4OTP Rules
 

Index

1. General Information
2. Responsibilities of Participants
3. Global Setup
4. League Structure
5. League Rules
6. League Options
7. Equivalencies & League Totals
8. League-Specific Procedures

1. General Information

Game Engine: OOTP 2007 Version 2.0.2.50

Sim Schedule: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday (one week of games per sim). All sims at 7pm EST unless otherwise specified.

The 4OTP is a modern fictional league based loosely on the rules and structure of Major League Baseball. The league does depart from the MLB format in a few areas. Draft pick trading is allowed, free agent compensation is disabled,

2. Responsibilities of Participants

Owner Responsibilities: The responsibilities of each of the league's owners can be summed up very succinctly: to run a functional, competent, and competitive baseball franchise. Owners are generally left to their own devices in doing so; however, certain minimum standards of participation will be enforced:

• Owners are expected to export at least once every three sims, which translates to once every real week.

• Owners are expected to maintain functioning rosters at all levels of their organization at all times.

• Owners are expected to manage their team and their transactions without the need for intervention by the Commissioner - this especially includes the management and assignment of players on the DFA roster.

• Owners are expected to participate in forum and e-mail drafts as outlined in the Draft Procedures section below. Owners are not expected to submit lists for the entirety of any draft; however, complete non-participation in a draft is not acceptable.

• During the off-season, owners are expected to engage in free agent and trade negotiations as necessary to ensure that they field a functional and reasonably competitive franchise for the next season. The time-based export requirements are relaxed during the off-season; however, owners who are, at the Commissioner's discretion, considered to be neglecting their franchises may be removed from the league according to the procedures outlined below.

Should an owner fail to fulfill any or all of the above responsibilities, the following steps will be taken to address the issue:

• The Commissioner will review the activity of the owner - including frequency of exports, forum posts, and any other communication - to determine if any action is necessary in response to the inactivity. Owners who have given prior notification of absences or vacations will not be subject to any consequences due to inactivity during that time.

• The Commissioner will post a message in the league forum asking the Owner to confirm their continued interest in the league.

• If the Owner does not respond within 48 hours, the Commissioner will send an e-mail to the Owner again requesting a response and a confirmation of participation. The owner will again be allowed 48 hours to reply.

• Should the owner still fail to respond, the Commissioner will begin a search for a replacement Owner. Regardless of whether or how quickly a replacement is found. the original Owner will have an additional 72 hours to return to the league. If the Owner returns within that time, the replacement owner will be removed from the league and placed on the waiting list instead. If the owner does not return within that time, they will not be eligible to continue in the league even if a replacement is not immediately found.

These provisions allow an Owner to go, in total, two real weeks (consisting of a month and a half of game time) without any communication with the league before they are irreversibly removed from the league. The Commissioner is very understanding of vacations and other absences, and departures of much greater lengths than this will be accepted provided the Commissioner is notified in advance.

Commissioner Responsibilities: The Commissioner is responsible for all administrative and executive functions in the league. This is a very broad role, and includes (but may not always be limited to) the following tasks:

• Running the sims. Any deviations from the normal schedule outlined above will be announced in advance in the League Forum. Notification of the completion of each sim will be done through the League Forum, or by e-mail on any occasions when the forum is inaccessible. Please note that 7pm EST is the deadline for team exports, but real-life commitments may occasionally prevent the Commissioner from running the sim at that time; however, if the Commissioner is unable to get the sim completed by 7am EST the following morning, the sim will be cancelled and postponed until the next regular sim time to ensure a functional interval of time is maintained between all sims.

• Updating the web reports. After each sim, it is the responsibility of the Commissioner to update the league's web reports. A periodic CSV export will also be performed, typically (though not exclusively) following each Sunday night sim.

• Maintaining the league's website. Unless delegated to a volunteer webmaster, it is the responsibility of the Commissioner to keep the website running, ensure the accuracy of all league information contained on it, and post new content whenever it is submitted.

• Recruiting new Owners. Should an Owner drop out or be removed from the league due to inactivity, it is the responsibility of the Commissioner to find a replacement for them. Priority will be given to recruiting among the OO community and the other OOTP leagues that are connected to OO; however, if a replacement cannot be found within the community then the Commissioner will recruit from other locations as necessary.

• Reviewing trades. Every trade made in the league will be subject to a Commissioner review, and may be cancelled if the Commissioner feels that the trade is sufficiently unbalanced as to pose a serious threat to present or future competitiveness of one or more of the involved franchises.

• Mediating league disputes. Most league decisions are decided by majority vote - in the case of major rule changes, a two-thirds majority may be required - as discussed below. Should an issue arise that cannot be settled by a vote, or that needs to be addressed more quickly than a voting procedure allows, the Commissioner is responsible for resolving the issue by "executive decision". Any such decisions will be binding for the duration of the season in which they are made, but must be put to a vote and approved during the off-season in order to remain in force.

Should the Commissioner be unable to carry out these functions, it is hoped that he will seek assistance where necessary on his own, or step down if no resolution can be found. If the Commissioner does not do so, the Ownership of the league may replace the Commissioner at any time by identifying a volunteer to take over the role and approving the change with a two-thirds majority vote.

3. Global Setup

Game Options

Complete Scouting System: Off
Complete Coaching System: Off

Financial Modifiers

Financial Coefficient: 1.000

Injury Options

Injuries: Enabled
Injury Frequency: Average
Position Player Fatigue: Average

Rating Scales

Player Ratings: 1-20
Player Potential: 1-10
Other Player Ratings: 1-20
Show Ratings Over Max: Enabled
Overall Ratings: Based on positions

Player Options

Player Development: Enabled
Player Development & Aging Speed: All 1.000 (default)
Player Personality Ratings: Enabled
Talent Change Randomness: 100 (default)
Report All Player Talent Changes: Enabled
Morale System: Enabled

4. League Structure

Number of Leagues: MLB & all farm system leagues (AAA through R level). 17 leagues in total.
Number of Farm Teams: Each MLB team has five affiliates: one AAA, one AA, one A, one S-A, and one R.
Farm Team Control: Human. No AI roster changes allowed.

MLB Structure

Duplicated from real-life MLB. Two leagues, American League and National League. The AL has fourteen teams across three divisions (5 in the East, 5 in the Central, 4 in the West); the NL has sixteen teams across three divisions (5 in the East, 6 in the Central, 5 in the West). All franchise names, locations, and logos are identical to their real-world counterparts.

 

5. League Rules

AL Designated Hitter: Enabled
NL Designated Hitter: Disabled

Roster Rules

Age Min/Max: None
Active Roster Size: 25
Foreign Player Limit: Unlimited
Expanded Roster Size: 40
Roster Expansion Date: 1 September
Secondary Roster Size: 40
Minimum Days of Service for One Service Year: 172
Waivers: Enabled
Waiver Period Length: 8 days
DFA Period Length: 15 days
Minor League Option Years: Enabled
Rule V Draft: Enabled

Trade Rules

Player Trades: Enabled
Trading Deadline Date: 31 July
Draft Pick Trading: Enabled

Amateur Draft Rules

Amateur Draft: Enabled
Amateur Draft Date: 1 June
Amateur Draft Number of Rounds: 20
Amateur Draft Players Generated for: 25 rounds
Draft Pool Revealed: 75 days before draft

Financial Rules

Financial System: Enabled

Average Attendence Per Game: 30 000
Average Ticket Price: $15.00
Visiting Team Gate Share: 20%

Minimum Service Years Before Free Agency: 6
Minimum Service Years for Minor League Free Agency: 6
Minimum Service Years for Salary Abritration: 3

Draft Pick Compensation for Lost Free Agents: Disabled

Media Contracts: Fixed @ $25 000 000 for all teams
Salary Cap System: Currently none
Team Owner Controls Budget: No, entire revenue available
Revenue Sharing: Disabled
Cash Maximum: $80 million

Market Size: Set at Slightly Above Average for all teams at the start of the league, and allowed to fluctuate from there.
Fan Interest: Set at 75 for all teams at the start of the league, and allowed to fluctuate from there.
Fan Loyalty: Set at Slightly Above Average for all teams at the start of the league, and allowed to fluctuate from there.

Minimum Player Salary: $350 000
Poor Quality Player Typical Salary: $400 000
Fair Quality Player Typical Salary: $600 000
Below Average Quality Player Typical Salary: $1 000 000
Average Quality Player Typical Salary: $1 500 000
Above Average Quality Player Typical Salary: $3 500 000
Good Quality Player Typical Salary: $7 000 000
Star Quality Player Typical Salary: $12 000 000
Superstar Quality Player Typical Salary: $16 000 000

6. League Options

Foreigner Percentage: 30%
Allow Incomplete Minor League Rosters (Ghost Players): Enabled
Created Player Age Min/Max: None

Stats Detail: Very High

Schedule Options

Schedule Length: 162 Games
Schedule Balance: Unbalanced
Typical Series Length: 3 Game

Interleague Play: Enabled

All-Star Game: Enabled

Playoff Options

Playoff Mode: Divisional Winners Plus Wildcard
Division Series: Best of 7, simmed in two sets, games 1-2 and games 3-5
League Championships: Best of 7, simmed in three sets, games 1-3, games 4-5 and games 6-7
World Series: Best of 7, simmed in three sets, games 1-3, games 4-5 and games 6-7

Foreigner Percentage: 30

7. Equivalencies & League Totals

Major League Equivalencies

Batting Average: 1.000
Extra Base Hits: 1.000
Home Runs: 1.000
Walks: 1.000
Strikeouts: 1.000

League Totals

At Bats: 167353
Hits: 44522
Doubles: 8919
Triples: 898
Home Runs: 5451
Base on Balls: 16222
Hit by Pitches: 1850
Strikeouts: 31828
BABIP: .296

All values are modern era defaults, with modifiers of 1.000

8. League-Specific Procedures

Trades

Trades may be negotiated between any two or more Owners at any time during a season. Trades to be processed after the Trade Deadline of July 31st, however, will require any involved players to clear waivers. Owners may negotiate any deal including players, cash, and/or draft picks for the immediate upcoming draft. No other items, such as Players To Be Named Later, may be traded.

When all involved Owners have reached a satisfactory deal, the trade must be posted in the League Forum by one of the Owners, and any other involved parties must post their agreement in the same thread. Players should be identified by their organization, level, position, first initial and last name, such as "Baltimore sends SS R. Smith (AA)". Failure to include any of this information when posting a trade may delay the completion of the deal if the Commissioner has difficulty identifying the player to be traded.

The Commissioner is responsible for reviewing all agreed-upon trades and maintains the power to veto any trade that he feels is sufficiently unbalanced as to pose a serious threat to present or future competitiveness of one or more of the involved franchises. Should this occur, the involved Owners may appeal the decision to the league as a whole, with a two-thirds majority vote being sufficient to reinstate the trade. So long as the trade is accepted by the Commissioner, it will be processed at the conclusion of the sim immediately following the final Owner confirmation post in the forum.

Drafts

There are two drafts held in the 4OTP every year: the Amateur Draft, and the Rule V draft.

The Amateur Draft, which takes place in the game on June 1st, will be broken into two stages:

1. Forum drafting. The draft pool for each season will be announced before Opening Day, and a forum draft will begin immediately after the announcement. The Commissioner will post the draft order in the forum, and each owner in turn may announce their selection in the designated thread. Owners will be allowed 48 hours to make their selection once their turn comes up. If they have not done so by that time, the Commissioner will announce an Autopick for them. If an Owner expects to be absent for a pick, they may e-mail a list of players to the Commissioner in advance and he will select the highest one remaining for them. Owners are encouraged to PM or e-mail the next Owner in sequence once they have made their pick; however, it is ultimately up to each individual Owner to ensure that they do not miss their selection.

2. E-mail drafting. Once the draft date of June 1st is reached, whatever portion of the draft remains will be concluded over three nights using e-mail lists. One complete round from the point at which the forum drafting stopped will be conducted on the first night, one complete round on the second night, and the full remainder of the draft on the third night. The first night will always be the same as the night of the sim which brought the league up to June 1st, with the remaining nights immediately afterwards. There will be no additional "off nights" to allow for list construction.

Owners are encouraged to participate in and submit lists for as much of the draft as possible to aid them in constructing the most competitive team possible. Full participation in drafts, however, is not required and Owners may request the Commissioner to Autopick the remainder of their selections at any time. Note that requesting the entire draft be autodrafted will count towards owner inactivity to the same degree that a single missed export does.

The Rule V Draft is held during the off-season. It is conducted in a single night using e-mailed lists. No picks are required for the Rule V Draft. There will be a dedicated "roster import" sim on the night before the Draft - there is not a roster import on the night of the Rule V Draft - and then Owners will have 24 hours to submit lists with any picks they wish to make. Note that in order to select a player in the Rule V Draft, the selecting team must have an open space on their 40 man roster. Also, any selected players must remain on their new team's Active roster for the duration of the upcoming season.

Participation in the Rule V Draft will be monitored in terms of how well Owners protect their own eligible players. The Commissioner will review any team that loses two or more players in this draft during a single year, and will determine if the losses were due to the Owner neglecting to maintain an appropriate 40 man roster. In the event that this occurs, the Owner will immediately be considered to be "Inactive" and the Commissioner will follow the procedures outlined in Section 2 to resolve the issue.

All-Star and Award Voting

The All Star teams and MVP/Cy Young/Rookie of the Year award winners will be selected by the Ownership of the league. Gold Glove award winners will be selected by the AI. The Commissioner will be responsible for posting threads in the League forum at the appropriate time of year identifying nominees for the honours and soliciting votes, which will be done via e-mail. Details and deadlines for all voting will be announced by the Commissioner each season.

The Off-season

In general, the off-season consists of four stages. The specific schedule adhered to each year may vary, and will be announced each season after the conclusion of the World Series. Below is a rough outline of the structure and duration of the various elements of the off-season. Note that during the off-season there are no explicit export requirements in terms of Owner participation.

1. Negotiating contract extensions. After the conclusion of the World Series, two sims over a period of approximately two days will be allotted for Owners to complete any roster moves or contract extensions that they have outstanding from the past season. The first sim will cover from the end of the World Series to the announcement of new Arbitration contracts. The second sim will then proceed to the beginning of the Free Agency period. Note that the second sim may only cover a few game days, so contract extension offers left that late may not be responded to by the player before he becomes a Free Agent.

2. Free Agency period. This covers the game time from roughly the middle of November to the end of December. It will be conducted with daily sims over a period of two weeks, with sims gradually covering more game days as the period progresses. Initially, two game days will be simmed each night, with the pace accelerating to seven or ten days per sim at the end.

3. Rule V draft. The Rule V Draft occurs during the Free Agency period. When the date of the draft is reached, there will be one sim consisting of nothing but a roster import. Their will be no roster import the following night, at which time the draft will be run. The night of the draft will also count as a night of Free Agency, and after the draft the game date will be advanced according to the Free Agency Schedule posted for that season.

4. Spring Training. At the conclusion of Free Agency on December 31st, the game date will be advanced immediately to the beginning of Spring Training in March. Spring Training will then be simmed on two consecutive nights, with each sim consisting of two weeks of games. The second sim will stop immediately after the final Spring Training games to allow owners to demote any players they don't want to have on their Opening Day roster before they are assigned Major League contracts.

Each off-season will thus take no more than three weeks to proceed from the final game of the World Series to Opening Day of the following season.

Team Relocation

At the moment, no team relocation or renaming is allowed in the 4OTP. As this league is intended to model Major League Baseball, it is felt that relocating teams to "fictional" locations would significantly detract from the league's sense of realism.

Rule Changes

Changes to these rules may be accomplished by means of an Ownership vote in the league forum. Except in unusual circumstances identified by the Commissioner, all proposals to alter the league Rules will require a two-thirds majority of all voting owners to pass. Proposals to change the rules may be made at any time; however, voting and enactment of passed proposals will only take place during the off-season. Owners are not required to vote on any specific proposal, but conspicuous or repeated failure to do so may be considered a sign of inactivity by the Commissioner.

Only the Commissioner has the authority to alter the Rules during the course of a season, and he may only do so in response to an unforeseen problem that cannot be resolved in any other way. Should the Commissioner make such an adjustment to the Rules, the change will be voted on the following off-season and will require the same two-thirds majority support in order to remain in effect for the next season.