OFFICIAL CONSTITUTION OF THE ROCKET LEAGUE (2021)
I. OBJECT
To
assemble a lineup of 25 American League baseball players whose cumulative
statistics, compiled and measured by the methods described in these rules,
exceed those of all other teams in the League.
II. ROSTER
A) DURING THE SEASON
1)
Each team maintains an Active Roster of 25 players consisting of: 5
outfielders, 1 catcher, 1 second baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 middle infielder
(either second baseman or shortstop), 1 first baseman, 1 third baseman, 1
corner infielder (either first baseman or third baseman), 1 designated hitter,
1 swing player (qualify at any batting position for the auction, and any
batting or pitching position during the season), and 11 pitchers.
2)
Each team may also maintain a Reserve Roster of up to 8 players.
B) DURING THE OFF-SEASON.
1)
At approximately January of the upcoming year, players that are ineligible for
retention are eliminated from the rosters, and positional eligibility for the
new season is determined.
2)
Approximately two weeks before the Auction, rosters are pared to eight players.
3) Approximately one week before the
Auction, Owners establish their Final Retention Roster for the upcoming season,
with a maximum of three players plus a fourth optional Franchise Player.
Retained players will have their salaries adjusted as follows: Franchise
Players +$3; Players acquired at the previous year’s auction +$6; Players
eligible for retention acquired during the previous year but not at the auction
+$9. Franchise Players must have a salary of at least $20. All retained players
must have available roster positions.
4)
On Auction Day, owners then acquire sufficient players to fill out their Active
Roster and optionally, their Reserve Roster.
5) If the League expands, retention
rosters may be voided and all players thrown back.
III. PLAYER ACQUISITION
A) DRAFT DAY AUCTION
1)
The player draft in the form of an open auction is conducted at a date to be
agreed upon by the various owners. If possible, the auction should occur on the
weekend immediately prior to the opening of the MLB season.
2)
Each team must acquire 25 qualifying players at a total cost not to exceed
$260.
3)
A team need not spend the maximum.
4)
Before any bidding starts, each owner must declare changes to their retention
roster (as described under Retention Rights, below), if any.
5)
Before the Live Auction starts, there will be a Silent Auction for players with
Topper’s Rights. See the Retention section for amplification.
6)
Nominating order shall be according to the inverse order of the previous year's
standings, or by team order, according to the wishes of the owners.
7)
The team bidding first opens with a minimum salary bid of at least $1 for any
eligible player, and the bidding proceeds at minimum
increments of $1 until only one bidder is left. Bidding order is irrelevant.
a) No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford.
For example, a team with $3 left and two openings on its roster is limited to a
maximum bid of $2 for one player.
b) No team may bid for a player who is eligible only at
a position or positions already filled on their roster.
c) For the 25-man player auction only, any player in the
American League or any player in a minor league affiliate of an American League
(whether or not they have played at the major league level), is eligible
to be nominated for bidding. No free agents, players from the National League
or their affiliates, or other international leagues are eligible.
d)
A fine may be levied against any owner caught making illegal bids.
8) The final bid price of the player becomes his salary.
See section on Free Agents for amplification.
9)
Once acquired, the owner announces the roster position that the player will
fill. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the
course of the auction.
10)
The process is repeated, with successive team owners introducing players for
bidding, until every team has acquired a squad of 25 players by requisite
position.
11)
Players who are acquired in the auction may be reserved for the first week. A
player from the Reserve Roster must take his place. Rosters for the first week
must be declared before leaving the Auction, unless determined otherwise at the
Auction.
B) DRAFT DAY – RESERVE PHASE, FAAB
1)
The reserve phase of the auction shall take place after the Player Auction has
concluded.
2)
Each team is awarded $100 of money for their free agent acquisition budget, or
FAAB. All unused money from the Player Auction is added to each team’s FAAB.
3)
The reserve phase consists of a 1-round auction and a 3-round draft of the
remaining eligible players. Players who have not appeared in a MLB game are NOT
eligible for nomination in the reserve phase.
Salaries are set at $F5, $F3, and $F1 for the draft rounds.
4)
Player auction bidding rules apply. The
team with the most money available nominates first, and follows in order, with
ties broken by lottery draw.
5) Owners are not required to bid on any
reserves and may pass in the draft rounds.
6) Each
team may carry a maximum of eight reserves.
C) FREE AGENTS, FAAB
1)
During the season, free agents are acquired by process of a weekly auction
using FAAB funds.
2)
Each team desiring free agents must submit their bid list to the Software Bid
Manager by 10:00pm on Saturday evening. Bidding is done in Blocks. Conditional bids are allowed within bidding
blocks.
3) Owners may only submit one dollar value per player on
their bids.
4) The Software Bid Manager will not allow bids within the
total number of blocks to exceed the amount of FAAB dollars available.
5)
Only in emergencies should bids be sent by email to the Commissioner, with the
subject “FAAB”. The Commissioner will
not open any emails with this subject until after he makes his bid.
7)
Only players who have appeared in a Major League game are eligible to be bid
upon, with one exception. Players who have been called up to the major league team (as posted on the ESPN transactions list by Friday or earlier)
but have not yet seen action in a game may be bid upon.
8)
Once the weekly deadline passes, the Bid Manager assigns players. Ties are
awarded to the team lower in the standings on the day prior to the bid.
9)
Should an owner reacquire a player he had previously waived, there is no
penalty, but the salary shall revert to the original if acquired at a lower
cost.
10)
Teams have until the Monday transaction deadline to waive/trade sufficient
players to maintain the maximum of eight reserves and legally fill all active
positions.
11) Teams may receive a credit to their FAAB account by
waiving players acquired at the Player Auction prior to the All-Star Break.
(Not players acquired via FAAB). The amount credited will be a percentage of
salary according to when the player is released. Players released in April will receive 75%
credit; those released in May will receive 50% credit; those released in June
will receive 25% credit; those released in July prior to the All Star Break
will receive 10% credit. If a player is
waived during or after the All-Star Break, no credit is given. Values are
rounded to the nearest dollar. Values are credited at the start of the next
reporting period. Therefore, if a player is waived mid-week, the credit is not
applied until after the next transaction deadline, typically Monday. The
implication of this is that you cannot waive a player immediately before an
FAAB auction to generate more funds for that auction.
12) FAAB bids of $0 are acceptable; however, if successful,
all other teams receive a $1 credit to their FAAB accounts.
D) TRADES
1)
From the completion of the Player Auction until the Transaction Deadline
immediately following the All-Star Break, Rocket League teams are free to make
trades of any kind, except for future considerations. (Unrestricted Trade
Rules)
2)
From the Monday after the All Star Break Deadline until the transaction
deadline four weeks from the end of the season (typically around Sept 1),
trades may take place only between teams that are three positions up or three
positions down in the standings, or within 5 points. (Restricted Trade Rules)
3)
For the final four weeks of the season, no trades may take place.
4)
A player who has been traded from Team A to Team B once the season has started
may not be traded from Team B to Team A during the course of the season. The
player must go to a third team before returning to Team A. Once the season is
over, this rule becomes void.
5)
After the season ends until Final Retention Rosters are set, Unrestricted Trade
Rules apply.
6) After the Final Retentions are publicized, no trades may
take place before the Auction.
7) The trading of FAAB dollars is allowed, and players may be sold for
FAAB dollars.
8) Trades are effective at the
start of the next reporting period. Therefore, a trade completed mid-week does
not go into effect until the next transaction deadline, typically Monday. This
would be applicable for all components of the trade, including FAAB dollars.
The implication of this is that players acquiring FAAB dollars in a trade
cannot use these dollars until the next reporting period.
IV.
ROSTER MAINTENANCE
A) POSITION ELIGIBILITY
1)
A player qualifies for any position at which he appeared in 20 games or more in
the preceding season.
2)
If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position, he is eligible
only at the position(s) at which he appeared most frequently.
3)
Once the season is under way, a player becomes eligible for any position at
which he appears at least twice.
4)
Minor League players with no major league experience may be bid upon only at
the auction, or through FAAB if on a major league roster, as specified above.
These players are eligible only at UT(Swing) until they establish
in-season eligibility of two games at other positions.
B) PLAYER SALARIES
1)
The salary of a player acquired at the auction is his auction price, with an A designation.
2)
The salary of a player acquired via FAAB is his bid price, with an F designation.
3)
The salary of a player previously waived that is reacquired by the same team
via FAAB is the higher of the two salaries. See amplification in Retention
Rights.
4)
Retained players acquired in the previous year's auction, with an A designation, have their salaries increased by $6.
5)
Retained players acquired via FAAB during the previous season, with an F designation, have their salaries increased by $9.
6)
Retained players with salaries of at least $20 are eligible to be declared as Franchise Players, with salary increased by $3. There is a maximum of one FP per team, and no player can be a Franchise Player in successive years, regardless of the team he is on.
C) ROSTER TRANSACTIONS
1)
Statistics are kept from Monday through Sunday. Each owner may make roster
changes for the week to follow and must input them into the OnRoto
transaction manager.
2)
During the season, each team must maintain a 25-man Active Roster with
qualifying players.
3)
The maximum salary of an Active Roster is $260 during the Auction, $310 once
the season starts. The maximum salary of each team’s actives and reserves
cannot exceed $360.
4)
Each team may also maintain at their discretion, a Reserve Roster of up to 8
players.
5)
Each week, owners may make trades, waive Active players, reserve Active
players, activate Reserve players, drop Reserve players, bid on and reserve
Free Agents, or bid on and activate Free Agents.
6)
If an owner picks up one or more Free Agents, sufficient players must be waived
or dropped in order to meet roster requirements by the Transaction Deadline.
7)
If an owner receives extra players from a trade that is unbalanced (2 for 1, 3
for 2, etc), then he must reserve/waive players to
meet the roster limitations. If an owner trades extra players, then he has the
option to bid on and pick up extra Free Agents to fill open roster positions.
8)
If an Active player becomes disabled or sent to the minors, an owner is under
no obligation to remove him from his Active roster.
9)
Should a player get traded to the NL, his statistics will continue to count (if
active). He can be activated, reserved, or traded. If, however, that player is
waived, he is no longer eligible for pickup via FAAB.
10) When trades are made, title to the players/FAAB$ does
not change hands until the next reporting period.
D) RETENTION RIGHTS
1)
A player must have been on the retaining team's Active Roster 4 weeks during
the season to qualify for retention.
2)
All players currently in the AL who were in the NL or a minor league affiliate
of a NL team at the time of the previous Auction are eligible for retention,
assuming they meet the 4-week qualification.
3) To be eligible for retention or topper rights, a player
must be in the AL at the time retention rosters are declared.
4)
There is a maximum of four players a team can retain, including the Franchise
Player. If a team does not have a Franchise Player, then three is the maximum.
Each team must adhere to salary and position requirements.
5)
Retained players reestablish position eligibility each year, just as other
players do. They do not carry over position eligibility from years gone by.
6)
Each owner is allowed to make one "Attitude Adjustment Waiver",
resulting from a player’s poor performance, injury, or attitude as reflected in
their spring play. This must be declared prior to the start of the Auction.
7)
Once declared for the season, there are no substitutes for Franchise Players.
If traded, there is no substitute for a Franchise Player.
8)
A player is ineligible to be declared a Franchise Player two years in a row,
regardless if it is for the same or different teams.
9)
Teams have the right to declare one player with Topper Rights. That player will
come from those on the roster of eight established two weeks prior to the season that were not retained. Before the Live Auction,
there will be a Silent Auction of players with Topper Rights. Each team owner
writes down the name of the player, and one by one, those names are drawn from
a hat. Owners make a written bid (or “no bid”) on each player. The original
owner of the player being nominated then has the right to match the top bid and
retain the player, or let the bid stand, with the winning bidder receiving the
player.
10)
If the original owner declines to match the top bid and two or more teams have
tied with their silent bid, additional silent bids are held between the tied
teams until one team wins, with the minimum bid being the dollar amount
established in the initial silent auction.
11) If a player acquired at the auction, waived for FAAB
credit, but then reacquired through a subsequent FAAB auction is retained, his
retention salary is based on the higher of either the original auction price or
reacquisition price, assuming he is otherwise eligible for retention.
V.
STANDINGS
A. TEAM PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
1).
The following batting statistics are used to determine
team performance:
Composite
On Base Average
Total
Home Runs
Total
Runs Batted In
Total
Stolen Bases
2).
The following pitching statistics are used to
determine team performance:
Total
Wins
Net Relief, consisting of Holds + Saves – Blown Saves.
Composite
Earned Run Average
Composite
Ratio of (Walks plus Hits Allowed) to Innings Pitched
3).
The batting statistics of pitchers, if any, are not
considered. Likewise, the pitching statistics of batters, if any, are not
considered. For players such as Ohtani, who are
expected to both pitch and hit regularly, when active, managers must declare
whether the player is active either as a pitcher or batter in any given week,
not both.
4)
Within each of the eight categories, teams are ranked according to performance.
5)
Teams earn points according to their rankings in each category. In a ten team
league, the first place team in each category would earn 10 points, second
would earn 9, etc.
6)
In case of ties in an individual category, the tied teams are assigned points
by totaling points for the rankings at issue and dividing the total by the
number of teams tied.
7)
The team that earns the most points at the end of the season is declared the
winner.
8)
In case of a tie in total points at the end of the season, final placement in
the standings is 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 acquire more points than the
other, that team is declared the winner. If the points are still equal, the tie
stands.
9)
At the conclusion of the season, each team must have at least 1,000 innings
pitched in order to receive any points for ERA or Ratio. If a team fails to
pitch 1,000 innings, they receive no points in those categories. To determine points for other teams, the
offending team will be credited with sufficient innings to make up the
difference using an ERA of 9.00 and a ratio of 1.75. The standings for ERA and
Whip will be then recomputed to determine points awarded.
B. STATISTIC UPDATES
1)
The Rocket League will contract with a stat service or individual to compute
the standings on a weekly basis, with fees prorated among teams.
2)
The transaction date of any trade or roster move will be the Monday immediately
after the deadline for reporting the transactions to the Commissioner.
3)
Only the stats of players on Active Rosters shall be calculated.
VI.
FEES AND PRIZES
A. FEES
1)
All money is collected by the Treasurer and subsequently distributed to the top
teams as shown below under Prizes.
2)
No betting is allowed on the outcome of any game.
3)
The following fees are charged and are due on Auction Day:
a)
Franchise Fee: $100.00 - cost for acquisition of 25-man Active Roster, all
player movement throughout the season, and $100 FAAB money for use in picking
up free agents.
b)
Stat/Trophy fee: $50.00, subject to annual review.
c)
Attitude Adjustment Waiver - $5.00
d)
Penalty Fees for Auction bidding errors - $1.00
e)
Transaction fees: none
B. PRIZES
1)
An amount not to exceed 5% of the fees may be allocated for miscellaneous
expenses.
2)
After determining the amount of the miscellaneous expenses and/or trophies, the
Treasurer shall distribute prizes as follows (based on ten teams):
a)
First Place - $450
b)
Second Place - $250
c)
Third Place - $150
d)
Fourth Place - $50
e)
Team that improves the most after the All-Star Break outside of the money - $50
f) Winner of the Head-To-Head Contest - $50.
VII - COLLUSION
No
person shall exercise any ownership authority or financial responsibility for
more than one team. No two or more teams are allowed by combined effort of
individual owners to control outcome of standings, player transactions, or
other league matters. Collusion is a serious charge and should not be
considered lightly. Penalties for collusion may include loss of player rights,
incurred nominal fees, and/or expulsion.
VIII - EXPANSION, CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP
A. EXPANSION
1)
The Rocket League may, upon approval of 75% of the existing owners, allow
additional franchises.
2)
If expansion occurs, Retention Rosters may be declared void for that season and
all players may be obtained at the Auction.
B. CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP
1)
If an owner decides to leave the Rocket League and a replacement owner is found, the new owner shall have the option to assume the retiring
owner's roster or to draft a whole new roster.
2)
If he elects to assume the retiring owner's roster, then retention salary
escalator will be the same as the other owners.
3)
If he elects to draft a whole new team, he may be considered an expansion owner
and the League may consider voiding Retention Rosters, holding an expansion
draft of retention-eligible players, or implementing a negotiated solution.