PREAMBLE

We, the People of the HOMER league, in order to spin a more perfect Game, drive Justice home, kiss domestic Tranquility good-bye, promote the general Welfare in Tidewater - where it's been tearing up the International League - and secure the Blessings of Puberty to ourselves and those we've left on Base, do ordain and establish this Constitution for HOMER League Baseball, and also finish this run-on sentence

ARTICLE I. OBJECT

To assemble a lineup of 23 American League baseball players whose cumulative statistics during the regular season, compiled and measured by the methods described in these rules, exceed those of all other teams in the League.

ARTICLE II. TEAMS

There are 12 teams in a duly constituted HOMER League, composed of American League players.

ARTICLE III. ROSTER

A team's active roster consists of the following players:

  • five outfielders
  • two catchers
  • one second baseman
  • one shortstop
  • one middle infielder (either second baseman or shortstop)
  • one first baseman
  • one third baseman
  • one corner man (either first baseman or third baseman)
  • one designated hitter (who may play any nonpitching position)
  • nine pitchers

    ARTICLE IV. AUCTION DRAFT DAY

    A Major League Player Auction is conducted on the first weekend after Opening Day of the baseball season. Each team must acquire 23 players at a total cost not to exceed $260. A team need not spend the maximum. The League by general agreement determines the order in which teams may nominate players for acquisition. The team bidding first opens with a minimum salary bid of $1 for any eligible player, and the bidding proceeds around the room at minimum increment of $1 until only one bidder is left. That team acquires the player for that amount and announces the roster position the player will fill. The process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players to be bid on, until every team has a squad of 23 players, by requisite position.

  • Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the draft.
  • No team may make a bid for a player it can not afford. For example, a team with $3 left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of $2 for one player.
  • No team may bid for a player who qualifies only at a position that the team has already filled. For example, a team that has acquired two catchers, and whose DH spot is occupied, may not enter the bidding for any player who qualifies only at catcher, unless one of the other catchers can be moved.
  • Players who commence the season on a major league team's disabled list are eligible to be drafted. If selected, they may be reserved and replaced upon completion of the auction draft.

    ARTICLE V. POSITION ELIGIBILITY

    A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season or which he has started a single game at during the portion of the current season preceding the auction. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, he may be drafted only at the position at which he appeared most frequently. The 20 games/most games measure is used only to determine the position(s) at which a player may be drafted. Once the season is under way, a player becomes eligible for any assignment to any position at which he has started at least once. Players selected as DHs may qualify at any position.

    ARTICLE VI. FEES

    The HOMER League has a schedule of fees covering all player personnel moves. No money passes directly from team to team. No bets are made on the outcome of any game. All fees are payable into the prize pool and are subsequently distributed to the top five teams in the final standings. (See Articles VIII and IX)

    1. BASIC: There is a fee of $50.00 to enter the league, payable at the time of the draft auction.

    2. CHARGED TRANSACTIONS: There is a fee or $3.00 for each waiver move (to a maximum of three) made after the All-Star Break. This is payable at the draft auction at the beginning of the following seaosn.

    3. WAIVER OF LONG-TERM PLAYERS: If a player on a long-term contract is waived, the owner must pay half of that players salary to the prize pool at the following season's draft auction.

    ARTICLE VII. PLAYER SALARIES

    The salary of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition and does not change unless the player becomes a free agent or is signed to a guaranteed long-term contract. (See Article XVI)

  • The salary of a player acquired in the major league draft is his auction price.
  • The salary of a player called up from the free agent pool during the season is $10.
  • The salary of a player claimed on waivers is $10.

    ARTICLE VIII. PRIZE MONEY

    All fees shall be promptly collected by the League Treasurer, who is empowered to subject owners to public humiliation and assess fines as needed to ensure that payments are made to the League in a timely fashion. The interest income from this investment can be used to defray the cost of a gala postseason awards ceremony and banquet. The principal shall be divided among the first five teams in the final standings as follows:

  • 1st place - 50%
  • 2nd place - 20%
  • 3rd place - 15%
  • 4th place - 10%
  • 5th place - 5%

    ARTICLE IX. STANDINGS

    The following criteria are used to determine team performance:

  • Composite batting average (BA)
  • Total home runs (HR)
  • Total runs batted in (RBI)
  • Total stolen bases (SB)
  • Composite earned run average (ERA)
  • Total wins (W)
  • Total saves (SV)
  • Composite ratio: walks (BB) + hits (H) / innings pitched (IP)

    Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the eight categories and given points for each place. In a 12-team league, the first-place team in a category receives 12 points, the second-place team 11, and so on down to 1 point for last place. The team with the most total points wins the pennant.

    THE FENOKEE IP REQUIREMENT: A team must pitch a total of 900 innings to receive points in ERA and ratio. A team that does not pitch 900 innings maintains its place in ERA and ratio ranking but receives zero points in both categories. (Thus, a team that finished third in ERA but did not have 900 IP would receive no points in that category. The fourth-place team in ERA would still receive 9 points.)

    THE FENOKEE AB REQUIREMENT: A team must have 4250 at bats in the season. A team that does not have 4250 at bats maintains its place in the batting average ranking but receives zero points in that category.

  • Pitchers' offensive stats are not counted, mainly because they do not appear in USA Today. Nor are the pitching stats of the occasional position player called in to pitch when the score is 16-1 after five innings and the relief corps is hiding under the stands.
  • In cases of ties in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points by totaling points for the rankings at issue and dividing the total by the number of teams tied.
  • In cases of ties in total points, final places in the standings are determined by comparing placement of teams in individual categories. Respective performance are calculated and a point given to each team for bettering the other. Should one team total more points than the other, that team is declared the winner.
  • Should the point totals still be equal, the tie is broken by adding each team's total at bats plus triple the number of its innings pitched. The team that scores a higher total by this measure is declared the winner.

    ARTICLE X. STATS

    The weekly player-performance summaries appearing on the USA Todayweb site beginning in April constitute the official data base for the computation of standings in HOMER League Baseball.

  • The effective date of any transaction for the purposes of statistical calculation is the Monday before the commencement of play on those days.
  • The reporting deadline for transactions is noon on Monday, or preceding the start of any game on that day, whichever is earlier.
  • Transactions recorded on Auction Draft Day, including trades and call-ups to replace disabled players, are effective retroactive to Opening Day. Transaction occurring after Auction Draft Day but before the closing date of the first cumulative summary are effective the Monday immediately after the first closing date.
  • Performance stats of a player shall be assigned to a HOMER League team only when he in on the active 23-man roster of that team. It is common for a player to appear on the roster of more than on HOMER League team during the season because of trades an waiver-list moves. Even a player who is not traded may spend time on a team's reserve list, during which period any numbers he might compile for his major league team do not count for his HOMER League team.
  • Standings shall be tabulated and issued weekly.

    ARTICLE XI. TRADES

    From the completion of the auction draft until July 31, HOMER League teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit, except as stipulated below, so long as the active rosters of both teams involved in a trade reflect the required position distribution upon completion of the transaction. From August 1 through August 31, a team is allowed to trade with the teams adjacent to it in the standings. No trades are permitted from September 1 through the end of the season. Trades made from the day after the seasons ends until rosters are frozen prior to Auction Draft Day are not bound by the position distribution requirement. Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of the involved players.

    ARTICLE XII. THE RESERVE LIST

    A team may replace any player on its 23-man roster who is:

  • placed on the disabled list
  • released
  • traded to the other league or
  • sent down to the minors by his major league team

    To replace such a player, a HOMER League team must first release him outright or place him on its reserve list. A team reserves a player by notifying the League Secretary. A reserved player is removed from a team's active roster at the end of the stats week - when formal notification is given - and placed on the team's reserve list. There is no limit to the number of players a team may have on its reserve list. Reserving a player protects a team's rights to that player.

  • A suspended player may not be reserved, released, or replaced.
  • Once a specific action has been taken to remove a player from its 23-man roster (via release or placing him on the reserve list), a team is then free to select any eligible player from the free agent pool of players not already owned by another HOMER League team. The salary assigned to a player so selected from the free agent pool is $10.
  • If a player is claimed by more than one team in a given week, he goes to the team ranking lowest in the most recent standings.
  • Every reserve move must be accompanied by a concomitant replacement move (i.e., a team may not reserve a player without replacing him).
  • The call-up takes effect as soon as it is recorded by the League Secretary, although the player's stats do not begin to accrue to his new team until Monday of the week the League Secretary record the call-up.
  • Player moves are to be made in accordance with the player's status as of 11:59 pm Central on Sunday preceding the transaction deadline. For instance, if a player is active on his major league roster at this time, he can not be reserved even though he was on the DL earlier in the reporting period.
  • A player on a HOMER League reserve list may not be traded unless the replacement player linked to him is also traded.
  • A replacement player may be traded or otherwise replaced (e.g., in case of injury, he could be reserved and a free agent called up to fill his slot). In such a case, the newly acquired player becomes linked to the original reserved player. To avoid even the appearance of collusion, a replacement player traded from one team to another may not be traded back to his original team for three reporting periods.
  • When a player on a reserve list returns to active major league duty, he must be reinstated to the active 23-man roster of his HOMER League team two weeks after his activation or be waived. Failure to notify the League Secretary shall be considered a waiver of the player on the reserve list. A play may not be reinstated or waived until he has been activated by his major league team.
  • When a player is reinstated to the active 23-man HOMER League roster from a team's reserve list, the player originally called up to replace him must be waived, unless the replacement player or the original player can be shifted to another natural opening on the roster for which he qualifies.
  • If the replacement player is replaced (e.g., he is injured, put on reserve, and a free agent is called up), then his replacement becomes linked to the original player on the reserve list.
  • A player reinstated from the reserve list may not displace any active player on the HOMER League team's 23-man roster other than his original replacement (or his successor).

    ARTICLE XIV. SIGNING FREE AGENTS

    Active American League players not on any HOMER League team's roster at the conclusion of the auction draft become free agents. During the course of the season the pool of free agents may also include minor league players who are promoted to an active major league roster; waived players who are not claimed; and players traded from the National League.

    If more than one team claim a free agent in the same week, the player becomes the property of the team that was lower in the standings at the previous reporting period. See Article XV for more information on reserve move and free agent claims.

    ARTICLE XV. WAIVERS

    Under certain conditions, a HOMER League player may be waived.

  • When a player on a HOMER League teams' reserve list is activated by his major league team, either he or the player called up earlier to replace him must be placed on waivers (see Article XII).
  • A player no longer on the active roster of his American League team and whose HOEMR League position is taken by a player activated from the reserve list may not be placed on waivers by must be released outright.
  • A player placed on waivers is no longer eligible to be claimed if he is sent down to the minors, traded to the National League, or is paced on the DL by his American League team.
  • The waiver period begins at noon on the Monday after the League Secretary has been notified that a player has been waived and last one week, at the end of which time the player shall become the property of the lowest-ranked team to have claimed him. To make room on its roster, the team acquiring a player on waivers must assign the player to a natural opening or waive a player at the same position player by the newly acquired player.
  • Waiver claims are on the same level or precedence as the replacement of an injured, released or demoted player who has been put on reserve.
  • A team may acquire any number of waiver players in a given week, but after the original claim must wait for all teams above it in the standings to make their first claim. In other words, waiver and free agent claims go in cycles, with each team able to claim on player per cycle until all moves are filled.
  • A player who clears waivers - that is, is not claimed by any team - returns to the free agent pool.
  • A player with a guaranteed long-term contract can be waived (for a fee) during the season. He may be released and replaced (without fee) if he is traded to the National League.
  • A player may be given his outright release only if he is unconditionally released, placed on the "designated for assignment list", sent to the minors, placed on the "disqualified" list, traded to the National League or placed on the disabled list.

    ARTICLE XVII. THE OPTION YEAR AND GUARANTEED LONG-TERM CONTRACTS

    A player who has been under contract at the same salary during two consecutive seasons and whose service has been uninterrupted (that is, he has not been waived or released, although he may have been traded) must, prior to the freezing of rosters in his third season, be released; signed at the same salary for his option year; or signed to a guaranteed long-term contract.

    If released, the player returns to the free agent pool and becomes available to the highest bidder at the next auction draft. If signed at the same salary for an option year, the player must be released back into the free agent pool at the end of that season. If signed to a guaranteed long-term contract, the player's salary in each year covered by the new contracts (which commences with the option year) shall be the sum of his current salary plus $5 for each additional year beyond the option year.

  • In determining a player's status, "season" is understood to be a full season or any fraction thereof. Thus, a player called up from the free agent pool in the middle of the 1996 season and subsequently retained at the same salary without being released in 1997 (even though he may have been traded) enters his option year in 1998 an must be released, signed at the same salary for an option year, or signed to a long-term contract.
  • A team may sign a player to only one long-term contract, at the end of which he becomes a free agent.
  • Option-year and long-term contracts are entirely transferable, both in rights an obligation; the trade of a player in no way affects his contract status.
  • If, during the course of a long-term contract, a player is traded from the American League to the National League, the contract is rendered null and void. The team that loses the player's services shall by under no further financial obligations.
  • In all other cases - specifically including sudden loss of effectiveness - a team must honor the terms of a long-term contract, as follows: A player with such a contract may be released back into the free agent pool (that is, not protected on a team's roster prior to Auction Draft Day), but a team that chooses to do so must pay to the prize pool an amount equal to half of the player's contract salary.

    ARTICLE XVIII. ROSTER PROTECTION

    Each team must retain, from one season to the next, no more than 15 of the players on its 23-man roster.

  • The name of players being retained must be recorded with the League Secretary by noon Central time on the Saturday preceding Opening Day. Specific notice must also be made at that time of any guaranteed long-term contract signings.
  • The cumulative salaries of players protected prior to Auction Draft Day are deducted from a team's $260 expenditure limit, and the balance is available for acquisition of the remaining players needed to complete the 23-man roster.
  • The League Secretary should promptly notify all teams in the League of each team's protected roster, including player salaries, contract status, and amount available to spend on Auction Draft Day.
  • Failure to give notice of a guaranteed long-term contract for a player in his option year will result in his being continued for one season at his prior year's salary and then released into the free agent pool.

    ARTICLE XIX. GOVERNANCE

    The HOMER League is governed by a Committee of the Whole consisting of all team owners. The Committee of the Whole may designate as many League officials as from time to time it deems appropriate, although only two - the League Secretary and League Treasurer - ever do any work. The Committee of the Whole also designated annually an Executive Committee composed of three team owners in good standing. The Executive Committee has the authority to interpret playing rules and to handle all necessary and routine League business. All decisions, rulings, and interpretations by the Executive Committee are subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole. Rule changes, pronouncements, and acts of whimsy are determined by majority vote of the Committee of the Whole.



    Back to HOMER main page


    This page maintained by Jeremy Mills





    Page last updated: 31 January 1999


    This page maintained by Jeremy Mills

    1