OBSESSED BALLERS FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE

Larry is updating this document to improve the flow…..information below is up to date and correct.

OBSESSED BALLERS FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE CONSTITUTION

I. OBJECT
To assemble a lineup of 30 Major League baseball players whose cumulative statistics, compiled and measured by the methods described in these rules, exceed those of all other teams in the league.

II. TEAMS

There are 12 teams in the OBFBL:
• Ajax Super Sods (Carey Gunn)
• Aurora Asshats (Paul Fisher)
• Brampton Blue Balls (Ryan Main)
• Brooklin Legacy (Mike Mazgay)
• Durham Dickdogs (Steve Dickie)
• Etobicoke Crackheads (Sean Chard)
• Frankford Fury (Mike Conley)
• London Tribe (Jason Cheese)
• Pickering Dynasty (Larry Ellis)
• Riverdale Sex Panthers (Chris Smith)
• Toronto Motor Boats (Kim Ferreira)
• Whitby Poo Dogs (Bob Riley)

III. DRAFTS

I. Entry Draft
A player draft is conducted each year prior to Opening Day. This date will be set by the league.

II. Rookie Keeper Draft
A Rookie draft is conducted each year prior to Opening Day. This date will be set by the league

III. Draft Position
Determined by Participation Ranking:

A. The first five selections for where a franchise would like to draft, in the entry draft and Rookie Keeper draft, will be decided by lottery (the “Lottery Teams”).

B. The ranking of teams shall be determined by calculating the percentage of offensive and pitching starts completed by each non-money winning franchise. The five (5) franchises with the highest percentages of activity shall be the Lottery Teams. The Lottery Team with the greatest percentage of starts completed shall receive the most lottery balls and the lottery rankings shall descend from there with the most active teams being ranked in succession from most active to fifth most active.

C. The calculation of percentage of offensive starts and pitching starts shall be completed as follows:

i. add up all of the starts made by each franchise at each of the offensive positions and subtract the number of starts made by a franchise that are in excess of the number of starts available to a franchise (“Total Offensive Starts”)

ii. add up the total number of offensive starts available to a franchise at each of the offensive positions (“Total Available Offensive Starts”);

iii. divide the Total Offensive Starts for each franchise by that same franchise’s Total Available Offensive Starts, with the result being a franchise’s “Offensive Start Percentage”;

iv. add up the innings pitched by a franchise and subtract the number of innings pitched by that franchise that are in excess of the number of innings available to that franchise (“Total Innings Pitched”);

v. divide the number of Total Innings Pitched by fifteen hundred (1500), with the result being a franchise’s “Pitching Start Percentage”; and

vi. add a franchise’s Offensive Start Percentage to its Pitching Start Percentage, with the result being a franchise’s “Participation Score”.

D. Each Draft (Entry Draft and Rookie Keeper Draft) will have a separate Lottery. Lottery balls for the Lottery Teams will be distributed based upon the following distribution:

i. team with the highest Participation Score receives 30 balls;

ii. team with the second highest Participation Score receives 20 balls;

iii. team with the third highest Participation Score receives 14 balls;

iv. team with the fourth highest Participation Score receives 8 balls;

v. team with the fifth highest Participation Score receives 4 balls;

vi. team with the sixth highest Participation Score receives 2

E. When a ball is selected from the pool of lottery balls the corresponding team will have their choice of remaining draft positions.

F. The most active team cannot fall more than 1 spot from where they would select if the draft order was determined by Participation Score. If two (or more) teams are tied, with the same Participation Score then they will split the lottery balls. (ie. If two teams tie for second they will both receive 17 lotto balls)

G. The remaining non-money winning teams will select their draft position in the following order:

i. team with the seventh highest Participation Score shall select their entry draft position seventh;

and

ii. team with the eighth highest Participation Score shall select their entry draft position eighth.

H. Once all non-money winning teams have selected their draft position the money winning teams will select their draft position according to the following order:

i. 4th place selects their draft position;

ii. 3rd place selects their draft position;

iii. 2nd place selects their draft position; and

iv. 1st place selects their draft position.

Going over Catcher Starts
Each team has two catcher positions and is permitted to start a grand total of 162 games. No team is allowed to surpass this total. If a non-money team goes over this total then they will be given a 5 start penalty for each additional start. This penalty will go against the participation score. If a money winning team surpasses this total then the commissioner will assess punishment, which will include manually removing statistics.

Misuse of the UTL Position
Each team has two Utility Infielder positions and is permitted to start the following positions in these spots: C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B and UTL). No team is allowed to use an OF in this position. If a non-money team is found to be using an OF in the UTL position then they will be given a 5 start penalty for each misused start. This penalty will go against the participation score. If a money winning team is found to be using an OF in the UTL position then the commissioner will assess punishment, which will include manually removing statistics.

Pitching Innings – Yahoo Loophole
Yahoo cannot determine when a team maxes out on their pitching starts and allows all of the innings pitched on the day each team reaches 1,500. All teams have been, and will continue to be allowed to take advantage of this loophole. However, any team that goes over the “Max 1500” innings will have the amount they surpass the threshold taken off of their total for the year. (ie. Team A finishes the season with 1507 innings pitched. This team would have a total of 1493 go toward their Participation Score calculation)

IV. ROSTERS
Each team will have 30 roster spots to fill, 22 of which may be active on any given day. In addition to this there will be 3 DL roster spots (see info below). No owner will be permitted to make trades or waiver claims that would place its roster over the 30 man limit.

DL roster spots
There are 4 available DL roster spots. Any player is eligible to be placed on the DL as long as he is on the real-life MLB disabled list. Once on the DL, a player may stay there for the entire season. Once a player comes off the real-life DL, an owner must make additional roster moves to accommodate the returning player. This will most likely involve dropping a player.

Active Roster
A team’s active roster consists of the following players:
– 5 outfielders (810 total games)
– 2 catchers (162 total games)
– 1 second baseman (162 games)
– 1 shortstop (162 games)
– 1 first baseman (162 games)
– 1 third baseman (162 games)
– 2 Utility infielders (324 total games) (Infielders or UTL players ONLY)
– 9 pitchers (Starters and Relievers have a total of 1500 innings)

V. POSITION ELIGIBILITY
A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared at least 10 times or started at 5 times in the preceding season. Yahoo determines this eligibility.

A player who only qualifies as a DH (UTL) may only be assigned to the Utility Infielder position.

Once the season begins, a player becomes eligible for any additional positions in which he appears at least 10 times.

VI. STANDINGS
The following statistical categories will be used to determine team performance and league standings:

Batting
– Batting Average
– Home Runs
– Runs Batted In (RBI)
– Runs Scored
– Stolen Bases

Pitching
– Wins
– Saves
– Strikeouts
– Earned Run Average (ERA)
– Walks + Hits vs. Innings Pitched (WHIP)

Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the ten categories and given points for their respective ranking (12 points for 1st place, 11 points for 2nd place, etc.)

The team with the most overall points at the end of the major league regular season will be deemed the OBFBL victor and winner of the prestigious Shooter Cup.

In the event that two teams are tied, regardless of where they finish in the standings, the winner of the tie break shall be the team that wins the most non-ratio categories on a head to head basis. In the event that the teams remain tied, the team with the lowest cumulative ERA and WHIP shall be deemed the winner as between the two teams. In the event that the teams remain tied, the team with the highest batting average shall be deemed the winner as between the two teams. In the event that the teams remain tied, there shall be a 1 fall Arm-wrestle competition at the next OBFBL event to determine the winner.

VII. WAIVER WIRE AND FREE AGENTS
All players dropped from a team’s roster and all newly introduced players added to the game are immediately placed on waivers. Upon the occurrence of either of these events a 24 hour waiver period will ensue. All teams are eligible to place a claim to the dropped or newly introduced player during this waiver period.

Where there are competing waiver wire claims for a dropped or newly introduced player the team that is highest on the Waiver Priority List will add the dropped or newly added player to their team’s roster.

Each time a dropped or newly introduced player is added to a team’s roster, that team is moved to the end of the Waiver Priority List. This “rolling” list stays in effect for the entire season.

The determination of the Waiver Priority List at the opening of a new fantasy season is determined by reversing the Entry Draft order.

If a certain owner places a player on waivers, he cannot reclaim that player until after the waiver period has expired.

If nobody claims a player during the waiver period, he becomes a free agent.

Free Agents
All players who have cleared waivers are free agents. Free agents are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. All claimed players will immediately be added to the claimant’s roster. The acquisition of Free Agents will not affect an owner’s standing on the Waiver Priority List.

VIII. TRADING

Definitions:

Fantasy Baseball Season – shall mean the period of time between the OBFBL entry draft and the next immediate trading deadline.

Fantasy Baseball Off-Season – shall mean the period of time from the date upon which a franchise names its keepers and the date of the next immediate entry draft.

Trade Blackout Period – Shall be the period of time beginning at the trade deadline (as defined in the Constitution) and ending at the time when franchises declare their keepers, or such other time as the Commissioner, at his discretion, may declare.

Transaction – shall mean a trade between two or more OBFBL franchises.

2. Tradable Assets – during a Fantasy Baseball Season, a franchise may trade any of the following:

a) any player on its 25 man roster;

b) any player on its 3 man injury list;

c) any rookie keeper draft pick for the next immediate rookie keeper draft; and

d) any rookie keeper owned by a franchise and not included on a franchise’s 25 man roster or 3 man injury list.

3. During a Fantasy Baseball Off-Season, a franchise may trade any of the following:

a) subject to section 4(1), any entry draft pick for the next immediate entry draft;

b) any named keeper owned by the franchise;

c) any rookie keeper owned by the franchise; and

d) any rookie keeper draft pick for the next immediate rookie keeper draft.

4(1) Entry draft picks shall only be tradable during a Fantasy Baseball Off-Season and can only be traded whereby they are to be used in the next immediate entry draft.

5. Non-Tradable Assets – A franchise may not trade any of the following at any time:

a) OBFBL franchises may not trade keepers or keeper spots for the following Fantasy Baseball Season.

b) During a Fantasy Baseball Season, OBFBL franchises may not trade entry draft picks for the following Fantasy Baseball Season, or for any future Fantasy Baseball Season.

c) OBFBL franchises may not trade control of any part of their active or injury reserve roster.

d) OBFBL franchises may not trade the option or right to control a player on their active or injury reserve roster.

e) OBFBL franchises may not trade the manner in which they can influence a particular roto category or the overall standings. For example, the Dynasty can’t trade an agreement to influence the homerun category so as to assist another franchise.

f) OBFBL franchises may not trade waiver wire spot.

6. Trade Blackout Period – No Transaction of any type shall take place during the Trade Blackout Period.

7. Disclosure
a) Teams are required to make full disclosure of the terms of the Transaction, to the Trade Commissioner, or to the Commissioner or to the League via message board, immediately after the trade is accepted on the Yahoo website.

b) The Transaction shall be reviewed in accordance with the OBFBL Constitution.

c) In the event that any part of the Transaction is not disclosed, the undisclosed portion of the Transaction shall be null and void and the franchises that failed to make full disclosure shall forfeit their participation in that given Fantasy Baseball Season.

d) with respect to section 6(c) the Commissioner shall have the authority to reduce the penalty for non-disclosure, where the Commissioner believes that the non-disclosure was immaterial to the core of the Transaction.

8. Entire Deal Rule
a) The processing of any Transaction must include the entirety of the Transaction. Transaction that include future options, future obligations or second parts, shall be void.

b) In the event that any OBFBL franchise general manager attempts to complete a Transaction that includes a future option, future obligation or second part, that general manager shall forfeit their participation in that given Fantasy Baseball Season and be removed from the OBFBL effective immediately.

Primary Race Rule
A. Subject to the sections B, C, D, E and F, deals where one team intentionally loses a trade in order to gain rotisserie points is legal.

B. The beneficiary of any intentional loss deal must be the team lower in the standings.

C. Teams that are not in contention for a money spot finish are not allowed to participate in intentional loss trades.

D. Intentional loss deals can only occur during the period starting three weeks prior to the trade deadline and ending at the trade deadline.

E. A player traded in an intentional loss deal is not eligible to be kept by the acquiring team.

F. Intentional loss deals must be designated as such by the beneficiary of the trade prior to approval. If the deal is not identified as such it will be subject to the ordinary rules which require trades to be of equal value.

Trading Etiquette
When offering a trade make sure it benefits both teams. The owner making the trade offer should look at the needs of the other team and offer players accordingly.

– All owners are encouraged to make trades in an effort to improve their team.

– Comments should be added to trade offers with an explanation of what and who you’re looking for and what you’re willing to give up.

– Trade proposals should be responded to within a 24 hour period.

– When countering trades or rejecting them, comments should always be added explaining your reasons for doing so.

– It may be beneficial to discuss the trade offline (email, messenger, phone, etc.) before making offers on the site in an effort to save time and effort.

Trade Protesting
After two teams have agreed to a trade, it is subject to approval by the other GMs in the league. There will be a 1-day approval period before the trade is finalized where GMs can submit their protests to a trade.

Possible results of a protested trade:

– If a trade is made with 0 or 1 protest, then it will automatically be accepted.

– If 2 or more GMs protest a trade (with explanations for doing so), then the two teams making the trade will be asked to explain why they made the trade and how it will benefit their team. If the explanations are reasonable, then the trade will be accepted; otherwise it will be rejected by the Commissioner.

– If there are 4 or more protests to a trade, then it may be immediately rejected by the Commissioner.

IX. SPORTSMANSHIP & COMMITMENT

Even though the OBFBL is a competitive experience for all involved, it is important that our owners not lose sight of the rules of fair play and good sportsmanship. Any team who does not follow the following regulations can be expelled from the league permanently.

Each owner will abide by the following regulations:

– All league-related transactions will be executed with the intent of improving the owner’s team and/or its standing within the league.

– No owner may drop or “dump” players from their team for any reason other than improving their own team and/or its standing within the league.

– No owner will engage in any action of collusion (two or more owners agreeing to make moves that benefit one team, but not the other).

– No owner will make any roster moves (including waiver claims, trade proposals, etc.) whose sole purpose is to hamper the play of other owners.

– No owner will leave unfulfilled Active Roster Positions in for any reason other than improving their own team and/or its standing within the league.

– No owner will bench valuable players for any reason other than improving their own team and/or its standing within the league.

– No owner will take any action whose purpose is to in any way interfere with fair play in a league.

Commitment
All owners must be regularly active and contribute to the overall enjoyment and competition of the pool.

Owners are required to:
– Be online and logged into the website daily (ideally more than once)
– Make daily updates to their lineup
– Respond to ALL trade proposals within a 24 hour period (ideally 12 hour)
– Pick up free agents in an attempt to improve your team
– Make trade proposals to other GMs

Side Betting
The League frowns on any outside betting on any OBFBL franchise other then your own. Doing this opens the door to collusion and could in turn expel you from the league

X. ENTRANCE FEE AND PRIZE MONEY
The entrance fee league play is $150.00 which must be paid prior to the draft.

The $1,800.00 total prize money will be distributed as follows:

– 1st place $800.00

– 2nd place $450.00

– 3rd place $350.00

– 4th place $200.00

XI. KEEPERS
8 Keepers will be selected by each team from their roster on the last day of each season. These 8 players will carry over on the team’s roster to the following year.

A. The only players from a team’s roster who cannot be chosen as “Keepers” are ones that qualify as Rookie Keepers (Batters with less than 150 at bats in the major leagues or pitchers with less than 50 innings pitched in the major leagues)

B. The Keeper selections take place March 1st before the following season commences.

C. Keepers can be traded or waived just as any other player on a team’s roster.

XII. ROOKIE KEEPERS
Each owner will choose one Rookie Keeper (RK) before each upcoming season.

OBFBL’s Definition of a rookie
Batters with less than 150 at bats in the major leagues or pitchers with less than 50 innings pitched in the major leagues.

Roster implications
A Rookie Keeper has the same roster implications as any other player on a team’s roster unless he is not yet available in Yahoo. In this case the owner may fill the roster spot with another player. Once the RK is available in Yahoo the owner must pick him up within 24 hours or he will lose his RK status. The commissioner will post a note regarding RK eligibility.

Rookie Keeper Status
The Rookie Keeper chosen is allowed to stay on your roster as a keeper, (in addition to your other 8 keepers) for a total of 3 seasons. At the conclusion of the third season Rookie Keepers lose their special status and are to be treated as all other players on a team’s roster.

Dropping a Rookie Keeper
If an owner chooses to drop their selected rookie in favour of a more desired player during the season, they will NOT retain the RK status.

Trading Rookie Keepers
A Rookie Keeper can be traded at any point during the season. The RK will keep its status in a trade.

Rookie Keeper Renewal
A. A franchise may elect to use a Rookie Keeper draft pick to renew the Rookie Keeper status of a rookie keeper currently on that franchise’s roster instead of drafting a new player in the draft.

B. In order to be eligible for renewal, a player must be:

i. within their 3 year Rookie Keeper term;

ii. Rookie Keeper eligible (see rookie keeper eligibility rules); and

iii. must be owned by the franchise that elects to renew.

C. Where a Rookie Keeper is renewed the duration of the Rookie Keeper status shall be equivalent to what a new rookie keeper selection would be in the same year.

D. The number of years remaining on an existing Rookie Keeper’s status does not impact the length of renewal.

Examples:

1. Homer Bailey – Bailey is in his final year of rookie keeper status. Bailey has pitched 81.1 innings for his career. Bailey is not rookie eligible. Bailey can’t be extended.

2. David Price – The Crackheads own Price. Price has 2 years of rookie keeper status remaining. Price has pitched 9.1 innings for his career and is therefore rookie keeper eligible. Currently the Crackheads have a rookie keeper pick in the 2009 draft. The Crackheads could elect to use their rookie keeper pick to extend Price’s rookie keeper status. If the Crackheads made this election they would forfeit their ability to select a new rookie keeper in the draft. Price’s rookie keeper status would be reset and last for the same period as any player taken in the 2009 rookie keeper draft.

XIII. RESPONSIBILITY & GOVERNANCE

Commissioner – Mike Conley

Co-Commissioner  – Sean Chard

Trade Commissioner – Larry Ellis

The commissioner and his council are empowered to interpret the rules.

The Constitution is amended by a majority vote of the current owners of the league (eight votes are necessary for adoption of an amendment).

Amendments do not take effect until the Rotisserie season following the one during which the amendment is adopted, unless there is high majority (9 votes) to have the rule take effect immediately.

Any issues not covered by this Constitution will revert to the rules as stated in the Official Constitution in Rotisserie League Baseball.

This constitution was adopted from the original model described in Rotisserie League Baseball and from the Official Constitution of the Leagues of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR).