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THE FISHER AVENUE CONSTITUTION

Click on the section name to read the corresponding rules. Remember, the Constitution is simply a framework for governing the Fisher Avenue Baseball League, it is not all inclusive. Many rules interpretations, precedents, etc. that are not incorporated in the Constitution have been made since the league's inception. If you have any questions, contact the League Commissioner.

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.

Teams
There should be 12 teams in a duly constituted league.

Roster
A team’s active roster consists of the following players:

  • Five outfielders, two catchers, one second baseman, one shortstop, one middle infielder (either a second baseman or a shortstop), one first baseman, one third baseman, one corner man (either a first or a third baseman), one designated hitter, and nine pitchers.

Auction Draft
A major league player draft in the form of an open 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 $26. 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 .10¢ for any eligible player, and the bidding proceeds around the room at minimum increments of .10¢ 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 cannot afford. For example, a team with .30¢ left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of .20¢ 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 may not enter the bidding for any player who qualifies only at catcher.
  • 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.
Immediately following the major league draft, a minor league player draft shall be conducted, in which each team may acquire players who:
  • (a) are not on any major league team’s active roster and
  • (b) still have official rookie status as defined by major league baseball.
Selection takes place in four rounds of a simple draft, not an auction. In the first season, the selection order shall be determined by drawing paired numbers from a hat. In subsequent years, the teams select in reverse order of the final standings of the preceding season’s standings. Should there be any expansion teams, those teams should draft ahead of the established teams.
  • The price and subsequent salary upon activation of each farm-system player drafted is $1.
Position Eligibilty
A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 or more 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 begins (but after Auction Draft Day), a player becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he appears at least once.

Fees
The Fisher Avenue Baseball League has a schedule of fees covering all player personnel moves. No money passes directly from team to team. All fees are payable into the prize pool and are subsequently distributed to the top teams in the final standings.

  • BASIC: $75 per team. The cumulative total of salaries paid for acquisition of a 23-man roster on Auction Draft Day may not exceed $26. The balance of the basic fee ($49) is used to enhance the prize pool and to cover any league administrative costs.
  • TRADE: $1 per team per trade (no matter how many players are involved). In a trade, the team that pays the trade fees is subject to negotiation.
  • CALL-UP FROM FREE-AGENT POOL: $2.50 for each player called up from the free-agent pool.
  • RESERVE: $1 for each player placed on a team’s reserve list.
  • FARM SYSTEM: $1 for each player retained in a team’s farm system.
  • ACTIVATION: $1 for each player activated from the reserve list or farm system.
  • WAIVERS: $1 for each player claimed on waivers.
  • SEPTEMBER ROSTER EXPANSION: $5.

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.

  • 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 $1.
  • The salary of a player activated from a team’s farm system during the season is $1.
  • The salary of a player claimed on waivers is $1 or his previous salary, whichever is greater.
  • The salary of a player called up during September Roster Expansion is $2.50 if he is drawn from the free-agent pool.

Prize Money
All fees shall be promptly collected by the League Treasurer. Any interest income from these fees shall also be added to the total prize pool. The total prize pool shall be divided as follows:

  • First place - 50%
  • Second place - 25%
  • Third place - 15%
  • Fourth place - 10%
In addition, the League requires that the team that finishes in last place must pay half the cost of the pizzas at the League’s season-ending awards ceremony/pizza party.

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 (S)
  • Composite ratio (WHIP): walks (W) + hits (H) / innings pitched (IP)
Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the eight categories and are given points for each place. For example, in a ten-team league, the first-place team in a category receives ten points, the second-place team nine, and so on down to one point for last place. The team with the most total points wins the pennant. A team must pitch a total of 900 innings to receive points in ERA and WHIP, and accumulate a total of 4250 at-bats to receive points in batting average. Any team that does not reach these totals maintains its place in the rankings but receives zero points in these categories. The team must also pay into that year's prize pool a fine of $25. The pitching statistics of the occasional player called in to pitch are not counted, nor are any pitchers’ offensive stats.
  • In cases of ties in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points by totaling points of 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 performances are calculated and a point given to each team for bettering the other. Should one team total more points that 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 at season’s end, plus triple the number of its innings pitched. The team that scores a higher total by this measure wins.

Statistics
The weekly player-performance summaries published in "USA Today" or available through an on-line subscription service constitute the official data base for the computation of standings.

  • The effective date of any transaction for purposes of statistical calculations is the Monday immediately after the deadline for reporting transactions to the League Commissioner.
  • The reporting deadline is Sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern time.
  • Transactions recorded on Auction Draft Day, including trades and call-ups to replace disabled players, are effective retroactive to Opening Day.
  • Performance stats of a player shall be assigned to a team only when he is on the active 23-man roster of that team.
  • Standings shall be tabulated and issued in a regular, timely fashion.

Trades
From the completion of the auction draft until July 31, teams are free to make trades of any kind without limit, 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, trades may take place only between teams contiguous in the preceding week’s standings. No trades are permitted from September 1 through the end of the season. Trades made from the day after the season ends until rosters are frozen two weeks prior to Auction Draft Day are not bound to the position distribution requirement.

  • Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of players.
  • Each trade is subject to the $1 transaction fee. The fee is not affected by the number of players involved in the trade.
  • Trades involving cash, "players to be named later," or "future considerations" are prohibited.
  • No team may receive in a trade any player which the team itself has traded in the previous four weeks.
  • Expansion teams are prohibited from trading until after the Auction Draft.

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

  • placed on the disabled list,
  • released,
  • traded to the National League, or
  • sent down to the minors by his major league team.
To replace such a player, a team must first place him on its reserve list, waive him, or release him outright. A team reserves a player by notifying the League Commissioner and paying the $1 transaction fee. A reserved player is removed from a team’s active roster at the end of the statistical week 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.
  • Once a specific action has been taken to remove a player from its 23-man roster (via release, waiver, 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 team. The salary assigned to a player so selected from the free-agent pool is $1; the call-up fee is determined by the time of the season in which the call-up is made.
  • The call-up takes effect as soon as it is recorded by the League Commissioner, although the player’s stats do not begin to accrue to his new team until the Monday following the week the League Commissioner records the call-up.
  • When a player on a reserve list returns to active major-league duty, he must be reinstated to the active 23-man roster within two weeks after his major-league activation or be waived. Failure to notify the League Commissioner shall be considered a waiver of the player on the reserve list. A player 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 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. In either case, it is the replacement player who is linked to the player whose departure created the natural opening. If the replacement player has been traded, released, or waived, the player acquired in his place must be waived or put into a natural roster opening if one exists. A reinstated player may not displace any player on the active 23-man roster other than his original replacement or the player for whom the replacement has been traded. This rule holds through successive replacements that may occur for the duration of the season.
  • Every reserve move must be accompanied by a concomitant replacement move (i.e., a team may not reserve a player without replacing him.)
  • Placing a player on the reserve list and activating a player from the reserve list are each subject to a $1 transaction fee.
  • Once the season ends, the reserve list requirements are removed and reserved players are no longer linked to any replacement players.

Farm System
If a farm-system player is promoted to the active roster of a major-league team at any time during the regular season prior to September 1 (when major-league rosters may expand to 40), his team has two weeks after his promotion to activate him (at any position for which he qualifies) or waive him. After September 1, a team is not required to activate a player called-up by his major-league team.

  • The fee for activating a player from a team’s farm system is $1.
  • If a farm-system player is activated, the player displaced from the 23-man roster to make room for him must be placed on waivers, unless the farm-system player can be activated into a natural opening.
  • Once brought up from its farm system, the team may not return the player to it, although the player may be placed on a team’s reserve list in the event he is returned to the minor leagues by his major-league club.
  • A farm-system player not brought up to a team’s 23-man roster during the season of his initial selection may be kept within the farm system in subsequent seasons upon payment of an additional $1 per year, so long as he retains official rookie status and the League Commissioner is duly notified when rosters are frozen.
  • At no time may a team have more than seven players in its farm system.
  • A farm-system player may be traded during authorized trading periods, subject to prevailing rules governing transactions, as may a team’s selection rights in the minor-league draft.

Signing Free-Agents
Active major league players not on any Fisher Avenue 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 not in any Fisher Avenue League team’s farm system, who are promoted to an active major league roster; waived players who are not claimed; and players traded from the National League. Such players may be signed in the following manner.

From Opening Day until the All-Star Game, free-agents may be called up to replace players on a team’s reserve list as outlined in Article XII. The only exception to Article XII’s provisions for signing free-agents during this period is that a player traded into the league from the National League may be signed by a team with its free-agent acquisition budget, as described below.

After the All-Star Game until the first weekly transaction deadline after August 31, free-agents may be signed without limit in number but within the limitations of a team’s free-agent acquisition budget:

  • Each team shall have, for the purpose of acquiring free-agents during the course of the season, a supplementary budget of $10.
  • By the deadline for recording weekly transactions, a team may submit a sealed bid for one or more free-agents.
  • The minimum bid shall be .50¢; the maximum shall be the amount remaining in a team’s budget.
  • A free-agent so selected goes to the highest bidder. If more than one team bids the same amount on a player, and if that amount is the highest bid, the player goes to the team that is lowest in the most recently compiled standings.
  • The salary of a free-agent signed in this manner is his acquisition price. His contract status is that of a first-year player.
  • In addition to the player’s acquisition price, a team signing a free-agent must pay the transaction fee for signing a free-agent.
  • For each free-agent that it signs, a team must at the same time waive or release a player at the same position from its active roster.
  • A free-agent signed for a salary in excess of $1 is deemed to have a guaranteed two-year contract. If such a player is not protected the following season, then a contract buyout fee in the amount of twice his salary or $10, whichever is greater, shall be paid by the team owning his contract at the time.
  • If a Fisher Avenue League team loses a player to the National League in an interleague trade, then the team’s free-agent acquisition budget is increased by an amount equal to the lost player’s salary.
  • Teams are not allowed to make contingency bids for other players in the event they do not have the winning bid for a particular player.
  • Once a team has exhausted its entire free-agent acquisition budget, the team may still submit a bid of .50¢ on any player, but can only acquire that player if no other team bids on him.
A player traded into the league from the National League prior to the All-Star Game may be signed by a team with its free-agent acquisition budget only during the week in which the player was traded into the league. If no team submits a bid on the player, he then joins the free-agent pool and may only be called up to replace players on a team’s reserve list as outlined in Article XII.

Beginning on September 1 until the next weekly transaction deadline, the only players eligible to be bid upon and acquired using the free-agent acquisition budgets are those players that were eligible to be bid upon on August 31.

Waivers and Outright Releases
Under certain conditions, a player may be placed on waivers or released outright.

  • When a team activates a player from its reserve list, the player called up earlier to replace him must be placed on waivers.
  • When a team activates a player from its farm system, except into a natural opening, the player dropped from the 23-man roster to make room for him must be placed on waivers.
  • A player placed on the disabled list or sent to the minor leagues by his major-league team may be reserved or released outright but may not be placed on waivers.
  • A player who is no longer on the active roster of any American League team may not be reserved or placed on waivers but must be released outright.
  • The waiver period begins on the Monday after the League Commissioner has been notified that a player has been waived and lasts 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 played by the newly acquired player.
  • Waiver claims take precedence over the replacement of an injured, released, or demoted player. That is, a player on waivers in a given week may be signed by a team with a roster opening at his position only if no other team lower in the standings claims the player on waivers.
  • Waiver claims are irrevocable.
  • A team may acquire on waivers no more than one player in a given week, but there is no limit to the number of players a team may acquire on waivers during the season.
  • A player who clears waivers - that is, is not claimed by any team - returns to the free-agent pool.
  • The fee for acquiring a player on waivers is $1. The salary of a player acquired on waivers shall be $1 or his previous salary, whichever is greater, and his contract status shall remain unchanged.
  • A player with a guaranteed long-term contract may not be waived during the season. However, he may be released and replaced if he is traded to the National League.
  • A player may be given his outright release only if he is:
    • (a) unconditionally released,
    • (b) placed on the "designated for assignment" list,
    • (c) placed on the "disqualified" list,
    • (d) traded to the National League,
    • (e) sent to the minors, or
    • (f) placed on the disabled list.
A team has two weeks to take action once a player has been released or traded to the National League. Failure to replace such a player within two weeks will result in a fine equal to the highest possible total cost of replacing the player each week that he goes unreplaced.

September Roster Expansion
If a team chooses, it may expand its roster for the pennant drive by calling up one additional player after September 1 from the free-agent pool, its own reserve list, or its own farm system.

  • The order of selection for September Roster Expansion is determined by the most recent standings, with the last place team having the first selection, and so on. During this 24-hour period, September Roster Expansion claims take precedence over waiver claims and routine call-ups to replace players who are disabled, released, sent to the minors, or traded to the National League by their American League team. This selection order pertains until midnight, September 2 only, after which time a team forfeits its order in the selection process, though not its right to make a selection. Selection after September 2 is on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, after September 2, waiver claims and routine call-ups to fill natural openings take precedence over September Roster Expansion claims.
  • The performance stats of a player called up during September Roster Expansion start to accrue on the Monday after the League Commissioner has been notified of the player’s selection.
  • The fee for expanding the roster in September is $5.
  • The salary assigned to a September call-up from the free-agent pool is $2.50. The salary of a September call-up from a team’s reserve list or farm system is the salary established at the time he was previously acquired (on Auction Draft Day, from the free-agent pool, or via waivers).

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 without being claimed or released, although he may have been traded) must, prior to the freezing of rosters in his third, or option, 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 at the auction draft. If signed at the same salary for his 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 contract (which commences with the option year) shall be the sum of his current salary plus .50¢ for each additional year beyond the option year. In addition, a signing bonus, equal to one half the total value of the long-term contract, shall also be paid.
  • In determining a player’s status, "season" is understood to be a full season or any fraction thereof.
  • A team may sign a player to only one long-term contract, at the end of which he must be released into the free-agent pool.
  • Option-year and long-term contracts are entirely transferable, both in rights and obligations; 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 shall be rendered null and void. The team that loses the player’s services shall be under no further financial obligation.
  • In all other cases, specifically including permanent disability or sudden loss of effectiveness - a team must honor the terms of a long-term contract, as follows:
During the season, a player with such a contract may be waived or released, but the team that chooses to do so must pay into the prize pool a sum equal to four times the remaining value of the contract or $5, whichever is more. The player may then be placed on waivers. The salary, year and length of the contract of such a player are not affected by the player being waived, but the contract is no longer considered to be guaranteed. Prior to Auction Draft Day, a player with such a contract may be released (that is, not protected on a team’s roster), but a team that chooses to do so must pay into the prize pool a sum equal to twice the remaining value of the player’s contract. The player then re-enters the free-agent pool.

Roster Protection
For the league’s first three seasons, each team must retain, from one season to the next, no fewer than 7 but no more than 15 of the players on its roster. After three seasons, this minimum requirement is eliminated, but the maximum retained.

  • The names of players being retained must be recorded with the League Commissioner on the Sunday closest to two weeks before Auction Draft Day. Specific notice must also be made at that time of any guaranteed long-term contract signings and farm-system renewals.
  • The cumulative salaries of players protected prior to Auction Draft Day are deducted from a team’s $26 expenditure limit, and the balance is available for acquisition of the remaining players needed to complete the team’s 23-man roster.
  • The League Commissioner 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.
  • A farm-system player whose minor-league contract is renewed and who subsequently makes his major-league team’s active roster may, at the owner’s option, be added to the protected list of players on Auction Draft Day (and another player dropped, if necessary, to meet the 15 player limit), or he may be dropped and made available in the auction draft. He may not be retained in his team’s farm system.

If a player who is on a team’s protected list is waived, released, placed on the disabled list, or otherwise removed from his major league team’s roster in the period during which rosters are frozen prior to Auction Draft Day, the player must remain on the team’s roster until after the Auction Draft. The team may not remove him from its protected list and acquire a new player to replace him during the Auction Draft. However, if a player on a team’s protected list is traded to the National League during this period, such a player must be removed from the team’s roster and a new player acquired during the Auction Draft.