Total Mogul Baseball League
The rules are being re-written to make them more clear and to use fewer words. We're not going to keep trying try to plug every hole to avoid attempts at exploiting them. We'll be enforcing their spirit. This section was looking like federal tax laws.
The Rules
* Caretaker duties and limitations
* Trading
* Team Changes and Changes Deadline
* Amateur Draft and Pick List
* Player Releases
* Re-signing Players
* Waivers
* Playoff Contest Prizes
* Free Agency
* Stadium Changes
* Catching & Position Changes
* New Owner Information
* Cash Cap
* Bankruptcy
* Tanking
* Emergency Clause
Caretaker duties and limitations
Open teams will have a volunteer caretaker assigned to them. The caretaker can treat this team the same way he would treat his own team, and can make all decisions for that team. For the sake of league integrity, the following limitations apply:
- A caretaker isn't allowed to trade between his regular team and the team he's caretaker of. That includes deals involving additional teams.
- A caretaker isn't allowed to make waivers claims against the team he's caretaker of.
- A caretaker isn't allowed to make free agent bids for his regular team on any players he releases from the team he's caretaker of.
Trading is allowed from April 1st through September 1st.
Owners can trade players, cash, and draft picks for the current season with the following exception:
A draft pick can not be traded once that pick is on the clock (due to be made).
Intangibles such as bonuses, contest prizes, and free releases can not be traded.
Trades must be confirmed by both owners to be valid, and the details of all trades must be posted on the message board.
When listing players, owners should include their primary (scorecard) position. Failing to include this won't negate the trade, but it won't make the owner any friends either.
Trades are not considered completed until a league officer marks it as having been done. Until the trade is marked as done, either owner can back out by making a post in the trade thread.
A trade may be disallowed if it's considered to be too lopsided in one team's favor. A trade is not subject to being disallowed only because the talent on both sides is unequal, but overly lopsided trades can be.
Generally, it is up to other owners in the league to report trades that they feel are too bad to be allowed. In some circumstances a league officer will decide to freeze a trade and turn it over to the trade review committee without an owner complaint.
Team Changes and Changes Deadline
All team changes must be posted on the board.All roster, strategy, and financial changes must be posted by attaching a .Team file to a board thread.
Changes are due by noon eastern on the day the sim is to be run. Currently, sims are done on Monday and Thursday afternoons. A full schedule of sim dates will be emailed to all members and posted in the league information section of the message board.
Amateur draft and pick list process (begun in 1972)
On April 1, all amateurs will be sorted by scouting score and placed in a list that will be posted to the website.
All teams will automatically get the highest rated player available on this list, unless the owner chooses to opt out. The draft order will not have email addresses. The section for email addresses in the draft order will read "List pick". A new section called "Action" will be added to the list to avoid confusion.
By default, the Action section for all teams will read "Gets next highest player on the list" (or similar but with fewer words)
An owner can choose to opt out of getting a list pick by:
1 - Posting his intention to make all his draft picks himself or
2 - Posting his intention to make his own picks for specific rounds (i.e. round 1 or rounds 1 & 2)
3- Emailing me or sending me a PM
If an owner opts out, he / she will have 18 hours to make a pick when his / her turn comes up in the draft.
If an owner posts that he wants to opt out, the email address section of the draft order will be changed from "List Pick" to that owner's email address. The action section will be changed to read "Email Owner"
If an owner opts out, but misses his pick due to timing out, he'll get the next available player from the list for the remainder of the draft. The draft order will be modified to read List Pick under email address, and "Gets next highest player on the list" under Action. There will be no appeal.
If an owner opts out and misses his pick he may not specify the desire to get a player in a specific position.
An owner may not hedge his bet by posting that he wants to make his own pick, but if he times out he should get a specific player type. You're either getting the list pick or you're not.
An owner MAY post that he wants to make his own pick, but if he hasn't made it within X number of hours, he'd like get a list player from a specific position (see below). X hours will be no more than 5 hours before the owner would have timed out. With an 18 hour limit, X hours would be equal to or less than 13 hours.
If an owner does not choose to opt out of the automatic list pick, but wants to customize what types of players he gets, he can post selection instructions for the commissioner and league assistants. These instructions can specify the following:
Next hitter
Next pitcher
Next C or 1B or IF or 2B or 3B or SS or OF or LF or CF or RF or SP or RP
In addition to the above, the owner may specify one player attribute consistent with the type of player he wants. Examples:
Next hitter, or specific position (see above), with highest Power rating or highest Contact rating, or Eye, or speed rating.
Next pitcher, or RP or SP, with the highest Movement or highest Power or highest Control, or highest Endurance.
Next player (or specific position) with the earliest real life debut date.
Although other selection categories may be added, an owner may not ask for anything that requires using Edit Player to look at either current or peak predictions (i.e. lowest peak ERA, highest peak BA, longest peak range). Only those things that can be seen from the sorted amateurs list may be added to the player selection instructions.
NOTES:
1 - An owner who chooses to opt out must post his intention to make his own picks before the file is advanced to April 1st. If you read the league emails, you'll have plenty warning.
2 - An owner who chooses to opt out may change his mind and ask to get a list player at any time before his team is up.
3 - An owner who posted specific list instructions may change those instructions at any time before his team is up.
4 - An owner can post different instructions for every round of the draft, as long as he makes it clear what round he's talking about.
5 - The list will include what year a player actually debuted. Just remember that this date is not the start of his peak, it only tells us when the real life team decided it was time to start using him. Few players will be ready for the pros on that date by our standards.
Example of number 4:
For round 1 the Mariners would like the highest power OF. For round 2 give me the best contact IF. Round 3 I want the pitcher with the best endurance.
A player may be released at any time by buying out the contract for the amount the game charges in the most current official league file.
New owners are allowed three free releases when they take over a team. This applies to people new to the league and current owners who change teams. A new team owner has up to seven days to make his free releases or they'll be lost.
Only players who were already on the team at the time the new owner took over are eligible for a free release.
When negotiating with your players, you can not accept his counter-offer if it includes either team or player options. After your third offer, you need to:
1) Have the player accept that offer you made
OR
2) Have him counter with a demand that does not include player or team options.
If the player requires a no-trade clause, leave it and it'll be removed after the deal is signed. The only thing you need to make sure of is that there are no options included in the player’s counter offer if you wish to accept it.
We don’t we allow options because most players accept less money with them included.
Players Eligible to be Claimed
1 - Any player who has reached his peak(age and is in a team's minor leagues
2 - Any player who has been posted to the waiver wire by his current team owner
3 - Any player at peak that is placed on the DL, and left there for the next sim after the injury has ended
4 - Any player voluntarily placed on waivers by the owner of the team he's on
Except for number 4, a player can't be claimed if:
- He's injured and was injured while playing in the majors
- He has just come off of injury sustained in the majors during the last sim
- The player reached peak during the most recent sim
Cost
The team that receives a player on waivers will pay the team the player was claimed from $500,000 (500k) cash. This fee is not refundable.
Claim Priority
If a player is claimed by multiple teams until the second sim in May, the priority will be determined by the prior season's winning percentage. As of the second sim in May, the priority will be determined by the current season winning percentage.
Ties in winning percentage will be broken using the team draft order positions for the previous season.
Obligation to play
A team that wins a player must keep him in the majors. If the player is sent to the farm team other than because of an injury lasting no less than 7 days from the current sim file date, the owner will lose claim privileges for the rest of the season.
If the owner who won the claim doesn't want to keep the player in the majors, he can put the player on voluntary waivers, trade him, or release him.
Blocking a Claim
To block a claim the owner must promote the player to the major leagues and keep him in the major leagues for the rest of that season.
If a player whose claim was blocked is returned to the minor leagues in the same season, except for an injury no less than 7 days from the current sim file date, the player will be placed on waivers by the league and the team can not block his transfer. If the player is not claimed a second time, he will be released to free agency and the team will pay the cost of his contract buyout.
If an owner does this a second time in the same season, he will no longer have the option to block a claim made against his team.
Waiver Claim Timing and Limitations
Each team in TMBL will be limited to 3 successful waiver claims per season.
The waiver claim period will run from the second sim in April until the last sim in August. When the September 1 sim file is posted, waivers claims are over.
Exception: An owner may chose to place his own player on waivers at any time between April 1 and the end of the World Series.
Making a Claim
To make a claim, first email the owner of the team the player is on and copy the commissioner.
After the email has been sent to the owner, then post the claim in the Waivers section of the board. The claim should look like the following example:
Subject: 3B Bill Madlock
Message: The Reds claim 3B Bill Madlock from the Expos
There will then be a 48 hour period during which any team with a higher claim priority can also claim the player or the owner of the player being claimed can post or email the commissioner that he's blocking the claim.
An owner is allowed to post if he's not blocking the claim, but the timer will continue for the full 48 hours unless the claiming team has the highest claim priority.
Addendum 1: Every claim requires a separate email for each player claimed and each owner of the team from which the player is being claimed.
Salary Reductions:
Salary Reductions are obviously used to reduce the salary of a player or players on your team. The main restriction in use is they cannot be split between players. For example, if you have a salary reduction of $500K, you cannot use $250K on one player and $250K on another player. However, if you have two $500K reductions, you can use one on a player and one on a second player.
Salary Reductions cannot be traded.
There is NO limit to the number of reductions that can be used on any player, except that the player can't go below the league minimum of 400k.
Contract extensions:
Are also not cash, and can not be traded. This is a prize that every team can and should use.
Free releases:
They cannot be traded.
Free agents may be signed at any time during the regular season.
TMBL's minimum starting bid on any free agent is $400K per season.Bidding on free agents is closed from the end of the regular season until the next announced free agent period; usually soon after file turn over to BBM's FA period.
Free Agent bidding will take place on the Discussion Board. The bidding for a player is over when 24 hours have gone by without another owner posting a higher legal bid. If an owner has the top bid for 24 hours, he gets that player. This goes by the time stamp of the message board post.
Format:
- Thread name is the Player name
- In the text box: Team name, salary, number of years, total salary
- The total salary of each bid must exceed the total salary of the previous bid by no less than $100,000 PER YEAR.
- All bids must exceed the previous bid by no less than $100,000 per season
regardless of the number of years being offered.
The bid must also have a higher
total value than the last bid.
For instance: If a bid is 500k per year
by 4 years for a total of 2 million, the next legal bid can be
600k x 4, 5, 6, or 7 years.
A bid of 500k x 5, 6, or 7 years is not legal even though it increases
total contract value because it would not add
100k to the per season offer.
For example:
Team 1 opens with: $300k x 4 years, total $1.2M
Then Team 2 counters with: $400k x 5 years, total $2M.
That is a legal bid because it adds 100k per season and has a higher total value.
If Team 1 then counters with: $400k x 6 years, total $2.4M, that is not
a legal bid because it does not add the required 100k per season.
Or if Team 1 counters with: $500k x 4 years, total $2M, that is not a legal bid
because it does not exceed the total contract value of the last bid.
But if Team 1 counters with: $800k x 4 years, total $3.2M, that is
a legal bid because it adds the required 100k+ per season and has a
higher total value.
- The rule that every bid must be 100k higher per season (year) is meant to
discourage owners from winning players simply by making contracts longer than is
logical for that player.
It is not in the best interests of teams, or of the
league, for free agents to get contracts that extend beyond
the number of years that player can reasonably be expected to remain effective.
- Contracts may be for 7 years or less and no contract may extend past a player age of 45.
- Any one year contract can not be re-negotiated until September 1st of that year (to avoid massive 1 year bid that the owner immediately re-negotiates with the player for a lower contract when he wins the player).
- Withdrawal of Bids
If an owner withdraws his bid, all offers made by him will be deleted and the high bid will be reset to the last unanswered high bid. An owner withdrawing his bid my not bid on that same player again in the current FA period.
- Collusion: Collusion is defined as two or more owners entering into an agreement where one withdraws his bid to lower the price of the free agent, theoretically allowing the other owner to sign the player for less. There are currently no rules against this since there's no guarantee the other owner involved will be able to sign the player.
Because TMBL is an equalized league, all ballparks have the same income effecting settings:
Capacity - 50,000
Comfort - Average
Convenience - Average
Sightlines - Average
These settings can not be changed since the AI won't allow it.
You may change any other characteristics, during the offseason, for the following prices:
Structure:
Open to Domed: 2 millionOpen to Convertible: 3 million
Domed to Convertible: 1 million
Convertible or Domed to Open: 1 million
Surface: Natural grass to artificial turf, or turf back to grass: 1 million
Infield Quality: 500k per step (example: poor to average, good to excellent)
Infield Grass: No Charge
Visibility: 500k per step (example: poor to average, good to excellent)
Foul Grounds: 500k per step (example: tiny to small, average to large)
Outfield Walls: 2 million for all five walls as follows:
Foul Lines between 300 and 400 feet
Power Alleys between 350 and 440 feet
Center Field between 390 and 475 feet
If the historical stadium dimensions of your park in the current season were different than the guidelines above, they will be allowed.
Note: Use common sense on the wall settings. A stadium set at 400 down the foul lines, 350 in the power allys, and 475 in dead center isn't likely to happen.
Stadium name change: 500k advertising fee unless the name is historically accurate.
Fielders will not have their position changed either in the Edit Player screen or by using the change position feature at the player scorecard. The only way a fielder position gets changed in TMBL is by playing him out of position long enough (around two seasons) for the AI to make the change.
Fielders that have been changed from one position to another by the AI because he was played out of position will not be changed back to his original position for any reason.
Catching: No player my be played out of position at catcher unless catcher is one of the positions listed for him at the team defense screen. The reason is that doing this generally has some very ugly results, and is either a bad mistake or an attempt at subtle tanking.
Pitcher Usage: Minor league pitchers are allowed to have their "usage" changed when they are in the minor leagues. Any team is allowed to make changes to the usage of 3 pitchers at three different points of the season (Opening Day, Amateur Draft, and July 31st).
All new owners are expected to have a copy of Baseball Mogul 2010 for 1986, and 2k11 for 1987.
New owners are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the rules of this league, and the league's inflated talent levels, as soon as possible.
As a new owner, please feel free to ask questions about anything that isn't clear, whether it's league rules, league talent levels, or the Baseball Mogul game in general.
New owners are allowed three free releases when they take over a team. This applies to people new to the league and people changing teams. These free releases must be used within seven days of taking over the team or they will be lost. Releases are allowed, not required.
Only players who were already on the team at the time the new owner took over are eligible for a free release.
The cash cap is suspended this season (1986). A different set of hard and soft caps will be put in place for 1987 in version 2k11
Bankruptcy or intention To Go Bankrupt
Teams can not re-sign players, sign free agents, or make trades that increase their payroll while in debt.
No team may make trades and/or sign free agents which, in a best case scenario, will cause them to go into debt.
If a team ends the season in debt, players will be auctioned until they have a positive cash balance
It is the obligation of both the commissioner and other team owners to determine that a team is putting itself into a situation that will cause it to go bankrupt.
If another owner sees this happening, he should contact the commissioner rather than post the problem on the boards.
Tanking is not allowed.
Tanking is defined as intentionally losing games in order to get a
better draft pick.
Intentionally includes, but is not limited to, such things such as benching
or farming out players and replacing them with inferior players, purposely failing to try signing available free agents while fielding very poorly rated players instead, failing to make needed injury replacements, and in some cases leaving a rookie who has reached peak in the minors, depending on the skill levels of players used at the positions those prospects would be expected to play.
The commissioner will generally depend upon other owners to initiate tanking charges, but in more
obvious cases may take action without waiting for a complaint.
While the league will usually caution an owner and allow him to fix the situation, when possible, under some extreme circumstances he may be removed from his team.
This type of action is caused by:
a - A track record of rules abuse
b - Consistently fielding very high loss teams over more than one season with no attempt to improve it
c - The level of probability that this will impact one or more pennant races, or the amateur draft order
Complaints must be made to the commissioner by PM or email. Posting a public tanking charge on the message boards will not be tolerated and can result in suspension from the board for up to 48 hours.
As commissioner, I reserve the right to act in fiat, without seeking or
accepting advice or approval, and without polls or league votes, when I judge
that a situation requires immediate and/or decisive action. I'll always poll
as often as I can on topics that effect this league, and emergency decisions
of this type will be very rare, but they will happen.
As members of the TMBL society, you always have the right to complain, protest,
quit, or try to overthrow the Fascist regime (me).