Note - We have decided to switch to a 12 team league that progresses one season at a time instead of by two (beginning in 1901). Soon these rules will be amended to reflect the changes.

Basic Concept

This will be a 16 team progressive league that moves through MLB history two years at a time, beginning with the 1901-02 seasons and progressing to the 1903-04, 1905-06, etc. Any player with a WIS eligible season in 1901 and/or 1902 will be in the initial draft pool. Players with available seasons in both years can only be used once (no clones) but the drafting owner can choose either season to use.

There won’t be enough players to fill all 16 teams to capacity, therefore we will finish out rosters with 200k scrubs. These players will be sent to AAA with each team having 10 fictitious minor league players (6/4) with quality set to below average. Down the road, if/when we decide AAA is no longer needed, we can vote to end it. A second option (once the total player pool grows enough) could be to use real life players in lieu of the fictitious ones.


Initial Draft
Initial draft order will be determined at random and will snake back and forth each round. If my calculations are correct, each team will draft 23 real life players before the player pool is exhausted. We won’t start a round once we reach the point where there are fewer than 16 players still available. Stadiums will also be drafted as part of the initial draft. Only those in use during 1901 and/or 1902 can be drafted.

Once you draft a stadium you will become the franchise that used that stadium. As your franchise changes cities and/or stadiums you need to change as well to be period accurate. Also, if in real life a team changed stadiums between 1901 and 1902, two separate owners can’t choose those two stadiums. For example, the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers moved to St Louis in 1902 and became the Browns. If an owner were to choose the 1902 Sportsman’s Park (StL Browns version) then the Lloyd Street Grounds used by the Brewers in 1901 automatically becomes unavailable.


Future Drafts
We will try to start future drafts shortly after the 120 game mark. Round one will always be off the clock with the draft order method as follows. The eight worst teams by record will be part of a lottery. All other teams will be ordered worst to first.

If there is a tie for the last spot in the lottery, the tiebreaker rules (which will be explained below) will dictate which team/teams will make it into the lottery. Round two and beyond will always be worst to first based on record through game 120. The tiebreaker process is as follows:

1. Expected Winning Percentage
2. Run differential
3. Most runs allowed
4. Fewest runs scored
5. Coin Flip

Each team will be allowed to keep as many players as they choose. If a player doesn’t have a WIS eligible season in either of the upcoming seasons then that player may be placed on IR and protected until he has an available season. There is no limit to the number of IR players that can be protected at a time.

All players who aren’t protected and have at least one season available will be on the available players list along with all rookies from each of the two upcoming seasons. Players who were eligible to be placed on IR but instead were dropped will not be available in the draft pool, but instead will return to the pool once they again have a WIS eligible season.


WIS Rules

League Format - Format E (4/4/4/4 with 4 playoff team and interleague play)

League Alignment

• NL/AL based on stadium chosen (teams with an NL stadium will be in the NL and vice versa)
• East/West divisions will be determined by geographical location

• No Salary Cap
• No Clones
• No DH
• No WW
• AAA will be used (as described above)
• Trades allowed (max # of vetoes required to block trades)
• Injuries are ON

Other Information

• As commissioner, I reserve the right to add/change a rule in order to close an unintended loophole or glaring problem that was overlooked
• Potential rule changes can be proposed by any member
  • The details of the rule must be posted in the rules thread
  • At least one other owner must support it before it can be brought to a vote
  • At least 60% of the league owners must vote in favor of the proposed rule for it to pass
• Every 2-3 months I have to travel for work with limited availability at those times to run drafts or take care of other time sensitive activities
  • I will try to plan ahead and work things around my schedule as much as possible
  • It’s usually only 2-3 days max so worst case we hit the pause button for a short period of time
  • If someone is willing to be vice commissioner and help out occasionally in my absence that would be great
• As I have already alluded to above, the 1901 Brewers and the 1902 Browns are the same franchise. Even though the same isn’t true for the 1901-02 Baltimore Orioles and the 1903-04 New York Highlanders (Yankees), for our purposes we will act as if they are the same
• Team names should reflect city and mascot….a reasonable amount of artistic license can be taken if desired

1. razorhawg1
2. bingo_long
3. Lennybruce26
4. CardinalBlue
5. Disco Dogs
6. Peekay
7. poppapomp

• Baltimore Orioles (New York Highlanders/Yankees) - Oriole Park IV
• Boston Americans (Red Sox) - Huntington Ave Baseball Grounds
• Philadelphia Athletics (Oakland A’s) - Columbia Park
• Washington Senators - American League Park I

• Chicago White Sox - South Side Park III
• Cleveland Blues (Indians) - League Park I
• Detroit Tigers - Bennett Park
• Milwaukee Brewers/StL Browns - Lloyd Street Grounds OR Sportsman’s Park II

• Boston Beaneaters Atlanta Braves) - South EndGrounds III
• Brooklyn Superbas (LA Dodgers) - Washington Park III
• New York Giants (San Fran Giants) - Polo Grounds IV
• Philadelphia Phillies - Baker Bowl

• Chicago Orphans (Cubs) - West Side Grounds
• Cincinnati Reds - League Park II OR Palace of the Fans
• Pittsburgh Pirates - Exposition Park III
• St Louis Cardinals - Sportsman’s Park III