League Description and Rules

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The Dugout is an Out of the Park Baseball 15 league for PC. OOTP is the ultimate baseball simulation. Take control as the General Manager of one of 30 Major League Baseball Teams. You control all transactions of the Major League club as well as the complete minor league system. Set your lineups and rotations, develop your organization through smart drafting and trades, control your finances, you name it. The team is yours to do with as you choose.

From the OOTP Team "Out of the Park Baseball ("OOTP") is the most sophisticated and best-selling baseball simulation game on the planet. Since its inception, OOTP has won numerous awards, including multiple "Sports Game of the Year" awards, en route to becoming the most immersive, realistic, and customizable baseball experience a fan can ask for!"

OOTP is a simulation first and foremost. The league is simulated X amount of days on a set schedule, and setting smart lineups and depth charts is the key to winning games. There are no head to head games. You export your changes, and then look for the results of the sim.

League Rules:


Sim Schedule

• The league is currently on a hybrid schedule:
  • During the season, we advance 10 days every 24 hours until the ML Draft Pool is revealed.
  • Once the draft pool is revealed, we advance 10 days every 48 hours.
  • Once the league reaches the trade deadline, we go back on a 24 hour advance schedule.
• In the event that this will go past the end of the month or is 1 day short, the advance will stop on the 1st of the next month.
• In essence, we will be simulating 1 in game month per week.
• From September 1st through the offseason there are 24 hour advances.
• You must have your export in by 8PM EST of the day we will be simming.
• If you must miss a sim, please post in the "vacation" sticky.

Participation

• Owners are expected to participate in league discussions
• The "Team News" Forum is for writing about your team, feel free to post away.
• Owners are required to respond to trade requests. If your trade partner is does not respond after several attempts, please contact the commissioner team.

5 Strikes Rule:

• Owners will be removed from the league or demoted with 5 "strikes" in a calendar year.
• This calendar year runs from Spring Training until The preseason of the following year
• Each missed export without posting in the vacation sticky results in 1 strike
• Missed voting in: All-Star or End of Season Awards results in 1 strike
• Missing your first or 2nd round draft pick results in 1 strike
• Not signing your 1st or 2nd round draft pick without a compelling reason results in one strike
• If you end two consecutive seasons in the "red" you will be removed from the league or be demoted.

5 Year Rule: (SUSPENDED)

• Teams are graded over a 5 "year" period.
• Each .500+ finish to a season resets the start of your "5 years".
• If an owner does not have a .500+ finish over the course of 5 years, he will be removed from the league.
  • Exception to the above rule will be granted if an owner shows improvement over the final 3 years of his 5 year period.
  • IE: An owner with season records of 76-86, 77-85, 64-98, 66-96, 74-88 would be granted an extension of 1 year to his five year period.
  • That owner must either finish above .500 in that extra year or finish with a record higher than the previous year.
• If a team comes open either during the season or at seasons end, ML owners will be given priority to switch to said team before a NBL owner is promoted.
• As a current ML owner, you may NOT switch to other open ML teams if you finished two or more consecutive years below .500.

Contract Dumping:

• Contract dumping is no longer allowed.
• This means, players not in the final year of their contract may not be released if:
  • Releasing said player will put you in the red in "Projected Final Balance".
  • If your "Projected Final Balance" is already in the red.

International Free Agency:

• International Free Agent spending is limited to how much money a team has in their "Money for Free Agents" field.
• A team may not spend more money then they have for free agents or put their team over budget.
• Overspending in International Free Agency will result in two strikes being given and all players signed will be released.
• If this issue continues to be pressed, we will start striking for every player that you signed.

Finances:

• Team Owners must keep their team profitable!
• If at the end of the season, your ending cash is in the negative the Commissioner team reserves the right to "monitor" your transactions until we feel you are in a secure financial situation.
• Keep in mind... There are ramifications for your entire organization by ignoring your budget. Most 1st and 2nd round draft picks require signing bonuses. In addition, you will be unable to sign free agents if your finances are a mess.
• Finally, it makes it very difficult to fill a GM vacancy when a team has no cash on hand.
• Please be a responsible General Manager. If you have questions on finances, just ask.
• If you end two consecutive seasons in the "red" and over budget you will be removed from the league or demoted.

Transactions:

• OOTP utilizes authentic Major League Baseball rules. Which include: 25 man roster, 40 man roster, expanded rosters, waivers, Designated For Assignment, Free Agency, Draft Pick Compensation, Minimum Service Years, minor league option years, 7, 15 and 60 day Disabled Lists and finally a Rule 5 draft.
• If you have any questions on ANY of these. Just ask, the veterans or the commissioner team will be happy to help.
• Waivers will be set to 12 days
• DFA will be set to 22 days
• The Rule 5 Draft will be conducted via in game draft lists.
• The Amateur Draft will be conducted in statslab which is located here (we reserve the right to bypass Statslab and hold the draft on the forums if needed).
• Rules on the Draft will be posted in the appropriate forum each season.
• Each team is encouraged to have a current trade block.
• Completed trades are to be posted in the Transactions subforum. Both GM's must OK the trade.
• New GM's with less than 1 year of in game service, must discuss trades privately with all parties involved and the trade committee prior to being able to process a trade.
• Trading with the CPU is allowed. These trades must be reviewed and approved by the Commissioners via PM.
• Trading Deadline is 7/31 of each season. Post Deadline Waiver Trades are not allowed.
• A drafted player must remain in your organization until the following offseason before he is eligible to be traded.
• PTBNL trades are not allowed.
• Disabled Lists are not to be used to "hold" players. Unless you are away, there is no reason why guys should be on the disabled list after their time runs out. Put them on a roster, or risk them being cut by the commissioner team.
• If the sim times out because you have a player in DFA whose time has expired, the "simmer" for that night will attempt to assign him. If we are unable to, he will be released! So please watch your DFA.
• Rule V Draft- Players must spend $50 K to draft a player during the Rule 5 draft. If you are in the negative or have no cash, you are unable to draft a player.

Contract Rules:

Team Options

Player, Team and Vesting Options are not allowed!

Contract Incentives

• For all players: The dollar amount offered for a contract incentive or bonus will be no more than 50% of the highest valued non-option year of the contract, not to exceed $2.5 million
• For hitters: The Plate Appearance contract incentive may be set no higher than 625 PAs
• For pitchers: The Innings Pitched contract incentive may be set no higher than 215 IP
• Minimum pitcher stamina to be offered incentive or bonus: four
• If you are signing a guy mid-season, offering him playing time bonuses that are impossible for him to fill will be considered a violation of our bonus rules
• Failure to do these will result in:
  • If the player was a FA prior to signing the contract - A strike is issued as well as the contract gets voided and the player goes back into FA.
  • If the contract was an extension - A strike is issued and the contract is fixed.

League Settings:

• Season Length- 162 games
• Playoffs- Wildcard Round 1 game- Divisional Series Best of 5, LCS and World Series Best of 7
• Actual and Potential Player Ratings: 20-80
• "Other Ratings": 1-10
• Draft Length- 25 rounds
• Coaches and Scouts are OFF
• Suspensions and Injuries are ON
• CPU Trades are ALLOWED, Difficulty is HARD
• DH is enabled for the American League
• 10/5 Rule is enabled. Veterans can VETO a trade
• Draft Pick trading is DISABLED
• Signing Bonuses are Enabled
• Realignment and expanded playoffs will occur in 2013 as per MLB rules.

League Roster
League Commisioners: ty5oke and NeuroticTruth

American League

Eastern Division
New York Yankees - NeuroticTruth
Boston Red Sox - kdpnutter
Tampa Bay Rays - Dru50
Baltimore Orioles - Ryalaman
Toronto Blue Jays - Sonn

Central Division
Minnesota Twins - Ken Welsch
Chicago White Sox - SoxandGators
Detroit Tigers - FMode11
Cleveland Indians - Jface907
Kansas City Royals - Bondzai

Western Division
Texas Rangers - HarkTheSound
Oakland A's - Omlawdog
Los Angeles Angels - i peench
Seattle Mariners - Dylema
Houston Astros - ty5oke


National League

Eastern Division
Philadelphia Phillies - Hal9100
Atlanta Braves - Timpegoose
Washington Nationals - Knightnoles
NY Mets - Drifterbub
Miami Marlins - Redwings8831

Central Division
Chicago Cubs - Roggie
Pittsburgh Pirates - Pitt4life21
Cincinnati Reds - JohnnyClutch
St. Louis Cardinals - ryty
Milwaukee Brewers - Masler

Western Division
Arizona Diamondbacks - Colemanchu
Los Angeles Dodgers - sawemoff
Colorado Rockies - Bobjr
San Diego Padres - Gravity
San Francisco Giants - Abolishthefed​

Nippon Baseball League ​

Pacific League:
Chiba Marines - Guayo10
Fukuoka Hawks - NeuroticTruth
Hokkaido Ham Fighters - *OPEN*
Orix Buffalos - G_T_G
Tohoku Golden Eagles - *OPEN*
Seibu Lions - HarkTheSound (2)
Yamato Samurai Reds - *OPEN*

Central League:
Chuinichi Dragons - thebouncer24
Hanshin Tigers - *OPEN*
Hiroshima Carp - Lou
Tokyo Swallows - *OPEN*
Yokohama BayStars - Friz
Yomiuri Giants - Hal9100 (2)
Kishu Rangers - *OPEN*​

Statslab Link:

Default password is baseball

http://ootp.traditionsportsonline.com/the_dugout/statslab/login.php

Real Time Sim Link:

http://ootp.traditionsportsonline.com/the_dugout/reports/html/real_time_sim/index.html

updated:

NBL Owners
Clarified "5 strikes rule"