This USBA is a free league to participate in.

Franchises are completely fictional, some nicknames and team cities may match, but in no way are they meant to reflect any professional or existing team(s). All player names used in the league are completely fictional.

You are only allowed to control one team in the USBA. Anyone caught violating this rule will be expelled and banned from the USBA for life.

The league is a modern day league, beginning in 1985 so that financials, stadiums, revenues, etc...match up between the game and the time frame. We also wanted to prevent our league date from running too far into the future and give it more of a 'here and now' feel to the league.

Simulation Schedule
We simulate one week of USBA play per each sim day. We run sims three days a week on Monday (10pm ET), Wednesday (10pm), and Friday (10pm) playing out a 162 game schedule, plus two rounds of playoffs, and then the USBA Championship.

Finances
Finances will be used and the league utilizes a salary cap to maintain competition between the individual franchises and throughout the league.

By utilizing a salary cap, not only will teams remain as close to parity as possible, but it will enable a team who's owner may have 'run it into the ground' to be replaced easier and rebuild the team.

The salary cap was set at $88 million per team for the 1988 season and beyond. Teams must be below the cap before starting the season and may not go over at any point during the season. Violating the salary cap will result in a $1 million fine from the team's "cash" and will be given a warning from the Commissioner's office. If the team is out of cash, the fine will be the loss of the violating team's second round amateur draft pick. A second offense in the same season will result in a $2 million fine and the loss of the team's first round draft choice. Further violations of this rule could result in expulsion. This is a harsh penalty and should in itself prevent such occurrences.

It is required that each owner be responsible for making financial decisions. All teams are responsible for making a profit. If your team fails to make a profit for two seasons you could be removed from the league.

Additional League Setup
The USBA does not use scouts and coaches because of the numerous cheats and work arounds caused by using scouts in an online league.

Each GM is required to choose a city, mascot/nickname, and initial stadium proposal. Owners may also submit a logo or have one created for them. They must also include the name of their manager (You may hire any MLB player who has retired from the game before the league's current date, use an existing/past MLB manager, or simply create your own fictional manager's name.) You should not name yourself as manager as you are the Owner/GM of the team. Naming managers have no effect on the game, but is a nice touch to use when writing articles/press releases about your team for the league.

The USBA will not use the Designated Hitter in either of the two leagues. Player fatigue is enabled, minor leagues will be simulated, and the league will use the REDUCED RATING SYSTEM.

League Operation
During the season import/exports (lineup, rotation changes), free agent bids, trades, and contract extensions are due at 11:00pm (ET) the day of the scheduled sim. Anything submitted past 11:00pm ET will be processed in the following sim.

It is extremely important that Owners/GMs to check in with the commissioners on a regular basis. Failure to submit lineups, make roster moves, and/or respond to emails from the league office is cause for dismissal. We ask that you maintain your team at least once per week and participate in trade negotiations frequently. During the offseason owners must actively participate in each round (Free Agent signings, Amateur Draft, and Spring Training).

Failure to be active in the league will result in dismissal. The USBA has a "3 Strikes and Your Out" policy before replacing owners. Strikes are incurred if you fail to meet any of the above requirements or participate in a practice deemed detrimental to the league. Those practices are at the sole discretion of the commissioners.

Owners may have strikes erased by being active in the league for 2 straight weeks or at the commissioner's discretion.

Owners also must not bench players in an effort to lose games or 'tank' in order to get a better draft pick.

Owners are encouraged to use AOL IM, but owners may also use other instant messaging programs or email as a means to contact other owners.

Amateur Draft
At the beginning of each season the Amateur Draft (or "First Year Player Draft") will take place. The Amateur Draft is a rookie draft consisting of five rounds in the USBA. Rounds one and two are conducted on the USBA Forum. The Commissioner reserves the right to utilize a computer pick if a team takes more than 24 hours from the time of the last selection. Teams are encouraged to submit lists to the Commissioner if they feel they will not be present to make their pick before their 24 hour time limit expires. Round 3 will be conducted by submitting a draft list to the commissioner. The final two rounds (4 & 5) will be autopicked by the computer.

The league may schedule a "live" Amateur draft. Attendance is optional; those who do not attend must submit lists by email to the Commissioner

Players chosen in the Amateur Draft may be renamed by the owners prior to the start of a season by placing name changes in the designated folder in the league forum.

Trading of draft picks is not allowed. This gives each team something to look forward to during the off-season.

Trading
The trading of draft picks is allowed. You may only trade picks that you have in the current and following seasons. The picks traded must be documented by both owners in the "Traded Draft Picks" forum under Transactions. Cash may also exchange hands as part of the deal. The July non-waiver trade deadline is also enforced as OOTP8 also mandates this rule.

Trades are to be posted by both teams in the Trade Forum without any editing of the post. Both owners must verify the trade in the forum before it will be processed. All trades are subject to the Commissioners' approval. Any questionable trade practices should be brought to the attention of the commissioners and a decision will be made. Each of the owners involved will be able to present their side of the case to the commissioner(s) before a decision will be reached on any questionable trades.

If BOTH teams give precise and clear instructions on lineup changes and roster movements, a trade can be processed prior to the next scheduled sim. However, if both teams do not provide such instructions, the trade will be processed after the sim. Instructions can be placed in the Trade Forum or in a separate email to the Commissioner.

Free Agency
During the regular season, if you wish to sign a free agent, you must post the proposal on the Free Agent forum. A player that is willing to sign a minor league contract will sign with the team on a first come, first served basis. However, teams are limited to one minor league contract offered per 24 hour time period.

All other players will be awarded to the highest bidding team until the cutoff point of 10pm ET (one hour before the next sim). Each bid must be made in $50,000 increments. The highest bidding team at the 10pm deadline based on total contract dollars (Years x Money) will receive the player. Currently during the regular season, free agents will only accept 1 year deals.

During the offseason, each team will utilize the FTP export bidding process to acquire free agents. The player will decide on the winning contract. There are no restrictions on contracts offered to players. There will be five"signing periods" during free agency. Free agency is broken up as following: Days 1-4, 5-10, 11-15, 16-20, and days 21-30

Player Positions
Position Players in the USBA are restricted to being listed in lineup and depth charts only at positions in which they have ratings with the following exceptions:
1B or 3B may play either position.
2B or SS may play any infield position.
RF, LF, CF may play any outfield position.

Relief pitchers must be listed as Closers at the end of each season if they have 15 or more saves. Pitchers must be listed as Starting Pitchers at the end of the season if they started 15 or more games that season.
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Team Stadiums
All teams started with a 45,000 seat stadium designed by the original 20 owners of the league. Each owner submited a stadium proposal to the Commissioner's Office for review. The proposal included the Stadium Name, Wall Heights, Dimensions, and choice of field type (grass = fan loyalty increase of one level; Astroturf = team market increase of one level).

Stadium Modifications/Additions:
Modifications and Additions to stadiums may be made prior to Offseason Free Agent Signings. Costs and bonuses are indicated below:

Seats
Stadium Current Capacity of 45,000 to 50,000
$1,000,000 per 1,000 seats

Stadium Current Capacity of 51,000 to 60,000
$3,000,000 per 1,000 seats

Stadium Current Capacity of 61,000 to 70,000
$5,000,000 per 1,000 seats

Currently Stadiums are limited to 70,000 seats

Dome/Permanent Roof
$40,000,000 (+1 Team Market Level, +10 Fan Interest)

Retractable Roof
$50,000,000 (+1 Fan Loyalty Level, +20 Fan Interest)

Field Type Change (After Original Construction)
to Grass $5,000,000 (+2 Fan Interest)
to Turf $5,000,000 (+2 Fan Interest)

Fence Modifications (After Original Construction)
Ballpark factor moves closer to 100: $100,000 per point
Ballpark factor moves farther from 100: $250,000 per point
Fence Heights: $10,000 per wall.

New Stadium Construction
Teams will be responsible for paying a fee of $75,000,000 in order to build a new stadium + the cost listed above for the addition of a roof.

The bill can be spread out over X seasons (negotiable between the commish and the owner), however the team cannot move into the stadium until the debt is paid off. Teams must wait 1 additional season to move into their new stadium once it has been paid for.

The $75 Million buys the team a new 'default' stadium with 45,000 seats, stadium name, fence dimensions & heights, and choice of field (grass/Astroturf).

Teams building new stadiums receive a bonus of +25 fan interestand a choice of either a +1 level fan loyalty or +1 level team market in addition to any modification bonuses listed above. Teams may not build a new stadium within 15 years of constructing a new one.

Relocation
Teams may petition the league to relocate in order to revamp their franchise. A detailed write-up of their plan should be submitted to the commissioner's office including the new city, mascot, and new stadium construction proposal. The Commissioner's office will rule on the proposal and present it to the league if it passes inspection. Teams must then receive a 2/3rds majority to move the team.

Upon relocation their team financials are set back to the league default of:
Team Market= Average
Fan Loyalty = Good
Fan Interest = 65

Ticket Prices
Ticket prices can range from $1 to $20 dollars. Prices may only change prior to opening day and may not change again during the regular season. Ticket prices may change prior to any playoff series, but remain at the new price for the duration of that series. All teams will begin with a ticket price of $10. To change your ticket price, you simply need to email the commissioner that you are doing so and then make the change prior to submitting your team's lineup.

All-Star Game
The USBA All-Star Game will be hosted by a different USBA team each season and will rotate among all of the USBA team cities until each team has hosted the event one time.

The order in which teams will host the All-Star game will be the reverse first round of the initial draft. The team picking last will hold the All-Star Game the first season, followed by the team choosing next to last the following year.

After the first 20 (or more depending on expansion) the order will be randomly chosen for the next X number of years. Any expansion teams brought into the league will move to the 'end of the line' in the order of hosting the event.

Teams hosting the All-Star Game will receive an additional $1,250,000 in in Merchandising Revenue, and will have the ticket sales generated from the All-Star Game added to their team's financials ($10 x Attendance).