Elite Baseball League

Constitution

The Elite Baseball League (EBL) is a continuous ownership simulated baseball league founded in November of 2005.

The league was formed to be the most comprehensive 40-man keeper league available to DMB players. The league will always attempt to mirror the rules of MLB but is always willing to change or adjust rules in-order for the league to remain playable and enjoyable.

The Commissioner will have final authority in all matters pertaining to the good management and betterment of the league.

Owners found to be abusive or to have cheated will not be tolerated and can be removed at the Commissioner’s discretion.

All owners approved for an EBL franchise hereby agree to accept and abide by all EBL Rules and Regulations.

Requirements:

All owners are required to own a registered copy of Diamond Mind Baseball V12 (with the most current patch, if applicable), and a registered copy of the current player disk.

The league does not charge dues.  Owners shall be active, honest and be willing to play H2H (head to head) whenever possible.

League Structure:

1)     The league consists of 24 teams split into 2 leagues, the National and the American.  Each league shall consist of three divisions of 4 teams each. 

·         The American League will employ the designated hitter.  National League pitchers will bat.

·         The EBL will use a 162 game schedule.

2)      Duties of the Commissioner shall include:

    * maintenance of the league disk

    * direction of draft

    * final arbitration of disputes

    * rule and clarify on the written language of the constitution  

3)       The commissioner may appoint deputies at his discretion, to help mediate in trades that are controversial, to help adjudicate decisions where a conflict of interest involving the commissioner is apparent, and to help with the distribution of disks/information in the event that the commissioner is unable temporarily to perform these duties.

4)       Any votes by the league must have a 2/3rds majority in order to pass. All other decisions made by the commissioner are final. Some rules WILL NOT be voted on if they are deemed immediately vital to the well-being of the league.  N.B. Some rules may have to be altered or re-worded during the season without a vote, to ensure smooth regular season play.

5)       Every other off-season (fall of 2009, 2011, etc.) members are encouraged to suggest rule changes or the tweaking of any current EBL rule.  At the end of any rule suggestions and/or discussions, any new or tweaked rule may be subject to a 2/3rds vote or may be put into immediate action if deemed necessary by the commissioner.  Please keep in mind the league was founded on certain key principals which make the EBL unique - such as Injuries On, 40-man keeper rosters, and the 60% minimum usage rules.

General League Rules:

1)       Games: 162 Regular Season and Playoffs

2)       Injuries: ON

3)       Bullpen: No Warm-up rule

4)       Weather Effects in use

5)       Automatic saving of box scores and score sheets

6)       Clutch Ratings: On

7)       3-batter minimum rule: On

8)       No-pitch intentional walk: On

9)       Restricted collisions: On

Participation:

If you are unable to exercise full control over your team for any reason during the year, you must notify the commissioner ASAP so appropriate measures can be taken.  Create your manger's profile (MP) to reflect the upcoming games when you will be absent.  Your home game will be auto played according to the instructions you leave with the commissioner.  While the league office will attempt to monitor your team to its best advantage, any penalties your team may accrue during this period of non-involvement will ultimately be your own responsibility.  Occasionally events occur that may prevent prior notification (computer failure, sudden illness or accidents).  Where deemed appropriate, the league can provide relief.

The EBL is an active-participation league. The commissioner may replace an owner if it is determined that they are not willing to be an active and involved member and it is in the best interests of the league.

Stadiums:

Teams may move to a new stadium that is not currently in use only during the off-season. No more than one team may occupy the same stadium at the same time.  In the event a real-life team moves to a new stadium, the team currently in possession of the team's former stadium will have first chance at the new park. If said team opts to change stadiums entirely, the new stadium will become available to the first claimant.

Rosters:

1)   Rosters may expand to 45 players during the off-season and during the Rookie/Free Agent Draft. There will be a short period to allow for after draft trades before rosters must be back down to 40-man prior to the start of the EBL Season. There will be a short waiver claim period, where owners can claim cut players, before they get added to the free-agent pool. (RULE AMMENDED Feb.1st, 2007 & Nov 25th, 2008) *** 2021 season only - Rosters can expand to 47 in off-season***

2)   During the regular season rosters may never exceed 40 players, unless you have players on the 60-day DL ***2021 season only - 42 man rosters. This covers any "40-man" roster rule below

3)   Active rosters must not exceed 26 players.  At the point of the schedule on the league disk corresponding to Sept.1, rosters may expand to 40 active players. ***2021 season only - active roster of 28; can expand to 40 in September. The 28-man active roster covers any rule below mentioning 26-man roster ****

4)   10 pitchers including a minimum of 5 starters must be active at all times. Openers count towards the 5 minimum.  ***2021 season only - 12 pitchers, including 5 starters must be active at all times***

N.B.  Any transaction (farming or promotion of a player) must remain in place for a full week (two play periods). Immediate exceptions will be granted in case of injury.

5)   Two catchers and two shortstops must remain active at all times.

6)   Injured players cannot be sent to the minors, but they may be put on the disabled list (DL).   Anyone put on the DL must remain there for at least 10 days.  If they are not put on the DL and remain on the active roster, they will be counted against the 26-player active roster limit.

7)   An injured player may also be placed on the 60-day disabled list, thus freeing up a spot on both the active roster and the 40 man roster.  The player may not play for at least 60 consecutive days. Each team may only have 2 players at any one time on the 60-day DL. 

8)   DL moves can be made retroactive to the day after the injury occurred. DL moves may be made immediately after the game where the injury occurred (you don't have to wait until the end of the series). If you are not playing H2H though, you should only make between-game DL moves if you afford your opponent the same privilege (e-mail him, so he has an opportunity to make a roster move before the next game).

9)   If a player has already been drafted or traded by a team, but is not represented by a record in the next season's DMB disk, the team who controlled his record at the last time he was rated may retain rights to this player. If they exercise this option, he will be represented on the team's roster by a record created by the league office.  (This record will take the form of having the player's full name and position recorded as if creating a player from scratch, and, in the "Short name" section a symbol, such as "--NR," will be added his name).  At no point may a non-rated player be activated (and if at any point he is seen as active, he will be released immediately). However, he will count against the 40-man roster limit.  However, if such a player is released to the free agent pool, he may not be drafted again until he is rated again by DMB. But, such players may be freely traded.

 In-Season Free Agent Pick Ups/Waiver Rule:

1)   Only players who appear on the current DMB player disk are eligible to be claimed.

    * Players who spent the entire year on injured reserve, or players returning from Japan, or any players with past major league experience may not be selected unless they appear on the current player disk.

    * Minor leaguers or college players who have had no major league experience are ineligible to be selected.

 2)   Free Agents may be picked up during the regular season. Claims will be processed at weeks end. If more than one teams claims the same player, tiebreaker will be worse current record, then higher waiver priority. To claim a Free Agent, you must release a player from your 40-man roster or currently have a player on the 60-Day Disabled List (See rosters rule 7 for more details on the 60-day DL).

3)   Any player released during the season is immediately put on waivers. The waiver period lasts for no more than one play period, from the release of the league file after the player is released to the release of the next league file. If more than one team claims this player during the waiver period, his rights will be awarded to the team that is higher on the waiver priority list. This list is originally based on last year's W-L record, and adjusted during the season based on any waiver claims (a successful claim moves you to the bottom). If the player goes unclaimed during that period, his waiver status lapses and he will then be treated the same as other undrafted free agents in the pool.

4)   Players signed after the trade deadlines are not eligible for post-season play.

5)   Any Free Agent signed after June 1st on the game disk will be placed back into the Free Agent pool at seasons end. Players claimed off waivers after June 1st on the game disk may be retained the following year. The league office will track and provide a list within the Notes section on the EBL game disk.

Trades:

1)   Draft picks can be traded. However, you can only trade picks within one year until the start of off-season trading, in which you can trade next years draft picks (example...once the off season trading starts after the 2008 season, you can trade 2009 & 2010 picks). (RULE AMMENDED Dec 1st, 2008).

2)   There will be no trading of future considerations or any "players to be named later." All terms of the trade must be announced when the trade is announced.  A trade may be implemented at a later date; however, at no point may one team have simultaneous control of a player traded and the player for whom he was traded

3)   Trades are to be announced by one of the participants in a league-wide e-mail. Trades are not official until confirmed by the other participant. Trades go into effect with the release of the next set of league files.

4)   All trades are subject to review by the commissioner/league to ensure fairness and league integrity.  Any and all protests are to be directed to the commissioner for consideration and should not be published to all members.

5)   All trades will be managed by the commissioner on the league disk; however, it is recommended individual managers may execute trades on their own disk for the sole purpose of generating new manager profiles. No games may be played using traded players until the trade is included on the official league disk.

6)   Trading may be freely conducted from the end of the previous World Series through July (August 1st trade deadline). In August, trades may only be made after all players in the trade clear waivers (see rule 7 for more details).  No trades may occur from September through the end of the World Series.

7) After the August 1st deadline (August 1st on the league disk), teams can complete a trade if all players involved clear waivers. If a player involved in the trade is claimed, the trade is negated. Once the waiver claim is awarded (waiver rules still apply...see waiver rule #3), the team losing the player has two options:

a) reclaim the player (thus negating any trade/waiver claim all together), or

b) elect to take compensation from the claiming team in the form of a 2nd and 6th round draft pick or a 3rd and 5th round draft pick in the Free Agent/Rookie Draft. The choice is made by the team losing the claimed player.

Player Restrictions:

 *** 2021 special usage limitations (in use with the pro-rated disk).

1) Pitchers are limited to 125% of BF. 

2) Hitters are limited to 125% PA.  Players must be farmed when they reach this limit.

3) Also, split limit is 175%. Players will revert to replacement level when they reach 175%. No need to farm them 

1)   Players in the field are restricted to positions for which they have ratings, with the exception of when there is an injury or late in a game (after the 7th inning), as a result of substitutions. The following are the guidelines for players:

    * Only pitchers with a starting rating may start.

    * "Opener" rule - Pitchers who made real-life starts, but didn't receive a SP rating, may start as many games as in real-life. They are still limited to 115% maximum BF

    * Only pitchers with a reliever rating may pitch in relief. (Pitchers with both ratings can obviously do both

    * Position players can pitch in emergency/blowout situations. Try to limit it to guys who pitched in real-life, and try to keep it realistic (a few times a year). If i see abuse (to save RP innings/fatigue), i'll penalize.

    * All teams must employ 5-man rotations. Starting pitchers may start on 3 days rest towards the end of the season or if required by team usage and injury situations. 

    * Outfielders may change positions within the outfield and suffer the defensive penalties assigned them by the game.  

    * Hitters with no fielding rating are allowed to play 1B with no rating

2)  It is required that managers see that all their players play a minimum of 60% of their real playing time stats and no more than 115% of their real playing time stats (adjusted, if necessary).  Once a player reaches 115%, DMB's Playing Time Limitation System will kick in, making him perform at replacement level. Penalties will also apply for going over 115%, as stated below (in the penalties section).

    *

      Players under 60% usage will become free agents unless a successful appeal is made. The only appeals likely to pass are a wrong mp used in the final week, or "unexpected" injuries preventing a player from reaching 60%. 

    *

       Basic rule of thumb:

    *

       1.) Don't pace your players to reach 60% during the last week of the season.

    *

       2.) Leave room for your prone players to get injured.

        They will likely be denied if injured (especially 'prone' players, as they can be expected to get injured).

3)   Batters will use Plate Appearances (PA) and Pitchers will use Batters Faced (BF) as the measurement.

4)   Any batter with less than 100 plate appearances and any pitcher with less than 100 batters faced are exempt from minimum usage.

5)   In addition to the 115% total usage limit, batters will be limited to to 150% vs LHP & RHP. Once they reach 150% vs a side, DMB's Playing Time Limitation System will kick in (making the player perform at replacement level).

6)   Pitchers are limited to their 115% overall playing percentage. There are no restrictions on them facing LH or RH batters. It was decided that, for the most part, it is very hard to ensure the types of match up starters and some relievers face as the advantage is always with the manager’s hand in setting line ups and pinch hitting. Keep in mind, any abuse of such free limitations will be monitored and dealt with on a case by case basis.

7)   Any player who plays over the 115% rating will be considered overused.  Spot checks will be conducted and any overused players will be immediately farmed and be unusable for the remainder of the season.

Penalties:

 1)   A penalty win will be assessed to a team based on the following criteria:

          Over-usage penalties: (Rule Amended October 27th, 2009)

    * Every plate appearance over 115% usage maximum = 0.1 penalty wins 

    * Every batter faced over the 115% usage maximum = 0.1 penalty wins 

    * There will be no penalty for going over the 150% split allowance.

2) Players who start out of position will get 0.1 penalty wins for each PA they accumulated out of position. Those PA's will also not count towards their minimum usage requirement.

3) Starting pitchers who pitch in relief will get 0.1 penalty wins for each BF in relief. Emergency situations will not be penalized. Emergency situations will be defined as extra inning games where a manager has run out of relievers, or a game where original SP gets injured (or pulled because of rain delay) before 4th inning. Those BF will also not count towards their minimum usage requirement.

4) Relief pitchers (with no SP rating and no real-life GS) who start a game will get 0.7 penalty wins per start. Those BF's will not count towards their minimum usage requirement.

5) Penalty for H2H "unavailability" - For every percentage point under 33% H2H for the year, you receive 0.1 penalty points. For example(s)….If you finished at 25%, you’d receive 0.8 penalty points. If you played no H2H (0%), you’d receive 3.3 penalty points. Penalty points would then be added to draft position in round one (like other penalties currently do).

   Owners who were available for H2H can appeal the “non-H2H” penalty. I'll keep track of this on a weekly basis (with that owner forwarding me “proof” of availability (an email exchange showing reasonable availability)).

6)   Penalty wins are added (as points) to your 1st round draft spot in the upcoming draft (see rookie draft rule #2 below). If you traded away your 1st round pick, then they'll be added to multiple later round picks.

7)   Specific cases may be appealed to the commissioner.  If a new owner takes over a team at a point too late in the regular season to prevent penalties and before the subsequent draft, any inherited penalties may be cancelled at the discretion of the commissioner.

8)   Any altering of player ratings in the league file will be considered cheating and will result in permanent expulsion from the league.

9)   Starting in 2008 the minimum and maximum usage rules are to be applied very strictly and all cases are reviewed by the USAGE COMMITTEE; however you must show proper evidence of misuse not caused by your own negligence.  This rule shall be enforced very strictly as we are a complete keeper league.  Strict adherence to the rules ensures the potential for more talent to be released into the Free Agent and Rookie draft for the following season.

The Usage Committee is comprised of 3 league owners appointed by the EBL's Commissioner.

If an owner has a vested interest in a usage decision in any manner (i.e. division rival or their team making the appeal) they shall not be involved in the vote.

A 3rd owner will then be appointed to take the place of the disqualified owner, if a tie breaking vote is required.

All decisions rendered by by the Usage Committee are considered final!

Post-Season play:

1)   The post season will consist of 10 teams, the 6 divisional winners and 2 wild card teams from each league (AL/NL).

2)   In the first three rounds, teams will play within their respected leagues (AL/NL). The two wild-card teams will face each other in round 1, with the winner facing the team with the best league record in round 2 (the division series). The remaining two teams will play each other. In rounds 2 & 3, the wild card team can't have home-field advantage. In the 3rd round, the division series winners in each league will play each other. The League Championship series will be between the league winner of the AL and the NL.

3)   The wild-card series will be best of 5, in a 2-2-1 format (with home teams hosting games 1,2 & 5). All other series shall be best of 7 games series, in a 2 -3 -2 format with home the team hosting games 1, 2, 6, and 7. The former will be granted to the team with the better regular season record with one exception - the Wild Card team may never have home-field advantage.

4)  If two teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the tie will be broken by MLB's tie-breaker procedure.

5)   Fatigue and injuries carry over from the regular season through the playoffs. 

6)   Roster moves - Non-injury related roster moves can only be made between series. If you have an injury during a series, you may replace the injured player after the game. That injured player will be ineligible for the remainder of series, PLUS the following series. If you have an injured player that's due to come off DL mid-series (and you plan to use him), you must start series with 25 active.

7)   Playoff and World Series rosters shall be limited to 26 active players.  The "two active catchers & SS's" rule still applies. Playoff teams must submit their playoff roster for processing on the official league playoff disk. 

8)   Limitations are as follows:

    * Starters - Starters (including openers) can make up to 3 starts per series, based on the following chart:

    25+ real-life starts = 3 starts max per series

    15-24 real-life starts = 2 starts max per series

    8-14 real-life starts = 1 start max per series

    less than 8 real-life starts = only eligible for relief (as long as they have at least 150 BF)

    (N.B. Starters may relieve at any time during a series) 

    * Relievers:

    * < 150 BF = ineligible for playoffs

    * All others = 10% BF

    * In the event of numerous extra innings, relievers' playing time allowance will increase, using the following table:

          o 6 total extra innings = 11% total allowance for series

          o 12 total extra innings = 12% total allowance for series

          o ...and so on (each 6 inning increment would allow an additional 1% PT)

          o No partial percentages. It takes a full 6 innings for each 1% increase.

    *

      BATTER RESTRICTIONS:

    *

      < 100 PA  = ineligible for playoffs

    *

      100-199 PA's = 2 games and 8 PA max

    *

      200-299 PA's = 4 games and 16 PA max

    *

      300-399 PA's = 6 games and 24 PA max

    *

      400+ PA's = unlimited

9)   All playoff MP's will be approved by the EBL office prior to the beginning of the playoff round.  Please use common sense as this leagues focus is to mirror MLB so abusing the spirit of that idea will be enforced prior to the start of any series.

10)   All Playoff Series MUST be played Head to Head.

11) Prior to the first round of playoffs, the statistics will be zeroed out on the "playoff disk." This will be repeated prior to the League Championship Series and the World Series. The 10% clock will also be reset at this time.  However, players will not be rested by the league at any point during the post-season.  A new league disk will be sent out for each round of the playoffs, or for each change of venue within a round of the playoffs.

*****With the addition of the wild-card series in 2014..... keep in mind that DMB is not set up for such a series, and stats accumulated during this series will show up in round two (the division series). Owners will have to keep a closer eye on usage during round two).****

 Rookie / Free Agent Draft:

1)   The Rookie and Free Agent draft will usually occur within a month of the release of the next season’s player’s disk by DMB.

2)  Teams will be 'ranked' by reverse order of standings for non-playoff teams.  Playoff teams will go last, and be 'ranked' according to when they are eliminated  (then record). Each teams penalty points will then be added to the picks they own, and round one will be adjusted with those penalties applied (original rank + penalty points). Rounds 2 and on will be based solely on original “rank” (unless you traded away your 1st round pick, in which case penalties will be applied to multiple later round picks). New owners are not responsible for old owners' penalties. In case of ties on the draft board, the following tiebreakers (in order) will be used: worse overall record, most road wins, worse run differential, coin flip. In the case of a traded pick, the original owner’s data is used.

3)  Teams will start the draft with 45 "assets" (# of players kept, plus the amount of draft picks needed to reach 45). All other picks will be voided, and will not become available (lop-sided trades will not "open" those draft picks).

4)   Teams will be allowed to draft until their roster reaches 45 players. Teams may also finish or "opt out" of the draft once their roster reaches 40 or more players.

5)   The draft will consist of at least 10 rounds, longer if any team had pre-released players, in order for them to reach the 45 player plateau.

6)  Only players that appear on the DMB player disk and are not currently on a roster are eligible to be drafted.  

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAY AND REPORTING:

SCHEDULE:

1)      The EBL will have two files (league disks) per week. Deadlines are Thursday night (11pm EST) and Sunday night (11pm EST).

2)      The EBL will be have a home/away schedule vs one opponent each week (except for the two weeks of inter-league play).

3)      Any results not received by Sunday will be auto played.  The away manager may play the series if authorized by the home team.

4)   The draft will consist of at least 10 rounds, longer if any team had pre-released players,

N.B. If any owner fails to report their series results 2 weeks in a row, ownership will be subject to review and loss of the franchise may occur

ABSENTEE NOTICE:

Please inform the league office in advance if you are unable to play your games in any given week. It is not the aim to sim any series, and with owners help and consideration, we can achieve this goal.

YOU MUST FOLLOW ALL OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

A. PRIOR TO RELEASE OF NEXT LEAGUE FILE:

1. Check your MP. Make any changes you would like to it and send them to the LEAGUE OFFICE.  You may send profiles to your hosting opponents as well as any special instructions regarding starting line up or starting pitching selection.  Special instructions, always take precedence over anything on the league disk.

B. PRIOR TO PLAYING GAMES:

1.       Wait 24 hours after receipt of league disk before playing your games, to allow your visiting manager to send special instructions, if any.  If you do not hear from your visiting manager in that time, go ahead and play the games, using the computer manager (CM) to select pitcher and line ups.  It is possible that the manager set up the profile to satisfaction with the league office prior to the release of the disk.

2.       DO NOT zero out stats under any circumstances. We play on cumulative stats.

3.       Only play using the latest file sent by the commissioner via email or posted on the league web site.

4.       When starting games make sure that “Generate Box score” and “Generate Score” sheet are both set to "yes" and that the box score generated is in "Expanded" format. [expanded is preferable to news format for this purpose, because it contains more info.]

FILE PROCESSING RULES 

    * When you receive the league disk, save the zip file to the "import" subdirectory of your EBL league directory.  Do not open the zip outside the game module, which has built in capability for processing the disk correctly.

    * Select "Transfer" and "Install league database" from the upper toolbar. The program will prompt you to select the file, which you should find where you saved it, in the EBL\import subdirectory. The game will automatically install the files.

    * When you wish to create an export zip of your team's statistics, select "transfer" and "Export statistics" from the upper toolbar. You will be prompted to select the team(s) for which you want to export the files.  Select only the teams you played in the current play period. The program will automatically create an export zip in your EBL\export subdirectory.  From your mail program, select this new zip file as an attachment and send to the commissioner, and your visiting opponent(s).

    * Creation of new profiles for export is also accomplished through the process of creating an export zip. When the export zip is created, it includes the latest profile saved on your copy of league disk. 

 All league members are requested to read thoroughly the help files of Diamond Mind Version 9.0.