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1.01 | The Salary Capped APBA League (SCRABBLE) will consist of two leagues, the American and National Leagues. Each league will consist of 12 teams, broken down into 2 divisions of 6 teams each. |
1.02 | The season will be 162 games, from April through September. |
1.03 | Season play will be pure; the American League teams will only play other American League teams, the National League teams will play only other National League teams. Teams will play more games against their division opponents than they will against opponents in the other 2 division in their league. |
1.04 | Actual MLB player salaries are used in SCRABBLE. The salary used will be for the same MLB season as the player's MLB season on the disk. Salaries used are from BaseballReference.com. |
1.05 | Joining and playing in the league is free; there are no dues or other charges. |
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2.01 | SCRABBLE is a 100% APBA Baseball for Windows (BBWin) 5.5 computer league, using League Manager (LM) and AIM. |
2.02 | The use of the Designated Hitter will mirror MLB rules. Specifically, the DH will NOT be used in the National League and is optional in the American League. |
2.03 | MicroManagers are required for all road series where the visiting manager is not personally (in person, via internet, or otherwise) managing his team. Any micromanager may be used and must also be provided by the visiting manager if not commonly available to the league. |
2.04 | Owners are responsible for declaring their team's MicroManager and providing a copy to League Management to be posted on the league website so all can access. In the event that a team fails to designate a MicroManager, Buck Miller IV will be used. |
2.05 | Owners are encouraged to play live via WebEx, LogMeIn, or other such software; however it is not a requirement and both managers must agree. Otherwise the visiting manager will have their team managed by their designated MicroManager. |
2.06 | Ballpark effects will not be used. |
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3.01 | Major League rosters will be 40 players during the season. It is each team's responsibility to keep enough carded players on the 40 man roster to provide full seasonal coverage at all offensive positions as well as pitching. |
3.02 | A 27-man roster is used for each series and may be changed from series to series. It may not be changed in the middle of a series. |
3.03 | Active rosters may be expanded to the full 40-man limit after game #132 of the season has been played. |
3.04 | Players who did not play in the current season (previously carded players) may be retained. These players will be designated with "IR". They may not be used in games under any circumstances. IR players count against the 40 man majors roster. |
3.05 | During the season teams are not allowed to go over or under 40 players. In the off-season teams may exceed the 40 man limit but will be forced to cut down to 40 by March 1st. |
3.06 | The team salary cap for each SCRABBLE season will be computed as follows. The total team salaries from USA Today will be added up and divided by 24 (number of SCRABBLE teams). As a result, the SCRABBLE team salary cap will fluctuate from year to year based on the MLB average. |
3.07 | During the season, teams must always be compliant with the salary cap (equal or under the salary cap number). Approximately one month before the start of the SCRABBLE season, the Commissioner will designate a cutdown date where all teams must reduce their roster to no more than 40 players and also have their team compliant with the salary cap. |
3.08 | In the offseason, the salary cap is not enforced; teams may exceed the cap via trades or any player drafts. MLB rosters may also exceed 40 players. |
3.09 | In addition to the 40 man MLB roster, all SCRABBLE teams also have a minor league roster. The minor league roster may contain anywhere from 0 to 7 players. Only non-MLB players may ever be kept on the minor league roster (players who have never made an appearance in MLB). Minor leaguers (never-carded players) cannot be added to the 40 man MLB roster until they make their MLB debut and gain their APBA card, or spend 3 years on the minor league roster without making their major league debut (see section 3.12). Teams are not required to draft or retain players on the minor league roster; no team may ever have more than 7 players on their minor league roster at any moment in time. |
3.10 | Once a player on the 7 man minor league roster makes his MLB debut, he must be promoted to the 40 man MLB roster the following season, or released. |
3.11 | Players on the 7 man minor league roster are assigned a base salary of $400,000, and count against the franchise's salary cap number. |
3.12 | Players may only be kept on the 7 man minor league roster for 3 years. If they have not made their MLB debut after 3 years, they must either be moved to the 40 man MLB roster or released. If retained on the 40 man roster, their salary is 2 million dollars. The 3 year minors clock begins the year the player is selected in the amateur draft. |
3.13 | During the SCRABBLE season, rosters may never exceed 40 players on the MLB roster. Cutdowns are only allowed at the designated times in the off-season, so all trades must be even (2 MLB players for 2 MLB players, etc). |
3.14 | If a team has severe fatigue or injury issues, the may claim players who are unowned to help with coverage. For each player picked up, a player must be released. At the end of the year, all "in-season waiver claims" must also be released. |
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4.01 | AIM will be used to manage all batting limits. |
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5.01 | Players are limited to 150% of their actual steal attempts. League management will be responsible for judging violations and levying fines if deemed appropriate. |
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6.01 | A player may play at a non-rated position only when the starting and all rated backup players for that position have been injured, ejected, or substituted. Pinch-hitting or pinch running for the last available rated player at a position is allowed only from the 9th inning on. |
6.02 | The penalty for out of position use except from injury or ejection:
1st - A warning
2nd - Loss of 3rd round pick
3rd - Loss of a 2nd round pick
4 th - Loss of a 1st round pick
5th - Loss of the team
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7.01 | AIM will be used to manage all pitching limits; the only exceptions follow. |
7.02 | Pitchers without a starting grade cannot start unless absolutely required due to injury. Any pitcher may be used in relief. |
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8.01 | AIM will be used to manage all injuries. |
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9.01 | All games will be played in Domed stadiums to prevent rainouts. |
9.02 | Any results submitted with rainouts will be rejected. Owners may replay the rained out games (time permitting) or the rained out games will be simmed. No games will be rescheduled due to rainouts. |
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10.01 | Each manager must provide an f-file at the beginning of the season, designating team pitching rotation, roster, and lineups to be use for road games. This file may be changed after each series. |
10.02 | The 27-man active roster for each series must include a minimum of 2 rated players for each defensive position and a minimum of 5 rated players for the outfield. Each roster and lineup must have a minimum of 4 pitchers (may be rated relievers or starters with available relief appearances and innings) available for relief, and 4 starting pitchers, 3 of which are ineligible to pitch (resting). |
10.03 | Managers must upload their f-files to the league Files section or email them to the groups.io email account in a timely fashion upon the conclusion of each series. No series is official until the league statistician has validated the f-file. |
10.04 | It is each manager's responsibility to notify league management in advance if they will not be able to play their current series. |
10.05 | Due to the depth of the league and high degree of competition desired and expected, it is each owner's responsibility to actively manage their roster and play their games. Teams will accrue progressive penalties for delinquency and/or negligence in turning in their game results. The penalties are as follows:
1st two violations - no penalty
3rd violation - lose 3rd round pick
4th violation - lose 2nd round pick
5th violation - lose 1st round pick
6th violation - dismissal from the league
If a team is dismissed for such a reason, all previously forfeited picks will be reinstated for the incoming owner.
Owners are able to request a sim in advance w/o penalty. |
10.06 | Any manager who becomes thirty (30) days late with results, without having made prior arrangements with the League management, may be immediately terminated at the discretion of the League management. The League management have the authority to auto-play any series outstanding as of the due date. |
10.07 | Pitching rotations are to be scheduled for a minimum of the upcoming schedule period. |
10.08 | No team may begin play until their season-opening f-file (with pitching rotation, roster, and lineups) is on file with the league statistician. |
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11.01 | The 2 division champions and two teams remaining with the next best won-loss records ("Wildcards") will advance to the post-season in each league. The division winner with the best won-loss record will play the playoff team with the worst won-loss record in the first round; the 2 playoff teams with the 2nd and 3rd best records also play. The Division Playoff, League Championship Series, and World Series will be best-of-seven (7) games, played in a 2-3-2 format. |
11.02 | Wildcard and/or divisional ties will be broken by a one-game playoff, at the home of the team with the better record in head-to-head play. In the event of a head-to-head tie, the next tie-breaker used will be divisional record. If still tied, a coin flip by the commissioner will determine the home field. |
11.03 | Division winners have home field advantage over wildcard teams throughout the playoffs. |
11.04 | The World Series home team will be the team with the best regular season record. In the event of a tie, the following criteria will be used to break the tie: 1) Best road record 2) Most runs scored 3) Fewest sims 4) Coin flip. |
11.05 | Injuries from the season will NOT carry over into the playoffs. Any injuries sustained in the playoffs will carry through the rest of the playoffs. |
11.06 | Player fatigue from the regular season will carry over into the playoffs. |
11.07 | Playoff rosters will be 26 players and must be declared before the start of the playoffs. |
11.08 | Playoff rosters may be changed between series; changes to the roster during an actively played series are not allowed. |
11.09 | Only starting pitchers with 50 or more innings pitched, and relievers with 25 or more innings pitched are eligible for post-season play. |
11.10 | Innocuous batters (OPS < .600) and pitchers (Grade 1-4, MBF 1000) are eligible for the post-season regardless of their actual MLB at-bat and innings totals. |
11.11 | A DH will be used at all games hosted by the American League team; no DH is used in the National League ballpark. |
11.12 | As incentive, playoff teams are granted salary cap bonuses for both making the playoffs and advancing as far as possible. These bonuses will be added to the team's salary cap allowance for the following season. |
11.13 | Wild card teams receive a bonus of $500,000 for making the playoffs; each division winner will be awarded $750,000. The World Series winner will be given an additional bonus of $2,000,000 towards the cap, and the World Series loser will receive $1,000,000. |
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12.01 | "MVP", "CY Young", "Rookie of the Year", and "Fireman of the Year" votes, for each league, will be taken at the end of the season and acknowledged. |
12.02 | A voluntary Awards Committee will be formed at the end of the season to vote on league All-Stars, Gold Gloves, and Silver Sluggers. Any owner that wishes to participate may join the Awards Committee. |
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13.01 | An Annual Draft of available players (unowned carded players) will be conducted each year on a date determined by the commissioner (approximately early January). The draft will be held via the league Draft Website and will be 10 rounds in duration. |
13.02 | All unaffiliated players on the new APBA data disk are eligible for the draft. |
13.03 | The draft order will be set in the inverse order of the final standings. In the event that two teams finish with an identical record, the previous year's standings will be used to break the tie, with the team having the worse record from the previous year drafting in the earlier slot in the odd numbered rounds, and then in the later slot in the even numbered rounds (the teams flip positions each round). |
13.04 | Draft picks may be traded at any time, including during the actual draft. |
13.05 | Instructions, draft order, and a list of eligible players will be distributed prior to the draft. |
13.06 | A one round Waiver Wire Draft (WWD) will take place between the cutdown to 40 players and the start of the regular SCRABBLE season. The draft order will be the same as the first round of the Annual Draft. Any unowned carded player on the SCRABBLE league disk is eligible to be selected. If a team's roster is at 40, they must release a player if they select a player. The team must have the salary cap room to add the selected player; only 1 player may be released in conjuction with the selection. This released player's salary is deducted from the team's cap. Example: Team A has a MLB roster of 40 players and $1,000,000 in cap space. They want to select a player in the WWD with a salary of $5,000,000. They must release a player with a salary of $4,000,000 or higher to select the $5,000,000 player. |
13.07 | Players released in the WWD are eligible to be drafted by the teams that follow in the draft order. |
13.08 | WWD teams have 12 hours to make their selection or they are skipped. Skipped teams are assigned to the bottom of the draft order. Teams may also elect to PASS when their pick is on the clock. Teams that pass are assigned to the bottom of the draft order. Once a team is skipped twice, passes twice, or skips once/passes once they are ineligible to make a selection in the WWD. |
13.09 | On June 1st each year a 3 round Amateur Draft will take place. The draft order is based on the SCRABBLE standings of the most recently concluded series. Only non-Major League players (amateurs, college, overseas, minor league) are eligible to be drafted; if a player has made an appearance in a MLB game prior to the current MLB season they are automatically ineligible for the Amateur Draft. Draft picks in the Amateur Draft cannot be traded. |
13.10 | Players selected in the Amateur Draft count against the 7 man minor league roster for each franchise. At no time may a team exceed 7 players on their minor league roster. If they already have 7 players on their minor league roster, they may not participate in the Amateur Draft. If they have 5 or 6 players on the minor league roster, they may only draft 2 or 1 rounds respectively to reach 7 players total. |
13.11 | Teams must pay each player selected a $1,600,000 bonus + $400,000 base salary (2 millon dollars total). As a result, a team must have at least $6,000,000 in available cap space at the time of the Amateur Draft to select in all 3 rounds. If a team has at least 2 million dollars available but less than 4 million dollars, they may select only in the first round. If a team has more than 4 million dollars available but less than 6 million dollars, they may only select in the first and second rounds. |
13.12 | Once the Amateur Draft begins, the draft picks owned are considered frozen and freeing up cap space does not allow for the drafting of additional players. Prior to the draft, teams may free up cap space by trading players (standard SCRABBLE trade rules apply). Teams may NOT release players prior to the draft; this is only allowed at designated times during the off-season. |
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14.01 | Trades can take place at any time during the season, with the exception of short roster freeze periods that will be announced by league management. |
14.02 | No trades are official until reported by both managers to the League Management for confirmation. Trades will be reported to the league in a timely manner via the website and mailing list. |
14.03 | Draft picks for the next upcoming (or current, if in progress) annual draft are the only draft picks permitted in trades. |
14.04 | Trades may involve a maximum of $1,000,000 in payroll money per trade and a maximum of $5,000,000 per season. |
14.05 | In the event that collusion or other unfair/unethical is suspected, League Management will form a Trade Committee of 5 owners (picked at random) to review the trade in question. If a majority of the Trade Committee feels that there is a breach of ethics and fair play the trade will be overturned. The Trade Committee will be instructed to only consider foul play and an obvious attempt to cheat; the trade being subjectively uneven is not grounds in and of itself to nullify the trade. |
14.06 | Trades in the off-season may be unbalanced (1 player for multiple players, etc), but trades during the SCRABBLE season must always be even (2 MLB players for 2 MLB players, etc). Only exception is that minor league players may be traded in an unbalanced manner provided the receiving team has room on their 7 man minor league roster to assume the newly acquired minor league player(s). |
14.07 | The in-season trade deadline is at the series that contains Game #133. No trades may take place between Game #133 and the end of the playoffs. The commissioner will announce when trading is reopened at the conclusion of the World Series. |
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15.01 | Prior to the season, the commissioner (or his delegate) will perform adjustments to various AIM player ratings. |
15.02 | Innocuous batters (OPS < .600) will have their injury rating changed to J-0. |
15.03 | Any batters with a Season Factor (SF) less than 100 will have it normalized to 100. This will reduce the player's PR as a result (e.g. a 1000/60 player will become a 600/100 player). With SF=100, the player will no longer be "games-limited" in their usage. |
15.04 | Pitchers with a grade of 1, 2, 3, or 4 will have their Maximum Batters Faced (MBF) set to 1000. |
15.05 | Grade 1-4 starting pitchers will have their injury rating set to J-2 and their Durability rating set to 2. This will result in their MRR being calculated to 35 and RF to 9. |
15.06 | Grade 1-4 relievers will have their injury rating set to J-0 and their Durability rating set to 1. This will result in their MRR being calculated to 18 and RF to 7. |
15.07 | Split grade pitchers with both grades 4 or under will have their injury rating set to J-1 and their Durability rating set to 2 as a starter and 1 as a reliever. |
15.08 | IIf a split grade pitcher has either grade greater than 4, they will not receive any AIM adjustments. |
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16.01 | All rule changes to the SCRABBLE Constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the voting managers. |
16.02 | New additions to the constitution must receive majority approval. |
16.03 | Any league manager may submit rule proposals. |
16.04 | Voting on rule proposals/charter modifications for the following season will take place within 30 days after the playoffs are completed. No in-season modifications to the charter will be permitted. |
