Rules of the ACBA - 2022 Edition
FOREWORD
SECTION 1 - LEAGUE OUTLINE
SECTION 2 - AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
SECTION 3 - WINTER MEETINGS
SECTION 4 - REGULAR SEASON
SECTION 5 - REGULAR SEASON TIES
SECTION 6 - POSTSEASON
SECTION 7 - POSTSEASON SEEDING
SECTION 8 - POSTSEASON TIES
SECTION 9 - MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTERS
SECTION 10 - MINOR LEAGUE ROSTERS
SECTION 11 - POSITION ELIGIBILITY
SECTION 12 - INJURED RESERVES
SECTION 13 - ILLEGAL ROSTERS & POSITIONS
SECTION 14 - OFFLINE DRAFT
SECTION 15 - ONLINE DRAFT
SECTION 16 - SALARY CAP
SECTION 17 - LUXURY TAX
SECTION 18 - PLAYER CONTRACTS
SECTION 19 - CONTRACT BUYOUTS
SECTION 20 - CLAIMS, DROPS & WAIVERS
SECTION 21 - TRADES
SECTION 22 - WAIVER TRADES
SECTION 23 - POSTSEASON TRANSACTIONS
SECTION 24 - SEASON AWARDS
SECTION 25 - HALL OF FAME
FOREWORD
The following document is the code of rules established by the Atlantic Coast Baseball Association (ACBA) in order to govern all activity within ACBA. The rules that follow are to be upheld for the duration of the 2022 season, which include: preseason, regular season, postseason and offseason. These rules will go into effect on Sunday, February 13, 2022 and continue to be active until the rules for the 2023 season are released. Any changes made to this document after Saturday, February 19, 2022 must be done so with 85% support of the 12 owners of the league.
SECTION 1 - LEAGUE OUTLINE
1.01-The ACBA is a dynasty baseball league with a no-limits policy for player contracts, controlled by a salary cap.
1.02-The ACBA is a non-money league. Championship teams receive a championship trophy and championship t-shirt.
1.03-Division alignment and expansion team placement initial alignment are determined via lottery. To establish within-division rivalries, division alignment will remain the same indefinitely. However, any subsequent changes occur via voting on specific proposals with or without a new lottery (i.e. Team A and B swap divisions; or lottery to determine Teams A and B that will swap divisions).
1.04-There is an annual draft for all free agents. The draft order is determined by a combination of lotteries and automatic placement:
The 4 teams not reaching the playoffs go to Lottery #1, for the top 4 selection spots in the draft
The 6 teams reaching the playoffs but not reaching the World Series go to Lottery #2 for selection spots 5-10 in the draft
The World Series runner-up selects 11th, and the World Series winner selects 12th
1.05-The lotteries for the draft order take place annually during the ACBA World Series.
1.06-It is the policy of the ACBA to prohibit ownership for those that may be brothers or immediate family members to existing owners. This rule is in place to promote an atmosphere of neutrality and dissuade collusion. If the league is in a position to add an owner who is an immediate relative to an existing owner, he may only become a new owner after a league vote, with a unanimous decision from all owners, in favor of adding him.
1.07-The ACBA Constitution may be arbitrarily amended by the Commissioner before the constitutional lock period, and only during the offseason. The 2022 constitutional lock period is Saturday, February 19, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. Any changes being made to the constitution after that time must be done so by the voting process as described in Section 2.
1.08-All rules and all scoring categories will be reviewed each offseason, and changes may be made for the betterment of the league and its future. Owners may propose changes.
1.09-The Commissioner breaks ties with regards to any voting when he does not own a team. If the Commissioner owns a team, tied votes result in a failure of the proposal.
1.10-League fees of $20 are due every third year. These fees cover the cost of running the league and do not go towards a payout for winning. Owners not submitting their fees will forfeit control of their rosters until all fees are paid. Fees were collected in 2021 to cover costs for 2021 through 2023. Next fees are due by February 28, 2024 and will cover costs for 2024 through 2026.
1.11-Itemized average costs of the league include:
Domain for acbasite.com - $40 annually
Championship trophy - $45 annually (includes shipping to ACBA Headquarters)
Championship T-shirt - $25 annually (includes shipping to ACBA Headquarters)
Additional shipping costs from ACBA Headquarters to Championship team residence - $15 annually
1.12-Owners leaving the league of their own free will shall be refunded their fees only if they leave before the start of the regular season in the 1st year of the 3-year cycle. After that time, refunds will not be offered. Owners that are removed from the league shall not be refunded their fees in any situation.
SECTION 2 - AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
2.01- Owners have the right to propose a new rule at any time. After the constitutional lock period, any proposal to repeal a rule already in place will only be considered during the offseason.
2.02-Any proposal for a new rule made after the constitutional lock period must be seconded by another owner before it is brought to a vote.
2.03-Any proposal that is brought to a vote may be voted on by primary owners only. Teams with multiple owners may only have 1 vote. (This is rare and unlikely.)
2.04-A ‘majority decides’ vote will be the standard process to determine whether a proposal passes unless the vote concerns a rule or scoring change that will take effect during the same season and the voting period is after the constitutional lock period. In this case the vote must reach 85% approval to pass.
2.05-Abstained votes will not count against a vote requiring 85%. The 85% will be figured from only among those who cast ballots.
2.06-Standard voting periods will be 3 days. Emergency votes may be expedited through a shorter 1-day voting period. However, the time frame for any voting period will be determined by the Commissioner on a case-by-case basis.
2.07-No new rules to affect the current season may be voted on after the trade deadline. At that point, any proposal will only be considered during the offseason.
2.08-Proposals made before the constitutional lock period will be reviewed by the Commissioner. The Commissioner will then have 3 options:
Proceed with the change immediately
Bring the proposal to a leaguewide vote
Veto the proposal
2.09-The Commissioner cannot veto any proposals made after the constitutional lock period.
2.10-Amendments made by the Commissioner will not need league approval if those changes take place before the constitutional lock period.
2.11-After the constitutional lock period begins owners may re-propose any previous proposals vetoed by the Commissioner before the constitutional lock period. Proposals will not go to a vote, however, unless they are seconded by another owner.
2.12-If a variation of a previous proposal is made and killed, after the original proposal was killed, there will be no further proposals on that topic during that season. The Commissioner will determine the degree of relation between the proposals. During the ensuing offseason, that topic may again be addressed. This clause includes both before and after the constitutional lock period.
2.13-To ensure owners have a full understanding of the rules and how the league operates before being able to influence change, voting on rules changes are weighted by longevity. Owners with zero years in the league may not vote on rules changes. Owners completing 1 season will have a weight of 1.0 per vote. Owners completing 2-3 seasons will have a weight of 1.5 per vote. Owners completing more than 3 seasons will have a weight of 2.0 per vote. This includes votes for the Winter Meetings as well as any proposals throughout the calendar year.
2.14-A redline version of the rule book comparing current vs prior year shall be generated and distributed to all league owners at least one week prior to final publishing ("constitutional lock date"). When editing the rule book within the website, there is no way to see version history or otherwise easily identify where and what changes were made. This rule makes the editing process more robust, provides increased transparency, reduces the risk of oversights that could be realized during the course of gameplay, and allows time for owners to review changes and express and resolve concerns before the lock period begins (after which it takes 85% approval to change rules until the next offseason).
SECTION 3 - WINTER MEETINGS
3.01-The ACBA holds Winter Meetings during the offseason typically in either November or January. This is a 2-week period when the owners discuss rules and/or scoring changes for the following season. The first week is for proposals and discussion, the second week is for voting. Results are majority-based, and abstained votes do not count against the tally. The Winter Meetings is also the time when the Draft Order is announced for the following season as well as any Hall of Fame nominees.
SECTION 4 - REGULAR SEASON
4.01-The ACBA schedules 108-game regular season games, scored in a daily format.
4.02-The schedule is unbalanced with each team playing (5) division opponents 12 times for a total of 60 division games and (6) non-division opponents 8 times for a total of 48 non-division games.
4.03-ACBA scheduling makes every effort to schedule game days when all 30 MLB teams are playing. However, due to the length of the season and the MLB game structure, some ACBA game days will be played on less than fully scheduled MLB days.
4.04-There are no player substitutions during the regular season.
SECTION 5 - REGULAR SEASON TIES
5.01-Regular season games ending in a tie will be broken.
5.02-The tiebreaker for regular season ties will be the highest-scoring player from each team’s active lineup, not including pitchers. If the score remains tied, the 2nd highest scoring player from each active team lineup will be used and so on. If the score remains tied after the entire active lineup is used, the game will remain as a tie.
5.03-Teams that win a tiebreaker are retroactively awarded 1 point in the game that was tied, thus breaking the tie and giving the team the win in the standings. These awarded points will not count towards a team’s total points scored if a standings tiebreaker is needed to determine playoff seeding.
SECTION 6 - POSTSEASON
6.01-The postseason consists of 3 rounds: Division Series, Championship Series and World Series.
6.02-Eight teams will make the postseason. Each division will produce a division winner and three qualifying teams ranked one through four. The first round matches seed 1 vs seed 4 and seed 2 vs seed 3 in each division.
6.03-All rounds in the postseason are 7-game series. The first team to win four games will advance.
6.04-The postseason schedule is written in advance and to be upheld as scheduled. If two teams due to meet in the next round both advance early, they must wait to begin their series until the scheduled time. Any change in schedule could result in an advantage to one team. A pre-written schedule leaves all advantages or disadvantages to chance. The only change in game scheduling will be due to extra inning play, if necessary, as described in Section 8.
6.05-Postseason game days are scheduled only on days when all 30 MLB teams are playing. No postseason games will be played on shortened MLB days, with the exception of extra inning games and only when the schedule requires it.
6.06-During the postseason owners may substitute players at any time for any reason as long as the MLB games for both the player to be replaced and the replacement have not begun.
6.07-A player may be subbed out of an ACBA game even if his MLB game is in progress or completed, providing the player to be replaced is not in the MLB lineup and/or did not play in an MLB completed game. Any player showing any activity in an MLB box score (including currently in the lineup, even without an at bat) may not be removed from the ACBA lineup.
6.08-Players on an ACBA bench may not be made active once their MLB games have begun, even if the player on the ACBA bench is not in the MLB game. This applies to all players but specifically to closers.
6.09-Players having played in an MLB rained out game may be subbed out, but only when the game is listed as PPD. If the game is showing delayed the player may not be removed. Rule 6.07 does not apply to PPD games, regarding the removal of a player that has played.
6.10-If a player’s MLB team is playing a doubleheader, the same rules apply in 6.06 & 6.07. Once a player is put into an MLB game he may no longer be removed from an ACBA lineup, and once a player’s MLB game has begun he may no longer be inserted into an ACBA lineup.
6.11-Shifting eligible players into alternate positions in the lineup to accommodate an incoming player will be permitted. This includes moving a player whose game may already be completed.
6.12-To make substitutions, two specific players must be named: a player to be removed and a replacement. No generalizations will be accepted; the request must be clear. The Commissioner will not assume responsibility.
6.13-Pitcher scoring in postseason games is rounded down to the nearest whole number except when breaking a fractional difference. For example, if Team 1 has 30.33 points and Team 2 has 30.66 points, the fractional difference is broken by rounding down Team 1 to the nearest whole number, as normal, but rounding Team 2 up to the nearest whole number. The same rule applies if Team 1 has a whole number (30) and Team 2 has a fraction (30.33). Team 2 would be credited with the additional 2/3 of a point when otherwise rounding down would cause a tie.
SECTION 7 - POSTSEASON SEEDING
7.01-When determining playoff seeding for multiple teams who finish the regular season tied in the standings, the tie breaking process is as follows:
I-Head-to-head record during the regular season
II-Division record during the regular season
III-Head-to-head points scored during the regular season
IV-Total points scored during the regular season
V-A one-game playoff (if only 2 teams are tied)
7.02-In the event that three or more teams are tied, all preceding tie breaking steps are taken, but in a combined effort for all teams in contention. For example, Team 1 head-to-head record would include games against Team 2 and Team 3.
7.03-During the tiebreaking process, only one team advances when a tie is broken. If there are three or more teams involved in the process, and it’s necessary to determine additional tiebreakers, the remaining teams would restart the steps excluding the team(s) that already advanced.
SECTION 8 - POSTSEASON TIES
8.01- If a postseason game ends in a tie the teams will play extra innings to finish the game. The next full-scheduled MLB day will be played as extra innings, postponing the remainder of the series until that tied game is complete. The Commissioner will provide the owners with full details of the altered schedule should this take place. When possible, built in make-up days are scheduled at the end of the playoffs as extra-inning games may affect normal scheduling.
8.02-The results of the tiebreaking game will be added to the original game as if it were extra innings. The series would resume following the tiebreaking game.
8.03-If the extra innings game ends in a tie, the tie would be broken using the regular season tiebreaking method. Only the stats from the original game would be used to break the tie.
8.04-If a tie breaking game cannot be played due to time constraints, the tiebreaking method will change from a tiebreaking game to the tiebreaking method used during the regular season. The Commissioner will determine if time constraints do not allow for extra innings.
8.05-Any game remaining tied beyond the final tiebreakers will be counted as a tied game and the series will continue. If it’s the deciding game of the World Series, the teams will share the title.
SECTION 9 - MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTERS
9.01-The ACBA has 41-man rosters. A maximum 26 active/reserve (Major League Roster) and 15 green slots (Minor League Roster). 4 additional slots are also available for Injured Reserve. The injured reserve slots do not count towards the 41-man roster.
9.02-Roster Trim Day is prior to opening day. All teams must have their 41-man roster in place by the date on the league calendar, allowing for all free agents to clear waivers and be accessible to the entire league before the contracts deadline.
9.03-There is a hard cap of 45 players, including injured reserves, for all rosters. No team may carry more than 45 total players (26 active + 15 minors + 4 injured) at any time including during the draft. The hard cap temporarily increases to 48 pursuant to the expanded active rosters during the final two weeks of the regular season and the ACBA playoffs per Rule 9.06.
9.04-A maximum of 11 players may be fielded (active) from each team for each day; one player from each of the following positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, U, SP, RP. Any player may be used in the utility slot except pitchers.
9.05-Any player may be inserted into the lineup in an eligible position up to 1 minute before the start of his game. Once a player is locked due to the start time of his game, he cannot be moved in or out of the lineup for the rest of that scoring period. No substitution requests will be awarded during the regular season, including for injuries.
9.06-Major League Rosters will expand from 26 to 29 players in the final two weeks of the regular season for additional postseason flexibility. The date of expanded rosters will be posted on the league calendar.
9.07-If an owner/roster is inactive for 7 consecutive days without notice, the Commissioner will be granted temporary full access to the team to maintain a competitive level for league integrity.
9.08-If an owner/roster is inactive for more than 14 consecutive days (without notice) or any groupings of days totaling more than 20 throughout the season, the Commissioner may begin searching for a replacement owner. The Commissioner will determine the degree and time frame of inactivity, assisted by timestamps from various Fantrax pages.
9.09- A new owner taking over a team will be granted a 7-day window of flexibility to extend or buy out any existing contracts on the roster.
SECTION 10 - MINOR LEAGUE ROSTERS
10.01-To allow teams to scout and develop players on a long-term basis without taking up active roster spots, the ACBA uses 15 minor league spots.
10.02-Players that in real life are (a) inactive, (b) free agents, or (c) minor leaguers, and designated as such by Fantrax, may be placed in minor league roster spots until they lose such real life status.
10.03-Players are also minor league eligible for the duration of the current season through the end of the ACBA World Series if, as of the end of the prior season, they had recorded less than 400 career AB and less than 150 career IP.
10.04-Minor league eligible players may be carried over on a team's roster to the current season if, as of the end of the prior season, they were on the team's roster and met all of the following thresholds:
Less than 200 AB prior season / 400 AB career
Less than 75 IP prior season / 150 IP career
Any eligible players left on a roster at the end of the season will be carried over with the contract players. Owners may choose to release them at any time during the offseason.
10.05-If a player qualifies as a minor league carryover, he may be carried over even if he is activated on an ACBA roster at the end of the season.
10.06-There is no cost to a team's payroll, and there are no time limits set, for retaining qualifying minor league players without contracts.
10.07-Carried over players may be signed at any time during the offseason, up until the contracts deadline, as if they were drafted. Contract rules do not apply to them until they are signed.
10.08-Without the protection of a contract, any player exceeding carryover limits during the season will become a free agent at the end of the season, having earned major league status.
SECTION 11 - POSITION ELIGIBILITY
11.01-Players may be used at any position they are listed eligible for. This includes pitchers regarding starters/relievers.
11.02-Positional eligibility is as follows:
For starting pitchers - 2 starts in the current season or 5 in the previous season
For relief pitchers - 3 relief appearances in the current season or 10 in the previous season
For position players - 3 games at a position in the current season or 10 in the previous season
Fantrax determines a player’s default positions.
11.03- Teams are permitted only 1 MLB start per calendar day. Teams can get an official MLB start from either SP or RP slot, but not both in same day.
SECTION 12 - INJURED RESERVES
12.01-All teams have 4 Injured Reserve slots. These 4 slots do not count against the 41-man roster.
12.02-During the offseason prior to Opening Day, Fantrax red flags (with or without white crosses) are sufficient for adding players to Injured Reserve slots. Beginning Opening Day through the ACBA World Series, only players with Fantrax red flags that have white crosses (official MLB injured list designation) are eligible for Injured Reserve.
12.03-There is a 24-hour grace period for teams to remove players from the Injured Reserve once they are no longer eligible. Teams will be subject to a roster penalty of zero points scored for each day an ineligible player remains on the Injured Reserve.
12.04-Fantrax will control Injured Reserve violations and roster penalties. If for any reason violations and subsequent penalties are not enforced by Fantrax, the Commissioner will assume the responsibility.
12.05-Teams may remove a player from Injured Reserve at any time. There is no minimum time a player must remain in the Injured Reserve.
12.06-Teams will be permitted to drop a non-contract player from the roster after the add/drop deadline has passed should a roster exceed the 41-man limit due to a player coming off the Injured Reserve.
SECTION 13 - ILLEGAL ROSTERS & POSITIONS
13.01-For the competitive integrity of the league, all owners are expected in good faith to set lineups daily with active major leaguers and a scheduled starting pitcher. The Commissioner reserves the right to discipline owners failing to do so with penalties up to and including dismissal from the ACBA.
13.02-Subsequent to the MLB All-Star break, given the heightened focus on playoff races, in the event an owner fails to move a scheduled starting pitcher from their bench into their starting lineup, the Commissioner reserves the right to adjust the lineup to start the scheduled starting pitcher (with the highest points/game season to date, in the event of multiple options). This is in addition to the right to issue penalties.
13.03-The ACBA highly regards sportsmanship and fairness and will penalize teams that are involved in illegal activities, whether intentional or not. However, illegal activities that are found to be intentional will be dealt with severely, including potential removal from the league.
13.04-Any illegal roster to be penalized will be categorized as either:
(1) an illegal roster, or
(2) an illegal position
13.05-If a penalty can be clearly directed to one position, only that position will be penalized. (Example: if there are 11 active players, but two catchers, the catcher position will be illegal and neither player will be credited points. The rest of the lineup would be considered legal).
13.06-The penalty for an illegal roster will be zero points for everyday it remains illegal.
13.07-The penalty for an illegal position will be zero points for everyday the position remains illegal.
13.08-If a roster that is illegal could be made legal with the players that are in the lineup, there will be no penalty. (Example: if the owner activated two catchers but no 1B and one of the two catchers is eligible at 1B, the change could be made with no penalty incurred.)
13.09-Any active lineup with less than 11 players will not be illegal as long as it does not exceed any position limits.
13.10-A penalty may be enforced and points taken away from a team for an illegal roster or an illegal position for up to a full week after the infraction. No corrections will be made beyond 1 week.
13.11-Owners that oppose a team with an illegal roster or an illegal position may play under protest. It is the responsibility of the opposing owner to report a violation and the Commissioner will review it for a penalty. The Commissioner may also act without an official protest if a violation is caught.
13.12-Sabotaging is not legal. Teams involved in sabotaging will be harshly penalized at the Commissioner’s discretion. Sabotaging includes, but is not limited to: manipulation of scoring; manipulation of wins-losses through scoring; tampering with transactions (such as excessive claims / drops to either “bury” a desired player that may be a free agent or excessively placing free agents onto 2-day waivers); roster manipulation of any kind to gain unfair advantages in salary cap money, roster limitations or positions; any sort of collusion with another team, including unfair trading for the benefit of one or more teams.
13.13-Players under contract may not be released. If a contract player is released, the team will be penalized their 5th round draft pick in the ensuing draft. The player must be reinstated regardless of whether the penalty is enforced; this is not an opportunity to exchange a draft pick to cut a contract player.
13.14-Once the offseason begins, if there are team payrolls that will exceed the $225 hard cap for the ensuing season, those owners must cut their payroll to under the hard cap before the December buyout deadline. Any teams not getting under the hard cap before the deadline will be penalized their highest draft pick for the next 2 seasons and the Commissioner will make the necessary cuts to the payroll to get it under the hard cap. The process to cut payroll will be to begin with the highest paid player and work backwards. Commissioner discretion will be used as needed.
13.15-Owners are responsible for their own roster. If a roster is found to be illegal it is expected that each owner will accept the consequences written in the constitution, regardless of any explanation for the violation.
13.16-The Commissioner will have discretionary privilege for “common sense” corrections, but the extent of those corrections will be determined by the Commissioner and any ruling against a team will be final.
13.17-If a team loses an owner following a penalty or punishment, the Commissioner may exercise some level of grace so that the incoming owner is not handcuffed from the former owner’s actions. This will be on a case by case basis and at the discretion of the Commissioner.
13.18-There are no limitations on the use of specific slots (active, reserve, minor, IR) during the offseason other than keeping the number of players on the roster under the 45-player hard cap. Slots must be used correctly effective Roster Management Day through the end of the World Series.
SECTION 14 - OFFLINE DRAFT
14.01-The ACBA draft consists of 15 rounds broken into 2 portions: a partial offline draft and a partial online draft, except for when the league has a Live Draft.
14.02-The offline draft will be the first 2 rounds of the draft.
14.03-The period of the offline draft is from midnight on Sunday, March 6 through noon on Wednesday, March 16. There will be two scheduled selections a day until Round 2 is complete.
14.04-All owners will have 12 hours for each selection. The schedule for selections is Midnight-Noon and Noon-Midnight, ET.
14.05-Deadlines for selection times will not change. Any unused time during a selection period will be inherited by the team with the ensuing selection.
14.06-The Commissioner is not responsible for alerting owners when they are on the clock. Rule 14.05 guarantees a scheduled deadline for all selections and each owner should be aware of their selection times. Prior to and during the draft, all selection times for the offline draft are posted on the Top 100 Draft Results page under the STATS DEPARTMENT section on the affiliate site.
14.07-If the draft clock expires and a team fails to select a player, they will receive the highest available player according to the Free Agents list on Fantrax.
14.08-Trades during the offline draft are permitted. Thorough communication from at least one party of a trade is expected to be timely.
SECTION 15 - ONLINE DRAFT
15.01-The online draft will be the final 13 rounds, covering Rounds 3 through 15.
15.02-The online draft will begin at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday, March 19 regardless of attendance.
15.03-All owners are given 2 minutes and 30 seconds for each selection for Rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6. For Rounds 7 through 15, selection times drop to 2 minutes.
15.04-Once the online draft begins, the clock will not stop unless an owner loses internet connection during their pick or as their pick approaches. Any owner losing internet connection should contact the Commissioner immediately to suspend the draft. The draft will be suspended for 1 minute from the start of the missing owner’s next selection if he has not returned by then. After the 1 minute expires, the draft clock will resume and the owner will have the scheduled selection time to make his pick. If he is unable to reenter the draft the Commissioner may make the selection if the owner relays the information. There will be no additional time granted; the draft will continue.
15.05-Trades during the online draft are permitted. Thorough communication from at least one party of a trade is expected to be timely. If it becomes necessary to work out the logistics of a trade, the Commissioner may suspend the draft clock. This will only be the case if a trade has been agreed upon. The clock will not be suspended for trade talks.
15.06-All owners should be present for the draft. Any owner that is unable to attend will be subject to automatic selection. The Commissioner will not make selections for any owner outside of connectivity issues.
SECTION 16 - SALARY CAP
16.01-Team salaries are $150 annually with a hard cap of $225.
16.02-Trading for additional cap room is legal.
16.03-Any transaction that causes a team to exceed the hard cap will not be approved and will be reversed if it goes through. This includes receiving players in a trade that are under contract and new contract signings. This applies only to the current season. Teams may have projected payrolls that exceed the hard cap for future seasons.
16.04- Trading for cap room may be done with players or draft picks, but all terms must be disclosed to the Commissioner by both parties as soon as the deal is complete in order to record the details of the trade and update payrolls.
SECTION 17 - LUXURY TAX
17.01-Teams exceeding the salary cap will be subject to a luxury tax.
17.02-The luxury tax will be in the form of the ensuing season’s draft. Each round of the draft will be represented by a dollar amount for taxing purposes. For each dollar a team is over the cap, they will be taxed a corresponding round.
17.03-Luxury Tax amounts:
Round 1 for $15 over the cap
Round 2 for $14 over the cap
Round 3 for $13 over the cap
Round 4 for $12 over the cap
Round 5 for $11 over the cap
Round 6 for $10 over the cap
Round 7 for $9 over the cap
Round 8 for $8 over the cap
Round 9 for $7 over the cap
Round 10 for $6 over the cap
Round 11 for $5 over the cap
Round 12 for $4 over the cap
Round 13 for $3 over the cap
Round 14 for $2 over the cap
Round 15 for $1 over the cap
17.04-When teams exceed the salary cap by more than $15, multiple rounds will be forfeited. When this happens, the highest available round is taken and then the round that matches the difference. For example, if a team is $20 over the cap, Round 1 ($15) and Round 11 ($5) are forfeited. The tax will be based on the team’s available draft picks.
17.05-Both original draft picks and picks received in trades will be used for the luxury tax if necessary.
17.06-In the event that a team exceeds the salary cap enough and / or the owner trades away more picks than what would pay down the tax, the tax would continue into an additional season’s draft. In this case where an owner cannot pay his luxury tax in full in a single draft, he will be restricted from trading away any additional draft picks until the luxury tax is paid back.
17.07-The taxable amounts for teams that exceed the salary cap will be determined on Luxury Tax Day. Teams have until that date to get their payrolls in order before a luxury tax is imposed.
SECTION 18 - PLAYER CONTRACTS
18.01-Players can be on a team’s roster (active, minors, or injured) without being under contract and without counting toward the team’s salary cap spend for the season. Such players are subject at the end of the ACBA World Series to minor league carryover thresholds; if they exceed the limits, such players will re-enter the player pool for the upcoming draft.
18.02-The Payroll workbook in Google Sheets is the record of fact with regards to contracts and salary cap spend. Team owners are responsible for communicating any payroll transactions (including but not necessarily limited to new contracts, extensions, buyouts, and cap money traded) to the Commissioner, who has the sole access to update both the Payroll workbook and Fantrax. There may be salary figures visible in Fantrax on non-contract players (i.e. minor league prospects, veterans that go unsigned prior to the Contracts Deadline), but those do not count towards salary cap spend.
18.03-Owners may sign any player to a contract. There is no limit to the number of players that may be under contract. See Rule 16.03 for exceptions.
18.04-Owners may sign any player to any length contract. There is no limit to the terms of a contract.
18.05-Drafted players that are being signed to contracts must be signed at the player’s current salary value as generated by Fantrax. Carried over players can be signed at $1.
18.06-Player salary values are determined through the Fantrax player salary generator and are based on the ACBA scoring system.
18.07-Player salary values are adjusted each offseason for all free agents. The salary generator is run in February to determine current values and the date will be listed on the league calendar. The Commissioner may manually run the salary generator as needed to update new free agents during the offseason. Owners should be aware that values on free agents before the salary generator is run may change once those updates are made.
18.08-Undrafted players acquired through the free agents market after the draft but prior to the contracts deadline may be signed for $1, regardless of their player salary value. This rule applies only to players who have gone undrafted, not for players who were drafted and released, nor does this apply to carried over players.
18.09-Players under contract are subject to an annual player salary increase of $2 each offseason.
18.10-Any player signed before the 2012 season is not subject to Rule 11.09. These contracts fall under the expired rule of a 3% increase. Team payroll charts are updated each offseason to reflect these increases.
18.11-Players under contract will remain at the rate of increase based on the salary value they were signed at. The player salary list is used only for current free agents and minor league carryovers.
18.12-All contracts are guaranteed. No player under contract may be dropped until the contract has expired or the owner has bought the contract out with the buyout option during the offseason.
18.13-Owners will be fully released from contracts for any player that officially retires from the game of baseball or in the event of a player’s death.
18.14-If an owner releases a player that is under contract the owner will have 24 hours after releasing the player to notify the Commissioner and have the player reinstated, providing the transaction was unintentional. Failure to notify the Commissioner within 24 hours will result in the enforcement of the penalty according to Rule 13.14. This rule is not subject to Rule 13.11 regarding the time frame on corrections.
18.15-Owners intending to sign a player(s) to a contract(s) must announce the player(s) and the terms by 11:59pm ET on the date of the contracts deadline. All players not announced by that time as being under contract will play as unsigned free agents and will be available in the ensuing draft, with the exception of eligible minor league carryovers.
18.16-Owners may announce a contract on any player as soon as he is acquired, prior to the contracts deadline.
18.17-Once a contract is announced it becomes official. Announcement occurs when an owner notifies the Commissioner of the terms of the contract for a player he is keeping beyond the current season. Owners may not cancel the contract once it is announced, nor may they decrease the number of years on the contract. They may, however, offer extensions to any newly signed player until the contracts deadline.
18.18-Contract extensions are permitted in only 3 cases at normal salary increase rates (+$2/year):
(1) Players that are already under contract and are received in a trade
(2) Players already under contract with a new owner taking over a team
(3) Players signed to a new contract during the offseason, and prior to the contracts deadline, the owner wishes to lengthen the contract
Any other existing contract can only be extended by an owner during the offseason prior to the Contracts Deadline at a premium. For the initial year of the extended term, the player salary must increase by +$7 instead of the normal +$2 (i.e. a contract ending with $5 salary in 2023 may be extended during any offseason prior to the 2023 Contracts Deadline, through 2026 with salaries of $12 in 2024, $14 in 2025, and $16 in 2026).
Owners may not offer contract extensions under any other circumstances.
18.19-During the regular season, an owner extending a player’s contract following a trade must announce the new terms within 72 hours of completion of the trade.
18.20-During the offseason, an owner extending a player’s contract following a trade will have 1 week to announce the new terms.
18.21-Upon completing a trade, in the same window in which an owner can extend a contract for +$2/year, an owner can instead restructure (shorten) the contract. Upon restructuring, the contract must have a minimum of three years remaining including current season (i.e. a contract acquired and restructured in a June 2022 trade must run at least through 2024). Instead of the normal +$2/year contract salary increase, the restructured contract increases +$4/year for the remaining future years (i.e. contract acquired in June 2022 trade with $10 salary in 2022 would be $10 for 2022, $14 for 2023, and $18 for 2024).
18.22-All original contract terms will be transferred in a trade including any applicable grandfathered rates (see Rule 18.10). Teams offering a player an extension following a trade will pay the new rate of increase for the extended portion of the contract.
18.23-Owners may offer any minor league carryover a new contract as if the player was drafted in the annual draft. Carryovers not signed to contracts and maintaining minor league status will continue to be carried over each season with no contractual obligations or may be dropped by the team at any time. The option to sign a carryover is available at any time during the offseason until the contracts deadline.
18.24-If a player loses minor league eligibility but the team cannot move him out due to a major league roster full of contract players, the player losing eligibility may stay in the minors but will be ineligible for play in an ACBA game for the remainder of the season. His status will be recorded on an ineligibility list on the affiliate site.
18.25-Unsigned minor league players will retain their original player salary value until they are either signed or they are released and cross the salary rate reset threshold for player values in February.
SECTION 19 - CONTRACT BUYOUTS
19.01-Owners may purchase any contract to release the player.
19.02-If a contract is bought out prior to the end of the second year of the contract, the team must pay the full value of the player’s salary of either (a) the current season for an in-season buyout, or (b) the upcoming season for an offseason buyout.
Any contract bought out after the second year of the contract, or beyond, the team must pay half of the player’s salary of either (a) the current season for an in-season buyout, or (b) the upcoming season for an offseason buyout . These amounts are added to the team’s payroll for the applicable season, showing in the Buyout Fees row on the team’s payroll page. If the player’s salary is an odd number, the buyout fee is rounded up to the nearest dollar.
19.03-Owners may begin purchasing contracts on the first day of the scheduled offseason. Teams must notify the Commissioner of their intent.
19.04-The annual buyout deadline is December 1 or one week after the completion of the Winter Meetings, whichever is later.
19.05-Owners may combine the salaries of multiple contracts they are buying out to save on buyout fees.
19.06-Teams will be permitted one in-season buy out. This is during the regular season only, from draft day until May 31. All existing buyout rules apply.
19.07-Players whose contracts have been bought out must be released from the team.
19.08-Players who both (a) have been bought out and (b) are ineligible for minor league carryover must enter the player pool for the next annual draft. Such players may not be signed prior to the next annual draft.
SECTION 20 - CLAIMS, DROPS & WAIVERS
20.01-Undrafted players are placed on waivers. Teams have until 7PM ET on the second calendar day after the draft completes (i.e. 7PM ET Monday after draft completes Saturday night) to place waiver claims. Commissioner will then process waiver claims in an on-demand batch. The free agent market will then open at 7PM ET on the third calendar day after the draft is completed.
20.02-Waivers begin again following the contracts deadline with the official date posted on the league calendar. The waivers period will run through the end of the World Series.
20.03-All free agents will initially go on 2-day waivers when the waivers process activates. Any player released from a roster during the waivers period will go directly on 2-day waivers before they become free agents.
20.04-Players that are claimed and dropped within the same scoring period and not used in a game, will bypass waivers.
20.05-The waivers order will initially be set in reverse order of the draft. The order will not reset at any time. Once an owner makes a claim and that claim is processed, the team will drop to the last spot in the order. If a waivers claim is unsuccessful (another team wins the claim), that team’s waiver position will not change.
20.06-All owners must have their rosters trimmed to 26 active/reserve and 15 minor league by Roster Trim Day, which is prior to the contracts deadline. Teams may carry fewer players if they choose.
20.07-Approximately two weeks prior to the ACBA regular season ending, the free agent market temporarily closes after first pitch of the final MLB game scheduled that day. The Commissioner will review rosters to ensure all teams are in compliance with existing roster limits (26 active + 15 minor + 4 injured reserve). All free agent players will be placed on waivers. Teams have until 7PM ET on the next calendar day (i.e. 7PM ET Monday after FA market closes after first pitch of Sunday Night Baseball) to place waiver claims for roster expansion (from 26 active/reserve to 29). The Commissioner will then process waiver claims in an on-demand batch. The free agent market will then re-open at 8PM ET (i.e. 8PM ET Monday after 7PM ET waiver claim deadline).
20.08-The free agents market closes for all teams after first pitch of the final MLB game scheduled for the final day of the ACBA regular season. The Commissioner will review transactions to ensure all free agent claims on that day were effective for the final regular season scoring period (not for the next scoring period – i.e. the player in question was added after his MLB team started their game on the final day). All free agent players are then placed on waivers.
20.09-A roster freeze will take place on the final day of the regular season for any team not reaching the postseason. The ability to conduct transactions will be locked until the conclusion of the World Series.
20.10-No players may be claimed during the offseason.
20.11-The Commissioner will remove from all rosters free agent players that were not under contract and players whose contracts have expired. It’s necessary for the Commissioner to process these players because the contract fields must be cleared out before the player is released.
20.12-Any player added before an official start time of any given transaction period will be removed from the team after the official start time has passed. The player will become available for any team except the team who committed the violation.
20.13-When necessary to regard official times of transactions, the league will refer to the Transaction Report on the Fantrax site.
20.14-Fantrax adds players to the Fantrax player universe throughout the year. The player pool specific to the ACBA will be locked by the Commissioner up to 12 hours in advance of the start of the ACBA draft clock, and it will be unlocked by the Commissioner after the completion of the World Series. This ensures that all players newly added by Fantrax must first be available through the ACBA draft.
20.15-The Commissioner has sole access to league settings, including those specific to transactions (i.e. restricting the ability of some or all teams to place claims or drop players); as such, a checklist is maintained offline for specific tasks including turning off waivers and turning on claims from/drops to free agent pool for the start of a transaction period. Any systematic hiccup (i.e. ability to claim free agents not yet turned on) will result in a postponement of a transaction period kickoff by at least 15 minutes to allow all owners to have time to receive notification and prepare for the new kickoff.
SECTION 21 - TRADES
21.01-All trades will be processed immediately but will be subject to approval. If a trade is deemed unfair by the Commissioner, it may be overturned, or the Commissioner may require additional compensation from one side to balance the trade.
21.02-Any owner (including owners not involved in a trade) may request that the Commissioner review a trade for fairness. The set time for trade review and reversal or compensation will be one week. After that time the trade will be considered final.
21.03-Players, draft picks and salary cap money are all commodities that can be traded.
21.04-All trades involving draft picks or salary cap money and extending into the future will be recorded on the LEAGUE DEVELOPMENTS page of the affiliate site. Clear and precise communication from all parties is essential for accurate recording from these types of trades.
21.05-The period for trading begins on the first official day of the offseason and extends until the annual trade deadline in July.
21.06-The 2022 trade deadline is Sunday, July 24 at 12PM ET.
21.07-Players that are due to become free agents are not eligible to be traded when the trading season re-opens in the offseason.
SECTION 22 - WAIVER TRADES
22.01-Waiver trading allows teams to release a player that is under contract on the premise that another team will claim the player through the waivers process.
22.02-Teams opting to use the waiver trade process must notify the Commissioner of players they are releasing for 3 reasons:
-For owners to understand that while the player looks like a free agent, they are under contract
-For the team who releases the player to avoid a penalty (Section 13 ILLEGAL ROSTERS & POSITIONS)
-To ensure the Commissioner reinstates the player to the original team if the player is not acquired during the waiver trade period.
The original contract of the player will remain intact if he is reinstated to his old team.
22.03-The waiver trade period is for 7 days, beginning at the trade deadline in July.
22.04-Teams acquiring players in a waiver trade will have to forfeit a draft pick based on the player’s current season salary, as compensation in the trade.
22.05-Teams acquiring a player in a waiver trade will get a prorated contract based on the service time of the 2 teams. Former team will pay 80%, acquiring team will pay 20% for the current season and will be reflected on the payrolls for salary tax purposes.
22.06-Teams acquiring a player in a waiver trade must assume the existing contract of the player. They may however extend or restructure the contract just as in a normal trade.
22.07-Compensation for players received in a waiver trade will be as follows, based on the player’s current salary amount:
$1-$5, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 8th – 11th rounds
$6-$10, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 7th – 10th rounds
$11-$15, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 6th – 9th rounds
$16-$20, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 5th – 8th rounds
$21-$25, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 4th – 7th rounds
over $25, acquiring team must compensate with a draft pick between 3rd – 6th rounds
22.08-Compensation of draft picks will be the highest available in the range of rounds that is being drawn from.
22.09-Teams acquiring a player from a waiver trade that does not have the available compensation will have to compensate with a future draft pick in the same range of rounds.
SECTION 23 - POSTSEASON TRANSACTIONS
23.01-During the postseason, owners from active playoff teams may acquire up to 3 players before each round begins. Those teams may drop the necessary number of players to ensure the roster is within legal limits.
23.02-Owners carrying less than the maximum number of players allowed will not be able to claim additional players to fill the roster.
23.03-Following the final day of the regular season, the eight playoff teams have until 7PM ET on the next calendar day (i.e. 7PM ET Monday after FA market closes after first pitch of Sunday Night Baseball) to place waiver claims for the first round of the playoffs. The Commissioner will then process waiver claims in an on-demand batch. The free agent market will then re-open at 8PM ET for playoff teams only (i.e. 8PM ET Monday after 7PM ET waiver claim deadline). Exceptions will be made, and all playoff teams notified of those exceptions, if the playoffs begin the day after the regular season ends – though the Commissioner will make every attempt to avoid scheduling the playoffs in this manner. Teams will have 24 hours to complete their postseason transactions. Teams may be allowed to claim players even as the playoffs are underway, based on the time frame designated by the Commissioner in each situation. Players claimed after games begin will not be allowed to play on that day if his game is underway.
23.04-Any transaction completed before the designated time will be overturned. The team committing that violation will also lose the ability to claim that player until the next round; will forfeit 1 transaction allowance for each player added early (as that transaction will count against them even though it will be reversed); and the team will forfeit transaction permissions for 1 hour.
23.05-Each team will be allowed to make 1 starting pitching move following Game 5 of any series in any round. This provides some additional flexibility as September pitching projections routinely fluctuate. The transaction time for this move will begin at noon ET on the day following Game 5.
23.06-For the Division Championship and World Series rounds, teams will have until noon ET on the day of Game 1 of their own postseason series to complete transactions for their rosters. No additional time will be granted and any transaction completed after the deadline will be overturned.
23.07-Teams that advance to the next round in fewer games than other teams will have the advantage of making their transactions ahead of time. The advancing team may begin making transactions as soon as all active series have completed at least as many games as the advancing team.
23.08-Teams may add 1 player to their roster at any time during the playoffs for each player that is placed on MLB’s injured list. The team must notify the Commissioner of their injured player and the date he was placed on the IL. It will be up to the team to release a non-contract player if they do not have the room to add a new player without a drop or they will have to endure the injury.
23.09-The rosters of any team not making the postseason will be frozen once the free agents market closes. No transactions may be made by those teams until after the World Series is complete and the offseason begins.
23.10-Teams eliminated in the postseason will go into a roster freeze and will not be able to make any additional transactions. All teams eliminated are deemed inactive and would have no reason to make any transactions without benefitting or obstructing other teams.
23.11-Players on inactive teams are not eligible for use among remaining active teams. Transactions that may occur by inactive teams will be overturned. Postseason teams that acquire ineligible players will lose those players and will forfeit those transactions for the current round.
23.12-Players that have been released during the postseason do not have to sit out a round but will have to clear 2-day waivers before being claimed.
SECTION 24 - SEASON AWARDS
24.01-At the end of each season, six players are honored with regular season awards:
Connie Mack Award for the most deserving manager of the ACBA
Ty Cobb Award for the most valuable player in the league
Cy Young Award for the best pitcher
Alan Trammell Award for the surprise impact player or difference maker
Rollie Fingers Award for the best closer
Rod Carew Award for the best rookie
24.02-The annual regular season awards are open to all owners for voting.
24.03-Owners choosing to vote must submit a ranked list of 3 names for each category. The ranked list shall be 1 through 3, with 1 being the highest rated.
24.04-Points are awarded for each name submitted:
3 points are awarded to the first-ranked spot
2 points to the second-ranked spot
1 point to the third-ranked spot
24.05-Owners choosing to submit less than 3 players per category will not be given the full 3 points for the best player submitted. If an owner submits one name, the player shall receive 1 point. If an owner submits two names, the players shall receive 2 points and 1 point, respectively.
24.06-The time frame for voting will be predetermined and noted on the league calendar.
SECTION 25 - HALL OF FAME
25.01-The ACBA Hall of Fame recognizes owners based on a lifetime of achievement and successes, though the accomplishments of those enshrined may vary.
25.02-Owners must have a minimum 8 years of service in the ACBA to be considered for enshrinement. The Class of 2015 is grandfathered, prior to a rules guideline.
25.03-The Commissioner will nominate prospective inductees. The nominees, if there are any, will be announced after the World Series.
25.04-Owners do not have to be retired from the ACBA to receive a nomination, but their achievements must reflect that of superiority to league averages.
25.05-Voting period is for 1 month, beginning after the World Series. Voters should take this time to deeply consider whether the owner is worthy of the highest honor. Voters must notify the Commissioner of their decision. Failure to notify the Commissioner is considered a “No” vote.
25.06-Nominees must receive 80% of the eligible votes to be inducted. Abstentions count against the candidate.
25.07-Owners must have completed 3 seasons in the ACBA to be eligible to vote for Hall of Fame nominees. Owners must have joined the league on or before May 31 in their first season for that year to count.
25.08-Nominees are not eligible to vote for themselves. They may vote if there are other current nominees.
25.09-Once an owner has been nominated, his ballot limit shall be 5 total consecutive years. If after 5 years on the ballot he does not receive enough votes to get into the Hall of Fame, he will be removed from future ballots.
25.10-If at any time during the 5 years a nominee fails to reach at least 20% of the vote, his name will be removed from the ballot and the 5 year term will come to an end.
25.11-Active owners who have been nominated and subsequently removed from the ballot, may still be eligible for a second nomination in the future after further accumulating achievements, provided the Commissioner deems them worthy for another nomination. Retired owners will not be eligible for a second nomination once they are removed from the ballot.
25.12-Hall of Fame inductees are announced annually on January 1.