The Millennium Strat-O-Matic
Baseball League Constitution (3/17/2024)
League Format and
Requirements
The MSL is a play by CM Strat-O-Matic baseball league
using all super advanced rules except injuries.
The current version of the game is required. Although it is a play by CM league, netplay
is welcomed and mandatory for the playoffs.
The MSL is divided into four divisions, Koufax,
Killebrew, Brock, and Aaron Divisions. The Commissioner makes assignments. A 162 game schedule is played. Divisional play consists of 18 games with
each divisional team (nine home and nine road games). Interdivisional play consists of six games
with each non-divisional team (three home and three road games). The league
office divides the season into blocks of games. Computer Manager Instructions
and pitching rotations must be submitted to the League Office prior to the
start of each block (see Instructions).
Whenever there are rule changes, the
Commissioner may ask for opinions. When
a majority favors a rule change, it will be enacted by the Commissioner. The Commissioner may implement minor rule
changes that will improve League operations.
The Commissioner has final authority in all disputes (except as
indicated under Trades). However, if
there is a dispute between the Commissioner and a league member, or divisions
within the League Office, then an impartial owner acceptable to both sides may
mediate the issue.
A valid email address and all other information
deemed necessary by the commissioner will be required from each league member
in order to participate in the MSL.
Inaugural
Season
We will begin our activities with the 2000
season, which means that the 2000 season disc up to present time will be
required in order to participate in the Millennium Strat-O-Matic League. In our first season, the roster creation will
be a little particular; each of the managers will be randomly placed in a draft
order and the following steps will then occur:
1. Each
manager will select one MLB team as per the draft order. All players from
un-selected teams will go in the player draft.
2. Each
manager will select eight (8) players from their selected teams; all players
not selected will go in the player draft.
3. The
player draft begins via email using the reverse order of the team selection
mentioned in step 1.
4. Each
manager drafts until they fill their 35 man roster; ballparks are in the draft
and can be selected in any round instead of a player.
Ballparks
Each team has a home ballpark. A ballpark may
only be used by one team. A manager cannot design his own ballpark. If a manager would like to change his ballpark then a 6th
round draft pick is forfeited for the new ballpark. Any new manager coming into the league has
the option of changing the existing ballpark to one that is not occupied by
another team. Switching ballparks may only be completed during the off
season and before the current season’s draft.
The choice of the ballpark will have
a direct result on the designated hitter availability; if an American league
park is selected then the team will have a DH no matter which division the team
will be in our league.
A team may elect to change its
ballpark from year to year provided his current ballpark has changed by more
than + or – 5 from the previous seasons #’s in both the lefty and righty
homerun chances, or if a mgr. still would like to change his ballpark then a 6th
round draft pick is forfeited for the new ballpark. Any new mgr. coming into the league always
has the option of changing the existing ballpark to one that is not occupied by
another team. Switching ballparks may only be completed during the off
season and before the current season’s draft.
To maintain an even balance of AL and NL ballparks, the league
requires a minimum of 8 AL and 8 NL ballparks used. Therefore, a manager may not select a park
that would put the total count of AL or NL ballparks used under the required
minimum.
Team Rosters
Each team will have a maximum of 35 players on
its roster. A team must drop a man (or
men) if a trade causes them to have more than 35 players on their roster. Only 26
players may be active for any series.
The active players may change for any series. Each team must have at least two players for
each position. Pitching rotations carry
over from series-to-series, block-to-block and into the playoffs. Relievers,
however, are considered rested at the beginning of every series.
Managers
are allowed to "expand their rosters" (no 26
player limit) for Blocks 8 & 9. But, each player’s innings pitched or
plate appearances still must be closely monitored to prevent overusage. Players with no usage remaining should be
left in the minors to prevent end of season penalties.
DH is used for all teams.
We use the "Deluxe
Season Rosters (Original)" - not the "Deluxe Season Rosters (As
Played)" each season.
Player Usage
Players are limited to 110% of their actual
plate appearances (defined as AB + walks on their card) or innings pitched.
(Plate appearances is defined as at-bats plus walks= Total plate
appearances). Penalties are assessed for
over usage (See PENALTIES). Pitchers who
are rated with an * may start on three days rest between starts, all others
must have four days rest. Pitchers rated
as either starters or relievers may play only one role during each series. No player may play a position not listed on
his card except for outfielders who may play other outfield positions as
provided for in the Strat-O-Matic rules.
If a player is issued two cards, the manager chooses only one card for
the entire season, being limited the PA or IP for that one card. If Strat-O-Matic issues a single combined
card for a player, only that card will be used.
In-Game Rules
The following max rules are used:
The Draft
Prior to the draft all teams must cut their
rosters to 22 (or less) players. Only “carded players” are eligible for the
draft. However, teams may choose to
protect a “non-carded” player (for future season use) if the player was on the
team’s previous season roster. This will
count as one player towards their 22 player protected
list and their 35 player roster.
With the exception of the
first round (see Draft Lottery), draft positions are determined by winning pct
in reverse order. Non-playoff teams
draft in positions one through twelve.
The first round playoff losers draft in positions thirteen though
sixteen. Second round losers will draft
in positions seventeen and eighteen.
The World Series loser will draft nineteenth, and the World Series
winner will draft twentieth. The
following tiebreakers will be used when teams tie for a draft position:
1. Best head to head record amongst tied teams.
The team with the best head to head record will get the higher
(earlier) draft pick.
2. Best head to head runs scored amongst tied
teams. The team with the best runs scored record will get the higher
(earlier) draft pick.
3. Coin
Flip
Each team will draft until
it has 35 players. Once a team has 35
players it will no longer draft. Draft
spots that have been forfeited due to penalty or expanded pre-draft rosters
will be passed over.
The Draft Lottery
An
NBA-style draft lottery will be used to determine the first 2 picks
(for the first round only). Each team will get the following number of
chances out of 1000:
1st worst: 250
chances (#'s 000 to 249)
2nd worst: 200
chances (#'s 250 to 449)
3rd worst: 155
chances (#'s 450 to 604)
4th worst: 120
chances (#'s 605 to 724)
5th
worst: 90 chances (#'s 725 to 814)
6th worst: 65 chances
(#'s 815 to 879)
7th worst: 45 chances
(#'s 880 to 924)
8th worst: 30 chances
(#'s 925 to 954)
9th worst: 20 chances
(#'s 955 to 974)
10th worst: 12
chances (#'s 975 to 986)
11th worst: 8 chances
(#'s 987 to 994)
12th worst: 5 chances
(#'s 995 to 999)
The
Pennsylvania Daily 3 lottery on subsequent nights will be used on a
pre-determined date to decide who gets the #1 and #2 picks. If the second pick
yields the same result (the team with the #1 pick is not eligible to get the #2
pick), then the next night’s lottery will be used. The remaining 10 teams will draft in reverse
order of record. So the team with the
poorest record can do no worst than pick third in the first round.
Trades
Trades involving players and or draft picks are
permitted. Players to be named trades
are not permitted. Draft picks that are
traded may only involve the upcoming (i.e. “one year in the future”)
season. Trades that are made during the
season are effective at the start of the next block. All trades must be reported to the League
Office by both parties and approved by the commissioner before the trade is
official. The commissioner has the
authority to block a trade (or request that the trade be restructured) if, in
his opinion, the trade is too unbalanced or not in the best interest of the
league.
Traded players are limited to their remaining
PA’s or IP’s (see PLAYER USAGE). If a
trade results in a lineup change, the teams involved must send amended
instructions to upcoming opponents and the League Office. Amended instructions must be received prior
to the start of the next block. Failure
to do so will be considered tardiness (see PENALTIES) and may void a trade.
The Trading
Deadline for “In Season” trades is Block 7.
Therefore, once Block 7 has been completed, no more trades (which
includes either players and/or draft picks) will be allowed. (Only
waiver moves will be allowed for the rest of the season.)
Waiver Moves
Each team may make up to ten waiver
moves per season. Any carded player that
is not on a current roster may be picked up on waivers. For each player picked up, a team must cut a
player, if that is required to remain at 35 players. Waiver moves are granted on a first come,
first serve basis. If a waiver move
results in a lineup change, the team involved must follow the same procedures
as with trades. Waiver moves are
effective for the next block.
All in-season free agent pickups are
lost at the end of the season. In other words, if you pick up a free agent
after the start of the season, you will not be able to keep him on your roster
for the following season. This rule change is intended to help the weaker
teams keep the draft richer for the following season.
Instructions
Each team will provide computer instructions
and pitching rotations for all home games to the league office. These instructions should be in the form of a
Computer Manager exported from the CDROM game and sent to the Commissioner
(unless instructed to send directly to the other league managers). Detailed lineup instructions may be included
within the instructions; however, during game substitutions other than
emphasizing defensive subs are not permitted.
A visiting manager should be able to set the lineups and pitcher then
not have to worry about his opposition. Super Hal may be utilized in your
computer manager instructions.
Instructions and rotations are due to the
League Office prior to the start of each block based on deadlines announced by
the Commissioner. If the Commissioner
does not receive instructions and a rotation from any team, he may provide them
for the tardy team. Such instructions
and rotations will be valid for all home games played during that block unless
a manager emails the league with updated instructions. Failure to submit instructions
in a timely manner will result in penalties (see PENALTIES). The Commissioner will send instructions and
rotations to each team prior to the start of each block in the form of a league
disk. Should significant roster turnover
warrant it, a league disk will be emailed each block. Instruction changes will be asked for each
block. However, the lack of a response
will be taken to mean no changes are necessary.
Reporting Results
Each team is responsible for playing its away
games on time and insuring that proper game results files (“exports”) stats
have been maintained in addition to box scores.
Each team must submit the following to the commissioner prior to the
established deadlines: one ZIP file containing all the export files and all box
scores for the given block of games.
Each team should only have one ZIP file per block and this ZIP file
should be named after the team name (e.g.
"Cardinals4.zip" or "STL4.zip").
The commissioner will send a “reminder email”
toward the end of a segment if a coach’s game results have not been received
yet. If the commissioner does not
receive all stats by the set deadline, the commissioner will play the games
using the computer managers provided for that segment.
Netplay
Netplay is optional during the regular season and mandatory
during the playoffs. If desired, the
home team manager can choose the specific game display options (i.e. show dice,
show player stats, etc.) to be used.
Managerless Teams
In the event an owner leaves the league and a
suitable replacement cannot be found, the Commissioner will auto play the
team’s away games. It is expected that any such team will not be allowed trades
or waiver moves unless usage issues rise up.
The Commissioner will actively seek replacement managers. Should a team be managerless at playoff time,
the Commissioner reserves the right to revoke that team’s playoff privileges or
to appoint a designated manager to play those teams games.
In the event an owner
leaves the league and a suitable replacement cannot be found, the Commissioner
will auto play the team’s away games
Switching Teams
At the end of each season, returning coaches
are offered the opportunity to switch teams and take over an "open
franchise" per the following guidelines:
- The coach with the longest service in the
league has the first opportunity to switch teams
- A coach may not switch to the open team if
the coach made a trade with the team during the previous season
- A
coach may not switch to the open team if the coach’s original team does not own
two picks within the first three rounds of the upcoming draft
- A coach may not switch teams in two
consecutive seasons; any coach who switches teams "goes to the back
of the line" (i.e. priority) for any future switches. Switching
teams is intended as an infrequent option for returning coaches.
Playoffs
The four (4) division champions and the next
four (4) highest ranked teams (based on winning pct) will qualify for the
playoffs. The eight (8) playoff teams
will be seeded as follows: the four division leaders will be ranked by winning
pct from highest to lowest and will be the 1-4 seeds. The remaining four teams will be seeded
according to winning pct as the fifth thru eighth seeds. . The seeding of teams
will be the following:
Provided both teams would qualify for the
playoffs, tie-breakers for a Divisional Title are 1st solved by head
to head record, 2nd by head to head runs scored and 3rd
by coin flip. Same scenario occurs if
seeds 1 thru 8 have any ties in winning pct. A tie-breaking game will only be
required to determine the final playoff spot (i.e. #8 seed) or to determine a
Division Title if the “losing team” would not qualify to be a #5-#8 seed. All playoff series will be best of seven game
series with the higher ranked team being the home team in games one, two, six
and seven. Each playoff manager must
play their games via netplay in the timeframe provided for by the Commissioner
(generally 2 weeks per round). If for
any reason a playoff team cannot support the netplay function then, with the
approval of the commissioner, the series can be played by one team while the
other relays his team’s strategies through instant messenger or by phone
conversation. If the playoff series
cannot be completed in the time frame set down by the league office, the league
office will then play the series using the proxy set of computer mgr.
instructions that each team has sent in prior to the beginning of the playoffs.
Playoff Player
Limitations
Playoff rosters consist of 26 players. The
26 man playoff roster can be modified after each
playoff series. Players must be on the team's roster by the trading deadline
(i.e. end of Block 7) to be eligible for the playoffs. A proxy set of
computer mgr. instructions along with a pitching rotation must be sent into the
league office prior to the start of the playoffs. These will only be used in the event a series
cannot be played within the time frame set down by the league office in
completing the series.
PITCHERS
1
In
the first round, pitching rotations carry over from the regular season.
2
Pitchers
rated with an * require three days rest between starts, all others four days
rest. Pitchers without an * are limited
to 10% of their actual IP on their card(s) in each series.
3
Pitchers
who start and relieve may do both; however, they may not pitch in the game
before or after they start.
4
Starters
may be used in relief.
PLAYERS
1
Players
with more than 500 PA's have unlimited use in the playoffs. Players with less than 500 PA's are limited
to 10% of their PA's per series.
Finally, let’s remember
this is a “fun league” – I know the usages can get a little bit complicated to
keep track of. Just do your best to try
to follow the usage rules and be respectful of your opposing manager who is
trying to do the same.
Playoff Schedule
The playoff schedule for each series will be
the following: two games (hosted by higher
seed), travel day, three games (hosted by lower seed), travel day and two games
(hosted by higher seed). Also, one rest
day will be inserted between each playoff round’s games. Therefore, a “starter with an asterisk” could
start in games 1, 4 and 7 in the first playoff series, but would only be able
to start in games 3 and 6 in the following playoff series.
Penalties and Rewards
Tardiness is defined as the
failure in meeting the following deadlines:
dues, pre-draft roster, instructions (CM’s), results and stats. Tardiness is not penalized as such but a
manager will be subject to replacement by the commissioner if deadlines are
continually missed.
Overuse penalties are based on
a team’s total overuse. Since overuse
negatively affects all league members, the penalties are severe.
Overusage is defined as
a batter exceeding the allowed 110% plate appearances (AB+BB) on their card by
20 (with plate appearances 100 or higher) or by 10 (with plate appearances less
than 100).
Overusage is defined as
a pitcher exceeding the allowed 110% innings pitched on their card by 10 (with
innings pitched 50 or higher) or by 5 (with innings pitched less than 50).
Overusage will be
penalized based on the following chart and the overused players will be lost
for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. However, the commissioner reserves the
right to impose more severe penalties on a team if they have egregiously
manipulated a loophole in league rules or ignored warnings from the
commissioner regarding Overusage.
1 player overused – lose 5th round pick
2 players overused –
lose 5th & 6th round pick
3 players overused –
lose 4th round pick and lose home field advantage in playoffs (if
applicable)
4 players overused –
lose 4th and 5th round picks and lose home field
advantage in playoffs
5 players overused –
lose 3rd and 6th round picks and forfeit place in
playoffs
6 players overused –
lose 3rd and 4th round picks and forfeit place in
playoffs
7 players overused –
lose 2nd and 5th round picks and forfeit place in
playoffs
8 or more players
overused - lose 1st and 4th round picks and forfeit place
in playoffs
Players
that are overused are not eligible to play in the playoffs for the current
season.
Severe over usage of an
individual player will also be penalized by the Commissioner. Severe over usage is defined as a batter
exceeding their allowed PA’s or a pitcher exceeding their allowed IP by 5%. Penalties for these infractions will be based
upon the severity of the offense.
Factors such as extent of overuse, effect on playoff races, and
understanding of those penalties also received for over usage based on the
scale indicated above.
In Conclusion: Over
usage penalties will be reviewed and accessed by the discretion of the
commissioner. Factors going into his decisions on penalties can include when it
occurred, what effect it had on the outcome of the game as well as the season,
playoff races, the race for # 1 pick etc. The value of the player (s) involved
in the over usage is very important also.
Penalties can range from a league warning(s) to forfeiture of games,
loss of draft picks, players being limited in their usage in the playoffs or
eliminated from the playoffs all together, team(s) being disqualified for the
playoffs and up to and including expulsion from the league. The Commissioner
reserves the right to appoint a committee to review all the infractions if he
deems necessary. The committee will consist of no less than 3 league members
and not more than 5. Their decisions on
the penalties will be deemed final by the commissioner.