Constitution of the PEBA

Constitution of the PEBA

v2038 (9/28/23)

The Preamble
The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance (PEBA) is a fictional Out of the Park Baseball (OOTP) league. The league is formed solely for the enjoyment of its members (hereafter alternately referred to as “GMs”).

The Constitution of the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance will be referred to for all questions regarding the rules and regulations of the PEBA. In order to participate in the PEBA all members must agree to adhere to this Constitution. By doing so, you are acknowledging certain responsibilities and expectations involved with your participation and agree to uphold them in an effort to make this playing experience as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved.

The Constitution may be revised as necessary for the league to evolve. Changes will be made at the sole discretion of the Board (see Article I). Whenever it is feasilbe, and appropriate, members will be consulted for their opininions prior to a Constitutional change. Members are expected to provide opinions on proposed changes during each off-season. While member input is welcome, note that decisions by the Board are final; no further debate will be welcome once a decision is rendered. Opinions are and will be taken very seriously but, in the interest of maintaining stability and focus, members hereby consent to accept rulings from the Board without argument. Rather than a democracy, the PEBA should be viewed as a benevolent autocracy.

The Common Sense Accord (CSA)
PEBA members recognize that the league is intended to recreate a realistic modern baseball experience. Limitations of OOTP will occasionally result in opportunities for personal gain that would not occur in real life. Members agree to adhere to a common sense policy when approaching these situations and will refrain from taking advantage of unrealistic opportunities presented to them by the game. Members recognize that interpretation of what constitutes “unrealistic” is based on the discretion of the Board, who can and will enforce unilateral actions to prevent/reverse moves that go against the spirit of the CSA.

In situations where a move is deemed as potentially being in violation of the CSA, it is reasonable to present a written explanation for said move privately to the Board. Once the Board has reached a verdict, however, further argument will not be tolerated. The general mantra here is: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” If you are uncertain whether a move you’re considering would violate the CSA, contact the Board to receive guidance. Your case will always garner the best reception when you provide forewarning.

Expectations and Personal Conduct
Members acknowledge that the PEBA is established not only as a baseball league but as a social experience and at all times they are expected to be respectful and courteous to their fellow GMs. While disagreements and debates will always be a part of any gathering of individuals, it is expected that members will treat one other with due dignity.

All members are also expected to be competitive with one another. The PEBA is a league that rewards participation and competitive play. All members are expected to live up to this standard and agree to do their utmost to put forth the best franchise they possibly can. At the same time, Members participate to have fun and communicate with like-minded baseball aficionados. When the twin goals of competitiveness and courtesy collide, members should err on the side of courtesy.

All new league GMs will use their real names in their forum signature to facilitate familiarity between members. This shall include a reasonable proximity of their location – be it city, county, state, region, country (other than US/Canada). Having a general idea of a GMs location will help with our understanding of the global time constraints we are all working with.

Members are expected to respond politely to your fellow GMs’ trade proposals (no matter how unrealistic they may be). This can be as simple as saying, “I am not interested at this time.” Members must respond to trade communications – however briefly – within four days of their receipt. If you have sent a communication to a fellow GM and received no response within this time frame, send a polite reminder first, and if there is no reply, you may send a complaint to the Board. Members excused from exports are also excused from responding to trade communications.

The PEBA puts a great deal of value on creative writing submission from its members as well as other forms of participation. Members receive CP for taking the time to better the league with their contributions. CP can be exchanged for a variety of useful benefits and writing is the best way to earn them, so contributing news articles, blog postings and team/League updates is highly recommended for all members. See Article XI for more information on Contribution Points.

Article I – League Governance (The Board)
The PEBA shall be governed by a Board appointed by the Commissioner. The Board is responsible for running sims, keeping up the web site, paying hosting costs, making decisions in the best interest of the league, answering questions, resolving conflicts when they arise (with the expectation that members’ desires/concerns are addressed with fairness), clear communication if/when unforeseen events arise, and any other functions required to maintain the league. Above all else, the Board has a responsibility never to abuse its status. Board members are strictly prohibited from altering/adjusting sim results to favor a particular team or divulging “inside information” that would lead to a competitive advantage.

The Board may divide responsibility for these tasks amongst themselves in any manner they deem appropriate. These are considered lifetime posts. A board member may resign if he or she so chooses, but not until a suitable replacement is found.

When a new version of OOTP is released, the Board will determine a schedule for migration. This will not occur until a.) the PEBA is in the off-season, and b.) the Board has had time to review the new version and determine its suitability. Once a schedule has been laid out, all PEBA members will be expected to purchase the new version in a timely fashion.

Volunteers willing to assist the Board with their duties are welcomed with warm appreciation. While many aspects of league management must be handled solely by the Board, there are several areas where the contributions of members can prove invaluable. Those members who donate their time and effort will be rewarded in Contribution Points (CP) – see Article XI.

Current Board Officers are:

• Commissioner: Michael Topham (Aurora)
• Recruitment Guru: Reg LeBlanc (New Orleans)
• Tech Guru: Dylan Krupilis (Toyama)
• Board Member: RJ Ermola (Crystal Lake)
• Board Member: Duane Rudis (Kentucky)

Article II – League Play Schedule
During the regular season, two sims are scheduled each week (currently Monday & Thursday). During the playoffs and off-season, a third sim (or more) may be held as schedules of participants allow; playoff schedules may be excelerated as to move the League collective into the offseason more efficiently. Alterations to the schedule will be announced in advance by the Board to provide members ample time to prepare. The Board will periodically release schedule updates to keep members up to date. The latest schedule is always linked from the league forum.

Article III – Responsibilities
There are seven base responsibilities involved with participation in the PEBA.

• Exporting
• Roster Management
• Lineup and Rotation Management
• Disabled List Management
• DFA Management
• Personnel Management
• Participation

The Board will contact GMs neglecting any of these responsibilities, but Contribution Point (CP) penalties will be immediately assessed to GMs who neglect Exporting, Roster Management, and DFA Management responsibilities). Continued neglect could result in additional CP penalty. Repeated violations can result in forfeiture of your membership.

Details of these seven responsibilities are found below:

EXPORTING:
It is mandatory for every GM to export in advance of every regular season sim regardless of whether or not they have moves to make. Members are also expected to export in advance of any playoff sims in which their team is participating. Exporting in advance of off-season sims is optional but highly encouraged. An online export tracker is available to assist members in StatsLab. (see Article IX).

The Board will provide notification on the forum when a new league file is ready. Exports from a new league file may be submitted at any time during a sim cycle (defined as the time between a new league file being available and the deadline for the next sim). The new league file must be imported before any export will be accepted. To avoid last-second hang-ups that may prevent you from exporting, all members are advised to send a “safety export” immediately upon importing a new league file. A more thorough export may be submitted later in the cycle. Getting into the habit of sending a “safety export” is good practice.

Members agree to post notice via the appropriate forum (The Disabled List) if they will be unable to make one or more exports. PEBA members recognize that timely exporting is the most basic and essential requisite of a smoothly running league. In turn, the Board recognizes that life responsibilities/emergencies can and do occasionally conflict with the exporting process. Unexcused and excused missed exports will be handled thusly:

• Unexcused: If you fail to export two consecutive times without explanation, you should expect an email from the Board checking on your status. A timely response will be expected; failing that, the Board will assume you are no longer involved with the league and take steps to transfer control of your team to a new GM. Similarly, the Board will replace members who fail to export five times (consecutive or otherwise) over the course of a season.
• Excused: To gain excused status you must post notice as soon as possible, in advance of the sim(s) to be missed (unless it is a true emergency) via the appropriate forum (The Disabled List) that you will be unavailable for one or more exports and briefly explain the reason. Assuming the reason is valid (and most reasons will be accepted as valid), you will be excused from your exporting responsibilities.

Members who need to miss an extended period should find someone (either within the league or without) to assume exporting responsibility during their absence or seek assistance from the Board. The Board reserves the right to assign someone to manage a team whose GM fails to name an interim manager. Under extreme circumstances, returned control of the team to the original GM will be at the discretion of the Board.

ROSTER MANAGEMENT:
Each sim, every GM will ensure the rosters of all teams of all levels that are in-season meet all requirements listed below:

• Major League Roster: 23-26 players, no age limit
• AAA: 23-27 players, no age limit
• AA: 23-27 players, no age limit
• A: 23-27 players, age must be 24 years old or less
• Short Season A: 23-27 players, age must be 23 years old or less
• Rookie: 23-35 players, age must be 20 years old or less

As the entire PEBA world is meant to mimic real life baseball conditions, teams are expected to have age appropriate rosters. With that in mind, age limits are set at the minor league levels, but they will be viewed as ‘soft liimits’ – recognizing that during a sim, a player who ‘ages up’ may not be forced off a roster. GMs are encouraged to respect the limits and move players as the time comes. It is acknowledge that once such a player is promoted, he may not return to the level that he has ‘aged out’ of.

Any roster requirement that is violated may result in auto-assignment by the Board (which may not be to your liking). On first offense, when any player is found to be illegally on a roster, the GM will be warned. All subsequent offenses will result CP penalties outlined in that section of this constitution.

Minor league roster limits are not enforced during the teams off season.

Roster Expansion: On September 1 of each year, the PEBA level roster expands to 40 players.

Playoff Rosters: We will play using the Playoff Roster feature on. Playoff roster eligibility is determined by OOTP. To be eligible for the playoff roster, a player must be on the 40-man major league roster or DL by the day prior to a league’s roster expansion (August 31). Roster moves cannot be made while a playoff series is in progress. Ineligible players on a playoff roster will be removed by the Board. Their vacated roster spot may not be filled for the duration of the current playoff series.

Playoff injury replacement rules:

• If a playoff-eligible player is injured between league roster expansion and the start of the playoffs, he may be replaced on the playoff roster by any player who was on a roster in your organization prior to league roster expansion.
• A player who is injured during the course of the playoffs may be replaced between series by any player who was on a roster in your organization prior to your league’s roster expansion.

LINEUP MANAGEMENT:
GMs are expected to have all applicable lineups, rotations and depth charts fully set up for each team within their organization while that team’s league is in season. Minimum requirements include:

• Appropriate batting orders completely filled out
• Depth charts that are reasonably set up to utilize all hitters on the roster
• At least 4 pitchers slotted as SP
• At least 5 pitchers slotted as RP

As leaving injured players on a roster increases the risk of injury to other players on the roster via overuse, GMs are expected to adjust for injuries (use the Disabled Lists as appropriate) and take other roster movement as needed.

DISABLED LIST MANAGEMENT:
Players must be removed from your DL within one sim of returning to full health and serving their minimum DL stint. Note that the number associated with each DL (10 or 60-day) represents the minimum time the player must remain there, not the maximum.

DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA) LIST MANAGEMENT:
Players will be placed on a team’s DFA list for one of three reasons:

• If you attempt to demote from the majors a player who has no option years remaining and has not previously cleared waivers.
• If you attempt to remove a player from the secondary roster who has not previously cleared waivers.
• All newly acquired players with major league contracts are placed on the DFA list and will be required to be rostered in the appropriate time frame.

Players who are designated for assignment may stay on your DFA list for up to 15 days (typically, the length of the next two sims + 1 day, during the regular season). GMs must assign, trade or release a player before his allotted time on the list expires. Failure to do so may result in auto-assignment by the Board (which may not be to your liking – especially if the player has a sizable contract).

The DFA list is not to be used as a place to stash players. Draftees and players signed to recent minor league contracts are expected to be assigned to a roster in an appropriate time frame. Minor leaguers cannot be repetitively moved on and off the DFA list as a means of holding onto more players than allowed, or to moderate their playing time. Should it come to the Board’s attention that this is occuring, and the Board is of the opinion that this is the action being taken, the Board will contact the GM and issue a warning. Should the action continue to occur, the Board will have the discretion of releasing the players involved in the infraction. A 2 CP per player released penalty will be applied.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT:
GMs are expected to keep all teams in their organization fully staffed while in season. Any organization which is not fully staffed at the beginning of the season will be given a warning. Failure to have your organization fully staffed within 2 sim cycles following the warning will result in a 5 CP penalty fine per open staff slot. The Assistant GM slot is the only slot that is not required to be filled.

PARTICIPATION:
Members are required to participate in several league events and functions. These include:

• Participating in the Amateur Draft
• Voting on All-Stars
• Voting on End-of-Year Awards
• Declare Organizational Minor League Hitters & Pitchers of the Year
• Providing opinions or votes on Year-End Rules “Floaters” (when distributed)

In addition, it is expected that each GM will earn at least 100 total CP per season. A CP “season” concludes upon arrival of the Winter Meetings. The league may also has several special events. The Board will spell out any participation requirements in advance of these events.

Article IV – Financial Management
PEBA teams have no salary cap. GMs are, however, expected to steer their clubs toward profitability.

If a GM chooses to pursue a policy of deficit spending losses beyond -$35,000,000 will be erased upon the end of a season, but the team (and possibly the GM) will expose themselves to multiple penalties.

a) For every $5M below league cash minimum (-$35M) a team ends a season with, the team will lose a point of fan interest: -$40M is a point lost, -$45M is 2 points lost, etc.
b) An additional fan interest penalty is also assessed to teams who end consecutive seasons with negative total cash and who have failed to make progress towards break-even. Consecutive seasons that move deeper into debt will trigger the penalty. Consecutive seasons that move towards solvency will not trigger a penalty.
c) Teams that suffer losses in excess of -$30,000,000 (Season Profit/Losses figure) will also suffer a loss of one market size. Teams may chose to seek Owner-Provided Cash Relief to avoid this penalty (see below). Owner-Provided Cash Relief is capped at $10M – thus teams that suffer loses greater than -$40M will lose one Market size.
d) 1st-year GMs shall be exempt from these penalties above, unless it is deemed by the Board that they are negligent in their handling of the team.
e) Losses in excess of -$35,000,000 will be reviewed by the Board and could be grounds for dismissal from the league.
f) Intentionally driving a team’s debt beyond the -$35,000,000 limit, such as by releasing multiple expensive contracts during one season, will be grounds for immediate dismissal, pending Board investigation.

Owner-Provided Cash Relief:
At the end of a season, a team owner may provide cash out of his pocket to cover excessive team losses. For every $2.5M received in this manner, the team will lose a point of fan interest. This option is only available to teams with the above excessive losses. These teams may chose this option whether or not the suffered an actual penalty.

Ticket Prices:
Each GM may set his team’s ticket prices. These prices should remain within reason. Setting outrageously high prices – i.e. double what any other team is charging is discouraged (prices may be found in the History > Season Summary section of statslab) GM’s will be warned for a first offence and subject to a Fan Interest penalty of -1 for every subsequent offence. Media contracts are of equal size across the league and may be periodically changed.

Maximum Cash:
The maximum amount of cash that any team can carry is $35,000,000. This total will be checked immediately upon the conclusion of each season. Teams with cash over their league maximum will have the excess total removed as negative Cash from Owner.

Revenue Sharing:
A set percentage (31%) of each team’s seasonal revenue will be collected at season’s end and distributed evenly amongst all teams in the league. Those teams generating above-average income will pay more, while those generating below-average income will receive more.

Performance Based Loyalty and Market Effects:
A team’s performance has the potential to affect its fan loyalty and market size. Since expectations are different in different markets, each team will be reviewed based on the expectations for their market. Teams with the largest markets and largest budgets will have the greatest expectations. Teams in smaller markets with smaller budgets will have lesser expectations. Teams will be awarded or penalized based on how they fared against those expectations.

• The team that exceeds expectations by the greatest amount will receive a market size increase.
• The next 4 teams who most exceeded expectations will see a fan loyalty increase.
• The team that performs the worst against expectations will see a market size decrease.
• The next 4 teams who most faltered against expectations will see a fan loyalty decrease.

Expectations will be based on market size, team budget, playoff appearances in the last ten seasons, and team record over the last 5 seasons. Points are awarded/subtracted due to Performance, which is based on a team’s record, place in division, playoff appearance, and winning a championship. A minimum of 2 years must pass between fan loyalty changes, and a minimum of 3 years must pass between market size changes. 1st year GMs will be exempt from penalties. GM’s who join at or near the conclusion of a season will see their teams exempt of changes – positive or negative. Penalties ‘belong’ to the previous GM. New GMs will then retain the exemption in their first full season. A GM is considered to be in his first ‘full season’ if they have joined by June 1, in-game. Penalties (or gains) will be eliminated for teams with GMs who join after the June 1 date.

Winning a PEBA championship exempts a team from market size/fan loyalty drops for the next 3 years.

Article V – Player Contracts, Bonuses, & the Players’ Bill of Rights
The Players’ Bill of Rights, as stated below, is a list of “spirit of play” tenants that members should take to heart before engaging in negotiations with players. The message it sends is that we as a league value realism and spirit of play above personal gain. Though OOTP may allow GMs to sign players to unrealistically long-term, low-end contracts, the PEBA holds itself to a higher standard when it comes to realism and fair play. We choose to police ourselves and adhere to the real world principle that player salaries often will and should increase during a player’s arbitration and early free agency years. Not a rule, per se, The Players’ Bill of Rights is more a statement of principle:

• We shall demand that teams recognize the inexorable push towards increasingly costly yearly salaries during our arbitration years
• We shall not be taken to arbitration, except as a very last resort
• We shall acknowledge that good and just arbiters shall never award us a salary below what we currently earn
• We shall hold our arbitration years dear and our free agency years dearer, not to be pried away but for quantity of coin
• We shall not lightly sign away multiple years of our service at a time
• We shall resist tyrannical GMs who attempt to sign us to contracts featuring salaries below what we currently earn

PEBA Player Contracts
Contracts are governed by several house rules. Before offering a player a contract, familiarize yourself with these rules. Contracts in violation of these rules are subject to review by the Board, which reserves the right to void, or suggest alterations to, the contract. If you wish to offer a contract that breaks one or more of these rules, contact the Board prior to making the offer to explain your intent. You will be provided with guidance on an agreeable contract offer.

Contracts are governed by the Common Sense Accord. Any contracts that, in the Board’s view, unreasonably exploit a flaw in the game AI will be subject to restructuring or voiding. GMs are encouraged to contact the Board for guidance before making a contract offer when in doubt.

GMs with offending contract extensions will be offered a restructured contract to bring them into compliance with league rules. Alternatively, the GM can opt to void the contract extension, however, their next offer to the player cannot exceed 1 year in length.

Contracts to free agents that violate the rules may be restructured, depending on the nature of the offense. This is up to the Boards discretion. When making an offer to a free agent, be sure to have reviewed the Contract Rules below.

Any contract that violates the Contract Rules may be voided at the discretion of the Board.

Contract Rules
1) Maximum contract length is 6-years (inclusive of option years)

2) Extensions to players with fewer than six years of PEBA ML service time cannot exceed two years in length and must be greater than or equal to the previous years salary, with the one exception being the 5-6 Rule.

3) The 5-6 Rule: Players between 5 and 6 years of PEBA ML service time can receive an extension greater than 2-years, if the following conditions are met:

a. Player salary in the first season of the extension offer must be at least 10% greater then the player’s previous salary.
b. Player salary in each year of the extension must be greater than or equal to salary in the preceding season

4) Extensions to players with 6-years of PEBA Major League service time or greater, must have Year 1 of extension offers be equal to or greater than their current salary. Future years can remain equal, increase, or decrease (as per the De-escalator Clause).

5) De-escalator Clause: Once a player has reached 6-years of PEBA ML service, contracts can be front-loaded (year 1 greater than following years), with yearly decreasing salaries. Should the contract offer be an extension:

a. The first-year salary of the contract must be greater than or equal to the
player’s current salary.
b. Any decline over the length of the deal must not be greater than 20% of the previous years salary.

If the contract is a free agent offer, only the 20% year-to-year decline rule is enforced.

In long, multi-year contracts, de-escalation can occur at any time, but the 20% decline rule is enforced.

Examples:
Good Deal: Player A’s current salary is $10M. He signs a 5-year extension with Team B for the following values: Y1 – $14M, Y2 – $11.2M (-20% of $14M), Y3 – $8.96M (-20% of $10M), Y4 – $7.2M (-20% of $8.96M), and Y5 – $5.8M (-20% of $7.2M).

Bad Deal: Player B’s current salary is $10M. He signs a 5-year extension with Team F for the following values: Y1 – $14M, Y2 – $10.5M (-25% of $14M), Y3 – $7M (-34% of $10.5M), Y4 – $4.5M (-36% of $10M), and Y5 – $2.25M (-50% of $4.5M). Average salary is $13.8M.

6) Rob Raines Rule: at age 32, Year 1 of a contract extension may be less than the player’s current salary, based on one of the following:

a) If the player is over 32 (by the signing of the contract extension) and has been with his current team for 5 or more years, future contract years are strictly between the team and the player, with no restrictions.
b) If the player is over 32 (by the signing of the contract extension) and has been with his current team for less than 5 years, future contract years are strictly between the team and the player, with a maximum contract length of 2-years.
c) Previous international free-agents are not eligible until they have established 3-full years of PEBA experience, at which time, sections A and B apply. Note that the 3rd ‘full-year’ may occur in a player’s 4th PEBA season.

7) Vesting, Player, and Team Options: Options are allowed in multi-year contracts subject to the following provisos:

a) Player options must precede team options when both are offered in the same contract.
b) Team options must include a buyout fee of at least 10% of the option year.
c) Vesting options must be realistic. You cannot ask for more than:
– PITCHERS: 30 games started, 180 IP (starters), 50 IP (relievers), 20 games finished (closers).
– BATTERS: 450 AB, 120 games played.

8 ) No-trade clauses are not allowed in any contract, under any circumstances.

9) The international free agent signing period is in July of each year, and PEBA teams are allowed to bid on international free agents, as per the rule governing the process.

10) There is a free agent signing freeze during the period beginning with the PEBA Postseason and ending when PEBA free agents declare/are released from their clubs, late November, following Arbitration.

11) Drafted players, who are eligible for a bonus and who do not sign with their drafting club, may not be signed to a free agent contract by their drafting ballclub until the current season is over.

Common Contract Related Questions:
How does a player reach arbitration?
Players who have three or more years of PEBA level service but less than six years of Major League service become eligible for salary arbitration, if they do not already have a contract for the next season. Players who have less than three but more than two years of service time can also become arbitration eligible if they meet certain criteria; these are known as “Super Two” players.

What is a Super Two player?
To qualify for the Super Two designation, players must rank in the top 22 percent, in
terms of service time, among those who have amassed between two and three years in
the Majors.

How does a player reach free agency?
1 – A player with six or more years of major-league service (on the team’s 40-man roster) who is not under contract for the following season is automatically a free agent.
2 – Players become Minor League free agents when they’ve been released from their original contract or after their first six full seasons in the Minors.

How do options years work?
Once a player has been placed on a team’s 40-man roster, a team has 3 option years on that player. A player is considered to have used one of those three option years when he spends at least 20 days in the minors in any of those 3 seasons. Once all of the options have been used up on a player, a player is considered “out of options” and a player must be placed on and clear waivers prior to being sent down to the minor leagues. If a player has 5 years of major-league service, he may not be assigned to a minor-league team without his consent.

How does a player become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft?
If a player not on a 40-man roster has spent four years with a minor-league contract, originally signed when 19 or older or five years when signed before the age of 19, he is eligible to be chosen by any team in the rule 5 draft during the offseason. Players on a second contract (or more), regardless of team, may be eligible.

Article VI – Drafts
Amateur Draft:
The PEBA Amateur Draft will be held on June 7th of each season. It is 15 rounds in length, managed via StatsLab and conducted live in the PEBA chat room (linked from the league homepage) or Slack over a two-day period. These live events will be scheduled well in advance to allow GMs time to prepare. Though attendance at the live event is not mandatory, participation in the draft itself is mandatory. PEBA GMs unable to attend live drafting hours will be expected to create a pre-rank list within StatsLab that is sufficiently deep to cover for at least 7 rounds. All GMs are encouraged to create draft lists even if they plan to attend the draft. GMs are also encouraged to cover themselves beyond the minimum required draft rounds.

Rule 5 Draft:
PEBA will hold a Rule 5 draft on a date in December (to be determined) of each season. Each round, teams will have the option of either making a pick (if they have an available secondary roster slot) or passing. The Rule 5 Draft will end when all teams have passed in a round. GMs will use OOTP’s in-game draft utility to construct their Rule 5 draft lists. Teams cannot make more selections than they have open secondary roster spots. Players selected in the Rule 5 draft must stay on the selecting team’s active roster or DL for one full season. They may be traded or released. If the player is traded, the acquiring team will still be required to keep the player on the active roster for the entire season. Players who are released are automatically returned to their previous team.

In order to provide a consistent Rule 5 draft environment, the following rules are in place during the Rule 5 sim cycle:

– No players may be added to active or secondary rosters during the Rule 5 draft sim cycle.
– There is a trade freeze during this sim cycle.
– All healthy players eligible to return from the 60-day DL must be rostered or released during the sim cycle preceding the Rule 5 draft.
Failure to properly attend to your roster prior to the roster freeze could result in your team losing desirable players. Once rosters are frozen, there is absolutely no recourse. It is your responsibility to attend to your roster in a timely manner. See the Rule 5 post stickied in the ‘General Discussions’ forum for complete details regarding the Rule 5 Draft.

Draft Orders:
For all drafts, order will be determined by record in the previous year (from worst to best). Drafts will be in “straight” order, with teams picking in the same slot each round (excepting cases where amateur draft picks have been traded).

Unsigned Draftees:
Drafted players who are eligible for a bonus, who do not sign with their drafting club, may not be signed to a free agent contract by their drafting club until the current season is over.

Article VII – Trades
Trading Period:
Trades may be made from the end of the PEBA post season until the trade deadline (July 31 of each season). Players, draft picks, and cash are all viable items to trade.

Trading Restrictions/Qualifiers:

• No more than five players may be included by a team in a single trade.
• Draft Picks: No more than 5 picks may be included by a team in a single trade. Only picks for the upcoming Amateur Draft may be traded. Draft picks may not be traded during the sim cycle directly preceding an Amateur Draft.
(Should teams desire to trade more than 5-players or 5-draft picks from one team as part of a large deal, Board approval will be required)
• First Round picks that carry ‘protected’ status (currently the top-11 picks), that have been traded, shall lose the protection it’s original holder had. Trading for a protected pick and subsequently signing a Compensation-eligible free agent shall (may) result in the loss of the pick.
• Compensation picks, for failing to sign a previous years draftee, may not be traded. Supplemental picks, for losing a Free Agent with a Qualifying Offer, may be traded.
• Players with at least 10 years of major league service and at least 5 years spent with current team may exercise their 10/5 rule rights to veto a trade. GMs will be informed if/when this occurs.
• Players selected in the Amateur Draft are ineligible to be traded until the conclusion of that season’s PEBA playoffs.
• PTBNLs: No Player to Be Named Later may be included in a trade.
• Cash: Only cash on hand may be traded, No deficit trading unless the team is relinquishing more unpaid salary than the amount of cash it is trading.
• Trades cannot be made where any portion of a player’s salary is retained by his former team
• Players on a team’s 60-day DL may not be included in trades. Additionally, players listed as facing one month or more of recovery time may not be included in trades.**
• No player may be traded within 90 days of signing a major league contract, or within 30 days of signing a minor league contract.**
• Free agents signed to off-season major league contracts may not be traded until May 1st of the upcoming season**
• Contribution Points may only be traded during the Winter Meetings.**
Note: Teams with excess CP (greater than 400 in-season or 600 with carry-over) may not trade that excess, it is lost immediately – no exception.
• Teams making multiple trades with the same trading partner during a 19 day (in game) period will be examined closely as to assure the trades do not violate the intention of any of the player restrictions above. **

** Rule waived during the Winter Meetings

No team may circumvent any of the above constraints in any way. This would include waiving players in order to avoid a trade restriction, or trades through third parties that have the explicit intent to circumvent the rules. Teams deemed to be intentionally circumventing trade restrictions will have the transaction nullified, and repeated offenses could result in dismissal from the league.

Financial Trading Considerations:
It is the responsibility of GMs to police themselves regarding contracts acquired via trades. While you may exceed your budget, bear in mind that there are penalties (and potential long-term consequences) for being too far in debt (see Article IV).

Announcing Trades:
Once a trade has been agreed to, notification of the agreement should be posted in the Completed Trades forum. One of the parties should post a list of exactly what each team is receiving. Please hyperlink players’ names to their HTML player pages. All players should have their position played listed; Minor league players should have their current level noted. The second party must then confirm the trade by quoting the original post of what is being traded (links not necessary). Both GMs may include simple instructions on where to assign acquired players in advance of the upcoming simulated games (please keep these brief to keep the workload reasonable). Please format your thread headers thusly: “Trade between ARL and AUR”. Use this guide to insure proper trade post protocol.

Trades involving more than two GMs must be executed as a series of two-team trades. Each of these must be posted with a header that indicates both that they are part of a multi-team trade and the order in which they should be processed (e.g. “CAN-OMA-YUM: Trade between CAN and OMA (Part 1 of 2)”).

Processing Trades:
The Board must review all trades and sign off on them before they become official. Once approval has been given, the trade will become final and will be reflected in the next sim. Trades are processed at the beginning of a sim, and GMs have the option of requesting placement of traded players onto specific Organization rosters, line-up spots, etc. The Sim Runner will attempt to accommodate, when possible, but it is understood that such actions are privelages and not rights.

Most trades will be passed without question. Factors which may hold up a trade include (but are not limited to) a.) one or more violations of the trade restrictions listed above, b.) a massive and patently obvious imbalance in returns, or c.) extremely unusual structuring (e.g. 1 player for 10). In these instances, the Board will work with the GMs involved to mediate a satisfactory deal.

Protesting Trades:
Individual GMs who feel a trade meets the criteria for disallowing should PM the Board privately to express their opinion. If a sufficient number of complaints are registered, the Board will discuss the matter with the GMs involved in the trade before making a final determination on the fate of the deal. Public complaints of trades will not be tolerated.

Article VIII – Winter Meetings
The Winter Meetings will be conducted as a non-mandatory live event each off-season. Certain player trade restrictions are waived for the duration of the Meetings as noted in the Trades section of this constitution. In addition, teams in attendance may trade Contribution Points (CP).

Article IX – StatsLab
The PEBA employs StatsLab, an online utility suite, which can be found linked from the league’s home page. League activities managed in this utility are:

• Export Tracking: Check this page to verify that your export reached the server. Also displays the last time the league file was updated.
• Trade Block: Advertise your available players and your team needs, and view the needs and offerings of other teams from around the league.
• Amateur Drafting: The PEBA will conduct its amateur drafts through this module. GMs are required to create draft lists to cover for when they are unable to attend a draft in person (as well as to use as references if they attend).
• All-Star Voting: All GMs are required to vote for All-Stars in both leagues.
• Awards Voting: All GMs are required to vote for end-of-season awards in both leagues.

Additionally, StatsLab provides a variety of tools for managing your team and reviewing statistics.

• List of Managers: Names and contact info for every member of the league. Please ensure your forum name and email are accurate.
• Front Office: Contains useful pages for managing your team’s rosters.
– Trade Block: This is the module where you’ll find the trade block. Whenever you save your trade block, you’ll get a button letting you post it to the forum and Slack.
– Payroll: A listing of your team’s payroll projections for the next several years. Includes player age and service time.
– Free Agents: View at a glance all the players who are eligible for free agency in a given year.

• Season: This module should be every member’s first stop after each sim. Contains a myriad of useful post-sim info, including:
– Standings: Up-to-date standings for spring training, the current season, the previous sim or a time frame of your choosing.
– Box Scores: Your team’s game results from the previous sim.
– Graphs: View graphs for various pennant races and a host of seasonal statistical trends over a user-defined time range.
– Stats: Your players’ statistical results from the previous sim. Also allows you to view players’ season stats.
– Team Stats: Your team’s statistical results from the previous sim. Also allows you to view season stats for teams and leagues.
– Top Performances: The most notable games and individual performances of the last sim. Includes notes for especially impressive accomplishments.
– Milestones: A listing of players’ progress towards various statistical milestones. Also includes Record Watch, which displays seasonal and career records in a variety of stats, along with the 5 players who are on pace for the highest total for each stat at season’s end.
– Preview: A must-stop on sim mornings! Get the scoop on big storylines in the upcoming sim, including noteworthy match-ups, streaks, injuries and who’s hot/not.
– Playoff Odds: Uses Pythagenpat to display expected W-L record and to determine the playoff odds of each team in the league, along with their division win and wild card chances.
– Playoffs: Provides a collection of stats and box scores for each playoff match-up.
– Stat of the Day: Random trivia that’s sure to entertain and enlighten.

• History: Contains a plethora of information that is invaluable for article creation, strategic planning and historical perspective. Subsections of the History module include:
– Players: StatsLab player pages provide far greater detail than OOTP’s, including wOBA, similarity scores, black/gray ink scores and Hall of Fame standards. Members are encouraged to link their articles to StatsLab player pages.
– Teams: Provides historical reference for team batting/pitching, positional/pitching starters, ballparks and individual seasons.
– Parks: Pictures and statistics from the league’s ballparks.
– Player and Team Leaderboards: A wealth of information that provides context for the performances of players/teams.
– Graphs: Allows a visual display of long-term statistical trends.
– Draft History: Lists not only the players selected in a given draft but also their current team along with their major league statistical totals.

Article X – Article Writing & Forum Etiquette
(NOTE: Some of this information is outdated processing procedure and needs updating to current practices)
Article writing is one of the most valued ways that members can contribute to the betterment of the league. GMs are encouraged to use as much creativity, including the use of images and other media in their creations. Commonly used features include inserting pictures, hyperlinking text/pictures, changing font types/sizes/styles, and inserting HTML code. If you prefer, you may instead type your articles in Word or another Rich Text Format editor. When you are finished, simply copy your text and paste it into Submit News.

Members are required to hyperlink the first appearance of any PEBA-related proper noun (names of players, teams, personnel, leagues, etc.) to their respective HTML or StatsLab pages, and to include any diacritics appearing in names. An easy way to do this is to go the respective HTML/StatsLab page, copy the pre-hyperlinked name and paste it directly into your article. This method retains any diacritics in the name (like accent marks, for instance) and will work in both Submit News and Word (the hyperlinks will transfer when pasting from Word to Submit News). New members will receive a reminder notice when submitting an article lacking links/diacritics.

Pictures and graphics can be added to your stories through Submit News as well. They will need to be housed somewhere on the internet, either on your personal web space, at an image website like Imageshack.us, or uploaded directly to the PEBA server. To add an image, place your cursor where you would like it to go and click the “Insert/edit image” button located on the bottom-left of the icon rows. A window will pop up. Enter the location of your picture into the “URL” field (see below for instructions). Click on the “Advanced” tab and type a description of the picture in “Title” field (this description will appear when the mouse cursor is hovered over the picture). If the dimensions of the picture exceed 300 pixels either horizontally or vertically, use the “Dimensions” field to shrink the picture. You can play around with the other options as you like. When you’re finished, click the “Insert” button to add the picture.

• In Internet Explorer: To get the URL of a picture, right-click on it and select “Properties” from the pop-up menu. Highlight the text in the “Address (URL)” field, right-click on that highlighted text and select “Copy” from the pop-up menu.
• In Firefox: To get the URL of a picture, right-click on it and select “Copy Image Location” from the pop-up menu.
Hyperlinking of pictures and text is also possible through Submit News. To hyperlink a picture, click on it and then click the “Insert/edit link” button located on the bottom-left of the icon rows (just to the right of the “Insert/edit image” button). Then you simply paste the link into the URL field and click the “Insert” button. Your picture is now linked. Follow the same method for linking non-PEBA-related text. Highlight the text to be linked, click the “Insert/edit link” button, paste in the URL and click “Insert”.

At your option, you may also add “Easter egg” links. Easter egg links are links to non-PEBA-related web pages. Readers enjoy finding these surprise links littered throughout the league’s articles. You add Easter egg links just as you would a normal link. Highlight the text to be linked, click the “Insert/edit link” button, paste in the URL and click “Insert”. Links to inappropriate material will be removed.

In certain advanced cases, you may wish to insert HTML code into your article. This is useful when creating an article that uses a HTML template (example). To insert HTML, click on the “Edit code” button located on the bottom-right of the icon rows (third icon from the right). Copy your HTML code and paste it into the window that pops up. Be sure to paste over any existing code if you’re copying over a full article. When you’re finished, click the “Update” button and your imported code will be displayed in Submit News.

When you’re ready to submit your article, locate the Publishing section located directly under the box where your text is typed in. Select “Submissions” from the Section pull-down menu and select your team’s name from the Category pull-down menu. You may also enter in an Author Alias if you like. Type in a Title for your article at the top of the page.

Now you’re ready to submit your work. Just to the right of the Title field is the “Save” button. When you click the “Save” button, the article is sent to an editor’s inbox. The editor will make any necessary edits and publish the article on the homepage.

Once the article has been published, copy the homepage version of the text and paste it into a new thread in the appropriate writing sub-forum. This will give league members an opportunity to comment on your work. Forum versions of article need not be hyperlinked.
When constructing article storylines, please keep the following in mind:

• Consider the feelings of those whom you will be referencing, including both current and former league members. Disparaging comments towards past or present members will not be permitted.
• The PEBA website draws a wide variety of visitors. To accommodate the broadest readership possible, coarse language in articles is not permitted.
• Be aware of the league’s fictional timeline and established canon. Articles must adhere to previously established fiction, and real world events should be referenced in past tense to reflect the fact that the PEBAverse is years ahead in their timeline.
• It is permissible to reference politics and political figures in a neutral manner. However, staking or advocating specific political positions in articles is to be avoided.
• Hateful or bigoted speech is strictly forbidden and grounds for expulsion from the league.

The PEBA forums are provided as a place for league members to share their thoughts on matters both related and unrelated to the league. Members should create new threads in the appropriate sub-forum. Two off-topic sub-forums are provided for discussion of non-league topics. All topics are welcome in these sub-forums with the exception of political discussion/debate, which is forbidden.

Members are expected to maintain civility when communicating with their peers on the forums. Competitiveness is welcome as long as respectfulness is maintained. Disagreement and debate will naturally be part of the forum experience, yet at all times, members should consider the feelings of their peers before posting. Members making disrespectful or insulting posts will receive a warning. Hateful, intolerant or bigoted speech will result in a member’s immediate expulsion from the league.

PEBA forum etiquette requires that members refrain from making multiple posts in a single thread in a short time span if no response from another member has yet been made. If a member wishes to make a number of quotes and responses, or if he has multiple thoughts to share, he should include them all in one post rather than separate them into multiple small posts made one right after the other. If a member thinks of an addendum to a post he just made, he should edit his last post or wait for another member to respond before posting his new thought.

Members are welcome to maintain a team blog in the appropriate league writing sub-fourm. Forum blogs are excellent tools for posting quick thoughts when there isn’t time or material to flesh out a full-length article. Blog entries do not need to be formatted like homepage aritlces (i.e. no links or diacritics need be included). Members maintaining forum blogs should create new forum threads for articles submitted to the homepage rather than posting articles in their blog.

Article XI – Contribution Points
Members may earn Contribution Points (or CP) by participating in various league activities. These CP’s can be exchanged during the PEBA’s Winter Meetings for a variety of benefits, CP can be earned in several ways. No more than 600 points can be carried over from one year to the next, any CP’s over 600 will be lost. The rate of these events are as follows:

Standard Awards (Maximum: 400 points):

• Exporting: 1 CP per regular season export
• DFA, Roster & DL Diligence: 3 CP per regular season export with no DFA, roster, or DL violations.
• Blog Posts: 7 CP per post. Each post to be 2 to 3 substantial paragraphs.
• Articles: 18 CP per article, minimum 500 words (or for each part of a multi-part article, also 500 word minimum) published. Hyperlink all PEBA-related proper nouns on their first occurrence. Published articles that do not meet the minimum length requirement will be awarded 7 points.
• Forum Posts: 1 CP per three forum posts (not including blog posts). No limit to points awarded.
• Attendance at Live Events: 25 CP each day for at least 5 rounds of Amateur draft, 25 CP for at least 2 hrs at Winter Meetings.
• Completing a Trade at the Winter Meetings: 25 CP for making at least one trade at the winter meetings involving a player from your 40-man roster or Top 10 prospect. Both partners to be present at the WM for reward to be earned.
• Mandatory League Votes: (e.g. All Star voting, Post Season Awards) – 10 CP for each vote.
• Minor League Success: 20 CP will be awarded for winning any minor league championship with the runner up earning 10 CP. All other playoff teams are awarded 5 CP. Additionally, all teams making the playoffs earn 1 player nickname per for that playoff team.
• Fiscal Responsibility: 1 CP (up to a maximum of 10) per $1,000,000 in profits a GM’s club earns in a season.

Bonus Awards: (Annual Maximum: 50 points)
The Board may award bonus CP for actions helpful to the league (contributing to server costs, help with recruiting, artwork etc). The awarding of Bonus CP is completely at the Board’s discretion. Maximum 50 points per season. Bonus CP will be awards for actions such as:

• League/Team Logo Design: 10 CP per logo for AI controlled team or league (currently using an Ootp generated logo) that is accepted by the Board and incorporated in the game.
• Uniform Design: 7 CP per uniform and ballcap design for AI controlled team (currently using an Ootp generated uniform) that is accepted by the Board and incorporated in the game.

New GM Welcome Present
New Gm’s will receive 100 CP when they join the league as a welcome present

IMPORTANT : GM’s should earn at least 100 CP’s a season for automatic renewal of GM contract (New GM Welcome Present CP’s cannot count towards this total). At least 30 CP must come from blog posts, 20 CP from forum posts and 20 CP from Article posts

Article XII – Standard Contribution Points Rewards
Contribution points can be exchanged during the Winter Meetings for any one of several improvements or changes to the organization and the players in it. Note, however, that the PEBA takes its history very seriously. Before considering team detail changes, please keep the following notes in mind.

• New GMs may not alter team details until they have spent one full season with the league
• Any desired change to major or minor league team details must be announced to the Board well in advance. See the respective reward descriptions for details.
• For desired location changes, the geographical distribution of other teams in the changing team’s division/league and the appropriateness of the population of the desired new location relative to the changing team’s league must be considered. Locations that are deemed inappropriate for either of those reasons will be disallowed. In some cases, a location change may be possible with realignment involving one other team. In these instances, if all else is acceptable, the Board will speak with the GM of the other team to determine if realignment would be acceptable.
• Team nickname changes must bear some relevance – historical, cultural, etc. – to the team’s location (Exceptions to this will be allowed if the relocating team retains its previous nickname). Name changes that bear no association with the team’s location will be disallowed
• While a GM requesting an art change is welcome to send in a sample, the Board reserves the right to reject submitted art samples. Samples may be used by the PEBA art team as inspiration for a unique design. The GM will be provided with multiple samples to choose from but should be aware that his own art submission may not be used.

Standard Contribution Rewards

• Fan Interest: Exchange 20 CP for a one point FI increase. May not be used to increase FI beyond 85.
• Cash: Exchange 40 CP for $1,000,000 in cash, not to exceed the cash maximum.

  • NOTE: If a team lacks the available cash to pay for their Standard Contribution Reward choices, this reward can be chosen to pay for any other rewards – not to exceed the sum of CP available to a GM.

• Change Ownership: Exchange 100 CP + an article on new ownership to alter details of your team. You may submit new details for your team’s owner, including name, nickname, date/location of birth, nationality, height/weight and a new picture. Your new owner’s Patience and Spending traits will be randomly determined by OOTP. All changes must be approved by the Board. An owner created/altered through the Change Ownership reward is protected from OOTP-generated ownership changes for five seasons. This benefit may be selected once every six seasons. New league members may select this reward during their first off-season with the league regardless of when the team last changed owners.
• New Ballpark Picture: Exchange 50 CP to have a custom rendering of your major league park created, or 25 CP for a rendering of one of your minor league parks. You may supply your own rendering if you prefer, which must be approved by the Board. This picture will display during your in game home park replays.
• Add Nickname: Exchange 5 CP + an article explaining the nickname. You may add a nickname to any one player. All nicknames must be approved by the Board. Please use good taste!
• Add Personnel Nickname: Exchange 5 CP (normal personnel) or 20 CP (GM/team owner) + an article explaining the new nickname. You may add a nickname to any one personnel, GM or team owner. All nicknames must be approved by the Board. Please use good taste!
• Change Facial Hair: Exchange 5 CP + an article explaining the new facial hair. You may select a new facial hair style for your player from any of these options. Selections will remain in place for three seasons or until the player is no longer under contract with his current team, whichever comes first. This reward may only be selected twice per year.
• Define Feeder Player: Exchange 15 CP + an article about the selected player. You may choose a first-year feeder player’s name and hometown (nationality may not be altered). You may also provide a picture for FaceGen conversion or request a custom FaceGen photo be made to your specifications. For an extra 5 CP, you may add a nickname. Only newly generated feeder league players who have not appeared in a game or players who entered your team’s international complex during the previous season and have not accrued any service time as a professional, are eligible to be defined by this reward. All details must mesh with a player’s nationality and be approved by the Board. In the event that two members select the same player to define, priority will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. This reward may only be selected once per year.
• Define Personnel: Exchange 25 CP + an article about the selected individual. You may choose any free agent personnel – coach, scout or trainer, that has zero (0) years experience – and was not a former-player, sign them to a contract and then alter their personal details: Name, nationality, age, race, gender, etc. Team and League histories will be corrected to reflect the change. You may also provide a picture for FaceGen conversion or request a custom FaceGen photo be made to your specifications. For an extra 5 CP, you may add a nickname. Only zero experience personnel are eligible to be defined by this reward. All details must be Board approved. The individual’s base ratings are not altered by this reward. This reward may only be selected once per year.
• Improve Personnel: GMs may improve the rating in any category of any personnel who has spent at least one full season within their organization. Exchange 30 CP to purchase one die roll, with a maximum of three rolls. Each die roll determines the rating gain the personnel earn. If you chose multiple rolls, you may spread your rolls over multiple personnel. The chances for gains are as follows (NOTE: Scale below reflects OOTP’s internal ratings scale, not the 1-10 ratings scale visible on the Personnel page):

• 15 point gain – 50 % chance
• 10 or 25 point gain – 20% chance each
• 5 or 30 point gain – 5% chance each

• Convert Player to Personnel: Exchange 20 CP + an article explaining the new role to convert a retired player into a coach or Scouting Director for your organization. Players who retired from your organization or played the majority of their major league careers for your organization can be converted immediately; others require a 3-year wait after their retirement. GMs can specify what kind of coach (Manager, Bench, Hitting, Pitching) they want the converted player to become. Upon conversion, new personnel will be assigned ratings by OOTP. For players converted to manager or pitching/hitting coach, an additional 120 points for upgrading ratings will be granted to GMs selecting this reward, but no more than 50 in any one category. Players converted to Scouting Directors will receive 200 points to be distributed to ratings at will. ALL coaches created this way are restricted to the team for which they were hired for 1 season. This reward may be used no more than of twice a season.

Altering Team Details
Change Minor League Affiliate Details: Exchange 20 CP + an article on the changes to alter details of one of your minor league affiliates. You may change as many details as you like (city, name, logo, colors, ballpark, etc.). Selection of this reward must be announced to the Board prior to the All-Star break (to provide sufficient time to discuss, negotiate, create and implement, and all desired changes must receive Board approval. This reward may be selected once every three seasons for each affiliate.

Change Major League Team Details: Exchange 60 CP + an article on the changes to alter details of your team. You may change as many of these details as you like: nickname, logo, team colors, cap and jersey. Selection of this reward must be announced to the Board prior to the arrival of your league’s All-Star break break (to provide sufficient time to discuss, negotiate, create and implement), and all desired changes must receive Board approval. This benefit may be selected once every six seasons.

PEBA takes its history very seriously. Before considering team detail changes, please keep the following notes in mind:

• New GM’s may not alter team details until they have spent one full season with the league
• Any desired change to major or minor league team details must be announced to the Board well in advance. See the respective reward descriptions for details.
• For desired location changes, the geographical distribution of other teams in the changing team’s division/league and the appropriateness of the population of the desired new location relative to the changing team’s league must be considered. Locations that are deemed inappropriate for either of those reasons will be disallowed. In some cases, a location change may be possible with realignment involving one other team. In these instances, if all else is acceptable, the Board will speak with the GM of the other team to determine if realignment would be acceptable.
• Team nickname changes must bear some relevance – historical, cultural, etc. – to the team’s location (Exceptions to this will be allowed if the relocating team retains its previous nickname). Name changes that bear no association with the team’s location will be disallowed
• While a GM requesting an art change is welcome to send in a sample, the Board reserves the right to reject submitted art samples. Samples may be used by the PEBA art team as inspiration for a unique design. The GM will be provided with multiple samples to choose from but should be aware that his own art submission may not be used.

Article XIII Winter Ball
A GM can send no more than two players (total) multiple players to participate in either an off-season Winter Ball (WB) or Special Coaching program to work on certain baseball skills, with a maximum number of CP spent on these programs being 220 CP. This results in increases to “actual” ratings, but “potential” ratings would remain unchanged. Players with larger separation between “actual” and “potential” ratings will benefit most from Winter Ball. Players with little separation between “actual” and “potential” ratings are not ideal candidates for winter ball. Note that any ratings that only have an “actual” value are guaranteed to improve (e.g. Running Speed, Stealing Ability, etc.).
Working on any qualified area will always result in a real improvement. But because scouts differ in their evaluations of players’ ratings and because of the large skill range represented by each point on the 1-10 scouting scale, Scouts may not report a change to the player’s rating. However, WB improvements are “true” improvements made within OOTP’s player editor and will translate into on-the-field performance. Gains may increase – sometimes dramatically – depending on the breakthrough factors listed below.

• Focusing on fewer areas
• A low “actual” rating in the area(s) being worked.
• A high “potential” rating in the area(s) being worked.
• A large gap between “actual” and “potential” ratings.
• Focusing on ratings versus Left/Right-handers only

To be eligible for winter ball, a player must meet all of the following criteria:

• The player must have been in the Organization all season – no recent draftees or players acquired in trade after PEBA Opening Day.
• Must be between the ages of 20 and 26 years old.
• Players drafted out of a college must have at least 1 year of professional service time. All other players must have at least 2 years of professional service time.
• Must not have more than 1 year of major league service time.

EXCEPTIONS:

  1. If the player spent time on the 60-day DL during their first year of major league service time and remained injured at the end of the winter meetings, the major league service time restriction may be waived the following off-season if they have at least a “Normal” rating in both “Loyalty” and “Work Ethic”.
  2. If the player was drafted, promoted to the major league roster and accrued major league service time in the same season that they were drafted

• Must not have previously been selected for any off-season improvement.
• Must not be injured as of the conclusion of the Winter Meetings.

There is a monetary cost associated with sending a player to Winter Ball that is determined by how much CP is being spent on the player:

• 20-55 CP: $500,000
• 56-110 CP: $1,000,000

A maximum of 110 CP may be used on any one player.

The following is a complete list of the areas a player can work on in winter ball and the CP cost to work each area. The “Total Package” option can be purchased to improve every rating in the category, but to a lesser degree than specializing. Each category list is ordered by difficulty – it will be easier to improve areas at the beginning of the list than those towards the bottom.

Batting
• Total Package (Improves all four): 110 CP
• Eye: 50 CP
• Eye v. L/R: 65 CP
• Power: 60 CP
• Power v. L/R: 75 CP
• Gap: 30 CP
• Gap v. L/R: 45 CP
• Avoid Ks: 30 CP
• Avoid Ks v. L/R: 45 CP

Miscellaneous Offense
• Total Package (Improves all five): 80 CP
• Bunt for Hit: 20 CP
• Sacrifice Bunt: 20 CP
• Base running Instincts: 40 CP
• Stealing Bases: 55 CP
• Running Speed: 55 CP

Fielding
• Catcher Ability (Catchers only): 40 CP
• Turn Double Play (Infielders only): 30 CP
• Arm (Non-catchers only): 50 CP
• Arm (Catchers only): 70 CP
• Error (Non-catchers only):60 CP
• Range (Non-catchers only): 70 CP

Pitching
• Control: 55 CP
• Control v. L/R: 70 CP
• Movement: 55 CP
• Movement v. L/R: 70 CP
• Hold Runners: 25 CP
• Stamina: 60 CP:
• Pitcher Defense Total Package: 40 CP
• Pitch Perfection – Improves a single pitch that the player current knows (Can be used twice, once on two different pitches): 55 CP

Special Coaching
GM’s may select one player per off-season to receive special one-on-one coaching with their team’s roving instructor during the off-season and Spring Training. These opportunities are much more intense than attending Winter Ball, requiring the player to be dedicated in giving their complete focus on the goal of their training. The monetary cost associated with this coaching is $1,000,000 per player.

To be eligible for this special assignment, a player must meet the following criteria:

• Players must meet all Winter Ball criteria.
• Players must have a Work Ethic rating of “Normal” or higher.
• Players must have a minimum of 2-years professional service time

Special Coaching CP Reward Options
• Learn New Position: 110 CP
This is an extremely intensive training and requires the player’s total focus on gaining this new proficiency. You may select the positions to be learned. The final results aren’t guaranteed, but you should expect a minimum rating of 2 in the new position. A player must have at least one positional rating of 3 or higher according to OSA to be eligible for this improvement. The rating of the newly learned position will not exceed the player’s highest current positional rating. The new rating is greatly influenced by the position you’re trying to learn and the player’s current defensive ability. The defensive spectrum is as follows (with progressing difficulty from left to right): 1B – LF – RF – 3B – CF – 2B – SS. Players trying to learn an easier position will have a greater chance of a breakthrough. Players currently proficient in difficult positions will have an easier time learning a hard position. No player may gain proficiency at catcher or pitcher via this improvement.
• Learn New Pitch: 110 CP
This is an extremely intensive training and requires the player’s total focus on gaining this new proficiency. The player is guaranteed to learn the new pitch, though the final ratings aren’t guaranteed. Both Current and Potential talent are increased by this reward. The ratings of the newly learned pitch will not exceed the player’s highest Current/Potential pitch ratings.

Article XIV – Ballpark Rewards
Members must have participated in the PEBA for one full season before qualifying to select any Ballpark Reward with the exception of Additional Seating. All Ballpark Rewards require an article about the reward to be submitted prior to the start of the upcoming season.

Improvements to an existing Ballpark

• Additional Seating: 20 CP per 1,000 seats. Additional seats must be purchased in blocks of 1,000. No more than 10,000 seats may be purchased in an off season (200 CP). No Ballpark may exceed 65,000 seats.
• Grass – Convert field to grass turf for $2,000,000
• Artificial Turf – Install artificial turf for $4,000,000
• Permanent Roof – Convert your ballpark into a dome for $10,000,000. This renovation cannot be undone once selected.
• Retractable Roof – Add a retractable roof for $15,000,000. This renovation cannot be undone once selected.
• Move Fences – Alter your ballpark’s dimensions by raising/lowering or bringing in/pushing out your outfield fences. The cost is $1,000,000 + $50,000 per foot of change. Moving the fences will alter your ballpark’s factors (exact changes to be determined by the Board). Final dimensions must be approved by the Board.

Ballpark Naming Rights
Teams may sell the naming rights to their stadium in exchange for either fan interest or cash. This allows GMs to rename an existing stadium. There are two ways to choose this reward:

• “Responsible Renaming” – Teams choosing this path recognize that fans prefer a less corporate, more community-oriented name for the ballpark. Exchange 40 CP + $500,000 Your fan base rewards your responsibility with +2 Fan Interest (cannot be used to increase FI beyond 85). New ballpark names must be approved by the Board. This reward may only be selected once every ten seasons.
• “Corporate Sellout” – Teams choosing this path recognize that the highest dollar can be had by selling out to the highest bidder. Receive 50 CP + $4,000,000 Cash. This cannot increase team cash beyond the maximum. Fan dissatisfaction with your mercenary ways results in -1 Fan Loyalty. New ballpark names must be approved by the Board. This reward may only be selected once every ten seasons.

New Ballpark Construction
Constructing a new 35,000 seat ballpark in your current city costs 100 CP base cost + $50,000,000, and you must submit a news release of at least 1,000 words in length announcing plans for the new ballpark. At the time this reward is selected you may elect to increase the new ballpark’s capacity to 45,000 for an additional $10,000,000 or to 55,000 for an additional $25,000,000 above the base cost. Additional CP may be exchanged at the time of purchase to offset construction costs; every 10 CP spent will lower the construction costs by $1,000,000. CP reduction cannot reduce the cost of construction below $25,000,000 at the time of purchase. Teams which do not have the required cash to pay for this reward must wait until it’s financially feasible or they may request a Construction Loan from The League.

Ballpark construction costs are eligible for a Construction Loan (see below).
There are a number of benefits to constructing a new ballpark:

• Fan loyalty increases by 1
• Market size increases by 1
• +3 Fan Interest points from four years from announcement

New ballparks open one full season after being selected as a reward. GMs may choose the type (open / retractable roof / dome) and turf (grass / artificial) of their ballpark. Dimensions and wall heights may also be determined by GMs, although final plans are subject to approval by the Board and a surcharge may be levied in the case of particularly unusual designs. A name and unclaimed picture may also be chosen for the new ballpark. Teams must stay in their new ballparks for a minimum of 10 years.

Team Relocation
A GM may elect to relocate their team, pending Board approval of their team’s new location and details. GM’s who wish to relocate need to be in good standing with the League for a minimum of two seasons (or one calendar year).

The cost of relocation (and time frame) is that of the “Ballpark Construction Reward” (1-year + 100 CP base cost + $50,000,000, + an article of at least 1,000 words announcing plans for the relocation). Relocation additionally allows a team to change their major league details, as per the “Change Major League Details Reward”, at no additional CP or cash expenditure, though the required article on those changes still applies.

Teams may have an incentive to relocate, however, there may also be an incentive to stay put. When choosing to relocate, there are 6 criteria that are considered when relocation is requested:

• Fan interest 60 or less
• Fan loyalty “Slightly Above Average” or less
• Market size “Average” or less
• Five consecutive losing seasons
• Team not profitable over the previous three seasons
• Attendance less than 65% of stadium capacity in both the previous two seasons

GMs who meet 3 of the 6 criteria qualify for double the Ballpark Construction reward (+2 Fan Loyalty and Market Size). GMs who meet 2 or fewer of the 6 criteria will receive the same benefit as the Ballpark Construction award. GMs who don’t meet any of the criteria will still gain +1 Market Size but will take a penalty of -1 to Fan Loyalty (reflecting the “mercenary” ways of team ownership). These changes will occur during the teams first season in their new location.

Construction Loans
New Ballpark Construction and Team Relocation (but not Renovation) costs are eligible for a Construction Loan. GM’s may apply to the PEBA Board for a loan to help cover the cost of the Ballpark construction. If the Board agrees to the loan, the GM will be given a repayment schedule, from the board stating over how many years you have to repay the loan and the annual amount to paid. Interest will be added to the annual loan repayment at 1% of outstanding amount at due date. For example: a $30M loan for 3-years, with three-$10M payments, will have payments of $10.3M, $10.2M, and $10.1M.

Loan repayments will be made between the start of the offseason and the end of the Winter Meetings of each year, and teams must have the available cash to make their payments. GM’s are free to make that payment timing decision, but it would be wise not to wait long.

Defaulting on a first payment will result in a fan interest penalty and a penalty fee of 30% on your next payment (on a $30M loan, that would be a $9M penalty). Defaulting on a second consecutive payment repeats the punishment and may well result in foreclosure of the loan which would result in repossession of the new ballpark. As long as the PEBA is in possession of the ballpark, the League will garnish 10% of team revenue each month until the loan is no longer in default.

The risk/reward of a PEBA Construction Loan is clearly high, so teams will want to have a clear picture of their finances before agreeing to take on debt.

Article XV – League Settings
The league settings detailed here are subject to change. The Board reserves the right to make changes to league settings during the off-season as he sees fit. While most of these changes will be reported, some may be made without notification in an effort to change the landscape and “shake things up”.

• Scouting and Coaching are enabled.
• GM Control is set to “GM Only”
• Injuries are enabled.
• Player Personality Ratings and Morale System are enabled
• The PEBA will play a 162-game schedule with no interleague games.
• Normal regular season sims will cover 7 in-game days.
• Normal regular season Waiver Period Length will be 8 days; Normal regular season DFA Period Length will be 15 days.
• PEBA secondary roster size will be 40 players.
• All PEBA teams at all organizational levels will use the DH.
• PEBA organizations will have a AAA, AA, A, Short Season A, and Rookie teams.
• Roster limits are 26 players at the major league level, 27 for all minor league levels – except PEBA Rookie which has a limit of 35 players.
• The standard DL option will require a stint of no less than 10 days.
• All player and coaching ratings are on a 1-10 scale.
• Ratings > Max are not revealed, instead appearing as “10”.
• Box Scores will be kept for all leagues. Game Logs will be kept for Human Leagues only. Game Replays will be kept for Human Teams only. News Logs, Injury Logs, and Transaction Logs will be kept from all leagues.
• Career L/R Splits, Fielding and Postseason Stats will be kept for all levels.
• Fictional Player and Coach Pictures are enabled (normal color).
• Trading with AI-run teams is disabled.
• Draft pick trading is enabled.
• Baseball America’s Top Prospect List will be updated once yearly upon the start of each new season.
• The PEBA Amateur Draft will be held on the second Monday of June.
• PEBA will have four feeder leagues – 2 College and 2 High School – from which players will enter the league’s draft.
• The Amateur Draft Pool will be revealed 75 days prior to the draft. The draft will be populated exclusively via feeder league players.
• PEBA roster expansion will occur on September 1st.
• PEBA Playoffs: 10 teams participate (6 division winners + 4 wild cards). Round 1 (PEBA Wild Card Round) is best-of-5 in 2-2-1 format. The three division winners will have a first round bye. Round 2 (Divisional Round) Round 3 (League Championship Series) and Round 4 (Rodriguez Cup) are best-of-7 in 2-3-2 format.
• Minimum Days of Service for one Service Year are 172 in the PEBA.
• Players reach arbitration eligibility after 3 service years and free agency after 6 service years in the PEBA. Only major league service years count towards arbitration eligibility.
• Free agents may sign with international leagues, and vice versa.
• Each team has access to its entire revenue. There is no Salary Cap.
• Revenue Sharing: 31% of each team’s income will be distributed amongst all PEBA teams on the first day off each off-season.
• Cash Maximum is +/- $35,000,000.
• League minimum salary is $560,000.