Constitution
Preamble
We the people of the Zack Wheat Virtual Baseball League (ZWL), in order to form a more perfect enjoyment of current baseball and its players, establish a just forum for our baseball brilliance and our idiocies, insure domestic neglect while we check our teams online, provide for the common distaste of defense from light-hitting middle infielders, promote the general welfare of local upper-crust baseball fandom, and secure the blessings of the Great Umpire in the Sky, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Zack Wheat Virtual Baseball League.
Article I: Object
To assemble a lineup of 23 Major League Baseball (MLB) players whose cumulative statistics during the regular season, compiled and measured by the methods described in these rules exceed those of all other teams in the league.
Article II: Teams
We have no set number of teams.
Article III: Rosters
Five outfielders, two catchers, one second baseman, one shortstop, one middle infielder (either second baseman or shortstop), one first baseman, one third baseman, one corner man (either third baseman or first baseman), one utility player (who may play any non-pitching position), and nine pitchers constitute the roster. There shall be no "taxi" or reserve squad in this league. Each team may have up to two additional minor league players, bought, drafted or taken as free agents as described below.
Article IV: Auction Day and Minor League Draft
Section 1: Auction
1.A player auction is conducted on the first weekend after Opening Day of the baseball season unless an earlier date is agreed upon. Each team must acquire 23 players at a total cost not to exceed $260 of "virtual" money. A team need not spend the maximum. The league by general agreement determines the order in which teams may nominate players for acquisition. The team bidding first opens with a minimum salary bid of $1 or higher for any eligible player, and the bidding proceeds around the room at minimum increments of $1 until only one bidder is left. That team acquires the player for the final bid amount and announces the roster position the player will fill. The process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players to be bid on, until every team has a squad of 23 players, by requisite position. Two minor league roster spots can be added later.
2.All participating teams must be in good financial standing before the auction starts.
3.Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the auction.
4.No team may make a bid on a player it cannot afford. For example a team with $3 left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of $2 for one player.
5.No team may bid for or nominate a player who qualifies at a position that the team has already filled. For example, a team that has acquired both catchers, and whose utility spot is occupied, may not begin or enter the bidding for a player that qualifies only at catcher.
6.No team is allowed to pass on their turn to nominate a player, unless, of course, their roster is filled.
7.Players who commence the season on a major league team's disabled list are eligible to be auctioned. If selected, they may be reserved and replaced upon the completion of the auction.
8.All players of perceived value may be nominated (semi-retired, injured, minor leaguers, etc.).
Section 2: Minor League Draft
1.After the regular draft, a minor league draft will take place for those wishing to participate. Each owner is allowed two minor league players.
2.Salaries for minor leaguers picked on Auction/Draft Day will be $2 each. Any owner who does not utilize the minor league draft may pick up two minor league free agents at any subsequent time; however, their salaries will be $5 each. Any minor leaguer cut by one team and subsequently picked up by another team will have the default salary of $5. Thus the default salary for minor league free agents is $5 at any time other than Draft Day.
3.The first pick in the minor league draft each spring shall go to the team with the highest finish in the previous year that finished “out of the money,” the second pick to the team with the next lower finish, and so on until the team that finished last in the previous year has made one minor league pick. Then the order shall jump to the team that finished lowest in the money and proceed up the previous year's standings until the current champion has picked. The second round shall proceed in the reverse order. Thus in a 14-team league that pays 7 spots, minor league draft order in terms of the previous year's finish shall be: Round 1: 8-9-10-11-12-13-14-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, Round 2: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-14-13-12-11-10-9-8.
New owners will pick after the last place team but before the lowest paid team. The new teams' order will be the same as the order of the Expansion Draft (if one takes place). If there is no Expansion Draft, the order is determined by the order of payment received by the Treasurer - first pay, first play.
Thus in a 14-team league that pays 7 spots, minor league draft order in terms of the previous year's finish shall be: Round 1: 8-9-10-11-12-13-14-(new teams in their order)-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, Round 2: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-(new teams in their reverse order)-14-13-12-11-10-9-8.
Article V: Position Eligibility
1.A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more MLB games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 MLB games at a single position, he may be auctioned/drafted at only the position he appeared at most frequently in MLB games. Discretion may be used in special cases when it is common knowledge that a player will begin a new position [for example, if A Rod is being switched from SS to 3B and the whole world knows that, it would be a fiction to wait for the 5-game qualifier below. Commissioner discretion should allow A Rod to be placed at 3B during the auction.]
2.The 20-games/most games measure and position-switch discretionary exception are used only to determine position eligibility on Auction Day. Once the season is under way (but after the auction/draft), a player becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he has appeared in 5 or more MLB games. Players auctioned at the utility slot may qualify at any position during the season under the 5-game rule.
3.Players who qualify only at DH may only fill the utility slot.
4.Sportsline Exception: A player’s history and the management of Sportsline sometimes in effect create a “Sportsline Primary Position Exception.” For example, a player with little or no time in the majors is elevated during the season from the minors. During the previous year, he played one primary position in the minors, and his primary position has been set to that position in Sportsline. The player’s positional role may have switched by his minor league team for the current year or may be switched by the parent MLB club with his elevation. [Examples from 2005 would be Chris Shelton (primary position of C in the server but did not play that in the majors) and Kelly Johnson (primary position of SS in the server but played only in the OF for Atlanta). Shelton and Johnson were allowed to be slotted at their “primary position” even though not playing that in the majors. Reasonings: (1) same as A Rod qualifying at SS the year he moved to 3B, same reasoning as the 20-game rule, and (2) difficulty of policing and applying any other policy with an even hand.] A player will always be eligible at his Sportsline primary position.
5.Thus a player is eligible on draft day at positions of: 20 MLB games or more the previous year, his most frequent appearance in MLB games if he did not play 20 at one position, the position he is being switched TO and everyone knows it, and/or his Sportsline Primary Position. During the year, players may gain eligibility by the 5-game rule; and players elevated from the minors are also eligible at their Sportsline Primary Position even if that conflicts with their major league assignments.
Article VI: Fees, Prizes, and League Expenses
The Zack Wheat Virtual Baseball League has a schedule of fees covering all player personnel moves. No money shall pass directly from team to team except as directed by the commish and treasurer at times when the league balances accounts.
1.Entry Fee: The entry fee shall be $40. This fee will serve to cover the cost of an online stat service as first priority. The second priority of the treasury shall be to cover any other league-wide costs, including but not restricted to photocopying, room rental, and necessary commissioner expenses. After league expenses, the treasury may be disbursed as voted by a simple majority of the membership. Purposes of disbursement may include, but are not restricted to, trophies, prize money, league wide ballpark trips, All-Star game or year-end festivities, and certainly food.
2.Transactions Fees: Each “drop” will cost $1, and there is also a $1 flat fee for trades.
3.DL Fees: No fees are charged for Injured Reserve/Disabled List moves.
4.Transactions Fee Payment: Transactions fees for the first half of the season shall be paid to the treasurer at the All-Star break. Transactions fees for the second half of the season shall be paid before the end of the World Series. Delinquent owners shall not conduct further transactions.
5.Disbursement of Transactions Fees: Transactions fees shall not become part of prize money awarded during the season when they are paid. By vote of a simple majority of the players, transactions fees may be used for the following purposes, not to exclude other purposes: (1) celebratory events open to all league members, or (2) support of local amateur baseball, donations to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), donations to the Negro Leagues Museum, donations to local people in need so long as a family member does play or has played or umpired baseball, donations to any other baseball-related charity. Transactions fees need not be distributed according to any timetable. No ex-owner shall have any vote for disbursement of transactions fees that have accumulated in the treasury.
6.Transactions fees may be considered a taxable donation deductible to the extent allowed by law should they be contributed to charity. However, the Zack Wheat League is not itself a 501(3(C)) charitable organization itself until further notice.
7.The prize money shall be as follows:
1.40% of entry fees
2.20% of entry fees
3.12% of entry fees
4.10% of entry fees
5.8% of entry fees
6.6% of entry fees
7.4% of entry fees
8.Championship Trophy: The winner shall have the right to possession of a traveling trophy constructed in 2005 by Joe Hardie, with nameplates for the names of each year's winner. The current champion shall have the name of the new champion engraved on the completion of each season and shall present the trophy to the new champ at the year end party.
9. Zack Wheat League winners are:
2003: Mike Harkness: Beaver’s Beavers
2004: Randy Steele: The Steele Curtain
2005: Steve Shoot: Syd and Gork's
2006: Gehrig Coleman: Camp Dagoberto
2007: *TIE* Doug French: Brett's Mulletheads & Scott Stephens: Al's Pals
2008: Randy Steele, The Steele Curtain.
2009: Gehrig Coleman: Diego's Segues.
10.The Enron Award: The Enron Award began in 2005, founded by Gehrig Coleman, but was first awarded retroactively for the 2004 season. The Enron Award consists of a mini-bat emblazoned with the logo of Enron Global Finance. The award recognizes the best bargain player auctioned, cost vs performance. When possible, the award should be given to a team that auctioned the player and kept him for the entire season. Should that not be possible in the eyes of the current holder, a team that auctioned a player at great value and parlayed that bargain player into a championship through a dump trade is certainly acceptable.
11.The Enron Award Winners are:
2004: Kevin and Ben Jeschke: The Jetskis, for $1 Ken Griffey and $1 Ben Sheets.
2005:
2006:
2007: Hayes Martens: Dirtball Dogs, for $7 Magglio Ordonez.
12.Commissioner: The commissioner shall play free of an entry fee but will pay transactions fees. Anyone objecting shall become the commissioner immediately.
2008: Ed Crawford, the Bandits, for Carlos Quentin, $2.
2009: TIE: Ed Crawford, the Bandits, for Aaron Hill, $2, and Doug French, Big Red Machine, for $1 Jason Bartlett. Honorable Mentions to Coleman, Diego's Segues, for Derek Jeter, $14; to Tom Hayob, The Naturals, for Kendry Morales, $6 and 9 other nominees; to Dave Rogers, the White Sox, for Denard Span, $6, and 9 other nominees; and to Kevin and Ben Jeschke, the Jetskis, for $12 Zack Greinke and $3 Billy Butler.
Article VII: Player Salaries
1.The salary of a player acquired in the major league auction is his auction price.
2.The salary of a player is determined at the time of his auction, and trades do not change that salary.
3.The default setting for all newly-signed major league free agent players is first year, $10.
4.Any player drafted in the minor league draft at the auction shall have his status set as: Year M, salary = $2. His status moves to Year 1 if he is elevated to an active ZWL roster.
5.Minor league free agents can be added (after the minor league draft) for $5 for teams that have an available spot or that create a spot by dropping or elevating one of their minor league players.
6.Players are free agents once dropped. Players acquired by the waiver process keep the same salary and status.
7.All second-year players remain second year players throughout the season. Thus, their salaries are irrelevant and shall not require policing by the commissioner. All second-year players shall be re-auctioned in the succeeding year.
8.Note: The $260 salary limit pertains to Auction Draft Day only. After draft day due to trades and free agent signings a team's salary will often be greater than $260.
9.Players taken in any special “reallocation” of any kind (in situations such as from a disbanded team or other) shall be returned to the auction regardless of year status unless they clear waivers. This provision is also subject to the provision that all second-year players shall remain second-year players. Re-allocated players shall return to the auction, and all second-year players shall return to the auction whether re-allocated to existing teams or returned to the free agent pool.
10.New teams shall have the opportunity to draft first year players from a list of players who were on a ZWL roster at the end of the previous season but were not kept. The order of the draft will be decided on a (2-person) coin toss or (3 or more) card-draw and the draft will be completed at least 48 hours before the Auction.
Article VIII: Standings
1.The following criteria are used to determine team performance:
2.For batters:
On Base Percentage (OBP)
Total Home Runs (HR)
Total Runs Batted In (RBI)
Total Runs Scored (R)
Total Stolen Bases (SB)
3.For pitchers:
Composite Earned Run Average (ERA)
Total Wins (W)
Total Saves+Holds (S+HD)
Total pitchers' strikeouts (K)
Composite Ratio: walks (BB) + hits (H) divided by Innings pitched (IP) = (Whip)
4.Other Factors:
The IP requirement: A team must pitch a total of 900 innings to receive points in ERA and Ratio. A team that does not pitch 900 innings maintains its place in ERA and ratio ranking but receives zero points. [Thus, a team finished third in ERA but did not have 900 innings pitched would receive zero points in that category. The fourth place team (in a 12-team league) would still receive 9 points.]
The AB requirement: A team must have a total of 4250 at bats to receive points in batting average. A team that does not reach 4250 at bats maintains it place in batting average ranking but receives zero points.
Pitchers offensive stats are not counted.
Hitters' pitching stats are not counted.
5.Ties in the Standings: Ties are broken by head-to-head comparison in each of the 10 categories. The team with the better stats in six or more categories will be declared the winner between any two teams tied in points. If still tied after the above, the team with the greater number of At Bats plus three times the number of innings pitched will be declared the winner. If still tied, a duel with pistols at sundown on the night following the last game of the World Series will determine the winner. The exception is first place. If there is a tie for the championship, championship will be shared and that many place's worth of winnings will be divided equally.
6.End-of-Season, One-Game Playoffs: One or more “playoff” games may occasionally be necessary in MLB before the divisional playoff series, in order to decide a division winner or a wild card winner. MLB traditionally counts such statistics as part of the regular season. The Zack Wheat League will not count such statistics as part of its championship season.
Article IX: Stats and Transactions
1.The official statistics provider for the ZWL is CBS Sportsline (
2.The effective date of any transaction is Tuesday, before the commencement of play on that day. Transactions recorded on a Draft Day that is after the MLB Opening Day, including trades and replacing disabled players, are retroactive to Opening Day. Transactions occurring after Draft Day but before the following Tuesday will be effective that Tuesday.
3.There is commissioner discretion on allowing necessary roster adjustments around and after the time of the Tuesday deadline, as well as adjustments suggested by late DL designations by MLB clubs on Tuesday afternoon. As of early 2006, the first two commissioners and a consensus of the league favored liberal interpretation of the deadline concerning the control and preservation of players already on ZWL teams’ rosters and in replacing previously-injured players DLed late on Tuesday. Players injured in Tuesday games may not be replaced until the following Tuesday. We recognize that the discretion in this section is necessary due to people’s schedules.
Article X: Trades
1.From the completion of the auction draft until the trade deadline (usually the Tuesday directly before or after August 31), teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit, except as stipulated below. No trades are permitted from the trade deadline (at least August 31 but usually the Tuesday before) through the end of the season. The commish shall notify the league of the deadline each year in mid-August of the actual deadline.
2.When trading players, ZWL owners are not required to trade position for position but trading teams cannot have more players than what constitute a legal roster. (Ex. Team A trades Team B a pitcher and receives a catcher in return). When such a trade is completed and approved by the commissioner, the owners involved in the trade must be in compliance with ZWL rules pertaining to team rosters before the involved players' games or as soon as is possible be in contact with the commissioner as to their roster wishes. The latest possible deadline is the weekly Tuesday deadline. Failure to be in compliance with the roster requirements will result in the forfeiture of any statistics of any player acquired by the non-compliant owner involved in said trade for that new time period (one week).
3.Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of players.
4.Each trade is subject to a $1 transaction fee. The number of players involved does not affect the fee.
5.All trades involving cash, players to be named, or “future considerations” are strictly prohibited. While everyone understands that positive relationships tend to develop with frequent trading partners, nothing corrodes confidence in league fairness like collusion. League owners are expected to be “on their honor” concerning prohibited future considerations.
6.All trades are subject to commissioner approval. The league commissioner retains the right to veto trades that are unacceptably imbalanced or when he senses possible collusion. The league commissioner also may call for a league vote on a proposed trade, as his discretion.
Article XI: Non-Active Players
1.A team may place any player on its 23-man roster on the “Injured” list that is:
Placed on the MLB disabled list
Released by the MLB parent team.
Suspended for drug use, or otherwise suspended for a “long term.”
2.A team may not sign a free agent who is on the DL unless that team is willing to eat “no stats” at that player’s eligible position for a week.
3.A team may place a maximum of two players on its 23-man roster on the “Minors” list.
4.A suspended player may not be reserved, released or replaced. Exception: If a player is placed on a steroid suspension, that player’s owner may place him on the “injured” status; however, he is only allowed ONE TUESDAY to use or lose that player. The same ruling applies for “excessive” (defined as 10 days or more) suspensions for other behavior such as fighting, cheating, etc. Thus, players suspended short-term (less than 10 days) for fighting, throwing at batters, or umpire abuse by MLB or suspended by their club for behavior must be retained on the active roster.
5.Every intra-team move must be accompanied by a simultaneous replacement move. By league acclaim, an “add” must be accompanied by a “drop” within 30 minutes unless the commish is notified that a trade is pending and informed as to the principal players involved.
6.A minor league player or an injured player may be traded.
7.When a non-active player returns to the active roster of a major league club, he must be reinstated to the active roster of his ZWL club within “two Tuesdays,” or he will be released and declared a free agent by the commissioner. See D for the “one Tuesday” exception for suspended players. There is commissioner discretion about this deadline, as in IX(C) that takes into account existing players, ZWL owners’ busy schedules, and good faith.
Article XII: Farm System, Minor League Players
1.If a team’s minor leaguer is promoted to the majors BEFORE September 1st, his ZWL owner has “two Tuesdays” (the normal period for a DL’d player) to activate the player or cut him.
2.If a team’s minor leaguer is promoted to the majors AFTER there are no longer two Tuesday left in August, he need not be activated in that year because of the artificial 40-man roster limit in MLB. A never-activated minor leaguer does not count against the 10-man (or whatever number is being used) keeper limit the following year unless he makes the major league roster of his parent club. ZWL minor league placeholders placed on the major league roster between ZWL “Keeper Day” and “Auction Day” shall prompt the drop of another player on Auction Day in the event the ZWL owner has declared the maximum number of keepers.
3.If a ZWL team activates or cuts a promoted player, the ZWL team may then pick a replacement for that minor league spot. In other words, every team can always control TWO minor leaguers, but no more than two. The default salary for replacements shall be $5; ZWL teams get only 2 $2 minor league players per season and those player(s) must be drafted in the Minor League Draft or acquired via trade.
4.Minor League players (not controlled by a ZWL team) may not be claimed in anticipation of being elevated to the major leagues. Therefore, a league owner may not claim a player until the MLB parent club has actually elevated that player to the MLB roster. Generally speaking, the owner who claims an elevated player first will be awarded that player. [Note: In certain circumstances, the commissioner may conduct a drawing. Example: In the State Line League’s 2002 season, everyone knew Mark Prior was to be elevated by the Cubs, and everyone wanted him as a $10 pitcher. He was claimed so many times by so many owners that it was impossible to determine exactly whose claim was valid. The members shall be consulted through email for comments, but the commissioner shall make the determination.]
Article XIII: Signing Free Agents
1.Free agents may be signed on any day throughout the season.
2.The salary of a free agent is $10 if he was not purchased in the auction or was purchased at a price below $10.
3.Free agents that were purchased in the auction at a price $10 or higher retain that salary and their first year status.
4.All second-year players shall remain second-year players and re-enter the subsequent auction.
Article XIV: Waivers
1.A player may be dropped at any time, for any reason except suspension as in XI(D) or for collusive purposes of pickup by a contender.
2.All dropped players are subject to a waivers process as determined by the server. The ZWL waivers period shall be two days. Players claimed on waivers maintain their salaries and status.
3.The waiver order shall be re-set at the beginning of each season as: new owners in the order as determined, followed by the reverse order of the previous season’s standings.
Article XV: September Roster Expansion and DL Exception
1.The league has no September Roster Expansion.
2.September DL Exceptions: A team may move one or two players to the Disabled List in September under certain circumstances, even though the MLB club does not put that player on the DL.
The player must have an injury that is severely curtailing his playing time, a fact that will be well known.
Secondly, the MLB club must be sandbagging that player because of his limited value. The commissioner may veto the move to the DL if he believes one or both of those circumstances do not in fact exist.
In no case may a team re-activate such a player, although he may be retained for the following year if he otherwise qualifies.
[Explanation: MLB rosters expand to 40 during September. Kirk Gibson, Alex Rodriguez, or John Smoltz have a nagging, but not season-ending injury, and their parent teams are either in playoff races or need to retain the stars' fan drawing power. They are under no pressure to DL their stars because of the 40-player limit. Therefore, the virtual owner (who may also be involved in a tight race) is artificially restrained.
Without this rule, an owner would be required to keep a non-Dl’d but injured player occupying an important spot on a roster half the size of the allowable MLB roster.]
A pitcher who has been announced to be skipping one start in a rotation for “rest” does not qualify for the exception. An owner may re-apply to the commissioner for a DLE if, for example, the pitcher misses a second start.
Article XVI: Contract length
1.Two years is the maximum length of a contract.
2.A minor league player’s contract “clock” starts ticking when that player is activated, although minor leaguers can remain in an available minor league roster spot so long as they stay in the minors or are only on the major-league roster less than two Tuesdays. See Article XII regarding call-ups in late August and September.
Article XVII: Roster Protection (Keepers)
1.A team may retain no more than 10 players per season.
2.A “keeper number” of less than 10 may be set by league vote before the keeper date in the event of league expansion.
3.The names of the players being retained must be submitted to the league commissioner on or before whatever date the commissioner designates, generally about one week prior to Auction Day.
4.The commish shall make his own keeper list available to other owners at least one week before the Auction as they submit their lists, and shall share all lists at his convenience with other owners after they submit.
5.Lists shall include salaries.
6.The cumulative salaries of players protected prior to the Auction Draft Day are deducted from a team's $260 expenditure limit, and the balance is available for acquisition of the remaining players needed to complete the team’s 23-man roster in the draft.
Article XVIII: Governance
1.The Zack Wheat League is governed by a Committee of the Whole consisting of all the team owners.
2.The league designates a commissioner. The commissioner has the right and the duty to interpret playing rules and to handle all necessary and routine league business.
3.The Committee of the Whole has right to veto any action of the commissioner by a simple majority, and it may do so at the urging of any owner in season or out of season via email or at a league meeting.
4.The Committee of the Whole may adopt rules changes at any time by a vote of the majority, except as in Section E below.
5.Rules changes voted by the league that materially alter PLAYER ACQUISITION shall not come into effect until a minimum of 350 days have passed. This rule shall have precedence over the general principle that rules changes may be adopted at any time by a majority vote of the league. The 'waiting period' of 350 days may be overridden, but only by a unanimous vote of the league membership, including those not present at the meeting during which the rule change involving player acquisition is adopted. Absent owners may not have a vote about the rule change itself, only a vote (effective one-team veto power) concerning overriding the waiting period.
