Brewers League Baseball Rules

•  Owners Expectations
• Responsible for participating regularly. This includes:
• Exporting on a regular basis
• Mandatory participation in league events (drafts, votes, etc)
• Posting occasionally on the forums
• Responding to trade offers in a timely manner
• Notifying the Commissioner if you're going to be away for more than a week
• Notifying the Commissioner if you can no longer participate or are considering stepping down
• Make best effort to manage all levels of your organization
• Reading and understanding the rules
• Asking questions if you don't understand something about the league, the game or the rules
• Owners can be replaced at the discretion of the Commissioner if they fail to meet the expectations listed above.
• New Owners
• New owners will be selected by the Ownership Committee

• 24 Fictional Teams
• Domestic League (DH) – Ale Division, Lager Division, Pilsner Division
• Import League (no DH) – Stout Division, Bock Division, Porter Division
• Playoffs – 8 teams (division winners plus wildcards)
• Minors - 3 levels (AAA, AA, A)
• 40 Man rosters - Enabled (Expand Sept. 1st and during Spring Training)
  
• Financial System - Enabled
• Coaches/Scouts - Enabled
• Injuries - Enabled/Average. Career Ending Injuries are disabled.
• Arbitration - Enabled
• Minor League Option Years - Enabled
• Ratings System - All Ratings are on a 2-8 Scale. (Overall ratings are off)

• Simulations will be run Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. Each sim covers 7 days of in game time.
• All Transactions and Exports are due by 9pm ET on these days.
• Exceptions: The Sim schedule maybe be modified as necessary. The Commissioner will provide prior notification before doing so.
  

• Minor League teams have a limit of 30 roster spots.  
• Position rules – Players on the active roster should be used in their actual positions, except in cases of emergency. Rosters should be run the same way an actual team would be, i.e. backups for each position, 2 catchers, etc. Minor league teams don’t have to follow any position rules as players can learn new positions.
  

• Waivers 
• On each opening day ALL players in the minor leagues who are out of options (+ symbol next to their name on the Transactions screen) will be placed on waivers. This closes a loophole that allowed owners to hide players in the minors.
• There are two types of waivers in OOTP:
• Outright waivers: Outright waivers are in effect when you manually move a player into the Waivers section of your transactions screen. This is usually done to get a player off your team's 40 man roster or to demote a player who is out of Option years.
• Processed in the game.
• The Waiver period is 14 days. 
• Trade waivers: These are in effect when I (as commish) submit a trade after the July 31st Trade deadline until the end of the Regular Season. Every player can be placed on Revocable Trade waivers once per season (regardless of their Outright waiver status). The 2nd time they are placed on Trade waivers, it is irrevocable.
• Trade Waivers
• Players not on the 40 Man Roster and draft picks can be traded after the July 31st deadline without having to clear Trade Waivers.
• Players on the 40 Man Roster can be traded after the July 31st deadline if they clear Trade Waivers.
• To trade players who are on the 40 Man Roster:
• DO NOT waive the player in the game. 
• For each player, create a new thread in the Waivers forum stating the player has been placed on Trade Waivers.
• Teams may claim players in his Trade Waiver thread.
• Players are on waivers for 48 hours (real time) after the thread is created.
• If no claims are made during that time, they are free to trade him to any team. 
• If any claims are made in the Trade Waiver thread, the waiving team has another 48 hours to negotiate a trade with the team that claimed the player and had the highest priority (Worst record) at that time. 
• If no trade is completed within 48 hours (real time) the waiving team can either revoke the waivers or allow the claim to go through and lose him for nothing.
• Trades
• The non waiver trade deadline is July 31st.
• Trades must be posted in the Completed Trades forum. Posts should contain the players name, position and current league level. Both owners need to post in order to make it official and each should include a quick sentence or two explaining how the trade helps them.
• Trades will be processed at the END of the next sim unless a Pre Sim trade is specified.
• Pre Sim Trades
• Pre sim trades will be processed during the regular season only.
• You must specify that it is a pre sim trade in the subject of the trade announcement thread.
• All involved players will be traded. However, only Brewers League players will be moved to a roster. Minor league players will remain on your DFA and you will need to move them in your next export.
• You must leave an empty spot on your 40 man and 25 man roster for each Brewers League player you want me to move.
• You must leave empty spots in your lineups/depth charts/pitching rotations where you want the new Brewers League players inserted.
• You must provide detailed and specific instructions of which players you want moved and where you want them in your lineups/depth charts/pitching rotations.
• Trades can include Players, Cash or Draft Picks. 
• Future Draft Picks
• Draft picks can only be traded 5 years into the future. (Next draft, plus 4 more years)
• Any trade including draft picks for future drafts (years 2-5) triggers an automatic review by the trade committee.
  
• Cash Used in Trades
• Cash used in trades may not exceed a teams current balance. Their cash can go into the negative provided their balance will cover it.
• Cash used in trades may not exceed the total salary of the players you are trading. Ex: If a player makes 300k for 1 year, only $300,000 can be included. If a player makes 10 mil over the next 3 years, $30 mil can be included, etc.
  
• Any trade involving more than $1 million in cash is subject to review by the Commissioner's office.
  
• When announcing a trade, a team receiving cash may specify how they would like that money to be applied. Potential options are: Simply add it to cash OR apply it to the contracts of player(s) you received in the trade however you see fit. When the 2nd option is chosen, the Commissioner will edit the player's in game contract to reflect the changes.
• Examples: If you receive a player who makes $10 mil a year over 5 years and you receive $10 mil in the deal you could:
  1) add the $10 mil to your cash
  2) Prorate it over the player(s) contract, so he would now make $8 million a year ($10mil/5 years)
  3) Prorate it over some of the player(s) contract (2 years at $5mil, 3 years at $10mil)
  4) Any combination of the options above
• If you subsequently trade a player who now has a prorated contract, it is your responsibility to recoup the money. Using the example in #2 above, if you trade the player with 2 years left, you are essentially including $4mil in the trade. ($2 mil over 2 years) 
• Owners receiving cash, must decide how to apply it when they make the trade. No changes will be allowed and it can only be applied to players involved in the trade. If nothing is specified, the money will be added to their team's current cash.
• Trade Committee 
• Current committee: HrfdWhale, Rubisco43, Skerik, Jistic. Alternates: jmw1137, Riverman
• A review of a trade will take place if a) it is requested by any member of the trade committee (including alternates) or b) it is requested by the league office or c) the trade contains future draft picks.
  
• Any trade that is under review will be put on hold until the committee makes their decision. It is expected that they will make the decision within 1 sim of when the trade was originally posted.
  
• 3/4 members of the trade committee must vote against a trade in order for it to be overturned. Alternates will be used when a member of the committee is involved in the trade being reviewed.
• Designated for Assignment (DFA)
• The DFA period is 21 days. 
• If a player's DFA time runs out you will be fined $50,000 per incident. Transactions will be handled by the Commssioner in the following manner:
  1) Attempt move to AAA
  2) If he refuses, assign to 40 man and active roster
  3) If there is no room, the player will be released. No exceptions.
• Disabled List
• If a player is eligible to come off the Disabled list in the middle of a sim, the Commissioner will move the player onto your active roster and insert into the Rotation or Lineup. Send the Commissioner a PM with the exact details of where you want the player inserted. 

• Arbitration - End of season until Arbitration contracts are awarded.
• Arbitration eligible players can be released at the end of the season. Otherwise the game will automatically assign a 1 year contract.
• Rule 5 Draft - Early December
• The Rule 5 draft will be conducted via list or in a league chatroom. Only players who want to participate are required to attend. If you would like to select players but can’t participate, you should PM a list to the Commissioner.
• Draft order is determined by previous year’s standings.
• Draft will continue until everybody passes.
  
• There will be a $50,000 charge for each pick you make in the Rule 5 draft.
• Any players drafted must remain on that teams Active Roster for the entire season.
• Returning players
• Post the player's name that you want to return in the Rule 5 Returns thread.
• The commish will release the player (you will be charged for his contract) and then manually edit him onto the AAA team of the organization that he is being returned to with a minor league contract.
• Free Agency - After Rule 5 Draft until Spring Training
• Free Agency uses the following schedule:
• 7 days per sim from the Rule 5 draft until Pre-season (early February)
• 21 days at a time from Pre-season until Spring Training (early March)
• Spring Training - early March to end of March
• You can activate anyone on your 40 man roster during this time.
• Players without options remaining will need to clear waivers in order to send them to the minors after Spring Training ends.
• Draft Pick Compensation
• Draft pick compensation is disabled in the game. It is instead determined by our custom rules.
• Eligibility for compensation is determined by how much a Free Agent signs for. Players are classified into two Types.
• Type A: $13 million AAV and up. Compensation: 1st Round Sandwich pick
• Type B: $9 million to $13 million AAV. Compensation: 2nd Round Sandwich pick
• Players are only eligible for compensation if they played their rookie season (lost their rookie eligibility) with the team that is losing them in Free Agency and have never played for another team. Rookie eligibility is: A player with less than 130 at-bats, a pitcher with less than 50 innings pitched.
  
• Draft order for Sandwich picks are determined by how much the players sign for. The highest paid (AAV) player's team will receive the 1st pick, etc.
• Sandwich Round picks cannot be traded
• Amateur Draft 
• The Amateur Draft is 15 rounds plus 2 Sandwich Rounds for Draft Pick Compensation.
• All rounds will be conducted using the Draft Utility
• The Draft Class will be posted on January 1st
• The Draft will begin at the start of Spring Training
  
• The CPU will pick for any Owners who don't make their selection in the allotted time. After the CPU picks for a player, they will remain on "CPU control" until they inform me they have returned.
• The draft results will be entered into the game in mid June
  
• Draft order is determined by the previous year’s standings. Ties are resolved by the Standings from two years ago.

• No Salary Cap
• Luxury Tax 
• The Luxury Tax is $90 million
• Any team who's Player Expenses exceed the luxury tax will be penalized 50% of the amount they go over.
• Luxury taxes paid will be distributed evenly among all teams with revenue below the league average.
• Cash Maximum 
• The Cash Maximum is $20 million. At the end of the season anything over $20 Million in cash will be lost.
• Stadium funds
• Teams may transfer money into a stadium fund which will be maintained seperate from the normal finances and won't be subject to the Cash Maximum. 
• Stadium fund transfers are only allowed between the end of the season and the beginning of Free Agency.
• This money can only be used for upgrades to your stadium or to purchase a new one.
• Awards - Any awards or article bonuses over the $20 million Cash Maximum will automatically be placed into your Stadium fund.
• Ticket prices - maximum ticket prices are determined on a tiered level based on the previous seasons attendance. Please see the Rules forum for current ticket prices.
• 90% and above - $25.00
• 75% to 89% - $20.00
• 75% and below - $15.00

• Teams can sign as many Personnel as desired, per sim. Signings take place in the game.
• Teams can fire Personnel as desired but will immediately pay the remainder of their contract. 
• Teams can promote and demote Personnel as desired. If the position is already filled, it will simply swap them. 
• Personnel have set contract lengths and amounts. Negotiation is not possible. 
• There is a chance that some Personnel will refuse to sign with your organization. 
• Teams should employ the following Personnel: 
• Major Leagues: Manager,  Bench Coach,  Hitting Coach,  Pitching Coach,  Head Scout,  Scouts x5,  Team Doctor 
• Minor Leagues (for each level): Manager, Hitting Coach,  Pitching Coach,  Scout

• Modifications – During the Off-season modifications can be made to your Stadium using the provided Excel spreadsheet. You must submit a proposal to the Commissioner by January 1st of each year, who will review it and determine the cost and any bonuses received. Proposals may be denied if it is determined the Owner can’t afford the modifications. Only 2,000 or fewer seats may be added per year.
• New Stadiums – Teams will have the option to build new stadiums using the provided spreadsheet. The stadium cost will be payable over a term negotiated with the Commissioner. The team may not move into their new stadium until 75% of the total cost is paid. Teams moving into a new stadium will receive a +20 bonus to fan interest. If this bonus puts them over 100, their Market Level will be increased by 1. Teams must wait 15 years before building another new stadium.  
• Relocation
• New owners must wait 2 full seasons before moving their team. 
• They must purchase a new stadium using the provided spreadsheet. The new city will pay 50% of the cost to build the stadium.
• Market size and fan loyalty will remain the same. Fan Interest will get a bonus as outlined in the New Stadium rules.

• Rules for the World Baseball Classic can be found here: http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/forums/blog.php?b=8
  

• Awards are voted on by the owners at the end of the season. 

• Run by Hall of Fame Committee
• Receive HOF nominations from owners.
• Decide which nominees will be on the ballot.
• Run HOF voting
• Decide which logo player will ‘wear’ into the HOF and provide a brief writeup on their career.
• Determine awards bonus for HOF Member’s team.
• Yearly Ballots consist of all newly retired players nominated by HOF committee plus all players on previous years ballot that received necessary votes to remain eligible.
• Voting Requirements
• HOF Nominee must receive 14 votes to be elected.
• HOF Nominee must receive 8 votes to remain on ballot for next year.
• Founders Wing
• Exists for original players of the league, who did not have a long enough career to earn election under normal circumstances.
  

• Participation – Awarded at season’s end
• $100,000 for each Team article up to a max of $1,000,000.
• $200,000 for each League article up to a max of $2,000,000.
• Awards – Amount determined by Awards Committee
• Hall of Fame – Amount determined by Hall of Fame Committee
• All-Star Game – 
• $75,000 per starter and $50,000 per reserve.
• The Home team will also receive ticket revenue (Attendance x $10)
• Home team will alternate between leagues every year. No team can host twice, until all have hosted.
  

• All fair play issues should be brought to the attention of the Commissioner.
• As a General Rule, everything you do should be for the betterment of your organization. You should run your team as an actual Baseball team would. In most cases, common sense should prevail.
• Potential Issues Include, but are not limited to:
• Losing intentionally to get a better draft position. This does not mean you can’t play prospects when the rosters expand.
• Signing FA’s during the season or off-season just to trade them.
• Large amounts of cash being used in trades. This isn’t forbidden, but will be examined more closely.
• Changing players’ positions to help during contract negotiations.
• Placing players on the 60 day DL that aren't injured for an extended period of time.
  
• Collusion. (Working together)