1 -MissionStatement

 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an immersion in and celebration of more than 120 years of the sport and history of baseball.

 

2 -Overview

 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LEG) brings together 32 individuals who share a passion for baseball. In what we hope is a unique experience, team owners will have full control over baseball franchises: from what goes on in the front office and on the field. While there are many facets to the league it is centered around APBA's Baseball for Windows.

3 -LeagueStructure

 

3.1 -Framework

LEG franchises are divided into two leagues - the American League and the National League. Each League has two divisions - East and West - with eight teams in each division.

 

3.1.1 –Software

 

All franchise owners are required to have BBW 5.75. LEG owners are required at all times to ensure that BBW 5.75 is updated to the latest version of the software available from the publisher, APBA. Software update notices will be circulated as they become available. While the software easily allows for remote play against preset micromanagers, playing head-to-head online using desktop-sharing software is encouraged.

 

3.1.2 -League Rules

A)  DH Rule - Designated Hitter - The universal DH rule will be into effect for both leagues beginning this upcoming season (2026). Use of        the DH by team remains optional on a game-by-game basis. Season 5 NL teams will be given a supplemental pick in the same order          of the regular draft following the completion of the 3rd round. This draft pick is optional. In order to participate, an NL must release            one pitcher without penalty regardless of their contract status and draft a non-pitcher only.

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B)  Intentional Walk With Bases Full - This in-game rule will be toggled on.

 

C)  Bunt for a Hit - will be enabled.

 

D)  Sacrifice with Two Outs - will be disabled.

 

E)  Allow Infield in With 3rd Base Empty - will be enabled.

 

F)  Enable Ballpark Effects - will not be enabled. Ballpark effects will be built into your players' cards based upon the ballpark you are                playing in and the ballparks of other owners in the league. More on that later.

 

3.1.3 -AIM Rules

 

1. Interleague play - will not be used save for in the post-season.

 

1. Games per Team - will be 162.

 

1. Wildcard Teams - will be used.

 

1. Bench Pitching Rotation - will be used only to assist in the management of pitching rotations. A team may un-Bench starting pitchers prior to the start of any game.

 

1. Boxscores Not Saved - seriously? It will definitely not be used.

 

1. Injury and Fatigue Rules - LEG will use "All Injuries and Fatigue".

 

1. Pitcher Durability and Recovery - will be "Late 20th Century".

 

1. Miscellaneous Rules - the following miscellaneous rules will be used:

• Enforce Batters Faced Limits

• Pregame AIM Auto Substitutions

 

3.2 -Schedule Regular Season

 

The Schedule will be broken up into two parts: regular season and post-season.

 

 

3.2.1 -RegularSeason

 

All teams will play a 162-game regular season. Each team will play 14 games against teams in its own division and 8 games against teams in the other division of the same league evenly divided between games played at home and on the road. For functional purposes, one series will be played each week. Intradivisional series (within a team's own division) will be seven games while interdivisional series (against teams from the other division) will be four games. Each team will play the same number of home and road games versus each other team.

 

3.2.2 –Rainouts

 

Any rainouts will be re-scheduled at the next earliest opportunity or if remaining at the end of the regular season, will be scheduled for the break between before the start of the post-season.

 

3.2.3 -Double-headers

 

Will not be used.

  

3.3 -Schedule-Post-Season

 

There will be a two-day break between the final regular season game and the start of the post-season. The post-season will consist of three divisional series (best-of-seven quarter final, best-of-seven semi-final, and best-of-seven League Championship Series) followed by a best-of-seven game World Series. The series will follow a 2-3-2 format.

 

3.3.1 Making It to the Post-Season

 

Barring any ties (discussed later), the winner of each division in each league will automatically earn a berth in the post- season. The six non-first-place teams with the best records in each league will win wildcard berths.

 

3.3.2 Post-season Rankings

 

The first-place team with the best record will be ranked #1 followed by the first-place team with the 2nd best record as #2. Wildcard qualifiers will be ranked from #3 to #8 in order of their record. See 3.03.06 for breaking ties.

 

3.3.3 League Playoffs

 

The league quarter final playoff matchups will have the #1 ranked team in each league facing the #8 ranked team, #2 facing #7, #3 versus #6, and #4 against #5 in a best-of-seven series. Winners of each series advance to the league final. The higher ranked team will be the home team for games 1, 2, 6 and 7.

 

The league semi-final will be a best-of-seven series between the four winning teams from the quarter finals with the highest ranked team facing the lowest and the remaining two teams squaring off one another. The higher ranked team in each series will be the home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7.

 

The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the AL and NL championship with the higher ranked team in each series as home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7.

 

The winner of the American League and National League Championships will advance to face one another in a best-of- seven World Series. The winner of the all-star game will determine home field advantage.

 

3.3.4 -Breaking Ties

 

Ties will be broken as follows in order regardless of how many teams are tied:

a) record against each other or, if more than two teams are tied, combined record against each other. b) record within the division.

c) run differential (scored versus allowed).

 

If two teams are tied for the final playoff spot a one-game playoff between the teams will be required with the winner advancing to the post-season as the wildcard. A single-game playoff will only be held when it determines if a team gets into the playoffs.

 

3.3.5 –Player Post-Season  Eligibility

 

A player can only play in the post-season if in actual life in professional baseball he had 50 plate appearances or pitched in 50 innings (starting pitchers) or 20 innings (relievers). 

 

 

 

3.4 -The Players

 

Stock players "cards" from APBA's warehouse of historical seasons and teams will not be used save for certain player grades. Player cards are unique to this league with their "cards" and statistics adjusted through a process called normalization.

 

3.4.1 -Normalization… why?

 

The purpose of normalization is to put all players on an equal playing field and as much as is possible simulate how the best players to ever hit the field would perform if they played against each other. Put simply, normalization enables us to answer the question of what would Babe Ruth do if he came to the plate against Tom Seaver.

 

3.4.2 -Normalization… what?

 

Normalization is essentially a mathematical exercise that eliminates from a player's statistics key factors that may have played a part in their numbers (when and where they played) and adjusts them based on all-time averages. Removing the impact of the year the player played in as well as the ballpark in which half of his games were played enables us to "purify" the player's statistics by eliminating a bias that allows players in Colorado or small ballparks to hit more home runs, for example.

 

3.4.3 -Normalization…How?

 

Although invisible to team owners, normalization basically works like this: Pepe Frias hit .248 for the Montreal Expos in 1976. In 1976, the average batting average of all NL players was .255. So poor Pepe hit 7 points below the league average which in relative terms is 0.9725 of the league average. If the all-time average of all seasons and all players is .245, then Pepe's normalized batting average for the 1976 season becomes .238 (which is 0.9725 x .245). The same principle is applied to the bulk of pitching and hitting statistics with the additional wrinkle that ballpark factors are considered as is a player's handedness within that ballpark. Additionally, as MLB teams played only about 142 games in 1901 and Negro Leaguers played even fewer, player statistics are further adjusted to a 162-game schedule.

 

3.4.4 -Other Adjustments

 

All players will have a Season Factor (SF) of 100 with the Play Rating (PR) determined according to plate appearances. E.g., if a player would normally be assigned a PR/SF of 1000/75 it will be converted to 750/100.

 

(i) 3.04.04 A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION – INJURY RATING

A team may spend from 2 Franchise Points to reduce the injury rating of a player by 1. Teams are limited to using this option with no more than five players and no player can have an injury reduction of more than 1. This benefit is temporary and does not extend beyond the current season.

 

(ii) 3.04.04 B - Franchise Point Option - Baserunning Rating

A team may spend up to 2 Franchise Points per player to increase a player’s baserunning speed. Each Franchise Point spent allows the team to increase a player’s baserunning rating by 1 to a maximum of two.  No more than three players per season may obtain this benefit. The effects expire at the end of the current season.

 

3.04.04    - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION – PITCHER DURABILITY

A team may increase the durability of starting and relief pitchers using Franchise Points. No pitcher may receive more than one upgrade to durability. The Durability rating of a starting pitcher can be increased by 1 at a cost of 3 Franchise Points and for a reliever at a cost of 2 Franchise Points. The effects expire at the end of the current season.

  

3.4.4 –Injuries

 

Injury ratings (J-ratings) for players will be slightly modified for this league as compared to standard ratings handed out by APBA. An injury rating of 0 will not be given automatically to a player who has played all 162 games in a current season. A "0" rating will only be given out in very special situations - hello Misters Gehrig and Ripken Jr. As a rule of thumb, where a player would normally be expected to have a "0" rating they are more likely to have a J-1 rating and the usual "1" rated players are more likely to have a J-2 rating. There will be no change in players who normally would receive a J-3 or J-4 rating. LEG will not use Disabled Lists.

 

3.4.5 -Player Database

 

While by no means perfect, the players added to the database had to meet certain criteria: a) be awesome; and,

1. have a minimum of five years’ experience in MLB or the Negro Leagues; and,

2. have a minimum of 2,000 plate appearances; or,

3. have a minimum of 1,000 innings pitched as a starter; or,

4. have a minimum of 500 innings pitched as a reliever;  or,

5. have played for 10 seasons.

If a player was elected as a player to Cooperstown then they were pretty much automatically included in the player database. Also, if their career was tragically cut short (e.g. Lyman Bostock) they may and under other special circumstances be included in the database.

 

3.4.6 -Players not in Database/Adding Players

 

If you have a favorite player not in the current league database or simply think someone else is worthy of being included, please feel free to nominate them and we can add him. This will be done on an annual basis before player cards have been finalized for the coming season according to a vote by the Nominating Committee.

 

3.4.7 - Two-way Players

Players who qualify as full-time pitchers and non-pitchers will be treated as being a position player for the purposes of their playing card. As such, AIM will govern the use of these players as non-pitchers using the PR/SF ratings with Babe Ruth during his early career being the primary example. Usage of these players as pitchers will be subject to the following limitations:

• MBF will be calculated for these players using the standard AIM amount of 110% of actual MBF.

• MBF will be monitored offline by the commissioner with information provided to the team owner weekly as to the remaining amount of MBF.

• Once a two-way player has reached his MBF limit (up to -6 MBF) the player will have his pitching grade adjusted to 1 with a W- control rating and M home runs allowed rating.

• Any two-way player used as a starting rotation will not be able to be added to the standard pitching rotation but can be set up to start games as part of a preset lineup vs lefties and/or righties. To be safe, it is recommended that prior to the start of your series on the road that you provide starting instructions to your opponent for any games in which you want a two-way player to be the starting pitcher.

 

Exception: if a two-way player is innocuous (i.e., pitching grade 5 or lower or OPS <.600) he will be treated as primarily a pitcher (if his hitting card is innocuous) or a hitter (if his pitching card is innocuous).

 

3.5 –Rosters

 

Rosters in LEG are subject to two limitations: a) number of players; and, b) salary caps.

 

3.5.1 -Number of Players on a Roster

 

Each team must carry a roster of 40 players with no restriction on the number of pitchers versus position players. During the pre-season, all 40 players will be included on the active roster. Immediately prior to the start of the regular season, teams must reduce active rosters to 27 players with 13 relegated to the minors.

 

Teams must meet certain minimum coverage requirements as follows by position:

 

Catchers - a team must have three carded catchers with combined PR/SF of at least 1300.

Infielders - teams must have at least two players eligible at each position with total PR/SF of 1100.

Outfielders - teams must have at least five players with outfield eligibility and a combined PR/SF of 3300.

Starting Pitchers - a team must have a minimum of four starting pitchers with combined MBF of 4,500 and at least 162 real-life combined games started. Rotations must be a minimum of 4 pitchers during the regular season and 3 in the post-season.

  Relief Pitchers - a team must have a minimum of 1,600 combined MBF for relief pitchers or starting pitchers designated in a non-starting role.

 

3.5.2 -Salary Caps

 

All teams will be required to operate within two salary caps - a current season salary cap of $330 million and a combined contract cap of $800 million. This amount will increase by 1% per year and will be as follows: (annual increase to the seasonal and total contract salary caps will be going from 1% to 2% effective Season 6 as the math on the old system will make it increasingly problematic for teams to re-sign players as one re-signing of a large contract itself will exceed the total team cap increase for a season.)

2021 Season - $333 million season; $808 total contract

2022 Season - $336 million season; $816 total contract

2023 Season - $339 million season; $824 total contract

and so on

 

1. Current Season Cap - this is the total of all amounts players are paid in a current season only.

 

1. Combined ot Total Season Cap - this is the total of all amounts players are being paid over the entire life of their contract. For example, a player with an annual salary of $5 million and a 4-year contract has a combined contract  salary of $20 million. On Opening Day, the Total Contracts for a player will be reduced by the amount of their current season contract.

 

Teams can never exceed the annual salary cap nor the total salary cap at any time in a season.

3.5.2     A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team may spend from 2 to 6 franchise points to purchase a discount on multi-year contracts. The discount must be purchased annually prior to the start of the draft and only affects contracts on all players signed in that year’s draft and needs to be purchased only once per year.

The three discount levels are as follows:

Option 1 – Discount of 5% for Season 2, discount of 10% for Season 3; Option 2 – As Option 1 plus discount of 20% for Season 4; or, Option 3 – As Option 2 plus discount of 30% for Season 5.

 

NOTE: (A) Any player traded who is under a multi-year contract which has been discounted will keep his discounted salary even if traded to a team that did not purchase the discount regardless of whether the discount on the  acquiring team is higher or lower.

(B) Multi-year contract extensions cannot be discounted. The discounts only apply to contracts of players when they are drafted.

 

Detailed salary information for each team will be maintained by the commissioner and will be made readily accessible at all times to league members, but it is the responsibility of each team owner to stay within salary cap limits.

 

3.5.3 -Player Movement Demotions and Promotions

 

Players can only be moved from the minors to the majors and vice versa in between series and never during a series. During the playoffs and breaks (i.e. home team becomes visiting team) players may be promoted only as a result of injuries. Any player promoted under these circumstances must have positional eligibility at the position of the player whom he is replacing.

 

3.5.4 -September Callups

 

On September 1 of the league schedule, all teams may promote to the major league roster all players who have not expended their seasonal usage. You cannot promote a player to the major league roster if he has a Remaining Useful Value (RUse) of 0%.

 

 

3.5.5 -RUse 0% Players

 

Any player whose RUse has been reduced to 0% (exceeded MBF by 6) must be demoted to the minors in between series.

 

3.5.6 -Injuries and Disabled Lists

 

LEG will not employ the standard MLB rules surrounding the use of Disabled Lists. Injured players can be demoted freely to the Farm Team. Players who are injured but are not demoted apply against the team's roster limit.

 

(iii) 3.5.6 A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION – SINGLE INJURY REDUCTION

During a season, a team may spend 1 Franchise Point to reduce by 50% the length of any injury. The injury reduction will be applied during the next break between series. In the post-season, the injury reduction can be applied between games 2 and 3 or 5 and 6 when the home team changes.

 

(iv) 3.5.6 B - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION – TEAM INJURY REDUCTION

At any time, a team may spend 5 Franchise Points to reduce by 50% the length of all injuries in that year for a team. Player injuries will only be reduced during the break between series or in the post-season between games 2 and 3 or 5 and 6 when the home team changes.

 

3.5.6 C - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION – INJURY PREVENTION

At any time, a team may spend 2-4 to Franchise Points to cancel an injury. Injury prevention costs are as follows: 2 FP for injuries less than 15 days; 3 FP for injuries 16-30 days; and, 4 FP for injuries longer than 30 days. Player injuries will only be cancelled during the break between series or in the post-season between games 2 and 3 or 5 and 6 when the home team changes.

4 Trading

 

Trading is not only permitted, it is encouraged. A trade can involve roster players and/or draft picks.

 

4.1 – Trade Restrictions

 

Trades cannot be made that:

1. cause a team to exceed to 40 player roster limit; or,

2. cause a team to have less than 40 players on its roster; or,

3. cause a team to exceed either the current season or combined season salary caps.

 

You cannot trade franchise points nor salary cap money.

 

Teams cannot trade draft picks beyond the draft of the next season. Players can be traded at any time up to September 1 of the league schedule to be eligible for the post-season. Players traded after September 1 of the league schedule will not be eligible to play in the post-season.

 

4.2 -Reporting Trades

 

Trades must be reported to the commissioner and will be announced league-wide and come into effect only after both teams involved in the transaction have confirmed the details.

 

No trades can be made during the contract finalization time immediately after the annual draft. 

 

4.3 –Voided Trades

 

A trade will only be voided if it:

1. results in a violation of the rules set out in 4.1 – Trade Restrictions;

2. is considered to be detrimental to the league as a whole (e.g., a trade that results in a clear and significant imbalance such as

Tim Foli for Babe Ruth);

1. one of the two parties to the trade does not confirm the details.

 

4.4 –Trading Draft Picks

 

Any trade involving draft picks does not need to have the same number of picks exchanged between teams. 

 

You cannot trade a draft pick of Round 10 or later. 

 

All teams will have a minimum of 9 draft pick slots. As teams will enter the draft with a different number of roster spots open, situations may arise where a team needs fewer than 9 draft picks to fill out its roster to 40 players. Teams may trade the rights to these unneeded picks. 

 

5 Player Drafts

 

5.1 -Annual Drafts

 

Annual drafts will be held at a mutually agreed upon date but may be subject to change. Annual drafts will be done via an online draft using Google Docs.

5.1.1 -Draft Order First Round

 

The first 8 picks in any year following the inaugural season will have their draft order determined by draft lottery from the 16 non-playoff teams with the worst records. The likelihood of having the first pick will be impacted by regular season record from the season just completed. After the first eight picks in the annual draft, the draft order will be determined in the reverse order of winning percentage for non-playoff teams and for playoff teams by winning percentage with the winner of the World Series always drafting last. Any ties are to be broken using the same format outlined in 3.3.4 Breaking Ties.

 

5.2.1     A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team can increase its’ chance of winning an earlier pick in the draft lottery by spending Franchise Points. For each Franchise Point spent (up to a maximum of three franchise points) a team will double its chances of winning an earlier pick in the lottery.

 

 

5.2.2 -Draft Order of Round 2 and Subsequent Rounds

 

Following the completion of the first round, the order of the draft for the first eight picks will revert to being made in order of winning percentage with the team with the worst drafting first and best drafting last in any given round.

 

5.2.3 -Trading of Draft Picks

 

If one of the first eight picks in any given draft is traded, the traded pick will automatically be bumped behind all untraded draft lottery picks. E.g., if one of the 8 teams in the draft lottery trades its first-round draft pick the earliest the owner of the new pick will draft is #8. If more than one of the teams involved in the draft lottery has traded its first round pick and both win a spot within the first eight picks the earliest winning pick will be bumped to #7 and the next traded winning pick will become #8. So, the earliest any traded first round choice will actually pick is #7. The trading of first-round picks may subsequently actually move some teams up in the draft order (i.e., a team holding the #8 pick may become the #7 pick if one of the teams traded its pick and won a spot in the top eight picks). Any draft picks which have been traded outside of the teams involved in the lottery will not be modified.

 

5.2.4 – Draft Pool

 

The pool of players eligible to be drafted annually will include:

1. all players undrafted from the previous season; and,

2. all players who became free agents at the end of the previous season; and, (c) any newly nominated players added to the league.

 

5.2.5 -Drafting and Roster Room

 

A team can never draft more players than it has open roster spots. Teams cannot cut players after the draft to bring them down to the 40-player roster limit. Any picks remaining once a team is at 40 players are lost.

 

 

5.2.6 -Salaries for Players in the  Draft  Pool

 

Other than in the inaugural draft, the asking contract price for each player will be determined based on their salary from the previous season as follows:

 

1. Free Agents - players who were owned by a team in the previous season, but became free agents will have a salary equal to 100% of their salary in the previous season (note that for players under discounted multi-year contracts the player may re-enter the draft pool at a salary lower than his base salary);

 

1. Undrafted players - players who were not owned in the previous season will have their base salary reduced to 80% of the previous year’s salary. E.g., A $10 million player becomes an $8 million player. This effect carries forward from season to season so that a player undrafted for two consecutive seasons will have a base salary of 64%, and so on.

 

6 Roster Management

 

A team must always maintain a roster limited by the roster size and salary cap rules.

 

You can never have more or less than 40 players or exceed the annual salary cap or total contract cap.

 

6.1 Contract Buyouts

 

A team can, at the end of a season, buy out the contract of any player that extends beyond the current season. Teams cannot buy out portions of contracts - it's all or nothing. A team can only buy out a player contract if they have the funds available. The buyout cost is 50% of the player’s total remaining contract. The cost of the buyout is applied against any unused salary cap room of the team for the upcoming season. Any player whose contract has been bought out during the immediately becomes a free agent and is tossed into the draft pool for the next year. Players cannot be bought out during the annual draft, nor can they ever put a team above the salary cap limits.

 

6.2 -Contract Expiration

 

At the end of a player's contract, he would normally automatically be eligible to file for free agency. When a contract is completed, his team has the following options:

 

1. Do Nothing - the team says "Adios" to the player and he gets added to the player pool for the next season's annual draft;

2. Re-sign - the team can attempt to re-sign the player to a contract extension of 1 to 3 years.

 

6.2.1 -Do Nothing

 

If you do nothing the player becomes a free agent.

 

6.2.2 -Re-signing

 

Player re-signings are not an automatic thing but are based on the duration and amount of the contract offer and in some cases the uses of Franchise Points. Generally speaking, the longer a contract extension is the more likely the offer will be accepted, but the cost per season and overall, also increases. A contract extension can be made on any previous contract whether it was for one year or five. Contract extensions cannot be offered to any player who has elected to file for free agency because of not meeting annual playing time/usage minimums (see 8.2).

 

Regardless of the offer, there is always a minimum 5% chance that the offer will be rejected.

 

 

6.2.3 – Contract Extension/Re-signing Options

 

Contract extensions are as follows and normally based on the player's salary in the final year of his contract with any discount included:

 

1. One-year Extension - If the salary of the previous season is increased by 10%, the player has a 50% chance of accepting the extension. For every 1% added to the offer, the likelihood of a player accepting the new contract is increased by 2% to a maximum of 95% chance of acceptance. So, a 20% increase in salary would have a 70% chance of success. For every 1% deducted (to a maximum of 10%) from the offer, the likelihood of acceptance goes down by 3%.

2. Two-year Extension - If the salary of the previous season is increased by a base of 20%, the player has a 75% chance of accepting the extension. For every 1% added to the offer, the likelihood of a player accepting the new contract is increased by 2% to a maximum of 95% chance of acceptance. So, a 30% increase in salary would have a 95% chance of success. For every 1% deducted (to a maximum of 10%) from the offer, the likelihood of acceptance goes down by 3%.

3. Three-year Extension - If the salary of the previous season is increased by 30%, the player has a 95% chance of accepting the extension. For every 1% deducted from the offer (to a minimum of 20%), the likelihood of a player accepting the new contract is decreased by 3%.

• FRANCHISE POINT OPTION - Guaranteed Contract Option – under the Guarantee a player has a 100% chance of accepting the extension and his salary will be his base salary (no increase). This option is only available for a 3-year extension. The cost is 5 Franchise Points. A team cannot guarantee two contracts in successive years (need to wait one year to repeat)

 

1. Four/Five-Year Extensions – A team can each year offer a contract extension of up to 5 years to two players. The contract extension terms are the same as for a 3-year extension, but a 4-year extension additionally costs 3 Franchise Points and a 5-year extension costs 5 Franchise Points. Franchise points spent on the 4- or 5-year options are refunded if the player rejects the extension offer. 

 

You can never change the offer once it is set. The player either accepts the extension offer or becomes a free agent unless Franchise Points are used as below.

 

6.2.2     A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team can increase its’ chance of signing a player to a contract extension by spending Franchise Points. For every 2 franchise points spent the likelihood of acceptance is increased by 5%. This Franchise Point Option may be used along with increasing the base offer amount or instead of it.

 

For example, you can spend 2 FP and increase the base chance of a 1-year contract extension from 50% to 55% (you still must increase the player’s salary by the base 20%). You can also spend 4 FP as well as increase the salary from 20% to 25% which would increase the likelihood of acceptance from 50% base to 70% (50% base + 10% for 4 FP used + 10% for the increased salary from base of 20% to 25%).

 

NOTE: Teams must announce that they intend to pad the offer using Franchise Points before the final offer is made and cannot add the Franchise Point to turn a rejection into acceptance. These Franchise Points are nonrefundable.

 

6.2.3    B - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team can spend 3 Franchise Points to re-roll any rejected contract offers, but the likelihood it will be accepted drops to 50%. The franchise points are non-refundable in the event the 2nd offer is rejected.

 

                

 

6.3 -Emergency Player Pickups

 

If because of injuries, a team finds itself short at a given position a team may claim an unowned player to fill the void. The team picking up the player will be required to pay 1/2 of the base salary of the acquired player regardless of the point in the season at which the player is acquired.

 

6.03 A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team can make an Emergency Player Pickup at a cost of one Franchise Point.

 

NOTE: If the team has no franchise points available, the franchise point will be deducted from the amount awarded to the team at the conclusion of the season.

 

6.3.1     – No Salary Cap Room Available

 

A team must try and fill the vacancy using the most economical option available. However, if the team is destitute and has no salary cap room remaining in the current season to accommodate the new player the team will be penalized 1 Franchise Point which will also be carried forward to next season if no points remain.

 

6.3.2     – Emergency Player Pickup Additional Info

 

A player acquired as an Emergency Claim will:

• become a free agent at the end of the regular season;

• force the player he is replacing to be moved to the Farm Organization;

• always be the lowest cost player qualifying for the position where the manpower shortage exists; - be released when the player he replaced returns from his injury.

 

6.4 -Pinch Hitting and Designated Hitters

 

Any non-pitcher can be inserted into the role of designated hitter. A pitcher can never be used as a designated hitter unless he is considered a two-way player. A pitcher can only be used to pinch hit if in that year in professional baseball he had 50 or more plate appearances.

 

6.5 -R-Use 0%, Worn, Tired, and Bushed Players

 

Once a player reaches the status where his Remaining Usage (RUSE) is 0% he must be removed from the Active Roster and demoted to the Farm Organization. This player can never subsequently be recalled to the Active Roster in the same season. Players with fatigue statuses of Worn, Tired, and Bushed should be used in games only with extreme caution and as a last resort. Inserting a player with any of these statuses into a game substantially increases that player's chances of incurring an AIM-related injury.

 

6.6 -Maximum Number of Starts for Starting Pitchers and Rotations

 

No starting pitcher can start more than 45 games in a single regular season.

 

Rotations must consist of at least four pitchers in the regular season and three in the post-season.

 

Relievers should never start games unless they are rated as a starting pitcher as well as a relief pitcher. A starting pitcher may, however, be used in relief. Note that some micromanagers may not use starting pitchers as relievers so choose wisely.

 

6.7 -Using Players Out of Position

 

You can never use a player out of position unless forced to because of injury during a game or series.

 

6.7 A - FRANCHISE POINT OPTION

A team can, before the start of a season, spend 3 Franchise Points to enable a player to be eligible for a position not shown on his current season player card ONLY if he has played that position during his career.  The defensive ratings that will be assigned to the player will be those on the first previous season in which he played that position. If he did not play that position previously the first year in the future in which he was carded at that position will be used.

 

Example: Tim Foli’s current player card is for the 1978 season with the Mets in which he  only  played shortstop. New York, which has Foli on its roster, is going into the season with several shortstops but no 2nd basemen. Foli also played 2nd base in 1971-1973, 1975, 1977, 1982 and 1984. Foli will use his 1977 defensive ratings at 2nd base as the first year previous to 1978 in which he played that position. If New York wanted  extra depth at 1st base as well, Foli did not play 1st base in any season other than 1984 so that season would  be used for his 1st basegrade.

 

NOTE: The positional eligibility does not extend beyond the current season. A player may have more than one additional position added to his cards subject to the conditions above, but the cost is 3 FP per position added.

 

 

 

6.8 -Innocuous Player Rules

 

Innocuous player adjustments for pitchers or batters (OPS <.600) to PR/SF 930/100 will not be made.

 

6.9 -Stealing Restrictions

 

Players will be limited to a total of attempted steals not to exceed 125% of the number of steals attempts that the player card for the season is based upon. E.g., a player who attempted 100 steals in real life can attempt 125 steals in LEG. Once a player has reached his steal limit, his Steal Ratings will be reduced to R-20. A player already rated R-20 will be reduced to N-0.

6.10 –Reliever Adjustments

 

Each team can request an adjustment of up to two relievers in efforts to dictate to the Micromanager how they are used (i.e. Closer, setup). Allowable adjustments are to the ACTUAL Save totals as many Micromanagers use the pitcher with the highest Actual Saves totals rather than Pitching Grade as the primary closer.

 

(Make sure you understand this when picking a Micro-Manager)

 

If you prefer someone else close for you, you can request that up to two relievers ACTUAL Save totals be raised or lowered. The amount a pitcher’s save total can be raised can be no greater than the actual number of relief appearances the pitcher made minus his W/L record.

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