g.fantasy – the league

The league is created with the intention of it being a continuous, keeper league. This will be a 12 team, and 23-man roster league.

 
I. TEAMS, SCHEDULE AND ROSTERS


1.1. There will be 12 teams competing in the Fantasy Baseball League consisting of a mix of American and National league players. Each team will consist of 23 players including a minor league player and one additional player that can go on the Injured Reserve list if CBSSports (leagues stat service provider) lists that player on the disabled list. Once that player is no longer on Injured Reserve you must make the appropriate roster move to balance your lineup. You cannot hold a player in the Injured Reserve spot when they are no longer injured. Your team will consist of 16 starters, 6 bench players (reserved), 1 minor league player and may include one additional injured reserve player. 

1.2. A team's starting roster will consist of the following players: 
·3 outfielders 
·1 catcher 
·1 first baseman 
·1 second baseman
·1 third baseman 
·1 shortstop 
·1 utility player (non-pitchers who can be any offensive player)

·7 pitchers (any combination of starters and relievers)

 

1.3. Team owners must submit their starting lineup once a week on the CBSSports web site 5 minutes prior to the first game played each week. To make sure your lineup is in place, it is recommended that you put your lineup in at least one hour prior to the first game on Monday. The weekly statistics for your starting lineup runs Monday through Sunday.

 

1.3 (a) During the week following the MLB All-Star game, the scoring period will last from Thursday until Sunday.  Starting lineups must be submitted via the CBSSports web site 5 minutes prior to the start of Thursday’s first major league game.

 

1.4. All teams will be in one single division.  The top 4 teams with the best record make the playoffs.  Tiebreaker is total points.  During the playoffs, Seed 1 plays Seed 4 and Seed 2 plays Seed 3.

 

1.5. All teams will play 2 games per week against 2 different opponents.

 

1.6 Yearly schedule - the season will last 22 weeks. Teams will play 2 games per week x 22 weeks = 44 games. Teams will play each other a total of 4 times each.

II. POSITION ELIGIBILITY


2.1. A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, CBSSports will determine the appropriate position for the player. 

2.2. Once the season begins, a player becomes eligible for any position at which he appears in at least 5 games. 
 

2.3. The position eligibility of minor leaguers who have no major league experience will be determined by their projected fielding position for the upcoming season. This position eligibility will be determined based on where CBSSports deems them eligible.  If you have questions regarding rookie players position eligibility, contact the Commissioner a few days prior to the draft for clarification.

 

2.4. There may be a few rare occasions when CBSSports will put a player eligible at a position which does not fit under rules 2.1, 2.2 or 2.3 listed above. If CBSSports deems a player eligible at a position other than what league rules 2.1, 2.2. Or 2.3 stipulate, that player WILL also be eligible at the position(s) CBSSports deems them eligible. 

III. STATISTICS 

3.1. CBSSports will be the statistical service chosen and will constitute the official statistics for our league. Any problems with statistics must be reported to the Commissioner within 2 days. The league Commissioner will work with CBSSports to resolve any statistical problem. 

3.2. Performance statistics of a player shall be accumulated by a team only when he is on the active starting roster of that team. 

3.3. Statistics will be tabulated daily and available on the Internet.  Daily Statistics can be obtained through CBSSports (League site). 


3.4. All regular season statistics from Major League Baseball, except any extra games necessary to determine playoff teams, will be included to determine your team’s league standings. Statistics from Major League Baseball's playoffs are not included. 
 

3.5. All owners MUST submit a legal lineup consisting of: 3 outfielders, 1 catcher, 1 second baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 first baseman, 1 third baseman, 1 utility player (non-pitchers who can be any offensive player), 7 pitchers (any combination of starters and relievers).  It is the responsibility of each owner to submit a legal lineup.  If you do not submit a legal lineup, your stats earned for that week will not count towards your season totals and you will automatically lose that week’s game.  A league owner may avoid forfeiture by requesting the commissioner to modify his lineup after the deadline.  In such a case, a good faith determination will be employed to select a suitable replacement player in the event of an illegal lineup.  This determination will take into account a number of factors, including but not limited to past roster trends, early week performance and late-breaking injury reports.  CORRECTING AN ILLEGAL OR NON-COMPLETE LINEUP IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMMISSIONER(s) AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS AN END-RUN AROUND MAKING TIMELY LINEUP DECISIONS.  A fee of $20.00 will be added to the respective owner’s season fees for any lineup fixed by the commissioner. 

 

3.6 Statistical point values will be determined by the commissioner and submitted for review to assistant commissioners and owners at least one week prior to draft day to allow for preparation.

IV. FEES

 
4.1. The entrance fee is $150 per team. The fee must be paid through PayPal secured processing web site (www.paypal.com). Additional fees that will incur are, but are not limited to CBSSports.com league fees, respective PayPal fees and add/drop fees.

 

4.2. Owners will be notified when they are to pay the $150 entry fee by the League Commissioner. The Commissioner will notify the league owners once the league has been confirmed. More information on important dates can be found on www.gfantasy.com or through email communications.

 

4.3. Transactions cost $0.50 per pick up. Trades are free of charge. Transaction fees will be paid twice during the year, once during the all-star break and the once at the end of the season, in November. If fees are not paid after the all-star break or in November, your team risks being disqualified from competition. Late payments will result in a $20.00 penalty.

 

4.4. The league entry fee must be paid in full by January 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM (EST). Unless arrangements have been made, Commissioner has the right to freeze rosters until fees are paid up to date. This payment will be made in two installments: $75 is due before November 15th, 2011 and the full balance is due before February, 1 2012.

 

4.5. If fees are not paid, the team may be sold to a different owner at the Commissioner’s discretion. If the decision is made, it will be made available to the first available person on the waiting list (can be found at www.gfantasy.com).

 

4.6. Each owner can only own one team in the league.

V. DRAFT


5.1. The draft will be 18 rounds in length (plus each team’s 4 keeper players).

5.2. Draft picks are allowed to be traded for in subsequent years.  All traded draft picks must include picks traded back.  For example – in the 2nd year if a draft pick is traded, the other team involved in the trade must also include one of their draft picks.  

5.3. There are no limitations on the number of players you select at a position other than you must fill your starting 16 positions. 

5.4. Every team must retain four players from the previous season. Players to fill slots are then drafted.

 

5.5 Draft Lottery and Order: The draft order will be determined via a lottery system.  At the conclusion of the season, the 8 teams that fail to qualify for the playoffs will each have an opportunity to secure one of the top three draft picks in the following season’s draft. Each team will be awarded lottery entries as follows:

 

Place in standings

Number of Entries

Chance of Winning 1st Pick

5

1

1.1%

6

4

4.3%

7

7

7.6%

8

10

10.9%

9

13

14.1%

10

16

17.4%

11

19

20.7%

12

22

23.9%

TOTAL ENTRIES

92

 


Each entry will consist of a virtual ball with an owner’s name affixed to it.  All 92 balls will be placed into the Draft Order software program (http://www.draftorder.com/) and a non-involved owner (one who qualified for the playoffs) or other third party will select three balls – one for the first, second and third overall picks.  The fourth pick will be awarded to the non-lottery-winning owner with the worst record.  The remaining order will be determined by the traditional method, by reversing the previous year’s final standings.  As has been the case in prior years, the previous year’s champion selects twelfth and the runner-up selects eleventh.

 

In the event that multiple owners have the same record, for the purpose of determining lottery and/or draft order, the owner with the fewer total number of points in the previous season will be given priority. 

 

5.6 The first four rounds of the draft will be conducted in the order determined by the lottery system described in 5.5.  After round 4, the draft will revert back to a serpentine style draft beginning with the last pick in the 4th round (last pick in the 4th also has first pick in the 5th round). Owners will be notified well in advance of the times and dates of the draft. The first 4 rounds for future drafts will take place in early February by email to the Commissioner (Keepers).  The remaining 18 rounds will take place live in a designated venue confirmed by all owners.  NOTE:  This will be revisited in March 2012.


VI. PRIZE MONEY


6.1. The money shall be divided among the top three teams in the final standings and bonuses will be paid out as follows:

 

First Place $650 plus all transaction fees through the All-Star break, Second Place $300, Third Place $150. Additionally, the number one team in the power rankings will receive $150. Total prize money is $1800 plus transaction fees through the All-Star break.

 

Weekly prize - there will be a weekly payout (paid at the end of the season) for most points in such week. The weekly prize will be $25.

 

6.2. The other money collected for league fees will be used to pay for the CBSSports league statistical service, various service fees incurred from PayPal transactions and miscellaneous costs incurred by g.fantasy Sports to run the league. If there is a change in statistical service price, the prize money will be adjusted accordingly. Post All-Star break transaction fees up to $100 will be used to pay for food, drinks, etc. for the following year’s draft. Post All-Star break transaction fees over $100 will be distributed to the League Champion within a week of releasing the initial 7 keepers.

 

6.3. Prize money will be sent to team owners via PayPal who finished as one of the top three teams. All prize money will be paid within one week after the final game of the fantasy playoffs.
 
VII. TRADES


7.1. From the completion of the league draft until the first day of the major league baseball season, g.fantasy league teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit and without position requirements. 

7.2. From the first day of the major league season through August 15, 2012 league team owners are free to make trades of any kind without limit, so long as the active rosters of both teams involved in a trade reflect the required position distribution upon completion of the transaction before the subsequent game.

7.3. No trade may take place from August 11 through November 15. 
 

7.4. From November 16 until seven days prior to the league draft, trades can once again take place without position requirements. Rule 7.5 applies to off-season trading except for the fact that owners have seven days to vote on the proposed trade, not the normal two days.


7.5. During the regular season, trades are offered to the league for review once both sides have posted the trade on the CBSSports web site or to the commissioner to present to the league. The team owners not involved in the trade have 2 days from the trade announcement to either accept or reject the trade. If 8 of the remaining 12 owners reject the trade, the trade will be denied. If only 7 or less owners object to the trade, the trade will be approved. 
 

7.6. Trades do not have to be for the same amount of players; however they do have to be of equal value. For example, Mariano Rivera for Eric Gagne, etc.

7.7 Trades are subject to ownership approval. Meaning there will be a 2-day period from the trade announcement where owners may object to a trade. If there are 8 objections to a trade, it will not be approved and the trade will not be processed.  Objections may be posted one of the following ways:  via the traditional ‘object’ option on the trade page, posting on the message board (reason of objection NOT necessary) or an email may be sent to commish@gfantasy.com to keep the objection anonymous.


7.8. There are no limits to the number of trades a team may make during the season.


7.9. Trades may involve more than 2 owners, however those trades must first be sent to the commissioner so he can send out an e-mail and post a message on the CBSSports League Home. This trade will then be subject to approval by owners (see 7.7).  Please note that when more than two owners are involved in a trade, the necessary objections needed to deny the trade will decrease by one for every extra owner more than two (i.e. in a three way deal, only 7 objections would be needed to void a trade).  Owners wishing to trade following season’s draft picks may also use this method; otherwise the details of the draft picks portion of the trade may be explained in the comments field on the trade page of g.fantasy League home website.

 

7.10. If the trade is denied by the owners, the commissioner of the league reserves the right to override the denial and process the trade. This however is a very extreme case, which will require an explanation in writing to the league describing why he deems the trade fair.

 

7.11. If there are no picks involved in a deal, trades will only go through using the CBSSports system (the website - NOT the message board) only.


VIII. FREE AGENCY / WAIVERS


8.1. Any player who is on an active major league roster, not owned by another team, and not currently on the waiver list may be acquired as a free agent at any time. Minor league players and players not on a major league roster are eligible to be acquired as a free agent as long as they are listed as a free agent on the CBSSports league site. 

8.2. After a player is released to the free agent/waiver pool, he is eligible to be claimed by all teams based on the leagues waiver processing order. There is a two day waiting period from the time of release on all players who are waived or released by an owner. 
 

8.3. There is no maximum of free agent/waiver pickups per week, per team. 

8.4. Free agents may be picked up from the beginning of the season through the end of the regular MLB season. 

8.5. No free agents may be acquired after the fantasy season, including playoffs has ended until the beginning of the following fantasy season; once the Commissioner activates the waiver process, after the draft.

 

8.6. If an owner releases a player by accident, he will incur a $20.00 penalty to have the commissioner add the player back to the owner’s roster.  This will be handled at the commissioner’s discretion.

 

8.7. All players not selected in the draft will be placed on waivers following the draft.  An announcement will be made by the commissioner when a waiver date has been decided.

IX. ROSTER PROTECTION


9.1. By November 14, 2011 at 11:59 PM (EST) all owners must submit via email a list of seven players that they want to keep. These seven players are kept on the owner’s roster until February 1, 2012.  By that time, all owners must cut down their team to the final four keepers that they will have on their roster.

9.2. If the names are not received by the respective dates, the Commissioner will assign the 7 players to be retained for the team that did not supply their keeper list.  Failure to submit the player’s names in time will result in a $25.00 penalty.

 

9.3. A player can only be retained as a "keeper" for five consecutive years.  This means that a player can play for a team for 5 consecutive years; regardless if he is dropped within a season.  Free agents picked up in a given year count a full year.  It does not matter when you pick up the free agent; he will only be able to play for your team (unless traded) for 4 more seasons.  This would be the initial year that the player has played for your team, plus four more years, for a total of five years (‘kept’ 4 times). After the fifth year, the player cannot be a keeper and is put back into the draft pool. If a player is traded from one team to another and is a keeper, the player is still considered a keeper and will count toward his 5 year maximum.

 

9.4.   An owner may keep a minor league player in addition to their major league keepers. A minor league player may only be kept if the minor league player is a rookie and on the owner’s roster at the close of the season in addition to meeting the following criteria:

 

Pitchers:  Fewer than 50 Major League Innings Pitched.

Hitters:  Fewer than 130 Major League At-Bats.

 

The official source for major league games played by position will be BaseballReference.com.

 

X. CONCLUSION


10.1. The Commissioner of the league will be a Nicholas Tzoumas, g.fantasy founder. He will be appointed Commissioner for the life of the league. The Commissioner, who is also a league participant, will be responsible for delegating authority to two Assistant Commissioners, who along with the Commissioner is responsible to keep the everyday operations of the League running smoothly. 

10.2. The league Commissioner will appoint two Assistant Commissioners every year prior to draft day. The Assistant Commissioners may or may not retain their title as Assistant Commissioner for the following season, depending on the league’s decision. 

10.3. The majority of rule changes during the regular season will be determined by majority vote of the Commissioner and the two Assistant Commissioners or by a vote put to the entire league. The Commissioner will determine which method will be used based on potential rule change and time constraints. 

10.4. The decisions of the Commissioners supersede the rules herein and are final in any disputes. The Commissioners also have the power to change a rule with an unforeseen loophole post de facto (after the fact) if it is for the benefit of the league as a whole. 

10.5. If an owner does not actively participate in the league for a month or longer, he will not be allowed to participate further in the league. The team that was “abandoned” will be run by one of the Commissioners until a new owner is found to run the team.  This team will be offered to the first available owner on the waiting list (can be found at gfantasy.com).

10.6. As stated in the initial paragraph of the league constitution, this league is a keeper league, where owners joining this league are committed to the continuing existence of the league.  If not enough owners continue the league or substitute owners cannot be found to continue the league with 12 owners, the league may be disbanded after the end of the season if g.fantasy deems it appropriate.

 

10.7. If for some reason you do not wish to participate the following season you will be responsible to find another owner to take over your team.  The league waiting list on gfantasy.com is available to assist in this process.


10.8. If you have any questions or concerns of any of the league rules please contact the Commissioner at commish@gfantasy.com email address.

 

10.9. Finally, have FUN! The league is meant to be fun for everyone involved. If you can make some new friends and win a few dollars on the side, that is just icing on the cake.

 

These rules were last revised on March 12, 2012.

 

All owners have read and agreed to the rules and guidelines presented above.