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THE OFFICIAL CONSTITUTION

THE PRIME ROTISSERIE BASEBALL LEAGUE

 

(Version 26 last updated 11/30/2011)

 

             I.        The Object:

 

To assemble a lineup of 23 American League baseball players whose combined statistics, compiled and measured by the methods described in this document, exceed those of the other teams in the league.

 

           II.        The Rosters:

 

A team’s active roster consists of the following players:  5 outfielders, 2 catchers, 1 second baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 middle infielder (either second baseman or shortstop), 1 first baseman, 1 third baseman, 1 first or third baseman, 1 designated hitter, and 9 pitchers.  See Article VI for position requirements.

 

          III.        The League:

   

The League consists of twelve teams, each composed of an Active Roster, a Disabled List, and a Reserve List.  Each of these lists is described elsewhere in this document.  Any team may remain in the league from year to year.  In the event that one or more teams drop out of the league from one year to the next, an expansion draft shall be held.  Once replacement owners are selected, a date shall be chosen for the expansion draft.

 

If the league cannot stock at least 11 teams, the league will maintain the appropriate ratio of AL players/PRLB players by excluding 1 AL team / missing owner.  The excluded teams will be determined by an exclusion drawing to be held by the commissioner or his designate and at least one other owner. The exclusion drawing will be held after the expansion draft, if any.

 

If an exclusion drawing is required in consecutive years, the previous year's excluded teams will not be exempted from the drawing, nor shall they are chosen first for exclusion, except by the luck of the draw.

 

Players on the rosters of the teams picked in the exclusion drawing will  not be available in the auction to any PRLB team, nor will they be available in the free agent pool during the season (unless they move from  an excluded team to a non-excluded team).  Such players are eligible for the Reserved List (see Article VII) of their current PRLB team, but may not be selected by another PRLB team during the Reserved List draft.  Any excluded players who are excluded may be moved to the Reserved List of  their current PRLB team WITHOUT a +5 salary increase.

 

An exception to the above rule is made for the Red Sox. If the Red Sox are chosen in the exclusion drawing, all Red Sox players currently on PRLB rosters are released to the free agent pool for the auction.  They may be bid on at the auction, will appear in the free agent pool during the season, and may not be placed on a PRLB reserved list.  Since the Red Sox players are only partially excluded, another team is chosen to be fully excluded.

 

Rules for the expansion draft:  Each returning team in the league shall submit a list of 6 players from their Active Roster or Disabled List to be protected.  Only players left unprotected from the Active Roster or Disabled List of remaining teams are eligible for selection in the expansion draft. If an owner does not submit a protected list by the deadline, the Secretary will create one by protecting the players with the 6 highest salaries (The Heising Rule).  In case of a tie, the protected players shall be determined by alphabetical order.

 

The order of selection shall be randomly determined, and shall reverse from round to round (1,2,3,3,2,1,...).

The expansion draft is designed such that each remaining team lose the same number of players.  The number of players lost per returning team shall equal the number of expansion teams in the draft, and, as a result, the number of rounds of the expansion draft shall equal the number of returning teams in the league.

 

During the off-season, including during the Expansion Draft, the Active Roster and the Disabled List are effectively one list.  Therefore, at the end of the Expansion Draft, each of the twelve teams will have a list of players on her Active Roster, and a list of players (possibly zero) on her Reserved List.

 

    There are three defined league officers, as follows:

 

1.      Commissioner - The job of the Commissioner is to: organize any league meetings, including the Annual Auction and (if necessary) Expansion Draft; resolve rules or other disputes by consensus; enforcing the League Constitution; coordinating any other league business. The Commissioner shall be reimbursed for any expenses.

 

2.      Secretary - The job of the Secretary is to maintain the league rosters and statistics.  He or she shall produce a weekly report of transactions, updated standings, and rosters in a form agreed upon by general consensus.  In the off-season, the Secretary should promptly report any transactions, updated rosters, expansion draft results, and carry-over lists.  The Secretary shall be reimbursed for any expenses from the league treasury.

 

3.      Treasurer - The job of the Treasurer is to maintain the finances of the league. He or she shall collect all league dues and fees, produce a monthly report of team by team balances, and distribute award money at the end of the season. The Treasurer shall be reimbursed for any expenses.

 

  IV.        Pre-Draft Carryover Policies

 

Following the Expansion Draft (if one takes place) and prior to the draft, owners have the opportunity to keep some of their players. These rules are the same regardless of when the draft takes place unless noted.

 

§  Each owner designates 11 players who ended the season on either their active roster or disabled list to be kept in one of two ways.

§  Pay $5 more than the player’s listed salary (from last year). This money will be charged against the $260 auction salary cap.

§  Maintain topper rights for that player. This allows the owner to keep the player during the draft by paying $1 over the highest bid.

§  When the draft takes place prior to opening day and the status of a player changes (i.e. traded to the NL, placed on the DL, ...etc.) from the time a team places them on the +5/topper list to draft day, the owner has an opportunity to either update the player's status (i.e. +5 to topper) or replace the player on the +5/topper list with another eligible player from the team's previous year's roster. 

§  Each owner may protect any portion of their Reserve List (i.e. between 0 – 8 players). The player’s salary will not change.

§  When the draft takes place prior to opening day the owners of reserved players have two for handling the players. Neither of the two options affect the $260 salary cap for the current year. Essentially, the owner gets the player for free this year. The player’s salary only has consequences in subsequent years.

§  1. The normal waiver process for minor leaguers who are promoted to the majors takes place.  You have two weeks to activate or waive, stats will become active the following week.  The player’s minor league salary remains intact.

§  2. The owner may increase the player’s minor league salary by $5, and receive the first period’s stats.

All players from the teams’ Active Roster, Disabled List or Reserve List that the owner does not Carry Over by any of the above means, is then eligible for at least one of the two Drafts.  If the player is on an American League roster, he is eligible to be placed on the active roster during the draft.  All other players are available in the Reserve List draft and the former team has no special rights to the player.

 

          V.        The Draft:

 

Entering the Draft, each of the twelve teams may designate up to 11 players who will either remain on the Active Roster (given a salary increase of $5) or on the “topper” list.

 

§  A major league player draft in the form of an open auction is conducted at a time agreed upon the team owners. This time should come as close to opening day as possible.  Each team must fill her Active Roster (and optionally add to her Disabled List) by spending her auction money totaling $260 less the money she spent on her Carry Over players. In addition, owners may also spend money on reserve players from the $260 budget. She need not spend the maximum. 

§  The only players eligible for the active rotisserie roster (i.e. 23 slots) are those players who were on the major league’s opening day roster The list eligible for the active roster will be agreed upon by the league. The Commissioner or a volunteer will be in charge of producing that list with help from other owners. The goal is to project the players who will be on the opening day rosters. However, any player not on the 40 man roster, but in an AL major league may be added by any of the owners if they feel that the player might make the opening day roster.

§  Players who are not eligible to fill an Active Roster and are not on a NL major league roster and are not an international professional player are eligible for the reserve list. Teams may bid for these players out of their $260. The player then needs to be placed on a reserve list. Note that a team without any empty slots may not nominate or bid on such players.

§  The league by general agreement determines the order in which teams will nominate players for acquisition.  The team bidding first opens with a minimum salary bid of 1 dollar for any eligible player (a minimum bid of 0 is allowed if the bidding team has topper rights on the player), and the bidding proceeds at minimum increments of 1 dollar until only one bidder is left. A team is not allowed to retract a valid bid.  A team is allowed to overbid itself.  During the auction, a team is permitted to ask the auctioneer for more time. An auction cannot be completed until each team present has decided to not make a higher bid.  Once the bidding is stopped, the last team to make a bid has acquired the player, unless he is on someone's Topper List. In this case, this team is allowed to acquire the player for 1 dollar more than the price the bidding had reached.

§  A team with Topper Rights to a player may start the bidding on the players at 0 dollars if she so desires.  In this case, if no further bids are received, the Topper team has the option of taking the player for 1 dollar. If she does not so decide, the player is not eligible to be brought up later in the draft.

§  The bidding process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players to be bid on, until every team has a squad of 23 players, by requisite position.  See Positional Eligibility. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the draft.

§  No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford.  For example, a team with 3 pts left, and two openings on its roster, is limited to a maximum bid of 2 pts for one player.

§  In addition, a team may only bid on a player if a spot exists for that player on the active roster or reserve list.  For example, a team that has acquired two catchers may not enter the bidding for any player who qualifies only at catcher or a team cannot bid on a reserve list player if their reserve list is full.

§  Players who commence the season on an American League team's disabled list are eligible to be drafted.  If selected, they may be shifted to or from the Disabled List at anytime during the draft. Players who are on a team's reserve list are exempt from the draft if they ended the previous year with a minor league status. The two ways a player can end the year with a minor league status is to complete the previous year in the minors, or complete the year on a team's reserve list without being activated (after a September callup). The owner would be able to keep the player on their reserve list for the upcoming year.

§  If a player is moved to a position at which he is not eligible during the draft, and the positional discrepancy cannot be resolved by moving players around, a player must be Disabled at the time of discovery so that the positional discrepancy is resolved (The Jim Rice Rule).  She then has two weeks to activate him, as usual.

§  The official start time of the Draft shall be determined by the Commissioner.  A traditional grace period of 30 minutes shall be allowed for things to get settled. In the event that an owner does not arrive at the draft by 30 minutes after the agreed upon start time, there will be an additional 60 minute grace period during which no player on that owner's Topper List may be  nominated for auction.  Once the additional 60 minute grace period expires, that team is no longer eligible to participate in the auction and no player on that owner's Active List, Reserved List or Topper List shall be eligible for any PRLB roster for the entire year.  (The modified Steve Arruda Rule)

§  An owner whose team is frozen for a year due to the modified Steve Arruda Rule is considered dissolved.  If the owner wishes to return to the league the next year, she can get her old (frozen) team back only if the returning owners vote unanimously to allow her to do so.  Otherwise, the returning owner will create a new expansion team through the expansion draft.

         VI.        Positional Eligibility

 

    Positional eligibility is relevant in maintaining teams’ Active Roster.

 

§  In building a roster during the Draft, use the following algorithm to determine the position(s) a player is eligible to be assigned.

§  A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more Major League games in the preceding season;

§  If a player did not appear in 20 Major League games at any position, he may be drafted only at the position (or positions, if a tie) at which he appeared most frequently in Major League games;

§  If he did not appear in any Major League games in the previous season, apply the above two rules, in order, to his Minor League games;

§  If he did not appear in any Major or Minor League games, apply the previous rules to the last season that he did play;

§  If he has never played professional baseball, reach a consensus just prior to the draft as to which position(s) the player is eligible.

 

    During the course of the season, a player will always be eligible for the positions at which he was eligible at the draft.  In addition, he becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he appears at least once.

 

       VII.        The Reserved List

 

A Rotisserie League Reserve List can contain anywhere from 0 to 8 players.

 

    On Patriots Day, a reserve list draft will be conducted. Players eligible for the draft need to meet the following requirements.

 

§  Not on a Rotisserie League Reserved List.

§  Not on a major league roster.

§  Not on a roster of a foreign professional team.

 

All teams who take part in the draft need to submit their submissions by noon, on the Friday before Patriots day. Any ineligible player will be ignored.

 

Selection takes place in eight rounds of a simple draft, not an auction.  Teams may carry over no more than 8 players on their Reserved List.  Teams may continue to draft until their Reserved List contains 8 players.  There is no requirement that a team must fill its Reserve List during the Reserve List Draft.

 

The draft order is as follows:  Carryover teams finishing the previous season from 5th through 12th, randomly-ordered expansion teams, carryover teams from fourth through first. For example, assuming the 9th, 6th and 3rd place teams from the previous season dropped out of the league, and expansion team order is B, C, A, the Reserve List Draft order would be:

5,7,8,10,11,12,B,C,A,4,2,1.  The draft order does not reverse from round to round.

Players can be added to a Reserve List (if space is available) at any time from following the Reserve List draft until the end of the season.  However, there is a 24 hour waiting period before a Reserve List selection is actually added to a Reserve List.  If at the end of the waiting period, the player is still eligible for the reserve list (i.e. the player’s status doesn’t change), the transaction succeeds.

 

There are only two ways a player can be removed from a Reserve List during the season. The first is when a player on a Reserve List is added to an American league roster.  The second is when a player on a Rotisserie League team becomes eligible for a Reserve List that already contains 8 players.  In this case anyone on the Reserve List can be dropped.

 

At no time may a team have more than eight players on its Reserve List. Whenever a player in a Rotisserie League Reserve List becomes an active player on an AL roster, the Rotisserie League team has 2 weeks to activate or waive the player. 

 

     VIII.        Salaries:

 

§  The salary of a player is determined by the time and reason of his acquisition and does not change unless the player becomes a free agent or is carried over to a subsequent season for a salary 5 pts above his current salary.

§  The salary of a player acquired in the major league draft is his auction price.  The salary of a player called up from the Free Agent Pool is his auction salary or 10 points if he was not purchased in the auction.

§  The salary of a player does not change during the season when they are released by their rotisserie team and placed in the free Agent Pool.

§  Players that are called up from an RLB Reserve List whose most recent team prior to joining the American League was an AL minor league team will have a salary of 2 pts or his previous salary, whichever is greater.  All other players called up from an RLB Reserve List will have a price of 10 pts or his previous salary, whichever is greater.

§  The salary of a player called up on waivers is his auction salary. If the player is waived into the league, they have a value of $25.

§  The salary of a player called up during September Roster Expansion is 25 pts.

 

         IX.        The Statistics:

 

    The following criteria are used to determine team performance:  on-base  percentage, slugging percentage, total home runs, total RBIs, total stolen bases, composite ERA, total wins, total saves, total strikeouts,  and composite pitching ratio of walks plus hits to innings pitched.  (Bases on Balls + Hits Allowed / Innings pitched = Ratio).

 

    Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the ten categories, and  given points for each place.  For example, the first place team in a category receives twelve points, the second place team eleven points, and so on down to 1 point for last place.  The team with the most total points  wins the pennant.

 

    NOTE: Pitchers' offensive stats are not counted, nor are the pitching stats of the occasional player called in to pitch when the score is 16-1 and the

    relief corps is hiding under the stands.  Nor may such a player be placed at that position on his Rotisserie League team (Rick Cerone could not

    occupy the position of a pitcher).

 

    NOTE: A team must accumulate 1000 innings pitched over the course of a full year to qualify for the ERA and composite pitching ratio categories.

    Any team that fails to do so automatically finishes last in those two categories.  If two teams fail to do so they each receive 1.5 points

    in those two categories.

 

    If the American League season is shortened due to labor strike, player lockout, natural disaster, or other unforeseen circumstance, the 1,000

    inning requirement will be prorated according to the following formula (result rounded):

 

                 average number of games played per team

                 ---------------------------------------   * 1,000

                                   162

 

    A season is considered shortened when a number of scheduled games are cancelled for all teams.  However, if the number of scheduled games in

    a season is not 162 then the 1,000 inning requirement will be prorated according to the following formula (result rounded):

                       

                         games scheduled per team

                         ------------------------   * 1,000

                                   162

 

    Games not played by a few teams due to rainouts do not affect the 1,000 inning requirement, neither do playoff games.

 

    In cases of ties in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points by totaling points for the rankings at issue and dividing the total

    by the number of teams tied.

 

    In cases of ties in total points, first place in the standings is determined by comparing placement of teams in individual categories.

    Respective performances are calculated and a point given to each team for bettering the other.  Should one team acquire more points than the other,

    the team is declared the winner of the tie.  Should the points be equal, the tie stands.

 

    The weekly player performance summaries as calculated by the league's web site (commissioner.baseball.com) constitute the official data base for the computation of standings in Rotisserie League baseball.

 

    The effective date of any transaction for purposes of statistical calculation is Monday as is enforced by the web site. The site typically closes transactions 1 hour prior to the earliest game that day.

 

    Transactions recorded on Draft Day, including trades and call-ups to replace disabled players, are effective retroactive to Opening Day.

    Transactions occurring after Draft Day but before the closing date of the first cumulative summaries to appear in USA Today in late April are

    effective the Monday immediately after the first closing date.

 

    Performance stats of a player shall be assigned to a Rotisserie League team only when he is on the 23-man roster of that team.

 

Fees:

 

    The following fees are in effect:

 

    $100 per team entry fee

 

§  $4 per trade (how this is paid is negotiable by the teams involved).

§  $2 to move a player between the active roster and the reserved list.

§  $2 to move a player between the active roster and the disabled list.

§  $2 to waive a player and pick up another player from the Free Agent Pool.

§  $2 to claim a player on waivers.

§  $10 September call up fee.

§  No charge to waive or release a player unless another player is added.

§  No charge to select a player from the Free Agent Pool.

§  No charge to move a player from the disabled list to the reserved list.

§  No charge to add a player to the reserved list.

 

All teams are required to pay $50 more than the entry fee (that is $150) to the Treasury on Draft Day.  If it is not paid by then, the owner will be allowed to participate in the auction draft and Reserve List draft, but she will not be allowed to conduct any transactions until the $150 is paid.

 

          X.        Trades:

 

From the completion of the draft auction until noon of the first Monday after July 31, Rotisserie League teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit. From noon of the Monday following July 31 through August 31 only teams contiguous in the standings may trade. No trades may be made from September 1 through the end of the regular season.

   

Trades made from the day the regular season ends until rosters are frozen in early April prior to Draft Day are not bound by the position distribution requirement.  Trades do not affect the salaries of players.

 

Teams may have illegal rosters at the end of a trade.  Each side has until the next Monday deadline to make their roster legal.  At that time, a team will accrue no statistics until their roster is made legal.

 

         XI.        Becoming Inactive:

 

    At any time during the season, a Rotisserie league owner may remove any player from her active roster and:

 

      - Give the player his outright release (the player will return to the free agent pool of players if he is still associated with an American League  team) or

      - Place the player on waivers (if the player clears waivers, he goes into the free agent pool)

 

    If a player is sent to the minors or traded to the National League a Rotisserie league owner may:

 

       - Place the player on the Reserve List. If a team already has 8 players on its Reserve List, it must release another Reserve List player to accommodate a new one.

 

    If a player is put on the mlb team’s disabled list a Rotisserie league owner may place the player on the Disabled List (this protects the owner's rights to the player and

    there is no limit to the number of players on a team's disabled list)

 

    To fill an empty spot on her active roster, a Rotisserie team owner may:

 

§  Call up a player from her Reserve List who has been added to an AL roster,.

§  Reactivate a player from her Disabled list if that player has been reactivated by his major league team.

§  Claim a player on waivers.

§  Select a player from the free agent pool if he did not appear in any Major League games in the previous season,   apply the above two rules, in order, to his Minor League games;  if he did not appear in any Major or Minor League games, apply the previous rules to the last season that he did play;

§  if he has never played professional baseball, reach a consensus just prior to the draft as to which position(s) the player is eligible.

 

During the course of the season, a player will always be eligible for the positions that he was eligible at the draft. In addition, he becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he appears at least once.

 

       XII.        Selecting players from the Free Agent Pool:

 

    The Free Agent Pool consists of all players on the active roster of a non-excluded American League team who are not in any of the following places:

 

§  PRLB team active roster

§  PRLB team disabled list

§  PRLB team reserve list

§  the waiver list

§  the roster of a frozen PRLB team

 

Players on an AL team’s disabled list are NOT in the Free Agent Pool.

As soon as a player becomes inactive and the decision is made that a player from the Free Agent Pool will be selected, the owner of the Rotisserie League team must notify the League Secretary of the selection.  Once the League Secretary is notified of the selected player’s name, he is yours, and will officially be on your team’s roster as of the following Monday for statistical purposes.  A transaction period lasts from noon one day until noon the following day.  If two teams select the same player during the same transaction period, the team lower in the most recent standings shall be given priority.  The only time this will not hold true is at the beginning of the season until the first official stats and standings are published.  For this time period, whoever notifies the League Secretary first gets priority.

 

     XIII.        Waivers:

 

    Any player entering the FAP (via release, MLB trade or promotion from the  minor leagues) goes on waivers for a few days.  Waiver priority is as shown on the web site under transactions->waivers.  When a team has a waiver request fulfilled it goes to the bottom of the waiver priority list.

 

    To make room on its roster, the team acquiring a player on waivers must assign the player to a natural opening or waive a player at the same position played by the newly acquired player.

 

If a team acquires a player on waivers who is inactive, they must immediately reserve or disable him, whichever is appropriate. If an inactive player acquired on waivers is inadvertently activated then that player must be reserved or disabled, as appropriate, as soon as the error is noticed.

 

    A player who clears waivers returns to the Free Agent Pool.

 

    XIV.        MLB September Roster Expansion:

 

RLB September Roster Expansion

 

If it chooses, a team may expand its roster for the pennant drive by calling up one additional player after September 1 from the free agent pool, its own Reserve List, or its own Disabled List. The order of selection for September Roster Expansion is determined by the most recent standings, with the last-place team having first selection, and so on. This selection order pertains until midnight, September 2 only, after which time a team forfeits its order in the selection process, though not it’s right to make a selection.  Selection after midnight, September 2 is on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

The performance stats of a player called up during September Roster Expansion start to accrue noon Monday after the League Secretary has been notified of the player’s selection.

 

The salary assigned to a September call-up from the free agent pool is 25 pts. The salary of a September call-up from a team’s Reserve List or Disabled List is whatever was established before the callup.

 

Minor leaguers being brought up after September expansion

 

Generally, minor leaguers who are on a reserve list and are promoted to a AL team need to be activated within 2 weeks or are placed on waivers. However, owners may chose not to activate these players if they are brought up after the major league roster limit has been increased from 25 to 40 on September 1.

 

      XV.        Transaction Confirmation

 

It is the responsibility of each team to make sure that each of its transactions has been properly recorded by the League Secretary.  All transactions sent to the League Secretary should also be sent to the Commissioner for confirmation.  If a team notices that a transaction has been missed and the Commissioner can confirm the transaction then the transaction will be effective retroactively.

 

    XVI.        Amending the Constitution

 

The Constitution is amended by a simple majority vote of the current owners of the league (seven votes necessary for adoption of an amendment), except for Article X, Fees.  Amendments to Article X require a ¾ majority of the current owners of the league (nine votes necessary for adoption of an amendment).  Amendments do not take effect until the Rotisserie season following the one during which the amendment is adopted, unless there is unanimous agreement that the rule is completely benign to the current season, or if there is unanimous agreement to have the rule take effect immediately.