The following rules, regulations and bilaws will be adhered to by all managers in the Black Diamond League:
1. GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP: Any and all complaints regarding the league or its teams must be brought before the commissioner first. To promote good sportsmanship, public complaints or fighting will not be tolerated. All complaints or ill comments, of any nature, will be dealt with by and between the commissioner and the manager(s) involved. Manager are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner.
2. TRANSACTIONS: There will be a maximum 40 free agency player additions for each team during the course of the season. If any team drafts fewer than 28 players, each free agency addition used to fill the roster will count toward the year's limit. Every team's FA tally will reset to zero every January 1.
3. WAIVERS: Once dropped from a roster, all players will remain on waivers for a total of three (3) days. Once off waivers, players revert to free agency. Waiver priority at the beginning of the season will be set in reverse of the draft order.
4. FAIR PLAY: All league-related transactions will be executed with the intent of improving the owner's team and/or its standing within the league. No owner may drop or "dump" players from their team for any reason other than improving their own team and/or its standing within the league. No owner will engage in any action that may be deemed to be collusive (two or more owners agreeing to make moves that benefit one team, but not the other). No owner will make any roster moves (including waiver claims, trade proposals, etc.) whose sole purpose is to hamper the play of other owners.
5. ROSTERS: Roster positions are as follows: Catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, outfield X3, utility, starting pitcher X5, relief pitcher X2, bench X12.
5 a. Teams are allowed three (3) disabled list positions in addition to their active 28-man roster. "Ghost" DL positions are prohibited (if a player is cut, he's fair game). If a team finishes the season with occupied DL positions, that roster must be cut to a total of 28 active and/or inactive players prior to December's winter meeting. If a team's roster has not been cut to 28 total players before the meeting, no trade activity on the part of the team will be allowed. Cut players follow waiver rule.
5 b. Rookie/minor league players are draft eligible; however, they must be included in Sportsline's database by opening day. If said rookie/minor league player(s) isn't included in the database by opening day, all draft and/or acquisition (i.e. trade) rights for that player(s) are forfeited and said player(s) will adhere to regular free agency/waiver rules following their placement in the database. No players will be "created" using software provided by Sportsline.
5 c. The BDL will be comprised of players from both the American and National leagues.
5 d. The BDL will use daily lineup changes.
5 e. Your rosters may only contain 16 active players (i.e. 9 fielders, 5 SP, 2 RP). If you don't have your roster set correctly in any way on any given night, you will have an "illegal roster" and will score no points for the night.
6. PARTICIPATION: "Dead" managers (managers who don't respond to trades, keep their team current, participate in draft and winter meetings, etc.) will NOT be tolerated. Any offending manager will be locked and/or suspended indefinitely, and the commissioner will assume control of the team and its players until a replacement manager is found for the franchise.
7. CONTACTS: All managers must provide a valid e-mail address, first and last name and official team name upon joining the league.
8. LEAGUE SETTINGS: No league setting changes will be made mid-season without commissioner approval. Changes will be made at the discretion of the commissioner only.
9. STAT CATS: Scorable stat categories are as follows: BATTERS: Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Batting Average, Stolen Bases, Runs Scored. PITCHERS: Wins, Saves, Earned Run Average, WHIP, Strikeouts.
10. KEEPERS: Each manager in the BDL must retain a total of 12 "keeper" players of their choosing from their team for the following year (beginning in 2007). Said players must have occupied a roster position on the team in question on the final day of the season to be eligible for retention. Said players are not draft eligible. If said players are dropped from said roster anytime during the season, they become free agents following waivers. Said players are also eligible for offseason trades during winter and spring meetings, pending notification of the commissioner by both managers. Entire team rosters are kept in tact until the conclusion of winter meetings, to allow for trades. Managers must identify all "keeper" players to the commissioner by December 22.
10 a. If any manager leaves the BDL, a replacement manager will be installed to take over that roster, including the keeper players of their choosing. In the event a manager leaves the BDL mid-season, the commissioner will assume control of the team for the remainder of the season and until a replacement manager is found.
10 b. In the event of league expansion, an expansion draft will be conducted to fill the roster of the new teams. In this event, each manager may "protect" as many as eight of their "keeper" players. Expansion teams may draft as many as eight "unprotected" players from any roster in the league. Remaining "keeper" players who are not drafted by the expansion team(s) are not eligible for the league draft and will return to their team of ownership.
10 c. Remaining "keeper" positions vacated by an expansion draft will not be filled by players of the managers' choosing. The remaining positions will be subject to filling by the annual league draft.
11. RE-ENROLLMENT: Managers who intend to return to the league are required to redeclare their enrollment by November 1. Those who fail to meet this deadline will not retain any portion of their previous roster and will be subject to expansion, following approval by the commissioner. Re-enrollment notices will be sent to each qualifying manager via e-mail prior to the deadline. Managers who do not receive a notice are not invited to participate in league activities for the following year.
12. WINTER MANAGERS' MEETING: The annual BDL winter meeting will be held December 15 through December 20. The meeting will be conducted on the BDL message board at the convenience of each manager. Trades and other league matters are free to be discussed. Agreed-upon trades must be filed through the league office or posted publicly by any and all managers involved. Managers are free to trade draft spots for draft spots and/or draft spots for active players during the winter meeting, upon approval and notification of and by the commissioner. ALL managers are required to participate in the meeting.
13. SPRING TRAINING MANAGERS' MEETING: The annual BDL spring training managers' meeting will begin the second Sunday in March and conclude the following Sunday. The meeting will be conducted on the BDL message board at the convenience of each manager. Trades and other league matters are free to be discussed. Agreed-upon trades must be filed through the league office or posted publicly by any and all managers involved. ALL managers are required to participate in the meeting.
14. DRAFT: Yearly draft order will be set in reverse of the previous season's final rankings. The draft order will be released to the league on December 10 (beginning in 2007). A "long" live draft will be conducted via the league's message board forum beginning on January 2. Managers will make their picks, at their convenience, following draft order, on the message board in a thread specified by the commissioner. Each manager has exactly 24 hours, following the previous manager's pick, to make their next selection. Upon the first violation of the 24-hour deadline, the offending manager will be in violation of the league's "dead manager" policy (see rule 6) and will be subject to indefinite suspension. To avoid this, all managers are free to submit customized pre-draft player rankings that will allow the commissioner to make picks for the manager. All undrafted players follow waiver rule.
14 a. The draft will always repeat the following pattern: "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14, 15, 16, 16, 15, 14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1."
14 b. Managers are free to trade draft spots for draft spots and/or draft spots for active players during the winter meeting, upon approval and notification of and by the commissioner.
14 c. If the draft has not been completed by the second Sunday in March, the commissioner retains the right to cease the draft and complete the picks for each manager offline via each manager's pre-draft rankings. If no pre-draft rankings were submitted, a list may be submitted on this day for the commissioner to use to complete the draft.
14 d. Once a draft choice is made, it is final. In the event that a manager attempts to draft a player who has already been selected, the offending manager may re-select following the manager who is currently on the clock. If the error is caught immediately, the offending manager may re-select instantly.
14 e. No free agency transactions are allowed until the conclusion of the draft.
15. TRADES: Managers are allowed to make trades all season until the trade deadline (same deadline used by Major League Baseball). After the trade deadline, managers may not make any trades until the beginning of the annual winter meeting in December. All trades will be reviewed by the commissioner only. Trading of future draft picks is allowed for the following season only.
16. REGISTRATION: League sign-ups will be conducted after Sportsline installs the fantasy baseball software every year.
17. LEAGUE INTEGRITY: From time to time, an issue may surface that requires commissioner attention that no rule has been established to govern. The commissioner reserves the right to make decisions based on maintaining the integrity of the league when/if such issues arise.
18. DIVISIONS/PLAYOFFS: The BDL is divided into four divisions (North, South, East West). New teams entering the league will be assigned to a division at the discretion of the commissioner only. Division re-alignment will only take place at the discretion of the commissioner. Each division winner every year will earn a playoff berth. Two wild-card playoff berths will be awarded to the two teams league-wide with the best records, excluding the division winners. The playoffs will last for three weeks, adhering to the following schedule:
WEEK ONE: Seed 3 vs. seed 5, seed 4 vs. seed 6
WEEK TWO: Seed 3/seed 5 winner vs. seed 1, Seed 4/seed 6 winner vs. seed 2
WEEK THREE: Championship
The top two seeds in the league will receive byes the first week. The wildcard teams represent seeds 5 and 6. In the event of a playoff tie (i.e. 5-5, 4-4), the team that scores better in the league's tiebreak category wins the matchup. The first category in this list that is NOT tied will serve as the tiebreaker. The list is as follows:
Lowest team ERA
Highest team AVG
Lowest team WHIP
Most team HR
Most team wins
Most team RBI
Most team saves
Most team runs
Most team SO
Most team SB
18 a. In the event that two or more teams are tied for playoff seeding at the end of the regular season, the seeding will be determined by each team's regular season win/loss results versus the other team(s). In the event that does not break the tie, the following tiebreak system will be used to determine seedings:
Overall winning percentage
Highest winning percentage in Week 22
Highest winning percentage in Week 21
Highest winning percentage in Week 20
Highest winning percentage in Week 19
Highest winning percentage in Week 18
Highest winning percentage in Week 17
Highest winning percentage in Week 16
Highest winning percentage in Week 15
Highest winning percentage in Week 14
Highest winning percentage in Week 13
Highest winning percentage in Week 12
Highest winning percentage in Week 11
Highest winning percentage in Week 10
Highest winning percentage in Week 9
Highest winning percentage in Week 8
Highest winning percentage in Week 7
Highest winning percentage in Week 6
Highest winning percentage in Week 5
Highest winning percentage in Week 4
Highest winning percentage in Week 3
Highest winning percentage in Week 2
Highest winning percentage in Week 1
18 b. The following formula (same as used by the NCAA) will be used to calculate winning percentage: {(W+[T/2])/(W+L+T)}. In this formula, W=wins, T=ties, L=losses. In essence, each tie is calculated as half a win and half a loss, providing the most accurate winning percentage possible factoring in ties.
19. POSITION ELIGIBILITY: If a player has five (5) games played last season at a particular position, or five (5) games played in the current season at a particular position, he earns eligibility for that position.
20. SCHEDULE: League matchup schedule will be determined prior to the start of the season by the commissioner. Scoring periods for head-to-head play will typically be Monday-Sunday, with varying exceptions to match the MLB game schedule.
Action taken for disregarding any above-mentioned rule can vary from a warning to indefinite suspension. All punishments will be handed down at the discretion and judgment of the commissioner. Severe offenses will result in suspension without warning.
