OTHER REALITY BASEBALL 2
OFFICIAL CONSTITUTION AND RULES
Original Version 6/8/08 (Matthew M. Rectenwald)
Background
Other
Reality Baseball 2:
Other
Reality Baseball 2 (ORB2) is named after a now defunct historical league called
Other Reality Baseball. The former Other Reality Baseball was the beginning of
big things for online league baseball using Out of the Park, as it spawned the
Monty Brewster Baseball Association (MBBA), the Federation of International
Baseball (FIBB), the MoneyBall Union (tMBU), and Atlantic Coast Baseball (ACB),
among others. Now, we aim to take advantage of OOTP9's vastly improved historical
capabilities by starting a new "Other Reality" beginning with the
1962 game season. We'll start there, and see how history unfolds with some
twists and turns of chance!
League Settings
How to Join
Welcome to ORB2!
Welcome
to Other Reality Baseball 2 (ORB2). We are a historical based league of 20
teams, starting with the 1962 season and expanding as those years come up, with
each franchise 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 ORB2 aims to attract people interested in finding out more about the league
and becoming a part of the community before earning ownership. 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 ORB2 is not a place for personal attacks on others; it is a
place for baseball talk.
Governing Board
The ORB2 will be governed by a board of three. 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.
B.
Vice Commissioner:
The Vice Commissioner will assist the Commissioner with all of his tasks as
well as ensuring that the league members are all participating at a satisfactory
level.
C. Owner Representative: The Owner Rep will be the owners’ voice to the
Governing Board and will assist the Commissioner and Vice Commissioner when
necessary.
Please
note: The Commissioner has the power to add or subtract positions to the
Governing Board at any time, for any reason.
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, with a minimum of 10 of those points being from TN. (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 ORB2. 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 ORB2
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 ORB2 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.
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 accumulate 20 Participation Points per season to continue
ownership of their franchise.
|
League Features |
4
PPT |
|
Trade Analyses, Player Spotlights |
2
PPT |
|
Team News |
2
PPT |
|
League Polls |
1 PPT if more than 10 votes |
|
Failed exports (w/ no notice after 1st freebie) |
-2 PP |
|
Failure to participate in a mandatory league vote |
-4
PP, -4 FI, -$25,000 |
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 (more rewards will be available before 1963
season begins):
|
Participation Point Rewards |
|
|
Add
$40,000 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 |
|
Stadium
Alterations
|
50
PPTS + $40,000 cash |
|
Stadium
Expansion
|
80
PPTS + $100,000 cash (you can pay this over 3 seasons max if desired) |
|
Change
Logo (through Historical Rules, see below)
|
10 PPTS + $50,000 cash |
Player Fielding Inquiry
| 10 PPTS |
Player Endurance Inquiry
| 10 PPTS |
|
Offseason Motiviational Program (increases
a players Leader Ability by 10 points on in game 200 point scale, max 70 point increase) |
10 PPTS |
|
Player Appreciation Program (increases a
players Loyalty or Desire for Winning Team by 10 points on in game 200 point scale, max 70 point increase) |
10 PPTS |
|
Community Service Program (decreases a
players Greed by 10 points on in game 200 point scale, max 70 point increase) |
10 PPTS |
|
Offseason Higher Learning Program
(increases a players Intelligence by 10 points on in game 200 point scale, max 70 point increase) |
10 PPTS |
|
Offseason Training and Conditioning Program
(increases a players Work Ethic by 10 points on in game 200 point scale, max 70 point increase) |
10 PPTS |
|
*= There is a limit of
20 points per player, per category, of ratings movement each offseason. |
|
Sims
Sims will be conducted 3 times a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Each sim
will consist of 15 days on the ORB2 schedule, except when season milestones
must be met (ex: playoffs, trade deadline, AS Game, etc). Playoffs will occur
as announced 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 ORB2.
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
ORB2
champions will pick last no matter what their draft position would have been
based on record. ORB2 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
December 15th amateur draft will be 5 rounds. The draft pool will be
released 75 game days in advance and will include players who debut in the
upcoming year, from MLB history.
Rule 5 Draft
The
Rule 5 Draft will take place 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 ORB2.
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 $1,000 minimum in no less than $1,000
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
The 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.
Franchise Relocation and League Expansion
Franchise Relocation is forbidden in any case except for a historically
accurate franchise relocation, in which point the following procedure may be
followed:
1. The owner may choose
to take the historical relocation. The relocated franchise will receive bonuses
for their new fan base according to how many participation points the owner
would like to spend.
|
0
PP |
Fan Interest=6
(1-10), Market Size=10 (1-20) |
|
20 PP |
Fan Interest=7 (1-10),
Market Size=13 (1-20) |
|
30 PP |
Fan Interest=8
(1-10), Market Size=15 (1-20) |
2. The owner may choose
to deny the historical relocation and keep their franchise where it is. There
will be a significant cost to do so, but each cost will receive a reward as
well.
|
50
PP |
Fan Interest=6
(1-10), Market Size=10 (1-20) |
|
100 PP |
Fan Interest=7 (1-10),
Market Size=13 (1-20) |
League
Expansion will occur in the years that Major League Baseball Expanded (1969,
1976, 1993) and with the same number of teams. Expansion is directly tied to
the above rules on Franchise Relocation. We would expand historically accurate
except if a team that moved stayed in place under the above rules. Example (the
most complicated one I could think of):
Let’s
say the Milwaukee Braves decide not to move to Atlanta in 1966. The
owner pays 50 PP to keep the Braves in Milwaukee and gets a Fan
Interest and Market Size
injection. Thus, Atlanta doesn’t get a team.
We
then expand in 1969, and Seattle gets an expansion team, the Pilots. They are
there for one year, and then are scheduled to move to Milwaukee. Milwaukee
already has a team, so they can’t move there. The owner doesn’t want to keep
them in Seattle. They would then have the option of moving to Atlanta. The
owner chooses to do so.
The
new Atlanta team cannot be the Braves, as Milwaukee has chosen to keep that
name. Since the franchise move was declined, the new Atlanta team can remain
the Pilots, or become the Brewers.
Whew,
that was pretty complicated, hey? With each situation the Commissioner will
provide all the options available.
Historical Logo Changes
Teams will get the option of changing their logo each year that a historical
change is available. They will be required to spend points as listed in the
above Participation Point Rewards table and get the reward listed.
If a team should choose not to take a logo in the year it is available, they may choose to do it at any time after that until a new logo is historically accurate. For example, if a team historically has a new logo in 1967, and that owner doesn't want to spend the PP on it then, he can do so at any time until the next historical logo comes along.
The
Commissioner will maintain a list of historical
logo changes.
All-Star Game
Each league will mandatory vote for the All-Star starters through the OOTPU
All-Star Voting Utility. 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 1962.
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 Commissioner and no bonuses will be awarded. Teams hosting the
All-Star Game will receive the following: $40,000 Cash reflecting a city
economic boost; a Cash amount totaling attendance for the game X $2 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 -$25,000
cash.
Mandatory Voting
The ORB2 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 -$25,000 cash.
Credits
Thanks go out to Global Baseball Consortium, Montgomery Brewster Baseball
Association, Federation of International Baseball, Atlantic Coast Baseball,
Global Unified Baseball Association, the MoneyBall Union, Monty Brewster World
Baseball Association, Cooperstown Chronicle Baseball League, Between the Lines
Baseball League and any others that inspired this document or were used as a
model for differing sections