Constitution of the Straight Dope Message Board League

Article I - Object

 The Straight Dope Message Board League shall consist of 12 teams which will draw their players from the National League of Major League Baseball Clubs and the American League of Major League Baseball Clubs.

The object of the game is to assemble a lineup of players whose cumulative statistics during the regular Major League Baseball season, compiled and measured by the methods described in this Constitution, exceed those of all other teams in the League.

Article II - Active Roster

A team's Active Roster consists of twenty-two players. Of those twenty-two players, seventeen shall constitute the "starting lineup."

The starting lineup shall consist of
  • 1 Catcher
  • 1 First Baseman
  • 1 Second Baseman
  • 1 Shortstop
  • 1 Third Baseman
  • 3 Outfielders
  • 1 Utility Player (any eligible batter)
  • 2 Starting pitchers
  • 2 Relief pitchers
  • 3 Pitchers (starters or relievers)

    The remaining players on a team's Active Roster shall constitute it's "bench." Players may be moved from the starting lineup to the bench at any time during the season; subject to the restrictions of the service used.

    Position eligibility will be determined by the service used.

    Teams may reserve up to two players on the Major League Baseball Disabled List on their team. These players shall not count toward the 22 player roster limit.

    Players may be added to or removed from the active roster throughout the season. Any transaction that increases the size of the active roster beyond twenty two players must be accompanied by another transaction that returns the active roster back to the it's limit of twenty two players.

    Article III - Draft

    Before the start of each majore league season, a draft shall be conducted by the commissioner. The draft shall consist of twenty rounds. based on precedent. If the member teams can agree on a time/place and if the statistics service being used allows, a live draft shall be conducted. I didn't see why notOtherwise, an email draft shall be conducted.

    A team may draft any available player, provided the player is on the service's list of players. based on precedent. Besides if the player isn't on Yahoo!'s list, how can he be drafted if we use Yahoo!

    Odd numbered rounds of the draft shall be conducted in reverse order of the previous year's standings. Even numbered rounds shall be conducted in reverse order of the odd-numbered rounds. based on precedent. If a different order is wanted, it can be voted on In the event of a tie in the previous year's standings, the order between those teams will be chosen randomly. unless someone can come up with a fairer method.

    The league commissioner shall have the authority to ask the league members to cut the draft short at any point after the twelfth round (60% of the draft). With the approval of 50% of the league members, the draft shall end and any remaining roster spots shall be filled by free agent selections. based on precedent. We did this this year because we wanted to have some time to trade and stuff before the season started. The actual number of rounds can be voted on if we wish

    Article IV - Statistics

    Statistics shall only be accumulated by players on a team's starting lineup. Players on a team's bench or on a team's disabled list do not accumulate statistics.

    In addition, a slot in the batter's starting lineup shall be limited to 162 games' worth of statistics. Any statistics earned in excess of this limit shall not be counted toward a team's Rotisserie statistics.

    A team's pitching staff shall only accumulate statistics up until the staff reaches 1250 innings pitched. No further statistics will accrue for a team after that limit has been passed. based on precedent

    Article V - Standings

    The following criteria are used to determine team performance:
  • Total Runs Scored
  • Team Batting Average
  • Total Runs Batted In
  • Total Home Runs
  • Total Stolen Bases
  • Total Wins
  • Composite Earned Run Average [ defined as (Earned Runs x 9) / Innings Pitched) ]
  • WHIP [defined as: (Walks + Hits) / Innings Pitched) ]
  • Total Saves
  • Total Strikeouts

    Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the ten categories, and are awarded points for each place. The first place team in each category receives as many points as there are teams in the League. The second place team receives one point less that the first place team; the third place team receives one point less than the second place team, and so on down, so that the last place team in the category receives one point.
    So, for example, in a twelve team league, points values for each category would be: First place, twelve points; Second place, eleven points; Third place, ten points; Fourth place nine points; etc. The points scored in all ten categories are the added together. The team with the greatest total number of points at the end of the regular season wins the SDMB League Championship and shall be awarded the championship award.

    In cases of two or more teams tied in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points by totaling the points for the rankings at issue and dividing by the number of teams tied.

    Article VI- Trades

    Trades between two teams are allowed, provided that each team does not exceed the maximum number of player allowable, as described in Article II.

    The only commodities available to be traded are players Teams may not trade accrued statistics, future draft picks, players to be named later, or "future considerations." The cash sale of players is also not permitted. This includes not only currency, but any services performed, anything of material value, or any other non-league commodity that is receive by a league member in exchange for ownership rights to one or more Rotisserie League players or draft selections. Based on, IMHO, common sense. Disallowing players to be named and future consideration not only makes my job as commissioner easier, it helps to avoid potential arguments in the future. Not allowing cash sales, etc. should be common sense.

    During the season, all trades will be subject to a two day waiting period for evaluation by the other owners in the league. The commissioner may, at his discretion, allow the trade to proceed after one day, provided that there have been no formal objections to the trade. As I have been doing. If there is no objection, I usually try to process it within a day.

    A trade may be vetoed by 50% of the owners not involved in the trade. To formally contest a trade, a team owner must email the commissioner of his protest. This has been my policy until now. However, it can be changed if enough people want

    Once agreed upon, neither side may retract the trade, regardless of what happens to the players involved during the waiting period. Once approved by the commissioner, all trades are final.

    Trades shall be allowed in season until the trading deadline. The trading deadline shall be the last date allowed by the service (excluding the "no trade deadline" option).

    From the last out of the World Series (or December 1, if there is no World Series) until the February 15, teams are free to make trades with no restrictions on roster size or positional requirements. Trades made during this period cannot be vetoed by other owners, and is final once both owners email the trade to the commissioner. The commissioner shall email the news of the trades or post them on the league website.

    From the February 15 until the draft results are submitted to the service, no trades are permitted. So as to give everyone some time to acquaint themselves with which team has which players before the draft. The dates are subject to your approval

    Article VII - Free Agent Signings and Waivers

    Any players not on any teams' active roster or disabled list become free agents. During the course of the season, the pool of free agents may also include players promoted from the minors to their parent Major League club, and player who were waived and not claimed. During the season, a player may acquire any available player on the service's list of available players.

    Released players shall be placed on Waivers for two days following their release. Waiver claims shall be resolved by the service. If the waiver period passes and the player is not claimed, he then becomes a free agent and can be signed by any team on a first-come basis. As per the way Yahoo! does it

    Article VIII - Winter Roster

    On any date after February 1, the league commissioner shall send an email to the league members asking them for a list of up to five players that they wish to reserve. Teams shall have fifteen days to respond. If a team fails to respond, the commissioner shall send another email to the league member, as well as start a thread in the MPSIMS forum of the Straight Dope Message Board advising them to send their list. If the team does not respond by March 1, the commissioner shall have the right to ask the other teams to consider the league owner absent (See Article IX). I just want to make sure that in case an owner does abandon, we have some time to find a replacement

    The league commissioner will make public the list of reserved players before the draft.

    Any players reserved by the teams shall be considered as draft picks. Thus, if a team reserves four players, that team shall not have "draft picks" for the first four rounds of the draft. I felt this was better than taking away the picks at the end of the draft. This would make an owner have to decide if he really wants to reserve a player rather than just holding him because he can reserve up to five. This should put more players back into the draft pool (a good thing, IMHO). Five players is based on your voting at the beginning of the season.

    A player can only be reserved for three consecutive years. Thus, if a player is reserved in 2003, 2004 and 2005, he cannot be reserved again for the 2006 draft. This is true regardless of whether or not the player was traded during these three years. Number of years based on voting at beginning of the season

    Article IX - Teams and Governance

    All members of the league shall remain as members in good standing unless expelled from the league, resign or declared absent.

    League members shall not be expelled except for violations of these rules. In order to expel a member, a three-quarters vote shall be required of league owners.

    If a league owner does not send to the commissioner his list of reserved players (or an email stating that they do not wish to reserve any players), and repeated attempts to get in touch with the team owner fail, the commissioner may declare the team "abandoned." It is the responsibility of each owner to keep the commissioner apprised of his current email address.

    If a vacancy occurs during the off-season, the league commissioner will recruit a new owner in the MPSIMS forum of the Straight Dope Message Board. If a vacancy occurs during the season, that owners team will become "frozen" and all players on it will become available for drafting the following year.

    New owners shall draft at the end of the draft cycle (i.e. they will have the 12th draft pick in a twelve team league). If there are multiple new teams, their draft order will be chosen randomly.

    The league commissioner shall have the final say on all matters relating to these rules. If a dispute should arise where the commissioner is one of the owners involved, a committee of three owners shall be appointed to adjudicate the matter.

    The league commissioner shall have the final say on which statistics service to use for the season. The preferred service to use is Yahoo! and shall not be changed as long as Yahoo! continues to offer the service for free. The commissioner shall do his utmost to find a service that does not charge for it's services.

    The teams of the Straight Dope Message Board League are as follows:

  • Accidental Tourists
  • Baltimore Weirdos
  • Bolshevik Revolution
  • Continental Drifters
  • Fly's Sox
  • Les Miserables
  • Logan Square Bombers
  • Mr. Ecks' 22
  • Rocky Rocks (known as Rocky Peaks, 2003-)
  • Stockholm Sluggers
  • White Elephants
  • Zev's Wolves

    Article X - Ammendments

    This constitution can be ammended by the owners of the league. Any owner can begin the ammendment process by emailing the commissioner with his proposal. The commissioner shall then email the proposed ammendment to the rest of the league, identifying the team that made the proposal. If two thirds of the owners approve the ammendment, it shall become part of this constitution. Voting results of all proposed ammendments shall be made public by the commissioner. Only fair to make the balloting public. The two-thirds number is open for negotiation.

    The criteria for judging the league champion or roster composition cannot be changed during the course of the season. If any such ammendment is passed during the course of the season, it shall not take effect until the start of the next season. Likewise, any ammendment regarding the draft, if passed between February 1 and the end of the draft, shall not take effect until next season.