1998

OFFICIAL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION

THE WOLFPACK FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE (WFBL)

League Commissioner : Adam Brake

I. INTRODUCTION
II. ROSTERS
III. STATS
IV. TRANSACTIONS
V. THE DRAFT
VI. OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
VII. COMMISSIONER RESPONSIBILITIES

I. INTRODUCTION

League History

The Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League began in 1994 with four teams using players solely from the National League. The infamous strike ended this season short before a league champion could be crowned. In 1995, the league grew 50% and included owners spanning across two states. That season saw many teams such as newcomers Gameball Boys and Baltimore Black Sox and the senior-league member Tampica Trauma assume, and ultimately lose, first place. The championship for that year belonged to the Power Rangers, who credited their second half surge to a trade for Marlin outfielder Jeff Conine. In 1996, the league bid a fond farewell to the Camel Toes, while granting franchise rights to two new clubs. Despite a strong effort by the expansion Raleigh Middle Fingers, the season was dominated from start to finish by the Tampica Trauma. General manager Clay Lowman attributed his success to a lack of injuries and the career year of Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz. The 1997 season welcomed three new owners to the fray. With the expansion to 10 teams, the league decided to expand the player pool to include all players from both the National and American Leagues. In addition, two divisions were created, and the league format changed from total points to head-to-head. When the dust had cleared, four teams had risen to the top of the league: the Sendek Division Champion Power Rangers, the O'Cain Division Champion Baltimore Black Sox, Kalamazoo Green Knights and Clemmons Cougars. The health of superstars Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson led the Power Rangers to a public mocking of the Kalamazoo Green Knights and their second world title in three years.

The founders of the league formed the WFBL in order to elucidate our baseball expertise into a tangible, quantitative form, increase our knowledge of the game, and have a great time doing it!

Owner Objective

The goal of each owner is to finish as high as possible in their respective division, move onto the playoffs and the win the right to have their team name engraved on the coveted league trophy.

Summary Description of the League

The WFBL consists of twelve fantasy baseball teams comprised of any combination of players from American and National League Major League Baseball teams. The rules closely resemble traditional fantasy league rules, with the most important exceptions being the following:
  1. Each team will be required to remain at or below a $300 salary cap at all times throughout the season. Any transaction that violates this rule will be void. Player salaries are determined before the start of the season and will remain static for the entire year. Any player added to a Major League roster during the season will receive a value of $1. The initial values will be determined by the latest values listed in The Sporting News 1998 Fantasy Baseball Owners Manual. Those players not assigned a value will be assigned a value of $1.
  2. Scoring is based on 11x11 statistics in the following categories: S, D, T, HR, RBI, R, BB, SB, CS, SO, E for field players and IP, W, L, ER, SV, BS, BB, H, SO, CG, HOLDS for pitchers.
  3. At the beginning of the season, owners will be notified with their draft number which will determine when they will pick in the draft.
  4. Owners can make unlimited free-agent pickups throughout the year, until the August 31st deadline.
  5. Each team is required to maintain a roster consisting of a minimum of 19 players.
  6. There is a general 5-11 man reserve roster which may be expanded up to 16 on August 24th until the August 31st free-agent deadline.
  7. Teams are divided into three divisions, the O'Cain Division, Sendek Division, and Avent Division. Each division will consist of four teams. Each division winner and one wild-card team will advance to the playoffs.
  8. A rules committee has been established to make decisions on all rule-related and position eligibility concerns.
  9. Four cash-award prizes will be issued at the end of the season based on final standings in the league. First place 50%, second place 25%, third place 15%, and fourth place 10%.
  10. League dues will be $35 per team.
  11. Winter rosters and off-season trading is not recognized by the league.

 

League Name

The official league name is the "Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League" (abbreviated WFBL).

 

II. ROSTERS

Active Roster

The active roster consists of 14 players that have eligibility which allows them to fill the following positions: * At least one but no more than two of the five pitchers must be an established reliever (closer, or middle reliever). Any questions on eligibility should be directed to the rules committee for an official ruling.

There is no penalty for not filling one or more of the 14 positions designated for field players and pitchers. It is the owners' responsibility to replace injured players. All player activation and deactivation go into effect at the beginning of the next week.

Reserve Roster

The reserve roster consists of backup and/or injured players. There is no separate disabled list. Each team must have a minimum of 5 players on their reserve roster at all times and a maximum of 11. The maximum reserve roster value will expand to 16 players on August 24th, at which point, free agents may be signed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The signing period will exist for one week only.

Position Eligibility

Once the season begins, players become eligible at new positions if they play in 20 or more games at the position.

Disabled List

If a player goes on the Major League disabled list (15-day, 60-day, season), an owner may option to place him on their reserve roster. The player may be reactivated at any time regardless of his status on the Major League disabled list (designed for cases when a player is expected to return during the week activated).

Initial Rosters

The initial 14-man rosters and 5-11 man reserve rosters will be filled by the draft.

Changes In Rosters

During the season, you may make changes in your roster by contacting the commissioner and performing one or more valid transactions.

Post-Season Roster Protection

The Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League has incorporated "bracketed" player protection for returning owners. The number of roster protection brackets for the 1999 season will be three. The four teams which make the playoffs will be in the first tier. The second and remaining tier will be determined by overall record after week 24. The first bracket will allow the protection of $100. Each additional bracket will allow the protection of ten more dollars than that of the preceding bracket. Each returning team is required to provide the current commissioner with a protected list 7-10 days prior to the next season's draft. All unprotected players will go into the pool of players available for the next draft. Any given player can only be protected for a maximum of three (3) consecutive years beginning with the 1998 season.

 

III. STATS

Software

Commissioner Baseball for Windows™ software will be used this year in creating weekly status reports and in keeping track of team rosters both active and reserve. The statistics will be provided by Sportsware (Stats, Inc).

Scoring

The following points are awarded or deducted for field players.
Statistic Points
Home run (HR) +4
Triple (T) +3
Double (D) +2
Single (S) +1
Run batted in (RBI) +1
Run scored (R) +1
Walk (BB) +1
Stolen Base (SB) +1
Caught stealing (CS) -1
Strikeout (K) -1
Error (E) -1

Table 1: Field Player Scoring

The following points are awarded or deducted for pitchers.
Statistic Points
Win (W) +10
Save (SV) +5
Hold (HL) +5
Complete game (CG) +5
Strikeout (K) +1
Innings pitched (IP) +1
Walk (BB) -1
Earned run (ER) -1
Hit against (H) -0.5
Blown Save (BS) -2
Loss (L) -3

Table 2: Pitcher Scoring

Standings

Weekly standings are determined by each team's overall record in head-to-head competition. In head-to-head competition, two teams match total active-roster points for that given week. The team with more points receives a win, the other a loss.

Ties in Overall Standings

Ties in overall standings will be broken by the following:
  1. Head-to-head record between the two teams
  2. Divisional record
  3. Total points and
  4. Coin toss

Weekly Reports

Each weekly statistical report will reflect those values accumulated from the games from the previous Monday through Sunday. Weekly reports will be available every Tuesday morning through electronic mail when available.

Free Agent Reports

Updated free-agent reports will be made available at least once every two months by the commissioner. It is the responsibility of each owner to update these reports manually in the time between released reports.
 
 

IV. TRANSACTIONS

Transaction Types

The following is a list of possible transactions:
  1. Activate (from reserve roster)
  2. Acquire a player in a trade
  3. Sign a free agent
  4. Deactivate (to reserve roster)
  5. Trade away
  6. Waive (i.e. release, allowing the player to be picked up by another owner or yourself)
  7. Move player to new position

The commissioner can declare any transaction null and void. The only two reasons that this may be necessary are if:

Transaction Deadline

The weekly transaction deadline is Monday, 12 noon ET.

Free Agents

You can pickup free agents at any time during the season until the free-agent deadline, 12 noon, August 31 (ET). A free agent may only be acquired if room exists on the roster for that player and there are no conflicts in regards to the salary cap. Once acquired, a free agent cannot be waived or traded for a minimum of two weeks.

Note: No player is eligible to be picked up until the day after he appears on a major league roster.

Waivers

League owners will be notified via email when a player is waived from another team. Any team has until the following Monday (minimum of 1 week) to claim this player. The team with the lowest record at the time of the release will obtain the rights to that player. Once waived, a player may not be reacquired by the same team (via trade or free agent signing) for a period of two weeks.

Trades

Trades may be made between two teams for any players on their 14-man active roster or reserve list at any time before the trade deadline. The trade deadline is August 31, 12 noon ET. Important: BOTH teams must notify the commissioner (via email or phone) by the transaction deadline for the trade is valid. You must include free agent pickups, player waivers, reserves or position moves with your trade (if necessary) to make sure your 14-man active roster position requirements and salary requirements are met. Trades may not involve a "player to be named later". Only draft picks for the next scheduled draft may be traded.
 
 

Kiel Clause

A player's protection rights may not be traded. Once a player has been traded, he may not be reacquired for the same player with whom he was originally traded for a period of one month (in an effort to discourage the "renting" of players). Any infraction of these rules will result in verbal thrashing, excessive finger pointing and sneering.

Player Activation/Deactivation

Players may be moved between the active roster and reserve roster at any time to satisfy position requirements.

V. THE DRAFT

 

Pre-Draft Activities

The ordering in which new owners select in the expansion draft will be performed by lottery at the Winter Meetings. Similarly, normal draft selection ordering will be performed by lottery at the Winter Meetings. Player protection lists for returning owners are required 14 days prior to the draft. If this list is not received by this deadline, no players will be protected. A complete free agent guide will be provided as soon as available with all position eligibility and salaries before the draft.

Position Eligibility

For the draft, players are eligible at a position if they played at least 20 games at that position in the previous season or are established at that position (rookies only). The rules committee will have the final say on position eligibility. The players eligible to be chosen for your initial 14-man roster must be on a Major League roster or disabled list on opening day. Players put on a Major League roster during the draft cannot be added until the draft is completed.

Draft Format

For the 1998 season, the Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League will conduct a two-round expansion draft. This draft allows expansion teams to begin the regular draft with four players (the same number of players as returning owners in the lowest protection bracket). The order in which new owners select during this draft is determined by lottery before draft day. The order in which returning owners select in the expansion draft will be determined by the previous year's final standings.
New Owners
...
3
2
1
New Owners
New Owners
1
2
3
...
New Owners
Normal Lottery

Table 3: Draft Selection Ordering

After the two-round expansion draft is completed, a normal draft will commence with selection ordering pre-determined by lottery. With each selection made in the draft, the owner is required to disclose the player's name and salary and the remaining funds available to that team for additional signings.

Draft Date and Location

The 1998 draft is scheduled for March 28th to be held at the residence of the owner of the Tampica Trauma (maps and directions to be provided) promptly at 10am.
 
 

VI. OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Keep active throughout the season.
  2. Adhere to the league rules.
  3. Submit the entry fee to commissioners on time.

VII. COMMISSIONER RESPONSIBILTIES

  1. Provide a complete listing of all owner names, mailing address and phone numbers for all owners.
  2. Keep player status information up-to-date at all times.
  3. Run draft smoothly, accurately, fairly, and quickly.
  4. Enforce the league rules.
  5. Reply to transaction requests promptly.
  6. Maintain the official WFBL web site.
  7. Maintain the official WFBL constitution.

Appendix A: 1998 Winter Meeting Minutes

  1. All 9 owners attended the 1998 winter meetings. It was announced that the Cary Buzzards franchise had folded.
  2. It was then decided that a 12-team league would be the way to go. Also included in that was the agreement to have 3 divisions (4 teams each).
  3. Barry Leonard, Jamie Johnson, and Tom Green were unanimously voted into the league as the 1998 expansion teams.
  4. All 9 owners agreed that league fees would remain the same ($35).
  5. A motion was raised to lower the salary cap to $260. It was voted down 7-2. The cap will remain at $300.
  6. A motion was made to keep the salary cap constant throughout the entire season. This motion was passed 8-1. In addition, it was determined that expanded rosters to 30 would continue to exist. Expanded rosters will begin Monday, August 24th.
  7. A motion was made to let the players have a variable price throughout the season. It was determined too difficult to implement.
  8. Complete Games was officially added to the scoring, making it a 11x11 system.
  9. The expansion teams were assigned expansion draft order by lottery. Barry Leonard, Jaime Johnson, then Tom Green.
  10. The trading deadline was set at August 31, noon.
  11. It was voted 8-1 that the playoffs would consist of the three division winners and 1 wild card team.
  12. The overall season-ending points champion was discarded.
  13. The league voted 8-0 (1 abstain) to keep Adam Brake league commissioner.Clay Lowman was 8-0 (1 abstain) voted in as Vice Commissioner.
  14. The league voted unanimously on Clay Lowman, Thomas Lipps, and Jeff Kranich as members of the rules committee.
  15. Expansion draft order of the returning owners was to remain the reverse order of standings from the following year (except for the four playoff teams, which will come in order of finish).
  16. Transaction deadline and roster change will now be officially Monday, noon.
  17. Any descrepancies concerning player eligibility will be handled by the rules committee.
  18. A seperate disabled list was motioned, but voted down (8-1).
  19. A motion was made for protected players to be determined by dollar amounts versus number of players. The motion was passed 5-4.
  20. A motion was made for the tiered dollar amounts for protection money to be $100, $110, and $120. It was voted in 5-4.
  21. Regular Draft order was determined by lottery. Chuck Scruggs, Adam Brake, Chip Kiel, Barry Leonard, Clay Lowman, Jeff Kranich, Matthew Burkett, Tom Green, Bruce King, Chris Burkett, Thomas Lipps, and Jamie Johnson.
  22. Draft day will be held at Clay Lowman's house, March 28th at 10am.
  23. A motion was made that a 3-year protected player term would be enforced beginning with this year. An owner can only protect a player for 3 consecutive years. The motion passed by a 6-3 vote.

 

Appendix B: 1998 League Divisional Alignment

Avent Division
Sendek Division
O'Cain Division
Clemmons Cougars
Power Rangers*
Baltimore Black Sox*
Barry's Big Boys
Tampico Trauma
Comeback Johnnies
Ball Hawks
The Waybacks
Kalamazoo Green Knights
Hickory Scorpions
Raleigh Middle Fingers
Bronx Bombers

* 1997 Division Champions
 
 

Copyright © 2000, Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League