB you must activate them to your 40 man roster or subject them to waivers.

Waivers: You can put a player on waivers and attempt to send him to the minor leagues at any point. Other teams will have 48 hours to claim the player.

In year 1 or 2 of year to year contracts you can demote players to the minors without passing them through waivers.  After this (y2y3 and up) in order to have these players in the minors they must pass through waivers.  They also must be called up to your 40 man before the start of the season. 

If a player clears waivers, the below options are available.

1) Player will go to paid minors and can be called up again.

2) Player can be released (dropped from roster) and the team will continue to pay the players remaining salary.  If a player has a contract of $2.0M per season through 2025, then a cap hit will be applied to your Fantrax roster for that player for $2.0M through 2025.  The player will become a free agent and can be bid on by other teams.

3) Player can be released (dropped from roster) and the team can buyout the rest of the contract in the current year.  Same example as above, a GM can choose to pay the remaining $6.0 of the players contract in the current year and will not have any cap hits moving forward.  The team must have cap space available to do this.  The player would again become a free agent once dropped and can be bid on by other teams.

In the event of a y2y contract, since these are yearly contracts, if a y2y player is dropped you will only be charged a cap hit for the current year.  Example:  A player is on a y2y4 contract and is being paid $1.2M, you only be charged the cap hit of $1.2M in the current year.

The decision to go to paid minors or choosing one of the release options can be made after the player clears waivers.  You can  make it when you post the player to waivers but you will have 24 hours after the player clears to select an option or the player will default to paid minors.

Rookie Contracts: The rookie threshold in this league is 50IP/130AB. Once you call a player up he is given a contract as follows:
y2y1: $300,000
y2y2: $600,000
y2y3: $900,000
y2y4: $1,200,000
y2y5: $3,600,000
y2y6: $5,400,000

This is a year to year contract. The player stays at $300,000 until he passes the rookie threshold. Once he passes 50IP/130AB he is then offered the next level of contract the following year.

Free Agency Rules: Bidding will take place over rounds with players divided into groups. Each player will be auctioned off with the high bid winning after 24 hours has passed without a higher bid. Free-Agents signed during the offseason signing period are ineligible to be traded prior to June 1.


You can have a total of 3 option contracts each off season free agency period.  (Example: 3 year contract, but you can determine to cancel it after year two or extend it to the 3rd year.....2016TO2017.)

You can designate 3 players each year as matching free agents.  This means you have the right to match the highest bid placed on your player once the bidding is final. You may only match 2 of your 3 "match" players. This will help teams keep their players at market value. An owner must declare whether he intends to match or not within 24 hours.

After a free agent has been won by an owner, the owner can choose a contract length from 1 to 5 years. The winning bidder has 24 hours to declare a contract or a default 1 year contract will be placed on the player (unless the bid exceeds $10 million, see below).

Each team also has the rights to designate 1 player with the Franchise tag, meaning he will be on your team for the next 3 seasons. He can't be waived or traded. He will be signed at 8 million dollars or 120% of the value of the final season on his contract, whichever amount is greater. Each team can only have 1 Franchise player on their team at a time.

The maximum bid is $20 million. If multiple teams bid the max, the team with the worst record wins the bidding. The minimum salary you can introduce a player at is $300,000. The largest amount you can raise a bid is $1 million at a time and the minimum amount you can raise a bid is $100,000.

Free Agents signed to over $10 million contracts must be signed to a minimum of a 2 year deal.

Players can have team options in their contracts. Three options are allowed per offseason. No options are allowed for in season free agents. The option can be designated at any point in the contract with the exception of players over $10 million where the option must come after season 2 or later. If you choose to designate the option for multiple years, the player receives that amount for the entire period.  Free-Agent options are not eligible to be renewed on a yearly basis.

You can only have 5 high bids at a time maximum. You also may not exceed your available cap while bidding.  If you exceed either 5 high bids or your cap, you will be given 1 warning and if violated again you will lose your permissions for that round.

If you win a player you must have roster space to add him to your roster.  You will have to perform waivers or a trade to make room for your signed players. 

Exceeding the salary cap in bidding is also not permitted.  You will be given warnings.  If you ignore the warnings and continue to  exceed it, your right to bid on that group is forfeited and you lose your 1st Round pick in that year's FYPD.

Any team who does not re-sign one of its own pending free agents will receive compensatory draft picks in that year's FYPD. The picks given will be based on the amount the player was signed for.

Rules Special to Matching Round:
- Teams can match up to two contracts.
- Matching teams will have up to 24 hours to decide to match or decline contracts after the auction has been won by another team.
- Contract decision clock starts after the matching owner has decided to decline or match (or if 24 hour passes with no decision).
- If one of your matching players hasn't been nominated and you wish to match him, the owner must start the auction for the player.  Any players not nominated in matching will move to the unrestricted free agency rounds of their position.

Free Agent Compensation based on salary:
1st Round Supplemental: $10 million +
2nd Round Supplemental: $8 - $9.99 million
3rd Round Supplemental: $7 - $7.99 million
4th Round Supplemental: $6 - $6.99 million
5th Round Supplemental: $5 - $5.99 million
6th Round Supplemental: $4 - $4.99 million



Trading: Trading may not involve cash. Owners may trade players or draft picks.  Owners may trade up to 7 in MLFAD picks  and 10 in FYPD picks.  Owners may not trade future years FYPD or MLFAD picks until the current years draft is over.  (Example:  you can't trade any 2014 FYPD picks until the 2013 FYPD is over).  You may not trade a player on an expired contract (y2y6, etc..) in the offseason. 

Trade Deadline: August 15th each year.

Drafts: There will be 2 drafts each year; A first year player draft (FYPD) and a minor league free agent draft (MLFAD). 

FYPD: The draft order for the FYPD will be in order from last to first.  This draft will be 20 rounds.  If an owner fails to make a pick in the first 10 rounds of this draft the commissioners team will draft for the team(s) based on the highest available pick from the MLB amateur draft.  You may trade up to 10 FYPD draft picks per season.

MLFAD: Players under the rookie threshold of 50IP/130AB that are not on a PTB roster are available to be selected in this draft.  Recently signed IFA are also available.  The draft order for the MLFAD will be in order from last to first. This draft will be 15 rounds.  You may trade up to 7 FYPD draft picks per season.

International Signings: Starting in 2013 all international signings that are signed to MLB contracts and placed on the MLB teams 40 man roster before free agency (or their round of free agency starts) will available to be bid on in free agency. 

If these types of players sign after free agency they will be available to pick in MLFAD. 

If they sign after both MLFAD and free agency in that year they will be off limits until the following years free agency.

Under Rookie Threshold
Players that are under the rookie 50/130 threshold that are called up to a teams 26 man roster, they will be available to be picked in the current years MLFAD.  If they are not on a PTB roster and are called up to a teams 26 man roster after the MLFAD draft, they will be available for in season free agent bidding. 

[Columbus Wild]

This is in the Waivers Forum but I wanted to add this here as well as one stop for all rules inquiries.
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WAIVER PRIORITY:

Inaugural Season: The initial waiver priority for the inaugural season will be the inverse order of the MLB Dispersal Draft. On May 1 through the end of the season, the waiver priority will be in reverse order of the in-season standings (i.e the claiming team with the lowest winning percentage at the time the player is released will win the claim).

Future Seasons: Waiver priority during the offseason will be the reverse order of the final standings.  Opening day through April 30th the waiver priority will be based upon the reverse order of the previous season's final standings. On May 1, the order will be the inverse of the in-season standings.

WAIVER RULES:

You can put a player on waivers and attempt to send him to the minor leagues at any time. Other teams will have a 24 hour period to claim that player. They will inherit his contract as is. Unclaimed players go to paid minors. The player will be in your minors and his salary will still count against your team salary cap.

Only players on MiLB Call-Up contracts can be sent down in either of the first 2 years (without being placed on waivers). Teams can send down any promoted player at any time without exposing them to waivers. Their salary will still count against your salary cap if you demote them. 

[DC Wiffleballers]

Playoff Rules

- 8 teams make the playoffs (4 division winners and 4 wild cards based on best record).
- Seeding is based upon Winning Percentage as computed by the Fantrax wesbite.
- If there is a tie in winning percentage, for seeding purposes the tie breaker will be the two team's head to head record during the season.
- If two teams tie in the playoffs, the win goes to the higher seed (the team with the better season record).
- The first two rounds of the playoffs will be 1 week matchups.  The final game will be a 2 week matchup. 
-Each round is reseeded.