1. General Overview
The United League (UL) is an alternate history baseball simulation using Out of the Park Baseball. Owners manage teams composed of historical major league players on fictional teams. The premise of the league is that the major leagues went bankrupt in 1950 and a smaller single league emerged in its place. The UL began with eight teams in 1951, expanded to 10 in 1955, to 12 in 1962, and to 14 in 1974.
The Commissioner is responsible for:
* Simulating games, maintaining rosters, completing transactions, and updating the website
* Keeping owners informed of general league news
* Clarifying, modifying, and enforcing league rules
* Ensuring all trades are in the interest of league fairness
* Acting as final arbiter in all disputes and rule interpretations
* Recruiting new managers as needed
Owners are responsible for:
* trying to field a competitive team in good faith
* submitting lineups and rosters regularly
* participating in contract extensions and drafts
* writing a brief year-end summary each season
Owners who miss several sims without notification will be considered inactive and may be replaced.
*
Teams with inactive owners may fall temporarily into league control.
The commissioner may run the team on an interim basis or appoint another
manager to do so.
* Interim-managed teams may not initiate any
trades, but during the free agency period the commissioner will manage
or delegate their free agent bidding.
* During the amateur draft, the computer will make selections for the inactive team.
2. Schedule and Playoffs
*
The league consists of two seven-team divisions and plays a 156- game
balanced schedule. Each team plays every other team 12 times. The team
with the best regular season record wins the President’s Trophy and $3
million.
* Playoffs: Four teams qualify. Division winners are #1 and
#2 seeds and get home field advantage in the Semifinal Series. The two
teams with next best records (regardless of division) are #3 and #4
seeds. #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3. Winners meet in World Series. All
series are best-of-seven with home field switching 2-3-2.
3. Sim Schedule
*
The league simulates a half month at a time, generally to the 1st and
16th of each month. In close pennant races, September may be split into
three sims.
* The timing and frequency of sims varies based on the
time commitments of the commissioner and owners. Check the league
website for the upcoming sim schedule.
* The sim sometimes
takes two nights to complete, due to the large number of files to be
uploaded and the time required to update Circuit Clouts. The
commissioner will notify the league if the sim is delayed.
4. Submitting Your Roster
* Make sure you are using the most current league file by updating the league file within OOTP.
*
If you do not wish to make any changes, send an email to the
commissioner with “no changes” in the subject or body. to avoid the risk
of appearing to be an inactive owner.
* Lineups vs. left-handed and
right-handed pitching should be completed by the owner. The DH lineups
do not need to be complete since the DH rule is not in effect.
* Depth charts should be completed to instruct the game’s AI how to handle substitutions during the course of the sim.
* Active rosters are limited to 25 players, expanding to 40 in September.
* The league default is 5-man rotations.
5. Player Usage
* Players may play only positions where they have a position rating or 2 or more, except in extreme circumstances, such as injuries to all players rated at a position.
* The exceptions are:
— outfielders, which may play all three outfield positions, and
— leftward moves along the defensive spectrum, from more skilled to less skilled positions.
*Defensive
Spectrum (1B-LF-RF-3B-CF-2B-SS) – Players may play a position for which
they have no rating, provided the new position is to the left of a
position where they have a position rating.
* Only players with a catcher rating may play catcher.
Managing Your Team
Management
of your roster consists of six phases throughout the year: payroll cap
calculation (mid October), contract renewals (October/November), free
agency period (February), rookie draft (March), trades (through Aug. 1), and contract extensions (throughout season).
6. Roster Limits
During the season (April 1 to October 1), your roster must meet the following requirements:
* Payroll must be below your payroll cap.
* Roster must contain between 50 and 55 players. If you are over/under this range on Opening Day, the Commissioner reserves the right to add/subtract players.
* Both your UL and Triple-A teams must have at least two rated players at each position, counting each OF position separately, where “rated” means a minimum position rating of 2.
7. Payroll Caps
* Payroll caps are calculated each October after the World Series. Each team’s payroll cap is determined by the formula (Revenue + cash + $5 million), where revenue is calculated as a three-year average.
* The Contracts page is the authoritative source for payroll caps. The “Current Budget” listed on your Front Office page should be the same number, but when they differ go by the one listed on the Contracts page.
* The maximum salary cap is $75 million.
* A team’s payroll cap may not change, up or down, by more than $5 million each year.
* The league minimum salary is $350k. There are no minor league contracts.
* No team may execute any transaction (including contract renewal or trade) that pushes their payroll above their payroll cap, unless the overage is eliminated on the same sim day with another transaction.
* The Cash Maximum for each club is $10 million. At the end of each season, any cash holdings above this amount will be distributed through revenue sharing.
* The Cash Minimum for each club is $-10 million.
8. Contract Renewals
* GMs may negotiate player contracts at any time during the season. Only players in the final year of a contract are eligible for renewal.
Players whose contracts end fall into three categories
*
AUTO extension (+) — Players with less than 5 years of major league
service time (MLST) can be renewed for one year at the same salary or
released.
* ARB eligible (Arb) — Players with
5-9 years of MLST are eligible for salary arbitration. You have the
right to retain these players on a one-year contract, but an arbitration
panel will determine the salary.
* FREE AGENT (FA) — Players with
more than 9 years of MLST are eligible for free agency. If you do not
renew the contracts of these players, they will go into the pool of free
agents.
Sequence of decisions
*
After new payroll caps are released, you will be asked to decide which
ARB eligible players you would like to take to arbitration. All other
players will drop into the free agent pool.
* Arbitartion panels will make their salary decisions, which are final and irreversible.
*
If arbitration decisions push your payroll over your cap, you must take
appropriate measures before Opening Day (including releasing AUTO
renewals, making trades, opting out of FA) to get it under the cap.
* After arbitration hearings, you will be asked to decide which AUTO renewal players you wish to keep. These players are signed to one-year contacts at the same salary. All other players drop into the pool of free agents.
9. Free Agency Period
*
The Free Agency period is February. There will be two rounds of normal
bidding, (through Feb. 10, Feb. 20) plus two additional “auction” rounds
by email bidding outside the game engine.
* Clubs over their payroll cap may not participate in free agency bidding.
* The minimum bid for a player is $350k.
*
Any free agent signing that puts a team over its payroll cap will be
immediately disallowed, and the player involved will return to the free
agent pool.
* FA auction rounds
* After the two rounds of in-game FA bidding, GMs may bid on the remaining unsigned players.
* GMs send a list of players/salary offers to the Commissioner.
* Equal bids will be broken in favor of the club with the worse record in the previous season.
* All contracts are for one year.
These
signings will occur outside the game, so greedy players who were not
signed during the FA period will be forced to accept smaller salaries
rather than remaining perpetual holdouts. This is a good way for teams
to fill out their rosters on the cheap to meet the minimum 50 player
roster requirement, so GMs should budget some funds for this. All
remaining FAs will be allocated to Double-A American Association teams
(see Rule 12).
10. Rookie Draft
*
All major league players with at least 1,000 career at-bats or 300
career innings pitched are eligible for the United League, as well as
selected players who narrowly miss these thresholds. Players will enter
the draft the same year as their real-life major league debut.
* Rookie Draft occurs on March 1.
* Rookie class will be published in mid-January, but rookie ratings are subject to change until just before the rookie draft.
* Draft order is determined by reverse order of finish. Ties will be broken by head-to-head record, then head-to-head runs.
* Draft order will be Straight, 1-14, 1-14, etc. and will last 4 rounds (56 picks).
* Teams may not pass a round, but may switch to computer picks at any time.
* Draft picks may be traded.
*
Undrafted rookies will become free agents and will be assigned to teams
in the Double-A American Association (see Rule 12. Low Minors).
Rookie Contracts
* All rookies are signed to three-year contracts at fixed salaries.
* 1st round picks: top 5 draft picks will earn salaries of $2500,
$2400, $2300, $2200, and $2100 (in thousands) respectively. All other
1st round picks will earn $2000
* 2nd round picks will earn $1500 (first seven) and $1000 (last seven)
* 3rd round picks will earn $750 (first seven) and $500 (last seven)
* 4th and 5th round picks will earn $350.
Rookie Contracts (from 1977)
* All rookies are signed to three-year or one-year contracts at fixed salaries.
* 1st round picks: top 7 draft picks will earn salaries of $3000, $2800, $2600, $2400, $2300, $2200, and $2100 (in thousands) respectively. Picks 8-14 will earn $2000
* 2nd round picks will earn $1500 (first seven) and $1000 (last seven).
* 3rd round picks will earn $750 (first seven) and $500 (last seven).
* 4th and 5th round picks will earn $350 and will sign only one-year contracts.
11. Releasing Players
* The only time of the year you can release players for free is when they are out of contract between Oct. 16 and Jan. 1.
* There are two specific sim cycles devoted to releasing players: one just before Arbitration hearings, and one just after.
*
You may release a player under contract at any time, except during the
Free Agency period, but you must buy out the remainder of his contract.
* Any player released may not be signed by the same team for at least 90 days.
12. Low Minors / Free Agents During the Season
*
On Opening Day, all unsigned free agents and undrafted rookies will be
assigned to teams in the independent, Double-A level American
Association.
* AA players are treated the same as free agents may be
signed to a league minimum contract (300k/1 year) at any time after the
first sim of the season.
* Beginning March 1 (after
Free Agency), teams may claim any unsigned free agents or undrafted
rookies on a first-come basis, to 300k/1 year contracts.
* To claim a player email the Commissioner and the player will be added to your roster. If you sign the player in-game, please notify the Commissioner so he can update the Contracts page.
* If
multiple teams claim the same AA player during the same sim, the team
with the worst record from the previous season gets the player.
* Players will remain in AA until they either retire or sign a contract with a UL team.
13. Trades
* Teams may trade players, draft picks, and cash.
* Trade deadline is August 1.
* Teams must honor the remaining terms of all player contract, both salary and remaining years.
* Teams may not execute any trade that causes them to exceed their payroll cap.
* A team already over its payroll cap may not execute a trade that increase its payroll.
* Executing a trade:
– Both parties must send a confirmation email to the commissioner.
– All trades will be processed as soon as possible.
* All trades between related GMs will be reviewed by at least three other GMs.
* The Commissioner reserves the right to disallow any trade deemed grossly unbalanced or harmful to the league.
14. Contract Extensions
* You may offer extensions at any time during the season.
*
Veterans with at least 9 years of major league service time (MLST) will
be lost to free agency unless they sign a contract extension.
15. Fair Play
*
All owners should in good faith try to be competitive and field their
best team. No team should deliberately lose games for any reason or
engage in behavior deemed harmful to the league or its players.