How to Play Fantasy Baseball

Simplified Ground Rules

1. Each team in the Fantasy League consists of 23 major league players. The recommended fantasy league size is 10 to 12 teams (although any number from 4 to 24 will work). Many leagues choose to use only American or National League players so there are a limited number of quality players at each position.
2. Fantasy rosters consist of nine pitchers, five outfielders, two catchers, one first baseman, one second baseman, one shortstop, one third baseman, one middle infielder (either 2B or SS), one corner man (either 1B or 3B), and one miscellaneous player. In AL-based leagues that 23rd miscellaneous player is a designated hitter; in NL leagues, he's a utility man (either a pitcher or an every day player).
3. A player is eligible to play at any and all positions at which he appeared in at least 20 major-league games the previous year (or 10 games, or whatever number you choose). If he did not appear in 20 games at any position, he is eligible at the position he played at most often. Once the season starts, players are also eligible at any other position they appear at (obviously many players will be eligible at multiple positions). To avoid arguments, each team shall be supplied with a list of players and what positions they are eligible at on draft day.
4. Placing players onto fantasy rosters.
   Auction method. Each franchise starts with $260 (or 260 yen, marks, widgets, units or whatever), and owners take turns opening the bidding on players. Bidding proceeds (with minimum increases of $1) until only one bidder is left. If you use the auction method, you can either force teams to stay under the $260 salary cap during the season, or you can throw out the purchase prices after players are selected.
   Draft method. A draft order is randomly determined and owners take turns selecting players until each team has 23 players. In most leagues, the draft order is reversed for the even-numbered rounds.
   Note: Before any player is placed on a team, decide if your league will allow teams to keep players over seasons. Some leagues like to wipe the slate clean each year, while others favor protecting seven to 15 guys. If you do allow players to be protected, consider requiring players' salaries to increase by $5 each year after two years of service.
5. Scoring.
   Cumulative (rotisserie) system. Scores are based on the following four offensive and four pitching categories:
   
   • Batting average (not including pitchers).
   • Home runs.
   • Runs batted in.
   • Stolen bases.
   • Earned run average.
   • Wins.
   • Saves.
   • WHIP (Walks + Hits / total Innings Pitched)
   In cumulative (or rotisserie-style) leagues, each team finishes at the end of the year somewhere between 1st and last in each of the eight categories. In a 12 team league, the winner of each category gets 12 points, the runner-up 11 points, and so one. The fantasy league champion is the team that finishes with the most points at the end of the year.
   Head-to-head system. Scores are based on the same eight categories listed above, but teams each week play a game against another franchise. Teams get one run for each category they win, with tied categories thrown out (or give two runs for wins and one run for ties). If you don't want to let tied games stand, have the teams advance to extra-innings categories. Here's one tie breaker system:
   
   1. Strikeouts.
   2. Doubles.
   3. Runs.
   4. Triples.
   5. Home team wins.
6. At the end of the regular season, the top teams advance to the postseason to determine the league champion. If you go with a head-to-head format, be sure to include a tie breaking system in your rule book. In most scheduling formats, there is an extra week or two at the tail end of the season, so we recommend a one-game playoff between the tied teams. Other common tie breakers are most cumulative runs scored and head-to-head records between the two teams.
7. Teams, for a nominal fee, are allowed to sign players from the free agent pool of unowned talent. When signing free agents, rosters must continue to be stocked with no less and nor more than the required number of players at each position. In a salary cap league, owners generally submit sealed bids for players by a given deadline each week, with teams required to stay under the $260 cap.
8. Trading is permissible until midnight July 31 (maybe August 31 if teams are allowed to keep players in the off-season). After every trade, both teams must have the correct number of players at each position. In a salary cap league, both teams must stay under the $260 mark, although one team could agree to eat a portion of a player's salary.
9. Players placed on the disabled list, sent to the minors or out of major league baseball may be placed on the reserve list. If a player is on the reserve list, half of his salary counts against the salary cap, but he does not take up one of the 23 roster spots. Most fantasy leagues also include players traded to the other major league in this group; the other option is to allow players traded across leagues to continue to play.
10. The league shall play a few bucks for a professional stat service. This actually should be rule No. 1, but we didn't want to look like we were kissing up to our advertisers. Tabulating how 276 players did in eight categories each week for half a year yourself is completely unrealistic, especially considering work pressures and summer vacations. Employing a stat service allows the team owners to concentrate on managing and improving their teams.

Oh yeah, the money stuff. Each team shall pay an entry fee of $______ to enter, plus $______ for each trade and $______ for each free-agent signing. All of the loot, plus the gleamng trophy, goes to the champion's home.