2000
Wolfpack
Fantasy Baseball League (WFBL)
1.1. The Wolfpack Fantasy
Baseball League was formed 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! The objective of each owner is to finish as high as
possible in his or her respective division, move onto the playoffs and win the
right to have their team name engraved on the coveted league trophy.
1.2. 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 Tampico
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 then-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 Tampico 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
decisive victory over the Kalamazoo Green Knights, achieving their second world
title in three years. In 1998, the Kalamazoo Green Knights surprised the league
with some very aggressive trades, positioning them for a run at the playoffs.
Green Knights management, already backed by the MVP-caliber year of Sammy Sosa,
added Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas, and Jason Kendall to create one of the most
potent offensive forces the league had ever seen. The risks paid off huge for
the veteran club in a wild card berth, and the eventual league crown. In 1999,
the league welcomed two new franchises: The Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls and the
Apex Alleycats. Despite the new talent, the year again belonged to the
veterans. In a nail-biter, the Ellicott City Black Sox won the closest match-up
ever against a formidable Clemmons Cougars arsenal. Aces Randy Johnson and Mike
Mussina powered an injury-ridden squad that included the recently acquired
talent of Ivan Rodriguez, Edguardo Alfonzo, and Magglio Ordonez.
2.1. There will be 12 teams
in the Wolfpack Fantasy Baseball League consisting of a mix of American and
National league players. Each team will consist of a maximum of 25 players (14
active, 11 reserve).
2.2. The initial 14-man
rosters and 5-11 man reserve rosters will be filled by the draft and protected
players (see
XII. OFFSEASON ROSTER PROTECTION AND CONTRACTS).
2.3. A team’s active roster
must consist of the following players:
*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.
(For more information on position eligibility, see Section IV.
POSITION ELIGIBILITY.)
2.4. There is no penalty for
not filling one or more of the 14 active roster 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.
2.5. At no point, may a
teams total salary exceed $300. Salaries are determined each year as those
listed in that year’s The Sporting News’ Fantasy Baseball Owners Manual.
2.6. Teams are divided into
3 divisions, the Sendek Division, the Avent Division, and the Amato Division,
each consisting of four teams.
3.1. Each team must acquire
at least 19 players from protected rosters and the draft at a total cost not to
exceed $300 (not real money). A team need not spend the maximum.
3.2. Draft position is
determined by a “weighted” lottery at the Winter Talks. Based on the previous
years’ week 24 standings: Teams in the 3rd tier get 4 entries into
the hat, teams in the 2nd tier get 3 entries into the hat, and teams
in the 1st tier get 2 entries into the hat. Draft order is reversed
for each even numbered round.
3.3. The following players
are eligible for the draft:
·
Any players who are on a
major league 40-man roster at the time of the draft.
4.1. At the start of the
season, batters are eligible at a position if they played at least 20 games at
that position during the previous season. For batters with no previous major
league experience, position eligibility is determined by the batter's
"established position" in the most previous league played. This
position must be confirmed by a minimum of 5 owners present at the league
draft.
4.2. If a batter did not
play at least 20 games for at any position, that player is eligible at the
position that he played the most during the previous year (including DH).
4.3. In the event that that
batter played an equal amount of games at two or more positions, the batter is
eligible only at the position he is most likely to play in the upcoming season.
4.4. No batter failing to
qualify for 20 games at a position shall be eligible at two positions.
4.5. Once the season
begins, batters can become eligible at a new position if he plays in 20 or more
games at that position. If the batter had not qualified by the 20-game rule for
any position at the beginning of the year, he loses his initial qualification
once he plays at least 20 games at a different position.
4.6 There are three types
of positions for pitchers: starting pitcher (SP), relief pitcher (RP), and the
swing position (SP/RP). A pitcher qualifies for SP by starting at least 5 games
the previous season. Likewise, a pitcher qualifies for RP by appearing in 5 or
more relief appearances the previous year. Pitchers that meet either both
requirements or neither requirement are only eligible at the swing (SP/RP) position.
4.7. Once a player is
eligible for a season, that player is eligible for the remainder of the season,
regardless of that player's major league status.
5.1. Player salaries are
determined by those listed in The Sporting News’ 2000 Fantasy Baseball Owners
Manual.
5.2. Any player not
assigned a value will have a salary of $1.
5.3. All player salaries
remain static for the entire year.
6.1. The following are
transactions are allowed for owners: activates, reserves, trades, pickups, and
drops.
6.2. For purposes of
statistical calculation, all transactions are effective on the Monday following
the transaction, at noon Eastern time.
6.3. Rosters are frozen for
the first two weeks of the regular season, no transactions are allowed.
6.4. Any player may be
released at any time by his fantasy team.
6.5. When a player is
released, he is placed on waivers until the following Monday (minimum 7 days).
Within that time, the lowest placed team to claim the player acquires the
player. The most recent standings shall be used to determine the lowest placed
team.
6.6. After the waiver period
has passed, if the player has not been claimed, he immediately becomes a free
agent and is available to all teams.
6.7. Once waived, a player
may not be reacquired by the same team (via trade or free agent signing) for a
period of two weeks.
7.1. 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.
7.2. The weekly
head-to-head tiebreaker is bench points and then, coin toss.
7.3. A “week” is defined as
the cumulative stat totals from games played Monday through Sunday.
7.4. A “season” is defined
as 24 regular season games followed by 2 rounds of playoffs.
7.5. The playoffs consist
of the three division winners, and one “wildcard” team. The “wildcard” team is
defined as the team among all non-division winners with the best overall
record. The “wildcard” plays the division winner with the best overall record,
unless the two teams are in the same division, in which case the “wildcard”
plays the division winner with the second best record.
7.6. The following will
break ties in overall standings:
1) Head-to-head record between the two teams
2) Divisional record
3) Total points, and
4) Coin toss
8.1. 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.
8.2. The following is a
detailed list of point values:
Hitters
|
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 |
Pitchers
|
Statistic |
Points |
|
Win (W) |
+10 |
|
Save (SV) |
+8 |
|
Hold (HL) |
+5 |
|
Complete game (CG) |
+5 |
|
Strikeout (K) |
+1 |
|
Innings pitched (IP) |
+1 |
|
Walk (BB) |
-1 |
|
Earned run (ER) |
-0.5 |
|
Hit against (H) |
-0.5 |
|
Blown Save (BS) |
-2 |
|
Loss (L) |
-3 |
8.3. There is a one-week
appeal period after the stats have been released to challenge discrepancies.
8.4. All regular season
statistics from Major League Baseball, excluding any extra games necessary to
determine playoff teams, will be included. Statistics from Major League
Baseball's playoffs are not included.
9.1. After two weeks from
the first day of the major league season until the trade deadline of August 28,
2000, teams 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. This would include subsequent
pickups, drops, etc.
9.2. BOTH teams must notify
the commissioner (via email or phone) by the transaction deadline for the trade
to be valid.
9.3. No trade can include a
“player to be named later”. Only draft picks for the next scheduled draft may
be traded.
9.4. Kiel Clause: The right
to protect a player may not be traded.
9.5. No trade may take
place from August 28 noon until the last day of the regular season.
9.6. There are no limits to
the number of trades a team may make during the season.
10.1. Any player who is on
an active major league roster, not on another team, and not currently on the
waiver list may be acquired as a free agent.
Minor league players and players not on a major league roster are not eligible
to be acquired as a free agent.
10.2. No free agents may be
acquired between the last day of the previous season and two weeks following
the Opening Day of the current season.
10.3. Free agents may be
picked up from two weeks after the Opening Day of the season until noon on
August 28, 2000.
10.4. After a player is
released to the free agent pool and cleared waivers, he is eligible to be
claimed by all teams on a first-come, first-served basis.
10.5. Once acquired, a free
agent cannot be waived or traded for a minimum of two weeks.
10.6. Multiple valid
transactions involving a new player are resolved by using the latest standings
released by the Commissioner, then: 1.
Selecting the team(s) with the lowest overall record, 2a. If comparing
teams from different divisions, selecting the team(s) with the fewest points on
the season, or, 2b. If comparing teams
only from the same division, selecting the team(s) with the lowest division
record, then selecting the team(s) with the fewest points on the season.
Selecting the team submitting the earliest valid transaction.
11.1. 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 21st, at which point,
free agents may be signed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The signing
period will exist for one week only.
11.2. 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).
11.3. Reserving a player
protects a team's rights to that player.
11.4. There are no limits to
the number of Reserve/Activate moves a team can make in one season.
11.5. An optional 5-man
minor league roster is filled by a minor league draft performed by list, one
week after the start of the season.
11.6. Teams selected using
regular draft order.
11.7. Players eligible for
Minor League rosters are any player not drafted in the expansion or regular
draft that does NOT meet the minimum position eligibility requirement for any
fantasy position. This includes players not on the 40-man MLB rosters.
11.8. Players on Minor
League rosters carry no value and contribute no points to active or reserve rosters.
11.9. There are no
trade/roster restrictions for players on Minor League rosters.
11.10. No players can be
picked up or dropped from Minor League rosters during the season.
11.11. Players on Minor
League rosters may be called up, but not sent down, any at time during the
season, provided the regular roster and player eligibility requirements are
met.
11.12. Minor League players
carry their assigned fantasy value once called up.
11.13. Owners have one week
to drop or add a player who becomes eligible at a fantasy position during the
season, otherwise the player will automatically be dropped.
11.14. The date for expanded
rosters is the deadline to determine if players on a team's Minor League roster
should be called up or dropped. All players that are on a team's Minor League
roster and not called up will become free agents.
12.1. The league has
incorporated “tiered” player protection. There are 3 roster protection tiers.
The four teams that make the playoffs will be in the first tier. The second and
third tiers will be determined by overall record at week 24. The first tier
will allow the protection of $110. Each additional tier allows for the
protection of 15 dollars more than that of the preceding tier.
12.2. All unprotected
players will go into the pool of players available for the next draft.
12.3. A player can be
protected for a maximum of three (3) consecutive years beginning with the 1998
protection lists.
12.4. The names of the
players being retained must be presented to the league commissioner by midnight
exactly one week before the next draft.
12.5. Protected players may
not be released on draft day.
13.1. The decision of the
Commissioner supersedes the rules herein and is final in any disputes. He also
has the power to change a rule with an unforeseen loophole post de facto (After
the fact) for the benefit of the league. The overall good of the league as a
whole will be greater then the benefit to any sum of its constituents.
13.2. All league owners
designate annually a Rules Committee composed of three team owners in good
standing, a Commissioner and a Vice Commissioner.
13.3. Rule changes,
pronouncements, and acts of whimsy after the draft are determined by majority
vote of the league owners.
13.4. The Rules Committee
will be established to oversee and overturn any trade deemed detrimental to the
competitive balance of the league.
13.5. If a committee member
is involved in a disputed trade, he will be excused from the committee for that
trade.
13.6. Constitutional
amendments require at least one half of the current league owners to be present
in order for a vote to be valid. League amendments are passed when a majority
of all current owners vote YEA.
14.1. BASIC: The entrance
fee is $35.
14.2. The league
commissioner is exempt from paying league fees.
14.3. All fees must be paid
by draft day. Unless arrangements have been made, commissioner has right to
freeze rosters until fees are up to date.
14.4. All transactions made
throughout the season are free.
14.5. All fees shall be
paid promptly, collected, and wisely invested by the League Treasurer, who is
empowered to subject owners to public humiliation and to assess fines as needed
to insure payments are made to the League in a timely fashion.
14.6. The money shall be
divided among the four playoff teams as follows:
·
1st place:
50%
·
2nd place:
25%
·
3rd place:
15%
·
4th place:
10%