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International Internet Baseball League Rules and Constitution

Diamond Mind Baseball - PC Baseball Version 8D

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This is Version 9.2 of the rules (12/22/04)

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1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the IIBL Baseball League using Version 9A of Diamond Mind Baseball, a statistically-oriented and text-based baseball game. The IIBL league consists of two conferences of 13 teams divided into conferences of six and seven teams each. Manager/owners of each team must own a copy of DMB V9 as well as the current season disk. Diamond Mind's phone number is 1-800-400-4803 or they can be reached through the WWW at http://www.diamond-mind.com.

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2. THE MOTHER OF ALL RULES:

Honesty.

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3. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME:

While it is preferred that all managers have unlimited slabs of time and and play all of their games via NetPlay, most don’t, and as such, home games are usually played by the Computer Manager, the procedure follows:

Check the visiting team’s roster for 25 active players. If one of the visiting team’s players has an extended injury (15+ games), try and contact the owner for a replacement player. If the visiting team’s last series was a home series, you probably can just go ahead.

When starting the game, please allow for manual input by selecting the Human for both teams under Scheduled Game Options.

Pitchers:

Please use the following order when selecting a pitcher for your opponent when playing against the computer manager:

1. If there are specific e-mail instructions use them.
2. If there are no computer instructions, please let the computer manager select. If the computer manager selects a tired pitcher please skip this step.
3. Please manually select an rested pitcher who has had the most time since his last start.
4. It there are no rested pitchers, please select the tired pitcher who has had the most time since his last start.

Hitters:

When inputting the visiting lineup, PLEASE USE ONE OF THE SAVED LINEUPS IN THE MANAGER PROFILE. All managers would have sent in simple lineups named vs LHP and vs RHP. Many managers will send an e-mail to their opponents specifying which vs LH or RH lineup they want to use against a specific pitcher. Please respect that as well.

You should choose the preset lineup which best fits the situation and use it accordingly. Some common sense will be required at times. That may extend to replacing players who were previously injured, catchers who were tired, and other lineups that have a missing positional requirement.

If a visiting player is injured during the series for 15+ games, please make every effort to promote a logical replacement for the next game. Home managers are also permitted to replace players who were injured between games with a series, though normal promotions and demotions should be done at the end of series.

Please select Other Actions, Computer Manager only as a last resort.

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4. SCHEDULE:

The IIBL schedule will be a full 162-game season consisting of 7 games against each division opponent (84 games), and 6 games against each non-conference opponent (78 games). 

That gives us 50 "periods" in all.  Results are due Saturday and Wednesday at 11PM Eastern. The new disks should be distributed a few hours later.  Obviously, with this kind of schedule, we cannot provide much in the way of exceptions for lateness. Thus, the regular season is expected to take 25 weeks, beginning in February, and ending in July or August.

At the end of the season, the four division champions will make the playoffs. Four wild card teams will also make the playoffs, the non-division winning teams with the two best records from Marvin Miller Conference (comprising the Ebbets and Shibe Divisions), and the non-division winning teams with the two best records from the Donald Fehr Division (the Forbes and Crosley Divisions). The wild cards will play the first round playoff series against the division winners with the division winners having the home field advantages in a 2-3-2 format.

The winners will go on to face the conference winners, with the conference winners having the 4 home games. There will be considered to be one off date between the end of the first series and the division championship, and one off date during the playoffs for each change of venue. The two remaining teams will play in the IIBL World Series in a 2-3-2 format with the team with the better record having the 4 home games. There will be 1 off date for the team which had the longest series; the other team will be adjusted accordingly based on the length of their championship series. The winner of the World Series is awarded the priceless Crystal Cup.  All playoff games must be played via NetPlay.

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5. PARTICIPATION:

Any owner who misses two consecutive reporting periods without notice will be considered an inactive owner and his/her team may be placed on probation. A team not submitting any two league files without notice will be assessed a .010 penalty to its win/loss record for purposes of the following draft. That will double with each following un-notified absence. After three consecutive un-notified absences, the team may be made available for a new owner. If you tire of the competition, please be fair to your fellow owners (and those waiting for an available team) by submitting a resignation. We don't want to see anyone leave (and we don't expect you'll want to!) but we do want to be fair and accommodating to ALL players.

If you will be unable to play during a particular period because of vacation or other commitments, you can do one of two things. First, you can send in your rotation and profiles in advance so that your away games can be played to your specifications. The League President will include the information at the appropriate time. You can also notify the League President and ask him to create these files for you in your absence. Unfortunately, there is no way to reschedule your home games and keep the league intact, so they will be played by a computer manager in either case.

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6. ROSTERS:

Each franchise must carry a total of 35 players on their roster at all times; with 25 active/available players, and 10 farm team players. Please be sure that your roster is well balanced. You will need backup players at different positions and good pitching depth. There is great flexibility in position eligibility (see rule 11.12). Because catching is scarce, teams are limited to drafting catchers if the result is that they have more than 900 PA for those whose primary position is catcher. However, all teams must have at least 550 PA catchers' plate appearances at the start of the season. Otherwise, there are no position limitations for each team, you can assemble your roster any way you wish, but plan ahead.

Rosters will expand to the full 35-man limit at September 1 on the calendar  of the season. Playoffs and World Series will be 25-man rosters. Rosters can be changed between playoff series. In order to be eligible for the playoffs, a player must have a) been acquired before he was 80% used in the regular season, and b) been on the 35 man roster continuously from that point on (if applicable).

Players sent to the Farm leagues must be sent to the minors for a minimum of 15 days, except if an injury necessitates their recall.  Unsigned players sent down three times in a season will be considered on waivers and will be eligible for any team to claim them. Signed players may not be brought up at all, either for the remainder of the regular season or the playoffs, if they have been farmed three times. This does not apply to players placed on the DL as a result of injuries, although the DL requires a minimum 15 day stay as well.

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7. SIGNED PLAYERS AND FREE AGENTS:

For the 2005 season (2006 signed rosters), the league has moved to a staggered signing system. There are two signing dates, a preliminary one in April which is the deadline for all non-"rookies" to be signed to a contract for the following year. A second deadline will take place around the All-Star break where owners may finalize their rosters by adding, deleting, or replacing "rookies". A rookie is designated as a player appearing for the first time on a Diamond Mind disk, the list can be found here.

During the season, each team must submit a list of signed players they wish to contract until the following year. This provides the base list of team rosters for the following season, as well as establishing the draft rounds in which a team is eligible to participate the following year. Unless traded, a signed player will remain on a team's roster until after the following year's draft, at which time all contracts "expire".

At the first signing deadline in April (S1), teams must sign at least 12 but no more than 18. These players are considered contracted and all other players on your roster are Free Agents whose rights will return to the Draft Pool after the season is over. You must sign at least 12, even though some may be rookies and may be replaced at the second deadline at the All-Star break (S2). Once a veteran is signed at S1, he cannot be unsigned, and a veteran unsigned at S1 cannot be subsequently signed. 

If a veteran is traded after he is signed, it does not affect the draft status of either team. Like always, if a signed player is traded for an unsigned player, the pick is lost. Below please find a chart what happens when you trade a veteran for a rookie between S1 and S2.

The Commissioner will then post a file listing all signed rosters and the draft rounds each team may participate in during the following year's draft. Trading of players may take place between the draft and the submission of rosters, but once a roster is submitted it may not be recalled, nor may any additional moves be made until Opening Day. Teams who fail to submit rosters will have a signed player list created for them by the League President.

All players are considered to be unsigned during the period between the draft and Signing Day when teams must submit new signed rosters as per the 12/18 rule.

Signed players remain signed for the entire season. Teams may not release a signed player unless in trade to another team. The team accepting the signed player inherits his signed status and the responsibilities therein. However, the trading of a signed player does not affect either team's availability of draft picks for the following season. Unsigned players and free agents may NOT be "signed" during the season for any reason, and signed players may not become unsigned players for any reason. Signing merely binds a player to a contract to "protect" him through the following year's draft. After Opening Day, teams may trade for any players regardless of signed status but must maintain a minimum of 10 signed players at all times. The 12/18 player limitation will not be in effect again until after the next year's draft when new signed rosters are due.

If a manager inadvertently signs a player who is NOT on the Player disk for the following year, the League will create a player with that name that has NO stats and must reside on your Farm Team all year. If the player is not active during the SECOND year, he may NOT be retained any longer and will be a free agent upon his eventual re-entry into the League.

The Commissioner will notify all managers what players, if any, are subject to these conditions for the preseason draft.

Free Agents may be claimed anytime during the season on a first-come, first served basis. After the season is over, and until the auction is complete the following season, the Free Agent Pool is unavailable and frozen. Free Agent claims are not official until confirmed by the League President.

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8. DRAFT:

The player draft is conducted prior to the start of every season, usually in January. Dates and times are posted.

Any manager unable or unwilling to attend may submit a list to the Commissioner of desired picks and have the Commissioner act as proxy. Any manager who does not submit a list or join in the conference will have his team drafted by the League Office to the best of their judgment. If submitting draft lists, they must be received by the Commissioner by an announced deadline so there is time to retrieve them and print them out. Please be as specific and organized as possible if you send a list. You can also have a friend draft for you if the League Office is notified sufficiently in advance.

The order of the draft will be determined by the team's final [home] W-L record. The 35  rounds will then be as follows:

1. Rounds 1-12 : Already done by virtue of the minimum 12 signed players.
2. Round 13 : Each team gets one pick. The team with the best record that did not make the playoff drafts 1st, the non-playoff team with the second best record drafts 2nd, and so on and so forth. Playoff teams will draft 19th through 26th, with the first round playoff loser with the worst regular season record drafting 19th. The Conference championship losers will draft 23rd and 24th, the World Series loser 25th and the World Series Winner 26th. Drafting order is subject to overuse and non-participation penalties.
3. Rounds 14-19 : The order of drafting follows the 'normal' order, i.e. the team with the worst record drafts first. This order for playoff teams is as above. Team participation depends upon how many signed players are on the roster. A team signing 12 players (based on final lists at S2) will draft in each round. A team signing 14 players will skip rounds 14 and 15 (the two players over the 12 minimum are considered "drafted" in these slots). A team that signs the maximum 18 players will skip all six of these rounds. These rounds are locked in by the original signed rosters; teams ending the season with less signed players than they started the season with do NOT improve draft status. Teams who add signed players do not lose their premium picks.  Teams may not accumulate more draft picks in the early rounds than is indicated by the chart below.
4. Rounds 20-35 : All teams participate until they reach 35 players.
5. Supplemental : All teams who have not yet reached 35 players through round 35 will continue to draft in the same order until their rosters are full. Teams who through trade ended up with less than 12 signed players or teams who traded signed players or multiple picks for single picks or unsigned players will fall into this category.

If a team reaches its 35-player limit before Round 35, it will stop drafting at that point.

The League Office feels that the above system will permit a strong team to retain a good number of their players while permitting a weaker team an opportunity to improve. The reason for the "Lucky 13" round is to give all teams a legitimate shot at the Lirianos, Verlanders, and Garciaparras of the league in an inverse finish order.

Dates and times of subsequent drafts will be announced before each season. It is anticipated that Rounds 13-20 will be held 'live' at a time and place to be determined. In order to get the live draft done quickly and efficiently, there will be a trading blackout of picks in rounds 13-19 starting 6 hours prior to the draft until the conclusion of the live draft. Rounds 2135 will be via draft lists, with 31 picks taking place each day. In this way, the team with the worst record is not leading off each round. The DMB computer drafting system will pick for all teams not submitting lists.

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9. TRADES:

There are three periods of trading during the year: In-season, Offseason, and the period between the end of the draft and Opening Day.

In-season trading may take place from the start of the season through game 96 after which trading is suspended. In-season trades must have an equal number of players changing teams so teams always have 35 players on the roster. In other words, throw the player into the deal that you would release if it were an unbalanced trade, and let the other team drop him and claim a free agent to replace him.  The trade must be confirmed by both owners and the commissioner before the current period deadline for it to take effect in the next period. There will be no "player to be named later". Trades may not include future draft picks.

Offseason trades are permitted between the end of the World Series and the draft. Because the 35 man limit and the Free Agent pool are not applicable during this offseason period, teams are permitted to construct trades involving any combination of signed players and draft choices they wish. After the offseason trading deadline, the pre-draft rosters are finalized. Teams will then draft as per the rules to fill out their 35-man roster.  Offseason trades may include trades for the next available draft. 

After the draft there will be a announced trading period before Opening Day. Players may be traded and free agent claims may be made according to the rules; the start of this trading/claiming period will be announced during the draft by the League President. This will usually be 24 hours after the draft so that the post-draft rosters can be checked by all teams prior to claims being made. During this week all players are considered unsigned players; their status for the upcoming season is only established when final signed rosters are posted by each team in adherence with the 12/18 rule. The Commissioner will announce the signing deadline, sometime early in the season. Trades may not include future draft picks.

Once the commissioner confirms the trade, you may then make the trade on your own disk and generate a new Manager Profile. The commissioner is never under any requirement to confirm a trade considered unbalanced, made under mistaken assumptions, or considered not in the best interest of fair competition in the league. To that end, the commissioner may appoint an advisory panel, who will openly discuss the merits of the trade, but in the end the commissioner's verdict is final.

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10. GOVERNANCE

The distribution of the file will be spread out among the commissioner, the advisory board members, and other interested and capable members. The website will also be spread out to promote more content.

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11. LEAGUE SETTINGS:

Here are the settings that we are using:

1. Injuries - Yes. Injuries happen in real life baseball and they are unplanned. However, it is also recognized that sometimes players do not play because the manager chooses to give them the day off. Cumulative injury limits will be set in IIBL as follows:

   1. For Batters that are not catchers: The maximium number of games a player may miss due to a DMB injury is set to a formula part determined by the number of games played, and part determined by the number of games spent on the disabled list. [=AVERAGE(162-games played,162*% disabled/100)]. Once a player's injuries exceeds the number of games arrived in this formula, he is set to iron and injuries commuted to zero at the end of each series. However, all batters, regardless of Cal Ripken status, can be injured for up to 5 games during the course of the year should the play so dictate. A spreadsheet will be posted for convenience on the groups page.

   2. Catchers: The maximum cumulative amount of games missed for any catcher is 15. After that he will be set to Iron and any further injuries will be commuted to zero at the end of each series.
   3. Pitchers: The formula for pitchers is largely the same as for non-catchers, but games played is determined by a formula of 4.5 x games started, plus 2 x games relieved.
   4. In the playoffs, the maximum days of injury can only be equivalent to the formula = (162-GPE)/10 + 1, where GPE (or Games Played Equivalent) equals the number of games played for batters, or 5x number of games started plus 2x number of games relieved in for pitchers.
2. Bullpen Warmup Rule - YES. Reinstated in 2003 after a couple of years' hiatus.
3. Usage -
   1. Regular season: 110% of real life. Players may be farmed by the commissioner for road games if they exceed 105% and/or reasonably can expect to exceed the limit during a period.
   2. Penalty for overuse: teams will have .001 added to their winning percentage for each player's percentage excess over 110%, affecting the following year's draft. A playoff team guilty of overuse will be kicked into the next bracket of playoff losers for every .010 of overuse (or non-participation) penalty. A world series winner with more than .010 overuse (or non-participation) will draft behind the first pick in the 14th round, and will draft another slot down for each subsequent .010 of penalty. If the teams are tied after this adjustment, the team with the most road victories will draft earlier in each round.
   3. Lefty/Righty Usage for Batters.  It is intended that the league promote similar patterns of usage as in MLB. In other words, players who are not platoon players should not be used exclusively as platoon players. If a player is more than 60% used against LH or RH pitcher than that of the other hand, he must be brought into line as soon as practical. He must be used in starting lineups against the underexposed hand, and must not be used in lineups against the overexposed hand. Players who are continually over this 60% differential may be farmed by the commissioner, . Overall limits of 110% still apply. If a player ends the season "out of line" overuse penalties apply.
   4. Stats will be cleared for the postseason and the usage limitations set to 8% for each series. There will be a separate limit of 12% for all players vs lefthanded or righthanded pitchers. (In case there is a disproportionate number of LHP, that limit can be extended to 3% x the number of LH starters.) For each 3 extra innings in any playoff series, 1% will be added to the 8% overall limit.
4. Ineligible players: Players with less than 20 PA or 50 BF will be ineligible to play, although they may be drafted.
5. Tired Players - Yes
6. Pitching Rotation - You can choose to go with a four or five man rotation as you see fit. Please note that the choice of Time as opposed to Strict or Skip may produce unintended consequences.
7. Designated Hitter - No. 
8. Mistakes - everybody makes them, even us! If you see something strange, like Steve Avery batting cleanup or Benito Santiago playing shortstop, contact your opponent and ask for clarification, plus notify the League Office. We'll try to contact everyone and make a decision if necessary.
9. Player Positional Usage - No non-pitcher may play as a pitcher; there are no pitching stats for these guys and therefore no usage limitations or "batters faced". In the same vein, pitchers may not play the field. Before the beginning of the season, player ratings will be added to DHs without a position. They will be assigned a rating at the last position they had appeared in 50 games in one season, assuming this has happened within the last three years. Otherwise this is at the commissioner's discretion. A range factor of Pr (Pr arm if applicable) and an error rate of 200% will be assigned. Non-pitchers may also be played out of position at the managers risk. In an effort to remain fair to the managers who want to have flexibility, yet also retain some credence despite the limitations of the computer program, the League decrees that all managers use good judgement here. No one wants to participate in a league where Canseco is a shortstop and Harold Baines is a catcher.
10. Weather - YES!
11. Automatic Rest Days / Limit Bench Play Time - NO. The MP files will override these choices, leaving them on will override the MP files.

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12. EPILOGUE:

As with any software program, there are ways to beat the system and manipulate the loopholes in the rules to take advantage. If this is your goal, please join another league in a faraway place. If we see loopholes, they will be closed immediately, retroactively.

• Albert Stein,  at acstein@atlas.co.uk 

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