SOUTHWEST BASEBALL ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION updated 4.1.24 LEGAL AGREEMENT: The ActionPC Baseball game and the ActionPC Baseball database are both copyrighted by Dave Koch Sports. All owners agree to purchase their own copy of the most recent game version and their own copy of the most recent player database for use during the current SWBA season. The SWBA will only share the player database with owners who have forwarded copies of their receipt from Dave Koch Sports. Any owner who uses the database shared by the SWBA accepts all legal responsibility for usage and agrees to accept any fines or penalties issued to the league member in charge of database distribution on their behalf. PREAMBLE: The SouthWest Baseball Association is an internet draft baseball league formed in 1988 by Joe Hornback, to provide a means of interesting and competitive recreation for its members and to simulate the problems and pleasures of running a professional baseball franchise within a friendly atmosphere. The list of rules and regulations which follow are provided in order to keep the league as realistic and competitive as possible and to provide coaches with a means of controlling the fates of their franchises. From the 1988 season thru the 2018 season, the SWBA used the Pursue the Pennant/Diamond Mind Baseball games. Starting in 2019, the league started using the ActionPC Baseball game from Dave Koch Sports. ARTICLE I: COMMISSIONER SECTION 1. The Commissioner may make any changes which he feels beneficial and necessary to the league's operation. ARTICLE II: COMPETITION COMMITTEE SECTION 1. The competition committee will consist of four managers chosen by the Commissioner. The competition committee will render judgements on trades, abuse and other issues of fairness that are brought to them by a league participant. In case there is a tie in the committee, the Commissioner will have the final vote. A committee member or the Commissioner will not have a vote in matters involving his team. ARTICLE III: GENERAL INFORMATION SECTION 1. The ActionPC computer baseball game and player database, based on the previous Major League Baseball season, will be used. All rated players from the MLB teams will be used. SECTION 2. SWBA games are governed by the rules of Major League Baseball, the ActionPC Baseball game and this constitution. This constitution supersedes some rules of the ActionPC Baseball game. SECTION 3. All items brought to a vote concerning new league rules and operations must be approved by a 2/3 majority (67% of voting coaches). ARTICLE IV: EXPANSION SECTION 1. In the event that the Commissioner feels the league has reached a desirable amount of stability, he may decide to put an expansion proposal up to a league vote. The league vote must approve the expansion by a 2/3 majority, (16 of the 24 managers must vote YES for expansion to take place). ARTICLE V: LEAGUE DUES SECTION 1. There is no longer a fee for participating in the SWBA. ARTICLE VI: SCHEDULE SECTION 1. Each team will play 162 games consisting of 81 home and 81 road games. Starting in the 2023 Season, teams will play each team in their own division 26 times, each team in the other divisions in their league 6 times and each team in the other league 3 times. SECTION 2. The schedule is similar to an actual Major League Baseball schedule. Please note that the schedule is broken down into a calendar format which includes "off" days. This will be of utmost importance when determining a pitching rotation. The pitching rotation is continuous throughout both home and road series. The dates on the schedule are arbitrary for the schedule and not the actual real-life date the games should be played. SECTION 3. At the end of the regular season, the 6 division winners will automatically qualify for the playoffs. Of the remaining teams, the team from each league with the highest winning percentage will make the playoffs as a wild card team. The division winner with the highest winning percentage will host the wild card team, unless the wild card team is from the same division. In case the best team and wild card team are from the same division, the second best division winner will host the wild card team. The wild card team cannot have the home field advantage at anytime during the playoffs, except the World Series. All playoffs are a best of seven series, with the team with the better record being the home team for games 1, 2, 6 and 7 (if necessary). All post-season games should be played head-to-head via ActionPC's Internet Play or Hamachi VPN. If the teams cannot play in this manner, they should exchange profiles for each team's first two home games, if additional games are necessary, and the teams cannot come to some compromise, the Commissioner will play them using each team's manager profile. If a game seven can't be played head-to-head, the Commissioner will sim it with manager profiles. In case the Commissioner's team is involved, a non-playoff coach will serve as neutral manager. The pitching rotation is continuous from regular season throughout playoffs. There will be 2 days off between the regular season and the playoffs. There will be 2 days off between the longer playoff series and the next round of the post-season. The home team for the World Series will alternate annually. There will be one day off between games 2 & 3 and 5 & 6 in all post-season series. See APPENDIX A for scheduling the end of season through the post-season. ARTICLE VII: TIE-BREAKING SYSTEM SECTION 1. Tie for Division Champion(if one team won't make playoffs): A. One game playoff with winner of head-to-head meetings being home team. B. One game playoff with team with best intradivision record being home team. C. One game playoff with home team determined by coin flip. SECTION 2. Tie for Division Champion(if both teams make playoffs): A. Winner of head-to-head meetings wins division. B. Team with best intradivision record wins division. C. Team with best intraleague record wins division. D. Team with best road record wins division. E. Team with best record in last 10 intraleague games wins division. SECTION 3. Two way tie for playoff/wild card spot: A. One game playoff with winner of head-to-head meetings being home team. B. One game playoff with team with best intradivision record being home team, if in same division. C. One game playoff with team with best record against non-involved division being home team. D. One game playoff with winner with coin flip determining home team. SECTION 4. Three way tie for playoff/wild card spot: A. If any teams are in same division, apply division champion tie-breaker if applicable. B. The two teams with lowest winning percentage vs other tied teams play one game with Wild Card Tie-breaker rules to determine home team. C. The third team will then play winner of that game with Wild Card Tie-breaker rules to determine home team. SECTION 5. Tie for draft order: A. If any of the above tie-breakers were used, it takes priority with team losing the tie-breaker getting earlier pick. B. head-to-head record - lowest winning percentage gets best draft pick C. Record vs. third division - lowest winning percentage gets best draft pick D. Road record - best winning percentage gets best draft pick E. Commissioner will flip a coin. F. When there is a tied overall record, the involved teams will alternate on odd and even rounds . SECTION 5. Tie-breaker statistics: A. The tie-breaker game(s) count as regular season statistics. Any player on the 40-man roster can be used during the game(s) as long as they have not been overused for the season. Player usage will NOT be reset after the tie-breaker game(s) to reflect realism. ARTICLE VIII: STATISTIC REPORTING SECTION 1. After each SERIES, the home manager sends a NEW EMAIL to the Commissioner and his opponent an exported statistics file. Managers should AVOID hitting reply to the Emailed manager profile. A NEW EMAIL must be sent and the subject of the Email should start with "RESULTS:". See Helpful Hints for more information. ARTICLE IX: MANAGER PROFILES SECTION 1. To manage the team on the road, a manager has to Email a manager profile to SWBAnews@googlegroups.com. Combination instructions telling when and when not to turn on/off the COMPUTER MANAGER are not allowed, except to limit PA/IP or specify a BLOW OUT pitcher (described in ARTICLE XX). SECTION 2. In addition to the manager profile, the road manager must include in the body of the Email the pitching rotation for the series. This is recommended even if you have stated in your email that you have pre-programmed your manager profile. It may help the home manager realize he didn't upload your profile properly. SECTION 3. A manager profile must be sent to SWBAnews@googlegroups.com by the due date, even if you are planning to play the game head-to-head. This way, if you can't get together on a time or something comes up, the league can continue in a timely fashion. ARTICLE X: GENERIC PROFILES SECTION 1. At the beginning of the season and anytime a team has a roster change, the owner must upload a GENERIC PROFILE to the website. These profiles should utilize players with plenty of PA and IP, to prevent overusage if the GENERIC PROFILE is utilized. Uploading a GENERIC PROFILE is the first way to earn REWARD POINTS. See Article XXV. SECTION 2. To keep the league running smoothly, when one week has past since the manager profile Email date and no profile has been received, please attempt to contact the road manager. If you do not get a response in 3 days, download your opponent's GENERIC PROFILE off the website and use it. SECTION 3. If no GENERIC PROFILE is available for your opponent on the website, activate the 15 batters with most PA, make sure there are at least two players for each defensive position. Take the 5 starting pitchers with the most IP available and designate them as the starting pitchers in the profile, then take the 6 relief pitchers with most innings available. Let the computer generate a manager profile for that team. You will start the SP with most innings first, 2nd most second, etc. HOLD OFF DOING THIS IF THE OPPOSING MANAGER OR COMMISSIONER NOTIFIES YOU THAT THE PROFILE WILL BE LATE AND WHY. ARTICLE XI: PLAY PROCEDURE SECTION 1. After loading the opponent's manager profile, go to TOOLS, on the left side of the window, under RESET TOOLS check the box labeled DELETE INJURIES and in the pull-down beside PITCHER REST, select "5 Days Rest". No other boxes should be checked. Click the BEGIN RESET button and when prompted to "Reset League", click the YES button. SECTION 2. Start the game with both managers set to HUMAN. You will then select the appropriate starting pitcher and lineup for the visiting team. As soon as you begin the game, turn on the COMPUTER MANAGER for the road team. SECTION 3. If you notice that a manager profile contains players over 110% usage, please request a new profile from that manager before continuing the series. ARTICLE XII: BULLPEN WARMUP SECTION 1. The SWBA will use the bullpen warmup for all games. ARTICLE XIII: WEATHER EFFECTS SECTION 1. The SWBA will use the weather effects. The weather is determined by the date listed on the schedule. No rainouts can occur only rain delays. ARTICLE XIV: DRAFT SECTION 1. The initial draft in 1988 included all players receiving cards from the original 14 SWBA pool teams put into the draft by the 11 managers and the Commissioner. The teams drafted in reverse order on even number rounds in an order pre-determined by lottery. SECTION 2. In the fall of 1989, the SWBA expanded. Six new coaches each chose a team to enter into the draft pool. The league office then added one team to this pool. The new managers then drafted their teams from this pool of seven. SECTION 3. In the fall of 1991, the SWBA expanded again. Two new coaches each chose a team to enter into the draft pool. The league office then added one team to this pool. The new managers then drafted their teams from this pool of three. SECTION 4. In the fall of 1993, the SWBA expanded to 24 teams. All players remaining on the rosters of the two non-pool teams were drafted first. Each SWBA team then protected 13 players and the expansion coaches drafted four rounds with each established team re-protecting one player after each round. A round consisted of one player from each team being drafted. SECTION 5. In the fall of 2006, the SWBA expanded to 28 teams. Each SWBA team protected 12 players and the expansion coaches drafted four rounds with each established team re-protecting two players after each round. A round consisted of one player from each team being drafted. SECTION 6. After the 2010 post-season, the SWBA contracted from 28 teams back to 24 teams. The players from the rosters of the four contracted teams were drafted by the remaining 24 teams in a dispersal draft held prior to the annual entry draft. SECTION 7. The SWBA will have an annual entry draft. The players included in this draft will consist of all players who are rated on the current MLB database, who are not currently owned by a league team. The draft will be 8 rounds plus the supplemental picks earned as described in ARTICLE XXV below. SECTION 8. Draft Lottery. A. Lottery Teams. Beginning with the 2013 season pertaining to 2014 draft picks, the SWBA instituted a draft lottery system. The lottery will be applied ONLY to the FIRST ROUND of the draft. Subsequent rounds will be determined by previous draft protocols, where teams draft from lowest to highest winning percentage for the previous season with any ties broken as outlined in this constitution. B. The lottery teams will be determined upon completion of the SWBA regular season, just prior to or during the SWBA World Series. C. Lottery Eligibility: 1. No team can appear in the SWBA lottery in two consecutive seasons with their ORIGINAL pick. It is possible for a team to appear in the lottery two years in a row by owning another team's pick, but not through their ORIGINAL picks. 2. The exception to the consecutive-season rule would be a new owner would not be penalized in this manner if his team was in the previous lottery. The consecutive-season rule did not apply to the 2014 draft, as there was no 2013 lottery. 3. Playoff teams for current year are not eligible with their original pick. 4. A 3-year pick owned by another team must meet all other lottery eligibility rules. 5. A 3-year pick team(s) not eligible for the lottery due to consecutive-season rule will get the first non-lottery pick(s) in order of lowest 3-year percentage. 6. A Pythagorean Wins pick MUST be owned by the ORIGINAL team at the time of the lottery determination AND must not have overused ANYONE to be eligible. 7. The remainder of the first round of the draft will be in order of lowest to highest winning percentage based on the last season played. 8. Any teams alternating draft picks due to a tie-breaker, who end up picking ahead of the team(s) they are alternating with due to the lottery, will pick last in relation to the team(s) they are tied with in the second round and subsequent rounds will rotate from round two. D. There will be six lottery teams determined in the following manner. 1. 3-year picks: The four lottery-eligible teams with the lowest 3-year winning percentage will be the first teams thrown into the lottery pool. This will use the regular 162-game regular season record for all teams, with no tiebreaker or playoff games included. In the event a team loses more than 100 games in any season, for the purposes of lottery determination, the team will be assigned a 62-100 record for that season. 2. Pythagorean picks: The remaining two lottery teams will be the two non-playoff teams with the greatest positive differential of SWBA season wins over Pythagorean Wins at the end of the regular season for the current season only, with their ORIGINAL pick. ** In the event one or no teams are eligible with their own pick, the lottery pool will be reduced accordingly. 3. NOTE on Pythagorean picks. The SWBA's Pythagorean picks are different from most league's as they are based on a REWARDS system. They are intended as rewards for trying to win as many games as possible AND for not overusing even one player by 1/3 of an inning or 1 plate appearance. 4. If ties are not broken through the eligibility rules above, the SWBA tie-breaking system will be applied. E. Once the six teams have been determined, they will be assigned the following lottery chances: 1. Ten Chances: Worst 3-year winning percentage team 2. Nine Chances: 2nd Worst 3-year winning percentage team 3. Eight Chances: 3rd Worst 3-year winning percentage team 4. Seven Chances: Remaining 3-year winning percentage team 5. Four Chances: Team with highest Pythagorean Wins differential ** 6. Three Chances: Remaining Pythagorean Wins team ** F. A lottery will be performed using colored balls by the league office witnessed by a third party, digital recording and/or streaming video on the internet. The team represented by the first color picked will get the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. The team represented by the next different colored ball picked will receive the second overall pick and so on, until the order of all eligible lottery teams have been decided. G. All eligible lottery picks are tradable AFTER the lottery order has been determined and the SWBA trading season has commenced. SECTION 9. The league voted in 2022 to arrange the draft order of the playoff teams as follows: the four teams losing the divisional series will draft in low-to-high winning percentage order after the non-playoff teams, followed by the two teams losing the championship series low-to-high winning percentage, followed by the World Series runner-up and then the World Series Champion. SECTION 10. In the event of expansion, the expansion draft will be held prior to the annual entry draft. The draft order will be determined randomly, with the members alternating odd and even rounds. For the entry draft, the expansion teams will draft immediately following half of the established teams, with the teams drafting in reverse order of the first round of the expansion draft and alternating on odd and even rounds. ARTICLE XV: TEAM ROSTER SECTION 1. Each team will have a 26-man dressed roster with a maximum of 13 pitchers prior to the September call-up. In addition to those 26, each team can maintain a maximum of 14 players on a reserve squad, giving each team total roster space of 40 players. The reserve squad can consist of active players receiving ratings or inactive players who did not receive ratings. There were no un-rated players in the initial season. No un-rated players may be drafted or picked up as free agents. A manager may move players from his dressed roster to the reserve squad and vice versa on a per ROUND basis. SECTION 2. On approximately September 1st of each season, the September call-up will occur. At that time, any rated player who has not been overused, is eligible to play ie each team can have a dressed roster of up to 40 players. SECTION 3. At the beginning of each season, all managers must cut their roster to 40 players. Both rated and un-rated players count on the 40-man roster. A roster may exceed 40 during the off-season due to trades. A manager may trade or cut both rated and unrated players. SECTION 4. The playoff roster will have a 26-man dressed roster with a maximum of 13 pitchers prior. A manager may move players from his dressed roster to the reserve squad and vice versa on a per SERIES basis. ARTICLE XVI: FREE AGENTS SECTION 1. Definition. All rated players who were cut or not drafted are called free agents. From the free agent/trade deadline until after the draft, no free agent signings are allowed. After the draft, any team who has cut their roster to 40 men or less can sign an unrestricted free agent. The team must release a player to make room for the free agent if their roster is at 40. SECTION 2. Waivers. Free agents recently cut will be acquired on a waiver system. Teams will have approximately 3 days to claim a free agent on waivers. The Commissioner will notify all coaches in an Email of the free agent's availability and specify a beginning and ending date to the waiver period. The waiver period is day to day, with only one waivered free agent picked up per team per day. If two or more teams select the same free agent on the same day, the team with the lowest winning percentage will get that player. After the waiver period ends, it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. SECTION 3. Limit. Free agents signed prior to opening day do not count as one of the 3 free agent transactions allowed during the season, but must be carried on the opening day roster. After opening day, teams may make up to 3 free agent transactions. A free agent transaction is defined as any time a free agent is added to a team either by cutting a player or making a trade involving an unequal number of players. After trades involving an unequal number of players, the team with less than 40 players can obtain a free agent if it has not used its 3 free agent moves, the other team will subsequently have to release a player to return to 40. SECTION 4. Free agents may be signed beyond the 3 free agent transactions with the following stipulations. There must be a need for at bats or innings for that type of free agent and the manager must release a player from the roster. Any free agents signed after the 3 transactions have been used will be released from the roster at the end of the season. In effect, for not planning to have enough plate appearances or innings, the manager is penalized by losing players from his roster to pick up enough plate appearances and innings to complete the season. ARTICLE XVII: BALLPARKS SECTION 1. The manager may not cut or trade the chosen ballpark. The only ways a ballpark may be changed is if a new coach takes over an existing franchise and wishes to use one of the remaining ballparks, or the Major League Team moves out of that ballpark and into another one, or if the MLB team utilizing that stadium is contracted. In those cases, the manager will be allowed to choose from the remaining ballparks, including the new ballpark in the case where a MLB team has moved. In case of expansion, the unused stadiums will be available in the expansion draft. An expansion ballpark will be drafted in the same manner as a player. SECTION 2. Exception to Section 1, a manager who has been in the stadium for 10 seasons or more, may petition to the Commissioner to change into an un-owned stadium. ARTICLE XVIII: PLAYER USAGE SECTION 1. Please calculate all Plate Appearances and Innings Pitched limitations manually as explained below. AVOID using the percentages displayed in the statistics pages of the game as they are not as accurate as the SWBA method outlined below. SECTION 2. The SWBA will allow 10% over normal player usage determined by actual number of plate appearances and innings pitched. For example, a player who actually had 500 PA will be allowed 550 plate appearances in the SWBA. For 1/3 IP, use the appropriate decimal (i.e. 75 2/3 would be 75.667 x 1.1 = 83.234). All figures will then be rounded UP to a whole number (i.e. 83.234 would become 84). Any over-used batter must miss one game per playoff series for every 4 PA's he was over-used (i.e. a player who is over by 1-4 PA, must miss the first game of EACH post-season series his team is in, a player with 5-8 over must miss the first two games, and so-forth). For pitchers, they must miss one game for every 2 IP's they are over their limit (i.e. a pitcher who is 6 IP over must miss games 1-3 of each series). For hitters, overuse applies to overall usage AND low-side usage. All penalties are applied at the beginning of EACH series. SECTION 3. In addition to the 10% over-usage, a low-side rule has been created to create more realistic statistics. Each hitter will be restricted to 150% PA's against the type pitcher he had fewer PA's against. For instance, if a hitter totalled 60 PA's vs LH pitchers and 300 vs RH pitchers, he would be allowed to face LH pitchers a maximum of 90 times. For players who are rated ONLY at CATCHER defensively(excluding rated as a blowout Pitcher), their low-side percentage will be 175%. There will be no restriction against the RH pitchers in this instance other than the overall limitation. EACH BATTER IS STILL RESTRICTED TO HIS 10% OVERALL LIMITATION. SECTION 4. A player overused by more than 20% will result in his release into the annual entry draft and/or forfeit of the team's 5th and subsequent round picks as determined by the competition committee and Commissioner. If any over-usage above 10% appears to affect the playoff structure, the standings will be re-evaluated from the point of over-usage to determine the outcome. SECTION 5. Over-use Waiver players. These players are intended to be for emergency use only. The Commissioner and competition committee will determine if any abuse of this rule applies and apply an appropriate penalty. Hitters with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of .400 or less against one side can be used 200% of his PA against that side ONLY. His other side, if over .400 OPS will be restricted to 10% over (if it is his high PA side) or 50% over or 75% over for catcher only's (if it is his low PA side). For pitchers, they may be used 200% of their IP if they have an overall OPS of .950 or higher, as long as neither side is less than .850 OPS. (ie if either side is less than .850 OPS, he is restricted to 10% over-usage) SECTION 6. For playoffs, a player is limited to 10% OVERALL and 15% vs. LOW-SIDE (17.5% for catcher-only's) of his major league totals FOR EACH PLAYOFF SERIES. EXCEPTION: In the event an opponent uses more than FOUR starting pitchers on a player's LOW-SIDE, the percentage will increase by 3% for each additional game. For example, if a team pitches 6 LH starters, hitters with a LOW-SIDE versus LH pitchers will be able to use 21% of their LOW-SIDE PA (15% for first four games and 6% for games 5 & 6). That number would be 23.5% for catcher-only's. If a player has 270 innings, he may pitch 27 in each playoff series. In the low-side example above, that player with 60 PA vs LH pitchers in real-life would be allowed 9 PA vs. lefties in each playoff series. All limits shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. For instance, 10% of 276 innings = 27.6 which would be rounded to 28 allowable innings. This is valid for the playoffs only. In the playoffs, a starting pitcher doesn't have to wait 3 days before starting again if he pitched less than 5 innings in his previous start and the computer does not rate him as being tired. The only real playoff limitation is PA/IP. It is a good idea though for coaches to specify what they want to do in case a pitcher is tired according to the computer. Starting with the 2002 season, we no longer rest "tired" starting pitchers prior to a playoff game. A starter may start on 3 days rest even if he is rated as "tired" by the computer, but his manager must accept the consequences. A "starter-only" can be used in relief during the playoffs. SECTION 7. In case a player receives ratings with more than one team, the SWBA will use the COMBINED SEASON rating, not an individual team rating. All individual team ratings for multi-team players will be deleted from the player files. ARTICLE XIX: BATTING RULES SECTION 1. Starting with the 2023 season, both leagues will use the designated hitter. A pitcher cannot be used as a designated hitter unless he started a real-life game as a position player or designated hitter. SECTION 2. Any dressed hitter may be used as a pinch hitter. Any dressed player may be used as a pinch runner. SECTION 3. Starting Pitchers (more starts than relief appearances) may pinch-hit, but cannot be listed higher than the 5th position in a manager profile (you must list 4 available hitters in front of him) and cannot pinch-hit in a home or head-to-head game until 3 hitters have come off the bench. EXCEPTION: A pitcher may pinch-hit to bunt prior to 3 hitters coming off the bench, but must attempt to bunt the entire PA, no swinging with 2 strikes. SECTION 4. Any pitcher who started a game at designated hitter or at a position in the field other than pitcher can be listed to pinch-hit above the 5th position. Two-way players of this nature (ie Shohei Ohtani, Michael Lorenzen, Brendan McKay, et al) are limited to both 10% over their real-life PA and IP. If they reach their usage limit as a batter, they will no longer be allowed to pinch-hit or be used as a DH/fielder. Any subsequent PA must be acquired during the process of being a pitcher and will not be penalized. ARTICLE XX: PITCHING RULES SECTION 1. A starter must have a minimum of 4 DAYS rest between starts during and between series. REMEMBER, THE SCHEDULE IS CONTINUOUS REGARDLESS OF BEING AT HOME OR ON THE ROAD. A pitcher who starts the first game of a 3 game series cannot start again until the 3rd day of the next series. A starter/reliever must have 2 days rest after a start before he can relieve and 3 days rest after relieving before he can start. ***NOTE*** on starter/relievers with the ActionPC Baseball game. If you are using a S/R as a starter during a series, you must go into his "manager" tab and choose "Don't Pitch In Relief" so that the COMPUTER MANAGER will not use him in that role during the same series. SECTION 2. A starting pitcher may not be removed prior to pitching 3 full innings unless he has: - been injured - given up 1 or more runs - given up 4 or more baserunners by walk, hit or hit by pitch - thrown 39 pitches This rule DOES NOT apply when playing profile vs. profile (simmed by a neutral coach) or in head-to-head games. A pitcher must have 3 innings available to start a game in the playoffs. SECTION 3. During playoffs, a 3-man rotation can be used. Please note that pitching rotations and rest are linked from the regular season throughout the World Series. Pitchers must have 3 days rest between starts. After a relief appearance a starter must have 2 days off before starting. A pitcher must have one day of rest after a start before relieving. SECTION 4. In the playoffs only, a "starter-only" is available for relief. The computer will assign his ratings and in ActionPC he will require more warm-up pitches than a rated reliever. SECTION 5. A non-pitcher may pitch only if the last available pitcher is injured or if the game meets the definition of a blowout. A BLOWOUT is defined for a solitaire coach as a game that has a difference of 7 runs or more either way in the 7th or later. Under these circumstances, you can list non-pitchers or other pitchers to pitch in the body of your Email accompanying your manager profile. ARTICLE XXI: FIELDING RULES SECTION 1. A player may only field the positions he is rated for with the following exceptions: at the 40-man roster deadline, every team will be allowed to add one OF position to a maximum of 2 players who are rated at one OF position only, even if they are rated at non-OF positions. If they already are rated at 2 or more OF positions, they are ineligible to receive an additional OF rating. The ratings will be added prior to the round 1 player database release and will be as follows: A CF having LF or RF added NO CHANGE A RF having LF added NO CHANGE A LF having RF added -2 (ie 8 range in LF becomes 6 in RF) A LF having CF added -3 A RF having CF added -2 SECTION 2. In the event a player is listed as DH only by ActionPC, he may play first base, left field or right field, accepting the rating the computer gives him for that position. SECTION 3. The last player at a position may ONLY be removed due to injury. If the last player at a position is injured, a player may play a position for which he has no rating. The computer will give better ratings to players playing a similar position to one they are rated for. Exception to this rule: when playing head-to-head ONLY and the game is in the 8th inning or later, a manager may pinch-hit for the last available player at a position and suffer the consequences on defense. ARTICLE XXII: INJURIES SECTION 1. Injuries are for the number of games stated or until the end of the current series only, if the number exceeds the games remaining in the series. The computer will be set for ACTUAL injury tendencies. SECTION 2. During the playoffs, injuries will remain in effect with the following modification. The maximum length of an injury will be for the remainder of the current homestand. (homestands are: games 1 & 2, games 3-5, and games 6 & 7). ie - If a player is hurt in game one, the most he can miss is the rest of game 1 and all of game two. In this scenario, prior to game 3, click on TOOLS, then check the DELETE INJURIES box (no other boxes should be checked) and click the BEGIN RESET button and when prompted to "Reset League", click the YES button. ARTICLE XXIII: TRADES SECTION 1. Trades will be allowed during the off-season and during the season before the trade deadline. Trades may be of an unequal number of players and or draft picks. If a team has less than 40 men on the roster during the season as a result of a trade, a free agent can be obtained. If a team has more than 40 men on the roster during the season as a result of a trade, players must be cut to return the roster to 40. Trades during the season will take effect at the beginning of the next round after the trade deadline. A manager may trade 1st-8th draft picks for the upcoming draft only. SECTION 2. A team may trade picks 1-8 for the upcoming draft. Once the current season has ended, a team may also trade picks 1-8 for the subsequent season. SECTION 3. Upon making a trade, BOTH managers must report the trade details to SWBAoffice at gmail.com and AzArrows at gmx.com. Do not send an Email that states only "confirmed". Only the coaches involved in the trade can report the trade. No third party trade announcements will be accepted! SECTION 4. The competition committee has the power to veto any trades that it feels would be detrimental to the league as a whole. Any collusion among coaches to exchange players for a particular round of games and then re-exchange them afterward will result in immediate dismissal of both coaches from the league. SECTION 5. Conditional trades or "player to be named later" trades are not allowed. SECTION 6. Supplemental draft picks cannot be traded until after the draft order has been determined. ARTICLE XXIV: UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT SECTION 1. According to the preamble, this league is designed to be interesting and competitive recreation. There is no amount of money for the winner, only a trophy in the $10-15 range. Therefore, each coach is responsible for putting as competitive team (as possible) on the field at all times, staying within the PA/IP limitations. Any evidence of unfair winning will result in immediate dismissal from the league. Penalties will also be issued, as determined necessary by the Commissioner and competition committee, for anyone found to be intentionally losing. ARTICLE XXV: REWARDS SYSTEM SECTION 1. For each due date, points are earned as listed below(max 100 pts): Pre-Round 1 GENERIC PROFILE Uploaded - 10 points Round 1 - 5 points Round 2 - 9 points (database sent out) Round 3 - 5 points Round 4 - 9 points (database sent out) Round 5 - 5 points Round 6 - 9 points (database sent out) Round 7 - 10 points (database sent out) Round 8 - 6 points Round 9 - 10 points (database sent out) Round 10 - 11 points (database sent out) Round 11 - 11 points (end of season) Supplemental picks are earned as follows: 84 points or more - end of 2nd round 74-83 points - end of 3rd round 64-73 points - end of 4th round 63 points or less - no supplemental pick awarded SECTION 2. Once the draft order is determined, the supplemental picks will be placed in order of highest to lowest points accrued per supplemental rounds. In case of ties, just as regular draft pick ties are broken, the team with the lowest winning percentage gets the better pick. Ties for supplemental picks are NOT subject to the switching for odd and even rounds. SECTION 3. Supplemental picks are tradable ONLY AFTER the draft order has been determined for the following season's draft. SECTION 4. In the event a manager is replaced DURING the season, rewards for all previous dates will be considered as met on time. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ APPENDIX A - 2024 POST SEASON SCHEDULE DATE SERIES Sep 28 Regular Season game 161 Sep 29 Regular Season game 162 Sep 30 (Tiebreaker if necessary) Oct 1 OFF Oct 2 Divisional Series Game 1 Oct 3 Divisional Series Game 2 Oct 4 OFF Oct 5 Divisional Series Game 3 Oct 6 Divisional Series Game 4 Oct 7 Divisional Series Game 5? Oct 8 OFF Oct 9 Divisional Series Game 6? Oct 10 Divisional Series Game 7? Oct 11 OFF Oct 12 OFF Oct 13 League Championship Game 1 Oct 14 League Championship Game 2 Oct 15 OFF Oct 16 League Championship Game 3 Oct 17 League Championship Game 4 Oct 18 League Championship Game 5? Oct 19 OFF Oct 20 League Championship Game 6? Oct 21 League Championship Game 7? Oct 22 OFF Oct 23 OFF Oct 24 World Series 1 at NL Champs Oct 25 World Series 2 at NL Champs Oct 26 OFF Oct 27 World Series 3 at AL Champs Oct 28 World Series 4 at AL Champs Oct 29 World Series 5? at AL Champs Oct 30 OFF Oct 31 World Series 6? at NL Champs Nov 1 World Series 7? at NL Champs Subsequent rounds will start on the 3rd day after the longest series of the previous round. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ APPENDIX B - HELPFUL HINTS - the following hints files can be found at https://swba.us/files/database - How To Create A Basic Manager Profile - How To Export And Import Statistics - How To Install/Update The ActionPC Database - How To Play A Series - How To Save Your Team's Schedule - How To Use Windows File Explorer (link)