2012 VFBL Rule Book - 1st Edition
Rule I: The Virtual Franchise Baseball League1.01
The Virtual Franchise Baseball League (VFBL) uses the current Diamond Mind Baseball Software (v10 as of 2010) and Season Disk to simulate a fantasy baseball league. Each owner must own a copy of the current program and season disk to be eligible for the VFBL. A list is sent to Diamond-Mind each year and verified by the company.
http://www.diamond-mind.com
(a) The VFBL consists of 28 teams. The 28 teams compete in one of two leagues: The American League (AL) or the National League (NL). Each league is then separated into three divisions.
American League
Cobb Division - 5 Teams
Ruth Division - 4 Teams
Wagner Division - 5 Teams
National League
Johnson Division - 5 Teams
Mathewson Division - 5 Teams
Young Division - 4 Teams
1.02
The VFBL will put owners from similiar time zones in the same Division or League. This helps to promote face-to-face play.
Rule II: VFBL Season and Post-Season Play offs
2.00
The VFBL Regular Season will consist of a 162 game schedule and will conclude with the Divisional Series (LDS), Division Championship Series (LCS), and World Series (WS). There is no inter-league play and the Designated Hitter will not be used by either league.
2.01
Following the VFBL Regular Season, the VFBL Postseason will be used to determine League Championships and the World Series Champion.
2.02
For both leagues, the 1st place teams from each league's divisions and one wild card will play in their respective League Playoffs. (a) The divisional first place team with the best win/loss record will have home field advantage and play the wild card team in a best of 5 game series played in a 2-2-1 format. The first place team with the second best record would receive home field advantage and then play the 1st place team with the third best win/loss record in a best of 5 game series played in a 2-2-1 format. (b) In the event that two or three 1st place teams in a division finish the season with an identical win/loss record, seeds will be determined by using a series of tie-breakers:
(c) In the event that two or more teams finish in a tie for the wild card, a one game playoff (played as game 163) or playoff bracket will determine the wild card winner. (d) In the event that three teams tie for the wildcard playoff berth, the following criteria will be used to determine the seeds:
(d) For the wildcard tie breaker, if three teams are tied, the #1 seed (home team) will await the winner of the one-game playoff between the #2 (home team) and #3 teams that were tied. If four teams are tied, the #1 seed will play the #4 seed and the winner will meet the winner of the game between the #2 and #3 seeded teams. (e) The team with the higher seed will have home field advantage for the all League playoff series.
2.03
The two League Divisional Series (LDS) winners will then play each other in the their respective League Championship Series (LCS) in a best of 7 game series, played in a 2-3-2 format, to determine each League Champion. The team with the best regular season win/loss record will have home field advantage. If the two teams in the LCS have the same regular season record, the tie-breaker used in Rule 2.02(b) will be used to determine home field advantage.
2.04
The League Championship winners will then play a best of 7 game series in a 2-3-2 format to determine the World Series Champions. (a) The home series advantage for the World Series will be the American League in odd-numbered years and the National League during even-numbered years. The World Series Winner will receive $2 million. The World Series runner-up will receive $1 million.
Rule III: Diamond-Mind Baseball Game Play Set-Up
3.01
Settings:
Rule IV: VFBL League Management and Owner Operations
4.01
ISBL Officers:
Commissioner: Greg Copeland
Responsibilities:
Vice-Commissioner: Troy Conner
Responsibilities:
Vice-Commissioner, Rules and Protests: Jason Green
Responsibilities:
Vice-Commissioner, Owner Relations: Charlie Paul
Vice-Commissioner, Electronic Media: Kevin Hitt
Responsibilities:
4.02
VFBL Management shall consist of the five officers named in rule section 4.01. Where multiple owners hold a single office, they will split the voting power of that office. (In addition to the day-to-day management of league affairs, VFBL Management shall have the authority to take the following actions, dependant on the number of approval votes:
4.03
Any decision made by the Commissioner may be appealed to the commission comprised of the other league officers. The appealing owner must notify the Commissioner that he intends to appeal and may then present his case to the other officers. The Commissioner will have an opportunity to respond in writing. (b) The Appellate Committee will vote by secret ballot, with 4 out of 4 votes needed to overturn the decision of the Commissioner.
4.04
The everyday responsibilities of the owners in the VFBL are as follows, but not limited to:
Each owner is responsible for these game-play actions every week during the season:
(a) The week begins on Tuesday morning when the Weekly Disk is posted. (b) For the first half of each week's series, the visiting team needs to supply its Manager Profile to the home team's owner by Wednesday, 11:59 pm EST. If a manager profile is not sent, the home team's owner may assume the visiting Manager Profile is accurate and updated. (c) First half series home team owners must send their exported Manager Profile and updated series statistics to the owner that your team is "visiting" no later than 12:00pm EST. on the Saturday of the week you are to play. (d) If the two weekly competing managers need to adjust this time table (i.e. playing all games Face-to-Face later in the week), written notice must be given to the league office before the Saturday night deadline. (e) If the first half weekly deadline is missed by the first home series manager, the second half home series manager will be authorized to play the entire series after informing the league office and opponent by email. (f) Second half series owners must send all reports and statistics back to the Commissioner no later that 10:59pm EST. the following Monday. (g) If the second half home series manager fails to turn in the weekly games before the deadline, the Commissioner or an agent of the Commissioner will simulate the games. (h) After the games have been played, select "Transfer/Export Statistics" and export the stats for the games. (i) The statistics will be compiled and results tabulated on Tuesdays.
4.05
Owners may submit rule change requests via the rule change form at www.vfbl.org to the Commissioner of the VFBL by December 20th of the current playing year. Per section 4.02, the Committee needs a 3/5 vote to bring those changes to the ownership ballot. Rule changes and all other issues affecting the VFBL will be put to a vote by January 20th and need a 2/3 vote by the owners to pass. (a) Voting for rule changes or amendments will last seven days.
4.06
Any team deemed by the League Office to be abandoned will be a computer controlled team until a new owner is found. A team will be considered abandoned if the owner: (a) does not state in writing by January 31st that he will be returning, (b) does not participate in the auction, (c) is absent for 3 consecutive weeks of play, or (d) does not respond in an email when prompted by the Commissioner in one week's time.
4.07
The Commissioner and Officers of the VFBL will have the ability to make rulings or changes on anything not covered in this rulebook during the current season.
Rule V: Roster Management
5.01
Roster moves are not considered as accepted by the VFBL until they appear in the weekly newsletter/registrar's report.
5.02
Roster moves that are available from the release of the initial disk of the current season until conclusion of the current season are:
5.03
Players placed on the Disabled List must remain there for 15 days (A promotion/farming of another player to fill/open a roster spot can be made with this move, even if it is done mid-series).
5.04
Roster moves available between the initial disk release and the conclusion of week 17 are:
(b) The tradeable commodities are as follows: Players, VFBLs (currency), supplemental draft picks and ball parks.
5.05
Roster moves available between the start of week 18 and the conclusion of week 24:
5.06
At the conclusion of the VFBL Regular Season, all roster transactions are prohibited until the initial release of the VFBL next season's disk. (Exception: Teams may place players on or off the disabled list according to the rules set for the VFBL Post-Season).
5.07
On Opening Day and at each point during the season, each roster must contain (a) at least 35 and no more than 40 players; (b) at least 18 batters; and (c) at least 14 pitchers.
5.08
No more than 25 players may be on the "active" roster at any given time until the final four weeks of the VFBL regular season, when all players who have not violated usage rules may be activated.
Rule VI: Player Eligibility and Carryover
6.01
Any player listed in the current DMB Season Disk is available to be on the active roster, provided the player meets the minimum Plate Appearances/Innings Pitched requirements. (b) PA/IP requirements for the 2012 season are 30PA and 10IP.
6.02
All eligible players under rule 6.01 are restricted to 110% of their Plate Appearances or Batters Faced without any penalties. (b) Players will perform at full strength until they reach their playing time limit of 110%. When a player exceeds his limit, he immediately becomes a replacement level performer.
Explanation of replacement level by DMB:
| BATTERS: When it comes to determining replacement level for batters, all positions are not the same. Depending on the player's primary position his replacement level performance may be higher or lower than the overall average replacement level. Using the results of our extensive research, we are able to rank the relative offensive contribution of each position from highest to lowest as follows: 1B RF LF DH 3B CF 2B C SS For example, the expected replacement level performance of a player whose primary position is first base will be higher than that of a player whose primary position is shortstop. The batting limits apply to both batters and pitchers-as-batters, however, a player's pitching and fielding performance will NOT be affected by exceeding his batting limits. PITCHERS: When a player exceeds his 110% usage, his pitching performance will be adjusted to that of a replacement level pitcher. In addition, other than fatigue, which is not affected by playing time limits, replacement level for a starter is the same as replacement level for a reliever. |
6.03
Players that are not eligible under rule 6.01(b) will be designated with "555" placed on their card and are not eligible for any participation.
6.04
Any non-VFBL qualifying MLB player may be retained as a non-card player, if that player was a member of the team's roster the previous year. (a) Said player may not participate in the VFBL regular or post season. (b) These players may only be kept for the maximum of 2 seasons under this rule. (c) Non-qualifying players are automatically released if not included in an owner's January 31 retention list.
6.05 (Micah Owings Rule)
Players may play in an unrated position, but due to DMB's rating system, it is not recommended. Any player rated exclusively as "pitcher" (starting and/or relief) may not occupy any of the other eight defensive positions for more than two consecutive plate appearances. Exception: A manager may use a pitcher at the other eight defensive positions if because of usage or injuries and no position players are available. Note: This rule does not preclude a manager from using a pitcher as a pinch-hitter at any time.
6.06
In order for a pitcher to start a game, he must be rated as a Starting Pitcher. Any player can be used as a Relief Pitcher whether or not he is rated for that position.
6.07
During the League Divisional Series, League Championship Series and World Series, 25-man rosters will be used with no substitutions for injuries or other reasons. Batters are limited per series to 10% usage and pitchers are limited per series to 15% usage. (a) Usage will be checked after each game in a series. (b) This rule will be self-imposed; so much that owners are to check their own usage and that of their opponent after each game for over usage. (c) Once a player goes over his usage limit he must be farmed. (d) If the over usage is not brought to the attention of the offending owner, and games are subsequently played, there will be no replaying of the games that the over used player has participated in.
6.08
If an injury occurs to a player during the League Divisional Series or League Championship Series, a manager has two option. (a) A manager can simply leave the player on the roster or; (b) a manager may farm the injured player and call up another player to take the roster spot. (c) The injured player then becomes ineligible for the remainder of the play-offs. (d) During the World Series, no injured player can be substituted for.
6.09
Rosters moves may be made between the League Divisional Series, the League Championship Series and the VFBL World Series. 25-man roster rule and eligible player rules are still in effect. Rule VII: Acquiring Players Through Auction and the Supplemental Draft
7.01 (Auction Rules)
All players will have initial salaries that are determined in an auction held in February and March. The owner that has the highest bid on any player will receive that player on his roster (exception rules 7.01(c) and 7.01(d)). (a) All players will have a minimum salary of $100,000. (b) No owner may make a single bid that is greater than the money available to the owner. (c) In order to satisfy roster requirements (rule 5.07), when the "cash per spot" category on their spreadsheet reaches 1, they may not bid more than 1 VFBL on any player for the remainder of the auction (unless they can acquire more money through trade). (d) If an owner bids for a player and does not have the money in his account to cover the cost, the player will be offered to the owner with the next highest bid. (e) Owners may make multiple bids that exceed their monetary total, provided they do not break rule 7.01(a). If an owner makes multiple bids and wins multiple players, but does not have the money to complete the contract purchases, the following rule will be enforced: Bids will be ordered from highest to lowest in terms of amount of VFBLs. Starting with the highest bid, each player in succession will be contracted to the bidding owner, until the owner does not have the funds to cover the next player contract. The player(s) that the bidding owner does not have the funds to sign will then be offered up per rule 7.01(a) (f) The player that was won in auction shall have the salary that was agreed upon by the owner for the duration of the season, unless they are released back to the Free Agent Pool.
7.02 (Supplemental Draft)
On February 15th the VFBL Supplemental Draft will take place. The 20 non-playoff teams will be eligible to participate. (a) The draft order will be determined in a NBA style weighted lottery. (b) All free agents with less than 50 plate appearances or 15 innings pitched are eligible to be selected. (c) The Supplemental Draft will consist of two rounds and done in a snake format (1-20, 20-1). (d) First round selections will have a salary of 5 VFBLs and second round draft choices will have a salary of 2 VFBLs. Players not drafted but would otherwise be eligible for the VFBL Auction will be placed in the Auction. (e) Any of the draft picks may be passed on or traded.
Rule VIII: VFBL Salary System
8.00
Players in the VFBL have salaries in increments of 1 VFBL (1 VFBL=$100,000). The minimum salary for any player in the league is 1 VFBL.
8.02
On January 31st of each year, teams must decide which players they will retain for the coming season. (a) Players that are retained receive an automatic 10% raise, except as noted in the following rules. (b) Players that have been out of the free agent pool for 3 years will receive a minimum salary of $1,000,000. (c) Players that have been out of the free agent pool for 5 years receive a minimum salary of $5,000,000. (d) Players that have been out of the free agent pool for 7 years receive a minimum salary of $10,000,000. (e) Players will receive a 10% raise or the minimum salary for their year, whichever is greater.
Example: A Player is bought from auction for 3 VFBLs
8.03
On February 1st, all teams receive their funds for the new season.
8.04
On February 1st, all players retained on a team's roster are paid 2/3 of their salary for the season. The remaining 1/3 will be paid to every player on the roster the first day after week 17 (trade deadline) After the initial 2/3 payment, the money in each team's account may be used to bid on free agents at auction, as added value in trades, or rolled over into the following season. (a) Exception: All teams are required to keep at least 10 VFBLs in a lockbox for the beginning of the season. Each team will have 5 VFBLs released to them once season play commences. The remaining 5 VFBLs will be released after the trading deadline.
8.05
On April 1st, the total payroll of each team will be noted. Teams are then restricted to a salary cap no greater than 40% above the total sum of the current player salaries as of that date.
Example:
If the sum of your team's salary at season's start is $50 million, that sum may not, through trade or auction acquisitions, exceed $70 million during the course of the season.
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