Rules and Bylaws

I. Introduction

A. The purpose of the Baseball Nation Simulation League (BNSL) is to offer an entertainment opportunity, to members in good standing, to act as general manager (GM) of a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The league uses the Diamond Mind Baseball (DMB) simulation software to provide the owners with a realistic, competitive and fun baseball management experience.

B. The BNSL was founded during the 2007-2008 MLB off-season. GM’s inherited the rosters and contracts of their respective teams as they existed at the end of the ‘07 World Series (WS) and were given the full minor-league system of said franchise from which to form their respective reserve roster.

C. BNSL shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions set forth in these bylaws and rules. All provisions of these bylaws and rules shall be enforced by the league’s Executive Committee (EC) as required and/or deemed necessary and appropriate. Except as otherwise specified in these bylaws and rules, decisions of the EC shall be made by simple majority vote. The EC shall consist of:

1. The league Commissioner is Josh Fisher.

2. Six other GMs in good standing determined by the Commissioner to have sufficient expertise and time to dedicate to the league.

D. Any BNSL GM in good standing shall be able to propose an amendment to or modification of the league bylaws and rules to the EC during the Winter Meetings (WM). Each proposal shall be discussed by the league as a whole and voted upon by the EC.

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II. Membership

The membership of BNSL shall consist of a number of members in good standing equal to the number of MLB franchises. Each BNSL team shall have one member designated as franchise GM. Good standing as it relates to membership shall be defined as a GM not on probation or in financial debt to BNSL.

A. GM RESPONSIBILITIES

A GM is responsible for the following actions in regards to their team:

· Submit DC/MP on time and maintained up-to-date at all times during the season.

· Keeping the team under the hard cap as required by the By-Laws

· Getting their team under each roster limit within a 48 hour period after a conflict is noticed.

· Posting all official transactions

- Draft picks

- Roster moves

- Trade approval

- Accept/decline all arbitration decisions and option decisions. The presence of default actions does not exclude the GM from posting a decision.

· Meeting all deadlines.

· Maintaining the competitiveness and financial stability of their team for both the short and long term.

B. GM POINT REVIEW SYSTEM

The EC will use a point system for determining when a GM is to be placed on probation or to be reviewed for dismissal for failing to meet the responsibilities presented above. The system will provide more objective criteria for when GMs will be placed on probation and when GMs will be examined for removal. The points will be assigned as follows:

1. Levels

a. Level 1 (10 points)

- Delinquent league dues (failure to pay dues in full within 1 week extension)
- Declining revenue for 5 consecutive seasons
- Finishing season with 1 of the 5 worst winning percentages in league for 5 consecutive seasons

b. Level 2 (6 points)

- Delinquent league dues (1 week extension)
- Exceed team hard cap after stated deadlines in by-laws.
- Neglect or poor decisions put the long term future of the franchise at risk

c. Level 3 (3 points)

- Inactivity (each GM must login at least once a week during the season)
- Failure to create/maintain a valid MP/DC
- Missed draft pick (amateur and/or Rule V)
- Trade overturned by the TC
- Declining revenue for 3 consecutive seasons or 4 consecutive seasons.
- One of the worst 5 winning percentages in league for 3 consecutive seasons or 4 consecutive seasons.
- General bylaw infraction
- General attitude/behavior infraction

d. Level 4 (1 point)

- Failure to vote in all league polls (primarily WM threads)
- Failure to stay within the roster limits
- Failure to post all roster decisions by deadlines. (arb/option decisions, trades, waivers)
- Follow the rules/etiquette for posting (first and last name of all players, correct forum, correct transaction type)

2. Usage of points by EC

a. When a GM has accrued 6 points, the GM will be automatically placed on probation. When a GM has accrued 10 points or more, the GM will be brought before the EC for a vote to be removed. A simple majority vote from the EC will decide the results.

b. Points assigned due to Level 1 violations will be removed from the GMs record after one year. All other points will remain for two years.

c. GMs will be contacted by the EC privately each time they have been assessed points due to violations.

C. IMMEDIATE PROBATION OR REMOVAL

The EC reserves the right to immediately place on probation or dismiss a GM if they deem the conduct or actions of a GM demand immediate action to protect the integrity of their team and league.

D. ASSISTANT GMS

Each team with a GM in good standing (i.e. not on probation) will be allowed up to one Assistant GM. The
purpose of Assistant GMs in BNSL is for perspective members to gain a better understanding of the league and its rules before being given a vacated team. It also allows the EC to gain a better knowledge of the assistant GM as a possible future GM candidate. The Assistant GM will be limited to observationally participation in the league with the team, supporting the GM in his research and preparations, and discussing the rules of the BNSL league. Assistant GMs are also allowed to participate in general discussions on the BNSL board.

E. LEAGUE DUES

Upon joining BNSL, each member shall make payment in an amount set by the EC and shall not be expected to make supplemental payments unless additional funds are necessary for league operation. The contribution required by each shall be equal and shall be made with cash, check or Pay Pal with no “in-kind” credit granted to members based upon labor or other contributions to the league.

1. In the event that additional funds are necessary for league operation, donations will be requested but not mandatory to continue membership and the EC will put up the rest.

F. PROBATION

Any existing GM may be given a warning and placed on probation for 1 year by a simple majority vote of the EC if dues are not paid and/or it is deemed that due to neglect or poor decisions the long term future of the franchise is at risk. While on probation:

1. The EC will scrutinize all transactions made by the GM.

2. If at any point the EC believes that the GM is either neglecting or making moves to the long term detriment of the team, the GM may be immediately removed with the team being run by the EC until a suitable replacement is found.

G. GM WAITING LIST

The league shall seek to maintain a waiting list of potential members to fill any vacancy created by the departure of an existing member.

1. Departing members shall not receive financial or other considerations from replacement members in exchange for the opportunity to participate in BNSL.

2. In the event that an existing member chooses to no longer participate in BNSL or the EC removes a GM, a replacement GM shall be immediately sought to assure continuity and future success of the franchise in question.

3. Each candidate for the vacated position shall be required to write a brief summary detailing how they would seek to improve the open team(s). The EC shall evaluate each submission to determine which candidate will be offered the position. Other factors that may also be considered, including (but not limited to) previous participation in BNSL or another simulation league(s) and performance in that league(s) as well as general knowledge will be taken into account.

4. A simple majority ruling by the EC shall be used to award GM position to candidates for any vacated position.

H. NEW GMS

All new GMs shall be placed on probation for 1 year.

1. While on probation, the EC shall scrutinize all transactions made by the GM.

2. If at any point the EC believes that the GM is either neglecting their duties or making moves to the long term detriment of their team, the GM may be immediately removed with the team being run by the EC until a suitable replacement can be found.

I. LEAGUE CONTRACTION

In the event that MLB contracts one or more teams, displaced BNSL members will be given the first opportunity to fill any GM vacancies if the members are in good standing. If there are no vacancies, they will be placed at the top of the waiting list.

J. LEAGUE EXPANSION

In the event that MLB expands, the EC will appoint GMs to the new franchises and BNSL will hold its very own expansion draft to fill the rosters (or simply use the rosters of the respective team once they are announced.

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III. Schedule

A. REGULAR SEASON

1. Each BNSL team’s schedule for a given season shall remain identical to the same of said team’s MLB counterpart.

2. The BNSL amatuer draft shall be held in June along side MLB’s.

3. The BNSL schedule shall include an All-Star break in July that matches the break in MLB.

a. The manager of each team shall be the GM representing their respective league in the World Series (WS) during the prior season.

b. Every GM will submit a voting ballet for both leagues with which he/she chooses 14 players (9 position and 5 pitchers) with the remaining 22 roster spots to be chosen by the respective manager.

4. The BNSL trade deadline shall match that of the deadline set in MLB.

B. POST SEASON

The post-season shall commence one week after the completion of the regular season. The post-season shall consist of the 3 divisional winners in each league and a wild card (WC) team per league competing in a 3-tier playoff system.

1. In the event of a tie between two teams for first place in their respective division, a one-game playoff will be played between the two teams with homefield advantage being given to the team with the better run margin.

a. In the event of a tie between two teams for the WC in their respective league, there will be a one-game playoff, with home field advantage being determined the same way as outlined above in Section B.1.

2. Home field advantage shall be granted to the team with the best regular season record in each series except for the WS which is given to the league with the better interleague record.

3. The Division Series (DS) will be the first round of the playoffs in which the three division champions and the WCs compete in a best-of-seven series. The division champ with the best record of each league faces off against the WC of their league. The two remaining division champions will face off against each other. In the event the WC team is from the same division as the division champ with the best record, the division champ with the best record shall play the division champ with the worst record.

a. The format for the DS will be a 2-3-2 format in which the team with home field advantage plays at home for the first 2 games and the final 2 games (if necessary).

4. The League Championship Series (LCS) will be the second round of the playoffs in which the two winners from each leagues’ DS compete in a best-of-seven series.

a. The format for the LCS will be a 2-3-2 format in which the team with home field advantage plays at home for the first 2 games and the final 2 games (if necessary).

5. The WS will be the final round of the playoffs in which the 2 winners of the LCS will compete in a best-of-seven series to decide who the league champion is.

a. The format for the WS will be a 2-3-2 format in which the team with home field advantage plays at home for the first 2 games and the final 2 games (if necessary).

C. OFF-SEASON

The off-season shall consist of a three-tier free agent (FA) process and WM (including the Rule V draft).

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IV. Team Rosters and Rules

A. PLAYER YEARS OF SERVICE (YOS)

All players who have not yet reached veteran (V) status will have a year of service (YOS) that corresponds to their length of service time in the league;

· For every season a player with a YOS of 1 or more is on the active roster of a team for at least 1 day, he will accrue a full YOS in this league.

1. xxx = Said player has no service time.

a. All rookies enter BNSL with a years of service (YOS) of xxx.

2. 1= Said player has recorded less than 130 at-bats (AB) for batters or 50 innings pitched (IP) for pitchers in their first season on the active roster.

3. 2 = Said player has completed 1 full season and is starting their 2nd.

4. 3 = Said player has completed 2 full seasons and is starting their 3rd.

5. 4 = Said player has completed 3 full seasons and is starting their 4th.

6. 5 = Said player has completed 4 full seasons and is starting their 5th.

7. 6 = Said player has completed 5 full seasons and is starting their 6th and final year before entering Free Agency.

· All service time was calculated for all players entering the 2008 sim-season, the inaugural season for the BNSL, and are non-negotiable. Individual player service time for subsequent seasons shall be based on active player status occurring during and after the 2008 BNSL season.

B. TEAM ROSTERS

Each BNSL team shall be allowed a franchise roster that shall not exceed a total of eighty (80) players, including players on the Disabled List, unless the EC decides to expand the rosters to a new set limit during the off-season. The franchise rosters shall consist of subcategories of rosters as stated below:

1. Active Roster -- During the regular season, each team shall be limited to an active roster of twenty-five (25) players at any given time.

a. Players placed on the DL do not count against the 25-man limit, but their replacement player does.

b. Active Rosters will be allowed to expand up to 30 players on September 1.

i. The team will be responsible for salary of each player during their time on the active roster.

ii. Each player will gain a YOS in accordance with Article IV.A.

iii. Each player would be available for injury replacement per Article IV.B.4

c. Only players contained in the projection system can be used on the active roster.

d. During the regular season, teams shall have the opportunity to set batting lineups and make general roster moves on a weekly basis including adjustments made necessary to accommodate for player injuries and trades.

e. The Active Roster shall contain at least 24 players at all times.

2. Reserve Roster – The reserve roster comprises all players on a franchise’s roster that are not on the team’s active roster, including current year draft picks. The total reserve roster cannot exceed fifty-five (55) players at any time, even in the event of a recent trade.

a. Players with veterans (V) or LTC status must clear waivers before being placed on the reserve roster. Players with V or LTC status who do not appear on the projection disk do not need to clear waivers to be assigned to the reserve roster.

3. 40-Man Roster –A club's “40-Man Roster” is a list of all the players reserved by a club that are eligible to be used on the Active Roster. Players on the Disabled List can be excluded from the 40-Man Roster but must be returned to the 40-Man Roster in order to be removed from the Disabled List.

a. Only players listed on the team’s 40-Man Roster are eligible to be added to a team’s Active Roster, and therefore players not listed on team’s 40-Man Roster cannot be used as call-ups or replacements for injured players without being placed on the 40-man roster.

b. Players with a V or LTC status must stay on the team’s 40-Man Roster at all times.

c. Players may be added to the 40-Man Roster at anytime except where excluded in Article IV.B.3.e.

d. Players can be removed from the 40-man at any time but they have to pass through waivers first (and follow the normal waiver rules).

e. 40-Man Rosters are frozen (no adds or drops) from November 20th until after the Rule V draft. Players selected during the Rule V draft are automatically added to the 40-Man Roster and Active Roster of the drafting team. The drafting team must already have room to make a selection or said team isn’t allowed to participate in the draft. (See Article XI for more about Rule V draft.)

f. Players signed as FA may be assigned to the reserve roster (after passing waivers) but their salaries shall be considered as includable payroll to be measured against the team’s designated individual payroll limitation.

4. Post-Season Rosters – Post-season rosters can be comprised of any 25 players from the team’s 40-Man Roster provided that each player selected was on the team’s Active Roster for at least one day prior to September 1.

a. If a player who is eligible for the post-season roster is injured for a time longer than the scheduled end of the playoffs, he may be replaced with any player from the team’s 40-Man Roster provided that each player selected was on the team’s Active Roster for at least one day during the regular season.

b. Each GM shall provide the BNSL with a depth chart (DC) on a specified date decided upon by the EC. Within the DC, each GM will decide upon their 25 man roster, a lineup against both LHP and RHP (with and without the DH) as well as what order to use relief pitchers, pinch hitters, possible platoon splits and preferences of managerial tendencies in a series of categories provided by the EC.

c. If a GM fails to do any of the above, the GM shall be placed on probation and the EC shall decide upon the roster, lineups and tendencies for said team.

C. TEAM PAYROLLS AND FINANCES

1. Only the collective amount of player salaries for players on a team’s active roster shall be considered when determining the amount to be measured against said team’s individual payroll limitation, with the following exceptions:

a. The salary for any player on the reserve roster with four (4) through six (6) YOS.

b. The salary for any player with a YOS greater than 3 the team has waived that no other team claimed.

c. If a player with less than four (4) YOS is promoted from the reserve roster to replace an injured member of the active roster, both salaries shall count against the salary cap for the remainder of the season.

d. All players on the team’s reserve roster with a veteran (V) or Long-term (LTC) contract shall have salaries counting against payroll.

2. The option on a veteran contract will be automatically declined if the team doesn’t post their intentions to accept or decline by the posted deadline each season.

3. Each BNSL team will have a specified payroll limit for players (or individualized salary cap) for each season.

a. Payrolls for each season are set by the EC at the end of the prior season and are based on team success from the previous year.

b. Teams shall be at or below their payroll limitation by the deadline for accepting options and arbitration decisions. Failure to comply with this rule can result in forfeiture of one or more player contracts until an adequate amount of money is pared from the effected team’s payroll to be compliant with the specified individual team salary cap.

i. In the event that player contracts must be forfeited, the GM could be placed on probation or fired if said GM is already on probation and the EC shall opt to either:

ii. Select a pool of player contracts from which the affected team’s GM can chose from in order to become compliant with the specified payroll limit.

iii. Nullify any individual or combination of said contracts with or without consultation from the affected team’s GM.

iv. Any player whose contract is nullified in an effort to comply with the salary cap shall immediately become a FA and thereby eligible to be signed to a contract by any BNSL team.

4. At no time after the regular season has begun, may teams exceed their preset spending limit (Hard Cap) for the rest of that season.

5. The BNSL shall use a 100% Luxury Tax system for payrolls over $150,000,000.

a. The Luxury Tax threshold will be initially set at $170,000,000 for the 2008 season and drop 10 million each year until all teams are at or below $150,000,000.00 at which point it will be permanent unless the EC decides to raise it.

6. Revenue Sharing (RS) will be a feature of the BNSL financial model.

a. Teams will be placed into 6 tiers based on their base revenue (BR) for the previous season.

i. Tier 1- Top 5 teams in terms of total revenue (TR).

ii. Tier 2- Next 5 (6-10) teams in terms of TR.

iii. Tier 3- Next 5 (11-15) teams in terms of TR.

iv. Tier 4- Next 5 (16-20) teams in terms of TR.

v. Tier 5- Next 5 (21-25) teams in terms of TR.

vi. Tier 6- Next 5 (26-30) teams in terms of TR.

b. All teams will be allowed to carry a portion of any unspent revenues to the following season based on the team’s adjusted revenue (AR).

i. Teams in Tier 1 (T1) will be allowed to carry over up to 5% of any unspent revenue.

ii. Teams in Tier 2 (T2) will be allowed to carry over up to 10% of any unspent revenue.

iii. Teams in Tier 3 will be allowed to carry over up to 15% of any unspent revenue.

iv. Teams in Tier 4 will be allowed to carry up to 20% of any unspent revenue.

v. Teams in Tier 5 will be allowed to carry over up to 25% of any unspent revenue.

vi. Teams in Tier 6 will be allowed to carry over up to 30% of any unspent revenue.

c. Any revenue carried over will not affect the teams BR but will increase the amount of money teams can spend before incurring debt.

d. At no point will carried over revenue allow a team to spend over its pre-determined hard cap.

7. Situations or issues not resolved through adherence to the bylaws and rules shall be resolved by the BNSL EC on an as needed basis.

8. Each BNSL team’s name, ballpark, geographic location, and designation as an American League (AL) or National League (NL) franchise shall remain identical to the same of said team’s MLB counterpart.

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V. Player Salaries

A. CONTROLLED YEARLY INCREASES

The following rules governing player salaries are subject to EC review each off-season for minor tweaking to ensure a realistic salary structure.

1. All players with YOS of xxx shall have a salary of $400,000 which will be the league minimum for rookies.

a. This minimum shall be reviewed each off-season by the EC and adjusted accordingly to match MLB’s minimum salary.

i. The league minimum shall remain $400,000 for the 2010 and 2011 seasons to match the league minimum of MLB.

2. All players going from xxx to 1 YOS shall receive automatic 10% raises.

3. First-year players (going to 2 YOS) shall receive automatic 10% raises.

4. Second-year players (going to 3 YOS):

a. The Top 5 batters (as determined by the EC) shall receive automatic 80% raises (1-year contract), the next 5 shall receive 60% raises, and the following 5 shall receive 40% raises.

b. The top 3 SP shall receive automatic 80% raises (1-year contract), the next 3 shall receive 60% raises, and the following 3 shall receive 40% raises.

c. The top 3 RP shall receive automatic 80% raises (1-year contract), the next 3 shall receive 60% raises, and the following 3 shall receive 40% raises.

d. All other 2nd-year players shall receive automatic 10% raises (1-year contract).

5. Arbitration eligible (AE) players (players entering their 4th, 5th, or 6th seasons):

a. The EC shall place all AE players into a group and split that group into 3 groups: batter, SP and RP. Each group shall then be split into 10 sub-groups of equal size.

i. Each player determined to be in the 1st sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 150% raise based on their prior salary.

ii. Each player determined to be in the 2nd sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 135% raise based on their prior salary.

iii. Each player determined to be in the 3rd sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 120% raise based on their prior salary.

iv. Each player determined to be in the 4th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 105% raise based on their prior salary.

v. Each player determined to be in the 5th sub- roup shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 90% raise based on their prior salary.

vi. Each player determined to be in the 6th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 75% raise based on their prior salary.

vii. Each player determined to be in the 7th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 60% raise based on their prior salary.

viii. Each player determined to be in the 8th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 45% raise based on their prior salary.

ix. Each player determined to be in the 9th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 30% raise based on their prior salary.

x. Each player determined to be in the 10th sub-group shall receive an automatic 1 year contract consisting of a 15% raise based on their prior salary.

b. Maximum Arbitration Values

i. YOS 4 arbitration salary shall not exceed $7 million.

ii. YOS 5 arbitration salary shall not exceed $10 million.

iii. YOS 6 arbitration salary shall not exceed $14 million.

6. The rankings for 2nd-year, 3rd-year, and AE players shall be conducted by the EC, using statistical measures and shall be non-negotiable. The rankings shall be based upon statistics decided upon by the EC and may or may not reflect actual MLB production of said player.

7. Since contracts for non FAs are formulaic and automatic, teams have the option of refusing any contract for players with 4 through 6 YOS simply by non-tendering them.

a. Any player entering their xxx, 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd YOS that has their contract refused shall go on waivers.

b. Any player entering their 4^th, 5^th or 6^th YOS that has their contract refused shall become a FA.

c. Each off-season a deadline will be given by which the YOS increases must be accepted or declined by.

i. In the event that a GM does not notify the league of their intentions by said date, all YOS increases will be accepted by default.

ii. If a YOS player has an existing (inherited RL) contract in place, the terms of the existing contract, including options, override the calculated arbitration salaries and the contract is guaranteed until the date it expires.

iii. If a GM declares that he/she has accepted or declined an option or YOS increase (even if the declaration comes before the deadline), the declaration is binding and can NOT be reversed.

8. Once a contract for a YOS 4 through 6 player is accepted (by declaration or default), the contract is guaranteed for the upcoming season.

B. LONG TERM CONTRACTS (LTC)

Long Term Contracts (LTC) will be a feature of the BNSL.

1. Players eligible for a LTC will be any players entering their 4th, 5th or 6th YOS.

2. Each off-season teams will be allowed to submit to the EC the names players from their team for LTC negotiations. However, each team may only accept at most two LTC per off-season.

a. If a GM fails to request LTC numbers by the deadline, he/she forfeits the right to sign a player to a LTC for that season.

3. Each team will be allowed no more than 5 LTC players on their roster at any given time and can sign no more than 2 LTCs in a given year.

4. The date for submitting names of players for LTC consideration will be set each off-season by the EC on or around the same date as arbitration decisions are due.

5. The maximum length of a LTC shall be 4 years for players entering their 6th YOS, 5 years for players entering their 5th YOS or 6 years for players entering their 4th YOS effectively extending the player for 3 years past the end of their regular service time.

6. The annual value of a LTC shall be determined by the EC by:

a. Each member of the EC will submit a “bid” as to the fair market value of each player up for LTC negotiations.

b. The EC will take the 7 “bids” throw out the highest and the lowest and average the remaining 5. The resulting value will become the annual salary component of the LTC offer.

c. The minimum annual value must conform to the minimum annual value for FA contracts per Article VII.B.2

7. After the EC has calculated the LTC offers for all teams, they will be presented to the GM’s on a date before the beginning of the regular season.

8. GM’s will have a set period of time in which to either accept or decline LTC demands before the beginning of FA. Any demands not accepted or declined will be automatically declined.

9. All players signed to LTCs receive a 1 year “no trade” clause.

10. Once a player who was signed to a LTC is traded, he will be granted V status in the league therefore not counted as one of the 5 allowed LTC players on the receiving team’s roster.

11. Once signed to a LTC, a player loses all remaining options and must be placed on waivers to be sent to the reserve roster.

12. Players retain their YOS after signing a LTC in the event that the LTC ends before the player would enter free agency.

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VI. Amateur Draft

A. DRAFT RULES

1. The amateur draft shall be held in correlation with the MLB's June draft.

2. The draft order shall be determined by the previous year’s regular season standings with the team possessing the worst record being awarded the first pick and so forth.

a. In the event that two teams have the same record from the previous season, the team with lower win total from 2 seasons prior to the draft shall receive the higher draft position.

b. Compensation pick order shall be highest ranking used to determine compensation picks.

3. The draft shall consist of 8 rounds in which unaffiliated players can be selected.

4. The draft will run Monday through Saturday until all picks have been made.

5. Picks will be made in groups of 5 per 24 hour period. Once the 5^th pick of a group has been posted, the 24 hour period begins for the next group of five (3). To prevent duplicate picks, each team is to submit 5 players that they wish to draft in the order they5wish to draft them to assure there will be no delays. If pressed to meet the deadline, a GM may post their selection but is responsible for the eligibility of the selected player.

6. Picks will be due by a set time decided upon by the EC and announced before the draft begins.

7. If a team fails to make their selection or passes on the opportunity to make a draft pick within 24 hours from the time the last pick was posted, said team will be skipped.

a. If a team has a pick skipped, the team will be allowed to make up the pick after the next groups selections the following day. If he/she fails to do so, then their pick continues to be slotted behind the next group until he/she picks.

b. If a team which has missed picks does not submit any missed picks by 24 hours after the final pick of the draft, all picks will become forfeit and the GM could be placed on probation or fired if said GM is already on probation.

8. If a pick is made on the weekend, the next team is not obligated to make their selection until Monday but is encouraged to do so to keep the schedule moving quickly.

9. There will be a minimum and maximum number of picks that a team may own for any particular draft.

a. No team shall have more picks than the number of draft rounds plus three (3), not including compensation picks.

b. No team shall have fewer picks than the number of draft rounds minus three (3), not including compensation picks.

B. DRAFT ELIGIBILITY

Those eligible for the draft shall be limited to:

1. All amateurs eligible for the MLB draft of that season.

2. Any professional minor league player under contract with a MLB franchise (who is not currently on a BNSL team's roster) who has less than 130 MLB AB for a batter or 50 MLB IP for pitchers. These limits are cut-off once the new season begins so no IP or AB from the current season counts towards ineligibility.

3. International player:.

a. International amateur FAs must have signed by June 30 of the previous year to be eligible for the current draft.

b. Under no circumstance will the drafting of foreign players be allowed on the assumption or hope said player will move to MLB in a future season.

c. International players must have less than 130 MLB AB for a batter or 50 MLB IP for pitchers to be eligible for the current draft. These limits are cut-off once the new season begins so no IP or AB from the current season counts towards ineligibility.

4. Players eligible for FA or under contract with any BNSL team are not eligible for the draft of unaffiliated players.

5. A list of all ineligible players will be provided prior to the start of the draft.

a. In the event that a player is left off the ineligible list, the EC will immediately request that the team make another selection and add said player to the ineligible list.

C. COMPENSATION PICKS

If a team failed to resign a T1 FA that had been a member of their team on the final day of the prior season, regardless of effort, said team shall be entitled to a compensation pick.

1. The rules governing eligible players for the draft of unaffiliated players and the selection order of teams qualifying for compensation shall be uniform with those governing the regular rounds of said draft.

2. If a team lost one T1 FA, said team shall qualify for one pick occurring between the first and second rounds of the amateur draft.

3. If a team lost 2 T1 FA, said team shall qualify for 1 pick in accordance with Item VI.C.2 of this rule, and a second pick between the second and third rounds of the of the amateur draft and so on and so forth until the end of the draft.

4. If a team lost 7 or more T1 FA, said team shall qualify for one pick per T1 FA lost after the seventh round of the of amateur draft in accordance with Item VI.C.3 of this rule.

5. T1 FAs who were signed to only a 1-year contract the previous off-season will not receive a supplemental pick.

6. No comp picks will be giving for players who are non-tendered or their option is declined by a team (team willing gave up the rights for said player for salary relief) or for players who were lost to FA during the inagural season (since they were technically never on YOUR roster).

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VII. Free Agency

A. ELIGIBILITY

1. Any player after their 6^th YOS who was not signed to a LTC before the year started.

2. Any player whose current Veteran contract or LTC has expired.

3. Any 4^th, 5^th or 6^th YOS players that were non-tendered in the off-season and not claimed by any team.

4. Any players that surpassed their MLB rookie limits the previous season but are not on any BNSL roster. These players’ names must be submitted to the EC to be eligible.

B. FREE AGENT CONTRACTS

FA contract restrictions are as follows:

1. There shall be a maximum length of 5 years with a team option or 6 years with out a team option, for any FA contract offered.

2. There shall be a minimum salary requirement for all veteran (V) FA contracts and long term contracts (LTC) based on the number of years offered in the contract.

a. 1 year no option minimum salary shall be $750,000

b. 1 year with option or 2 year no option minimum salary shall be $900,000 per season

c. 2 year with option or 3 year no option minimum salary shall be $1,250,000 per season

d. 3 year with option or 4 year no option minimum salary shall be $2,500,000 per season

e. 4 year with option or 5 year no option minimum salary shall be $3,500,000 per season

f. 5 year with option or 6 year no option minimum salary shall be $5,000,000 per season

3. The EC will review these restrictions on an annual basis during the off-season.

4. FA contract bids must include the number of years, salary per year, and if desired by the bidding team, a 1-year team option.

a. The value of FA contracts shall be of a fixed cash value from one season to the next, and may not feature an escalating or descending sliding scale.

b. FA bids with a 1-year option are considered to hold less value than a bid for the same amount of money over the same set number of years that does not include the team option for renewal.

5. In the event that a player signed to a FA contract in the off-season abruptly retires, goes overseas or is (for whatever reason) removed from the projection disk before playing a game for the signing team, said player shall be considered “in breech of contract” and the contract shall become null and void.

6. In the event that a player signed to a guaranteed contract is forced to retire early due to severe injury and therefore, doesn’t appear on the projection disk, the team with which said player is signed will be allowed to cut the annual salary for said player by 50% for the remainder of the contract length.

a. The EC will rule on a player by player basis as to whether the retirement was a direct result of a severe injury, age or other factors.

b. The team with which said player is signed with will be given the option of keeping said player on their payroll at 50% of contract value for the remaining length of the contract or exercising a contract buyout of the remaining years (cap room permitting). The buyout option will exist every off-season until the contact has expired (no buyouts will be allowed during the season).

c. In the event that a player who has retired due to injury is able to make a comeback (subsequently re-added to the projection disk) and has not been bought out by the team holding their contract, their original contract value will be re-instated for the duration of the contract length.

d. Age is not basis for contract insurance or buyouts.

7. All FAs signed to multi-year contracts receive a full no-trade clause for their first season. They can not be traded at any time during the first year of the new contract (one year contracts with a team option are considered multi-year contracts for this purpose). Players in the first season of a multi-year (including LTC) contract cannot be placed on Revocable Waivers (Trade waivers) during August.

8. All Free Agents signed to a 1-year contract with no option cannot be traded before June 1.

9. Veteran contracts are guaranteed for the full length of the contract.

a. When a veteran is waived off a team’s roster and not claimed by any team, the waiving team will have the following options for paying the player’s full contract.

i. Paid in full as a lump sum against the current season’s cap, provided the move doesn’t place the team over their hard cap.

ii. Paid per the annual salary requirements of the contract.

b. Each offseason the GM of the team that released the player will have the option of paying the lump sum remaining on the contract or the annual rate until the contract is paid in full.

c. The team will get reimbursed for any owed future salary if another team signs the player to a contract.

i. The reimbursement will be the players new annual salary removed from the annual salary owed by the original team. If the new salary is greater, then the original team will not owe anything on those years the contracts overlap.

ii. If the team paid the contract as a lump sum, the team only gets relief for that season at the annual rate of the new contract.

C. FREE AGENT PROCESS

1. All bids for FAs shall be submitted as “blind bids” from interested teams to the league FA e-mail bnsimleaguefa@gmail.com.

a. The EC shall provide the entire league membership with a copy of the bid evaluation spreadsheet, which contains the formula and may be used to determine the total value of the contract offer prior to bid submission. Members are strongly encouraged to use this spreadsheet in determining the value of their bid proposals.

b. Player age is factored into the BNSL FA bid formula:

i. Contract value for players over the age of 30 is weighted to slightly favor longer contract periods.

ii. Contract value for players under the age of 30 is weighted to slightly favor higher salaries.

iii. The age of players shall be based solely on the year of birth with no consideration whether a player was born in March versus November of that year. For the purposes of BNSL, all players were born on January 1 of the year they were born.

2. There shall be a simultaneous 3-tier process for signing FA.

a. The EC will use the Elias FA rankings of the previous year (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/10/elias-ranking-projections-update.html ) for determining FA rankings.

i. Type A FA in the Elias system will be deemed a T1 FA and grant their former teams a compensation pick as long as they don’t resign them.

ii. Type B FA in the Elias system will be deemed T2 FAs but do not grant their former team any compensation.

iii. Everyone who is not deemed a T1 or T2 FA is automatically a T3 FA and does not grant their former teams any compensation.

3. On the first day of FA, each team can submit one blind bid on 1 player per tier. On each subsequent designated day for bid submission (Monday - Saturday), interested teams can submit two bids on any players in any combination of counter/new bids they choose.

4. On each day following bid submissions, the league will be notified of the highest valued bids for each player and each league member shall have the option to counter the current high bid on any player or make a new bid (any combination for a maximum of 2 bids per day).

a. If a contract offer of higher value is not made on the day after a bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day the offer will be considered to have been accepted and the FA signs the contract.

b. If a contract offer of higher value is made on the day after a bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day, only the 2 league members with the highest valued contract offers from each respective date will enter into a bidding war to secure the services of the FA in question (the highest bid from day 1 and then the highest bid from day 2). The value of the contract offers shall escalate between the two bidding members until one member opts to concede the services of the FA to the other team.

i. Participation in a bidding war between 2 teams shall not restrict either member from making a bid for another player on that day in which the bidding war occurs.

5. During the T1 phase of FA, the teams that the FA in question is leaving shall have a chance to re-sign the player at a slight discount of the bid submitted by another team, or in effect to receive a “hometown discount.”

a. If said team chooses to bid on any of the T1 FA that they are losing and submits a legal bid within the top 3 bids, they will automatically be entered into a bidding war if one is necessary for said player with the team who has the highest bid.

i. If a team has the initial high bid on one of their own players, they automatically re-sign said player and forfeit their compensation pick.

ii. If a team fails to submit a bid in the top 3 for one of their T1 players, then they can counter the following day but have to have the highest counter bid to enter the bidding war.

b. The “hometown discount” rules only apply if the “hometown” team submits an annual salary of at least 75% of the annual salary in the player’s previous contract. If the submitted salary is less than 75%, then the bid will be treated like any other bid.

6. All T2 and T3 FAs may be signed through the following process:

a. Each designated day for bid submission (Monday - Friday) interested teams submit one “blind” bid on any one unsigned T2 FA player.

b. The following bid submission day the league will be notified of the highest valued bids for each player and each league member shall have the option to counter the highest bid on any player who has not been signed.

i. If a contract offer of higher value is not made on the day after a bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day the offer will be considered to have been accepted and the FA signs the contract.

ii. If a contract offer of higher value is made on the day after a bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day, only the two league members with the highest valued contract offers from each respective date will enter into a bidding war to secure the services of the FA in question. The value of the contract offers shall escalate between the two bidding members until one member opts to concede the services of the FA to the other team.

iii. Participation in a bidding war between 2 teams shall not restrict either member from making a bid for another player on that day in which the bidding war occurs.

7. The FA signing period shall continue for a specified amount of time (determined annually by the EC) or until all teams pass on bidding for remaining available FA.

a. Any players not signed during the FA process will remain FA until such time they are signed by a BNSL team.

b. Any player signed after the “official” end of the FA period shall be signed to a 1 year league minimum contract with no option on a first come, first serve basis.

· Players with contracts in place before the start of BNSL shall be held to said contracts, regardless of any contradiction with any BNSL rule. Once that player’s contract is complete, he will then be subject to BNSL rules regarding arbitration and FA.

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VIII. Trades

A. TRADING PERIODS

1. Trades may occur at any time except where restricted below:

a. No trades may occur during the period between September 1 and when rosters are released in the off-season.

b. No trades may occur from when the rosters are frozen for the Rule 5 draft until after the completion of the Rule 5 draft.

2. Between August 1 and August 31, any player on a team’s 40-man roster must clear the waiver process prior to being traded.

a. If the player is claimed, the waiving team may:

i. Agree to a trade with the highest priority claiming team (providing all players involved in the trade have either cleared waivers or have no service time). Once claimed, the teams have until August 31 to work a deal.

ii. Allow the team with the highest priority to have the player and their contract. This is only an option for the first 48 hours after the player is claimed.

iii. Pull the player off waivers and keep him.

b. If the player is not claimed during the waiver period, he may be traded to any team (providing all players involved in the trade have either cleared waivers or have no service time).

B. ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR TRADING

1. Trades may involve players, portions of player salaries or draft picks for the upcoming BNSLB draft.

a. The trading of draft picks is allowed with the following restrictions:

i. Each team must use their 1st round selection every season (starting with the 2011 season 1^st round picks). This information will be kept up-to-date in spreadsheet available to all GMs.

ii. Any compensation picks awarded for the loss of T1 FAs are non-transferable.

iii. Draft picks up to 3 years in the future can be traded.

iv. A draft pick cannot be traded once the round the pick is in has begun.

2. Cash is not a tradable commodity unless being used to help pay portions of a player’s salary.

a. In the event that a portion of a player’s salary is to be traded the amount to be paid by the trading team will be left on their payroll, and the player will be traded to the new team with a pro-rated salary.

i. Acquiring Team assumes:

1) October - April: 6/6 (100%) of the contract.

2) May: 5/6 (83%) of the contract.

3) June: 4/6 (67%) of the contract.

4) July: 3/6 (50%) of the contract.

5) August: 2/6 (33%) of the contract.

6) September: 1/6 (17%) of the contract.

· It's just the opposite for the trading team.

3. At no time will trades involving “future considerations” or a “player to be named later” be processed.

C. TRADE COMMITTEE

The trade committee (TC) reserves the right to review and veto any trade.

1. The TC shall consist of 7 members; 1 EC member who shall oversee the discussions and announce the results and a GM from each division.

2. Any member of the league can ask for a trade to be reviewed by simply e-mailing or sending PMs to the EC member from the TC.

3. If 3 or more members express a desire to have a trade reviewed within 72 hours of the trade being accepted, the EC member shall present the trade to the TC and discuss it.

If the TC deems that the trade is clearly unbalanced and to the detriment of one or more participating teams and votes in favor (at least a 5-2 vote) of overturning the trade, then the trade will be nullified and the players will go back to their original teams.

Any of the GMs involved could potentially be placed on probation if the deal is over-turned.

4. A trade is binding between teams when the 2^nd team has posted acceptance of the trade. However, the trade isn’t official or processed (i.e. teams don’t have players available on roster) until 48 hours after the 2^nd acceptance post and the trade has passed the TC.

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IX. The Waiver Process

A. WAIVER RULES

There are 2 types of waivers in the BNSL:

1. Irrevocable Waivers – waivers cannot be rescinded and are final the minute the waiver is posted.

a. Unconditional Release Waiver (used for releasing player from the Franchise Roster).

b. Outright Waivers (used for removing a player from the 40-Man Roster).

c. Reserve Waivers (used for removing a player from the Active Roster but staying on the 40-Man Roster.

2. Revocable Waivers – waivers that can be rescinded one time if a claim is made.

a. Trade Waivers (used for purpose of trying to trade players between August 1^st and August 31^st).

b. For Revocable Waivers (Trade Waivers), once player is withdrawn from waivers once in a season, if the same player is placed on waivers a second time the same season the waivers are “non-revocable” and the player may not be withdrawn.

c. Players in the first year of a multi-year contract (including LTC) cannot be placed on Revocable Waivers.

B. WAIVER PROCESS

1. All claims should be made privately to the league email which is: bnsimleague@gmail.com.

2. Any player, regardless of service time, may be waived. The cash value and the length of any contract already in place shall be binding between the waived player and the team making a waiver claim. The claimed player shall remain the property of the new team throughout the contract cycle until said player either achieves “full” contract status, is subsequently waived, or is traded to another team.

a. In the event that no team makes a claim, the waiving team is responsible for said player’s salary for the remainder of the season as well as any future guaranteed years remaining on the contract.

i. Any player in their 4-6 YOS or with V or LTC contract status clearing Unconditional Release Waivers shall become FA’s with full financial responsibility for the balance of the contract remaining with the original team. See Article VII.B.9 for further clarification.

ii. Players with a YOS of xxx-3 can be waived at any time without future payroll penalties. You will remain responsible for their contract during the period that they were on your active roster.

iii. Any player with a YOS of xxx-3 clearing Unconditional Release Waivers shall become FA’s IF they have surpassed the restriction of Article VI.B.2 (130 MLB AB or 50 MLB IP) for being eligible for the amateur draft.

3. All waived players are initially put on a 48 hours waiver wire, where all teams are allowed to submit a claim. Claims shall be made by teams within the 48 hour period. The EC shall award the player to the claiming team with the highest waiver priority.

· During the off-season, all waived players will be placed on waivers till the Friday of that week with the winning claim being announced later that day by the EC

4. Claims can be made by a first-come, first-serve with the team with highest waiver priority winning the claim.

a. If the EC receives more than 1 waiver claim for any player, the team with the highest priority shall win the claim which is based on:

i. The team with the lowest winning percentage in the previous period.

ii. From the final day of the regular season through the final day of the first full calendar month of the following season, the team with the lowest winning percentage during the most recent full season shall be granted priority designation for waiver claims.

iii. After the final day of the first full calendar month of a season, the team with the lowest winning percentage at the time when a player is waived shall be granted priority designation for waiver claims on said player.

b. In the event of identical records by two claiming teams, waiver priority shall be granted to the team that plays in the same League as the waiving team.

c. In the event of identical records by two or more claiming teams from within the same League, the team with the worst Head to Head record versus the other team will win the waiver priority. In the event that the Head to Head record is even, the waiver priority of those teams shall be determined through a lottery conducted by the EC.

d. A team can place 2 waiver claims (uncontested claims do not count) before being moved to the back of the line.

C. DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)

A player designated for assignment is immediate removed from a club’s 40-man roster and,
within the waiver period, the team may trade the player or if he clears waivers,
may assign the player to the reserve roster.

1. When a player is designated for assignment, the player is placed on waivers.

2. The player may be traded to any interested team before the waiver for the player is processed.

3. Any team interested in claiming the player via waivers must submit their waiver claim during the 48 hour waiver period.

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X. Options

A. Beginning in the 2009 season, Options were introduced in the following manner:

1. Players with a YOS of xxx were given 3 options.

2. Players with a YOS of 2 were given 2 options.

3. Players with a YOS of 3 were given 1 option.

4. Players with a YOS of 4 or more received no options.

B. Any player drafted in the Amateur Draft begins with 3 options.

C. Any player on the 40-Man Roster that spends any amount of time on the Reserve roster during a given season uses an option.

1. Within a season where an option is used, the player may be called up or sent down as many times as the GM wants without exposing the player to waivers.

D. Once a player is out of options, the player has to be placed on Irrevocable Waivers to be sent down to the Reserve Roster.

E. When a player signs a LTC or V contract, any remaining options for that player are lost.

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XI. The Rule 5 Draft

A. DRAFT RULES

During the Off-Season, the BNSL will hold a Rule 5 Draft. All draft selections should be sent to the league draft e-mail bnsimleaguedraft@gmail.com.

1. The order is determined by the previous regular season records with the team holding the worst record having the first pick and so forth. Teams select in reverse order of that season's finish, with the American and National leagues alternating the No. 1 pick from year to year.

2. Only teams with room on their 40-man roster can make a selection. You can only make as many selections as the amount of room you have on your 40-man and cannot exceed the total roster limits (75 players).

3. Rule 5 picks can't be traded.

4. Each selection costs $250,000

5. If a team fails to make a selection during its slotted time, that team is passed in the draft and is not eligible to draft for the remainder of that year’s Rule 5 draft.

6. The draft will end once all teams have passed, can no longer make a selection or 3 rounds have passed.

B. ELIGIBILITY FOR DRAFT

1. Teams must file their 40-man rosters by November 20 (or a date set by the EC around the same time period) at which time rosters are set in stone and can't be changed until a date set after the draft.

2. Anyone who is 23 or younger is automatically protected. Anyone 24 or older must be on the 40-man roster or is eligible for the Rule V draft which includes players with numerical YOS.

i. Players drafted in the BNSL amateur draft of that year are automatically protected regardless of age for that season.

C. RESTRICTIONS FOR SELECTED PLAYERS

1. Each selection must stay on your active (25-man) roster for the full season.

2. If the team cannot keep the player on its Active Roster then the team must place the player on Irrevocable Waivers.

i. Any team that claims the player off waivers must adhere to the Rule 5 roster restrictions for the player.

ii. If no team claims the player, the player shall be offered back to the original team at half the selection price ($125,000). There will be no roster limitations as to where the original team may place the player.

iii. If the original team refuses the player, then the waiving team may place the player on the reserve roster but still maintained on the 40-man roster. If the waiving team wishes to remove the player from the 40-man roster, then the player will need to clear waivers again.

iv. Any player chosen in the Rule 5 draft may be traded to any team while under the Rule V restrictions, but the restrictions transfer to the new team. If the new team does not want to keep the player on its 25-man roster for the season, the team must place the player on Irrevocable Waivers as stated above in Section XI.C.2

3. A player selected in the Rule 5 draft cannot remain on the DL 10 days longer than their injury or more than 60 days (whichever is fewer) before they need to begin the process specified in Article XI.X.2 (placed on waivers).

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