Constitution_Today
TCBA Today Constitution and Rulebook
100. ORGANIZATION
110. TCBA Today (TCBA-T) operates to promote
friendship and stimulate competition among baseball fans through playing the
APBA Computer Baseball Game remotely or in person.
111. No wagering on any TCBA game, series, or
draft is permitted.
112. The league mailing list may not be used or
sold for any form of solicitation that is not directly related to league
business.
120. The association is composed of 24 active managers,
consisting of four divisions of six teams each. There may also be an indefinite
number of non-participating associate members.
121. All members are required to adhere to both
the letter and the spirit of this Constitution and all other TCBA-T rules and
practices. Members must be fair and prompt in their dealings with
other members, and answer all correspondence from other managers, including
trade offers.
122. Repeated failure to follow league rules and
practices, gross incompetence, or violation involving personal integrity may
result in a vote to suspend or expel a league member. The vote will
be conducted among the other 23 members of the league. A two-thirds majority,
consisting of at least 13 affirmative votes, is required for
expulsion. Once expelled, the member may
not rejoin the TCBA-T except by vote of league members.
130. The basic operating rules of the TCBA-T
shall be as follows:
131. The current APBA data disk will be used
each year.
132. All players are owned from year to year by
the same team, unless released or traded.
140. The officers of the association are the
president, the treasurer, and the player control agent. There may also be a
three-member rules committee, chaired by a rules committee chairman. When in
effect, in January of each year, if any three members so
request, there will be an election for any of these positions. If no candidate
receives a majority in such an election, there will be a run-off election among
the three highest vote-getters and anyone tied with them. The duties of these
officers are as follows:
141. The president interprets and enforces
TCBA-T rules, recruits and selects new members, and arbitrates any conflicts
between members. In enforcing the rules, the president may penalize violations
by issuing appropriate fines, declaring players ineligible for periods of time (including
post-season), invalidating the result of one or more games, or any combination
of the above. Any dispute involving the team managed by the
president shall be resolved by the chairman of the Rules Committee, when in
effect, or if his team is also involved, the vice-chairman of the Rules
Committee. The president may also name members to fill any vacancies in officer
positions created by resignations in-between elections. The president may not take
any action which contravenes this Constitution, as amended, or overrules a
valid vote of TCBA-T members.
143. The treasurer collects annual dues fixed by
him at a level which will cover anticipated association expenses for the year, and distributes league funds as necessary to cover
league expenses.
146. The player control agent maintains
"cash" balances and rosters of each team in the league. He is
responsible for handling the Rookie Draft, Free Agent Draft, and any waiver
claims that are made.
147. When desired, there may be a rules
committee of three members, to receive, discuss, refine, select, and present
proposals by TCBA-T members regarding changes in TCBA-T rules and practices.
The member of the Rules Committee receiving the highest number of votes shall
serve as chairman unless he designates some other committee member to perform
that function. The committee member receiving the second highest vote total
shall be designated the vice-chairman.
150. Any reasonable proposal to change TCBA-T rules
or practices may be presented to the Rules Committee (or the President when a
Rules Committee is not in effect), for discussion, and possible amendment or
refinement. If the proposal is approved by the Rules Committee
or President, it shall be presented to the entire membership for discussion and
written comment (pro and con) at least two months before voting.
151. An absolute majority of league members is necessary to add, delete, or change any part of this
Constitution and Rulebook except Rules 100-199. Proxy votes will not be
permitted on changes to the TCBA TODAY Constitution. The absence of a full
membership shall not prohibit voting and obtaining absolute majority votes with
less than a full membership voting.
152. A three-fourths majority of the voting
members, with a minimum of 13, is necessary to change, or delete any part of
Rules 100-199.
153. Associate members of the TCBA-T may
participate in any voting which does not concern the size of or who shall be a member
of the TCBA-T. Their votes will be counted as one-half vote each.
154. Any rule change that affects members
unequally (as determined by the Rules Committee or President) shall not take
effect until the beginning of the following season.
160. At the annual general meeting, the members
may present, consider, and adopt rule changes, but no rule proposal may be
voted on at the meeting unless it was proposed at least one month earlier, and any
members absent from the meeting are given the opportunity to vote by mail,
telephone or e-mail.
200. SCHEDULE
210. The schedule consists of one series per
(calendar) week for 34 weeks, home or away but not both, for a total of 162
games, 81 home and 81 away games. A series may consist of 4 or 5 games.
213. During the regular season, each team will
play 52 games against the teams in one other division (8 against some teams and
9 against others,) and 5 games against each team in the other two divisions. Schedule
will rotate these division matchups on a three-year cycle.
214. During the regular season, each team will
play 10 games against each team in its own division.
215. Rainouts and ties will be rescheduled
during open dates in the season, at the discretion of the league president. Any
rainouts and ties not rescheduled by the end of the season will be replayed if
they have any bearing on divisional championships, playoff qualification or playoff
seeding. Injuries and rest will carry over to such replays from the final game
of the regular season, and teams may use, subject to AIM, pitchers who had exhausted their allotment of allowed starts during the
regular season.
220. There shall be post-season playoffs subject
to the following rules:
221. The first-place team in each division
qualifies for the playoffs. These teams are designated Teams 1, 2, 3 and 4 for
post-season play, with the lowest numbers going to teams with the best regular-season
records, in order.
222. Of the 16 non-division winning teams in
each league, the four with the best records also qualify for the playoffs. The
non-division winning team having the best record will be designated Team 5 for
post-season play, and the non-division-winning team with the next-best record
will be designated Team 6 for post-season play. The two teams with the next-best records after team 6 will be designated Team 7 and
Team 8.
223. If after all ties, rainouts, and upheld-protest
games have been made up, any ties exist between teams in the same division for
any playoff position mentioned in or , the
tie will be broken, without additional playoff games, in favor of the team with
the:
A. best record in head-to-head play between the
tied teams, or if still tied, the
B. best record inside the division of the tied
teams, or if still tied, the
C. best overall record for the last 25 games of
intra-division play, or if still tied, the
D. greatest differential between runs scored and
runs allowed for the season, or if still tied, the
E. greatest number of runs scored in
head-to-head play between the tied teams, or if still tied, the
F. greatest differential between runs scored and
runs allowed in games played within the division of the tied teams, or if still
tied, a
G. coin toss.
224. If after all ties, rainouts, and upheld
protest games have been made up, any ties exist between teams in different divisions
for any playoff positions mentioned in or , the tie will be broken,
without any additional playoff games, in favor of the team with the: A. greater
strength-of-schedule, i.e., overall comparative records of the entire divisions
of the tied teams, or if still tied, the B. best record against all teams in
the divisions which do not contain the tied teams (common opponents), or if
still tied, the C. greatest differential between total runs scored
and total runs allowed in games against common opponents specified immediately
above, or if still tied, the D. greatest differential between total runs scored
and runs allowed for the season, or if still tied, the E. best record in
head-to-head play between the tied teams, or if still tied, a F. coin toss.
225. In the quarterfinal round of the playoffs,
team 1 plays team 8 in Series A; team 2 plays team 7 in Series B, team 3 plays team
6 in Series C and team 4 plays team 5 in Series D. 226. In the semifinals, the
winner of Series A plays the winner of Series D in Series E
and the winner of Series B plays the winner of Series C in Series F. 227. In
the TCBA Today World Series, the winner of Series E plays the winner of Series
F to determine the league champion. 228. All playoff series described in Rules 225-227 shall be best-of-seven series. The higher
seeded (lower numbered) team is the home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of each series.
AIM injuries and fatigue carry over from the regular season to the quarterfinal
playoff series, and from one playoff series to the next. There will be one
scheduled day of rest between the last day of the regular season and the
quarterfinal series (more if necessary to make up rainouts), but no days of
rest between rounds of the playoffs. All regular-season rules of play (Rules
300-399) apply, except that there are special limitations on post-season starts
by pitchers ( ) and there are no limits
on stolen base attempts ( ).
310. All games are played subject to the
Official Rules of Baseball as applicable, using the APBA Baseball for Windows
computer game. [If a version of this game later than version 3.75 is used, any
features which affect the play of the game which were not included in version
3.75 must be not be used, including but not limited to
bunting for a base hit, pulling the infield in at the corners, and ballpark
effects.]
311. Player fatigue and injury is determined by
using the AIM system of Baseball for Windows version 5.75, using the following
options: All injuries and fatigue, Late-20th Century pitcher durability and
recovery, enforce batters faced limits, PR 930 if SLG + OBP < .600, and
pause pre-game if player is tired, bushed or worn out.
312. Use of micromanagers for away series is
mandatory unless the series is played with the live (real-time) participation of
the visiting manager. Any micromanager used must be distributed to the entire
league if it is not already available to the public. (If the manager is
obtainable by paying a fee to the publisher, it is considered available to the
public).
313. The designated hitter rule will be used in
the TCBA-T
314. In the event of computer failure prior to
the end of a game, the game should be replayed in its entirety.
320. All managers shall use a copy of the
official league data disk for that season.
323. The injury rating
of all innocuous players (defined in ), and
pitchers (defined in ) shall be changed to J-1
(unless it was J-0).
330. To be eligible for usage in the regular
season, a non-pitcher must have at least 50 real-life plate appearances in the
corresponding Major League season.
331. To be eligible for usage in post-season
play, a non-pitcher must have at least 80 real-life plate appearances in the
corresponding Major League season.
333. No player may start at a position (except pitcher)
at which he did not appear at least 10 times during the corresponding major
league season, unless he has played 75 or more games at that position during
his major league career. A player not eligible to start at any position at all
because of this rule may start at the first position listed on his card.
Players may be used defensively at positions at which they are ineligible to
start, but never before the seventh inning unless the
last remaining eligible player at that position is injured or ejected.
334. Innocuous
players are defined as players with a batting average less than .235, an
on-base percentage less than .315, a slugging percentage less than .350 in the
corresponding major league season, and who meet fielding limitations as shown
in are given a play rating of 930. Any additional non-pitchers with SLG +
OBP < .600 will also get a PR of 930.
336. No player may
appear at a position at which he is not currently
rated. No player may be removed from the game without a defensive substitute
available at his position, unless his team is tied or behind in the ninth
inning or later. If it becomes unavoidable to use an ineligible player at a position, a weak hitter who once played or might be
expected to play the position shall be used.
337. Each team must
include on its playing roster at least two rated players at every defensive
position. A player may be used to meet this
requirement at more than one position.
340. Pitcher eligibility and fatigue depends in
part on the pitcher's category. To be eligible for usage a pitcher must have at
least 8 starts, 20 games pitched or have 35 innings pitched in the
corresponding Major League season. To be eligible to pitch in the playoffs a
pitcher must have started 10 games or appeared in 25 in the corresponding Major
League season. The three categories of pitchers recognized by these rules are
starters, who have no asterisk after their grade on the APBA data disk; relievers,
who have an asterisk after their single grade on the APBA data disk; and
split-grade pitchers, who have two separate grades on the disk.
341. Split-grade
pitchers (only) are limited to their real-life number of starts.
342. Pitchers
defined as innocuous (Grade 4 or lower) are given an MBF of 900 or their actual
MBF, whichever is greater.
343. Starts by starting
pitchers and starts by split-grade pitchers in post-season play are
limited as follows:
MLB
starts Starts per
7-game playoff series
1-9
0
10-19 1
20-29 2
30+ 3
350. All strategy used must make sense as
baseball strategy. Strategy may not be based solely or primarily on reasoning
which is unique to or based on the limitations of the baseball simulation model
of APBA, BBW or the TCBA-T.
351. During the regular season, the home team
manager can choose any stadium they wish at their own discretion. During the
playoffs, domed stadiums must be used.
353. No pitcher may
pinch-hit unless it is shown that he was used to pinch-hit at least 8 times
during the corresponding season. A pitcher who qualifies to pinch-hit under
this rule may only pinch-hit when all or all but one of the non-pitchers on the
bench have been used. Announcing players and removing them without playing for the
purpose of making a pitcher eligible to pinch-hit is not permitted.
354. The hit-and-run may
be called only when the runner on first has a Steal Allowance Letter of A-F (or
G with Steal Success Number 0-27) and the batter has a
hit-and-run rating of at least 2. The hit-and-run play may not be called with
two out.
355. The attempted steal
may not be called when the baserunner has already attempted 125% or more of his
steal attempts for the corresponding season. However, trailing runners
on double or triple steals may steal at any time. Pinch runners may not steal
unless they have an SAL of A-F, stole at least 5 bases
during the corresponding major league season, and are otherwise eligible. In
post-season play, the steal may be called only when the runner on first has a
Steal Allowance Letter of A-F (or G with Steal Success Number 0-27). This rule
does not affect a team's ability to call the hit-and-run play.
383. After each series, the home manager must send
a data file as applicable in the League Manager module of the BBW game to the
person acting as League Manager "commissioner," by the posted
deadline. If results are not reported by the deadline the Commissioner has the
authority to auto-play those series.
384. Failure to meet deadlines established for
reporting procedures detailed in Rule 383 will
result in a fine to be deducted from the team's cash balance. This fine is
doubled for the second offense and tripled for the third and subsequent offenses
in one season. Waiver of a penalty may be granted by the president only if a
valid excuse is submitted before the series, or if truly exceptional
circumstances intervene. Fines will be refunded to any team that changes
managers before the next rookie draft. The fourth offense in any
season triggers an automatic expulsion vote under rule 122.
385. At the conclusion of each season each team
is given a lump sum bonus of $72,000 for playing their home games. If
a series is not reported on time, the person acting as "commissioner"
(as defined in Baseball for Windows League Manager) will play the series using
micromanagers for both teams. All bonus money will be awarded after rosters are
cut to 30 following each season and may not be used until that
date. It may be used in the upcoming Rookie Draft and thereafter.
410. Each team may control up to 27 players on
its active playing roster and up to 10 others on its reserve
list ("farm team") for a total of 37 during the regular
season. During the playoffs the active roster is limited to 26
players. Players may be transferred between playing roster and reserve list
between any two series. Players may be transferred between playing
roster and reserve list only between series and not between games of a series,
regardless of injury. Control of an ineligible player ( ) may be maintained by keeping his name on the
reserve list.
411. Starting with a posted pre-season deadline and throughout each
season, each team must have sufficient players available at every position to
total a Play Rating (PR) of 1100 [counting only those players eligible to
start, and in the case of players who have a Season Factor (SF) of less than
100, counting a play rating of PR times SF divided by 100] at that
position. The play rating of a player who qualifies to start at more
than one position may be divided as needed to meet this requirement. The 1100
PR requirement for a team at any position, including designated hitter, is
reduced to 1050 if that team has at least one player eligible to start at that
position who has a PR of 930 or higher and whose SF is 100. In this
case, players on the roster not eligible to start but rated at that position
can apply 60 PR of their total available in order for
the team to reach the 1050PR level at that position. Each team must
have sufficient starting pitchers to start 170 games (based on real-life use)
and a total MBF (batters faced) on the pitching staff of 7000 or more.
Innocuous players (defined in ), and pitchers ), may be used to meet of these
requirements. For purposes of this rule, innocuous starting pitchers
will be credited with 20 starts or the number of starts made in real life,
whichever is greater, and 900 MBF or the number of batters faced in real life,
whichever is greater.
412. Each player will be assigned a "salary" each season
based on application of a formula contained in Appendix C using the player’s real-life statistics for the
corresponding season. Prior to the start of the season, and from
that time forward throughout the season, no team may exceed the salary unit
limit established for that season for their complete roster. Any
team exceeding the Salary Cap for the current season must, from that point, immediately cut players from their roster
to achieve the salary unit limit or below. All players cut at that time
will be placed in the league’s free agent pool and will be available in to the league through its free agent system.
420. Players may be traded and sold between
teams, subject to the following rules:
421. Trades may include
money from a team's cash balance, but all players and money in a transaction
must be transferred at the same time. Trades may not include players to be loaned, transferred, or named later, or any other type
of future consideration. No agreement may be made to announce a trade or part
of a trade at any future date. Trades may be made, however, after the current
season's deadline, to take effect at the end of the season in progress, with
any cash involved being transferred immediately.
422. Any transaction
resulting in a team acquiring the rights to more than 37 total players must
include the names of those players cut to return the gaining team to the 37-man
maximum roster. Such cuts will take effect on the date the transaction
takes effect, and are not revocable.
423. No trade may take
effect until both parties have notified the player control
agent and President of all players, cash, and/or draft choices involved in the
transaction.
424. No manager may
offer the same player in trade to more than one team at a time, unless the
offer indicates that it is only tentative, using words to that effect.
425. Any team violating , or attempting to make a trade which is
illegal under these rules or impossible because of its current roster or cash
balance, will be fined $20,000. Both parties to a trade may be fined the full
amount if both participated in the violation. At the president's discretion, a
trade may also be voided and/or the fine money awarded to a team injured by the
violation.
426. Any trade that
takes place on or after the posted trading deadline (prior to Series 13), will
not take effect until the conclusion of the season in progress.
427. No player transactions
of any kind may be made between the conclusion of the regular season and the
time that teams’ mandatory postseason cuts rookie nominations have been
published. The trade window will then remain open until again frozen by a
published date approximately 10 days prior to the annual Winter Meetings.
428. No manager may make
any trade, trade offer, or agreement to make a trade until the fifteenth day
after his name and address have been published in writing to the members of his
league.
430. Rookies, defined as players never before included on an APBA data disk and whose
statistics for the corresponding season meet one of the criteria of 80 plate
appearances, 8 games started as a pitcher or 20 games pitched, are drafted as follows:
431. The auction draft is held at the winter
TCBA-T meeting. Those players available for the draft will be selected the previous autumn by manager nominations. Each
manager may nominate, by mail in advance of a specified deadline, 0 to 8
rookies. There will be no penalty for failure to nominate any rookies. Players
will be added to the draft by selecting one nominee from each team in reverse
order of W-L record, until 50% of the available rookies have been selected or
all nominees from each team have been selected, whichever is first. In the event that less than 20
rookies are nominated, others will be chosen randomly to bring the pool up to
20.
432. The pool of rookies available for the draft
is placed in a random bidding order. The order is determined during
the annual rookie draft.
433. The Rookie Draft will be conducted as an
auction with an auctioneer to be designated by the President, in which teams
bid in predetermined order according to previous season's finish. It
is preferred that members attend in person, if possible.
434. If some managers cannot attend in person,
an attempt will be made to permit them to participate by telephone or other electronic
method. It will not be permitted, except by ruling of
the President in exceptional circumstances, to designate a proxy bidder,
whether a league member or not.
435. If the draft cannot be conducted with all
managers present either in person or by telephone or other electronic method,
the absent managers will bid by submitting a separate sealed envelope on each
player he wishes to bid on. There will be no limit on the number of players a team
may bid on, and a bid may include a contingency making it dependent on how much
cash the team has left, whether or not it has drafted
some other player, or any other reason. The total of such bids may exceed the
team's cash balance; however, any bid which exceeds the team's adjusted cash
balance when it is opened will be deemed a bid for the remainder of the cash
balance.
436. Managers will be seated around the table in
the draft room in order of their previous season's record, with a place left for
any manager participating remotely. Bidding on each player
will start with the manager whose nomination placed that player in the draft.
That manager must make an opening bid of at least $5,000. (If the player was
not nominated, the manager making the opening bid will be chosen randomly and
there will be no minimum bid.) If a manager must make an opening bid but has
less than $5,000 left or has already drafted the maximum number of rookies, he will
be permitted to bid $5,000 but no more. If he drafts the player because there
is no other bid, he will have a negative cash balance at that point. This will
be the only situation in which a team may bid more than its cash balance.
437. After the opening bid on each player, the
bidding proceeds around the table in order of seating. The direction of bidding
will alternate with each player between clockwise and counter-clockwise. Any
team not able or wishing to bid more than the previous bid must pass and may
not make any further bid on that player. Bidding continues around
the table until all but one manager has
passed. The minimum increment by which a bid must be increased is
always $1,000 although a manager may increase the previous bid by any amount in
multiples of $1,000 that does not exceed his cash total.
438. [Applies only if one or more managers are
bidding by mail.] After all but
one manager has passed on a player in the live bidding, it will be determined whether or not there are one or more envelopes containing
bids on that player which are equal to or higher than the final live auction
bid. If so, the manager who is present will be asked to declare what
is the highest he is willing to bid on that player. Then all envelopes
containing bids on that player will be opened and the mail bids compared with
the declared maximum. The player will go to the highest bidder,
whether live or by mail, for $1,000 more than the next highest of these
bids. If no mail bid exceeds the highest live auction bid, the
player is drafted by the highest live bidder. Ties in this process are decided
in favor of the team having the poorer record in the previous season.
439. No more than six rookies may be drafted in
one draft by any manager, unless a team is required to
open the bidding for a 7th player, and every other team passes.
440. Players are also distributed in the Free Agent Draft,
also held at the TCBA-T meeting in February of each year. Following the Rookie
Auction Draft, each non-playoff team cuts its roster to 32 players. Teams
making the playoffs will be required to cut to a lower number following the
rookie draft. Beginning in 2022, all teams making the playoffs
will be required to cut down to 31 players. Any teams that make the
playoffs for the following year (2 consecutive years) will be required to cut to 30 players. For each consecutive season
that playoff qualification continues an additional player cut will correspond
till that team reaches 27 players. Any additional season, from that
point forward, that the team makes the playoffs they will also cut to the
minimum allowed of 27 players. After any season in which a
team misses the playoffs the will revert to
cutting to 32 players and be required to cut to 31 the next time they make the
playoffs. The carded players who are cut as well as any other
unowned carded players are available in this draft. Each manager, unless he
appears in person, submits a preference list. The draft proceeds, in order of
lowest winning percentage the preceding season. Teams may draft for as many
rounds until they reach the 37-man limit. Free agent draft picks in
rounds 1-5 only may be sold or traded only during available trading periods
between postseason cutdown and the beginning of the Free Agent Draft.
450. Players on the league waiver list may
be claimed for $5,000 by sending e-mail notice of the claim to the player
control agent and the league Commissioner, with the date of transmission
determining priority. The waiver list consists of all players available but
unclaimed in the Free Agent Draft, plus all players released after the Rookie
Auction or during the current season. Players must be cut
immediately after a waiver claim or uneven trade if necessary to stay within the
roster limit. No players may be claimed after the trading deadline.
461. Teams are awarded bonus cash prior to the
Rookie Auction for having players among the league leaders, as determined by
Stat Master in certain categories.
460. Teams are allotted cash annually after the
Rookie Draft. The league champion receives $2,000; the other seven
playoff teams receive $27,000 each; the other 16 teams receive $60,000
each. Cash is also awarded in the form of bonuses as indicated in .
461. Teams failing to submit a ballot in the
annual voting on rule change proposals are fined $10,000, to be deducted
immediately.
462. All players on a team’s 37-man roster will be required to be
used at least one third of their actual MLB usage (rounded up). For
hitters this will be for plate appearances, for pitchers’ innings
pitched. Any players not used the minimum
amount will be placed in the following years free agent pool.
APPENDIX B - Fielding Limitations for Innocuous
Players
POSITION RATING
C 5-7
1B 2-3
2B 5-7
SS 6-8
3B 2-4
OF 1-2
APPENDIX C - Salary Calculation System
For Hitters:
TWar= OWar plus
25% DWar
For Pitchers:
TWar = PWar
Formula Definitions:
OWar – Offensive Wins
Against Replacement
DWar –
Defensive Wins Against Replacement
PWar – Pitching Wins
Against Replacement
TWar – TCBA salary
Note: All WAR calculations are based on the Baseball-Reference.com
version