REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for participation, all members of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Strat-o-matic Baseball League should:

·    Supply a current set of Strat-o-matic cards for their own team;

·    Live in the Twin Cities area;

·    Be willing to meet in person with all other owners in order to complete the league schedule;

·    Have a valid email address and/or Internet access.

If any of these requirements cannot be met for any reason, the league commissioner should be notified and special circumstances may be established.  If no special circumstances can be established, then the owner is subject to dismissal from the league.

STRUCTURE

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Strat-o-matic Baseball [MSPSL] currently consists of eight teams, or two four-team leagues.  The league alignment is as follows:

AMERICAN LEAGUE (DH Rule)

Cleveland Indians

Los Angeles Angels (formerly Pittsburgh Pirates)

New York Mets (formerly Chicago White Sox)

Oakland Athletics

NATIONAL LEAGUE (No DH Rule)

Boston Red Sox

Kansas City Royals (formerly Florida Marlins)

Minnesota Twins

Seattle Mariners

Each team utilizes the actual home ballpark of their major league base team.  The team names shall remain consistent with the actual major league team names.

The league schedule consists of 54 games.  Teams play their league rivals ten games each (five home) and their interleague rivals six games each (three home).

COMMISSIONER

The MSPSL has a “floating commissioner” system, meaning this position will rotate among all owners.  Currently, Steve Dudero is the acting commissioner and will maintain said position through the conclusion of the second full season.  At that point, a volunteer will be sought after to assume the duties.

All completed trades or other player movement shall be reported to the commissioner, who will then notify the rest of the league.  Any comments, questions, suggestions, or conflicts should be reported to the league commissioner.

The commissioner’s responsibilities include:

·    Communicating pertinent league information to all owners;

·    Maintaining the official team rosters;

·    Scheduling the annual meeting;

·    Provide list of free additions for each team;

·    Resolving any and all conflicts that may occur;

·    Delegating additional duties when the need arises.

STATISTICS

The MSPSL also has a league statistician (Alan Lecher).  Game results and team/individual statistics should be reported via email directly to the league statistician immediately upon the completion of each series.  The statistician will maintain up-to-date standings and individual player statistics on the league website.

Along with the game results, all owners are responsible to send the league statistician the following statistical categories upon the completion of each three-game or five-game series:

TEAM

·    Batting Average

·    Homeruns

·    Earned Run Average

·    Stolen Bases

INDIVIDUAL*

·    Batting Average (minimum 2.5 AB/game)

·    Homeruns

·    Triples

·    Doubles

·    Runs Batted In

·    Runs Scored

·    Stolen Bases

·    Walks

·    E.R.A. (minimum 1 IP/game)

·    Won-Loss Record

·    Strikeouts

·    Saves

* Top five players for each category.

Note:  The success of our league statistics and website updates are solely dependent on the timely manner in which all owners turn in their statistics.

LEAGUE AWARDS

When the season has concluded, all owners will be asked to nominate one player for the Most Valuable Player award and one pitcher for the Cy Young award.  These two individuals will be submitted to the commissioner, along with an optional paragraph describing the qualifications/statistics as to why these players should win the respective awards.

Once all nominees have been submitted and posted on the league website, all eight owners will be asked to vote for who they think the league MVP and Cy Young winner should be for that season.  Owners may NOT vote for their own nominees.

TALENT ACQUISITION

Teams are able to add players by means of the trades, base team free additions, Main Draft, and Waiver Draft.

 Main Draft

After the Strat-o-matic Game Co. has released their latest set of cards (typically the end of January), our Main Draft will begin.

The Main Draft will consist of six rounds, wherein the draft order will be as follows:

1.)    Non-playoff team with the worst record

2.)    Non-playoff team with the second worst record

3.)    Non-playoff team with the second best record

4.)    Non-playoff team with the best record

5.)    League championship loser with the worst record

6.)    League championship loser with the best worst

7.)    World Series loser

8.)    World Series winner

All ties in team records will be broken by the following ranking:

1.)    Head-to-head record

2.)    League record

3.)    Interleague record

4.)    Coin flip or dice roll*

* In the case of the coin flip, the team winning the random flip will pick higher in the odd rounds (1, 3, 5) and lower in the even rounds (2, 4, 6).

All carded players that are not on any team roster are eligible for the Main Draft.  Any minor league players not belonging to a base team are also eligible to be drafted.

An owner may also select a player from his or her own base team’s minor leagues and keep that player on their 40-man roster.  This enables an owner to protect a player on their MSPSL roster in the event that said player is traded to another Major League organization before becoming an eligible carded player.

Draft picks may also be used to change a base team.  The changes in base team and ballpark will officially take effect the following year.  The old base team is immediately available to all other owners in the same draft, however players from that organization are not.

Waiver Draft

At the conclusion of the Main Draft, all owners are required to cut players from their rosters to arrive at the maximum of 40 players.  Once each team has established their 40-man roster and reported roster to the commissioner, all players released will go into the waiver draft pool and may be selected at this time.  Owners may only select players released by other teams.

During the Waiver Draft, owners may select any player from the waiver draft pool, however they must immediately drop a player in order to continuously maintain the team’s 40-man roster.  The player dropped is immediately available.

The Waiver Draft order is the same as the Main Draft order.  Owners are not allowed to trade waiver draft picks.  There is no fixed number of draft rounds in the Waiver Draft.  Once an owner passes or chooses not to make a selection, they may no longer participate in the Waiver Draft.  After all eight owners have passed, the Waiver Draft is over.

No drop/adds are allowed during the regular season or playoffs.

“Free Additions”

Free Additions are automatically added to each roster upon the release of the latest set of Strat-o-matic cards.  Teams will receive all newly carded players belonging to that base team each year.  Owners may then elect to retain, trade, or release them during the Waiver Draft period.

In cases where a player has multiple cards, the team that appears on the player’s combined card will determine which team has the rights to that player.

Trades

Teams are able to make trades at any time.  Trades may involve players, draft picks (Main Draft only), or any combination therein.  Players acquired after September 1^st or after a team has completed their 54-game season are ineligible for postseason games that season.

Trades cannot involve the following:

1.)    Base teams;

2.)    Players to be named later;

3.)    Draft picks more than one year into the future;

4.)    Players in the minor leagues of base teams (unless player is protected on 40-man roster).

Steps to report a trade:

1.  Both managers report the trade to the Commissioner only.

2.  The Commissioner will either inform the rest of the league of the trade, or in the case of a unfair or suspicious trade:

3.  Contact each  manager involved  for an explanation.  If the explanation satisfies the Commissioner:

4.  Commissioner forwards the trade to the rest of the league.  If not satisfied with the explanation:

5.  Commissioner will request the trade be reworked and offers to be a mediator.  The managers involved are not required to let the Commissioner mediate.  Once a solution is worked out:

6.  The commissioner will inform league of the trade.  If a solution cannot be worked out:

7.  The commissioner will ask for a league vote.  Each manager involved in the trade can state his case why the trade should stand.  A vote is taken whether to allow or disallowe the trade.  The teams involved in the trade do not vote.  A vote to overturn must be a majority.  If the voting results in a tie, the trade stands.

Other notes on trading:

If a trade is submitted to the league and a member thinks the trade is grossly unfair or suspicious, that member can contact the commissioner and call for a vote on the trade.  Every member would be involved in the vote excluding the managers making the trade.

If the trade has already gone through an explanation and/or reworking process, it is up to the commissioner whether or not to allow a vote.  If the trade has not undergone the explanation and/or reworking process, the commissioner follows steps 3 thru 7.

OFFICIAL ROSTER

Upon conclusion of the Waiver Draft, each owner will be asked to submit to the commissioner a 25-man major league roster and 15-man minor league roster.  When all rosters have been submitted, an updated league roster sheet will be sent out to all owners.  League games may begin anytime after this has been done.

Please note that the 25-man major league roster must have at least two players for every position.  Having just one player at a position is permissible only if that player does not have an injury chance on his card.

There must be a minimum of three catchers on the 40-man roster.

SEASON

Teams play ten games against league rivals (five home, five away) and six games against interleague rivals (three home, three away).  The season is a total of 54 games in length.  The games may be played in any order.

In a five-game series, the first three games are at night and the final two are day games.  In a three-game series, the first two games are at night and the final game is during the day.

Upon the conclusion of each series, owners are responsible for reporting the game results to the commissioner and their team’s updated team and individual statistics to the league statistician.  Owners may check the website for updated standings and league leaders.

All games must be completed by the first Sunday in October at midnight.  Any games not completed by this time will be considered forfeits by both teams.  The forfeited games will count as losses in the standings and wins when determining the draft order for next year.  Playoffs must be completed by November 1^st.

REST RULES

There are no days off during the regular season.  All league games are played consecutively.  See “Playoffs” below for more information on rest rules.

MINOR LEAGUES

During the course of the season, when a player is sent down to the minor league, that player is ineligible to return to the major league roster except as an injury replacement or in the event of a trade.

Players may be sent down to the minor leagues at any time during the season.

PLAYER USAGE

Since the MSPSL season is one-third the length of the major league season (54 games), batters are limited to the number of at-bats incurred during the major league season divided by three (AB/3).  Likewise, pitchers are limited to the number of innings incurred during the major league season divided by three (IP/3).

Occasionally a pitcher will go over their allotted innings.  For example, a pitcher has a third of an inning remaining and induces a double play.  This is acceptable, however the pitcher must immediately be removed.

INJURIES

MSPSL injury rules are identical to Strat-o-matic’s rules, with three exceptions:

1.)   Given the shortened season, no player may be injured for more than five games;

2.)  Injury readings on a pitcher’s hitting card will be ignored.  Instead, when a 6-12 roll occurs for any batter, an injury to the pitcher has a chance of occurring.  The 20-sided die will then need to be rolled to determine whether an injury has occurred (a roll of a 1 or 2 results in a pitcher injury);

3.)    Players whose at-bats plus walks add up to 600 or more at-bats can be injured for no more than three games at a time.  This limitation also extends to starting pitchers marked with an asterisk.

Note:  When determining injury length, the 20-sided die is rolled separately after the play is completed.

INJURY REPLACEMENTS

When a player is injured for at least three games, the manager may elect to call up an injury replacement from the minor leagues.  The manager must stay consistent with maintaining two players on the active roster for every position.  Once the injured player has regained his health, the replacement must be sent back down to the minors.

If a player is injured for only one or two games, the manager may elect to call up an injury replacement, however the injured player must remain inactive for a full three games.

ADDITIONAL GAME RULES

·     There may be no pinch hitters, pinch runners, or pitching changes during an at bat, except in the case of an injury.  If a base runner advances or is caught stealing during an at bat, changes may then be made.

·     As per major league rules, all players in the starting lineup must play at least one full inning at their starting position.  The only exception to this rule is if an injury occurs.  All pitchers must face at least one batter.

·     The “Robbing Homerun Rule” will not be used.

Emergency Relief Pitcher
A manager may send a position player to the minors and recall any type of relief pitcher for exactly three games, with no penalty, if his team has one or more consecutive extra inning games(s) and he has one or less relief pitchers eligible to pitch because of rest factor guidelines (i.e. long relief rest factor < 1, short relief rest factor < 2).

After the ERP rule has been invoked, a starter with a rest factor of 0 can be classified as a relief pitcher, endurance 3/(N).  A starter can only be used as a relief pitcher if there will be starters available for subsequent games under Rest Factor guidelines.  A starter may be classified as a relief pitcher anytime during the the three-game ERP period, but the relief pitcher classification is only good for the three game ERP period.

The pitcher must be returned to the minors at the end of the three game ERP period.  The manager will continue to chart rest factor until it reaches zero.  The manager must recall the same position player sent down for the Emergency Relief Pitcher.  If he recalls any other player, it counts as a roster move for all three players.

Catcher Blocking Plate Rule
This rule comes into play when rolling a 20-sided die to determine whether a runner is safe or out at home.

If the last number in the Safe range or the first number in the Out range is rolled, the catcher’s ability to block the plate will be checked with an additional roll of the 20-sided die.  Refer to the following chart to determine the status of the base runner:

RELIEVER WARM-UP RULES

·     All relievers warming up in the bullpen must be announced prior to an at bat.  Only two pitchers may be warming up at the same time.  The number of batters it takes for a reliever to warm up depends on his endurance factor (i.e. a pitcher with an endurance of “1” will take one batter to warm up, while a pitcher with an endurance of “4” will take four batters to warm up).

·     If the manager does not bring in a reliever after he is warm, the reliever may continue warming up for the remainder of the inning without penalty.  If the inning ends with the reliever still warming up, he must sit down.  If in a future inning the manager wants to use this reliever, he must complete the warm-up process once again.

·     If a manager warms up a reliever three times and then brings him in later in the game, that pitcher automatically enters the game fatigued.

·     If a reliever enters the game before he is warm, then all rolls landing on “dots” will become a Single** until that pitcher has faced enough batters to be considered warm.

·     If a manager starts warming up a reliever while his team is batting, he will automatically be warm at the conclusion of that half-inning.  For the sake of argument, consider the time period between innings as the equivalent of one batter’s worth.

·     If a pitcher has an injury, the replacement always enters the game warm.

PLAYOFFS

The playoffs will consist of the first and second place teams in each league.  There will be an American League Championship Series, a National League Championship Series, and the World Series.  The team with the best record will have home field throughout the playoffs.  All series are best of seven in a 2-3-2 format.

All ties in teams vying for the Wildcard spot will be determined by a one-game playoff.  Home team will be determined by best head-to-head record, followed by best league record.

All ties in teams vying for the AL or NL championship will be broken by the following criteria:

1.)    Head-to-head record

2.)    League record / Interleague record

3.)    Coin flip or dice roll

Player Usage, Playoffs

Playoff rosters will be set before the beginning of each series.  Rosters may be adjusted in between series.  No injury replacements are allowed during any series.

Batters will be limited to 5% of their total at bats per series.  Pitchers will be limited to 5% of their total innings per series.  These limitations do not apply to batters who have 200 or more at bats on their card (or catchers with 175 at bats).  Pitchers exempt from these limitations are based on the following table:

* At the beginning of each series, a playoff team is allowed to designate one starting pitcher as a starter/reliever.  His rating will become S/R 6/3/N.  This pitcher can be changed in between each series.

When the number of innings for a pitcher is multiplied by .05 to determine how many innings the pitcher is allowed in a playoff series, the remainder determines the additional number of hitters he may face:

Example:  A pitcher has 45 innings on his card.  For each playoff series, he is allowed 2 1/3 innings (45 X .05 = 2.25).

Rest Rules, Playoffs

Rest days will be as follows:

·    There is one rest day between the end of regular season and the game one of the playoffs.

·    There is one rest day following games two and five of each playoff series.

·    There is one rest day between each series.  In addition, if one series finishes in fewer games than the other, the winning team of the shorter series receives those additional rest days.

CHANGING RULES IN THE CONSTITUTION

MSPSL rules are classified in two separate categories:  Game Rule Changes and League Structure Changes.

Game rule changes are those that govern actual game play and player eligibility.  Changes or additions to these rules can be passed by a majority vote of all owners.

League structure changes are those that govern the league setup, talent acquisition, rosters, etc.  Changes or additions to these rules can be passed by a super-majority of all owners (75%, or six out of eight owners).

PITCHER REST RULE CHART

Pitcher rest rules are based on the following table: 

·     All pitchers start with a rest factor of zero (0).  When they pitch, factors are added according to the above chart.  If they do not pitch, subtract two from their rest factor.  A pitcher’s rest factor cannot go below zero.

·     It is necessary to keep a running record.

·     The point at which a pitcher may pitch again is indicated in the above chart and differs for each type of pitcher (starter, reliever, etc.).  Note the difference between S/R and S R.  If a pitcher can start and relieve, use the appropriate chart according to what the pitcher is doing at the time.

·     The “0 innings pitched” and “0 outs” include pitching without recording an out (i.e. caught stealing).

·     Starting pitchers are automatically fatigued at endurance rating plus four innings pitched.  Relief pitchers are automatically fatigued at endurance rating plus six outs.

·     The maximum number of innings for a starter is endurance rating plus six innings.  The maximum number of innings for a reliever is endurance rating plus 12 outs.  If this point is reached, the pitcher must be removed.

·     The rest factor is absolute.  For example, an “S” pitcher cannot enter a game fatigued with a rest factor of “1”.  He must wait until he is at zero.

·     If all eligible relief pitchers have been used, a manager may use a starting pitcher as an “S/R,” provided that pitcher is rated as a long reliever.

·     League rules use days of rest, rather than games played, in the playoffs only.  This allows a starter with an asterisk (*) to start more frequently.

The Pitcher Rest Rule Chart has been published in the Strat-O-Matic Review and is copyrighted by John Ross.