Minutes from the 2000
WFBL Winter Talks:
When: Saturday,
February 5, 2000, 12n - 2pm
Hosts: Chris Burkett - Owner of the Hickory Scorpions, Matthew
Burkett - Owner of the Ball Hawks
Presiding: The
Honorable Adam Brake - Commissioner and Owner, Power Rangers
Owners present:
Thomas Lipps - Vice
Commissioner and Owner, Raleigh Middle Fingers
Chip Kiel - Owner,
The World Champion Ellicott City Black Sox
Chris Burkett -
Owner, Hickory Scorpions
Matthew Burkett -
Owner, Ball Hawks
Bruce King -
Co-owner, Kalamazoo Green Knights
Ricky Thomas -
Potential Owner
Returning owners not
present:
Don Hunnicutt -
Owner, Apex Alleycats
Zach Kirby -
Co-Owner, Kalamazoo Green Knights
Mike Rudd - Owner,
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls
Chuck Scruggs -
Owner, Clemmons Cougars
Agenda and Business
Items, as presented by Adam Brake, Commissioner:
1. The Commissioner announced that the owners
of Tampico Trauma, Comeback Johnnies, and Bronx Bombers would not be returning
for the 2000 season.
2. Since a majority of the remaining league
owners were present (6 of 9), topics having at least 5 YEA votes were deemed
legal for league approval, according to the WFBL Constitution. A motion was
presented that those topics not having at least 5 YEA votes, but at least 2 YEA
votes, be put to the rest of league for a proxy vote. This motion was seconded
and passed 6-0.
3. The topic of what to do if not enough owners
are found to continue to 12 teams was discussed. The league approved 6-0 that
Plan A would be for 12 teams, and Plan B would be for 10 teams.
4. Commissioner Adam Brake presented former and
original WFBL owner Ricky Thomas as a new owner. The motion was seconded. Discussion
ensued about how to divide up the teams not returning. Since Ricky had been
offered the Tampico Trauma already, the league determined by 6-0 vote to
approve Ricky as the new owner of the Tampico Trauma. The remaining two teams would be offered to the new owners, if
found, on a first come, first serve basis. If two more owners are not found,
the two remaining teams will be dissolved and those players will be available
in the draft.
5. The league unanimously approved the change
in the name of the O'Cain Division to the Amato Division.
6. The league unanimously approved that if 10
teams are used, the league would return to two divisions with the Avent Division
being dropped.
7. The league fees and expenses will be the
same for this season as last: $35 league fee. (6-0) Discussion ensued about
what software to use for the new season. Mr. Brake mentioned that CBS Sportsline
now has an on-line service for fantasy baseball leagues. The league unanimously approved
investigation of this site by the Commissioner.
8. Commissioner Adam Brake motioned to donate
league winnings to charity. No vote was taken as the league determined that
more discussion was necessary before considering this motion further. The
motion was tabled.
9. The league unanimously approved the use of
the draft board for the 2000 draft. The 2000 WFBL Draft is scheduled for April
1st, 2000 at Bruce King's house in Garner, N.C. Time is TBA.
10. The league
unanimously approved that the MLB regular season games to be played in Tokyo,
Japan the week before the season officially starts will NOT count toward the
WFBL statistics.
11. A motion was made
that the Rules Committee be responsible for the organization of the 2000 Summer
Talks. The motion was seconded and approved with a 5-1 vote.
12. The issue of
returning the salary cap to the $260/team limit was not brought to a vote (for
the second year in a row) due to lack of a 2nd motion.
13. It was noted that the protection tiers for
2000 were modified by league vote during the 1998 season to the following
levels:
Places 1-4: $110 (Ellicott City
Black Sox, Clemmons Cougars, Raleigh Middle Fingers, Kalamazoo Green Knights)
Places 5-8: $125 (Comeback
Johnnies, Tampico Trauma, Power Rangers, Hickory Scorpions)
Places 9-12: $140 (Apex Alleycats,
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls, Bronx Bombers, Ball Hawks)
14. As approved at
the 1999 Winter Talks, an "NBA-style lottery" approach for this
year's draft was generally agreed upon, however details were TBD. Everyone
wants to make sure that playoff finish is included in "weighting" the
lottery. The league approved with a
vote of 5 YEA and 1 NEA to use the following system for "weighting"
the lottery:
According to the
protection tiers, the following number of entries per team would go into the
hat
Places 1-4: 2 entries (Ellicott
City Black Sox, Clemmons Cougars, Raleigh Middle Fingers, Kalamazoo Green
Knights)
Places 5-8: 3 entries (Comeback
Johnnies, Tampico Trauma, Power Rangers, Hickory Scorpions)
Places 9-12: 4 entries (Apex
Alleycats, Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls, Bronx Bombers, Ball Hawks)
15. A motion was
presented to eliminate all player pickup restrictions. After discussion, no
second was received.
16. The league
unanimously approved the following changes to the WFBL Constitution:
a. Section I:
- Add section describing the League Objective.
1.1 - Add "potent" to
"...the most offensive forces..."
b. Section II:
2.2 - Note exception of protected
players, refer to Section XIV.
2.3 - Refer to Section IV.
2.5 - Refer to price guide used by the
League (Section VI.).
c. Section III:
3.2 - Define or further describe the
lottery system.
3.2 - "odd" ->
"even".
3.3 - Remove 2nd bullet.
d. Section IV:
·
Break into two
sections, one for "batters," and another for "pitchers." Eligibility
for pitchers shall be determined by the "Mendoza rule," defined last
season. There are 3 distinct pitcher positions in the WFBL: SP, RP, and SW
(swing position, also known as SP-RP). To qualify as an SP, a pitcher must have
started at least 5 games this season or last. To qualify as an RP, a pitcher
must have entered at least 5 games as a reliever this season or last. However,
a pitcher may not qualify for BOTH SP and RP. Pitchers not qualifying for
either SP or RP, or qualifying for both, must be used in the SW position.
·
Provide examples for
position eligibility requirements.
4.1 - Replace 2nd sentence with,
"For batters with no previous major league experience, position
eligibility is determined by the batter's "established position" in
the most previous league played." Break this and the 3rd sentence into a
separate rule item.
4.1 - Clarify 4th sentence by noting
that this includes DH.
e. Section V:
- Move to end of document.
f. Section VII:
- Move to end of document.
7.1 - Belongs in "Fees"
section. Perhaps Sections V. and VII. should be combined into one section.
g. Section VIII:
·
Add "&
SCHEDULE" to title of section, or create new section.
·
Define a
"week" as games played from Mon. to Sun.
·
Define a
"season" as 24 regular season weeks followed by 2 rounds of playoffs.
·
Define a
"wildcard" under both 3-division and 2-division configurations.
·
Define who a wildcard
plays in the playoffs. 3-division: wildcard plays division leader with best
record (including tie breakers), unless the teams are in the same
division. 2-division: "criss-cross"
format.
·
Define weekly
head-to-head tiebreaker as bench points, then coin toss.
h. Section IX:
9.2 - Change value for Saves (SV) to
+8.
9.2 - Change value for Earned Runs
(ER) to -0.5.
9.3 - This rule item belongs in a
"Transactions" section (defines "Transaction deadline”).
9.4 - Change "including" to
"excluding."
- Add rule item to note that a one-week
appeal period is allowed for stat discrepancies.
i. Section X:
- Create one section on
transactions.
- Define all types of transactions
allowed (by 12n Monday) - trades, drops, pickups, active/reserve.
- Note rosters are frozen for the
first two weeks of the regular season and the method used for determining order
of pickups.
10.1- Clarify with respect to frozen
rosters.
10.2- Clarify with respect to frozen
rosters.
10.5- Clarify this rule. Remove
"protection."
10.6- Remove this section (not
approved by league).
j. Section XI:
- Combine into
"Transactions" section.
k. Section XII:
- Combine into
"Transactions" section.
12.1- Clarify "...not owned by
another rotisserie team..."
12.2- Clarify with respect to frozen
rosters.
12.3- Clarify with respect to frozen
rosters.
l. Section XIII:
- A Minor league roster was
proposed and approved with the following rules:
1. 5-man draft per team.
2. Teams selected using
regular draft order.
3. Teams will submit a list of
players to the Commissioner at least one day prior to the draft. The
Commissioner will conduct the draft using those lists by selecting the next
player available on that team's list.
4. 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.
5. Players on Minor League
rosters carry no value and contribute no points to active or reserve rosters.
6. There are no trade/roster
restrictions for players on Minor League rosters.
7. No players can be picked up
or dropped from Minor League rosters during the season.
8. 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.
9. Minor League players carry
their assigned fantasy value once called up.
10.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.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 on a team's Minor League roster not
called up will become free agents.
- A Disabled List was proposed and
seconded, but was tabled with a vote of 3-3.
m. Section XIV:
- Add "OFFSEASON" to
title.
14.1- Remove last sentence (duplicate
of rule 14.4).
n. Section XV:
15.2- Clarify that the league at the
Winter Talks votes upon the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner annually.
15.6- Clarify that at least one half
all CURRENT owners must be present for a vote to be valid, but a majority of
the overall total must still vote YEA for an amendment to pass.
17. The votes for
Rules Committee members were unanimous: Chuck Scruggs, Chris Burkett, and Bruce
King.
18. The votes for
Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner were unanimous:
Adam Brake - Commissioner
Thomas Lipps - Vice-Commissioner
19. A reminder that
the three-year player protection limit went into effect two years ago. Players
with two years having been protected, and subject to a third year by virtue of
still being on the same team are:
Apex Alleycats: none
Ball Hawks: Kenny Lofton, Derek Jeter,
Javier Lopez
Bronx Bombers: none
Clemmons Cougars: Pedro Martinez, Nomar
Garciaparra
Comeback Johnnies: Roger Clemens
Ellicott City Black Sox: none
Hickory Scorpions: Ray Lankford, Jeff
Bagwell, Vinny Castilla
Kalamazoo Green Knights: Sammy Sosa
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls: none
Power Rangers: Ken Griffey
Raleigh Middle Fingers: Juan Gonzalez,
Barry Larkin
Tampico Trauma: Gary Sheffield, Tony Gwynn
Players with one year
having been protected, and subject to a second year by virtue of still being on
the same team are:
Apex Alleycats: Kevin Brown, Ben Grieve,
David Justice, Brady Anderson, Ryan Klesko
Ball Hawks: none
Bronx Bombers: Alex Rodriguez, Orlando
Hernandez, Todd Stottlemyre, Jorge Posada
Clemmons Cougars: Jim Thome, Mike Hampton
Comeback Johnnies: Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent,
Andy Pettitte
Ellicott City Black Sox: Mike Mussina
Hickory Scorpions: none
Kalamazoo Green Knights: none
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls: Albert Belle,
Dante Bichette
Power Rangers: none
Raleigh Middle Fingers: Mark McGwire, Mike
Sirotka
Tampico Trauma: Brian Jordan, Ismael
Valdes, Cal Ripken
20. The
"Protected Lists" are due March 24, at one minute after 11:59pm.
21a. Checks were
presented to the following finishers from the 1999 season:
4th place - Bruce King (Kalamazoo Green
Knights)
3rd place - Thomas Lipps (Raleigh Middle
Fingers)
2nd place - Chuck Scruggs (Clemmons
Cougars) [not present]
1st place - Chip Kiel (Ellicott City Black
Sox)
21b. The WFBL league
trophy was presented to the 1999 WFBL Champions, the Ellicott City Black Sox
(Chip Kiel accepting).
22. The 2000 WFBL
Draft Order is, with exceptions noted, as follows:
Odd Numbered
Rounds: (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13...)
1. Tampico Trauma
2. Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls
3. Bronx Bombers
4. Ball Hawks
5. Hickory Scorpions
6. Kalamazoo Green Knights (except Round 3 to
Power Rangers)
7. Comeback Johnnies
8. Ellicott City Black Sox (except Round 1 to
Hickory Scorpions and Rounds 5, 7, & 9 to Ball Hawks)
9. Apex Alleycats
10. Clemmons Cougars
11. Raleigh Middle
Fingers (except Round 5 to Power Rangers)
12. Power Rangers
(except Round 3 to Ball Hawks)
Even Numbered Rounds:
(2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14...)
1. Power Rangers (except Round 4 to Ball Hawks
and Round 12 to Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls)
2. Raleigh Middle Fingers
3. Clemmons Cougars
4. Apex Alleycats
5. Ellicott City Black Sox (except Rounds 2
& 4 to Hickory Scorpions)
6. Comeback Johnnies
7. Kalamazoo Green Knights (except Rounds 2
& 4 to Power Rangers)
8. Hickory Scorpions
9. Ball Hawks
10. Bronx Bombers
11. Pittsburgh Brahma
Bulls (except Round 12 to Power Rangers)
12. Tampico Trauma
(except Rounds 2 & 4 to Ellicott City Black Sox)
23. Based on the
lottery, as selected by the owners, the following divisional alignment will be
used for the 2000 WFBL season. Note that division champions from the previous season
have been returned to their respective division so as they may
"defend" their divisional championship:
3-division format:
SENDEK DIVISION
===============
*Raleigh Middle
Fingers
Ellicott City Black Sox
Hickory Scorpions
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls
AMATO DIVISION
===============
*Kalamazoo Green
Knights
Apex Alleycats
Bronx Bombers
Power Rangers
AVENT DIVISION
==============
*Clemmons Cougars
Ball Hawks
Comeback Johnnies
Tampico Trauma
*1999 WFBL Division
Champions
2-division format:
SENDEK DIVISION
===============
*Raleigh Middle
Fingers
Apex Alleycats
Ball Hawks
Hickory Scorpions
Tampico Trauma
AMATO DIVISION
===============
*Kalamazoo Green
Knights
Clemmons Cougars
Ellicott City Black Sox
Pittsburgh Brahma Bulls
Power Rangers
*1999 WFBL Division
Champions