One owner has gone MIA after our first season. All remaining keepers have been submitted and we'll be ready to draft as soon as we get an owner for the franchise below.
- $10 to buy your franchise: each owner will submit a $10 Gift Certificate before playing. The GC will be returned if you stay in the league for five seasons and meet the live requirement in each. Forfeited GC money and prize money from WIS (which offers rewards for leagues which retain at least 50% of original owners through five seasons) will be awarded to a randomly selected owner who has met the Live minimum in each season he has played. Starting at the end of season 6, one owner meeting the live requirement in the previous season will be randomly selected to receive the annual prize from WIS, plus any forfeited GC money from replacement owners who left before playing five seasons, or failed to meet the live minimum in any of their seasons.
- No trades. Period. No draft picks. No players. Not during the season. Not during the off-season. Not during the draft. Not before or after the draft. Build your team to try to win. No dealing your #1, #2 and #3 to buy a championship now and lose 120 games next season. No dealing your stud in his last season for a #5 just because you are out of the race and will take whatever you can get for him.
- Draft order based on keeper salary for the 8 highest-paid players on each roster for the coming season. This eliminates the incentive to keep low-cost guys just to tank one season and ensure a high pick the next. Teams falling short of the 50-game live minimum will drop 1 spot in the draft in every round for every 10 games they are short (under 40 games, 2 spots; under 30, 3 spots, etc.) in every round; teams falling short of 40 games live will drop 2 spots.
- Maximum 14 keepers and 2 IR. With no trading, this will make it easier for teams to reload each season. Must keep at least 8 players with WIS seasons.
- Any stadium in the WIS data base can be used. If you want Baker Bowl so you can try to score 12 runs a game, go for it. Only one instance of each specific stadium can be used (Yankee II and Yankee III would be separate stadiums for example). Stadiums will be chosen whenever you want during a 26-round draft. An owner entering the league as a replacement may choose any unused stadium. Owners remaining in the league will be allowed to change stadiums one time and one time only at any point in the duration of the league.
- No AAA. We will begin with 1998 to maximize the player pool and ensure that every team has the opportunity to draft plenty of innings at every position. With just 192 keepers, everyone should be able to have a decent starting lineup and rotation.
- If we are fortunate enough to keep the league active long enough to catch up to current MLB seasons, we will reverse direction and become a regressive with teams keeping a dozen of their players. We wouldn't have to worry about this until around the year 2020 at the earliest.
BASIC RULES
- 14 Keepers, up to 2 IR
- No AAA
- No trades of players or picks
- 50-game Live requirement; drop 1 spot in the draft (1 additional spot for every 10+ games short)
- Draft order based on total salary for each team's 8 most-expensive players in the coming season, with the lowest-salary team picking first.
- No DH, No Injuries
- 16 Teams, 4 Divisions, no Wild Card
- Any stadium eligible, to be chosen during 26-round player draft; owners may change stadiums one time only
- Keeper lists due by last day or regular season or owners will drop 1 spot in the draft
- Teams must be entered within 72 hours of getting a league #/end of draft or lose 1 spot in the next draft
- League will start in 1998, and if we run out of seasons will reverse direction as a regressive