MONTY BREWSTER WORLD BASEBALL ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION
Original Version 1/4/08 (MMR), 2nd Version 1/10/08 (MMR), 3rd Version 3/10/08 (MMR), 4th Version 3/21/08 (MMR), 5th Version 5/8/08 (MMR)
Premise
January 3, 2008:
Steroids had killed the game of Major League Baseball. Following the Mitchell Report, Commissioner Bud Selig began gathering more and more evidence that suggested that the National Pastime was forever tainted. Not wanting to further sully the game’s reputation, and with no way to know who did and who didn’t partake in the HGH conspiracy, Selig canceled the MLB season for 2008. Quickly, Monty Brewster jumped into the fray. Having made millions upon millions of dollars fighting the good fight with the Monty Brewster Baseball Association that was beaten into extinction by MLB in the late 90’s, the heyday of the steroid era, Brewster was waiting for his chance to return to the baseball arena. Brewster quickly had his team of scientists develop a quick and easy test for all performance enhancing drugs, and then announced the formation of the Monty Brewster World Baseball Association (MBWBA). The Monty Brewster World Baseball Association would be opened up to 16 owners, hand picked by the estate of Mr. Brewster. These hand picked owners would take full control of their franchises in 2028 without the watchful eye of Monty, himself having passed away in 2012.
Mr. Brewster also allowed for the inclusion of two other “major” leagues, the Japanese Professional Baseball League and the Mexican League, to be included in the universe. He’d also allocated 24 major college programs and 24 area high school all-star teams to “feed” players into the MBWBA. Also, Brewster was seeding programs all across the world that would develop players that MBWBA scouts could find and sign to their organizations.
A new era of World Baseball is here, brought to you by Monty Brewster! He’s done it once before, why not again?
League Settings
How to Join
Welcome
to the MBWBA!
Welcome to the Monty
Brewster World Baseball Association (MBWBA). We are a fictional league of 16
teams, each one aimed to be owned and operated by someone passionate about
computer baseball. We are always interested in finding more people as passionate
about baseball as we are, and with that we give some ways that our selection
process is different than most leagues.
The MBWBA began as an "invite only" league. As a result, owner turnover is
expected to be 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 MBWBA without owning a team, through writing contributions. These people
are affectionately referred to as "Vultures."
Vultures participate in day-to-day league activities by contributing to forum
discussions, writing articles about teams and/or players, and otherwise
interacting on a regular basis with current owners and other Vultures. In most
cases, an active Vulture will be assigned beat writing in either one of our two
independent leagues. 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.
Owners must have the leagues current version of OOTP and may only control 1
team. In addition, we discourage forum baiting. Treat others are you would wish
to be treated. The MBWBA is not a place for personal attacks on others, it is a
place for baseball talk.
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 or OOTP8?
We have a Participation Point System to foster activity. Cool with this?
Willing to troll the boards and participate in polls?
Have you read and understand the MBWBA League Constitution?
What interests you about the MBWBA?
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?
Welcome to the MBWBA!
Governing
Board
The MBWBA will be governed by a board of five. The following are their
descriptions:
A. Commissioner: The Commissioner 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.
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.
As of the 2030 season, there will be no more minimum participation point amount to retain your ownership. There will still be a participation system in place. The same points and rewards apply for writing (see below). However, the rules of retaining your team are as follows:
You must:
| League Articles (significant writing), Images, Other significant contributions, | 4 PPT |
| League Articles (combination stat / writing; recurring features) | 3 PPT |
| Trade Analyses, Player Spotlights | 2 PPT |
| Team News | 2 PPT |
| Polls | 1 PPT if more than 10 votes |
| 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 team mascot and logo
|
60 PPTS + $1,000,000 cash |
| Change Minor League affiliate (new city, name, logo, colors) | 20 PPTS |
Stadium Alterations
| 50 PPTS + $2,500,000 cash |
Stadium Expansion
| 80 PPTS + $5,000,000 cash |
Stadium Construction
| 115 PPTs + $15,000,000 cash (payable over 3 seasons) |
Relocate
| 150 PPTS + $25,000,000 cash (payable over 5 seasons) |
| *Offseason Motiviational Program (increases a players Leader Ability by 1 value) | 5 PPTS |
| *Player Appreciation Program (increases a players Loyalty or Desire for Winning Team by 1 value) | 5 PPTS |
| *Community Service Program (decreases a players Greed by 1 value) | 5 PPTS |
| *Offseason Higher Learning Program (increases a players Intelligence by 1 value) | 5 PPTS |
| *Offseason Training and Conditioning Program (increases a players Work Ethic by 1 value) | 5 PPTS |
| *Improve Scout one point in one category | scout's rating is 1-14: 10 PPT to increase scout's ratings is 15+: 20 PPT to increase |
| *= There is a limit of 2 points per player, per category, of movement each offseason. | |
Sims
Will be conducted 3 times a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Each sim will consist of
15 days on the MBWBA schedule, except when season milestones must be met (ex:
playoffs, trade deadline, AS Game, etc). Playoffs will occur as announced by the Commish.
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
Scout Signings
We will use in-game functions for extensions on your existing scouts. However, due to a glitch in OOTP 2007, we will be using a forum based system for Coach and Scout FREE AGENT signings.
Each season we will use the reverse order of success from last season (see, Ammy Draft Order) as a starting base for personnel hirings. Each winning claim will drop that team to the bottom of the claim order. Only one claim per 24 hours, please.
Designated for Assignment
The DFA is essentially being used as a holding area in the
MBWBA. 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, 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
MBWBA champions will
pick last no matter what their draft position would have been based on record.
MBWBA 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 25 rounds. The draft pool will be released 75 game days in advance and we'll draft using an outside draft utility for as long as possible before moving on in game. This will ultimately be decided by the Governing Board.
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 MBWBA. Control your organizational roster. If you decide after drafting them that you don't want them, you must first offer them back to the team you drafted them from. If they refuse to take that player back, they are your property and you are free to do with them what you want.
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 may be traded for the next two seasons.
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.
Contract
Extensions
Contract Extensions are handled from within the game, may be done any time, and
as many tries as the player gives you.
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 League Championship Series 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, starting in 2029. 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
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 MBWBA is a league where participation is expected out of all owners. The
following important league issues require a mandatory vote:
Voting for Owner's Choice Award
Voting for All-Stars
Voting on any Rule Changes (typically done on the forums)
Voting for the Hall of Fame
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, Atlantic Coast Baseball,
Global Unified Baseball Association and any others
that inspired this document or were used as a model for differing sections