Team Information

Standings and Statistics

Trades and Transactions

Career Batting Leaders

Career Pitching Leaders

Block Settings

NWSBL Archives

Home Page

• The Northwest Strat-O-Matic Baseball League (NWSBL) is made up of two leagues, the American and the National. Each league will consist of six teams.
• The NWSBL will play a 162 game season, including interleague play. All games will be played on a central computer using HAL to manage both teams.
• Throughout the season there will be a total of 25 weeks. The schedule will be generated through the schedule generator, provided by the game.
• Each manager will supply the commissioner with playing instructions that include lineups, situation players, and tendencies (managerial and player) by the deadline for the given week of games.
• If instructions for a team are not received by the weekly deadline, the previous week’s instructions will be used. If there is a problem meeting the deadline, please contact the commissioner.
• Instructions will be submitted via the NWSBL Website: http://www.members.tripod.com/NWSBL

STADIUMS

• Owners can alter their stadium dimensions +/- 2 on both singles and home runs two weeks prior to the season opener.
• Teams can be moved to a new city or a new stadium, with a two-year notice to the Commissioner.

ROSTERS

• Rosters consist of 45 players (25 active and 20 inactive/minor leagues).
• Post-Season rosters of 25 players must be submitted 48 hours prior to the first series.
• If a player played in both the AL and NL, his combined computer card will be used if possible. If not, then the manager can pick which card he wants to use.

NWSBL DRAFT

• The draft pool will consist of previously unsigned players and rookies.
• The draft order for the odd rounds will be determined by reverse winning percentage, uncorrected for overuse penalties. The draft order for the even rounds will be reverse of the odd rounds.
• The draft will take place two weeks prior to opening day of the given season.
• If a manager is unable to draft in person, he can choose to draft by phone. If that is not possible, a draft list should be supplied to the commissioner prior to the draft.

BUDGET

• Each team’s budget for the 2001 season will be $45,000,000 plus the following bonuses:
            League Playoff Winner        $400,000
            League Champion               $600,000
            NWSBL Champion             $1,000,000
            Budget Carry-over               up to $3,000,000 (50% of previous season’s cap room)
            Team Press Releases        up to $1,500,000 ($100,000 per press release)
• Team press releases must be between 50 – 100 words, in order to receive the $100,000 bonus per press release. A team must submit at least 15 press releases to receive the full bonus.
• Injured players are exempt from the salary cap, but they do count towards a team’s 40-man roster.

DRAFT SALARY SCALE

• $ 250,000 (1yr) / $400,000 (2-3yrs) – A player drafted in rounds 1-3
• $ 200,000 (1yr) / $300,000 (2-3yrs) – A player drafted in rounds 4-6
• $ 160,000 (1yr) / $300,000 (2-3yrs) – A player drafted in rounds 7+

SHORT-TERM CONTRACTS

• Short-term contracts are guaranteed contracts for the given year.
• If the original team does not re-sign the player to a 30% raise, they become a restricted free agent.
• A short-term contract can be re-signed to a multi-year deal if the player is offered a 30% raise or $400,000 whichever is greater.
• If a player has signed two short-term contracts and is not offered a long-term contract in his third year of service, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

LONG-TERM CONTRACTS

• Long-term contracts are guaranteed contracts for the length of the signed period.
• A player signed to a long-term contract will receive a 10% raise, for each year of the contract.
• If the original team does not re-sign the player at a 30% raise, they become a restricted free agent.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENT (RFA)

• A player who becomes eligible for free agency and is not offered a raise of 30% will become a restricted free agent.
• All teams are able to submit bids to obtain the rights to the player. Bidding will start with the player’s current salary. Bidding can either increase or decrease the player’s current salary. A qualifying bid must be at least 10% higher than the previous bid.
• The original team will have one last chance to match the highest offer and length of contract, in order to retain the services of the player.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT (UFA)

• A player who is coming out of their second short-term contract and has not been offered a long-term deal, will become an unrestricted free agent.
• All teams are able to submit bids to obtain the rights to the player. Bidding will start with the player’s current salary. Bidding can either increase or decrease the player’s current salary. A qualifying bid must be at least 10% higher than the previous bid.
• The original team will not have an opportunity to match any offers.

RULE V PLAYERS

• Any player that is not drafted, will become a Rule V player.
• These players can be selected between the conclusion of the draft and the 20^th week of the season.
• If more than one team puts in a claim for a player, the player will be awarded to the team with the lower winning percentage.
• Rule V players can only be signed to a one-year contract for $200,000. The team signing a Rule V player will be responsible for a pro-rated portion of the contract.
• The pro-rated portion of a contract will be determined by taking the annual salary and dividing it by the number of weeks left in the season.

TRADING

• All trades must comply with the salary cap rules. Trades not fitting under the cap will be void.
• When a player is traded, his contract and length of contract follows him.
• An unrestricted free agent that is traded, will become a restricted free agent for their new team.
• Open trading will be from the end of the previous season until the 18^th week of the current season.
• All trades must be reported to the commissioner. Any trade can be appealed by an owner(s) if they feel the trade is not in the best interest of the league. This is basically to avoid "fire sales".
• Only draft choices for the following year can be traded.
• All players and money involved in a trade must change hands at the time of the trade.

WAIVING A PLAYER

• Each team will have one week to make a claim on a player that has been placed on waivers. If more than one team puts in a claim for a player, the player will be awarded to the team with the lower winning percentage.
• If a player is claimed, the original team can do one of three things: They can return the player to their 40-man roster; attempt to trade him; or release the player to the team making the claim.
• If the player is released, the team making the claim must add the player to their 40-man roster at his current salary and length of contract.

RELEASING A PLAYER

• The original team is responsible for the contract of a released player.
• If another team selects the player, the original team will only be responsible for a pro-rated portion of his contract, based on service time. The new team will be responsible for the remaining salary.

SIGNING A PLAYER

• Restricted and unrestricted free agent bidding period will go from January 15th until three weeks prior to the annual draft. The free agent signing period will be two weeks prior to the annual draft.
• The maximum annual contract that can be offered to a free agent is $5,500,000 and the minimum annual contract is $200,000. Contract terms are one to three years.
• Any player released from a team can be signed at anytime throughout the season. The team signing the player will be responsible for a pro-rated portion of his contract, based on service time.

PLAYER USAGE

• Injuries: This feature will not be used.
• Pitchers: 100% of their actual innings pitched.
• Non-Pitchers: 100% of their actual at-bats.
• Post-Season Eligibility: Only those players meeting the minimum AB/IP requirements will be eligible for the Post-Season. Non-Pitchers must have 100 AB or an average of under .200. Pitcher requirements are as follows: Starters - 100IP; Relievers - 30IP; or an ERA higher than 5.50.
• Post-Season Usage: During the post-season players become unlimited.
• Penalty for over-usage: For every 5 percent over the 100 percent, the offending team will have one-tenth of one percent deducted from its winning percentage. This could come into play when determining post-season teams and home field advantage.

ALL-STAR GAME

• The site for the All-Star game will be determined by the year. In even years the National League team will host the game, while in odd years the American League will host it. The actual stadium will be decided by lottery between the teams of the respected leagues.
• Players will be voted on to the All-Star team by the faithful fans of the NWSBL. Voting starts at the start of the season and will conclude one week prior to the All-Star game.
• Managing the All-Star teams will be the manager whose team has the highest winning percentage from each league two weeks prior to the game.

POST-SEASON PLAY

• The top four teams from each league will make the post-season. The four teams will be seeded in order of adjusted winning percentage.
• First round of post-season is a best of seven series (2-3-2) with the league’s top two teams receiving home field advantage. # 1 vs. # 4 and # 2 vs. # 3.
• Second round will also be a seven game series (2-3-2) for the League Championship. The team with the highest adjusted winning percentage gains the home field advantage.
• The winner of the American League Championship and the National League Championship will play a seven game series (2-3-2) for the World Series. Home field advantage will be determined by the year. In even years the American League will host, while in odd years the National League will host.
• The winner of the World Series will be crowned the champion of the NWSBL.

AWARDS

• Throughout the season there will be "Player of the Week" and "Pitcher of the Week" awards.
• An All-Star MVP and a NWSBL Championship MVP will be selected.
• At the end of the season, a representative from each league will be selected for the following awards:
  MVP, CY Young, Rookie of the Year, Rolaids Relief Pitcher and Manager of the Year.
• There will be one NWSBL trophy with the names of all past champions on it. This trophy will be passed from champion to champion.

EXPANSION

• Expansion must be approved by a majority vote. The NWSBL will only use expansion to maintain seven to eight teams in each division.
• Guidelines for expansion will be outlined and then voted on by the current owners in the NWSBL.

RULE CHANGES

• A rule may be changed during the off-season with a simple majority vote. New rule requests should be sent to the Commissioner, who has the responsibility of conducting and tabulating a vote.
• During the season a rule should not be changed unless required to greatly facilitate further play during that season. A rule change during the season requires that at least 75% agree. A one-week discussion period is mandatory during the season unless waived by unanimous vote of the managers.

COMPLAINTS

• During the course of the season it may become necessary to arbitrate or interpret a rule. In this situation, the executive committee has the responsibility of resolving the matter.
• If there is a dispute over this decision, it will be brought to a vote among the group of owners that have no conflict of interest. A majority vote is needed to overturn the executive committee’s decision.
• The executive committee should always act in the best interest of the league. If there is a situation that includes one of the executive committee’s team, then the situation will automatically be brought to a vote.