NORTH AMERICAN STRAT-O-MATIC ASSOCIATION
Newsletter #8		May 9, 1995

1995 NASA Standings (as of 5/9/95)

Ricky Vaughn division
			W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Away
Wichita Whiffers	47	23	.671	--	26-9	21-14
Inwood Landfills	35	35	.500	12	19-16	16-19
Baltimore Buttheads	22	42	.344	22	11-24	11-18
Cicely Polar Bears	15	43	.259	26 	6-17	9-26

Roy Hobbs division

Kansas City Tornados	55	20	.733	-- 	31-4	24-16
Kenmore Knockers	39	25	.609 	10 1/2	18-11	21-14
Brussels Sprouts	43	31	.581	11 1/2 	28-12	15-19
Prospect Park Posse	19	62	.235	39 	12-34	7-28

Crash Davis division

Yellowknife Moose	43	21	.672	--	29-12	14-9	
Mayne Islanders		39	31	.557	 7  	21-14	18-17
Cedar Rapids R. B.	30	34	.469	13 	19-10	11-24
Muncie Superbas		19	39	.328	21  	6-17    13-22

NASA Road Record:	180-226     .443

HUNT FOR PLAYOFF BERTHS CONTINUES

As NASA nears the halfway point and teams head into divisional play,
the race for a few playoff berths has tightened considerably. In the
Hobbs, the Knockers' lead over the surging Sprouts has been reduced
to one game, while in the Davis, the Islanders are closing ground on
the Moose.

The Moose are also involved in a scorching race for the second-best
overall record, and the wild-card both which goes with it. Currently,
they are a single percentage point ahead of the Whiffers. The teams
play 12 times in the second half of the season.

EXPANSION VOTE NEARS

If there is no further discussion on the issue (and I haven't received
mail on it for a few days) I will be calling for a vote on the expansion
plan currently on the table. There will be one modification: the new
teams will be forbidden from trading until February 1, 1996. Look for
the final version of the plan, and the details on voting, by Friday.

RULES BALLOT

After making some modifications and listening to the many voices who
took time out to give me their input, I've put together a ballot
for NASA rules modifications. Please look over it, consider it carefully,
and vote. The deadline for receiving votes is May 23, two weeks from
today. The penalty for not voting is loss of a draft pick no lower
than the third round. Get involved, people.

RULE #1: Playing outfielders out-of-position

PROPOSAL #1:	Outfielders will be restricted to playing positions listed
		on their cards.

PROPOSAL #2:	Outfielders may play at positions listed on their cards,
		but only at less difficult positions. CF may move anywhere,
		RF can play RF or LF, and LF cannot move at all.

PROPOSAL #3:	Status quo. Outfielders may play out of position pursuant
		to the Strat-O-Matic super-advanced rules.

Any proposal receiving seven votes is enacted. If no proposal receives
seven votes, a second round of voting will take place, with the proposal
receiving the fewest votes removed from the ballot.

RULE #2: Player limits

PROPOSAL #1:	Regular players will be restricted by their number of games
		and starting pitchers by their number of starts, pursuant
		to NASA's 110% rule.

		a) Regular players are defined as any player with 3.5 AB+BB
		   per game played.

		b) Starting pitchers are defined as any pitcher who did
		   not relieve during the MLB season.

		For the convenience of the players, the commissioner will
		be required to compile a list of all NASA-eligible players
		and their playing time restrictions, regardless of category,
		by November 15. This list will be distributed to all
		managers as an aide in team planning.

PROPOSAL #2:	All players who played in 95% of their team's games in
		the previous year, or who pitched 17% of their team's
		innings, will have no restrictions on their NASA playing
		time.

PROPOSAL #3:	Status quo. All players are restricted to 110% of their
		real-life at-bats, and pitchers 110% of their real-life 
		innings.

RULE #3: Trading

PROPOSAL #1	The restrictions currently in place on the trading of
		draft picks will be repealed *immediately*. The only rules
		in place regarding the trading of draft picks will be
		as follows:

		1. Rookie draft picks may not be traded before the calendar
		   year prior to the draft.

		2. Rookie draft picks may not be traded beyond the eighth
		   round.

		3. Free Agent draft picks may not be traded before the
		   calendar year of the draft.

PROPOSAL #2:	Status quo.

RULE #4: Trade Committee

A trade committee will be established, consisting of the commissioner
and two other managers with at least two years experience. The
committee should strive for an equal distribution amongst divisions. The
committee would have the power to veto trades which were not in the
best interest of NASA, for reasons of competitive balance and league
stability.

The committee would have one week to notify the involved managers
of its decision. While it is intended that the committee would work
together in its decision-making, if necessary a simple majority
vots amongst them would be sufficient to veto a trade.

The trade committee will consist of Joe Sheehan, Joe Leonard and
Rany Jazayerli. No manager may spend more than two consecutive
years on the committee. For trades involving one of the three
managers, John Lemek will assume a position on the committee.

RULE #5: Throwback

The rule which currently allows a manager to throw back his
team and redraft in an Expansion draft will be repealed.

RULE #6: Playoff injury chart

PROPOSAL #1:	The playoff injury chart will be modified to be 
		more in line with enabling fair playoffs. The chart
		would read as follows:

		1-4:	Stays in game
		5-10: 	Out for game
		11-14:	Out for game + 1 day
		15-18:	Out for game + 2 days
		19:	Out for series
		20:	Out for season

		Note that the "+1" and "+2" are days, which means 
		off-days could lessen the blow.

PROPOSAL #2:	Status quo. NASA uses the regular Strat-O-Matic injury
		rules in the playoffs. All regular season injuries are
		for the remainder of the game only.

RULE # 7: Scheduling

Beginning in 1996, there will be one day of rest between every
NASA series.

That's all folks. Vote early and often. Seven votes passes a measure,
abstentions are permitted, but you must provide a reason, and be
prepared to defend it.

STATISTICS (Or, the commish's biggest failure to date...)

Alternate category league leaders through two clusters exist, I
have never typed them in. If the demand is great enough, I'll do it.

What I'd prefer is to shoot for a quick stat send after Cluster
6, at which time I'll put together a NASA mid-season report,
with league leaders, team summaries and anything else I can glean
from the numbers. The keys here are: 1. I get the data quickly, so
I can turn it around while it's still fresh and 2. Everybody sends
me 92-game stats, so the leaders are from a common point.

CONGRATULATIONS

John Lemek won the May 7-8 Table Baseball Association tournament in
San Jose. In just his third event, he climbed a mountain many have
tried to scale for years. 

TRADE CORNER

A correction to the last newsletter:

Kenmore trades Matt Mieske, 1996 KKN #5 and #7 rookie picks to
Cicely for Mark Whiten, 1996 CPB #4 and #6 rookie picks.

And a new one:

Yellowknife trades 1996 YKM #2 rookie pick to
Baltimore for Lou Whitaker and 1996 BBH #6 rookie pick.

The deadline for trades in 6 a.m. PST, July 16, 1996 


				Joe Sheehan,
					Commissioner, NASA