League Rules

Cooperstown Chronicle Baseball League (CCBL) is an OOTP simulation league that began with OOTP5 and is currently using OOTP2007 (with all latest patches, http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/ootp/).

CCBL is a historical simulation that begin with the 1930 season. OOTP5 was used from 1930 through the end of the 1937 season. The league switched to OOTP6 prior to the 1938 season and then moved to OOTP2007 before the 1951 season.

The league uses the same structure as Major League Baseball did at that time with two eight-team leagues. Players from that era were put into an initial draft pool, from which the 16 teams were created. Players are imported from the Lahman database (http://www.baseball1.com/) during each off-season and are available through the amateur draft. How closely the league will follow actual Major League history, in terms of relocation and expansion, will be up to the owners within the league.

Ownership Requirements:

All owners should own OOTP2007. This will be a requirement for all owners looking to join the league.

All owners must remain active. You are not required to submit a lineup for every sim, but I will require some sort of correspondence once every two weeks. If I have not heard from you for two weeks, you will be sent a warning e-mail. If you have not been heard from by the next sim, you will receive an “eviction” e-mail. If you do not respond to that e-mail by the following sim, you will be replaced. If for some valid reason you must be away from your team (vacation, etc.), let the Commissioner know ahead of time so he will be aware of why you are away from your team.

All owners must register for the league forum. You will be required to register under your team name. (Example: If you are the Pittsburgh Pirates, please have your username be Pirates or Pittsburgh, or something like that.) This will be the place for trash talking, posting trades, posting free agent claims, and other league business.

All owners must participate in special league events, including Amateur Drafts and League Votes. Any major changes to the league or league structure will be discussed by the League Offices, and then be put to a league-wide vote for approval.

All posts on the league forums should be kept neat. If an owner has placed a thread on the Free Agent Signings section of the league forum to bid on a free agent, please do not start another thread with a bid on that player. Put your bid for that player in the thread already started. This goes for all sections of the league forum this applies to.

And obviously, all owners must follow the rules listed on this page. Cheating of any sort (trades that are obvious collusion, tanking your team, owning more than one team, etc.) will not be tolerated, and will result in your removal from the league.

Any other requirements will be listed throughout the rules.

League Offices:

The League Offices currently consist of the Commissioner and an AL President. The title of AL President at this point is mostly nominal, but the AL President will step in at times when the Commissioner is unavailable. If the league finds that additional structure is needed, a NL President will be named and the three League Officials will constitute the beginnings of an Executive Board.

The Commissioner will be responsible for the day-to-day activities of the league, including transactions, simulations, web-site maintenance, and other league functions. The Commissioner will work to keep all teams “human owned”, and that all owners are active and abiding by the league rules.

Should an Executive Board be necessary, it will be created with equal representation from each league to discuss league rules and changes before these changes are presented to the entire league for approval.

Lineup Submission:

Lineups will be accepted via OOTP exports or by typed out e-mails sent to the Commissioner before each sim. If you are using the game's export files, you can either export them to file and e-mail them, or you can export them via FTP; the necessary FTP settings are present in the league file. If you are typing out your lineups, please make them easy to understand. Lineups that the Commissioner cannot understand will not be accepted. You must get your lineups in by the scheduled deadline time for each sim. Late lineups will not be accepted. Not submitting your lineups for a prolonged period of time could lead to your replacement as team owner.

You are responsible for filling out your lineups, depth charts, and pitching staff assignments, as well as your minor league pitching staffs and lineups. Minor league lineups and staffs can be easily arranged by allowing the computer to set those rosters.

Injured Players:

If a player gets injured, it is your responsibility to put them on the disabled list, if you wish. If an injury on your team causes your team to be short at a position for the remainder of a sim, the Commissioner will allow the computer to fill the hole with players on your roster. The injured player, however, will remain on the active roster until the owner moves them to the DL. Failure to make necessary roster changes due to injury shows signs of owner inactivity, and could lead to the owner’s removal from the league.

Trades:

To complete a trade, each owner involved in the trade will have to post it in the league forum. The first owner will start a new thread in the Trades section and the next owner(s) involved will have to post a message that acts as a form of confirmation. If everyone involved in the trade does not post, the trade will not go through until each team involved does so. If a trade is posted in the wrong section of the league forum, you will be asked to correct the error. If the error is not corrected, the trade will not be processed until the error is corrected. You are able to trade players, money (as long as you can afford it), and draft picks. Draft picks can only be traded for the next two upcoming drafts. For example, trades during the 1945 season can include draft picks for the 1946 and 1947 Amateur Drafts. Draft picks will be kept track of on the Traded Draft Picks page.

The trade deadline is July 31st of every season. The CCBL does not currently allow waiver-trades in the month of August.

Any trade considered by the Commissioner to be lopsided will have to be approved by the League Office.

The following example will show a format that would be acceptable/recommended when posting trades in the league forum:

Cleveland gets: SP Mel Harder
St. Louis Browns get: MR Amby Murray, MR Si Johnson,and Cleveland's 2nd round picks in 1938 and 1939

You are welcome to post where you want the players placed (like majors, AA, etc.) and any other special notes regarding the trade in the message. Unless otherwise instructed, the Commissioner will leave all traded players in the Designated for Assignment section of the Transactions page for the team owner to reassign.

In-Season Free Agent Signings:

All free agent signings can be submitted within the game. Search the free agent list, right-click on the player's name, and choose "Offer Contract". Set the terms of your offer and submit it to the player. Within a few days, the player will respond accordingly.

Releasing Players:

Player releases can be handled within the game. You will remain responsible for the rest of the player's contract.

Waivers:

If minor league options are enabled, players who are out of option years must clear waivers before they can be sent to the minor leagues. Players must also clear waivers in order to be traded after the trading deadline. Any team may claim a player on the waiver wire, but the original team is allowed to revoke the waiver and pull the player back on their roster.

There are two types of waivers -- revocable and irrevocable. If a player has minor-league options remaining when placed on waivers, the placement is revocable. Should another team place a claim on that player, the original team can pull the player back from the waiver wire and keep him on the roster. If a team places a player on revocable waivers and would like to recall him should another team place a claim, that request must be made in the Waivers section of the league forums. Without that claim, the player will be assigned to the team that claims him off of waivers.

If a player is out of minor-league options, the waivers are irrevocable. If another team places a claim on that player, the original team has then lost their claim to that player.

A player will remain on waivers for 8 days. This will allow for a 7-day sim to be completed and yet leave the player on waivers for other teams to make their claims. If a player is claimed, he will be placed in the Designated for Assignment box on the team Transaction page, where he can stay for up to 8 days.

If a team claims a player off of waivers, the claiming team is then responsible for the remainder of that player's contract.

Contract Extensions:

Contract extensions can be handled within the game. Any potential free agents that did not have their contract extended will be free agents in the next off-season.

Salary Cap:

There will be an $85 million salary cap. It is the sole responsibility of the team owner to make sure that the team remains under the cap. If you are over the cap during the season, you will be faced with a penalty. If a trade for the current sim takes you over the cap, you have until the next sim to get back under the cap. There are three stages of penalties each season for going over the cap in season. The stages of penalties are listed below:

First Offense - You will be forced to make a trade to get your team back equal to or under the cap, even if it is not an equal trade. If you are unsuccessful at doing that or just simply refuse, your team will be immediately eligible for the second offense.

Second Offense - A player must be waived off of your roster that is at least equal to the amount you are over the cap. If you do not submit a player to be waived, the Commissioner will automatically waive the player with the lowest salary of those players with a salary higher than the difference between your current team salary and the cap (i.e. if you are $3.8 million over the cap, the Commissioner will look at all of your players that make at least $3.8 million and will waive the lowest salary on that list).

Third Offense - The highest paid player will be waived from your roster.

All waived players will go into the free agent pool and are open to be claimed, as noted above. Of the teams that put in a claim on the player, the team with the worst record will be awarded the player.

Salary Arbitration:

Players with more than 3, and less than 6 years of MLB service on the active roster receive salaries through arbitration in the offseason. Before that, they automatically get the league minimum. Players can become free agents after their 6th year on the active roster.

Minor League Option Years:

Allows a player to be optioned to the minor leagues 3 separate years while on the 40-man roster. After 3 option years, he must stay on the active major league roster or clear waivers before demotion.

Minor League Free Agents:

Minor League players with 6 years of minor league service who are not on the 40-man roster become free agents after the season if they have a minor league contract or their MLB contract runs out.

Post Season Play Rules:

In the post season, you are allowed to have 3 or 4 man rotations. An owner is responsible for submitting lineups for their team for each series. If you do not submit one and your team is in the playoffs, your lineup used in the previous sim will be used. Playoff teams must remember that rosters must be back down to 25 players before the post season begins.

Signing Free Agents (Off-Season):

In OOTP2007, free agency is a continuous process and can be handled within the game. Search the free agent list, right-click on the player's name, and choose "Offer Contract". Set the terms of your offer and submit it to the player. Within a few days, the player will respond accordingly.

Amateur Draft:

The Amateur Draft will consist of 5 rounds -- the first two rounds will be live; the final three will be by list. The draft pool will consist of Major League players that made their debut in the upcoming season, as compiled by the Lahman Database. The Amateur Draft order will be based on records from the previous season, and will be a straight draft. The live rounds of the Amateur Draft will be held via e-mail, usually beginning around the time of the Free Agency period. The team "on the clock" will send their selection to the Commissioner, who will e-mail the league with the selection and put the next team "on the clock". This will continue until all live rounds are completed.

Lists or instructions are welcome for the live rounds of the Amateur Draft. Lists or instructions are required for the final rounds of the draft; teams that do not send in a list will have the computer making their selections.

Rule 5 Draft:

The Rule 5 draft is held in the offseason. Any player with more than 3, but less than 6 years of professional experience who is not protected on someone's 40-man roster is eligible. Only teams with an incomplete 40-man roster may participate. Drafted players have to remain on the active roster the entire year.

Spring Training:

OOTP2007 actually schedules Spring Training games. Games will be simmed in two-week cycles, and should be handled just like regular-season games. They provide a good opportunity for you to test out those prospects.

Relocation

The Boston Braves, for example, will have the option to move to Milwaukee, as scheduled, in 1953. Should the Braves owner choose to move, the team will go. Should the owner pass on this relocation offer, he will not have another chance to move the team to Milwaukee. Regardless of the owner's decision on Milwaukee, he will have the chance to move again when the Braves historically move on to Atlanta. Again, if he chooses to move, the team will go. If the owner passes, the team will remain wherever they are (Boston or Milwaukee, depending on the previous choice) until the Braves choose to move again sometime in the future.

No team, however, will be able to move to a city that has not historically hosted the team. So the Braves cannot move to Pawtucket.

Using the Braves as an example again, let's say the Braves owner in 1953 passes on relocating the team to Milwaukee. That owner leaves the CCBL after the 1957 season and a new owner joins us. At that point in time (or at the end of that current season, if the new owner jumps in during a season), the new owner will be given the chance to move to Milwaukee. If he passes, the Braves are in Boston until the move to Atlanta occurs. If he accepts, the Braves will move to Milwaukee at that point in time.

Sorry Boston (A), Chicago (A), Cleveland, Detroit, New York (A), Chicago (N), Cincinnati, Philadelphia (N), Pittsburgh, and St. Louis (N).

If the Phillies want to move to Veterans Stadium in 1971, they may do so. If they pass in '71, they will remain where they are until Citizens Bank Park comes along in 2004.

Teams that are still in their "classic" stadiums may not move into new stadiums.

Expansion

Expansion will be handled similarly to Relocation; we will work to follow real-life expansion history, per a league vote. So as we prepare for 1961, we will take an expansion vote. If the league approves expansion, teams will be added to Los Angeles (Angels) and Washington (Senators, after previous team moved to Minnesota). If the league votes against expansion, the league structure will remain the same until the next real-life expansion (in this case, 1962) where a new vote will be taken.

If you have any major problems with any of the rules listed here or have any ideas on rule additions, please email the commissioner.