Draft
End of Season Adjustments
Injuries
Prospects
Roster Size
Trades
Tungland (Hall of Fame)
Waiver Wire
Years Played and Retirement
Draft:
Regular Draft:
Team draft picks are made every season. Each team gets one draft pick per
season, plus additional picks for retiring players up to a maximum of five
draft picks. Drafted players shall have at least 125 AB / 40 IP. Open roster
spots created by releasing players does not result in additional draft picks.
See Years Played and Retirement section for more information.
Super Picks:
In some seasons, there have been super picks that were awarded to one team
in each league. No super picks were awarded in Season #5. The super pick policy
is to be reviewed at the end of each season. The original intent of the super
pick process was to inject high quality players into the league. As the leagues
have improved, there has been no need for addtional super stars. The super
pick process will most likely not be used for several seasons due to the number
of super star quality players already in the league.
Chump Draft:
The annual Chump Draft consists of under-utilized players. Any position player
who has less than 101 at-bats, or any pitcher who has less than 31 innnings
pitched, during the regular season is placed in the Draft. Players not selected
remain with their team. The Draft normally consists of three rounds but is
dependent upon number of players eligible. For Season #5, there were three
rounds of ten picks each, with a limit of three picks per team. Each team
is always guaranteed at least one pick. Final number of picks is determined
by consensus amongst participating league commissioners at the time of the
draft. Draft order is determined at random.
Special Drafts:
The Season 5 Contraction Draft was a one-time only draft brought about by
massive structural changes in both the Blood Nut and Bug Nut Leagues, which
resulted in a high number of players without teams to play on. The draft consisted
of three rounds, with three picks per team. The Waiver Wire
was created as a result of the draft by reversing the order of the draft picks.
The Waiver List will be used during Season 5 to resolve conflicts with free
agents, with the first team on the list getting first chance.
End of Season Adjustments:
Every season, players shall have their skills adjusted based on rolls from
the established charts for that season. The charts may be adjusted to account
for undesirable trends. For example, if the league finds that there are way
too many strikeouts, the charts might be adjusted to lower the overall strikeouts
in the league. Rolls on the charts are subject to numerous adjustments as
outlined in the various rules (prospects, players with no years remaining,
etc.)
Skill Limits on End of Season Adjustment Rolls (numbers are to be projected
at 600 at bats):
Home Runs - Maximum of 73
Batting Average - Maximum of .400, minimum of .200*
Triples - Maximum of 20
Doubles - Maximim of 65, minimum of 5
Strikeouts - Maximum of 200, minimum of 20
Walks - Maximum of 200, minimum of 20
Players are allowed to exceed the maximums, they just can't increase once above it. So, when making adjustments, players below the maximum can go above, while players are already above can not increase. After rolling, if a player is below the minimum (2B, K, BB), that stat is adjusted to meet the minimum number.
*A minimum of .200 should be established for batting average, but it is different
than the other minimum limits as follows:
A player that is already below .200 batting average can not go lower on the
adjustment roll.
A player who is above .200 can go below .200 on the adjustment roll.
A player who is below .200 after rolling is not raised to the .200 minimum.
Injuries:
Players who are injured more than once during the season shall have their
number of days injured increased based on how many times they have been injured.
The number of days injured shall be multiplied by the number of times the
player has been injured.
Players can be called up from the minors to fill roster spots taken by injured players.
Every Sunday on the season schedule, a roll shall be made for each team to determine if there are any injuries. The rolls are based on the established chart in use. There will be one roll per team to determine if there is a possibility of injury. If there is an indication of an injury, one player is selected at random from the category established in the first roll (ready, available, tired, etc.). A roll is then made to determine if that player is injured. The reasoning behind the weekly roll is to increase the injuries as the number that happen during the course of games played has always been far lower than what should happen in real games.
Prospects:
Each draft season a certain number of draft picks will be designated as "prospects."
Each team will have from 0 to 2 prospects (to account for teams having better
farm systems than others.) Prospect status shall last for 2 seasons.
A prospect will be a player of average or below average ability with at least 190 at bats and 63 games. Teams can trade for prospects like any other player.
At the end of the season, when it is time to roll for adjustments for next season, prospects will have the chance of improving significantly in specific areas. The prospect will choose a category or categories to improve in, such as batting average, power, or defense. [This area will need further development. For example home runs go up by 22 but no more than 40, average goes up 50 points but no more than .325.]
To qualify for the improvements, the player must meet or exceed his designated number of games played, at bats, and plate appearances during the season. Failure to meet all three numbers will result in that player losing prospect status. The thought behind this is that prospects can only improve by playing. As in real life, playing a prospect can be a painful thing to do for the first year or two before you see a significant return.
Of the players who qualify for improvements, a small number will not be granted any significant improvement. For example, if there are 8 players who qualify, 2 of the players will not get the benefit. All players who meet the playing criteria (games, at bats, plate appearances) will retain prospect status for the next season (until the limit of two seasons is reached). Reasoning behind this rule is that some prospects never make it and a team can groom a prospect or trade for one and still have that player not develop - this is known as the Bobby Hurley rule.
Additional Notes:
Trading for prospects can hurt in the case where a team stocks up on prospects
and does not get sufficient playing time for those prospects, as players who
do not get sufficient time will lose prospect status. Players who meet their
playing requirements can be traded after the season before he rolls his new
numbers, giving the player a higher trade value.
Non-prospect players:
Players who meet the following criteria will be given a 10% increase to their
end of season adjustment rolls:
1. Does not have prospect status
2. Has either a batting average below .230 or a pitching grade below 5
3. Meets the 101 AB or 31 IP threshhold during the season
The 10% can only be used to raise rolls up to 85. A roll of 80 will result
in a 85 on the chart. Rolls above 85 are unchanged.
Players who do not meet the 101 AB / 31 IP requirement will have their rolls reduced by 10% (can not be reduced to below 15).
The thought behind the non-prospect rule is to give incentive to play poor players at the end of the season. If they reach the threshhold, they have a better chance of improving.
Roster Size:
Each team shall have a maximum of 35 players. During the regular season, each
team will have 25 players on their roster, with 10 players in the minors.
After 130 games, teams are allowed to expand their rosters.
Trades:
Trades are permitted only between leagues (Bug Nut, Blood Nut, Beer Nut).
Trading between teams in the same league is prohibited, unless there is a
compelling reason to do so and it is approved by the commissioners of the
other leagues.
Players are eligible to enter Tungland immediately after ending their playing career. There shall be a limit of 100 players in the Hall of Fame. Once the 100 player limit has been reached, players can enter the hall only after a player of inferior quality has been removed. Until Tungland reaches 100 players, entry is automatic. Players who have been banned from the league are ineligible.
During the massive structural changes and various tragedies that hit the league following Season #4, the number of players eligible to enter Tungland skyrocketed. Membership in the hall at the time was at 71 players. During that tumultuous off-season approximately 250 players became eligible for entry. Due to the large number of candidates, decisions have yet to be made about who gets in and who goes out.
Don Knotts and Mao Tse Tung will be honorary members of Tungland and will not count toward the 100 player limit.
Waiver Wire:
The waiver wire list was created by reversing the order
of the Contraction Draft, and then adding the Beer Nut League teams in a random
order at the end of the list.
Any player being signed from the list of available players (free agents), must clear the waiver wire first. To clear the wire, the signing team must send an email to the other leagues indicating its intention to sign the available player. If a team that is higher on the list blocks the signing, that team must sign the player and release another player to get back to the 35 player limit. The player that is released is then available to the team that was blocked. The blocked team can sign the released player without going through the waiver process again.
The time it takes to clear the wire will be 72 hours from the time the notice of intent is sent. No response after 72 hours means that the player is clear to be signed.
Once a team uses their position on the waiver list to claim a player off the wire and sign that player, thereby blocking the original team, the blocking team is moved to the bottom of the waiver list.
Any time a player is signed or released, a message must be sent indicating the transaction that was made.
Years Played and Retirement:
All new players will play from 4 to 7 years, to be determined at time of draft.
At the end of the season, each player who played during the season and is
not in his retirement year has a 15% chance of being granted an additional
year. Players that did not play (such as players who spent the season on the
released list) will have a 15% chance of having a year taken away.
Once the player has reached his limit of years played, there will be a 15% chance that the player will be forced to retire. This 15% is cumulative each year the player continues playing up to a maximum of a 75% chance of forced retirement. Players who elect to continue playing beyond their designated number of years will take a 10 to 20% reduction in their skill adjustment rolls for the following season.
Pitchers who are in their first year of retirement will no longer be able to automatically become a reliever only (and thus get better rolls in their skill adjustments.) Pitchers who would like to convert from a starter to a reliever, or from a reliever to a starter, must declare their desire. The chance to convert either way should also be extended to all pitchers, regardless of years played. The method to decide if a pitcher is allowed to convert has yet to be determined. The reason for this limitation is to reduce the number of starters who become relievers in their first year of retiremnt. It should be allowable, but not common.
Beginning with the conclusion of Season #5, the maximum number of retiring players per team will be five. The five will be chosen from the players who have reached 0 or less years remaining. Forced retirements are to be determined before deciding voluntary retirements. Each retiring player will result in a draft pick, up to the maximum of five draft picks per team.
For clarification: each team automatically gets one draft pick per season. Each retiring player gives that team an additional draft pick. Also, if a team has lost a player to death or some other factor, they may be granted a draft pick to fill that roster spot. If the team has lost a player due to sanctions or just by voluntarily releasing the player, then the addtional pick is not granted. In whatever form the draft picks are granted, there will always be a firm limit of five draft picks and five retiring players. In the case where a roster is short in number of players after the five draft picks are added, additional players will be added by signing players from the list of released and available players.