TCBA Today 1998
Constitution and Rulebook
TCBA Today 1998
Constitution and Rulebook
[Links shown in blue; changes for 1998 shown in red; changes for 1999 shown in green; all changes summarized in Appendix D.]
110. TCBA Today (TCBA-T) operates to promote friendship and stimulate
competition among baseball fans through playing the APBA Computer Baseball
Game by mail and in person.
111. No wagering on any TCBA-T game, series, or draft is permitted.
112. The league mailing list may not be used or sold for any form of solicitation
which is not directly related to league business.
120. The association is composed of 20 [1999:
24--see expansion plan] active managers,
consisting of four divisions of five [1999: six]
teams each. There may also be an indefinite number of non-participating
associate members.
121. All members are required to adhere to both the letter and the spirit
of this Constitution and all other TCBA-T rules and practices. Members
must be fair and prompt in their dealings with other members, and answer
all correspondence from other managers, including trade offers.
122. Repeated failure to follow league rules and practices, gross incompetence,
or violation involving personal integrity may result in a vote to suspend
or expel a league member. The vote will be conducted among the other 19
[1999: 23] members of the league. A two-thirds
majority, consisting of at least 11 [1999: 13] affirmative
votes, is required for expulsion. Once expelled, the member may not rejoin
the TCBA-T except by vote of league members.
130. The basic operating rules of the TCBA-T shall be as follows:
131. The current APBA data disk will be used each year.
132. All players are owned from year to year by the same team, unless released
or traded.
140. The officers of the association are the president, the newsletter
editor, the rules committee chairman, the treasurer, and the reporter,
statistician, and player control agent. There shall also be a three-member
rules committee, chaired by the aforementioned rules committee chairman.
In January of each year, if any two members so request, there will be an
election for any of these positions. If no candidate receives a majority
in such an election, there will be a run-off election between the two highest
vote-getters and anyone tied with them. The duties of these officers are
as follows:
141. The president interprets and enforces TCBA-T rules, recruits and selects
new members, and arbitrates any conflicts between members (except as provided
in Rules 370-74). The president names members to fill
any vacancies in officer positions created by resignations in between elections.
The president may not take any action which contravenes this Constitution,
as amended, or overrules a valid vote of TCBA-T members.
142. The newsletter editor regularly prints and mails team standings, player
statistics, roster changes, and other announcements to members, and reports
on TCBA-T activities to other interested publications. He also maintains
records of the best performances by a TCBA-T player in a game,series, and
a season.
143. The treasurer collects annual dues fixed by him at a level which will
cover anticipated association expenses for the year, and distributes league
funds as necessary to cover league expenses.
144. The statistician of each league maintains statistics of each player
and team, and determines league leaders in the various categories. The
statistician reports regularly all information received with his analysis
and conclusions to the president, reporter, and newsletter editor.
145. The reporter informs TCBA-T members of the outcome and highlights
of each series played, by summarizing the information received in a journalistic
style, and transmitting it to the newsletter editor.
146. The player control agent maintains "cash" balances and rosters
of each team in the league. He is responsible for handling the Rookie Draft,
Free Agent Draft, and any waiver claims which are made.
147. There shall be a rules committee of three members, to receive, discuss,
refine, select, and present proposals by TCBA-T members regarding changes
in TCBA-T rules and practices. The member of the Rules Committee receiving
the highest number of votes shall serve as chairman unless he designates
some other committee member to perform that function. The committee member
receiving the 2nd highest vote total shall be designated the vice-chairman.
150. Any reasonable proposal to change TCBA-T rules or practices shall
be presented to the Rules Committee for discussion, and possible amendment
or refinement. If any two members of the Rules Committee vote affirmatively
on the proposal, it shall be presented to the entire membership for discussion
and written comment (pro and con) at least two months before voting, which
shall be conducted as follows:
151. An absolute majority of league members is necessary to add, delete,
or change any part of this Constitution and Rulebook except Rules 100-199.
Proxy votes will not be permitted on changes to the TCBA TODAY Constitution.
The absence of a full membership shall not prohibit voting and obtaining
absolute majority votes with less than a full membership voting.
152. A three-fourths majority of the voting members, with a minimum of
11 [1999: 13], is necessary to change, or
delete any part of Rules 100-199.
153. Associate members of the TCBA-T may participate in any voting which
does not concern the size of or who shall be a member of the TCBA-T. Their
votes will be counted as one-half vote each.
154. Any rule change which affects members unequally (as determined by
the Rules Committee) shall not take effect until the beginning of the following
season.
160. At the general meeting in Lancaster in February, the members may present, consider, and adopt rule changes, but no rule proposal may be voted on at the meeting unless it was proposed at least one month earlier, and any members absent from the meeting are given the opportunity to vote by mail.
210. The regular-season schedule consists of 24 series: each team plays one home series and a simultaneous away series every three weeks (exception: five weeks between series 6 and 7) starting on the first Friday after March 9 (e.g. 3/13/98). The first home and away series are each four games in length; all remaining regular-season series are seven games in length. [1999: The schedule will consist of two 7-game series against teams in the same division and one 5-game series against teams in the other divisions. One game will be added to two of the 5-game series to increase the total to 162 games. Series will be played home and away every 19 days with no extra break after series 6.]
211. Each team plays each opponent in its own division twice each season,
once at home and once away.
212. Each team plays each opponent outside its division once each season,
except that it will play one such opponent in simultaneous 4-game home
and away series to begin the season.
[1999: This rule will end at the comma.]
213. Pitchers' fatigue ratings carry over from each home series to the
following away series, and from each away series to the following home
series.
214. All injuries, whether sustained at home or on the road, carry over
to the next and each succeeding home series of the injured player until
the duration of the injury is over.
215. Rainouts and ties (including ties under Rule 374) will be replayed in
full at the end of the season if they have any bearing on divisional
championships, playoff qualification or playoff seeding.
Injuries and rest will carry over to such replays from the final game of the regular season, and teams may use starting pitchers who had exhausted their allotment of allowed starts during the regular season. [1999: Injuries and rest will carry over to such replays from the final game of the regular season, and pitchers and hitters who have exhausted their allotment of allowed starts or appearances during the regular season are
ineligible to exceed those limits until the team has played 162
regulation games (counting ties).]
220. There shall be post-season playoffs subject to the following rules:
221. The first-place team in each division qualifies
for the playoffs. These teams are designated Teams 1, 2, 3 and 4 for post-season
play, with the lowest numbers going to teams with the best regular-season
records, in order.
222. Of the 16 non-division winning teams in each league, the four with the best records also qualify for the playoffs. The non-division winning team having the best record will be designated Team 5 for post-season play, and the non-division-winning team with the next-best record will be designated Team 6 for post-season
play. The two teams with the next-best records
after team 6 will be designated Team 7 and Team 8.
223. If after all ties, rainouts, and upheld-protest games have
been made up, any ties exist between teams in the same division for any
playoff position mentioned in Rule 221 or
222, the tie will be broken, without additional playoff games, in favor
of the team with the:
A. best record in head-to-head play between the tied teams, or if still
tied, the
B. best record inside the division of the tied teams, or if still tied,
the
C. best overall record for the last 28 games of the season, or if still
tied, the
D. greatest differential between runs scored and runs allowed for the season,
or if still tied, the
E. greatest number of runs scored in head-to-head play between the tied
teams, or if still tied, the
F. greatest differential between runs scored and runs allowed in games
played within the division of the tied teams, or if still tied, a
G. coin toss.
224. If after all ties, rainouts, and upheld protest games have been
made up, any ties exist between teams in different divisions for any playoff
positions mentioned in Rule 221 or 222,
the tie will be broken, without any additional playoff games in favor of
the team with the:
A. greater strength-of-schedule, i.e., overall comparative records of the
entire divisions of the tied teams, or if still tied, the
B. best record against all teams in the divisions which do not contain
the tied teams (common opponents), or if still tied, the
C. greatest differential between total runs scored and total runs allowed
in games against common opponents specified immediately above, or if still
tied, the
D. greatest differential between total runs scored and runs allowed for
the season, or if still tied, the
E. best record in head-to-head play between the tied teams, or if still
tied, a
F. coin toss.
225. In the first round of the playoffs (wild-card round), team 5 plays team 8 in Series A; team 6 plays team 7 in Series B.
226. In the quarterfinals, team 3 plays the winner of Series B in Series C; team 4 plays the winner of Series A in Series D.
227. In the semifinals, team 1 plays the winner of Series D in Series E; team 2 plays the winner of Series C in Series F.
228. In the TCBA Today World Series, the winner of Series E plays the winner of Series F.
229. All playoff series described in Rules 225-227 shall be a best-of-seven series. The higher seeded (lower numbered) team is the home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of each series. Injuries and pitchers' Fatigue Ratings do not carry over from the regular season to any playoff series, or from one playoff series to another. All regular-season rules of play (Rules 300-399)
apply, except seasonal limitations on starts by pitchers (Rule 348) and stolen base attempts (Rule 355).
310. All games are played subject to the Official Rules of Baseball as
applicable. [1999: The TCBA-T plays its schedule using the APBA Baseball for
Windows computer game. If a version of this game later than version 3.5
is used, any features which affect the play of the game which were not
included in version 3.5 must be not be used, including but not limited
to bunting for a base hit, pulling the infield in at the corners, and
ballpark effects.]
311. No designated hitter rule will be used in the TCBA-T until one year after such rule is actually used in the real-life National League.
313. In the event of computer failure prior to the end of a game, the game should be replayed in its entirety.
320. All managers shall use a copy of the official league data disk for that season which contains the following changes:
321. The hitting card of any pitcher who has 12 or less real-life at-bats
in the corresponding major league season shall not be used. When such a
pitcher comes to bat, the standard "Pitcher's Hitting Card" in
Appendix A of these rules shall be used. All pitchers
use their own individual offensive and defensive ratings.
322. Grades of all players rated primarily as pitchers
are recalculated before each season by using the five-step process shown
in Appendix C, normalized to each Major League's ERA.
The grades calculated by this method supersede the APBA grades on the data
disk. Position players rated secondarily as pitchers use the APBA grades
of the original data disk without recalculation.
330. Some players are limited as to usage. To be eligible for usage a non-pitcher must
have at least 80 real-life plate appearances in the corresponding Major League season.
Non-pitchers are limited, in addition to the limitations in Rule 331, to appearing in the same number of games they played in the corresponding Major League season. Non-pitchers may be used as follows:
331. Defensive appearances are limited in each series,
as indicated:
Injury rating: J-0 J-1 J-2 J-3 J-4 Appearances per 7-game series: 7 7 6 5 3 Appearances per 6-game series: 6 6 5 4 3 Appearances per 5-game series: 5 5 4 3 2 Appearances per 4-game series: 4 4 3 3 2
Pinch-hitting and pinch-running do not count against the appearances
shown above. These maximums may not be exceeded regardless of the number
of starts which might otherwise be permitted under Rule 332.
332. Starts are also limited in each series, as indicated:
Real-life Starts allowed/ Starts allowed/ Starts allowed/
Plate Appear: 7-game series: 6-game series: 4-game series:
0-79 0 0 0
80-159 1 1 1
160-239 2 2 1
240-319 3 3 2
320-399 4 3 2
400-479 5 4 3
480-559 6 5 3
560+ 7 6 4
A non-pitcher will be charged with a "start" under this rule
if he is listed in the starting lineup or appears defensively before the
seventh inning. The number of starts permitted by this chart shall not
allow a player to exceed his maximum appearances allowed by Rule 331.
333. No player may start at a position (except pitcher) at which he did
not appear at least 15 times during
the corresponding major league season, unless he has played 100 or more
games at that position during his major league career. A player not eligible
to start at any position at all because of this rule may start at the first
position listed on his card. Players may be used defensively at positions
at which they are ineligible to start, up to three times per series, but
never before the seventh inning.
[1999: To play defensively at a position, the number of games a non-pitcher must have played at least 25 games at that position in real life, or 100 games at that position in his career (and be rated at that position in the current season). However, players with less than 25 games at a defensive position in real life may be used at that position up to the number of games played at that position in real life.]
334. Rules 331-333 shall not apply to a certain class
of players who are defined as "innocuous players." Innocuous
players are defined as players with a batting average less than .235, an
on-base percentage less than .315, a slugging percentage less than .350
in the corresponding major league season, and who meet fielding limitations
as shown in Appendix B. Such players are permitted unlimited
usage at any position listed on their card.
335. Rules 331-333 are waived when necessary to replace
an injured or ejected player and no eligible player is available at the
position. No ineligible player may appear at a defensive position before
the seventh inning, even if the regular starter is injured, unless all
unused starts by eligible players have been exhausted.
336. No player may appear at a position at which he is not currently rated.
No player may be removed from the game without a defensive substitute available
at his position, unless his team is tied or behind in the ninth inning
or later. If it becomes unavoidable to use an ineligible player at a position,
a weak hitter who once played or might be expected to play the position
shall be used.
337. Each team must include on its playing roster at least two rated players
at every defensive position. A player maybe used to meet this requirement
at more than one position.
340. Pitcher eligibility and fatigue depends in part on the pitcher's
category. To be eligible for usage a pitcher must have at least 10 starts
or 25 games pitched in the corresponding Major League season. The three
categories of pitchers recognized by these rules are starters, who have
no asterisk after their grade on the APBA data disk; relievers, who have
an asterisk after their single grade on the APBA data disk; and split-grade
pitchers, who have two separate grades on the disk. Tables of fatigue ratings
and recovery factors for each category follow, but any table may be used
for a pitcher graded 5 or less.
341. No pitcher may start a game unless his TCBA-T Fatigue Rating is at
least 30. No starting pitcher may be used in relief unless his Fatigue
Rating is at least 20. No relief pitcher may enter a game unless his Fatigue
Rating is at least 1. Any pitcher who fatigues under TCBA-T rules must
be removed from the mound immediately, even if a non-pitcher must then
be used as a pitcher.
342. Maximum Fatigue Ratings and Recovery Factors for
starters:
Q-rating Max.Fatigue Rating Injury Rating Recovery Factor Q-0..............39 J-0..............12 Q-1..............37 J-1..............11 Q-2..............35 J-2..............10 Q-3..............33 J-3...............9 Q-4..............31 J-4...............8
Any starter who starts a game when his fatigue rating is less than 30
is reduced immediately by 5 grade points.
343. Maximum Fatigue Ratings and Recovery Factors for
relievers:
Q-rating Max.Fatigue Rating Injury Rating Recovery Factor
J-0...............6
Q-1*.............16 J-1...............5
Q-2*.............13 J-2...............4
Q-3*.............10 J-3...............3
J-4...............2
344. Split-grade pitchers are always subject to the relievers' Maximum
Fatigue Ratings in Rule 343 above. Their Recovery Factor after pitching
depends on whether they were last used to start or relieve. They use the
Recovery Factor in Rule 343 after relieving, and the Recovery Factor in
Rule 342 after starting.
345. Those split-grade pitchers given a Q* rating by the game company shall
have a maximum fatigue rating listed for that Q* rating in Rule
343. Those split-grade pitcher given a Q (non-asterisked) rating by
the game company shall have a maximum fatigue rating of 20 less than the
maximum rating for that Q-factor in Rule 342.
346. All pitchers except split-grade pitchers are subject to fatigue when
they face the number of batters, not counting those intentionally walked,
equal to their Fatigue Rating. When a split-grade pitcher is used as a
starter, he is not subject to fatigue until he has pitched to 20 batters
more than his Fatigue Rating, not counting those intentionally walked.
A pitcher who is subject to fatigue must be removed from the game as soon
as the next batter reaches base against him by any method except FC or
IBB.
347. After each game, the Fatigue Rating is calculated for each pitcher.
If he pitched in the game, subtract the number of batters he faced from
his previous Fatigue Rating to get his new Fatigue Rating. This number
may be positive, negative, or zero. If he did not pitch in the game, add
his Recovery Factor to his previous Fatigue Rating to get his new Fatigue
Rating, subject to the Maximum Fatigue Rating from his category and Q-factor.
Example 1: A J-2, Q-2 starter opens a series at his maximum Fatigue
Rating of 35. He does not pitch in Game 1, so his FR stays at the maximum.
He faces 37 batters in Game 2, so his FR drops to 35 minus 37, or -2. He
recovers at 10 batters per game, so his FR is 8 going into Game 4, 18 in
Game 5, 28 in Game 6, and back to his maximum of 35 in Game 7.
Example 2: A J-1, Q-1* split-grade pitcher opens a series at his maximum FR of 16, starts Game 1, and faces 38 batters. He is subject to fatigue after the 36th batter (20 batters more than his FR). His FR drops to -22, but he recovers at 11 batters per game (because his last appearance was a start) to -11 going into Game 3, 0 going into Game 4, and 11 for Game
5. In Game 5 he relieves and faces 7 batters, so his FR drops to 4 for Game 6. He does not pitch Game 6 or 7, so he recovers at 5 batters per game (because his last appearance was in relief), to 9 for Game 7, and 14 to begin the next series.
348. No pitcher graded 4 or higher may start more
TCBA-T games in a season than he started during the corresponding season.
Pitchers graded 1 to 3 are limited to 40 starts per season. Starting pitchers graded 6 or higher are also limited to their number of total appearances
in the corresponding season. Relievers and split-grade pitchers graded 6 or higher are limited to 110% of their real-life appearances.
349. Starts and appearances by starting pitchers and starts by split-grade
pitchers in post-season play are limited as follows:
Real-life starts/appear. 13-game series 7-game series
1-9 1 0
10-19 2 1
20-29 3 2
30+ 4 2*
Split-grade pitchers are limited only as to starts, not appearances.
350. All strategy used in instructions, as home manager,
and in face-to-face play must make sense as baseball strategy. Strategy
may not be based solely or primarily on reasoning which is unique to APBA
or the TCBA-T. Such unrealistic maneuvers as pinch-hitting only against
pitchers of a certain grade, automatic defensive replacements regardless
of the score, and examining the APBA playing boards during the game before
making a managerial decision are prohibited. The following additional limitations
are placed on strategy:
351. No pitcher may be removed from a game without a valid baseball reason.
Valid reasons include fatigue, allowing the last batter to reach base,
pinch-hitting, lefty-righty advantage or anything else which would make
sense in real baseball. Examples of invalid reasons would be to avoid an
extra day's rest required by TCBA/AL rules, or to insert a reliever with
a good hitting card who is due to bat the next inning.
352. The pitcher who starts the game may not be removed before pitching
two full innings, unless he allows two or more runs, Rule 351 notwithstanding.
353. No pitcher may pinch-hit unless it is shown that he was used to pinch-hit
at least 8 times during the corresponding season. A pitcher who qualifies
to pinch-hit under this rule may only pinch-hit when all or all but one
of the non-pitchers on the bench have been used. Announcing players and
removing them without playing for the purpose of making a pitcher eligible
to pinch-hit is not permitted.
354. The hit-and-run may
be called only when the runner on first has a Steal Allowance Letter of A-F (or G with Steal Success Number 0-27) and the batter has a hit-and-run
rating of at least 2. The hit-and-run play may not be called with two out.
355. The attempted steal may not be called when
the baserunner has already attempted 125% or more of his steal attempts
for the corresponding season. However, trailing runners on double or triple
steals may steal at any time. Pinch runners may not steal unless they have
an SAL of A-F, stole at least 5 bases during the corresponding major league
season, and are otherwise eligible. In post-season play, the steal may
be called called only when the runner on first has a Steal Allowance Letter
of A-F (or G with Steal Success Number 0-27). This rule does not affect
a team's ability to call the hit-and-run play.
360. For each series, unless he or a designated substitute manager appears
to play in person, the visiting manager must send a set of playing instructions
to the home manager at least three days before the scheduled starting date
of the series. These instructions must include:
a. statistics for the year to date for the visiting team to the extent
that these are available (instructions should not be delayed for lack of
current statistics);
b. a list of players eligible for that series, maximum TCBA/AL starts and
appearances for each player, and current Fatigue Ratings and Recovery Factors
for each pitcher;
c. lineups, including pitchers, for each game;
d. lists of relief pitchers, pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, and defensive
substitutions, and explanations of when to use them; and
e. at least some mention of all strategy options, such as hit-and-run,
sacrifice, squeeze, taking extra bases on hits, flies and throws, stealing
bases, pitching from the stretch, holding runners on base, throwing to
bases, cut-off plays, infield depth, and intentional walk.
f. players to be added from the reserve list in the event of injury.
INSTRUCTIONS AND ACTIONS MUST MAKE SENSE FROM A BASEBALL (NOT APBA) POINT
OF VIEW.
362. Visiting instructions, which should be typewritten if possible, are
limited as to maximum permitted length. All instructions which encompass
items b, c, d, and f above must be contained within two pages of one side
each, with no more than 60 typed lines per page or 100 characters per line.
However, instructions should be explicit and complete, to avoid leaving
too much to the home manager's discretion.
363. If the visiting instructions contain sections which are ambiguous
or illegal, the home manager may ignore those sections and substitute his
own reasonable baseball judgement. He must notify the visiting manager
that he has done so. Illegal instructions are not grounds for protest by
the home manager, unless the visiting team uses an ineligible player that
the home manager could not have known about.
364. If visiting instructions do not arrive within four days of the scheduled
starting date of a series, the home manager may, after attempting to obtain
same by telephone, proceed to play the series. If there are no default
instructions for the visiting team, the home manager may play the series
without instructions, using appropriate lineups and reasonable baseball
strategy for the visiting team based on current roster information. In
either case, the five starting pitchers with the most real-life starts
shall be used in descending order of games started, repeating the first
two in Games 6 and 7 of the series. Each relief pitcher on the visiting
team shall start the series with a Fatigue Rating of one-half his normal
maximum Fatigue Rating. At the home manager's option, he may elect to also
have all of the home team relief pitchers start the series with a Fatigue
Rating of one-half the normal maximum Fatigue Rating. Nothing in this rule
shall relieve the visiting manager of any liability or penalty for failure
to send timely instructions.
370. The visiting manager may protest any loss which
he feels resulted from the home manager's negligence, error, or misinterpretation
of the rules, including violations of baseball, APBA, or TCBA-T rules,
or failure to follow visiting instructions without good cause. The home
manager may protest only if he learns after a series that a visiting player
was used illegally. Either manager may protest a rule violation which occurs
in a series played in person, including a violation of Rules
350-51. To enter a protest, a manager must:
371. Send the boxscore and scoresheet (if available) of the protested game
and an explanation of the grounds for protest back to the other manager.
He must also send a copy to the Rules Chairman, unless the protest involves
a game played by the president's own team, in which case the copy is sent
to the vice-chairman of the committee. The person receiving the copy of
the protest papers will serve as arbitrator.
372. The person against whom the protest was lodged, if he disagrees with
the reason for the protest, should send a statement explaining why the
protest should not be upheld to the arbitrator.
373. The arbitrator shall decide in favor of the protesting team only if
he finds after review of all the circumstances that the other manager committed
an error or violation which might reasonably have made the difference in
the outcome of the game.
374. When a protest has been upheld, the protested game
counts as a tie, with all statistics counting except win, loss, and save.
If a replay is necessary under Rule 215, it shall be
from the beginning of the game.
380. All managers must keep records of all games played, and compile
statistics for each series as follows:
381. The home manager must keep a play-by-play scoresheet or provide a
computer boxscore for each game. After each series, the original scoresheet
must be sent to the visiting manager.
382. Statistics must be maintained by using the Statmaster program.
383. After each series, the home manager must send a data disk to both
the visiting manager and the statistician. He also sends a summary of the
games to both the visiting manager and reporter, plus another copy to the
newsletter editor.
384. Failure to meet deadlines established for reporting procedures detailed
in Rule 383 [i.e., mailing results within 10 days of the scheduled start
of the series] will result in a fine of $500 per day up to a maximum of
$7,000, to be deducted from the team's cash balance. This fine is doubled
for the second offense and tripled for the third and subsequent offenses
in one season. If more than one reporting deadline is missed for any single
series, this counts as one offense, and only the longest delay will be
penalized. If a manager's late reporting is due to late-arriving instructions,
he should submit the postmarked envelope in which the instructions came,
and the fine will be shifted to the visiting manager. Waiver of a penalty
may be granted by the president only if a compelling excuse is submitted
before the series, or if truly exceptional circumstances intervene. All
fines are rounded up to the nearest $1,000. Fines will be refunded to any
team which changes managers before the next rookie draft. The fourth offense
in any season triggers an automatic expulsion vote under Rule
122.
385. For every regular-season series reported on time
(with allowance for late instructions) as determined by the league statistician,
a team receives a $6,000 bonus. If the home manager is unable to or does
not play a series on time, it may be played by the visiting manager with
the consent of the home manager or the league president. In that case,
the visiting manager will receive the $6,000 bonus if he plays and reports
the series by the scheduled reporting deadline or within one week, whichever
is later. All bonus money will be awarded on December 31 of each season
and may not be used until that date. It may be used in the upcoming Rookie
Draft and thereafter.
410. Each team may control up to 25 [1999: 26] players on its active playing roster and 10 [1999: 9] others on its reserve list ("farm team") for a total of 35. Players may be transferred between playing roster and reserve list between any two series. Players may be transferred between playing roster and reserve list between games of a series only if a vacancy occurs on the active roster due to injury. For any given series, the home and away rosters need not be identical. Control of an ineligible player (Rules 330, 333) may be maintained by keeping his name on the reserve list.
420. Players may be traded and sold between teams, subject to the following rules:
421. Trades may include money from a team's cash balance,
but all players and money in a transaction must be transferred at the same
time. Trades may not include players to be loaned, transferred, or named
later, or any other type of future consideration. No agreement may be made
to announce a trade or part of a trade at any future date. Trades may be
made, however, after Series 5 has started, to take effect at the end of
the season in progress, with any cash involved being transferred immediately.
422. Any transaction resulting in a team acquiring the rights to more than
35 total players must include on the T-form the names of those players
cut to return the gaining team to the 35-man maximum roster. Such cuts
will take effect on the date the transaction takes effect, and are not
revocable.
423. No trade may take effect until both parties have signed the same Form
T, which lists the players traded and/or sold. Both parties to a trade
must notify the newsletter editor, and a copy of the Form T must be sent
to the player control agent.
424. No manager may offer the same player in trade to more than one team
at a time, unless the offer indicates that it is only tentative, using
words to that effect.
425. Any team violating Rules 421-24, or attempting
to make a trade which is illegal under these rules or impossible because
of its current roster or cash balance will be fined $20,000. Both parties
to a trade may be fined the full amount if both participated in the violation.
At the president's discretion, a trade may also be voided and/or the fine
money awarded to a team injured by the violation.
426. Any trade which takes place on or after the day
instructions are due to be sent for Series 5 [e.g., 6/03/97], will not
take effect until the conclusion of the season in progress. No player who
is used in the fifth series or later may play for any other team that season.
427. No player transactions of any kind may be made between 12:01 am EST
December 15 and 12:01 am EST January 1, or from 12:01 am EST February 1
until all teams have cut their rosters to 30 following the Rookie Auction.
428. No manager may make any trade, trade offer, or agreement to make a
trade until the fifteenth day after his name and address have been published
in writing to the members of his league.
430. Rookies, defined as players never before included
on an APBA data disk and whose statistics for the corresponding season
meet one of the criteria of 80 plate appearances, 10 games started as a
pitcher or 25 games pitched, are drafted as follows:
431. The auction draft is held at the winter TCBA-T meeting in February.
Those players available for the draft will be selected by manager nominations.
Each manager may nominate, by mail in advance of a specified deadline,
0 to 8 rookies. There will be no penalty for failure to nominate any rookies.
Players will be added to the draft by selecting one nominee from each team
in reverse order of W-L record, until 50% of the available rookies have
been selected or all nominees from each team have been selected, whichever
is first. In the event that less than 20 rookies are nominated, others
will be chosen randomly to bring the pool up to 20.
432. The pool of rookies available for the draft is placed in a random
bidding order, which is made known to all managers in advance of the draft.
433. The Rookie Draft will be conducted as an auction with an auctioneer
to be designated by the President, in which teams bid in predetermined
order. It is preferred that members attend in person if possible.
434. If some managers cannot attend in person, an attempt will be made
to permit them to participate by telephone. This may not be possible if
the number of such managers exceed the number of telephone lines into the
auction room, a manager is unavailable, or for unforeseen reasons. It will
not be permitted, except by ruling of the President in exceptional circumstances,
to designate a proxy bidder, whether a league member or not.
435. If the draft cannot be conducted with all managers present either
in person or by telephone, the absent managers will bid by submitting a
separate sealed envelope on each player he wishes to bid on. There will
be no limit on the number of players a team may bid on, and a bid may include
a contingency making it dependent on how much cash the team has left, whether
or not it has drafted some other player, or any other reason. The total
of such bids may exceed the team's cash balance; however, any bid which
exceeds the team's adjusted cash balance when it is opened will be deemed
a bid for the remainder of the cash balance.
436. Managers will be seated around the table in the draft room in order
of their previous season's record, with a place left for any manager participating
by telephone. Bidding on each player will start with the manager whose
nomination placed that player in the draft. That manager must make an opening
bid of at least $5,000. (If the player was not nominated, the manager making
the opening bid will be chosen randomly and there will be no minimum bid.)
If a manager must make an opening bid but has less than $5,000 left or
has already drafted the maximum number of rookies, he will be permitted
to bid $5,000 but no more. If he drafts the player because there is no
other bid, he will have a negative cash balance at that point. This will
be the only situation in which a team may bid more than its cash balance.
437. After the opening bid on each player, the bidding proceeds around
the table in order of seating. The direction of bidding will alternate
with each player between clockwise and counter-clockwise. Any team not
able or wishing to bid more than the previous bid must pass, any may not
make any further bid on that player. Bidding continues around the table
until all but one manager has passed. The minimum increment by which a
bid must be increased is always $1,000 although a manager may increase
the previous bid by any amount in multiples of $1,000 which does not exceed
his cash total.
438. [Applies only if one or more managers is bidding by mail.] 1999: After all but one manager has passed on a player in the live bidding, it
will be determined whether or not there are one or more envelopes
containing bids on that player which are equal to or higher than the
final live auction bid. If so, the manager who is present will be asked
to declare what is the highest he is willing to bid on that player.
Then all envelopes containing bids on that player will be opened and the
mail bids compared with the declared maximum. The player will go to the
highest bidder, whether live or by mail, for $1,000 more than the next
highest of these bids. If no mail bid exceeds the highest live auction
bid, the player is drafted by the highest live bidder. Ties in this
process are decided in favor of the team having the poorer record in the
previous season.
439. No more than six rookies may be drafted in one draft by any manager.
440. Players are also distributed in the Free Agent Draft, also held at the TCBA-T meeting in February of each year. Following the Rookie Auction Draft, each team cuts its roster to 30 players. The players who are cut as well as any other unowned carded players are available in this draft. Each manager, unless he appears in person, submits a preference list. The draft proceeds, in order of fewest victories the preceding season. Teams may draft for as many rounds as they choose, but must maintain the integrity of the 35 man roster by cutting or dealing a player whose acquisition puts them over that total. Free agent draft picks may be sold or traded only during available trading periods between January 1 and the conclusion [1999: the beginning] of the Free Agent Draft.
450. Players on the league waiver list may be claimed for $5,000 by sending notice of the claim to the player control agent. The waiver list consists of all players available but unclaimed in the Free Agent Draft, plus all players released during the current season. During the first 21 days that a player is available, multiple claims on a player are resolved in favor of the team with the lower winning percentage. After 21 days, a player goes to the first team to claim him, the e-mail date of transmission, postmark or telephone call date determining priority. Players must be cut immediately after a waiver claim or uneven trade if necessary to stay within the roster limit. Players claimed after the trading deadline specified in Rule 426 become free agents at the end of the current season but still count against the 35-player roster limit.
460. Teams are allotted cash annually after the Rookie Draft. The league
champion receives $2,000; the other five playoff teams receive $27,000
each; the other 14 teams receive $60,000 each. Cash is also awarded in
the form of bonuses as indicated in Rule 385.
461. Teams failing to submit a ballot in the annual voting on rule change
proposals are fined $10,000, to be deducted immediately.
11 - 7 31 - 23 51 - 13
12 - 25 32 - 26 52 - 27
13 - 14 33 - 7 53 - 21
14 - 30 34 - 31 54 - 32
15 - 9 35 - 13 55 - 9
16 - 28 36 - 33 56 - 34
21 - 13 41 - 12 61 - 24
22 - 8 42 - 13 62 - 13
23 - 27 43 - 29 63 - 32
24 - 13 44 - 8 64 - 13
25 - 36 45 - 14 65 - 35
26 - 24 46 - 24 66 - 6
POSITION RATING
C 5-7
1B 2-3
2B 5-7
SS 6-8
3B 2-4
OF 1-2
STEP ONE: Starting grade, based on ERA
For pitchers with ERA >= 2.10, Grade = 5 x (5.70 - NERA), but not less
than 1.
For pitchers with ERA < 2.10, Grade = 18 + (5 x (2.10 - NERA)), but not
more than 30.
NERA (Normalized ERA) is ERA adjusted (up or down) by the difference
between the overall ERA of the pitcher's real-life league, and 3.82 [in
1998, -.74 AL and -.38 NL].
STEP TWO: Control Rating Adjustment
Using the pitcher's grade from STEP ONE, adjust his grade as follows:
Z = -1.00 W = +1.00
STEP THREE: Home Run Rating Adjustment
If the pitcher has a home run allowance letter, adjust his grade as
shown:
M = +.50 L = +.25 G = -.25 H= -.50
STEP FOUR: Adjustment for Hits Allowed
Divide hits by innings pitched, carrying calculations to three decimal
places. Then drop the third digit and adjust the pitcher's grade as follows:
If H/IP < 1.000, increase the grade by 5 x (.99 - H/IP).
If H/IP > 1.000, decrease the grade by 5 x (H/IP - 1.00).
2. Non-pitchers are limited to playing in the same number of games they played in real life.
3. To start defensively at a position, a non-pitcher must have played 15 (instead of 25) games at that position in 1997 in real life, or 100 games at that position in his career (and be rated at that position this year).
4. Relievers and split-grade pitchers graded 6 or higher are limited to 110% of their real-life games pitched.
5. Step 5 of the TCBA pitcher grading formula has been deleted; i.e. the calculated SAMBO grade is no longer averaged with the grade issued by the APBA Game Company.
2. The playoff format will consist of four rounds of best-of-seven series, as follows:
a. The division winners will be designated teams 1, 2, 3 and 4 in order of won-lost record with 1 being highest. The four wild-card teams will be designated teams 5, 6, 7 and 8 in order of won-lost record with 5 being highest.
b. In the wild-card round, team 5 plays team 8 in Series A; team 6 plays team 7 in Series B.
c. In the quarterfinals, team 3 plays the winner of Series B in Series C; team 4 plays the winner of Series A in Series D.
d. In the semifinals, team 1 plays the winner of Series D in Series E; team 2 plays the winner of Series C in Series F.
e. In the TCBA Today World Series, the winner of Series E plays the winner of Series F.
The higher seeded (lower numbered) team is the home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of each series.
3. Rainouts and ties (including ties under Rule 374) will be replayed in full at the end of the season if they have any bearing on divisional championships, playoff qualification or playoff seeding.
4. The game 1 starter in a playoff series may start 3 games if his fatigue rating qualifies him to do so. He may not use any of these three appearances in relief.
2. The schedule will consist of two 7-game series against teams in the same division and one 5-game series against teams in the other divisions. One game will be added to two of the 5-game series to increase the total to 162 games.
3. To play defensively at a position, the number of games a non-pitcher must have played at that position in real life returns to 25, or 100 games at that position in his career (and be rated at that position in the current season). However, players with less than 25 games at a defensive position in real life may be used at that position up to the number of games played at that position in real life.
4. Free agent draft choices may not be traded once the free agent draft has started.
5. After all but one manager has passed on a player in the live rookie draft bidding, it will be determined whether or not there are one or more envelopes from absent managers containing bids on that player which are equal to or higher than the final live auction bid. If so, the manager who is present will be asked to declare what is the highest he is willing to bid on that player. Then all envelopes containing bids on that player will be opened and the mail bids compared with the declared maximum. The player will go to the highest bidder, whether live or by mail, for $1,000 more than the next highest of these bids. If no mail bid exceeds the highest live auction bid, the player is drafted by the highest live bidder. Ties in this process are decided in favor of the team having the poorer record in the previous season.
6. All games are played subject to the Official Rules of Baseball as applicable. TCBA-T plays its schedule using the APBA Baseball for Windows computer game. If a version of this game later than version 3.5 is used, any features which affect the play of the game which were not included in version 3.5 must be not be used, including but not limited to bunting for a base hit, pulling the infield in at the corners, and ballpark effects.
7. Non-pitcher appearances allowed per 5-game series, exclusive of pinch-hitting and pinch running: J-0 and J-1--5; J-2--4; J-3--3; J-4--2
8. Injuries and rest will carry over to make-up games for ties and rainouts from the final game of the regular season, and pitchers and hitters who have exhausted their allotment of allowed starts or appearances during the regular season are ineligible to exceed those limits until the team has played 162 regulation games (counting ties).
9. At the general meeting in Lancaster in February, the members may present, consider, and adopt rule changes, but no rule proposal may be voted on at the meeting unless it was proposed at least one month earlier, and any members absent from the meeting are given the opportunity to vote by mail.
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