Boxscore Baseball Rules and Regulations

SECTION I. TEAM AND LEAGUE ORGANIZATION

  1. Teams must consist of 27 players, 25 active and two reserves.
  2. Teams may contain players from both the American and National Leagues.
  3. Players may be used only at the positions they have been designated to play in the BoxScore Baseball Scouting Report.
  4. The 27 players are divided up in the following way:
2 CATCHERS 2 SHORTSTOPS
2 FIRST BASEMEN 5 OUTFIELDERS
2 SECOND BASEMEN 10 PITCHERS
2 THIRD BASEMEN 2 RESERVE PLAYERS (ANY POSITION)
  1. Leagues must consist of 8-12 teams.
  2. Leagues are formed in one of two ways:
    1. A group of 8-12 owners may establish a Private League.
    2. BoxScore Baseball assembles all other individual teams or groups of teams into leagues.
  3. BoxScore Baseball offers six different types of leagues:

ANNUAL LEAGUES

In an Annual League owners draft a brand new team each season. These leagues are ideal for first time fantasy leaguers who want to get a taste of BoxScore Baseball without committing to additional seasons. Annual Leagues are recommended for owners who enjoy building their teams through the draft each season. These leagues feature free trading and free disabled list transactions. The entry fee is $99.

CONTINUOUS LEAGUES

In Continuous Leagues owners may retain the rights of up to five players from one season to the next. These leagues are recommended for the more serious fantasy baseball owner who wishes to compete against the same group of owners for the next several seasons. They feature free trading and free disabled list transactions. The entry fee for a Continuous League franchise is $99.

MEGABUCKS LEAGUES

Megabucks Leagues draft from scratch each season by LIVE Conference Call Draft or over the Internet (no charge). These leagues are recommended for experienced fantasy leaguers willing to pay a higher entry fee in order to compete for larger league prizes. These leagues feature FREE TRADING and free disabled list transactions. Owners compete for nearly $2,000 in cash prizes within their individual 12-team league. The entry fee for the Megabucks Leagues is $199.

SUPER MEGABUCKS INVITATIONAL LEAGUES

The Super Megabucks League gives owners the opportunity to compete against BoxScore Baseball’s most elite owners. This league drafts from scratch each season by LIVE Conference Call only. Admittance into this league is by invitation only. Owners are given the capability to process their own roster moves. This is a no-trade league. The entry fee for the Super Megabucks League is $299. Owners in this league compete for $5,000 or more in league prizes. For further details, see the Supplemental Rules for Super Megabucks Leagues (Sect. VII).

ULTIMATE LEAGUES

Ultimate Leagues are the closest things to actually owning a Major League baseball team. Owners have a draft in their initial season only. This draft is a LIVE Draft. After that owners build their teams through year round trades, free agent moves, and disabled list transactions. Owners retain the rights of their entire 28-man squad from one season to the next. Ultimate Leagues are recommended for only the most serious fantasy leaguers. The entry fee is $99, but owners must also prepay $75 toward next season’s entry fee (limited openings). For further details, see the Supplemental Rules for Ultimate Leagues (Sect. VIII).

SECTION II. RULES GOVERNING THE DRAFT

  1. In all drafts conducted by BoxScore Baseball the selection order is alternated
    back and forth throughout the 27 rounds of the draft. In the odd numbered
    rounds, Team One selects first, Team Two selects second, etc. In the even
    numbered rounds, Team One selects last, Team Two selects second last, etc.
  2. Once a team drafts its specified number of active players at a given position, the next player drafted at that position automatically becomes a reserve player.
  3. Immediately following the draft owners may activate their reserve players to be effective Opening Day.
  4. Owners are permitted to draft rookies and other players who have not yet made their Major League debuts. These players are assigned the positions RotoRank deems the most reasonable at draft time.
  5. BoxScore Baseball offers several draft options:

PRIVATE LEAGUES

Owners who are able to recruit and organize all the members of an 8-12 team league will be allowed to hold a LIVE In Person Draft. To remain eligible for national awards, all owners must submit their completed league rosters postmarked prior to Opening Day.

LIVE DRAFTS

BoxScore Baseball conducts several In-Person Drafts in the state of Michigan. For those who can be in the Metro Detroit area, drafts are held on the last two weekends prior to Opening Day. Drafts last approximately two hours.

Owners participating in Super Megabucks or Continuous Leagues who are unable to attend in person must be connected by phone. Owners in Megabucks and Annual Leagues may also have the option of drafting LIVE over the Internet.

7-DAY EMAIL DRAFTS

BoxScore Baseball also offers Annual and Continuous Leagues featuring a 7-Day Email Draft. To participate, owners complete a Draft Order Designation Sheet (DOD). On the DOD, owners rank their top 24 catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, and shortstops; their top 50 outfielders; and their top 100 pitchers. Owners also list a round-by-round account of the positions they would like to draft. For example, 1st Round: Starting Pitcher, 2nd Round: Outfielder, 3rd Round: Catcher, etc. This unique format turns the draft into a weeklong adventure. We divide the 27-round draft in the following way:

BRAND NEW LEAGUES RETURNING LEAGUES
SUNDAY: ROUNDS 1-3 SUNDAY: ROUNDS 1-5
MONDAY: ROUNDS 4-6 MONDAY: ROUNDS 6-8
TUESDAY: ROUNDS 7-11 TUESDAY: ROUNDS 9-11
WEDNESDAY: ROUNDS 12-16 WEDNESDAY: ROUNDS 12-16
THURSDAY: ROUNDS 17-21 THURSDAY: ROUNDS 17-21
FRIDAY: ROUNDS 22-27 FRIDAY: ROUNDS 22-27
SATURDAY: PRESEASON TRANSACTIONS SATURDAY: PRESEASON TRANACTIONS
   

Each day, owners have the option of leaving an email or a voice mail message announcing the positions they wish to select. We use the player rankings on their DOD to determine their teams, giving owners their highest available player each round. Then in the evenings, owners can simply go online to their league homepage to discover that day’s draft results. If an owner does not wish to call or email his selections, BoxScore Baseball will draft his team on his behalf using the DOD he submitted.

On the final day of the draft, owners may activate their reserve players (at no charge). They may also add free agents on a first come, first serve basis between Saturday at noon ET and Sunday at noon ET. Once the draft ends on Sunday, rosters are frozen until Opening Day. 

SECTION III. OTHER ADMINSTRATIVE RULES, FEES, AND DISCOUNTS

  1. Included in a team’s entry fee is a non-refundable $25 deposit that secures a team’s position in an 8-12 team league for the upcoming season.
  2. All fees must be paid in U.S. funds.
  3. The balance of the entry fee is due prior to the start of the season when private leagues submit their rosters or when individual teams submit their completed Draft Order Designation Sheets (DODs).
  4. For teams with Internet access, reports are updated on league homepages each day.
  5. Teams may have their full league reports mailed to them each week via first class for a one-time fee of $15.
  6. BoxScore Baseball provides you with a TOLL FREE Transaction Hotline in order to report any weekly roster moves. The cost for these transactions is as follows:
    1. Trades with other teams . . . . .No charge
    2. Disabled List Transactions . . . No charge
    3. September Call-Ups . . . . . . . .No charge
    4. Some Reserve Player Moves . . .$ 5.00 (Sect. V C-6, D-7)
    5. Some Free Agent Moves . . . . . $10.00 (Sect. V D-7)
  7. Owners receive a $15 credit toward their league fees and team expenses for each new owner they are able to introduce to BoxScore Baseball.
  8. Owners who are able to recruit and organize all the members of an 8-team league pay just $89 per team, for a 9 or 10 team league $79 per team, and for an 11 or 12 team league $69 per team.
  9. Any owner who becomes delinquent in his payments will be ineligible to win any prizes and ultimately could be dropped from his league.
  10. BoxScore Baseball has the final say in settling all disputes regarding the interpretation of these rules. Also, to maintain the spirit of what was intended, BoxScore Baseball reserves the right to supplement these rules at any time.
  11. No purchase necessary. To participate, void of all services, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to BoxScore Baseball, P.O. Box 276, Auburn, MI 48611

SECTION IV. SCORING SYSTEM

  1. To determine national and league standings BoxScore Baseball tracks each position player (non-pitcher) in six hitting categories and each pitcher in five pitching categories:

 HITTING: Batting Average, Runs, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Stolen Bases, and OPS (On Base Average + Slugging Pct.)

PITCHING: Wins, Net Wins, Earned Run Average, Strike Outs, and Saves

  1. In each of the 11 scoring categories, teams are ranked from first to last. Teams receive points in these categories based upon these rankings.
  2. A team’s position in the league standings is determined by totaling its points earned in each of the 11 statistical categories. In the event of a tie, the team placing higher in the greatest number of categories is awarded the higher place in the standings.
  3. The league pennant winner is the team in each league with the most points at season’s end.
  4. There is a monthly winner IN EACH LEAGUE at the end of the 5th, 9th, 13th, 18th, 22nd, and 27th weeks. These six segments are scored completely independent of one another and a team need not be in first place in the year-to-date standings to be declared a monthly winner.
  5. Only those statistics accumulated by a player as a member of a team’s active roster are counted when calculating a team’s totals.
  6. Upon request, a league may instead be scored under the standard 5×5 categories of BA, Runs, HR’s, RBIs, and SB’s for hitters and Wins, ERA, SO’s, Saves, and WHIP Ratio for pitchers.
  7. In the event of any discrepancies, BoxScore Baseball will rely on the statistics compiled by OnRoto.com Fantasy Sports.

SECTION V. TRANSACTIONS

A. GENERAL RULES GOVERNING TRANSACTIONS

  1. Player transactions take effect on a WEEKLY basis. They must be reported by Monday at 12:00 noon ET in order to be effective for the upcoming week.
  2.  Owners may begin making transactions at 12:00 noon on Opening Day Monday.
  3. Important terms for reporting transactions:
    1. ADD: to pick up a player from free agency.
    2. WAIVE: to drop an active or reserve player into free agency.
    3. TRADE: to exchange active or reserve players between teams.
    4. RESERVE: to de-activate a player while still protecting him.
    5. ACTIVATE: to change a reserve player’s status from inactive to active.
    6. ADD A SEPTEMBER CALL-UP: to add a reserve free agent during roster expansion
  4. Owners make roster moves one of two ways:
    1. TOLL FREE transaction hotline: (800) 384-9694.
    2. Email—info@boxscorebaseball.com.
  5. Please do not attempt to report your transactions to the commissioner on the message board of your league homepage. Transactions reported in this way will receive the lowest priority.
  6. Please, provide the following information:
    1. The name of owner, league, and team
    2. Type of transaction: a trade, a DL move, a free agent transaction, a reserve squad activation, or a September call-up.
    3. Names, positions, and ID #’s (if known) of all the players involved.
    4. It is recommended that if free agents are being added that two alternate choices be provided.
  7. Once reported, a transaction is official and cannot be retracted.
  8. Owners must either prepay for their player transactions or the have a valid credit card on file. Otherwise, an owner will NOT be allowed to make player transactions whenever one of the following two factors is true:
    1. An owner’s account is more than 30 days past due.
    2. An owner owes BoxScore Baseball $50 or more.
  9. After each transaction has been approved it is posted on your league homepage at http://www.boxscorebaseball.com. After waiting at least 48 hours for processing, owners may receive confirmation by calling (989) 274-4260 or by emailing info@boxscorebaseball.com.

B. RULES GOVERNING TRADES

  1. The trading deadline is Monday, August 6 at 12:00 noon ET.
  2. Ultimate and Continuous League owners have a winter trading session that runs from Sept. 24 until Dec. 10 at noon ET.
  3. For any trade to be approved, the involved teams must comply with all roster size requirements (Sect. I A-D). A trade will not be accepted until all of the teams have a “balanced” 27-man squad.
  4. All non-injured players received in trades must occupy a spot on their new team’s active roster, at least temporarily.
  5. No trade is official until ALL teams involved have notified BoxScore Baseball.
  6. All controversial trades in our Megabucks Leagues must be approved by a 5-person panel consisting of the commissioner and four owners who are not members of the league involved in the trade.
  7. BoxScore Baseball reserves the right to deny any trade it feels creates an unfair situation.
  8. Trading between owners is FREE OF CHARGE.

C. RULES GOVERNING THE RESERVING PLAYERS

  1. A team must have two and only two reserve players at all times prior to roster expansion. When a team activates one of its reserve players, it must reserve, waive, or trade away one of its active players.
  2. A reserve player only may be activated to replace a player on the active roster who plays the same position.
  3. In the preseason, a drafted reserve player may be activated within 24 hours of the completion of the draft FREE OF CHARGE.
  4. A reserve player may be activated for a player who has been officially placed on the American or National League disable list FREE OF CHARGE.
  5. A reserve player may be activated to replace a player has been traded away FREE OF CHARGE.
  6. In all other instances where a team activates a reserve player, other than the three cases stated above, a $5 activation fee is charged.

D. RULES GOVERNING FREE AGENT ACQUISITIONS

  1. Once a team waives a player from its 27-man squad, even an injured player, he becomes a free agent who may be claimed by any team in that league.
  2. Rookies and other players who have not made their Major League debuts may be added to a team’s roster. These players are assigned the positions Rotoworld.com deems the most reasonable at the time the first BoxScore Baseball owner puts in a claim for him.
  3. Any player officially placed on the American or National League disable list may be replaced by a free agent FREE OF CHARGE.
  4. A team may not intentionally add a disabled list player to its roster in order to reduce transaction fees.
  5. When a trade is NOT a straight up trade (E.g. an outfielder for a shortstop), in order to comply with Rule I-B, it becomes necessary to add free agents. These “necessary” free agents may be added FREE OF CHARGE.
  6. During roster expansion, up to two free agents may be added to a team’s reserve squad FREE OF CHARGE. (To activate one of these players, all normal fees would apply).
  7. In all other instances where a team chooses to add a free agent, other than the three cases stated above, a transaction fee is charged. It is a $10 charge to replace one of your 25 active players or a $5 charge to replace one of your two reserve players.
  8. Free agents of any position may replace reserve players.
  9. One special class of free agents is the newly waived free agents. Players dropped during a given week, may not be claimed until the following Friday.
  10. If two or more owners put in a claim for the same Waiver Wire free agent, the one who is lower in the league standings will get him.
  11. Waived players who go unclaimed on Friday, are returned to the free agent pool and are offered on a first come, first serve basis the same as all other free agents.

E. RULES GOVERNING ROSTER EXPANSION

  1. A team may add up to two September Call-Ups to its reserve squad without being forced to drop another player.
  2. Roster expansion is permitted between Monday, August 13 at noon ET and Monday, Sept. 24 at noon ET.

F. RULES GOVERNING THE PROTECTION OF PLAYERS

  1. At season’s end, teams in Continuous Leagues may protect the rights of up to five players. Teams in Ultimate Leagues protect their entire roster. To do this an owner must meet the following criteria:
    1. Must have his league fees and team expenses paid up to date.
    2. Must submit a $25 deposit and a protected player list postmarked by December 12.
    3. An owner must remain a member of his current league and at least six of the teams in that league must renew.
  2. Continuous League owners are not required to protect five players and should be aware that in the draft protected players represent draft choices. For example, if a team protects two players, it will not receive a selection in the draft until the third round.
  3. Annual League owners are not allowed to protect any players at season’s end.

SECTION VI. CASH PRIZES AND BOXSCORE BUCK AWARDS

______NATIONAL_____________________
1ST $500 in Cash
2nd $250 in Cash
3RD $100 in Cash
4th to 15th $50 in BoxScore bucks
16th to 25th $25 in BoxScore bucks

_ULTIMATE NATIONAL_______________
1st $250 in Cash
2nd $100 in Cash
3rd to 5th $50 in BoxScore bucks
6th to 10th $25 in BoxScore bucks

ANNUAL, CONTINUOUS & ULTIMATE, LEAGUES__________
1st $300 in Cash
Plus six $50 monthly cash prizes

SUPER MEGABUCKS LEAGUES______
1st $2,500 in Cash
2nd $1,000 in Cash
3rd $500 in Cash
4th $100 in BoxScore bucks
Plus six $150 monthly cash prizes

MEGABUCKS_LEAGUES______
1st $1000 in Cash
2nd $200 in Cash
3rd $100 in BoxScore bucks
4th $50 in BoxScore bucks
Plus six $100 monthly cash prizes

  1. BoxScore bucks are coupons that may be applied towards league fees for BoxScore Baseball, Survival Game Baseball, BoxScore Football, or Survival Game Football.
  2. First place prizes in the Annual & Continuous Leagues are based upon leagues with at least 10 teams. Those prizes may be prorated downward ($250 for 8-team leagues) based upon the actual league size.
  3. Prizes in a particular Megabucks or Super Megabucks League will be prorated downward in the unlikely event that the league fails to reach 12 teams.
  4. Any league not using BoxScore Baseball’s standard 11 scoring categories will be ineligible for our National awards.
  5. In each league, six monthly prizes are awarded covering the following periods of time:
APRIL: Opening Day to Sunday, May 6
MAY: Monday, May 7 to Sunday, June 3
JUNE: Monday, June 4 to Sunday, July 1
JULY: Monday, July 2 to Sunday, August 5
AUGUST: Monday, August 6 to Sunday, September 2
SEPTEMBER: Monday, September to Wednesday, October 3

SECTION VII. SUPPLEMENTARY RULES FOR SUPER MEGABUCKS INVITATIONAL LEAGUES

A.  Owners should use the league homepage to add free agents and to activate reserve players.All waiver wire transactions are still processed by the commissioner and must be reported via the transaction hotline or email.

B.  In addition to the position designations in the Scouting Report, free agents also may be utilized at the positions they are assigned on the league homepage.

C.  There is a $10 charge for all free agent transactions, including disabled list transactions.

D.  There is a $5 charge for all reserve squad transactions, including disabled list transactions.

E.  There is no charge for owners to add the two September Call-Ups to their reserve squads.

F.  Prizes in a 12-team league are 1st Place: $2,500, 2nd Place: $1,000, and 3rd Place: $500.

G.  Unless otherwise stated, no trading between teams is permitted within these leagues.

SECTION VIII. SUPPLEMENTARY RULES FOR ULTIMATE LEAGUES

A.  Nationally, the Ultimate Leagues are scored independently from all other leagues and compete for their own separate National Awards.

 B.  Ultimate League teams have three additional reserve players for a total of five.

 C.  Ultimate League teams do not add any September Call-Ups.

D. Once a player reaches 20 games played at a new position, he is eligible to be shifted to that new position at no charge.

 E.  After the trading deadline and up until Opening Day of the following season all transaction costs are cut in half. Free agent transactions are $5. Reserve squad activations are $2.50.

 F.  If a team(s) drops out of an Ultimate League it will either be sold as an expansion team or merged with another team that dropped out.

 G.  FREE AGENT FRIDAY & THE PRESEASON TRANSACTION PERIOD

  1.  Free Agent Friday is Friday, March 2 and it kicks off the Preseason transaction period. This is the first day that owners may begin to add free agents.
  2. If two or more owners put in a claim for the same player the team that was lower in the standings in the previous season will receive him.
  3. On Free Agent Friday, owners may put in claims for as many free agents as they desire, but no team may actually add more than three (and no more than one off the roster of a team(s) being dissolved from the previous season).
  4. Free Agent Friday ends on Saturday, March 3 at 12:00 noon ET.
  5. Additional free agents may be claimed from Saturday, March 3 until Monday, March 26 at 12:00 noon ET on a first come, first serve basis. Owners may use this time for trading as well.
  6. Once the Preseason transaction period ends all rosters remain frozen until 12:00 Noon ET on Opening Day.
  7. The first time players who were waived during the Preseason may be claimed is Friday, March 30. If more than one owner puts in a claim for the same player on that day, the one who finished lower in the previous season’s standings will receive him.

H.  POSTSEASON TRANSACTION PERIOD

  1. The Postseason transaction period runs from Monday, September 24 until Monday, December 10 at noon ET.
  2. In the Postseason, owners may be required to add certain free agents because one of their player’s position status changes. These required free agents may be added free of charge

I.  After an Ultimate League has been is in existence for five seasons, its owners will vote on whether or not to disband the league and to hold a redraft. The votes are scheduled as follows: UL1 prior to 2017, UL2 and UL3 prior to 2016, and UL4 prior to 2013.

 J.  The redraft proposal will NOT be approved unless at least 50% of the league owners vote in favor of it.

 K.  IF THE REDRAFT IS DECLINED league owners will revote on the proposal every five years. As long as less than 50% of league owners favor the proposal, the league will continue on indefinitely.

 L.  IF THE REDRAFT IS APPROVED, any owner who voted against the redraft proposal and who did NOT finish in the top six of his league in the previous season will have the option of opting out of the redraft and of maintaining his current roster—provided the league consists of at least 11 total teams. All other owners will be forced to disband their teams.

 M.  The draft order for the redraft will coincide with the final league standings with the first place team drafting first and the last place team drafting last in the odd numbered rounds.

 N.  Any owner who does not wish to remain a member of the redrafting league will be refunded his $75 prepayment in the form of a credit that may be applied toward any other BoxScore league.

 O.  If a team(s) drops out of an Ultimate League, it will either be sold as an expansion team, merged with another team that has dropped out, dismantled for a dispersal draft, or temporarily run out of the commissioner’s office.

P. In Ultimate League 3 ONLY:
1. Questionable trades must be approved by 4 of 5 members of the trading panel.
2. WHIP ratio is added as a 12th scoring category.
3. 1st Place prize: $500. 2nd Place prize $100