ARTICLE I: COMMISSIONER
1) The league will always have a commissioner to settle disputes and ensure fair play.
2a) League members will vote for a new commissioner each offseason from a list of candidates nominated by fellow managers.
b) Commissioner nominations will take place during the first two rounds of the MLB playoffs. The voting will last for one week--and will take place on the Yahoo message board--starting with Game 1 of the World Series
3) The new commissioner will assume responsibilities effective the day after the vote concludes.
4) The commissioner’s term will last one (1) year and no one shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.
5) The commissioner has the power to call league votes, void any trade thought to be detrimental to the league’s competitive balance, and set punishments for any infractions made by managers.
6) The commissioner’s decision(s) will be the final word on all matters, subject to Section 7.
7) In order to override a decision made by the commissioner, more than two-thirds of the league must vote in favor of a veto.
ARTICLE II: ROSTERS
1) Each team will have a 25-man major league roster with an additional 5 DL spots. They can also keep up to a 25-man minor league roster.
2) If a player is not on Yahoo’s player list, he cannot be on a Defectors major league roster. However, all unattached players are available during offseason drafts and can remain on a minor league roster.
3a) Any legitimately injured player that is not added to the DL at the beginning of the season due to Yahoo neglect or MLB teams taking advantage of extra off-days may be left in a manager's minors and not count against the 25-man limit--with consent of the commissioner.
b) These players will be highlighted on the roster page and designated as roster exemptions.
c) As soon as Yahoo adds them to the DL, however, they must be added to a manager's major league Yahoo roster. Otherwise, they will count against the 25-man limit and a corresponding move must be made to avoid penalty.
ARTICLE III: LINEUPS
1) Lineups will consist of nine (9) batters filling the following positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, UTIL.
2) Lineups also consist of 10 available pitcher (P) spots.
3) Additionally, lineups contain six (6) available bench (BN) spots.
4) 'NA' players can only be rostered until May 1.
5) Any manager who keeps an 'NA' player rostered for 14 full days at any point starting on or after May 1 will be issued an official warning and have an additional 24 hours to make a move involving the player in question.
6) If no move is made within 24 hours, the manager will lose their lowest-remaining draft pick.
7) If no move is made within 48 hours of being warned officially, the commissioner will have the authority to remove the player from the offending manager's roster. The player then becomes a free agent subject to override rules once released (see Article VI for information regarding to players newly added to Yahoo's database).
8) Exceptions will be made for players on the MLB bereavement list, pitchers sent down during the All-Star break to stay on rotation, and anything else that the commissioner deems a valid short-term excuse for players designated 'NA'.
ARTICLE IV: EARNING POINTS
1) Only players in the active lineup on any given day will be eligible to earn points, unless an excuse is approved by the commissioner, and there are no objections from other league members.
2) Points are accumulated in the following stat categories (with their corresponding values):
R (2), 1B (1.5), 2B (2.5), 3B (3.5), HR (4.5), RBI (2), SB (2), CS (-1), BB (1), IBB (1), HBP (1),
K (-.5), GIDP (-1); IP (1.5), W (7), L (-7), CG (10), SHO (5), SV (7), H (-.25),
ER (-1), BB (-.5), K (1.5), BSV (-4), GIDP (1), HLD (5), QS (5.5)
ARTICLE V: ACQUIRING PLAYERS
A manager may acquire players in the following ways:
1) Via a trade with one or more fellow managers;
2) Via league-wide drafts;
3) Via free agency:
a) Free agents may not be picked up until the commissioner-designated start of free agency. This date will be set only after the conclusion of all offseason drafts.
b) Only unattached players in the Yahoo database qualify as free agents. (Note: the database might not be 100% accurate so confer with other league members regarding player availability and accept that you might not be awarded the player in question.)
c) Players must be physically added to a team’s roster; otherwise they are still considered free agents. Only posting a message to claim a player will not be accepted as an official roster move. The same applies to the transfer of players between the majors and minors.
d) Managers must post on the board when they are sending a player to their minors, whether the move is protected or not, and if there are any players also being cut from their roster. The same applies to calling players up from the minors.
ARTICLE VI: OVERRIDES, SEND DOWNS & PLAYERS ADDED TO YAHOO
1) Managers are allotted three (3) overrides per season.
2) Overrides can be used to acquire a player who is being demoted, unprotected, to the minor league roster of another manager. Once a player being sent down is overrode, he annot be rescinded by the origina manager. Override priority is based on reverse points order: before May 1, the order defers to the previous season’s standings; after May 1, current point totals determine priority.
3a) During the first 24 hours of free agency, a manager can use an override in order to claim any player picked up by another manager, as long as the overriding team had fewer points during the previous season.
b) For the rest of the season, managers can only override rostered players sent unprotected to the minor leagues by their manager, as well as newly-added-to-Yahoo players picked up by a team with a lower override priority. All cases occurring within the first 24 hours will extend the full override period, in order to prevent last-minute roster moves. Overrides are unlimited, and do not count towards a manager’s season supply of three (3), on the first day of free agency.
4) If applicable, any expansion team will rank at the top of the override priority list. In the case of multiple new teams, the order will be the same as for the expansion draft, switching if and when any expansion team that does not have the weakest priority uses an override.
5) A manager cannot place an override claim on his own roster move.
6a) Any players picked up and then sent down unprotected during the opening 24 hours of free agency are subject to full-season override procedures. The one difference is that any overrides placed within the opening 24-hour window do not count towards a manager's initial season limit of three (3).
b) During the first day of free agency, players cannot be sent down protected until one of the following occurs:
i) the override period expires--this being 24 hours after the player in question was picked up or dropped by the initial manager.
ii) the team with the highest override priority claims the player, thus eliminating all further legitimate override claims.
7) Each manager receives five (5) protected send downs (PSD) per season.
8) Players added to the Yahoo player database can be added by any manager but are subject to override until noon ET the following day. If an override is placed in the last hour of eligibility (after 11am ET), the window will be extended by one additional hour. There will only be one one-hour extension and an override will never count if placed after 1 PM ET. Override priority for players added will be based on the previous year’s point totals through April 31, with any expansion team(s) at the top of the list. On May 1, the current season’s point totals will take effect in determining override priority.
9a) Any players overridden must be added to the Yahoo roster of the overriding team. Once this occurs, the player in question may then be sent to the minors.
b) In the case of players recently added to Yahoo’s database, the player(s) must stay on the Yahoo roster through the override period described in Section 8 before being sent to the minors.
10) Overrides and PSDs can only be traded for the current season (defined as the period between the day after the conclusion of the Defectors Cup and the last day of the proceeding year's Defectors Cup finals).
11) There is no limit to the number of overrides or PSDs one can hold; all acquired can also be traded again by the new manager.
12) Overrides and PSDs do not carry over from season to season, whether traded or kept.
13) The override priority of a traded override is determined by the current manager, not the original or previous one.
ARTICLE VII: VOIDING TRADES
1) A trade may be voided if it is found to be detrimental to the league's competitive balance. In addition to Article I: Section 5, the commissioner may consider personally voiding or putting to a league-wide vote a trade when three (3) managers post a request to void on the league message board within 48 hours of the trade's completion. In the offseason, the window to request a trade be vetoed expands to one week following the trade-in-question’s completion.
2) A trade may be voided without the Commissioner’s approval if any of the players involved in the trade is found to have a pre-existing injury that was not disclosed during negotiations. The team receiving the injured player must exercise the right to void the trade within 24 hours of the trade’s confirmation. This does not apply to injuries occurring after a trade is finalized.
ARTICLE VIII: PLAYOFFS
1) Each division champion and five (5) wild card teams will qualify for the Defectors Cup playoffs. Division winners will assume seeds 1 and 2 regardless of record. Four (4) wild card spots will then be awarded based on best Win-Loss record. A 5th wild card will be awarded to the remaining team with the most points that did not qualify for the playoffs based on Win-Loss record.
2) The playoffs will begin no earlier than September 1.
3) Playoff pairings will be based on teams’ winning percentage (with a possible exception for the #8 seed).
4) Series winner is awarded to higher cumulative point total.
5) Playoff rounds are as follows:
-Quarterfinals (7 days) – 1 vs. 8; 2 vs. 7; 3 vs. 6; 4 vs. 5.
-Semifinals (7 days) – The winner of the 1/8 matchup plays the winner of the 4/5 matchup. The other two series winners play each other.
There is no reseeding during the playoffs. Seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 comprise one half of the bracket while seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 the other.
-Defectors Cup (10 days) – Two remaining teams
6) Playoff series will be extended two days if teams are tied at the end of the regularly-scheduled series, with the winner's points carrying over into the next round.
7a) Teams that qualify for the Defectors Cup playoffs will be able to make roster moves immune to override on the day before the playoffs begin. However, free agents picked up on the day in question are not allowed to be sent down as protected.
b) Advancing playoff teams may make unlimited, protected roster moves on the day before the start of the next round. These moves will be limited to players currently on their major and minor league rosters. If there is no clear winner going into the final day of a series, both teams may make protected roster moves, with the commissioner resetting the loser's roster after the series ends.
8) Playoff teams are prohibited from using any available protected send downs before being eliminated.
9) If a player is dropped from the manager's Yahoo roster mid-series to accomodate another player being activated from the DL, the dropped player will become a free agent.
ARTICLE IX: TIEBREAKERS
1) In case of a tie score during a regular season matchup, tiebreaker order is as follows (only active players’ stats count):
-Team Batting Average for the day
-Runs scored
-Strikeouts thrown
2) A special 2-day playoff will be played in case two or more teams are tied at the end of the regular season for: division champion, and all seeds 1 through 7 (besides 4 and 5). This playoff will be among all tied teams. Any points-wild-card tie will be remedied by Win-Loss record. Points accrued during the tiebreaker will count towards the advancing team(s)'s quarterfinals matchup.
ARTICLE X: RAINOUTS
1) Games will be rained out if ≤10 MLB games are played on one day. If a day is rained out, its points will roll over to the next day’s matchup(s). This does not include the first day(s) of the MLB season that may only have one or a few scheduled games.
2) If there is a day where an MLB rainout brings the days total to 10 or fewer games, a doubleheader will be scheduled on the next non-doubleheader date. Conversely, if a make-up game or other addition to the schedule increases the day's total from 10 to 11 or more, the points will count, rather than roll over, and the following day's doubleheader will change to a one-day, stand-alone matchup.
3) If both teams in a matchup have ≤0 points, the day will be considered a rainout and their individual matchup will be made up as part of a doubleheader at a future point in the season.
ARTICLE XI: YAHOO SCORING ERRORS
1) All Yahoo stats are final until the error is proven by at least two outside sources.
2) Stat adjustments posted to the Yahoo site will be used to update and modify individual game scores as well as season point totals.
3) Any scores which remain in dispute following Yahoo stat adjustments must be reported by posting on the League message board or by emailing to the commissioner within 72 hours of any Yahoo correction (currently every Sunday).
ARTICLE XII: VOTING
1) All league matters shall be voted on.
2) League votes may be called for by the commissioner or if requested by 5 (five) managers.
3) League votes shall last one week, with possibly exceptions made during the offseason.
4) League members are not required to vote.
5) A simple majority is all that is needed for an option to succeed or fail.
ARTICLE XIII: MANAGER CONDUCT
1) Managers may be expelled with a vote favored by three-quarters of the league's current members, based on the number of votes cast.
2) A vote for expulsion will be called after five (5) complaints have been registered with the commissioner in one calendar year.
3) All managers are expected to:
-Participate in league matters and maintain/set their lineups.
-Respond to trade offers in a timely fashion.
-Field the most competitive lineup they can. Any manager found to be benching players, especially late in the season, in effort to help their draft position will forfeit their highest pick in the following year’s draft.
-Ask for assistance if they are unable to keep up with their duties (including inviting a co-manager via Yahoo's 'Edit Team Info' page).
-Respect trade negotiations between other managers.
-Check against the league's player database before adding a free agent.
-Know their own roster and make sure that those players appear on their team page and are not picked up by another manager.
-Treat all other league members with respect and courtesy.
-Inform managers involved in trade negotiations of any outstanding or recent injuries.
ARTICLE XIV: DRAFTING
1) During the offseason, there will be a league-wide draft.
2a) The draft may contain up to four (4) parts (Two-part Replacement; Lotto; Regular).
b) The Replacement (or Expansion) draft will take place if any managers leave the league and are replaced by new managers. The replacement manager(s) will be able to select three (3) hitters, three (3) pitchers, and up to 10 minor leaguers from the roster(s) of the outgoing team(s). They will first select 6 (six) players from the outgoing manager(s)’s major league roster, as it stood on the last day of the previous season. They will then select up to 10 players from the outgoing manager(s)’s minor league roster, as taken from the last day of the previous season. The replacement manager(s) will select these (no more than 16) players before the Lotto draft. They will also select first in each round of the Lotto and Regular drafts. If more than one manager is joining the league, draft order will be determined by a coin flip: one flip between two managers; round robin for three or more.
c) If an outgoing manager previously traded any pick(s) to returning teams, they will remain in the subsequent draft(s); all kept picks will be voided and skipped during the draft. Concerning outgoing managers that missed the playoffs, their traded pick(s) will be weighted in the lottery based on their record from the previous season. If the outgoing manager(s) made the playoffs, their spot(s) will be determined by the same combination of playoff exit and previous season’s record as is used for all playoff teams.
d) The Lotto draft will succeed the Replacement draft. Any leftover players available in the Replacement draft, as well as any living person unowned by other teams, is eligible to be drafted. Draft order will be: replacement team(s) first; followed by non-playoff teams. The order of these teams is determined by a lottery. Each team will have a different number of slips in the lottery, determined by previous season's W-L record. (The team with the worst record has one slip; second worst two slips; etc.) There will be five (5) total rounds in the Lotto draft.
e) The Regular draft order will begin with any replacement team(s) again picking first, followed by the previous season's playoff teams. The order for these teams will be determined, in reverse order, by playoff exit coupled with record, with quarterfinals losers picking at the top and the Defectors Cup champion picking last in each round. There will be five (5) total rounds in the Regular draft.
f) In the event of two of more teams finishing the season with the same record, total points scored will determine which team picks first, with precedent given to teams with lower point totals.
ARTICLE XV: SCHEDULE
1) The regular season schedule will run from opening day through, at the earliest, the final day of August or early September.
2) The regular season schedule will consist of 162 games.
3) Doubleheaders will be scheduled to reflect the number of extra matchups that are needed to bring the schedule to 162 games.
4) Doubleheaders will be scheduled on days that include point totals from the previous day's rainout. If, after adding doubleheaders on all of these days, the schedule still does not consist of 162 games, further doubleheaders will be added to dates with the most (15) MLB games scheduled. Concurrently, if there are more rainout days than necessary doubleheaders, the rainout dates with the most MLB games scheduled will be ignored.
5) All teams will play their division opponents 14 times each.
6) All teams will also play eight (8) games versus each non-division opponent.
blue text - new for 2015
red text - considered for change
