GERWIG LEAGUE CONSTITUTION

We will realign the divisions every year based on the end of year record from the previous year. The teams will be re-numbered based on the final won/lost records. Ties will be broken using head to head record of the teams that are tied. We will use a 3-division format with 4 teams per division. Playoff format will be as follows. The first round will match the wild card team (the team with the best record that didn’t win a division) against the division winner with the best record. The winner of this match will then play the winner of the match between the other two division winners. We will play a balanced schedule. The team with the best regular season record that did not play in the World Series will be assigned to team #3 the following season, and the team with the worst regular season record will be assigned to team #12 the following season. The World Series Champion will be team #1 and the Runner-up will be team #2. The division assignments will be made in the following manner.

DIVISION 1      DIVISION 2      DIVISION 3		
Team #1         Team #2         Team #3
Team #4         Team #5         Team #6
Team #7         Team #8         Team #9
Team #10        Team #11        Team #12

The draft order will be based on end of year record, with 2 exceptions. The teams that are in the World Series will draft last regardless of their final regular season record. We will draft through round 36. An unlimited number of rookies may be carried over from the previous year.

Rounds 1 through 15 may be used for drafting a new player on to your roster during the draft or protecting up to 15 players on your roster from the previous year. No more than 3 players you retain may be on the Scoresheet American League List. I will use the following imaginary team data as an example.

Team 12 keeps 5 players.
Team 11 keeps 4 players.
Team 10 keeps 7 players.
Team 9 keeps 6 players.
All other teams keep 15 players.

Round 5

Team 11 picks a player.
No one else gets a pick.

Round 6

Team 12 picks first.
Team 11 picks second.
No one else gets a pick

Round 7

Team 12 picks first.
Team 11 picks second.
Team 9 picks third.
No one else gets a pick

Rounds 8-15

Team 12 picks first.
Team 11 picks second.
Team 10 picks third.
Team 9 picks fourth.
No one else gets a pick

Round 16 and every round after

Team 12 picks first.
Team 11 picks second.
Team 10 picks third.
Team 2 picks eleventh.
Team 1 picks twelfth.

A. League Commissioner

• The Commissioner is responsible for facilitating the preseason draft and supplemental drafts.
• The Commissioner is responsible for reporting the results of the drafts to everyone and to Scoresheet.
• The Commissioner will not have any further voting power than his 1 ownership vote.
• The Commissioner will be responsible for initiating (based on discussion, requests) a vote and then collecting and reporting the results of the vote.
• The Commissioner will be responsible for maintaining the NL-Gerwig Constitution.
• The Commissioner will communicate with Scoresheet on: Preseason Rosters, Supplemental Draft Results, Post Season Bracket, League Setup and Division Realignment.
• The Commissioner will initiate a 'VETO' process of a trade based on the guidelines set in the “Trade” section below or if the 'VETO' process is requested by another owner. It is the commissioner’s responsibility to expedite this 'VETO' process as fast as possible.
• The Commissioner will keep track of all draft picks and trades outside the normal tracking range of Scoresheet.

B. Voting

• A simple majority will decide voting on all new issues, new rules and general items. Generally this will be done by voting 'for' or 'against' an item, in some cases it will be picking between two choices.
• For votes with more than two options, a plurality will rein. Ties will default to what Scoresheet has written (or for no change if there is no Scoresheet policy).
• After the initial constitution is written, any changes to it must be approved via an 8/12 (2/3rds) vote.
• The voting timetable will generally end 1 week from the introduction of an item. In instances when not all owners vote or get their votes in on time a minimum population (quorum) of owners voting will be 9.
• Additionally, as soon as the required vote to pass (or reject) is hit, the voting will stop.

C. Continuing Preseason Draft

Continuing Preseason Draft begins at Round 16 (Rounds 1-15 are possible protection spots which are filled as shown above). Round 16 will start on President’s Day or February 16, whichever is sooner. Thus, rounds 1 through 15 needs to be completed prior to President’s Day or February 16. The in-person draft will begin between round 21 and 25 around St. Patrick’s Day or whatever weekend in March works for most owners.

The draft order is based on the previous season’s Won / Lost records with 2 exceptions. The 2 teams who play in the World Series will draft in positions 11 (runner-up) and 12 (Champion) no matter what their regular season records were. Teams with identical Won / Lost records will be separated using the tiebreaker below. The Draft order will be team #12 - #1 in all rounds.

Each team MUST ENTER the live draft (on draft day) with at least 30 potential players (the total of the players on their active reduced rosters plus available draft picks that they own must be equal to or greater than 30). This means there is some limit as to how many players/draft choices one can trade in multi-player deals. There is no maximum number of players that a team can have.

Tiebreaker Format

	(1) Head-to-Head Record 
	(2) Division Record 
	(3) Run Differential 
	(4) Lastly a Commissioner Coin Flip.

D. Supplemental Drafts

• There will be 2 supplemental drafts.
• They will take place when Scoresheet announces the mail in draft dates for national leagues.
• Each supplemental draft will consist of 4 rounds.
• Supplemental Drafts will be held via e-mail.
• The order of the supplemental drafts will be worst to first (Won / Loss record) in every round.
• Tiebreaker for the supplemental draft is as follows:
1st Supplemental Draft: Highest Team number wins tiebreaker.
2nd Supplemental Draft: Lowest Team number wins tiebreaker.

• Picks will be posted to all of ownership, with the commissioner officially recording everything. Any pick posted for a player not on the Scoresheet player list, must include their full name, affiliation, and position.
• Special arrangements can be made through the commissioner if the owner knows he cannot make a draft.
• The commissioner will also make reasonable attempts to reach said owner as the deadline approaches.
• If no special arrangements were made, and the deadline hits, the commissioner will make a selection for said owner with respect to playing time.
• No players will be officially added to any roster until the entire draft is completed.
• All players on Scoresheet’s National League Listing or signed to a National League Team as of the Super Bowl are eligible to be drafted.
• Up to 3 American League players may be retained from year to year if they are subsequently traded to or signed by American League teams.
• The American League player numbers are their AL number + 1000 (if Mike Mussina is #1 on the AL list, he will be #1001 for our league).
• There are no rules or limitations concerning roster balancing. Owners are free to fill their rosters as they please.

E. Trades

Players and draft Picks

• Any number of players can be included in a trade. Players must be on the team's roster.
• Draft Picks are eligible to be traded. Any number of draft picks can be included in a trade.
• Future Draft Picks are eligible to be traded as Scoresheet rules apply.
• During the off-season, only the picks for the upcoming season are eligible.
• Currently, Scoresheet will only track draft picks out 1 year from the current date.

Special Clauses

• “Future considerations” on a trade are not allowed.
• Cash is not allowed to be included in any trade.
• Any terms such as team 1 will pay for team 2's lineup change fee is not allowed.
• All trades are to be (1) submitted to Scoresheet and (2) sent to the league (e-mail).
• Submit to Scoresheet via a note, email, or on a lineup card.

Deadline and Periods

• Trading will be allowed at all times except: 1). From the announced trading deadline till the end of the post-season; 2). During the time period between the date that the roster elimination lists are due, and the end of the roster elimination procedure. NO TRADING is allowed during these times (NO EXCEPTIONS).

Regulations, Regulators

• There are no 'true' regulations concerning trading. It is assumed that the owner base is competent and experienced enough to make trades that are in the best interest of his own team.
• When trades are submitted / posted, the commissioner may initiate a 'VETO' ruling based on the following guidelines: (A) The trade appears to be made with some sort of ulterior or collusive motive in mind such as 'player renting'. (B) The trade was made by an owner who was planning (rumored) on leaving the league in the near future, and was a trade he would not have made under normal circumstances. (C) The trade involved conditions or clauses.
• A 'VETO' will require 8 solid votes against the trade.
• There are no population considerations, 8 votes must be obtained in order for the trade to be disallowed.
• As soon as 5 owners vote 'for' the trade, the 'VETO process is ended and the trade is allowed. If a 'VETO' is acquired based on A or B, the trade will be reversed by notifying Scoresheet. Another Owner may also request to the commissioner that a 'VETO' process be started. Very rarely should a 'VETO' process be started. It is something that all the owners should make a solid attempt at avoiding.

F. Post Season

Who makes it?

• The 3 division winners and 1 wild card.
• The wild card is the team with the best record that did not win their division.

Tie Breaker

In the case of a tie for the playoffs, we will use Scoresheet’s tiebreaker rules.

Determination of Bracket

• There will be a two tiered playoff system. We will use Scoresheet’s rules on who play who.

Home Field

• Home field goes to the team with the best record.
• Home field for tiebreakers will be determined by Scoresheet’s rules.

G. Post Season Lineup Card

• The standard scoresheet post season lineup card rules apply, no special changes to lineups will be allowed.

H. After the Season

Protection Spots

• There are 15 protection spots - which will take the place of rounds 1 through 15 of the preseason draft. In addition there is no limit to the number of minor league protection spots or “rookie slots”.

Protection Spots Trading

• Protection spots are fully tradable.

Trading of protected roster spots:

You may trade a protected spot, rounds 1 through 15, as long as it is stipulated which round(s) is being traded. This needs to be done for Scoresheet recording purposes as well as fairness to all owners in evaluation of the trade.

Thus, if Joe trades his 6th round pick to Mark, then Joe can only carry-over up to 5 players for rounds 1 through 5. Mark may keep up to 15 players for his rounds 1 through 15 slots. Mark would also draft a player when it is Joe’s turn in the 6th round or keep a sixteenth player in place of Joe’s round 6 protected slot. Along with whatever Joe does in the first 5 rounds, he would begin drafting in the 7th round in accordance with the rules mentioned earlier.

I. Date Determination

Dropping Out

• The drop out date is during the first month after the completion of the season. Everyone must be committed or out by November 15. To drop out of the league you must notify the commissioner in writing (or via e-mail).

Protection Lists

• Protection Lists are due to the commissioner by kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday. If this deadline is not met the commissioner is empowered to complete the player elimination list for the said owner.

Draft

• The Pre-Season email draft will begin with round 16 and start on President’s Day or February 16, whichever is sooner. The Pre-Season (live) draft will begin at about Round 21. It will be conducted live on a mutually agreed upon date and at a location which is central to the league owners. The commissioner will be the focal point for setting up the draft logistics.

Election of Commissioner and other League Officials

• The league champion will “win” the responsibility of league commissioner for the following season. The league winner may defer to the last commissioner or other volunteer.

J. Miscellaneous Notes

• Minor Leaguers (rookies) are defined by the Scoresheet limits (150 at bats or 50 innings pitched?).
• Teams are not able to drop players from their rosters.