BHBL
Constitution
1.0 Commissioner
The Commissioner shall have the
power to oversee the league, to make such decisions as are necessary to ensure
the smooth running of the league, to levy penalties against members when appropriate,
to run the annual draft, and to perform whatever duties are required.
There shall be 24 members, divided
into 2 leagues, 3 divisions of 4 teams in each league. Members are required to
own the latest version of Dave Koch Sports' Action Baseball. In addition, the
Designated Hitter shall not be used in either league. Each team is assigned to
a real-life major league ballpark. When the real life MLB team changes
stadiums, the BHBL team will also make that same change. After the World Series and prior to the draft
each year, teams may select an unused ballpark on a first come first serve
basis or trade ballparks with other teams in the league.
Ball park effects will be used.
Players will be assigned
"Neutral Park" as their home park before being drafted onto their
BHBL teams.
2.1 Rule Changes
The constitution may be amended by
the Commissioner, subject to approval by a majority of league owners. Voting
will occur during the off-season.
3.0 Requirements
for Membership
To participate in the league, each
member must own the latest version of Dave Koch Sports' Action Baseball and the
appropriate season's data disk. Members are required to adhere to both the
letter and the spirit of this constitution and all other BHBL rules and
practices.
4.0 Format of Play
The commissioner will set the file
transfer dates and procedures, as well as policy on rescheduling rainouts. Only
one series will be played during a 7 day cycle. Games for which files are not
received on time will be played by the Commissioner using computer managers for
each team.
4.1 Playoffs
·
At the end of the
season, the top team in each division plus the non-division winner in each
league with the best winning percentage ("wild card") shall qualify
for the playoffs. In each league, the division winners shall be ranked in
descending order by winning percentage and seeded 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The
wild card team shall be seeded 4.
·
In the opening round of
the playoffs, Team 4 meets Team 1, Team 3 meets Team 2, each pair in a best of
7 series. The higher seeded team (1 is the highest seed) will hosts games 1, 2,
6 and 7. The lower seeded team hosts games 3, 4 and 5. A travel day is
scheduled between games 2 and 3, and between 5 and 6. If Team 1 and Team 4 are from the same
division, Team 4 will meet Team 2 and Team 3 will meet Team 1 in the opening
round of the playoffs.
·
The League Championship
Series shall be a best of 7 series. The higher seeded team (1 is the highest
seed) will hosts games 1, 2, 6 and 7. The lower seeded team hosts games 3, 4
and 5. A travel day is scheduled between games 2 and 3, and between 5 and 6.
·
The World Series shall
be a best of 7 series. The World Series shall be scheduled in the same format
as above, with the American League hosting games 1, 2, 6 and 7 in odd years,
the National League hosting those games in even years.
·
If at the end of the
regular season, there is a tie for first place or a wild card, a one game playoff
shall be held. The home site of this playoff shall be determined by the
Commissioner flipping a coin. Statistics generated in this game shall be
accumulated with those for the regular season.
·
Pitcher EPC status and
both batter and pitcher injuries shall carry over into all playoff series
4.2 Miscellaneous
Rules
·
No starting pitcher may
be removed from a game until he has given up 3 runs or pitched 5 innings. A pitcher must have a minimum EPC of 50 to
start a game.
·
Managers shall not take
advantage of "gamisms" inherent in Action baseball. Examples of
gamisms include: using a pitcher with good hitting stats and limited at bats to
pinch hit, or using a pinch runner who is slower than the original runner.
·
The home manager is
required to override the computer manager when the program elects to start a
player out of position. When the computer manager tries to start a player out
of position, the home manager should:
a.
override and substitute any player who is rated at the position (regardless of
fatigue status), and then
b. notify the commissioner; the
team with the fatigue problem must address the issue by bringing a player up
from the minors or by a free agent claim
c. If no such reserve is available
for game at hand (perhaps due to injury), home manager must choose a weak
hitter who would likely fill the position.
5.0 Protests
Members wishing to protest the
decisions made in a game must notify the Commissioner within 2 days of
receiving the game results. When notifying the Commissioner, the protesting
member must list the reasons for the protest, and demonstrate flagrant
misplaying of his team. The Commissioner will then rule as to whether or not
the game(s) in question must be replayed. If the games shall be replayed, the
results from the protested games shall be wiped clean, and those games (and
statistics) will not count towards league standings.
6.0 Team Rosters
·
Each team may control
up to 26 players on its active roster and 10 others on its reserve list
("farm team"), for a total of 36 players. The active roster must
contain at least ten pitchers and a backup at every position. Players may be
transferred between playing roster and reserve list between any two series, but
never during a series.
·
Teams should ensure
that they have enough usage at each position (600 AB minimum) to field a team,
and they should ensure that they have enough starters and innings pitched from
pitchers (suggested 1350 minimum).
·
If through trades or
cuts a roster contains more players than the above 36 roster limit, that team
must immediately specify a player or players to be cut to come down to the 36
limit.
·
The active roster limit
will expand to 36 players beginning with the first series after September 1 on
the BHBL schedule.
·
Players rated solely as
a Designated Hitter are allowed to play a likely position in the field, pending
approval by the commissioner. They will be rated "1" at said
position.
6.1 Ownership of
Players
Teams shall retain continuous
ownership of their players from year to year.
6.2 Uncarded
Players
Uncarded players may not be
drafted. However, if a player is carded for one year, and uncarded the next,
the owning team retains the rights to that player. Player rights may also be
traded. If a team wishes to retain uncarded players, it may do so by counting
the uncarded players toward the 36 man limit. Teams doing so must still be able
to meet seasonal usage limits at all positions.
7.0 Position
Player and Pitchers Injuries and Rest
·
Each player injury is
limited to a maximum length of 30 days
·
The “Realistic Rest
Days for Position Players” game option will be used
7.1 Position
Player Use Limitations
·
Position player’s use
shall be regulated by using 50% hit reduction penalty, assessed starting at
110% of plate appearances. Position
player’s exceeding 650 plate appearances will be exempt from fatigue penalties
in the regular season or playoffs.
·
No player may appear at
a position not on his card. No player may be removed from the game without a
defensive substitute available at his position, unless his team is behind in
the ninth inning or later. If it becomes unavoidable to use a player at a
position not on his card, a weak hitter who once played or might be expected to
play the position should be used.
·
Stolen base attempts
shall be regulated by the Action game.
·
For the League Playoff
Series and World Series, fatigue status shall carry over from the end of the
season.
·
Batters with less than
50 real life PA are not permitted to be used in the playoffs
·
Stolen base attempts
during the entire post season are limited to 25% of actual attempts.
·
For the playoffs,
batters will be assigned 16.8% usage (based on the maximum potential 21 playoff
games from the LDS, LCS, and WS) times 1.30. The usage does not reset at
the beginning of each series. (The
calculation is: Actual PA * (21/162)*1.30 = Playoff PA's, before the penalty is
applied.)
7.2 Pitcher Use
Limitations
·
Pitchers’ regular
season use shall be regulated by using the 50% hit increase penalty, assessed
at 110% of innings pitched. Pitcher’s
exceeding 250 real-life innings will be exempt from fatigue penalties..
·
Pitchers’ post-season
use shall only be regulated by EPC, with no fatigue penalty
·
Pitchers with less than
25 real life IP are not permitted to be used in
the playoffs.
·
Starts by pitchers in
post-season play are limited as follows:
|
Real life/BHBL starts |
Starts in a playoff series |
|
1-9 |
0 |
|
10-19 |
1 |
|
20-29 |
2 |
|
30+ |
3, if the game 1 starter |
8.0 Trades
·
Trades may include
players and or draft picks, but all players and draft picks in a transaction
must be transferred at the same time. Trades may not include players to be
loaned, transferred, or named later, or any other type of future
considerations. No agreement may be made to announce a trade or part of a trade
at any future date. Only draft picks 1 through 7 may be traded. Draft picks
more than one year in advance may not be traded. At the conclusion of the World
Series, the next season is considered to have begun.
·
No trade is official
until both parties have contacted the commissioner with details of the trade.
The commissioner reserves the right to void any trade that is blatantly one
sided or damaging to the league.
·
Trades become effective
at the start of the series following approval of the trade. Players may not be
used until the trade has been approved.
8.1 Trading
Deadline
No trades may take place after the
results containing games for July 31 have been sent until the end of the
playoffs for the season in progress. Off-season trading begins with the
conclusion of the World Series.
9.0 Annual Draft
·
There shall be a draft
of rookies and free agents annually. The draft shall be a round by round
straight draft proceeding as follows:
·
Round One:
·
A lottery will be held
to determine draft order for the first four picks of the first round. The four
teams with the lowest winning percentages will qualify for the lottery. All
other teams will fall into place by reverse order of finish, except for the
World Series teams, which will draft in the last two positions, with the
winning team drafting last.
·
Subsequent Rounds:
·
Starting with round 2
the draft shall be conducted in reverse order of finish, with the World Series
teams drafting last. Teams must cease drafting when their roster reaches 36
players. Players may not be released during the draft to allow a team to
continue drafting.
·
The free agent pool is
available for use only after the draft and before the beginning of the season.
During this period, players may be drafted from the free agent pool. For each
player drafted, a player must be cut from the roster if by adding this player a
team's roster is in excess of the 36 limit. Players are awarded on a first
come, first serve basis.
·
Once the start of the
season occurs, each team is permitted up to 4 emergency free agent claims on an
as-needed basis, without the need to cut a player. Teams would request a player
at a certain position, and would be awarded the player with the most usage (the
league picks the player). No emergency claim player would be eligible for the
playoffs, unless injuries required such a player. Examples of emergencies would
be needing a player due to fatigue or injury. In such emergencies the players
claimed must be returned to the free agent pool at the conclusion of the
season.