GLOBAL UNIFIED BASEBALL ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION

Original Version 5/18/07 (MMR), 1st Revision 8/26/07 (MMR), 2nd Revision 8/28/07 (MMR), 3rd Revision 10/31/07 (MMR), 4th Revision 11/5/07 (MMR), 5th Revision 5/22/08 (MMR), 6th Revision 5/29/08 (MMR)

Constitutional Changes


Premise
The Global Unified Baseball Association (GUBA) has deep roots in its ownership. The GUBA is the direct result of two prior leagues, the MBBA and the FIBB, joining together to form one unified place were the ownership could gather for an ultimate global fictional league experience with Out of the Park Baseball 2007. All original franchises were previous MBBA, FIBB or GBC franchises.


League Settings


How to Join
Welcome to the GUBA!

Welcome to the Global Unified Baseball Association (GUBA). We are a thriving league of 36 teams, each one owned and operated by a dedicated member of the GUBA family. We are always looking for people who are interested in following the league or becoming owners. With that in mind, please understand that the process for being granted an GUBA franchise is different than most other leagues. Please read the following to gain a better understanding of how the GUBA's owner selection process works:

The GUBA has an extremely solid ownership base and very active participants. As a result, owner turnover is low and positioning for involvement is expected to be competitive. The "Waiting List" consists of people who, out of their interest in the league and desire to eventually own a franchise, have become active members of the GUBA community. These people are affectionately referred to as "Vultures."

Vultures participate in day-to-day league activities by contributing to forum discussions, both about the league or general off-topic issues, write articles about teams and/or players, and otherwise interact on a regular basis with current owners and other Vultures. In most cases, Vultures are "hired" by current owners to assist them in running their franchise in an "Assistant GM" (AGM) capacity. Through their participation, Vultures gain valuable knowledge of the league, its players, and most importantly, its owners. Conversely, the other league owners get to learn more about potential ownership candidates.

There is no "pecking order" when it comes to Vultures; new owners will be selected based in part on seniority, but also based on overall participation and general "fit" with the rest of the league. Thus, having been around longer than the next guy might help you become the next owner accepted, but it is by no means a guarantee. By the same token, just because you haven't been around as long as some other, doesn't necessarily mean you can't or won't be considered for the next opening. Should you wish to be considered for an opening in the near future, please feel free to stop by the GUBA Forums and introduce yourself by answering some questions in the New Applicants forum.

Owners must have the leagues current version of OOTP and may only control 1 team. Violations of these or any rules described below may merit league enforced punishment, or in extreme cases, banishment from the GUBA. We are all assumed to be in various degrees of maturity and will be expected to dust it off on occasion. Simply put it’s this easy--------
1. Have fun
2. Try your best
3. Treat others as you would like to be treated (or better!)

Now that you've registered for the forums and browsed through the basics of our league, if you're interested in being a part of the fun please start a new thread in the New Applicants Forum and post the following information as your "Application":

Name:
Email:
AIM ID:
Date of Birth:
Occupation:
Location:
Other OOTP Leagues (with links):
Do you own OOTP 2007/8?
We have a Participation Point System to foster activity. Cool with this?
Willing to troll the boards and participate in polls?
Have you read the Constitution (not that one, the GUBA's)?
What interests you about the GUBA?
Do you have any weird OOTP quirks that we should know about - like you don't believe in making trades?
What other hobbies do you have?

If no teams are currently open, we're always glad to have extra folks hanging around, as fans, active participators, Assistant GM's, etc. There is usually a need for Assistant GM's if a team is not currently open. So feel free to join the board chatter, join the live chats and write any league articles from your current non-biased position.


Governing Board
The GUBA will be governed by a board of eight. The following are their descriptions:

A. Chairman: The Chairman generally keeps things organized. He takes care of the day to day minutia such as forum maintenance, rules, ownership recruiting and retention, managing the Governing Board, and generally keeps things on track.

B. Co-Commissioners (2): The Commissioners are the men who keeps the league running when it comes to actually having continual game play. They are also responsible for keeping the League Calendar up to date.

C. League Presidents (2): Occasionally the Governing Board cares about the owners opinions. :) These are the guys who represent the ownership on the Governing Board.

D. Draft/Voting Czar: Responsible for overseeing and expediting the ammy draft and all league wide voting.

E. PPT/Awards/Rule 5 Czar: Responsible for keeping track of the Participation Point Spreadsheet and performing the four counts per season, handling all league awards including trophies, and handling the Rule 5 draft.

F. "Spiritual Advisor": Special role designed for Ron. His presence on the Governing Board is to add balance, chime in on issues, assign Bonus PPT opportunities, and generally balance out Recte.


Owners and Participation
Owners are expected to participate by exporting lineups, writing content on the forums and promptly responding to communication attempts by others in the league.  We recommend Personal Messages within the Forums as the primary method of communications between owners.  An owner will be relieved of his team if THREE lineup exports are missed in a row with no communication to the Governing Board. You are also expected to post team news on a regular basis on the forums - yes, this is a “writing league”.  A Participation Point system is used to track owner activity and provide rewards for owner involvement. 

Every owner is required to obtain a minimum of 20 Participation Points by the end of each season (In addition, owners with 0 Participation Points at the midseason update will be subject to removal by the Governing Board). Ownership is a privilege, not a right. The Governing Board must assure that all owners are contributing in order to sustain a healthy, active league. Failure to earn your 20 PPTs by the stated Participation Point Deadline means you have given up your ownership rights in the GUBA. Those rights may be returned to you at the Governing Board's discretion. If you are in your first or second continuous season in the GUBA and you have not met minimums, chances are you will not be returned your ownership rights. Should the Governing Board choose to return ownership rights to you, you will accept them along with a mandatory two season Probationary Period:

Owners who enter during the course of the season will be responsible for a pro-rated PP amount. If they enter after the All-Star break they will be given a prorated PP minimum.

Terms of Two Season Probationary Period:
- You fail 3 exports in one season with no Owner Availability posts and you are gone
- You ever miss a required vote with no Owner Availability post and you are gone
- You will be required to earn 40 PPTs in Season One of Probation with 20 of those by the All-Star Break and at least 1/2 of your ending total from Team News (20 TN points min)
- You will be required to earn 30 PPTs in Season Two of Probation with 15 of those by the All-Star Break and at least 1/2 of your ending total from Team News (15 TN points min)
- If you meet all terms of this two season Probationary Period, you will return to normal owner status with the 3rd season.

As mentioned above, owners are expected to submit Team Exports for every sim or post in the Owner Availability forum that they will not be exporting.  Owners must post in the Owner Availability forum when they expect to be unavailable for a period of time.  If you are unavailable for one-third or more of an GUBA season, you are in jeopardy of losing your franchise.  In these situations, it is your responsibility to find an AGM to run your team while you are away, but the Governing Board will help where possible.  Owners are given an opportunity to participate in shaping the rules of the league, and thus participation in mandatory league votes is, in fact, mandatory.

**What constitutes a sufficient Team News report?  In order to qualify for the points, your Team News writings must be original, owner-created content.  Copying and pasting from your OOTP team page will not count.  You must have at least two solid paragraphs of original, owner-created written content.  One sentence is far less than a paragraph.  Non PPT-worthy postings should be pinned in your Team News forum or posted elsewhere on the board.  Also, please post each news item as a separate thread for easier tallying. 

Team News Incentive Program

Everyone loves OT chat, and polls, and WoW and all the things that entertain us throughout the day, but the heart and soul of the message board, and the fun of the league, is Team News.

We want to continue to reward the top TN writers with a healthy bonus, but also encourage those who haven't written a lot of TN in the past to improve their output through a reward. 

If you have at least 5 Point-worthy Team News reports at the midseason PP Update, and you finish the season with at least 10 Point-worthy Team News reports at the end of the season, you will receive 10 bonus Participation Points and a +3 Fan Interest Bonus (max. 90). If your FI is above 90, you'll receive $1,000,000 in cash. (If partially above, split will be $333,333 per each FI point to complete Bonus.)

If you have at least 10 Point-worthy Team News reports at the midseason PP Update, and you finish the season with 20 Point-worthy Team News reports, you will receive an 15 Participation Point bonus and a +5 Fan Interest Bonus (max. 90). If your FI is above 90, you'll receive $2,000,000 in cash. (If partially above, split will be $400,000 per each FI point to complete Bonus.)

In addition, if you didn't hit either bonus the previous season, and you do in the current season, you will receive an additional 5 PP's.

Division Writing Incentive Program (eff 2008 season)

The idea is to create more writing and some friendly competition with activity. Whichever division has the most combine PP at season's end wins. Each owner in that division that has written at least 10 Team News will be eligible to receive the Division Writing Incentive Bonus: 3 Fan Interest Bonus (max. 90). If your FI is above 90, you'll receive $1,000,000 in cash. (If partially above, split will be $333,333 per each FI point to complete Bonus.)

GUBA related Forum Participation Program (eff 2009 season)

Over the first two seasons one of the main complaints has been the lack of participation in Team News, Features, etc. Basically, if someone takes the time to write an article the 36 owners in this league are expected to contribute to it by discussing and commenting on it. In the past we did a reward like this that rewarded you for how many posts you had in a season. Unfortunately, this rewarded you for Off Topic, WoW, etc. posts as well as actual GUBA stuff. Since this IS a baseball league, we've now set the forums to award post counts only to those forums that relate directly to the discussion of GUBA related topics. This is by no means meant to discourage Off Topic Chatter, it's just meant to reward GUBA related chatter. Here's how it works (this is based off the fact that there are roughly 70 days long)

Below 70 posts 0 PP
71-140 posts 5 PP
141-210 posts 7 PP
211-350 posts 10 PP
351+ posts 15 PP

Participation Points

In order to reward owner participation, a bonus system is available. Owners will accumulate Participation Points (PPT) based on the criteria described below. These points can be redeemed for the improvement of an owner's franchise (see below). Points will carry over from season to season. Teams are required to accumulated 20 Participation Points per season to continue ownership of their franchise.

League Articles (significant writing), Images, Other significant contributions, Trade Analyses, Player Spotlights 4 PPT
League Articles (combination stat / writing; recurring features) 3 PPT
Team Blog (pinned in Team News page, ongoing writing in first post) 1/2 PPT per entry, more than a couple sentences (as judged by PP counter)
Team News 2 PPT
Polls 1 PPT if 15-25 votes, 2 PPTs if 26+
Player left in DFA past allotted time -1 PP, -1 FI
Failed exports (w/ no notice after 1st freebie) -2 PP
Failure to participate in a mandatory league vote -4 PP, -4 FI

Other points may be awarded or taken away at the Commissioner’s discretion. Special projects will be subject to a Point determination by the Commissioner. Participation Point Updates will occur at the beginning of the regular season, at the All-Star Break, at the end of the regular season, and at the end of the season. Points may be redeemed during the off-season only.

Points may be redeemed for the following:

Participation Point Rewards  
Add $1,000,000 to cash (not to exceed cash max) 20 PPTS
Increase Fan Interest 1 point (Max: 85) 20 PPTS
Increase Fan Loyalty 1 value (Max: Average) 30 PPTS

Increase Market Size 1 value (Max: Average)

30 PPTS
Unveil new logo
  • Unveil new mascot and logo
  • +3 Fan Interest (max 85)
  • New mascot and logo must be approved by the Gov Board
  • Can only be used once every 5 seasons
60 PPTS + $1,000,000 cash
Change Minor League affiliate (new city, name, logo, colors) 20 PPTS
Offseason Motiviational Program (increases a players Leader Ability by 1 value, max 7 points) 5 PPTS
Player Appreciation Program (increases a players Loyalty or Desire for Winning Team by 1 value,max 7 points) 5 PPTS
Community Service Program (decreases a players Greed by 1 value,max 7 points) 20 PPTS
Offseason Higher Learning Program (increases a players Intelligence by 1 value,max 7 points) 20 PPTS
Offseason Training and Conditioning Program (increases a players Work Ethic by 1 value,max 7 points) 20 PPTS
Update team uniforms (for one team only)
  • Unveil new uniforms for one team in organization
  • +3 Fan Interest (max 85)
  • New uniforms must be approved by the Gov Board
  • Can only be used once every 5 seasons
60 PPTS + $1,000,000 cash

 

Stadium Aging and Maintenance

The basic premise of the GUBA stadium rules is that all stadiums require maintenance and the longer a stadium is in service, the more it decays.  If you play in the same stadium for 40 years, it will be on the verge of collapse if is not properly maintained.  Even if it is properly maintained, an older stadium loses appeal with fans, as they see newer stadiums with more features.  The purpose of these rules is to allow people to keep their existing stadium forever via maintenance (i.e., Wrigley Field or Fenway Park) or to bring new fans in via construction of new stadiums (i.e., Skydome or Camden Yards).  In addition, teams may modify their stadiums to some extent; however there is a ripple effect to the modification of stadiums.  If a team moves the fences in to create more homeruns, it reduces the gaps in the outfield, which in turn reduces the number of doubles and triples hit.  Of course, it also creates room for more bleacher seats, allowing a team to increase the stadium’s capacity.  The reverse would be true if the fences are moved out.  There will be limits to the number of seats added to a stadium.  One cannot just put new seats in a stadium on a whim.  There are practical limits to where seats can be placed for which patrons will be willing to pay.

 

While some of what will be discussed seems complex, it can all be tracked on a spreadsheet with minimal time invested.

 

I.                   Stadium Aging

a.     To account for the effects of stadium aging, every year a team’s fan interest (FI) will drop 2 points unless maintenance is paid.  For each successive year maintenance is not paid, the FI drop increases by 2 points.  For instance, if maintenance is not paid for 2 years, in the 2nd year the FI drop will be 4 points, in the 3rd year it will be 6 points, etc.  There is a 16 point per year limit on how far FI will drop because of maintenance.

b.     For each year past the third that a stadium is not maintained, merchandising revenue will drop by $500K/year, cumulative, with an upper limit of $5MM/year.  This represents advertisers less likely to buy stadium advertising and/or put their name behind an organization that doesn’t care about its facility.

c.      Hence, if stadium maintenance is not maintained for 15 years, FI will drop by 15 points per season, and merchandising revenue (the “last year’s amount on which current merchandising revenue is calculated) will drop by $5MM.

d.      At start of GUBA, all teams are considered to have brand new stadiums.

II.                Stadium Maintenance

a.     To counteract the effects of stadium aging, a team may spend cash, participation points (PP) or a combination of the two.

b.     Teams may not purchase partial maintenance.

c.     To offset 1 point of stadium aging FI drop with cash costs $1.5MM.  Thus, the minimum cash expenditure to offset stadium aging through cash only will be $3MM since the initial FI drop is 2 points.

d.     To offset 1 point of stadium aging FI drop with PP costs 2.5 PP (rounded up when there are fractions).  Thus, the minimum PP expenditure to offset stadium aging with PP costs 5 PP.

e.      Cash and PP may be combined, however PP expenditures are still rounded up.  For instance, stadium maintenance may be done with $1.5MM of cash and 3 PP.

f.      Once stadium maintenance is performed, the aging clock resets.  So even if a team waits 10 years to maintain its stadium, once maintenance is done the next year the lack of maintenance will only cost the team 2 FI.

g.      While it may appear to be to a team’s advantage to wait several years before maintenance is performed, team FI and possibly merchandising revenue will still be dropping during those years.

h.       Stadiums which have not had maintenance performed for more than 10 years may not be maintained, they can only be renovated.

i.         Funds for maintenance can be taken from a team’s Stadium Funds (see below).

III.             Stadium Renovation

a.       If a stadium requires extreme maintenance, the cost of doing so rises sharply.

b.      Stadium renovation resets a stadium’s aging clock and provides an immediate FI boost of 5 points.

c.       Stadium renovation costs $40MM or 100 PP or any combination thereof, with 2.5 PP (rounded up) counteracting $1MM (i.e., a team could pay $15MM and 63 PP to renovate a stadium).

d.      At least 5 years must pass between renovations.

e.       Funds for renovation can be taken from a team’s Stadium Funds (see below).

IV.              New Stadiums

a.       Teams must plan for building a new stadium.  New stadiums must be announced 2 seasons in advance.  In other words, if a team wants to move into a new stadium in 2015, it must announce that it will build the new stadium (and must have the PP) by the start of the 2013 season.

b.      New stadiums will cost $100MM and 150 PP.  PP may be used to offset cash at the rate of 2 PP for $1MM.  Thus, a team may build a stadium for $75MM and 200 PP.

c.       Similarly, cash may offset the PP requirement at the rate of $2MM per 1 PP reduction.  Thus a team may build a stadium for a cost of $200MM and 100 PP.

d.      A team must spend a minimum of $50MM of cash and 75 PP on its stadium.  Minimum cash would mean the stadium costs 250 PP and minimum PP would cost $250MM.

e.       Funds for new stadiums can be taken from a team’s Stadium Funds (see below).

f.        New stadiums come with 45,000 seats and 40 points of stadium factors.  See below for a discussion of stadium factors.

g.       The cost of adding seats to a new stadium is ½ of the normal cost.

h.       New stadiums produce a FI boost of 10 points, to a maximum of 85.

i.         New stadiums produce a 1 level boost in Fan Loyalty to a maximum of High (or 10 points to a maximum of 85, I’m not sure how it works in 2007).

j.        Owners must provide a write-up of the new stadium when it is announced.

V.                 Relocation

a.       Teams must plan for relocation.  Relocation must be announced 1 season in advance.  In other words, if a team wants to move into a new city in 2015, it must announce that it will move (and must have the PP) by the start of the 2014 season.

b.      All relocations must be approved in advance by the Governing Board.

c.       Relocation will cost $125MM and 150 PP.  PP may be used to offset cash at the rate of 2 PP for $1MM.  Thus, a team may relocate for $100MM and 200 PP.

d.      Similarly, cash may offset the PP requirement at the rate of $2MM per 1 PP reduction.  Thus a team may relocate for a cost of $225MM and 100 PP.

e.       A team must spend a minimum of $75MM of cash and 75 PP on its relocation.  Minimum cash would mean the relocation costs 250 PP and minimum PP would cost $250MM.

f.        Funds for relocation can be taken from a team’s Stadium Funds (see below).

g.       When relocating, a team receives a new stadium that comes with 45,000 seats and 40 points of stadium factors.  See below for a discussion of stadium factors.

h.       The new city produces an initial FI of 75, with a Fan Loyalty of Very Good.

i.         Relocation announcements cause an immediate drop in FI of 15 points.

j.        Relocation announcements cause an immediate 1 level drop in Fan Loyalty (or 10 points, I’m not sure how it works in 2007).

k.      Owners must provide a write-up of the new city and new stadium when it is announced.

VI.              Stadium Factors

a.       Stadium Factors are used to change 6 ratings for each stadium

                                     i.      AVG vs. LHB

                                     ii.      AVG vs. RHB

                                     iii.      Doubles

                                     iv.      Triples

                                     v.      HR vs. LHB

                                     vi.      HR vs. RHB

b.      Overall Average will be the average of AVG vs. LHB and AVG vs. RHB.

c.       Overall HR will be the average of HR vs. LHB and HR vs. RHB.

d.      All new stadiums start with values of 1.00 for each rating.

e.       To change a factor by .001 costs .1 stadium factor (i.e., to raise AVG vs. LHB from 1.000 to 1.013 costs 1.3 stadium factors.

f.        Any changes above .075 cost double.  So, to raise AVG vs. LHB from 1.000 to 1.100 costs 7.5 + 2.5*2, or 12.5 stadium factors.

g.       Factors in addition to the 40 points given with a new stadium may be purchased for $50,000 plus 2 PP in addition to the cost of the new stadium.  There is no PP/Cash conversion for these additional factors.

h.       Factors above 1.15 or below 0.85 need GB approval.

VII.           Stadium Modifications

a.       Stadiums may not be modified more than once every 3 seasons.

b.      All stadium modifications must be announced before the start of Free Agency (after the PP count) and occur in the off-season.

c.       Stadium funds may be used for stadium modifications

d.      Any modifications give a 1 FI increase per $1MM spent up to 3 points (fans curious to see new changes)

e.       Stadium Walls

                                     i.      Stadium Walls must be at least 6’ tall

                                     ii.      Stadium Walls may be no taller than 40’

                                     iii.      Raising a stadium wall to higher than 10’ will cost the stadium 100 seats per foot per area (LF Line, LF, Deep LF, etc.)

                                     iv.      For stadiums originally built with walls over 10’, raising them more than 4’ above their original height will cause this seat reduction.

                                     v.      Lowering stadium walls does not add capacity

                                     vi.      Lowering stadium walls increases HR .005 per foot per area.  For simplicity, lowering LF Line, LF, Deep LF and Center affects vs. LHB, while RF Line, RF, Deep RF and Center affects vs. RHB.  Overall HR is still average of vs. LHB and vs. RHB.

                                     vii.      Lowering stadium walls decreases 2B by .003 per foot per area.

                                     viii.      Raising walls has the opposite effects on 2B and HR.

                                      ix.      Cost to raise or lower walls is $50,000/foot/area

1.      PP can be used to pay for these modifications at 1 PP = $25,000.

2.      Minimum of ½ of price must be paid in cash

f.        Stadium Fences

                                       i.      Bringing in fences

1.      Cost is $25,000/foot

2.      Each 5’ allows an extra 100 seats/area to be added at twice normal cost (because existing seats need to be made higher).

3.      Increases HR by .005 per foot per area (see above for specific area effects).

4.      Decreases 2B and 3B by .003 per foot per area

                                        ii.      Moving out fences

1.      Cost is $50,000/foot

2.      Each 5’ reduces stadium capacity by 100 seats/area

3.      Decreases HR by .005 per foot per area (see above for specific area effects).

4.      Increases 2B and 3B by .003 per foot per area

                                         iii.      Cost to raise or lower walls is $50,000/foot/area

1.      PP can be used to pay for these modifications at 1 PP = $25,000.

2.      Minimum of ½ of price must be paid in cash

g.       Increasing foul territory

                                          i.      1st base side or 3rd base side must be designated

                                          ii.      For each 100 seats removed from foul territory, the following effects occur:

1.      AVG vs. RHB (for 3rd base side)  or AVG vs. LHB (1st base side) decreases by .005 (simulates more foul-outs)

2.      Cost is ½ of cost of installing new seats

                                           iii.      Maximum of 300 seats/side can be removed

h.       Decreasing foul territory

                                            i.      1st base side or 3rd base side must be designated

                                            ii.      For every 100 seats added into foul territory, the following effects occur:

1.      AVG vs. RHB (for 3rd base side) or AVG vs. LHB (1st base side) increases by .005 (simulates fewer foul-outs)

2.      Cost is normal cost of installing new seats

                                            iii.      Maximum of 300 seats/side can be added

VIII.        Cost of New Seating

a.       The basic cost of installing 100 seats in a stadium is $20,000 plus 2 PP.

b.      Several sections above modify the basic cost of installation.

c.       The PP cost may not be reduced by use of additional cash.

d.      Additional PP may be used to reduce the cash cost at the rate of 1 PP = $10,000

e.       No more than 5,000 seats may be added to a stadium in one season, including those added for reducing foul territory or moving in fences.

f.        Seats lost because of moving out fences or increasing foul territory do not increase the 5,000 seat limit in any season.

g.       Seats may not be added to a stadium more frequently than once every three seasons.

h.       The maximum seating capacity for any stadium is 60,000 seats

IX.              Stadium Funds

a.       At the end of each season, teams who have cash in excess of the league cash maximum will have 50% of this excess placed in a separate Stadium Funds account that is tracked outside the game

b.      Funds in this account may only be used for items described in sections I – VII of this document.

                                          i.      Teams may use cash on hand to pay for items described in sections I – VII, above

                                          ii.      Unless a team specifically requests that operating funds be used for items described in sections I – VII, above, they will always be deducted from Stadium Funds first.

c.       Funds in the Stadium Funds account do not earn interest.

d.      Each team’s Stadium Funds account has a maximum balance of $300MM


Sims
Will be conducted 3 times a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Each sim will consist of 10 days on the GUBA schedule (note: the third sim of the month will be as many days as it takes to close out the month.) Playoffs will occur as announced by the Commish. All schedules are found on the Forums Calendar. The Calendar will always be kept up-to-date with GUBA events and deadlines by the Governing Board as delegated by the Commissioner.


Waivers

Waivers are done using the in-game Waiver Wire. Please note that if a player refuses assignment to the minor leagues, waiving him won't get him to accept assignment either. He would either have to be kept on the major league roster or released.

Special: Trade Waivers


Designated for Assignment

The DFA is essentially being used as a holding area in the GUBA. Basically, any player acquisition regardless of the type now goes to your DFA. Once on the DFA, it will be up to you from within OOTP to determine what your next course of action is for those player(s).  If the sim is halted by OOTP b/c you have not resolved your player's DFA status, they will be outright cut.  

Once a player is in DFA, what can I do with him?
(1) You can assign him to your 25-man roster (prefaced by a placement on the 40-man)
(2) You can assign him to a minor league roster, however...
     - Players with a big-league contract must be placed on the 40-man roster before being assigned to the minors.
     - Players with five or more years of MLB service can refuse assignment to the minors and must be kept on active roster or released
     - Players with no option years remaining must clear irrevocable waivers before being assigned to the minors.
(3) You can attempt to negotiate a trade involving the player before 7/31
(4) You can out-right release the player and eat his contract

If a player is left on DFA longer than the allotted time (21 days), that owner will be hit with a penalty of -2 Fan Interest and -2 PP.


Player Eligibility

Position Players:
Position players are allowed to play any position you'd like, with the understanding that if they aren't "rated" at that position they probably won't fare so well. The basic defensive spectrum is in use in OOTP:2007, assigning positions a declining degree of difficulty as such: P, C, SS, 2B, CF, 3B, RF, LF, 1B. The basic concept behind the defensive spectrum is that players can generally adapt fairly well to a defensive position to the right of the spectrum, but not as well to the left of the spectrum.

Pitchers:
Endurance is a measure of how many pitches a pitcher can throw before tiring. Pitchers with high Endurance ratings tend to be used as starting pitchers, while pitchers with low Endurance ratings tend to be used as relievers.


Amateur Draft
GUBA champions will pick last no matter what their draft position would have been based on record. GUBA runners-up will pick next to last. All others will pick as OOTP lists the amateur draft order at the start of the season. Teams with the same record will have their draft order determined by a tiebreaker process.  Tiebreakers:  Head-to-Head, Division record, Run Differential.

The June 15th amateur draft will be 15 rounds.  The draft pool will be released one game month in advance and we'll draft on the forums until that draft's sim comes up. The draft on the forums will include time limits to make your pick. There will be no live drafting.  All efforts will be made to allow owners to make as many picks themselves as they desire. The best way to ensure the draft runs quickly is to submit shortlists to the Commissioners via PM.


Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft will occur each offseason. You must make sure to protect your players on the 40-man, or risk losing them to the Rule 5 Draft. Anyone lost to the Rule 5 Draft are lost, there's no "I forgot" rule in the GUBA. Control your organizational roster.

Draftee must stay on the 25-man roster(besides DL), unless:

1. Draftee can be traded like any other player, restriction follow to new team.

2. Placed on forum waivers to trade. 24 real hours period. If claimed goes to new team
restrictions follow.

3. If not claimed, must be offered back to original team, edited to a MLC, plus 380K. This cancels the Rule V status, original team may opt to take 500K and player goes to the drafted teams minors, or trade another player to do this.

( IRL team A pays team B 50,000 to draft Player x, Team B can buy the player back for half if team A doesn't want him.) We are just upping the cost and changing the way the money gets moved. Rule V states that original team can trade him back to the drafting teams minor league, so why not.

4. Player can then be released +500k to original team.

Any attempt to circumvent these rules will result in a 1.5 million fine to the league coffers.


Trades
ALL trades must be posted on the message board and confirmed by both owners and will be completed by the Commissioner AFTER the games are simmed.

Cash:  Trading of cash is allowed with a $100,000 minimum in no less than $100,000 increments.

Draft Picks:  Draft Picks are legal to be traded up to two seasons in advance. 

Trade Protests:  If an owner wishes to protest a trade as collusion or extremely lopsided, he must notify the Commissioner. If the complaint is valid the Commissioner will assemble a league trade committee to make a ruling on the trade. All committee rulings are final and will be accompanied with an explanation.

Please respond to trade offers as quickly as possible and be nice, even if the offer is absurd. 


Off Season Free Agency
FA offers will be made via FTP exports from within OOTP. The simulation schedule will vary as the Commissioner sees fit, and will be specified in the Forum Calendar.  All teams should set a team password and do a Team Export BEFORE bidding on any free agents.  Please leave that password on your team for security purposes.

Players signed during off-season free agency may not be traded until June 1 of the upcoming season.


In Season Free Agency
Signing of free agents during the season is managed from within the game and your team exports.


Contracts and Contract Extensions
Contract Extensions are handled from within the game, may be done any time, and as many tries as the player gives you.

After the fiasco stemming from contract incentives and bonuses, the GB has come up with a set of guidelines to be followed when offering contract incentives and bonuses to players. These guidelines cover both free agent offers and extensions for current players.

- For all players: The dollar amount offered for a contract incentive 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 SPs: The Innings Pitched contract incentive may be set no higher than 225 IP

- For MR/CLs: The Innings Pitched contract incentive may be set no higher than 100 IP. Also, because the Reliever Of The Year is a custom in-game award, a member of the GB will check the contract of whatever player is selected Reliever Of The Year to see if he has a bonus for winning. If so, the money will be taken from the team, because there is no way for it to happen in game.

Penalties for breaking these rules:
1. Player is released to free agency
2. If the player was a free agent, the team loses the monetary value of the current year the player is signed for, plus the value of the incentive.
3. If the player was signed to an extension, the team loses the monetary value of the first year of the extension, plus the value of the incentive.


All-Star Game
Each league will mandatory vote for the All-Star starters facilitated by the League Presidents.  Reserves and Lineups will be decided by the All-Star manager (previous season Cartwright Cup winner).  The All-Star game will be simmed live with the All-Star managers making live roster changes, if there is sufficient interest and participation of all necessary parties.

The host of the All-Star Game is up for bid each season.  Once hosted, your team must wait 5 years before they will be eligible to host again.  Owners will submit formal proposals to host the All-Star Game, including as many details as to why they should win the bid, by posting them in the All-Stars and OCAs section of the board. A winner will be announced in early June of the season.  If no bids are placed the game will be given a location by the Commish and no bonuses will be awarded. Teams hosting the All-Star Game will receive the following: $1,000,000 Cash reflecting a city economic boost; a Cash amount totaling attendance for the game X $10 ticket price; and an immediate Fan Interest boost of 5.  This is a very lucrative reward, so expect a high standard to be enforced during the Governing Board's selection process.


Owner's Choice Awards
There will be two sets of awards each season, the In-Game Awards (OOTP generated) and the more widely recognized Owners Awards. Voting for Owners Awards will be a mandatory league vote, will take place during the playoffs and will be facilitated by the League Presidents.  Failure to vote for these will result in a penalty of -4 PP, -4 FI, and -$500,000 cash.


Mandatory Voting
The GUBA is a league where participation is expected out of all owners. The following important league issues require a mandatory vote:

These types of league issues will be subject to a mandatory email/PM vote, facilitated by the League Presidents. Such League Votes will have a 72 hour voting window. Owners who do not participate in the mandatory voting will be penalized -4 PP, -4 FI, and -$500,000 cash.


Credits
Thanks go out to Global Baseball Consortium, Montgomery Brewster Baseball Association, Federation of International Baseball, and any others that inspired this document or were used as a model for differing sections