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OFFICIAL RULES [The Basics] [The Draft] [Owner Options] [Transactions] [Injuries] [All-Star Game] [Post Season] [The Offseason] [League Expansion] [Frequently Asked Questions] We, the owners and general managers of Apartment League Baseball (ALB) aspire to draft and trade real-life baseball players, so that we may compete in a somewhat realistic computer simulation. We hereby use the previous Major League Baseball season stats to accomplish this, enjoy the sport of baseball in a new and silly light, and insure the blessings of Shiner Bock poured over the champion’s head by ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this ALB constitution for the respective thrill and agony of victory and defeat. Amen. New for 2024: ALB Draft Lottery We, the owners and general managers of Apartment League Baseball (ALB), in order of last season’s finish, aspire to draft and trade for real-life baseball celebrities and nobodies, so that we may whip up on all other teams in a somewhat realistic computer simulation, and hereby use the previous Major League Baseball season stats to accomplish this, to enjoy the sport of baseball in a new and silly light, and insure the blessings of Shiner Bock poured over the champion’s head by ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this ALB constitution for the respective thrill and agony of victory and defeat. Amen. Apartment League Baseballl is a centralized simulation league, not a fantasy league. Participants control their rosters and managers, with games simulated by the Commish using Diamond Mind Baseball software. OWNERS. In the ALB, each member is called an "owner," although each owner also acts as the manager and general manager of the team. TEAMS. Each team will carry a roster of 25-27 major league players. All players on a roster will be considered active; as there is no reserve list. Each teams is allowed to carry one inelligible Grandfather player (see Grandfather Clause below). PLAYERS. An eligible player must have played in the Major Leagues during the real season from which stats are being used. Pitchers require at least 25 Innings Pitched, while hitters must have a minimum of 75 Plate Appearances. To use a pitcher as a hitter, he must have at least 75 plate appearances. To use a hitter as a pitcher, he must have thrown at least 25 innings. For a pitcher to start games in the ALB, he must have at least 5 real-life starts in the corresponding MLB season. FREE AGENTS. Any eligible player not on a current ALB roster or the Waiver Wire is considered a Free Agent. STRUCTURE. The ALB consists of several teams divided into two leagues--the Flitter and Whipsaw--which may be further divided into divisions. Currently each 12-team league is made up of three four-team divisons. GAMES. Each game will be simulated entirely by the Commissioner's computer utilizing the previous season’s statistics (in 2017, we used stats from the 2016 season, etc.) using software of the Commissioner's choosing (currently Diamond Mind Baseball). Games are usually "run" every 3 days or so with the website being updated on a similar schedule. The ALB uses the Designated Hitter rule. Because we mix the American and National Leagues and have AL pitchers with no batting stats, it makes the game a bit more fair. And hey, everyone loves offense. SEASON. The regular season will consist of 162 games per team in a set schedule determined by the Commissioner. Minimal interleague play will be utilized if scheduling permits it. II. THE DRAFT ROSTER PROTECTION. Before the Draft, which takes place prior the season’s start, a deadline will be set for every team to announce which eligible players will remain on its roster from the previous season. At least 8 players must be protected and no more than 15 players. Unprotected players are considered Free Agents and draft eligible. After Roster Protection, trading is suspended until Opening Day (with the exception of Draft Day Trades). If any owner fails to submit a Roster Protection list by the deadline given, the Commissioner will create one. GRANDFATHER CLAUSE. During Roster Protection, if you have a player on your roster who does not qualify under the eligibility rules, you may retain him as a Grandfather player. A Grandfather player must have ended the previous season on your team's roster. Grandfather players take up a roster spot, remain inactive for the entire year and cannot be traded or cut. A team may carry only one Grandfather player per season. A player cannot be Grandfathered in consecutive years. DRAFT ORDER. The Draft will proceed in the opposite order of the previous season’s final standings. Any ties will be broken by the Commissioner in a random manner. Any new franchises are inserted according to League Expansion rules. The order is static; it does not reverse each round. Once a team has completed its roster, its position is skipped for the remainder of the Draft. ROSTER REQUIREMENTS. Each team must carry 25-27 players, with a minimum of 6 starting pitchers, 5 relievers, 4 OF, 2 C and 1 each at 1B, 2B, 3B and SS. As the Draft proceeds, each owner is responsible for keeping track of his team's needs. PLAYER AVAILABILITY. All Free Agents are available during the Draft. DRAFTING. If you do not attend the Draft in person or online, a Draft Card (or list) should be completed for each round of the Draft. Each Draft Card should list players in order of preference. When it is your pick, the proper Draft Card will be consulted. The first available player on the list will be added to your roster. Be sure to send in a Draft Card for each round and make them as comprehensive as possible. If you run out of Cards or do not list enough players, the Commissioner will be forced to assign a player in as fair a manner as possible (likely using the autodraft option in Diamond Mind Baseball). The longer and more detailed the lists are, the less likely this will happen. Draft Cards submitted via e-mail are welcome and encouraged. NO DRAFT CARDS. If no Draft Cards are received by the Draft, the Commissioner (likely using autodraft) or another appointed owner will draft for the delinquent team. DRAFT DAY TRADES. During the Draft, trades may be made for players or Draft Picks (see Trades). Draft day trades may not involve Draft Picks for a future Draft. SPRING TRAINING. After the Draft, a one-month simulation will be run to give owners a rough pre-season approximation of their teams’ abilities. Results will be distributed to aid owners during the early part of the season. Spring Training is purely for fun and will in no way affect the regular season. Spring Training will not necessarily be an accurate indicator of the coming season, as lineups, managers and injuries can greatly affect results. III. OWNER OPTIONS BALLPARKS. Teams may play in any park used during the prior major league season. Any change of venue must be made before Opening Day. Once the season begins, a team may not move to another park. There is no ballpark draft, but when changing your home field, only unused parks may be selected. The exception is Neutral Park, which is available to all teams. MANAGERS. Teams can construct their own Manager Profiles, essentially custom skippers to guide each ball club. Optionally, teams can use the default computer-generated manager. All manager changes will take effect during the next simulated games. LINEUPS. Teams can choose batting orders versus both lefty and righty pitching. In case of player injury, or any case where one of the specified players is resting or unavailable, then the computer will tweak the order. Remember, the ALB uses the DH rule. Players are only allowed to play DMB-sanctioned positions (although Outfielders can play any Outfield position). If a player is unrated at a position, he may not be used as a starter or in the depth chart. PITCHING ROTATIONS. Clubs must use a five-man pitching rotation, although a minimum of six eligible starting pitchers (minimum of 5 real-life starts) are required on each staff in case of injury, fatigue, etc. In addition, multiple bullpen roles can be assigned: Closer, Setup, Middle Relief, Long Relief and Mop-up. NO TANKING. Any attempt to intentionally lose games (including entering a lineup or rotation of reserve-caliber players down the stretch) is not permitted. Punishment for an offending club will be determined by the Commish and may include the loss of one or more draft picks. IV. TRANSACTIONS TRADES. Consenting teams may trade players in any combination, provided both clubs meet Roster Requirements before and after the deal. Both sides involved in a trade must first e-mail the Commissioner with the agreed upon deal. The Commissioner will then send out a league-wide notice informing the other owners of the transaction. Following the emailed announcement, there will be a three-day waiting period during which any owner may file a detailed protest with the appropriate Trade Czar (see below). If no protest is filed, the trade will go into effect at the end of the third day. TRADE CZARS. Each league will have an appointed Trade Czar. Any trade protests will be mediated privately by the appropriate Czar, with both Czars consulting during any interleague deal. If a protest is lodged, input will be encouraged and considered from all parties involved. The Trade Czars have the authority to approve, amend, make recommendations, or overturn any deals brought before them. When one trade Czar is involved in a protested trade, the other Czar will mediate. Trades involving both Czars will be mediated by the Commish. TRADING DRAFT PICKS. You may use Draft Picks for the first 10 rounds of the upcoming Draft as a bargaining tool for trading. All trades involving Draft Picks, like any other transaction, should be reported immediately to the Commissioner’s Office and must go through the same three-day waiting period. Only Draft Picks from the next ALB Draft may be traded. You may not deal picks for subsequent Drafts. During the regular season, acquired picks may not be re-traded. During the Offseason, the re-trading of Draft Picks is allowed. NO MONEY OR FAVORS. No real money may be used in trade negotiation (Ruben Sierra and twenty bucks for Jose Canseco). You may not offer outside favors in trade negotiations (I’ll clean your apartment for a month if...). No "players to be named later" or future considerations are allowed. Only eligible players and Draft Picks may be dealt. WAIVER WIRE. When a player is cut from a roster during a Free Agent acquisition, he is placed "on waivers" for a period of 3-4 days (untill the next series of games is posted). A Waiver Priorty list will be maintained on the Transactions page to prioritize all waiver wire claims. The initial list will be the inverse of that season's draft order. All claims for a player during this waiver period will be considered simultaneous. To claim a player off waivers, send a request with the player you want and the player you intend to cut (unless you’re under the roster maximum). If multiple players are claimed, prioritize them and list a player to be cut for each. If multiple teams submit claims, selections will follow the Waiver Priority list. When a player is claimed off waivers, the winning team is immediately moved to the end of the Waiver Priority list even if there is no other claim. If a team claims multiple players off waivers, it will be moved to the end of the Waiver Priority list following each successful claim. Subsequent claims will use the updated list, with each winning claim leading to that club being moved to the end of the list. Unsuccessful claims will not affect future priority. Waiver-eligible players that are not selected by any club are said to “clear waivers” are immediately placed in the Free Agent pool (see Signing Free Agents below). SIGNING FREE AGENTS. Free Agents may be signed on a "first-come, first-served" basis with no impact on the Waiver Priority list (see Waiver Wire above). Acquiring a Free Agent usually involves cutting one or more players to free up roster space, then signing one or more players to fill the empty spots. Two players may be cut and replaced with one (and vice versa), as long as there remain 25-27 players on the roster after the transaction. If a team has fewer than 27 players, it may sign a Free Agent to fill the empty roster spot without cutting another player. To request a Free Agent, email the Commish. TRANSACTION DEADLINE. With approximately two months remaining in the season (a firm date will be posted in advance), no trades may be instigated and no Free Agents may be signed. ROSTER EXPANSION. With one month remaining in the season, teams may add one extra player to their rosters from the Waiver Wire or Free Agent pool. This extra player will remain on the team through the rest of the season and for any Post Season play. Every club may expand its roster, but this is optional. Roster Expansion is a one-round draft, with each participating team submitting a list of players in order of preference. The draft order progresses from the worst club to the best at the time of Roster Expansion. If the Roster Expansion deadline is missed, no late call-ups will be allowed. V. INJURIES FREQUENCY. During the season, players may get injured and miss a number of games. Players injured in real life will be more prone to this, although any player is susceptible. The time missed can range from one game to several weeks or months. An injured player may not be cut or traded. INJURY LIST. When a player is hurt for at least 6 games, the Injury List (IL) becomes an option. A player on the IL must remain there for a minimum of 10 days. By placing a player on the IL, it allows the team to sign a Replacement player from the Waiver Wire or Free Agent pool. When the original player is both healthy and eligible to come off the IL, the team must either cut the Replacement or keep the Replacement by making room on the roster (this will likely involve cutting the original player or another player). A Replacement player picked up after the Transaction Deadline may not be kept and must be cut as soon as the original player is healthy and eligible to return. REPLACEMENTS. A Replacement is a temporary player signed to a 10-day minimum contact and may not be traded. A Replacement that is hurt may not be cut until he is healthy, potentially preventing the original player's return unless a different player is cut. A Replacement may be placed on the IL, but the original player can not return until the Replacement comes off the IL unless a different player is cut. IL AND ROSTER EXPANSION. A Replacement player may be acquired by any team during Roster Expansion, as they are not official members of their club. A team that loses a Replacement player during Roster Expansion will be allowed to sign another Replacement for the remainder of the injury. IL AND THE POST SEASON. When the Post Season begins, IL moves are only allowed between rounds. IL AND THE OFFSEASON. All Replacement players are automatically released into the Free Agent pool when the Offseason begins. They may not be kept for the upcoming season. VI. ALL-STAR GAME WHEN. When possible, an All-Star Game may be simulated by the Commissioner. ROSTERS. Ballots will be sent out prior to the game, allowing Owners to vote on the best players at each position. Using the results, the Commish will put together rosters for both leagues. Every team must have at least one player on an All-Star roster. LINEUPS. Once the starters are selected, the batting orders will be chosen by the League Champions from the previous season. WHERE. Home field will alternate between the two leagues from year to year. The park will be that of the team with the best record at the break in the host league. THE GAME. The Commish will manage the game in an attempt to get as many players in as possible. With the exception of bragging rights, the game results means absolutely nothing. VII. POST SEASON PLAY DIVISION CHAMPIONS. Each league is currenty separated into three divisions. The top team in each division will advance to the Post Season. Ties for a division lead will be broken by a one-game playoff, with the home team determined by coin flip. Ties for best record will be broken per the wildcard rules below. WILDCARD ROUND. In addition to the division champions, one wildcard team from each league will advance to the Post Season. The wildcard is the team with the best record that fails to win its division. Ties will be broken using head-to-head records, followed by divisional records, followed by league records. The wildcard team will face the division champion with the best record (outside its own division) in a best-of-seven 2-3-2 series. The wildcard team will not have home-field advantage, even if it has the better record. The winner advances to the League Championship Series. Meanwhile, the other divisional winners will also face off in a best-of-seven 2-3-2 series, with home field determined by best record. LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND. The two wildcard round winners in each league will then play in a best-of-seven 2-3-2 series to determine a League Champion. The club with the best regular season record will have home-field advantage. ALB WORLD SERIES. The two League Champions will meet in a best-of-seven 2-3-2 series to determine the ALB Champion. The club with the best regular season record will have home-field advantage. Post Season results do not affect the order of the next draft. VIII. THE OFFSEASON DURATION. The Offseason starts roughly a month after the World Series (unless a League Expansion Draft is planned) and ends with Roster Protection in the Spring. Because you do not have to maintain a 25-27-man roster during the Offseason, you may trade any number of players for any other number in return. Free Agents may not be signed during the Offseason. ALB HALL OF FAME. Updated during the Offseason, player, team and owner records are kept in the ALB History portion of the website and on the ALB Total Recall site. Best Post Season play, past All-Star games, overall team and owner records, seasonal records and Owner of the Year awards are presented for your viewing pleasure. Also, MVP (batter of the year), Ed Whitson (starting pitcher of the year), Fireman (relief pitcher of the year) and Gold Glove winners can be browsed at your leisure. There are complete rosters and stats for most previous ALB seasons and career statistics and leader boards. IX. LEAGUE EXPANSION USE. Should the need arise for new teams to be added to the established league, the following rules will apply for a four-round, four-team Expansion Draft. These may be modified depending on the number of teams being added and the number of teams currently in the league. BEFORE THE DRAFT. After the World Series is concluded, each of the existing franchises will submit a list of 10 protected players. These 10 players are off limits in the Expansion Draft. No Free Agents may be drafted. Grandfather-eligible players may be drafted, but expansion clubs can only Grandfather one player apiece. ROUND ONE. A random method will be used to determine the draft order (teams A, B, C, D). A round consists of the clubs alternately picking players, until one player from each existing team has been drafted. After a team loses a player in a round, no other player can be taken from them until the next round. The draft order will reverse after every four picks. After each each existing team has lost one player, the round ends. ROUND TWO. Before the start of the second round, each club will be able to protect three additional players. Team B will lead off this round (B, C, D, A) and the flip-flop order will be used as in Round One. Again, only one player will be selected from each club. When each old team has lost its second player, Round Two is over. ROUNDS THREE AND FOUR. Before the start of the third and fourth rounds, each club will protect two additional players. Team C will lead off Round Three (C, D, A, B) and Team D will lead off Round Four (D, A, B, C). Both rounds will progress in the same manner as the first two. At the conclusion of Round Four, each Expansion team roster will have 20 players, and the Offseason begins. DRAFT. During the first regular Draft
following expansion, the new clubs will receive the four picks
following all of the non-playoff elligible teams (picks 15-18). The
playoff clubs will follow the expansion teams. The new teams will
alternate picks in the reverse order of the expansion draft (round 1 is
D, C, B, A; round 2 is C, B, A, D; round 3 is B, A, D, C; round 4 is A,
D, C, B). |
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