Welcome owners and potential owners
to the 10th year of exciting HLB (Hollywood
League Baseball). Below you will find all the rules
for this year's draft and all the necessary information
concerning how our system works. The cost
to join this league is $216.25 (covers fees
for stats service). Payment
is due on or before Draft Day (some exceptions, but don't
count on it - see the Commissioners). |
The draft will take place on April 3rd, 2005, around noon
(pending approval by the owners). We try to accommodate
everyone's schedule so sometimes we may have it at another
date or time. You can expect the draft to take close
to 3-4 hours. Each owner(s) (A team can be owned
by 2 or more people!) will draft a minimum of 20 players. NOTE:
WILL ONLY BE DRAFTING FROM THE NATIONAL LEAGUE!!! This
makes play more realistic.
It is up to each owner to decide the combination of
players needed to make a competitive team. The
recommended minimums are as follows: three outfielders,
one first baseman, one second baseman, one third baseman,
one shortstop, one catcher, two middle relievers, six
starting pitchers and one closer. Once a player
is drafted at a position(s), he is only eligible to
play at that position(s). The Commissioners will
make a "judgement call" prior to the draft
concerning a player's primary position. Exceptions
are those players that are known as utility players.
The draft list will be sent out to the owners roughly
2-3 weeks before the draft with the final list
given out just before the draft. There is a corresponding "draft
number" for each player. Players are usually
identified by position, number and name (ie, when drafting,
owners will call out his position, number and name, "Shortstop
#3 Rafael Belliard"). Each player will be
assigned a "dervied" draft price (TBD by
projected years' values). To prevent the outrageous
runaway salaries that have plagued other leagues, we,
the Commissioners, will implement a salary cap of approximately
$275-$350. A draft order will be established
the day of the draft by pulling names out of a cap
(baseball of course). We will then proceed to
draft in this order (horseshoe order): 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,..etc. The
draft will continue until all teams have selected at
least 20 players. Owners are allowed a total
of 28 players on their rosters. Each owner will
be asked to name his/her team. |
We will play two games per week against the same teams. The
last seven games of the season will be single game series (confirmed). Each
series falls on a Tuesday and Friday rotation, although there
might be exceptions after the fantasy season is determined. Lineups
will be due before the start of the first game on Tuesday and
Fridays. Each owner will select their starting lineups
and include backups, in case your starter does not play that
night. If your starting player does not play on night
one, the stats for the following night for that player are
taken. If your starting player does not play either night,
the stats from your backup are taken from night one. Lineups
may be faxed, mailed, phoned, emailed or driven to either Commissioner. Scores
are determined by two formulas -- one for your players' performance,
the other for your pitchers' performance. Your score
(before the opposing pitchers performances are figured in)
is determined by the following formula.
| 1 point for each |
Walks, singles,
rbi's, runs scored, steals, sacs,
hit-by-pitch |
| 2 points for each |
Doubles |
| 3 points for each |
Triples |
| 4 points for each |
Homerun |
| -1 point for each |
Wild pitch, passed ball, caught
stealing, balk, ground into double
play |
| -2 points for each |
Error |
| The total
points is added up and divided
by 4 to equal your team runs
before opponent's pitching
stats are considered. |
|
This formula not only takes in account
the player's performance with his real
team but also his personal performance
(such as steals, sacs and walks). Thus
your player's performance is not solely
depended on how his real team performs
that night. Please note that since
this is the National League, your pitcher's
hitting and fielding performance will also
be included in this formula. The only exception
are MLB inter-league games. For these
games, owners will submit a Designated
Hitter preference list. The offensive
numbers from your DH will be used instead
of your pitcher. Remember, since
they are technically a DH, his defensive
numbers will NOT be used.
Along with submitting your fielders, you
will also submit a pitching staff. You
will first need to determine which on of
your players are pitching in MLB that day/night. To
give greater flexibility for choosing pitchers,
owners will be allowed to choose starting
pitchers from Tuesday/Wednesday and Friday/Saturday. Each
owner will submit a pitching rotation list,
ranking your first to last choice for a
starting pitcher. A starting
pitcher is only allowed to pitch ONCE per
week. Since we probably
will play two game series, this means you
will need to have two separate pitchers
available for each series (Example- If
you have Greg Maddux pitch for a Tuesday
game, he is not eligible til the following
Tuesday and/or following series). Our
week is defined as Sunday through Saturday. Each
team will submit one starting pitcher,
two active relievers and one active closer. If
you are choosing a pitcher that starts
on one of the second nights, all reliever
and closer stats are also taken from these
nights. If none of your relivers
or closing pitcher pitch, then their stats
are not figured into the formula. If
any or both relievers pitch, then their
stats are figured in. The formula
is based on their WHIP (Hits and Walks
divided by innings pitched). This
is currently recognized as the most precise
method of figuring out a pitcher's performance. The
formula looks as follows:
Total
of hits and walks given up
by your starter and relievers |
divided
by |
Total
innings pitched |
=
WHIP |
|
Thus, depending how well your pitchers
performed, they will either give or take
a run percentage away from your opposing
team (remember, you play head-to-head). Once
a total WHIP is determined, the chart below
summarizes the percentages. Please
note, the WHIP chart is new for 2003.
|
WHIP
Ratio |
Change
in opponent's score |
|
0.00 - 0.20 |
-60%
off opponents score |
|
0.21 - 0.40 |
-52.5% |
|
0.41 - 0.60 |
-45% |
|
0.61 - 0.80 |
-37.5% |
|
0.81 - 1.00 |
-30% |
|
1.01 - 1.10 |
-22.5% |
|
1.11 - 1.20 |
-15% |
|
1.21 - 1.30 |
-7.5% |
|
1.31 - 1.40 |
0% |
|
1.41 - 1.50 |
5% (Begin
adding to opponent's score) |
|
1.51 - 1.60 |
10% |
|
1.61 - 1.70 |
15% |
|
1.71 - 1.80 |
20% |
|
1.81 - 1.90 |
25% |
|
1.91 - 2.20 |
32.5% |
|
2.21 - 2.50 |
40% |
|
2.51 - 3.00 |
47.5% |
|
3.01+ |
55% |
|
Saves remain
as -5% and +5% for blown saves |
|
This method accurately emphasizes a pitcher's
individual numbers rather than their MLB
team numbers for a particular night. After
the scores are determined, there will likely
be fractions (ie, 3.28). All scores
will be rounded up or down to the nearest
run. Ties will be determined by the
fraction. In the unlikely event
of a tie on the fraction, your first offensive
BACKUPS for each position will determine
the winner (ie, your backup 1st, 2nd baseman,
shortstop, 3rd baseman, catcher and your
#4 outfielder offensive performances will
be added up to determine your "tiebreaker" score. The
highest score wins). |
Each owner will be allowed trades throughout the season. Trades
must be submitted to the Commissioner for approval. If
one of your players goes on the MLB disabled list, he is automatically
put onto the HLB disabled list. Note however, that his
salary still belongs to your salary cap. Adding a player
to replace the one you put on the disabled list will also count
towards your total team salary. Once a player is taken
off the MLB disabled list, you will be forced to drop your
replacement player, if there is no room on your roster. You
have a total of 32 roster spots available. If you have
space, you may retain your replacement player just like any
other pick-up during the season. There is an exception
to this rule. If your player is determined to be "out
for the season", the owner will be eligible to receive
a pro-rated amount back for his salary (ie, if Barry Bonds
cost $40 and breaks his arm halfway through the fantasy season,
you are eligible to receive $20 back). Also note, trades can
be of any type, including trading for money to get the player
you really want. |
The playoffs will begin the middle or latter half of August. This
year we will again have an upper and lower backet playoff system. In
the higher bracket, 1st place will play the 4th place team,
and 2nd will play 3rd. In the lower bracket, 5th place
will play the last place team and 5th will play 6th. If
there is a tie in the standings, final placements will be determined
by your head-to-head record. If this is tied as well,
a tie-breaker game will be played on the Friday before the
playoffs begin. These playoffs are best of three. The
HLB World Series will pit the winner of 1 vs 4 against 2 vs
3 winner. Same idea for the lower bracket. These
series are best of seven.
In the upper bracket, all teams will receive
a payoff, depending on their success in
the playoffs. In the lower bracket,
only the Series Champion will receive a
payoff. There are also several other
payoffs for individual and team category
leaders. The specific list of payoffs
will be determine near the end of the season. Please
note: the HLB Cy Young and MVP winners
will be determined by the commissioners. |
This pretty well sums up the rules of play. The purpose
of the League is to have fun but also challenge every owner
to come up with the most competitive team he/she can build. NOTE:
Now that we have a web site, we no longer email Excel reports
of game results. Everything you need is on the site but we
always welcome suggestions and any wish list you have.
See you at the draft and enjoy the season!
Your Commissioners
Tim Jacobsen
Tim Browning |
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