ASL Constitution

Overview & Scoring

The object of ownership in the ASL is to assemble a team that finishes the season with more cumulative points than the other teams in the 8 statistical categories used to determine team performance. For example, in a 12 team league, the team that has the best stats in a given category receives 12 points, the team with the second best stats in the category receives 11 points, and so on down to 1 point for the team with the worst stats.

The 8 statistical categories are as follows:

composite batting average
total home runs
total RBIs
total stolen bases
total wins
total saves
composite ERA
composite "ratio" (hits + walks allowed per inning pitched)

Any team which does not compile a minimum of 1000 innings pitched during the course of the season will drop to last place in the ERA and Ratio categories, thereby dropping that team to 1 point in each of those categories. (There is no minimum requirement for composite number of at-bats.) All other teams moving up one to keep the overall number of points each category the same amount. (In other words, if a team finishes the year with 4 points in ERA but has only 999 innings pitched, that team will drop from 4 points to 1 point in ERA. The team that would have gotten 3 points, will not get 4, etc.) If TWO teams finish with less than 1000 IP, the team with the least amount of innings will be given 1 point in ERA and Ratio, while the other team will get 2 points in ERA and Ratio. In the event that a strike or lock-out shortens the season, the innings requirement will be pro-rated. For example, in 1994, only 70.9% of the games were played, so only 709 innings were required for each team.)

If the AL or NL is forced to play a tie-breaking game at the conclusion of the season to determine which team gets to the Play-offs, that game is counted by MLB as a 163rd game for those teams, and their stats count towards the regular season. The ASL will do likewise and count those stats.

II.

League Officers

(2007 and prior) League President (Chris Malinowski) - to be paid $100

League President (Jamie Schlesinger) - to be paid $100

Vice President (Drew Gallagher)

(2006 and prior) Treasurer (Scott Winterburn)

Treasurer (Drew Gallagher)

III.

Team Owners

In the event of a vacancy in the league, any league owner may make a nomination as a replacement. The League President and Vice-President shall chose the new owner among all of the candidates. If a decision cannot be made by the Prez and the VP, the League may be polled for a decision.

Teams may have more than one owner.

Any owner not meeting up to the standards of the league, causing dissension within the league, caught cheating or colluding may be expelled from the league at any time.

If a team drops out of the league, the replacement owner will inherit everything from the previous team AS IS. In the event that more than one team drops out of the league after the season is over, the league officers will chose to do one of the following:

Place all of the players on those teams will be put into a "pool" and the new owners will select them one at a time. For two teams, a coin flip will determine which team gets to choose whether they want to pick first or second. For more than two teams, the new owners will draw numbers out of a hat. Picks will be made, for example, 1st-2nd-3rd-3rd-2nd-1st, etc. The order that the teams pick will determine where they will be placed for things such as the reserve roster rotation draft and when they call out names during the Auction draft. (i.e. The team which picks the first player will be given the slot of whichever team was highest in the standings, and so on.) If it is not practical for all new owners to pick their players at the same time, the new owners will be asked to submit a list of players they want in the order that they want them. New owners will not be allowed to trade their "new owner draft picks" before or during the "new owner draft." The league president will divvy up the reserve picks as evenly as possible.

The league officers will distribute the players and reserve picks as evenly as possible, and then assign the owners randomly to each newly created team. This option will generally be used when one of the new owners has never played Rotisserie baseball before, in an effort to keep the Rotisserie veteran's from scooping up all of the better players if the above method was used.

No owner shall have ownership of more than one team.

COLLUSION: No two (or more) teams shall be allowed by combined effort of the individual owners to control the outcome of the standings. If it is concluded that this has taken place, such team's place in the final standings shall be forfeited and every other team moved up in the standings. Additionally, each team involved will be penalized $25 draft dollars at the following season's draft.

The league may expel an owner by a majority vote of the other owners in the league. Causes for expulsion include, but are not limited to: collusion, failure to pay league fees, repeated violations of league rules, and conduct detrimental to the preservation and continuance of the league. An owner expelled during the regular season will not receive a refund of any fees. Players on teams expelled from the league during the regular season shall remain unavailable until a replacement owner is named. If none is named until after the season, the team shall remain in the standings as is.

IV.

In-Season Rosters

ACTIVE ROSTER

Each team shall have an active roster consisting of 23 players which is comprised of the following:

(2) catches
(1) firstbaseman
(1) secondbaseman
(1) shortstop
(1) thirdbaseman
(1) utility infielder (can play any infield position)
(5) outfielders
(1) designated hitter
(1) wild card (can be offense OR a pitcher)
(9) pitchers

The utility position (wild card) can be drafted as either an offensive player OR a pitcher. That position can be changed back and forth from offensive to pitching during the season as well, as the team owner sees fit to do so.

Active rosters may be expanded by up to two players beginning September 1st.

RESERVE ROSTER

Each team shall also normally have a reserve roster of up to 17 non-active players during the regular season (but may contain less than that.) Trades which take a team over the 17 player limit must also be accompanied by moves to immediately reduce that team to no more than 17 players on reserve. The only exception to the 17 player reserve roster limit is during the 48 hour period which follows FAAB pick-ups. If a team acquires players via FAAB, that team has 48 hours to decide which players to drop, and by midnight each Tuesday must have their roster back to the maximum 17 players on reserve.

Once the regular season has begun, a team may replace any player on its active roster with a player from its reserve roster, provided that the replacement player is on an American League team's 25 man active roster at that time (NOT a player on the D.L. or in the minor leagues) and the proper position requirements referred to in Paragraph A above have been met.

An owner may release a player from his team's active or reserve roster at any time during the season. (However, if an active player is released, he must be subsequently replaced by a player from that team's reserve roster who is on an AL team's 25-man active roster.)

If an auction drafted or FAAB$ selected player on an ASL team's active or reserve roster winds up in the National League by any means during the course of the regular season (via trade, waivers, etc.), the ASL team can do one of two things: (1) retain that player on its roster for the duration of the regular season, or (2) release that player, there-by picking up additional money for Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB$). The amount received will be equivalent to the player's salary. If retained, all of the player's NL stats will count for the ASL owner's team for the duration of the regular season. If the player never returns to the AL, the player's contract is automatically expired at the time rosters are frozen the following season no matter what year of the contract the player was in prior to his trade to the NL.

(Again, note that you may pick up additional FAAB money by dropping such players only if the player was either a "keeper" on your active roster, auction drafted or originally picked up via FAAB. In other words, you will NOT receive $5 or $10 for dropping a player that was retained as a rookie or picked up in the present year's supplemental draft. Also note that a player under long-term contract CAN be dropped if he is traded to the NL.)

If a team opts to drop a player to pick up additional FAAB$, they must do so 3 days in advance of the next FAAB deadline. In other words, for the additional FAAB$ to be effective immediately, teams must contact the Commissioner by Thursday at 11:59PM for the FAAB$ to be added to their team's budget for the nearest Sunday's FAAB draft. As soon as the Commissioner is contacted about a FAAB drop, he will notify the league via email to let everyone know that a team is increasing their FAAB budget.

If a team contacts the Commissioner between 11:59 on Thursday night and the midnight Sunday FAAB draft, the additional FAAB$ will be added for the following week.

Position Eligibility

On Draft Day, a player may be assigned to any position in which he appeared in 20 or more major league games during the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, he may be used only at the position in which he appeared most frequently. If a player did not appear in the majors during the previous season, he will be eligible at any position in which he appeared 20 or more MINOR league games.

On Draft Day, if a player has not yet appeared in a major league game, his position eligibility will be based on any position(s) he played in the minor leagues in the preceding season.

If the previous season is cut short for some reason, the 20-games rule will be prorated. For example, in 1994 only 70.9% of the season was completed. 70.9% of 20 games is 14.18 games - everything will round up - in this case, 14.18 becomes 15 games.

Once the season begins, a player may be moved to any position in which he has played at least five (5) or more times in the major leagues, or to any position(s) in which he was eligible on draft day.

The "infield" position is a player that qualifies at 1B, 2B, SS or 3B, not a combination of all the infield positions. In other words, if a player who already "qualifies" as an outfielder also plays 3 games at 1B and 2 at 3B in the present year, that does NOT make him a "infielder."

VI.

Auction Draft Day

ACTIVE ROSTER

As noted above, teams must acquire a total of 23 players. Teams will be given $260 to "auction draft" those 23 players.

It will be the responsibility of each owner to bring a free agent list of available players to the auction as none will be provided by the league. If the draft is held prior to the start of the regular season, any player not yet assigned to the minor leagues will be eligible for the auction portion of the draft. The stat service ML rosters will be used to determine the eligibility of players available for the auction.

The player auction is conducted via the nomination process using the reverse order of the preceding season's final standings (i.e., the previous season's last place team will begin by introducing a player into the auction; the 11th place team will introduce the next player, etc.) Once an owner completes his active roster, he shall drop out of the nomination process.

The team which nominates a player MUST have an accompanying minimum opening bid of $1 on that player.

Each owner may choose to "pass" twice during the nomination process thereby deferring the nomination to the next owner in the auction order. If an owner chooses not to nominate a player when it is his turn to do so and has no passes remaining, his team will lose $1 from the remaining amount of his $260 team salary.

Players may be shifted to another position before and during the player auction.

An owner may not bid on a player that it cannot afford (that would cause his team to exceed the $260 salary limit.) In addition, the owner must have enough remaining salary to bid at least $1 on each player needed to complete his active roster. (For example, a team with $3 remaining and two openings on its roster, is limited to a maximum bid of $2.)

An owner may not bid on a player who qualifies only at a position that the team has already filled. For example, a team that has acquired two catchers and whose utility spot is occupied, may not entered the bidding for any player who qualifies only at catcher.

If it is discovered during the auction that an owner obtains a player in violation of the above criteria, the ineligible player will be removed from the owner's team, and re-auctioned immeidately with any of the other eligible teams allowed to start the bidding. In addition, the owner will forfeit his two lowest round picks in the supplemental draft.

If the error is discovered after the auction, the violating owner will relinquish all rights to the player and be assessed a penalty of $25 to be deducted from his $100 FAAB budget. The owner must fill the vacated roster spot from his reserve roster assuming he has a player eligible to fill that spot. The ineligible player will then be available for selection through FAAB.

10.

Players who commence the season on a major league team's disabled list are eligible to be drafted. If selected, they may be sent to the reserve roster following the draft if a player is available to be called up from reserve. If the draft is after Opening Day but less than one week after opening day, transactions such as this will be retroactive to the first game of the season. If draft day is more than 7 days AFTER opening day, these transactions will simply be effective the next day.

RESERVE ROSTER

At the conclusion of the player auction there will be a supplementary draft consisting of 8 rounds so that each team can compile a reserve roster of backup players. Any player affiliated with an American League team who is not currently on another ASL team's active or reserve roster can be chosen in the supplementary draft. Starting with the 2003 draft, the order of the supplementary draft will be in the following 5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-4-3-2-1 (i.e. the team that finished 5th the previous season picks first, then the team that finished 6th, etc.) This is both a consolation prize for the teams finishing just out of the money winning positions, and keeps teams from "sandbagging" the during the season just to get a better position in the next year's reserve draft.

An owner may not make any supplementary draft picks that cause his reserve roster to exceed the 17 player limit.

Teams may trade any of their reserve picks during the off-season only and may only trade picks for the up-coming draft.

Players drafted in any of the 8 rounds will be considered "rookies" if they still have rookie status as defined by Major League baseball. The major league rule reads: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during the previous season or seasons, he has exceeded 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues." The major league rule also says that if a player has accumulated more than 45 days on an active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of a 24-player limit that the player will lose rookie status. For the purposes of the ASL, this part of the rule will be dropped simply because it is not information that is easily obtained. (Note that this is different from the ESL. In the ESL, if a "rookie" is still in major league camp and drafted in the reserve draft, he is not considered a Rotisserie rookie. In the ESL such a player will be an "s2" and if drafted in the first two rounds will be $10, not $5.)

See section XV.G. for info on the salaries of players drafted in the reserve/supplemental draft.

As noted in Section XV.G.3., rookie players kept from one year to the next (starting with players drafted in 2011) will have their salaries increased by $3 over their salary from the previous season.

In case of a tie in the standings the previous season, a coin flip by the President will determine which team will pick first in each of the rounds 1 through 8.

Teams may not draft more players in the reserve draft if it causes that team's reserve roster to exceed 17 players.

College players, Japanese players, high school players, unsigned players, etc. are NOT eligible to be taken in the reserve draft!

The Jared Weaver Rule: Players drafted by an American League team in the June draft the previous year but still technically unsigned are eligible to be taken in the reserve draft.

MISCELLANEOUS DRAFT INFO

No owner is allowed to use a computer or other electronic aids (besides a calculator) at the auction.

There are no individual "time outs" during the entire draft (as there is in the ESL).

VII.

Stats and Transactions

Transactions can be made on a daily basis using the stat service web-site.

Transactions will be effective on the date indicated by the stat service - NO EXCEPTIONS unless their system is down. If their system is down, you should send an email or contact Chris Malinowski immediately to register the move(s) you intended to make. You MUST do this immediately. If you wait until the next day, you have lost your opportunity to make the transaction - NO EXCEPTIONS! (Teams are also encouraged to call All-Star Stat's service number, 1-800-869-7341, to let them know there is a problem. You should get an answering machine with an option which notifies a technician.)

Transactions must be made prior to the first Major League game of the day even if the first game is a National League game - and even if the players involved in the transaction do not play in the first game of the day. (This is necessary because we are allowing stats of players get traded [or waived, etc.] to the "other" league to continue to accrue.)

All owners have 2 weeks following the end of the regular season to challenge the final stats.

See Section IV.E. for how you may obtain additional FAAB$ by dropping players who become under contract to N.L. team (via trade, waivers, etc.)

See Section VI.A.10. for transactions made on Draft Day to replace drafted players that are on the Disabled List.

No player may be demoted without being replaced on his active roster by an eligle player. That is, a player who fulfills position eligibility requirements and who is currently on a Major League active roster and not on a Major League disabled list.

The only exception to Rule VII.G. above is that a team may replace a player on its active roster who is on the D.L. with a player from his reserve roster that is also on the D.L. (You may want to do this if you anticipate one player coming off the disabled list before another.) You may also replace an active player who has been sent to the minors with a player who is on the D.L., but you may NOT replace an active player on the D.L. with a player in the minors leagues.

VIII.

Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB$)

Each team will be provided with a Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB$) of $100 which may be used to acquire "free agent" players after Auction-Draft Day.

The first FAAB pick-up day will be the first Sunday which comes at least seven days after draft day rosters are entered into the stat service system. The last FAAB pick-up day will be the last Sunday of the regular season.

During each "auction week" which runs from Monday 12:01 a.m. to Sunday 11:59 p.m., an owner may submit a "bid" utilizing the stat service web-site on any player on an American League team's 25-man roster that is not already on another ASL team roster. No owner shall have knowledge of another owner's bid(s).

The stat service will award a player to the owner who submitted the highest bid on that player during auction week (assuming the owner with the successful bid did not exceed his remaining FAAB budget.) In cases where the owner did exceed his remaining FAAB budget that bid is voided, and the player is awarded to the team with the next highest bid. (In other words, you can bid a total amount that exceeds the amount of FAAB money you actually have. So if you have, for example, $80 left, you can bid $50 on Player A, and $40 on Player B. If you receive Player A, your bid on Player B will be invalid because you wouldn't have enough money left. If you bid $50 on BOTH players and are high-bidder on both, the system will give you the player which you bid on FIRST.)

In cases where the highest bid was submitted by 2 or more owners, the owner whose team was in the lowest position in the standings thru Saturday's games will receive the player. If the teams submitting the same highest bid are tied in the standings, the player will be awarded to the team that was most recently lowest in the standings.

The bid price of each player obtained via FAAB becomes the player's salary. That amount is then deducted from the team's $100 FAAB budget.

FAAB bids may range from $1 to the owner's maximum remaining FAAB budget. No bids may be made on players in an AL team's farm system or NL players. (EXCEPTION: Bids made on players which are to be awarded on any Sunday in September or October must be a minimum of $5!)

A player is eligible to be taken as long as he is listed on the stat service system unless that player is in the minor leagues or on the Disabled List. The only exception is if a player is released from someone's roster on Saturday or Sunday, no one is allowed to select that player until the following week. PLAYERS ON THE D.L. MAY NOT BE SELECTED VIA FAAB$.

Any player acquired through FAAB who carries a salary of $60 or more is considered an "asterisk" player for reason of "Anti-Dumping" (see "Trading" section.)

Bids will be evaluated based on which players received the highest bids. That is, if Team A bids $50 on Player Y, and Team B bids $30 on Player X; then Player Y will be evaluated before Player X. (You wouldn't think this would matter, but trust me, there are scenarios where it does!)

If a successful FAAB$ selection or selections causes a team's reserve roster to exceed 17 players, that team has until Tuesday at midnight to release a player or players to bring them back down to the maximum of 17.

Up until the deadline, all bids may be modified or withdrawn once they are submitted.

(No longer valid as of 2010 since we aren't using All-Star Stats) Minor All-Star Stats glitch: If a player is sent to the minors after a bid is put in on him, the bid does not get deleted. Bids on players sent to the minors before the Sunday night deadline will be voided. Please retract your bid if you see a player you bid on has been sent to the minors.

In the event of a mid-season strike or lock-out, bidding will continue to the next deadline into the strike. After that, FAAB$ bidding is on hold until play resumes.

See Section IV.E. for how you may obtain additional FAAB$ by dropping players who become under contract to N.L. team (via trade, waivers, etc.)

Teams may NOT trade FAAB dollars.

If a team makes a mistake in their FAAB bidding (i.e. claiming a player that is sent to the minors, or a player on the D.L., or just flat out enters a bid they didn't intend), there will be no adjusting of other bids. In other words, if you have $10 left and bid $8 on a player on the D.L. by mistake, and $7 on another player; your $8 bid will be voided, and you will NOT get the $7 player even if it meant you would have if you hadn't made the mistake in the first place.

In September, teams may not bid on players that were last owned by the bidding team. In other words, if you release a player in August (or any time of the year for that matter), you may NOT be the next team to FAAB select that player.

IX.

Fees

YEARLY ENTRANCE FEE will be $200. The stat service costs will be taken out of that $200. If a team requires stats to be sent in the mail, that team will have to pay additional to cover those fees.

$100 total will be given to Chris Malinowski for administrative costs.

(No longer valid as of 2010 since we aren't using All-Star Stats) FAAB$ is an additional cost from All-Star Stats and will also be taken out of the $200 entrance fee for each team.

There is no charge for trades.

There is no charge for transactions and FAAB acquisitions.

There is no charge to retain rookies from one year to the next.

There is no charge to call-up players for September Roster expansion.

CONTRACT BUY-OUTS: If a team choses not to retain a player with a "long-term contract" from one year to the next, the owner must pay into the prize pool whichever is lower: $20 or equivalent value of the player's salary.

In the event of a strike, lock-out or similar circumstances, the season will count as full if (a) more than 81 games are played, or (b) if play resumes in mid-season and carries on through the end of the regular season. The season will count as "81 games" as soon as at least one team plays 81 games (e.g. Wins plus losses must equal 81 or more for at least one team. Games post-poned or not completed will not count as "one game" until that game ends in a win or a loss.) If the season "counts", no money will be refunded and money will be awarded to the top 5 teams as if a full season had been played in full. If the season does not "count," all money (minus fees paid to the stat service) will be refunded.

Any team which neglects to pay full entrance fee on draft day, will be prohibited from making any transactions what-so-ever until the debt is paid in full.

Any team that has their entrance fee check bounce will be required to pay in cash the following year, and will, of course, have to pay the bank fee penalty for the bounced check. Until full payment is made that team will be prohibited from making transactions.

The treasurer will cash all checks immediately following the draft. If checks are not cashed until after the season is over, it will be out of the league's hands and the treasurer will have to make arrangements personally to resolve the issue.

Trading and "Anti-Dumping"

During the regular season, teams may make trades with any other team until trading deadline at noon on August 1st, with "Anti-Dumping" restrictions as noted below.

Trades are effective when then are entered into the Stats service system - NO EXCEPTIONS. Trades are NOT effective the minute they are made. If it takes you more than a day to enter the trade, that's your loss.

During the off-season, teams may make unrestricted trades with any other team between the end of the regular season and the time that rosters are frozen before draft day. Off-season trades are, obviously, not bound by the position distribution requirement. There is also no limit to the SIZE of a team's roster during the off-season.

Teams MAY receive a player back in trade during the regular season which it traded away previously during the regular season. (This is noted simply to clarify, since this wasn't always the case in the ASL.)

During the regular season, since each team has its own reserve roster of players, trades may be made unevenly (e.g., a pitcher can be traded for two outfielders) as long as the integrity of each team's active roster has been preserved at the conclusion of the trade. No team may have a "hole" in its active roster. A trade causes an exceed of players on a team's roster during the regular season must be accompanied by a subsequent move to drop the appropriate number of players.

Players to be named later and/or future considerations are not allowed when making trades. You may NOT trade a player today with a promise to trade another player or the same player back at a later date - that is collusion.

You may not agree to make a trade to benefit one team in the league with an agreement that that same team would make a trade to benefit your team in another league. This is also collusion.

During the off-season, supplementary draft picks for the upcoming season only may be traded. During the regular season, owners cannot trade supplementary draft picks for future seasons.

If a team notes - to anyone - in mid-season that they will not be returning to the league for the next season, that team will not be allowed to make any additional trades.

An active player on the D.L. may be traded to another team's active roster. Conversely, a player on reserve who is on the D.L. may NOT be traded to another team's active roster.

A Rotisserie team is allowed to trade a player that had previously been traded to the National League. The team receiving the player may continue to accrue the player's statistics as if he was still in the AL, or that team may drop the player for additional FAAB$ money. (See section IV.E. for more info.)

"Anti-Dumping" Rules

During the standard trading period (from the end of the draft until noon on 8/31), teams may accept only TWO "asterisk" players total throughout the year and those must be from different teams.

On the flip-side, a team may trade AWAY as many "asterisk" players as they like (but no two "asterisk" players to the same team.)

(2006 and prior) "Asterisk" players are any players auction drafted for $25 or over, any players FAAB drafted for $60 or over, players of any salary in the final year of their contract, and players traded to the N.L.

(Starting the 2007 season) "Asterisk" players are any players auction drafted for $20 or over, any players FAAB drafted for $60 or over, players of any salary in the final year of their contract, and players traded to the N.L.

(Starting the 2010 season) Each team is allowed one "asterisk for asterisk" trade during the season. The trade is only one asterisk for one asterisk and other players cannot be involved in the trade. This trade can be utilized at any point in the season up until the trade deadline. The intent of the rule is to allow fair trades. Again, it is simply one asterisk player for one asterisk player. It is not two or three asterisks for two or three asterisks and no other players (or rookies) can be included in the trade. This trade does not count against a team’s limit of two asterisk trades. However, you may not make two trades involving asterisk players within 30 days. In other words, if you make your asterisk-for-asterisk trade with 1 team, you made not make one of your two asterisk-dump-trades with that same team unless you first wait 30 days.

RESTRICTED TRADING PERIOD: Between noon on August 1st, and noon on August 31st, you may trade with any team +/- 5 points in the standings (based on the most up to date daily standings on the web-site.) Also during this period, teams with less than 40 points will also be able to continue trading with each other. The asterisk rules will apply during this period.

(Applied only during the 2006 season) Before making any trades, you are required to post the players who are being made available in a trade to the ASL Yahoo message board (ASL0254@yahoogroups.com), with details as follows:

Players involved in trade discussions must have been posted a week prior to the trade becoming official. (This is important to note as it requires that teams begin trade discussions - and posting of players to Yahoo - at least a week prior to all trade deadlines.)

Although players must be posted for 1 week, you do get a 1 week "grace period" beyond the initial 7 days to trade those players for any players which were posted by another team DURING your initial 7 day period. (Otherwise, the only way you'd be able to trade with someone is you both posted players on the exact same day.)

You may not post someone else's players. If two teams are having discussions, there should be a message from each team with the players involved in those discussions.

You may post that a player or players are involved in trade talks BEFORE striking a deal. You then have 1 week to trade that player or players, before you would have to post again to the league that those players are still involved in trade talks. (The reason for this is simple. Without some sort of expiration, you could simply post the day after the draft that ALL of your players are available for trade, and then never have to use this process again. Obviously that would circumvent the spirit of this rule.)

XI.

September Roster Expansion

Each team may add up to two (2) additional players to its active roster for the month of September at any time during the month beginning as early as September 1st.

During the period of September Roster Expansion, the "extra" players added may be demoted or replaced by another player at any time.

The additional players added are, in effect, considered an additional "wild card" spot on the team's active roster. (e.g. a player initially added to a team's active roster who only qualified at outfield may be replaced by a player who only qualifies at catcher.)

A "expanded" pitcher may be replaced by an offensive player, and vice versa. (This is noted only because this was not the case in the early years of the ASL.)

XII.

Prize Money

All prize money shall be divided among the first five teams in the final standings as follows:

45% - First Place
25% - Second Place
15% - Third Place
10% - Fourth Place
5% - Fifth Place

In case of a tie, both teams will divide the money equally. For example, if two teams tie for 4th place, each team will get 7.5%; or if two teams tie for 2nd place, each team would get 20%, etc.

Any team finishing the year with negative debt smaller than $10 will not have that money refunded.

XIII.

Pre-Draft Roster Protection

An owner may retain between 0 and 13 players on his team's active roster for an upcoming season. In addition, up to (5) players may be retained on a team's reserve roster in accordance with the rules set forth below.

Teams may NOT protect players that are not under contract with an AL team. (This means that you may NOT keep a player if he is a free agent.)

The pre-auction Roster Protection date will be approximately one week prior to Auction Draft Day weekend. Exact date and time to be set by the Commissioner. This date and time will also act as the trading deadline. At that time, all teams must submit their "keeper lists" including any long-term contracts that will be given to players entering their "option" year, as well as any rookies being kept on reserve (see XIII.G. below.) (The "Rookies" retained do NOT count against your maximum-13 active-roster keepers.)

A player may be retained on his ASL team's reserve roster only if he still has rookie status as defined by Major League baseball. The major league rule reads: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during the previous season or seasons, he has exceeded 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues." The major league rule also says that if a player has accumulated more than 45 days on an active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of a 24-player limit that the player will lose rookie status. For the purposes of the ASL, this part of the rule will be dropped simply because it is not information that is easily obtained.

On auction draft day, any reserve roster player ("rookie") that is on an AL roster or disabled list must be promoted to his ASL team's active roster or must be released to the free agent draft pool. If a player's promotion causes a team's active roster protection list to exceed the 13 player limit, a corresponding player on the list must be released to the free agent pool. (Teams also have the option of releasing a player even if they have NOT reached the 13 player limit!)

THE ORBER MORENO RULE OF 2001: Any protected player that is placed on the Disabled List, released or sent to the minors between the "freeze date" and draft day may be released to the free agent draft pool without penalty. Teams may NOT then add another player. (Note that this only applies to players whose status has changed BETWEEN the freeze date and draft day. For example, if you have a player who was disabled BEFORE the freeze date, and you decide to make him one of your 13 keepers, you may not then change your mind on draft day.)

Once a team calls in their "keeper list" to the league Commissioner, that team may not make any additional trades until after the draft.

If a player is traded to the NL between the time rosters are frozen and the draft, that player is removed from that team, and the team gets nothing in return. (The same as if the player was traded to the AL at any other time during the Winter.) The only consolation is that the team may, if it chooses, add another player to their freeze list that wasn't previously protected.

(5) ROOKIE MAXIMUM RULE OF 2003: Teams may retain up to a maximum of (5) rookies on draft day. However, because some rookies may not yet have been reassigned to the minors when rosters are submitted one week prior to draft day, teams will submit all of their rookies when rosters are frozen. Just prior to the draft on Draft Day, teams will then pare down their list of rookies to be kept on reserve to a maximum of (5). At any other time during the year, however, teams may have as many rookies on their roster as they like. It is only on Draft Day that teams must not have more than (5).

Note that rookies drafted prior to 2003 are considered "grandfathered" and do not count against the (5) rookie limit. Such players will be listed with a contract status of "L8" on the stat service.

XIV.

Waivers

There are no "Waivers" in the ASL. All players released automatically go into the free agent pool and are immediately available for FAAB$ selection.

XV.

Player Contracts and Salaries

A player may be kept under contract for as long as the owner wishes. After two years under contract, a player may be offered a long-term contract. If a team does not chose to offer a long-term contract, the player may be released or retained for a third year after which the contract ends. If a player is signed to a long term contract, the player will be retained for the duration of the contract unless he becomes under contract to a National League team or the owner "buys out" the remaining contract term on the day rosters are frozen.

For each season a player is retained, his contract status and salary are as follows:

Contract Year	Stat Service Designation	Player Salary
1st year 2nd year 3rd year (no contract extension) 3rd year (contract extension) Last year (contract extension) Rookie (2003 and later) Rookie (2002 and prior)	s2 s1 O L(#) L1 s3 L8	Price obtained at auction Price obtained at auction (same as 1st) Price obtained at auction (same as 1st) Auction$ + $5 times # of years extended Same as "3rd year w/contract extension) $5 $5

At the end of a player's second year, an owner may extend the player's contract for additional years at the cost of $5 added to the player's base salary (e.g., his auction price) for each year that the contract has been extended. For example, a player with a base salary of $10 who was extended for an additional 3 years would have a salary of $25 for the remainder of the contract term.

Players obtained via the FAAB acquisition process and players drafted in the reserve/supplemental draft will have a contract status of "s2", the same as if they had been drafted in the auction draft that year.

There are no waivers in the ASL. (All players released during the season drop directly into the free agent pool and are available immediately for FAAB acquisition.)

The contract period for a player with "rookie status" (130 or less career major league at bats or 50 or less career major league innings pitched), will be considered to begin when that player loses his major league "rookie" status (or when he is activated on auction draft day.) Note that you may activate a "rookie" player during the season and he still retains his Rotisserie "rookie" status until he exceeds 130 career at bats or 50 career innings pitched. (Until a player loses his "rookie" status he will have a contract designation of either "s3" or "L8". See Section XIII.G.)

RESERVE DRAFT SALARIES

The salary of a player obtained in the first SEVEN rounds of the reserve/supplemental draft is $5 if the player still has major league "rookie status" (even if the player is on a major league roster), and $10 if the player is not a "rookie." A "rookie" player drafted in the reserve/supplemental draft is considered a "rookie" for contract purposes even if he is in the majors. All other players have a contract of "s2." (Note that is slightly different from the ESL - in the ESL, if a player is a "rookie" but on a major league roster, he is $10 "s2," not $5 "s3.")

The salary of players drafted in the 8th/final round of the reserve/supplemental draft is $1 regardless of whether the player has "rookie status" or not.

Players drafted in 2011 or later and retained on reserve in subsequent seasons will have a salary equal to his previous salary plus $3.

If a player becomes under contract to an NL team, his Rotisserie contract is terminated if he doesn't return to the AL by the time rosters are frozen the following year - even if the player had a "long-term guaranteed contract". If he does return to the AL, his contract remains unaffected by the trade to the NL and back to the AL again. (Note that a player under long-term contract CAN be dropped during the regular season for FAAB$ if he winds up in the NL.)

CONTRACT BUY-OUTS: If a team chooses not to retain a player with a "long-term contract" from one year to the next, the owner must pay into the prize pool whichever is lower: $20 or equivalent value of the player's salary. (Note that if the player becomes under contract to an NL team, the owner is no longer obligated to "buy out" the player's Rotisserie contract.)

A player with a "long-term contract" may not be released at any time during the regular season (unless the player becomes under contract with an NL team via trade, waivers, etc.) Buy-outs may occur only when rosters are frozen prior to the draft.

If Major League baseball moves a team from the AL to the NL, any players on that team may be retained until their contracts expire. However, such players may not be given contract extensions.

If Major League baseball contracts (eliminates a team), any players which subsequently wind up on an NL team may be retained until their contracts expire. However, such players may not be given contract extensions.

In the event of a strike, lock-out or similar circumstances, the season will count as full if (a) more than 81 games are played, or (b) if play resumes in mid-season and carries on through the end of the regular season. The season will count as "81 games" as soon as at least one team plays 81 games (e.g. Wins plus losses must equal 81 or more for at least one team. Games post-poned or not completed will not count as "one game" until that game ends in a win or a loss.) If the season "counts", player contracts will be treated as if the year was played in its entirety. If the season does not "count," player contracts will be "frozen" for that year.

XVI.

Surveys and Rule Changes

Any AND ALL rule changes which do not require immediate attention will be addressed each year in the "Winter Survey" which will be issued each year in November with a deadline of December 31st.

Only when absolutely necessary will a rule change at any other time outside of the "Winter Survey." If a rule change does require immediate action it will always be done via email to allow anonymous voting and sufficient time for group discussion. Again, unless absolutely necessary, no voting/rule changes will be made in person or on draft day.

Any rule change suggestion which would have affected a team's prior strategy or in which the voting would be swayed by a team's present situation will NOT be immediately effective, but, rather, must wait one full year. Such rules include changes in keeper-limit/size, order of the reserve draft, etc. (The reason for this is to retain the integrity of all votes. For example, if a team knows they have very few keepers such a team is likely to vote to reduce keeper limit size. By making such votes effective one year later, all votes are "honest.")

A "majority" vote will be a majority of positive votes out of all people who do not abstain. For example, if 4 people vote "yes", 2 vote "no" and 6 "abstain", the rule will pass. In other words, SEVEN "yes" votes are not necessary for a new rule to pass.

An "even" vote will not be enough for a vote to pass. More "yes" votes than "no" votes are required for a rule to change.

Starting with the 2006 survey, there will not be an option to "abstain" on a question. All owners will be required to chose a side on every issue.