Rules Update
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:59 am
Hey guys, we need to update the rules for sure. Any help would be appreciated. I started with some suggestions below. Italics are old text, bold new.
International Baseball Confederacy Official Rules & Procedures
I.IBC Foundation
1. Rules of the IBC will adhere to those of MLB except where indicated below.
2. Rules listed below are subject to change at the discretion of the commissionersExecutive Committee as we acclimate to the Diamond Mind Baseball system. All GM's will be notified of any and all changes and the topic will be open for discussion and debate, however by joining the IBC all GM's agree to accept the final decisions of the co-commissionersExecutive Committee. While the rules and procedures of the IBC are ever evolving due to technological advances, changes in MLB and inspired suggestions from member GM's, no rules change are immediately foreseen and under no circumstances will a rule be initiated to benefit or favor one team over another.
II. General Manager Participation
1. GM's are expected to maintain a high level of participation in the league. Any participant who becomes inactive and unresponsive for a term of more than 30 days may risk losing their club unless discussed with the commissioner beforehand (business trips or lengthy vacations etc.).
2. Roll Calls may occasionally be called for. Failure to respond may result in loss of franchise. These Roll Calls will be done via e-mail with a subject line titled Roll Call or by a forum on the message board entitled Roll Call. Simply replying to it and acknowledging receipt is sufficient.
III. The Commissioner
1. The Commissioner (Bren Dillon) and Co-Commissioner (Nils Erickson) are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the league and were responsible for its founding and creation. Their responsibilities are outlined throughout this document and include the creation and management of these IBC rules.
2. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
1. Maintaining and enforcing the Rules of the IBC
2. Simming games and making boxscores available to all members on a regular basis.
3. Processing trades and player moves in the league database for simming purposes.
4. Conducting Roll Calls and recruiting new members when necessary
5. Resolving assorted disputes.
Section about Executive Committee here...
IV. Rosters
1. Each franchise will field a team from their 25 man roster. Each team is expected to maintain a minimum of 20 active players at all times, 10 position players and 10 pitchers.
2. In addition to these 25, each team will also have a 15 player inactive/reserve roster of injured players, minor leaguers or other players not otherwise in the sim. These players are ineligible to play.
A. On September 1st active rosters expand to 40 so any player may play as long as he is in the database.
3. Each team will also have a ten man rookie roster consisting solely of players eligible for the last two rookie drafts in any combination of proportions. This brings the total number of players under a GM's control to 50.
4. Members who have the sim should e-mail their exported rosters to ibcrosters@gmail.comrosters@ibcleague.com.
5. Members who do not have the sim will work with a Roster Guy (one for each division) who will input their rosters into the sim for them and e-mail it to ibcrosters@gmail.com. Please see the league website for a list of Roster Guy assignments. can input their lineups through OOPSS, which will submit them to the Roster Guy for input into the sim.
V. Injuries and the DL
1. Players on the disabled list in the MLB are considered injured.
2. Players on a 'rehab assignment' are considered injured.
3. Players who are shown to not be playing due to physical ailment are considered injured.
4. Injuries will be updated once a week. Any MLB player who is on the DL as of Midnight on Saturday will not be eligible to play for the coming week (Monday through Sunday). The Commissioner will render each player who is on the DL as 'Injured' in the database and Roster Guys or members with the sim will place them on the DL. When a player is ready to be taken off the DL, the Commissioner will remove the 'Injured' label in the database.
5. A designated member of the league will check MLB transactions each week and e-mail the league as a whole as to what players went on and off the DL that week. If another player comes off the DL but is missed in the list, it is up to individual members to notify the Commissioner that the player needs to be removed from the 'Injured' list.
6. Players are required to spend a minimum of 2 weeks on the DL in the IBC.
7. If a player is found to be playing when injured, the person simming the games will immediately deactivate him, no roster adjustment will be allowed. The first time this happens the GM will receive a warning from the commissioner. The second time within the span of 60 days of the first offense the player will be benched for an additional two weeks beyond the time the player is activated in the MLB. A third offense within 60 days of the first will result in the player being benched for an additional 4 weeks beyond his MLB return date. A fourth offense within 60 days of the first may result in the release of the player onto waivers.
An offense is one warning that player(s) are playing that should not. i.e. if 2 players were not deactivated but both are noticed at the same time, that is one offense.
GM's who are found to have consistent problems may face further sanctions from the league.
VI. Free Agents and Eligibility
1. Any player who is eligible to play in the MLB is eligible to be signed by an IBC franchise. A player may be ineligible for any number of reasons including the following. Retirement (official or unofficial), expulsion from baseball, player's rights being owned by a Japanese team, player not having submitted for the draft yet, etc.
This rule could still use some clarification imo, making it loop-free.
2. Any player who is cut by a major league team may continue to play for a period of 2 weeks in the IBC without being signed by a major league team.
3. A player is eligible to play for their team if he is eligible to be signed and is not prevented from doing so due to an injury or suspension.
4. To sign a free agent, a GM must sign the player in the OOPSS System on the league website and post it to the messageboard. The OOPSS System is the official system and will be used for solving disputes, posting additionally to the messageboard allows it to serve as a backup system as well as a forum for waiver claims and discussion.
5. A player may only be signed if the signing will not put the total (25 active + 15 inactive) roster over 40, or the draft roster over 10 total rookie draftees.
6. If player A is released to sign player B and player B is already on another roster, then the GM attempting the transaction keeps possession of player A.
7. GM's found to be signing players haphazardly without checking the player list may face individual sanctions
8. When a player is released by a team, the release should be done in the OOPSS system and on the league messageboard. The player goes on Waivers before he can be signed.
A. Player A is released by a team and is on waivers for 24 hours.
B. Anyone can submit a claim for player by emailing the whole league, they should include who they are dropping in their claim. The players being dropped for that claim, CANNOT be claimed until it is announced who gets Player A. Anyone who submits a claim for those players before it is announced who gets Player A automatically moves to the bottom of the waiver list. using the Waivers page in OOPSS.
C. After 24 hours, whichever GM has the highest waiver priority gets that player and the player he released goes on waivers. That GM also moves to the bottom of the waiver priority list. If, after 24 hours, no one has claimed the player, he clears waivers and can be signed by anyone without affecting their order in the waiver priority list.
D. Waiver Priority Order is set and refreshed on the first of the following months (May, June, July, August, September, October) based on team record. Ties will be broken by Pythagorean win percentage then record over the last 10 days.-(032005)
VII. Trades
1. The trade deadline is August 31st Midnight EST, trades can again be made the day after the World Series.
2. Trades will be reviewed by the Trade Review Committee (TRC).
A. The TRC is made up of 3 GM's (the Commish or Co-Commish, and two other GMs) with members being reviewed every three months.
B. 2 votes rejecting the deal out of 3 causes a trade to be vetoed.
C. If a TRC member makes a trade then he cannot vote on that deal, in sucha situation a prearranged substitute will cast a vote in his place.
D. Trades should be evaluated on their merit at the time the trade is agreed to, which may be slightly different from when the trade goes to the committee or is approved.
E. If a trade is rejected by the TRC then the GM's may write a brief (fitting on 1 page of a MS Word document at 12pt. font) appeal and request a leaguewide vote. A 2/3 majority is required to overturn a TRC veto
1. Approved trades may also be appealed if at least 5 members call for a leaguewide vote on the approved trade. A 2/3 majority (20 out of 30) is required to overturn the TRC's approval of a deal and force a veto.
3. When a trade is agreed upon, BOTH GM's must submit the trade through OOPSS for approval by the TRC. The trade mus be approved by Midnight Saturday for inclusion in the coming week's database.
4. Once both GM's have submitted agreements a trade cannot be undone unless BOTH GM's agree to rework or undo the trade completely.
5. Players must be dropped to free agency in order to make space in lop-sided (2 for 1, 3 for 2) trades so as not to exceed the 3540 player roster maximum.
A. The release of players should be done immediately once approval of the trade is announced.
B. If a trade results in open spots on a roster, those spots cannot be filled until the trade is announced as approved.
6. Trades between GM's who were responsible for each other joining the league may be subject to additional scrutiny than other deals.
7. No 'waiver wire' deals will be allowed. 'Waiver wire deals' are defined as dropping a player so another team can immediately pick him up in order to get around the trade deadline or trade approval process. For the first offense the player moves will be undone and the involved GM's suspended. If it is repeated then further appropriate action will be taken.
8. Any attempts to 'loan' players will be met with league sanctions.
9. Rookie Draft picks prior to the use of the pick are no longer tradable commodities. (per leaguewide vote 12/05 and in accordance with original league rules).
10. Players who leave the US to play elsewhere may be signed or re-signed at any time although the GM who had the player when he left the MLB has the right of first refusal. ?(030105)
11. Relatives are not valid trading commodities. ?(030105)
12. Trades involving GM's with less than 3 month's tenure in the league will be subject to stricter standards than trades between established members.
13. As trading commodities, players with little or no experience at AA or higher will be viewed with lower value when traded for players at AA or higher owing to the high attrition rate as prospects move from the low minors to the high minors. (per leaguewide vote, 12/05, in exchange for looser trade standards involving established players).
VIII. Drafts
1. Annual Rookie Drafts
A. Prior to the start of each season a universal new player draft will be held. The order will be determined by the records of the teams from the previous season with the worst team picking first. Ties will be broken by Pythagorean winning percentage, head to head record and then finally record in the last ten days of the season.
B. Player's subject to the draft will include any player who had not been part of an MLB organization before the start of the prior calendar year. (EXAMPLE: If a player had not been signed to a contract prior to 2006 then he is eligible for the IBC 2006 draft, which is held in January 2007).
1. Following the completion of the IBC draft, any players who were drafted by or signed to a contract by an MLB team during the prior calendar year (in 2006 for the example above) or earlier may be signed as free agents.
2. A player will be returned to the draft pool for the next season under the following conditions. If the player was drafted by an MLB team and does not sign a new contract before the next MLB draft (the 2007 MLB draft in the example above). If the player is a Cuban defector or is from another professional league such as Japan, Korea or Mexico and does not sign a contract with an MLB team by opening day (Opening Day of the 2007 season in the example above). If the does not fall under one of these two categories, he must have signed a contract with an MLB team prior to January first of that year (prior to January 1st of 2007 in the example above).
C. The draft will continue for as many rounds as members wish to participate. Once a member misses a pick, he will be skipped from there on out unless they clearly indicate an interest and dedication to continue to draft.
D. Draft Picks are not tradable. Drafted Players are also not tradable until after the 5th round of the draft, provided both GM's have declared they have finished drafting. Violations may be met with sanctions.
2. Minidrafts for New Members
A. All new members may be subject to a minidraft. In the minidraft, all players from the teams belonging to the new members will be placed into a pool. The new members will then draft from that pool to assemble their team. Draft order will be determined at random by the Commissioner prior to the draft.
IX. Contraction/Strikes/Work Stoppages
1. If MLB contracts teams, so will the IBC.
2. Under no condition will any strike or work stoppage affect play in the IBC. In such a situation, the DMB sim will determine injuries.
3. In the event of contraction following the 2002, or any other season, GM's who are contracted will be given the chance to remain in the league. It is expected that over the off-season some GM's may lose interest and choose not to participate. Contracted GM's will have the choice of taking one of these teams, or bringing their contracted roster to the team, whose old roster will be placed in a dispersal draft with the team with the worst record picking first. Rosters of the two teams can not be combined.
X. Playoffs
1. Playoffs will follow the same format as in the MLB and using the same rules for qualifying with the following exceptions.
2. Players signed/released after August 31 to a team will not be eligible for the playoffs. If they're not on your roster before September 1, you can't use them.
3. Any players who are injured when the playoffs begin will remain injured and ineligible to play. No players will become injured during the playoffs.
4. No team which does not have an active GM shall be included in the playoffs.
5. Home field throughout the playoffs will be determined by best overall record with ties being broken by head to head record and then best division record.
6. Wildcard teams can face teams from the same division in the first round of the playoffs.
International Baseball Confederacy Official Rules & Procedures
I.IBC Foundation
1. Rules of the IBC will adhere to those of MLB except where indicated below.
2. Rules listed below are subject to change at the discretion of the commissionersExecutive Committee as we acclimate to the Diamond Mind Baseball system. All GM's will be notified of any and all changes and the topic will be open for discussion and debate, however by joining the IBC all GM's agree to accept the final decisions of the co-commissionersExecutive Committee. While the rules and procedures of the IBC are ever evolving due to technological advances, changes in MLB and inspired suggestions from member GM's, no rules change are immediately foreseen and under no circumstances will a rule be initiated to benefit or favor one team over another.
II. General Manager Participation
1. GM's are expected to maintain a high level of participation in the league. Any participant who becomes inactive and unresponsive for a term of more than 30 days may risk losing their club unless discussed with the commissioner beforehand (business trips or lengthy vacations etc.).
2. Roll Calls may occasionally be called for. Failure to respond may result in loss of franchise. These Roll Calls will be done via e-mail with a subject line titled Roll Call or by a forum on the message board entitled Roll Call. Simply replying to it and acknowledging receipt is sufficient.
III. The Commissioner
1. The Commissioner (Bren Dillon) and Co-Commissioner (Nils Erickson) are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the league and were responsible for its founding and creation. Their responsibilities are outlined throughout this document and include the creation and management of these IBC rules.
2. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
1. Maintaining and enforcing the Rules of the IBC
2. Simming games and making boxscores available to all members on a regular basis.
3. Processing trades and player moves in the league database for simming purposes.
4. Conducting Roll Calls and recruiting new members when necessary
5. Resolving assorted disputes.
Section about Executive Committee here...
IV. Rosters
1. Each franchise will field a team from their 25 man roster. Each team is expected to maintain a minimum of 20 active players at all times, 10 position players and 10 pitchers.
2. In addition to these 25, each team will also have a 15 player inactive/reserve roster of injured players, minor leaguers or other players not otherwise in the sim. These players are ineligible to play.
A. On September 1st active rosters expand to 40 so any player may play as long as he is in the database.
3. Each team will also have a ten man rookie roster consisting solely of players eligible for the last two rookie drafts in any combination of proportions. This brings the total number of players under a GM's control to 50.
4. Members who have the sim should e-mail their exported rosters to ibcrosters@gmail.comrosters@ibcleague.com.
5. Members who do not have the sim will work with a Roster Guy (one for each division) who will input their rosters into the sim for them and e-mail it to ibcrosters@gmail.com. Please see the league website for a list of Roster Guy assignments. can input their lineups through OOPSS, which will submit them to the Roster Guy for input into the sim.
V. Injuries and the DL
1. Players on the disabled list in the MLB are considered injured.
2. Players on a 'rehab assignment' are considered injured.
3. Players who are shown to not be playing due to physical ailment are considered injured.
4. Injuries will be updated once a week. Any MLB player who is on the DL as of Midnight on Saturday will not be eligible to play for the coming week (Monday through Sunday). The Commissioner will render each player who is on the DL as 'Injured' in the database and Roster Guys or members with the sim will place them on the DL. When a player is ready to be taken off the DL, the Commissioner will remove the 'Injured' label in the database.
5. A designated member of the league will check MLB transactions each week and e-mail the league as a whole as to what players went on and off the DL that week. If another player comes off the DL but is missed in the list, it is up to individual members to notify the Commissioner that the player needs to be removed from the 'Injured' list.
6. Players are required to spend a minimum of 2 weeks on the DL in the IBC.
7. If a player is found to be playing when injured, the person simming the games will immediately deactivate him, no roster adjustment will be allowed. The first time this happens the GM will receive a warning from the commissioner. The second time within the span of 60 days of the first offense the player will be benched for an additional two weeks beyond the time the player is activated in the MLB. A third offense within 60 days of the first will result in the player being benched for an additional 4 weeks beyond his MLB return date. A fourth offense within 60 days of the first may result in the release of the player onto waivers.
An offense is one warning that player(s) are playing that should not. i.e. if 2 players were not deactivated but both are noticed at the same time, that is one offense.
GM's who are found to have consistent problems may face further sanctions from the league.
VI. Free Agents and Eligibility
1. Any player who is eligible to play in the MLB is eligible to be signed by an IBC franchise. A player may be ineligible for any number of reasons including the following. Retirement (official or unofficial), expulsion from baseball, player's rights being owned by a Japanese team, player not having submitted for the draft yet, etc.
This rule could still use some clarification imo, making it loop-free.
2. Any player who is cut by a major league team may continue to play for a period of 2 weeks in the IBC without being signed by a major league team.
3. A player is eligible to play for their team if he is eligible to be signed and is not prevented from doing so due to an injury or suspension.
4. To sign a free agent, a GM must sign the player in the OOPSS System on the league website and post it to the messageboard. The OOPSS System is the official system and will be used for solving disputes, posting additionally to the messageboard allows it to serve as a backup system as well as a forum for waiver claims and discussion.
5. A player may only be signed if the signing will not put the total (25 active + 15 inactive) roster over 40, or the draft roster over 10 total rookie draftees.
6. If player A is released to sign player B and player B is already on another roster, then the GM attempting the transaction keeps possession of player A.
7. GM's found to be signing players haphazardly without checking the player list may face individual sanctions
8. When a player is released by a team, the release should be done in the OOPSS system and on the league messageboard. The player goes on Waivers before he can be signed.
A. Player A is released by a team and is on waivers for 24 hours.
B. Anyone can submit a claim for player by emailing the whole league, they should include who they are dropping in their claim. The players being dropped for that claim, CANNOT be claimed until it is announced who gets Player A. Anyone who submits a claim for those players before it is announced who gets Player A automatically moves to the bottom of the waiver list. using the Waivers page in OOPSS.
C. After 24 hours, whichever GM has the highest waiver priority gets that player and the player he released goes on waivers. That GM also moves to the bottom of the waiver priority list. If, after 24 hours, no one has claimed the player, he clears waivers and can be signed by anyone without affecting their order in the waiver priority list.
D. Waiver Priority Order is set and refreshed on the first of the following months (May, June, July, August, September, October) based on team record. Ties will be broken by Pythagorean win percentage then record over the last 10 days.-(032005)
VII. Trades
1. The trade deadline is August 31st Midnight EST, trades can again be made the day after the World Series.
2. Trades will be reviewed by the Trade Review Committee (TRC).
A. The TRC is made up of 3 GM's (the Commish or Co-Commish, and two other GMs) with members being reviewed every three months.
B. 2 votes rejecting the deal out of 3 causes a trade to be vetoed.
C. If a TRC member makes a trade then he cannot vote on that deal, in sucha situation a prearranged substitute will cast a vote in his place.
D. Trades should be evaluated on their merit at the time the trade is agreed to, which may be slightly different from when the trade goes to the committee or is approved.
E. If a trade is rejected by the TRC then the GM's may write a brief (fitting on 1 page of a MS Word document at 12pt. font) appeal and request a leaguewide vote. A 2/3 majority is required to overturn a TRC veto
1. Approved trades may also be appealed if at least 5 members call for a leaguewide vote on the approved trade. A 2/3 majority (20 out of 30) is required to overturn the TRC's approval of a deal and force a veto.
3. When a trade is agreed upon, BOTH GM's must submit the trade through OOPSS for approval by the TRC. The trade mus be approved by Midnight Saturday for inclusion in the coming week's database.
4. Once both GM's have submitted agreements a trade cannot be undone unless BOTH GM's agree to rework or undo the trade completely.
5. Players must be dropped to free agency in order to make space in lop-sided (2 for 1, 3 for 2) trades so as not to exceed the 3540 player roster maximum.
A. The release of players should be done immediately once approval of the trade is announced.
B. If a trade results in open spots on a roster, those spots cannot be filled until the trade is announced as approved.
6. Trades between GM's who were responsible for each other joining the league may be subject to additional scrutiny than other deals.
7. No 'waiver wire' deals will be allowed. 'Waiver wire deals' are defined as dropping a player so another team can immediately pick him up in order to get around the trade deadline or trade approval process. For the first offense the player moves will be undone and the involved GM's suspended. If it is repeated then further appropriate action will be taken.
8. Any attempts to 'loan' players will be met with league sanctions.
9. Rookie Draft picks prior to the use of the pick are no longer tradable commodities. (per leaguewide vote 12/05 and in accordance with original league rules).
10. Players who leave the US to play elsewhere may be signed or re-signed at any time although the GM who had the player when he left the MLB has the right of first refusal. ?(030105)
11. Relatives are not valid trading commodities. ?(030105)
12. Trades involving GM's with less than 3 month's tenure in the league will be subject to stricter standards than trades between established members.
13. As trading commodities, players with little or no experience at AA or higher will be viewed with lower value when traded for players at AA or higher owing to the high attrition rate as prospects move from the low minors to the high minors. (per leaguewide vote, 12/05, in exchange for looser trade standards involving established players).
VIII. Drafts
1. Annual Rookie Drafts
A. Prior to the start of each season a universal new player draft will be held. The order will be determined by the records of the teams from the previous season with the worst team picking first. Ties will be broken by Pythagorean winning percentage, head to head record and then finally record in the last ten days of the season.
B. Player's subject to the draft will include any player who had not been part of an MLB organization before the start of the prior calendar year. (EXAMPLE: If a player had not been signed to a contract prior to 2006 then he is eligible for the IBC 2006 draft, which is held in January 2007).
1. Following the completion of the IBC draft, any players who were drafted by or signed to a contract by an MLB team during the prior calendar year (in 2006 for the example above) or earlier may be signed as free agents.
2. A player will be returned to the draft pool for the next season under the following conditions. If the player was drafted by an MLB team and does not sign a new contract before the next MLB draft (the 2007 MLB draft in the example above). If the player is a Cuban defector or is from another professional league such as Japan, Korea or Mexico and does not sign a contract with an MLB team by opening day (Opening Day of the 2007 season in the example above). If the does not fall under one of these two categories, he must have signed a contract with an MLB team prior to January first of that year (prior to January 1st of 2007 in the example above).
C. The draft will continue for as many rounds as members wish to participate. Once a member misses a pick, he will be skipped from there on out unless they clearly indicate an interest and dedication to continue to draft.
D. Draft Picks are not tradable. Drafted Players are also not tradable until after the 5th round of the draft, provided both GM's have declared they have finished drafting. Violations may be met with sanctions.
2. Minidrafts for New Members
A. All new members may be subject to a minidraft. In the minidraft, all players from the teams belonging to the new members will be placed into a pool. The new members will then draft from that pool to assemble their team. Draft order will be determined at random by the Commissioner prior to the draft.
IX. Contraction/Strikes/Work Stoppages
1. If MLB contracts teams, so will the IBC.
2. Under no condition will any strike or work stoppage affect play in the IBC. In such a situation, the DMB sim will determine injuries.
3. In the event of contraction following the 2002, or any other season, GM's who are contracted will be given the chance to remain in the league. It is expected that over the off-season some GM's may lose interest and choose not to participate. Contracted GM's will have the choice of taking one of these teams, or bringing their contracted roster to the team, whose old roster will be placed in a dispersal draft with the team with the worst record picking first. Rosters of the two teams can not be combined.
X. Playoffs
1. Playoffs will follow the same format as in the MLB and using the same rules for qualifying with the following exceptions.
2. Players signed/released after August 31 to a team will not be eligible for the playoffs. If they're not on your roster before September 1, you can't use them.
3. Any players who are injured when the playoffs begin will remain injured and ineligible to play. No players will become injured during the playoffs.
4. No team which does not have an active GM shall be included in the playoffs.
5. Home field throughout the playoffs will be determined by best overall record with ties being broken by head to head record and then best division record.
6. Wildcard teams can face teams from the same division in the first round of the playoffs.