Thunder Bay Baseball League Constitution

Revised November 15, 2008

1. League Description

The Thunder Bay Baseball League (TBBL) utilizes the most recent version of the Diamond Mind Baseball game with the most recent Major League Baseball Season statistics. The TBBL was founded in November of 2003 and is a summer league that runs through October each year.  

The overall league is divided into a National and American League with each following the rules of that league, without inter league play.

Game Settings are as follows:

• No Injuries (players may be lost due to ejection or weather)
• No bullpen warm-up
• Weather effects are turned on
• Clutch ratings are in effect

2. League Hierarchy

The League Commissioner will guide and ensure that overall league operation stays on a reasonable schedule so that each league member will maintain interest.

The TBBL will have a League Statistician (currently Rob Capizzano) who will be responsible for maintaining league stats, monthly database distribution, and transactions.

League Statistician will handle all monthly statistics for the two leagues. He will receive stats by the 20th of the month, and publish the updated stats by the 23rd of the month. If required, he will simulate any late series to keep the league on-track.  It will be the responsibility of the managers to make any adjustments to avoid over usage if simulation is needed.

League Members will be responsible for sending out instructions (via manager profile export), playing games and sending in results and statistics on a regular, timely basis. Each manager will be required to send out all instructions by the 1st of the month. Each home manager will need to ensure that the correct starters are being chosen for each series, prior to playing the series. If the statistics are not received by the 20th of the month by the League Statistician, penalties may be incurred.  The LS will then simulate the games and they will be included in the stat base. Statistics reporting will be done on a monthly basis.  Timely sending of instructions, reporting of results, and reporting of stats is imperative. Series need not be played in the scheduled order but all games in a series should be completed before playing games in another series. Home manager MUST post results in their personal folder on yahoo group site, allowing each visiting manager to retrieve the stats if they choose prior to the new database release.  For a particular month, all series need to be completed, so that they won't require simulation, and the entire set of result files must be sent to the League Statistician for compiling. 

3. League Organization

General Information

• The TBBL is split into two 12-team Leagues, the National League and the American League.
• Each league will have two 6-team divisions, East and West
• The National League will have pitchers hitting and the American League will use the designated hitter
• The season will consist of 162 games and run from April through October

Drafts

• The initial stadium draft was be held in November of 2003.  Teams may opt to switch stadiums once per year only.  Teams may switch prior to March 1st of each year only.  Available stadiums are posted on the web site.  Teams may not trade stadiums.
• The free agent draft will be held in early January each year or conducted via email. The date will be determined in November or early December each year.  Any player (on disk or off disk) not on a current roster may be drafted during the free agent draft.
• Divisions (East and West within Leagues) were determined before the initial draft based on draft order.  Teams may request to change divisions if they have a willing partner to swap with.

Rosters

• Combination rosters (Major League and Minor League players) cannot exceed 40 players at any time (except from the end of the draft until March 20 each year).  Minor League (or off disk) players have "aaa" before their last name, making it easier to identify those players.  Teams may trade Major League and Minor League players in the same deal.  If a trade puts a team over the 40 man maximum, as many players as necessary must be cut to return the team to its 40 man limit before the trade will become official (except during post draft - March 20).
• Teams retain players year to year.  The total number of protected slots cannot be greater than 27. Teams may opt to protect up to a maximum of 10 Minor League eligible players (example: a team may elect to keep 20 major league players and 7 minor league players).  At no point during the season can a team have more than 10 off disk players.  Team cuts will be due by October 1^st each year. If teams fail to cut their rosters down by this date, they are subject to penalties described in section IV.
• Active monthly rosters will consist of 27 players. The final two months of the season (September and October) all players on the Major League roster can be active (excluding aaaPlayers)
• Each month, teams must carry at least 9 pitchers (including 4 starters) and at a minimum 2 catchers.  The balance of the roster can be made up of any combination of players from the major league eligible pool of players.
• In season trades will be allowed through the July 20th^th trade deadline. A trade needs to be agreed upon by both managers and reported to the League Statistician by the 20^th of each month to be valid for the following months games.
• Off-season trading will begin immediately following the conclusion of the World Series and will be suspended on January 1 for draft preparation. Trading will resume 48 hours after the draft has concluded. During the draft, trades are not allowed. Owners may work out deals internally, but they cannot be reported until the trading period has officially resumed.
• Teams may not trade "players to be named later".
• Teams can only trade picks for the upcoming draft (cannot deal 2008 picks before 2007 draft concludes).
• Teams may switch leagues once per year.  A team must have another willing team to switch with, and notify the commissioner via email before the following season begins.  

Free Agents

Starting March 1^st each year, teams may select free agents from the un-drafted free agent pool. Free agent claims will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. A free agent claim must be requested by the 21st of each month to be valid for the following months games. Free agents may be traded.  Free agents cannot be protected.

Instructions and Play of Games

• Each month, the updated database will have all teams completely rested.  
• The regular season will start in April and end in September.  Playoffs will begin within 1 week of the end of the regular season.
• Series may be played by e-mail using manager profiles supplied by the visitors, or games may be played head to head (H2H feature in DMB is excellent). 
• Each month, all owners will post their manager profiles to the Yahoo site by the 1^st of the month.  A Manager Profile may be team specific (MP vs. Team 1 for example) or generically used for all away opponents. 
• Monthly rotations will also be posted to the Yahoo site by the 1^st of the month. Please submit your rotation via the Rotation File provided to you via the Yahoo Site or in text format.  Teams will be responsible for retrieving the starters from these rotations for their series.  
• Managers must completely rest their teams between series to avoid fatigue.  Managers may not rest teams between games of a series, only after the series is concluded.
• New for 2009 -- Teams must have a minimum of 4 active starting pitchers per series along with 2 active catchers.  Additionally, each team  must have 21 total players (out of your 27 man roster) available in each series.  Managers do not have to include all 21 players in your manager profile but must have at least 21 on your active roster for each series each month.
• Special Instructions may be asked of teams to avoid usage issues.  These instructions should be emailed directly to your opponent and copied to the League Statistician.  Teams may also post the special instructions on the yahoo site.

Playoffs

• 12 teams will qualify for the playoffs.  There will be 4 rounds of playoffs (Sub Division Series, Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series).  Each series will be best of 7 with the higher seed holding home field advantage.  Home field advantage in the World Series will continue to rotate year to year.
• In the event of a 2 team tie for a playoff spot, a one game playoff will be played.  The team who has the best H2H record will be awarded home field advantage.  If the two teams are tied H2H, a coin flip will determine who is home.  In the event of a 3 (or more) team tie for a playoff spot, we will follow the MLB tie breaker rules.  Individual one game playoff games will be held until there is a winner.  Usage in these playoff games will not count towards the regular season totals (for over usage).  If two or more teams tie but are in the playoffs, the tie breaker's described below will be used.
• The Division winners will receive a bye in the Sub Division Series round.  The remaining four teams in each league will be seeded three through six and be considered Wildcard teams.  The wildcard teams may be from the same division within each league.  The winners of the Sub Division Series will advance to the League Division Series and play the two division winners (reseeded after each round).  The winners from this series will play in the League Championship Series. The winners of the LCS will play in the World Series. Home field advantage will be awarded to the highest seeded team remaining each round until the World Series. Home field advantage in the World Series will rotate each year with the National League having home field in years ending with even numbers, the American League with years ending in off numbers.
• All playoff series are best of 7; with the higher seeded teams at home in games 1, 2, 6, 7 and lower seeded team at home in games 3, 4, and 5.
• Playoff rosters will be set at 27 players, fixed for each round, and chosen prior to the round starting.
• Rosters can be made up of any combination of players. It is recommended that teams carry at least nine pitchers and two catchers per series.
• Each team should be completely rested before the start of the post season.  New for 2009:  We will not be resetting usage after each series.  This rule was implemented based on owner votes in November 2008.
• Pitchers require at least 3 days between starts.
• Each playoff series will be played using the same stat base for starter and reliever fatigue. Thus, if not played face-to-face, the home manager in games 1 and 2 will send the playoff stats export file to the home manager in games 3, 4, and 5, who will then make sure both teams are rested one day before starting their games. Likewise for games 6 and 7.
• Playoff teams will be given a maximum of 7 days to complete each series.  The playoffs should be concluded by November 1st each year.  

  New for 2008 and beyond 

Starting in 2008, any playoff series not played H2H will be played using the following outline.  The outline was adopted from the BUNT League where it has been used successfully for many years.

• Each playoff manager shall send his rotation and Mgr. Profile to the Post-season Coordinator (to be named at the start of each postseason) only.

• The Post-season Coordinator shall send opponent rotation when both are received and Mgr. Profile to each postseason manager, for each round. 

• Each manager will play all 7 games of the series and export statistics back to Post-season Coordinator only.

• The Post-season Coordinator will simulate his own 7 game series using the MP's and rotations supplied by each manager,

• A team must win at 2/3 sites, in each game, to be declared the winner of that game. A series is over when one team has won 4 game (the other games shall be disregarded). 

Player Usage Restrictions -- Regular Season

• Batters are limited to actual number of plate appearances plus 10%. Batters are additionally restricted not to exceed 200% of PA vs. LHP and 200% of PA vs. RHP (to limit abuse of platoon and part-time players). If a player has 600 or more plate appearances overall, he will be eligible to be used full time with no restrictions.
• Starting Pitchers are limited to actual starts.
• Starting Pitchers require 3 days rest between starts.
• Relievers are limited to batters faced plus 10%.
• A swingman is a player who can either start or relieve. He is limited to actual number of starts and/or batters faced plus 10%.

• Starting Pitchers can be used as a starter or as a reliever, regardless of DMB rating.
• Players may play out of position (computer compensates with defensive deterioration), regardless of DMB rating.
• There are no minimum usage requirements for any player.

Player Usage Restrictions -- Playoffs

No substations can be made for a batter/fielder until the 6^th inning unless the opposing starting pitcher is removed from the game. Starters must have 3 days of rest between starts.  There are no restrictions for relief pitchers (except the minimum requirements to be eligible).

Tie Breakers

• In the event of a tie (for a playoff spot), teams will play a one game tiebreaker to determine better team
• Home field advantage will be based on a coin flip
• Ties for seeding purposes will be broken as follows:

1. Head to Head record  2.  Division Record  3.  Road Record  4.  Coin Flip

4. Due Dates

• Manager Profiles due by the 1^st of each month
• Stats due to statistician by the 20^th of each month
• Exported stats (including box scores and score sheets) due to each away opponent by the 20^th of each month (posted in yahoo)
• Monthly rotations due by the 1^st of each month
• Trades must be reported by the 20^th of each month
• New DB expected by the 23^rd of each month
• 27 man protection list due by October 1^st each year
• Free agent acquisitions must be requested by the 21st of each month to be eligible for the next months play

5. Penalties

A manager can be assessed penalties for the following reasons:

• Late manager profiles or monthly results (submitted by the 20^th)
• Monthly rotation not posted to yahoo site by the 1^st of the month
• Pitching starters out of rotation
• For every two overused players, teams will forfeit the highest draft pick they have at the current time (even if the pick was acquired via a trade).  Teams will receive a supplemental pick 1 round later to compensate them for the loss of pick due to over usage. Basically, this is a 20 draft spot penalty.  Teams can only receive 1 supplemental pick per round.  The overused player's must be immediately farmed and are not eligible for post season play.
• Late emailing of protected list

Penalty Points are as follows:

• 1 point per day – Late manager profiles, rotations, monthly results, box score and score sheet submission
• 1 point – using an incorrect starting pitcher
• 2 points – late emailing of protected list
• For every 10 penalty points, teams will forfeit their earliest draft pick in the upcoming free agent draft.

6. Rule Changes

A 2/3 vote will be necessary to amend or change rules in the constitution. All rule changes will be made in the off-season.

7. Results of 2008-2009 Rule Proposals

• Moving of Roster Protection from October 1 to Post DMB Release of Season Disk - Voted Down with 12 No Votes
• Not resetting usage from post season series to post season series -- Approved with 16 Yes Votes
• Changing the reporting periods from monthly to bi-weekly  - Voted Down with 19 No Votes