Originally created many moons ago by examinerebb, this league makes any franchise a contender, and a better group of owners can't be found on the site. There is much good-natured banter in the draft thread and the league chat, so bring your sense of humor. The rules are simple:

1. Each owner chooses a franchise. Franchise draft order is in inverse order of win percentage from the previous season for non-playoff teams, then inverse order of win percentage of non-World Series playoff teams, with the WS runner-up picking 31st, and the WS champ choosing last. New owners will be assigned the draft position of any previous owners who are not returning, with the first to sign up receiving the highest slot, and so on.

2. Each owner chooses five players he/she wishes to protect from that franchise (1969-2011) and submits that list via sitemail to me. Those players are the exclusive property of their respective owners.

3. After all lists are submitted, they will be posted and a three round modified Rule V draft will be held, with draft order being inverse order of each franchise's Rule V win percentage through all legs from which we have data (the worst teams pick first).  Many thanks to schwarze for compiling this data.  Each owner selects one unprotected player from any active franchise but their own (player seasons for franchises that were not chosen are not eligible). That player is also theirs exclusively. No more than two players may be taken from any one franchise in any one round.

4. At the end of the first and second rounds, each owner will choose an additional player they wish to protect. You will end up protecting seven in all, while drafting three. These ten players must appear on your roster. The rest of the roster is filled by players from your franchise during the given time period (1969-present day).

$120 Million Cap
No trades
No WW
No DH
No AAA

No clones (same player, same franchise - if a player played for more than one franchise, he is available once for each franchise)
If a player split time between multiple teams in a season (as listed at WIS) his full season is available once for each team
SLL limited to current series
Stadium must have been used by your franchise for at least one full season between 1969 and 2011
Tiebreaker for draft positions will be run differential from the previous season, worse differential picks first

For those new to the Rule V fold:

There is much good-natured ribbing during the draft (we try not to be too player-specific, so as not to influence the draft, but sometimes the temptation is too much). Do not take it personally. Pick a draft strategy and stay the course, regardless.

Glossary

He Who Must Not Be Named (HWMNBN) - A former player/manager/dirtbag for the Cincinnati Reds (and later, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos) who defiled the grand game of baseball. No Rule V team has ever won a title with him, so heed jose's warnings about karma. I would imagine Lady Karma grows weary from teaching the same lesson over and over, as the ruler with which she raps offending knuckles seems to grow with each passing season.

The Single Most Overrated Pitcher of All Time (TSMOPOAT) - Nolan Ryan

The Single Most Overrated Position Player of All Time (TSMOPPOAT) - Cal Ripken, Jr.

Vegas - jose can u c - Our Rule V Prediction King

Here are the franchise winning percentages in the Rule V theme, compiled by schwarze, that we'll be using for draft order in the player draft:

Franchises already selected highlighted in red.

I've removed a team's best and worst season form the above table... and I've sorted from lowest winning % to highest.

Rank	Franchise	Years	_Wins_	Losses	Wining%		Wining%	Rank	Diff
1	Rays	2	134	190	0.4136		0.4136	1	0
2	D'backs	6	407	565	0.4187		0.4272	2	0
3	Tigers	6	444	528	0.4568		0.4469	3	0
4	Blue Jays	11	824	959	0.4621		0.4658	5	1
5	Pirates	9	678	780	0.4650		0.4622	4	(1)
6	Rockies	7	537	597	0.4735		0.4753	7	1
7	Twins	15	1152	1279	0.4739		0.4725	6	(1)
8	Padres	12	935	1009	0.4810		0.4810	8	0
9	Angels	8	625	671	0.4823		0.4903	10	1
10	White Sox	4	317	331	0.4892		0.4892	9	(1)
11	Red Sox	15	1194	1237	0.4912		0.4910	11	0
12	Rangers	10	801	820	0.4941		0.5010	14	2
13	Brewers	14	1128	1142	0.4969		0.4969	12	(1)
14	Giants	14	1128	1141	0.4971		0.5021	15	1
15	Orioles	9	731	728	0.5010		0.5089	18	3
16	Phillies	15	1223	1210	0.5027		0.5007	13	(3)
17	Expos	15	1232	1201	0.5064		0.5090	19	2
18	Mariners	15	1240	1191	0.5101		0.5082	17	(1)
19	Braves	15	1241	1189	0.5107		0.5062	16	(3)
20	Cubs	11	914	868	0.5129		0.5129	23	3
21	Mets	14	1164	1105	0.5130		0.5093	20	(1)
22	Indians	15	1253	1178	0.5154		0.5099	21	(1)
23	Cardinals	15	1256	1175	0.5167		0.5126	22	(1)
24	Marlins	11	925	859	0.5185		0.5222	24	0
25	Royals	14	1186	1083	0.5227		0.5227	25	0
26	Yankees	13	1103	1003	0.5237		0.5242	26	0
27	Reds	9	773	685	0.5302		0.5378	28	1
28	Dodgers	14	1216	1053	0.5359		0.5349	27	(1)
29	A's	15	1325	1106	0.5450		0.5399	29	0
30	Astros	15	1345	1086	0.5533		0.5487	30	0

Here is the order for this season's franchise draft:

* new owner
# playoff team last leg
& WS Runner-Up
@ WS Champ

1. spoonfed: 50-112 .309
2. tridentric: 66-96 .421
3. Robin4: 66-96 .421
4. Disco Dogs: 69-93 .426
5. Cheno5: 69-93 .426
6. sinfonian11: 70-92 .432
7. tjefferson: 75-87 .463
8. specsman: 76-86 .469
9. jstewart281: 76-86 .469
10. marlowe: 78-84 .481
11. holleybard: 79-83 .488
12. mllama54: 80-82 .494
13. alleyviper: 80-82 .494
14. llcoach: 82-80 .506
15. *AKlopp: 86-76 .531
16. newarkwilder: 91-71 .562
17. #sgsmith: 84-78 .519
18. #moneybonn: 87-75 .537
19. #ff09: 89-73 .549
20. #mussopini23: 93-69 .574
21. #shaybee: 94-68 .580
22. #thaneoffife: 97-65 .599
23. &rbow923: 103-59 .636
24. @jose can u c: 104-58 .642

Franchise Draft Results (officially starts Tuesday 10/11 at 12pm EDT):

1. spoonfed Toronto Blue Jays*
2. tridentric Philadelphia Phillies*
3. Robin4 Houston Astros*
4. Disco Dogs Detroit Tigers*
5. Cheno5 Seattle Mariners*
6. sinfonian11 Los Angeles Dodgers*
7. tjefferson New York Mets*
8. specsman Oakland Athletics*
9. jstewart281 New York Yankees*
10. marlowe Boston Red Sox*
11. holleybard Tampa Bay Rays*
12. mllama54 St. Louis Cardinals*
13. alleyviper Cincinnati Reds*
14. llcoach Texas Rangers
15. AKlopp Cleveland Indians*
16. newarkwilder Los Angeles Angels*
17. sgsmith Milwaukee Brewers*
18. moneybonn Atlanta Braves*
19. ff09 Minnesota Twins*
20. mussopini23 Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals*
21. shaybee Kansas City Royals*
22. thaneoffife San Francisco Giants*
23. rbow923 San Diego Padres*
24. jose can u c Baltimore Orioles*

Owner list for easy sitemailing: spoonfed; tridentric; Robin4; Disco Dogs; Cheno5; sinfonian11; tjefferson; specsman; jstewart281; marlowe; holleybard; mllama54; alleyviper; llcoach; AKlopp; newarkwilder; sgsmith; moneybonn; ff09; mussopini23; shaybee; thaneoffife; rbow923; jose can u c

*Third round keepers sitemailed.

Division Alignment

NL East: New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays
AL East: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals
AL West: Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels

Rationale: We have one extra American League team.  As the expansion team, the Rays get shipped out west in the NL.

Player Draft Results:

First Round (timed schedule begins Fri. 10/14, all times EDT)                                   Off the Board

1. holleybard - Tampa Bay                                          Bob Gibson STL
2. Disco Dogs - Detroit 9:30am                                Nolan Ryan HOU                         
3. spoonfed - Toronto 10am                                      Carlton Fisk BOS
4. ff09 - Minnesota 10:30am                                     Fernando Valenzuela LAD
5. rbow923 - San Diego 11am                                 Cal Ripken, Jr. BAL
6. newarkwilder - Los Angeles Angels 11:30am  Steve Carlton - PHI
7. marlowe - Boston 12pm                                       Orel Hershiser LAD                      Los Angeles Dodgers
8. llcoach - Washington/Texas 12:30pm                Tim Lincecum SFG
9. sgsmith - Milwaukee 1pm                                     Derek Lowe BOS                          Boston Red Sox
10. thaneoffife - San Francisco 1:30pm                  Mike Norris OAK
11. jose can u c - Baltimore 2pm                             HWMNBN CIN
12. tridentric - Philadelphia 2:30pm                        Bobby Murcer NYY
13. mussopini23 - Montreal/Washington 3pm      Jose Bautista TOR
14. Cheno5 - Seattle 3:30pm                                   Tim Hudson OAK                           Oakland Athletics
15. moneybonn - Atlanta 4pm                                   Mark McGwire STL                      St. Louis Cardinals
16. tjefferson - New York Mets 4:30pm                    Lance Berkman HOU                   Houston Astros
17. AKlopp - Cleveland 5pm                                      David Cone KCR
18. mllama54 - St. Louis 5:30pm                             Felix Hernandez SEA
19. shaybee - Kansas City 6pm                               Jimmy Rollins PHI                         Philadelphia Phillies
20. jstewart281 - New York Yankees 6:30pm        Kevin Millwood ATL
21. alleyviper - Cincinnati 7pm                                  Dave Righetti NYY                         New York Yankees
22. sinfonian11 - Los Angeles Dodgers 7:30pm  Will Clark SFG                                San Francisco Giants
23. specsman - Oakland 8pm                                  Magglio Ordonez DET
24. Robin4 - Houston 8:30pm                                   Mike Napoli TEX

Second Round (officially starts Tuesday 10/18)                                                              Off the Board

1. holleybard - Tampa Bay 9am EDT                       Carl Yastrzemski BOS
2. Disco Dogs - Detroit 9:30am                                Adrian Beltre LAD
3. spoonfed - Toronto 10am                                      Jeff Cirillo MIL
4. ff09 - Minnesota 10:30am                                      Don Wilson HOU
5. rbow923 - San Diego 11am                                  Ryan Howard PHI
6. newarkwilder - Los Angeles Angels 11:30am   Darren Daulton PHI                     Philadelphia Phillies
7. marlowe - Boston 12pm                                        Fritz Peterson NYY
8. llcoach - Washington/Texas 12:30pm                 Ichiro Suzuki SEA
9. sgsmith - Milwaukee 1pm                                     Hideo Nomo LAD                          Los Angeles Dodgers
10. thaneoffife - San Francisco 1:30pm                  Thurman Munson NYY                New York Yankees
11. jose can u c - Baltimore 2pm                              Andy Pettite HOU                         Houston Astros
12. tridentric - Philadelphia 2:30pm                         Rico Petrocelli BOS                     Boston Red Sox
13. mussopini23 - Montreal/Washington 3pm      Jose Reyes NYM
14. Cheno5 - Seattle 3:30pm                                    Steve McCatty OAK
15. moneybonn - Atlanta 4pm                                   Howard Johnson NYM                New York Mets
16. tjefferson - New York Mets 4:30pm                    Scott Rolen STL
17. AKlopp - Cleveland 5pm                                     Jimmy Key TOR
18. mllama54 - St. Louis 5:30pm                            Mark Loretta SDP
19. shaybee - Kansas City 6pm                               Keith Hernandez STL                  St. Louis Cardinals
20. jstewart281 - New York Yankees 6:30pm        Tony Fernandez TOR                   Toronto Blue Jays
21. alleyviper - Cincinnati 7pm                                 Darrell Evans ATL       
22. sinfonian11 - Los Angeles Dodgers 7:30pm  Al Bumbry BAL
23. specsman - Oakland 8pm                                  Frank Tanana LAA
24. Robin4 - Houston 8:30pm                                  Rich Aurillia SFG

Third Round (officially starts Monday 10/24)

1. holleybard - Tampa Bay 9am EDT                        Derek Jeter NYY
2. Disco Dogs - Detroit 9:30am                                George Foster CIN
3. spoonfed - Toronto 10am                                      John Valentin BOS
4. ff09 - Minnesota 10:30am                                     Jose DeLeon STL
5. rbow923 - San Diego 11am                                  Roberto Alomar BAL
6. newarkwilder - Los Angeles Angels 11:30am   Andrew Bailey OAK
7. marlowe - Boston 12pm                                         Alex Rodriguez NYY                              New York Yankees
8. llcoach - Washington/Texas 12:30pm                 Matt Cain SFG
9. sgsmith - Milwaukee 1pm                                     Jim Wynn HOU
10. thaneoffife - San Francisco 1:30pm                  Mike Adams SDP
11. jose can u c - Baltimore 2pm                              Billy Wagner HOU                                  Houston Astros
12. tridentric - Philadelphia 2:30pm                         Heath Bell SDP                                       San Diego Padres
13. mussopini23 - Montreal/Washington 3pm      Carlos Delgado TOR
14. Cheno5 - Seattle 3:30pm                                    Gene Tenace OAK                                 Oakland Athletics
15. moneybonn - Atlanta 4pm                                   Bob Ojeda NYM
16. tjefferson - New York Mets 4:30pm                    Paul Molitor MIL
17. AKlopp - Cleveland 5pm                                       Harmon Killebrew MIN
18. mllama54 - St. Louis 5:30pm                             Jonathan Papelbon BOS                     Boston Red Sox
19. shaybee - Kansas City 6pm                                Curtis Granderson DET
20. jstewart281 - New York Yankees 6:30pm         Adrian Beltre TEX
21. alleyviper - Cincinnati 7pm                                   Roger Nelson KCR
22. sinfonian11 - Los Angeles Dodgers 7:30pm  Robb Nen SFG                                        San Francisco Giants
23. specsman - Oakland 8pm                                   Edgardo Alfonso NYM                         New York Mets
24. Robin4 - Houston 8:30pm                                   Jim Edmonds STL                               St. Louis Cardinals

Keeper/Draft Pick List (keepers in bold, draft picks in italics)

holleybard - Tampa Bay Rays - James Shields, David Price, Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit, Evan Longoria, Bob Gibson - STL, Randy Winn, Carl Yastrzemski - BOS, Grant Balfour, Derek Jeter - NYY

Disco Dogs - Detroit Tigers - Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, Tony Phillips, Alan Trammell, Justin Verlander, Nolan Ryan - HOU, Doug Fister, Adrian Beltre - LAD, Kevin Saucier, George Foster - CIN

spoonfed - Toronto Blue Jays - Roger Clemens, John Olerud, Roy Halladay, Tom Candiotti, David Cone, Carlton Fisk - BOS, Vernon Wells, Jeff Cirillo - MIL, Aaron Hill, John Valentin - BOS

ff09 - Minnesota Twins - Rod Carew, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Chuck Knoblauch, Joe Nathan, Fernando Valenzuela - LAD, Kirby Puckett, Don Wilson - HOU, Lyman Bostock, Jose DeLeon - STL

rbow923 - San Diego Padres - Tony Gwynn, Ken Caminiti, Jake Peavy, Kevin Brown, Randy Jones, Cal Ripken, Jr. - BAL, Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Howard - PHI, Chris Young, Roberto Alomar - BAL

newarkwilder - Los Angeles Angels - Mark Teixeira, Tim Salmon, Jered Weaver, Mike Witt, Andy Messersmith, Steve Carlton - PHI, Bobby Grich, Darren Daulton - PHI, Vladimir Guerrero, Andrew Bailey - OAK

marlowe - Boston Red Sox - Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra, Jacoby Ellsbury, Wade Boggs, Orel Hershiser - LAD, Fred Lynn, Fritz Peterson - NYY, Dustin Pedroia, Alex Rodriguez - NYY

llcoach - Washington Senators/Texas Rangers - Ivan Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton, Nolan Ryan, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum - SFG, Mike Adams, Ichiro Suzuki - SEA, Koji Uehara, Matt Cain - SFG

sgsmith - Milwaukee Brewers - Robin Yount, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Ben Sheets, Teddy Higuera, Derek Lowe - BOS, Rollie Fingers, Hideo Nomo - LAD, CC Sabathia, Jim Wynn - HOU

thaneoffife - San Francisco Giants - Jason Schmidt, Willie McCovey, Kevin Mitchell, Barry Bonds, Juan Marichal, Mike Norris - OAK, Jeff Kent, Thurman Munson - NYY, Matt Williams, Mike Adams - SDP

jose can u c - Baltimore Orioles - Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, Chris Hoiles, Ken Singleton, Brady Anderson, HWMNBN - CIN, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettite - HOU, Mike Mussina, Billy Wagner - HOU

tridentric - Philadelphia Phillies - Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Curt Schilling, Mike Schmidt, Bobby Murcer - NYY, Bobby Abreu, Rico Petrocelli - BOS, Chase Utley, Heath Bell - SDP

mussopini23 - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals - Pedro Martinez, Dennis Martinez, Tim Raines, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Carter, Jose Bautista - TOR, Tim Burke, Jose Reyes - NYM, Pascual Perez, Carlos Delgado - TOR

Cheno5 - Seattle Mariners - Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Cliff Lee, Tim Hudson - OAK, Bret Boone, Steve McCatty - OAK, J.J. Putz, Gene Tenace - OAK

moneybonn - Atlanta Braves - Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones, Javier Lopez, Mark McGwire - STL, Gary Sheffield, Howard Johnson - NYM, Marcus Giles, Bob Ojeda - NYM

tjefferson - New York Mets - Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman - HOU, John Olerud, Scott Rolen - STL, David Wright, Paul Molitor - MIL

AKlopp - Cleveland Indians - Gaylord Perry, Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, Roberto Alomar, David Cone - KCR, Jim Thome, Jimmy Key - TOR, Rafael Betancourt, Harmon Killebrew - MIN

mllama54 - St. Louis Cardinals - Albert Pujols, Ted Simmons, Joe Torre, John Tudor, Adam Wainwright, Felix Hernandez - SEA, Chris Carpenter, Mark Loretta - SDP, Willie McGee, Jonathan Papelbon - BOS

shaybee - Kansas City Royals - Bret Saberhagen, Kevin Appier, George Brett, Darrell Porter, Willie Wilson, Jimmy Rollins - PHI, Zach Greinke, Keith Hernandez - STL, Larry Gura, Curtis Granderson - DET

jstewart281 - New York Yankees - Robinson Cano, Paul O'Neil, Rickey Henderson, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, Kevin Millwood - ATL, Mariano Rivera, Tony Fernandez - TOR, Bernie Williams, Adrian Beltre - TEX

alleyviper - Cincinnati Reds - Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, Tom Seaver, Dave Righetti - NYY, Joey Votto, Darrell Evans - ATL, Kevin Mitchell, Roger Nelson - KCR

sinfonian11 - Los Angeles Dodgers - Mike Piazza, Matt Kemp, Don Sutton, Clayton Kershaw, Eric Gagne, Will Clark - SFG, Kevin Brown, Al Bumbry - BAL, Rafael Furcal, Robb Nen - SFG

specsman - Oakland Athletics - Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Dennis Eckersley, Jason Giambi, Rickey Henderson, Magglio Ordonez - DET, Miguel Tejada, Frank Tanana - LAA, Jose Canseco, Edgardo Alfonso - NYM

Robin4 - Houston Astros - Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Mike Scott, J.R. Richard, Roger Clemens, Mike Napoli - TEX, Cesar Cedeno, Rich Aurillia - SFG, Larry Dierker, Jim Edmonds - STL

I will take the -Toronto Blue Jays

Before we rush into any franchise selections, it is always best to remind the veterans as well as the uninitiated that NO ONE in the long and storied history of the justifiably famed Rule V theme league has ever won the Rule V championship while keeping, drafting or otherwise using a certain lying, cheating, philandering, tax evading, bowl-cut wearing, permanently ineligible alleged human piece o' sh!t who must not be named.  If you want to invite the unholy wrath of sweet Lady Karma upon you and all you hold dear, then go ahead and keep, draft or otherwise use the son of a b!tch. But don't be surprised when your team goes belly up.  You were warned ahead of time.

So are the Astros and A's available or not available this round (as per the requested vote)?

The proposal was narrowly defeated so all franchises are available in Leg #34.

Posted by sgsmith on 10/10/2011 1:10:00 PM (view original):
The proposal was narrowly defeated so all franchises are available in Leg #34.

Exactly.  Vote was 11-9 against, with four abstaining.

I forget, was there discussion about changing to 100m starting next season (#35)?

looking forward to the new leg / new players & owners!

Posted by alleyviper on 10/10/2011 4:23:00 PM (view original):
I forget, was there discussion about changing to 100m starting next season (#35)?

Not that I recall, this has always been a 120M league and has generally been very competitive at that level

You know what, I got this league confused with Crazystengel's Random Captain.  Disregard.