Roto1 (since 1997) and Roto2000 Rules                            

                             

Last Modified 05-08-26                         

                             

                             

Object                             

                             

To assemble a roster of 25 players using both American and National League players.                        

                             

                             

Teams                        

                             

There are 8 teams in a constituted Rotisserie League composed of both National and American League players. Currently there are two leagues - Roto1 (since 1997) and Roto2000. The League Office must be informed of any Team Name Change between the last game of the World Series and November 1st.                            

                             

                             

Roster                             

                             

A team's active roster consists of the following players: 2 to 3 Catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, at shortstop, 6 to 10 outfielders and 2 to 4 designated hitters. There must be 25 players on the Roster at all times. It is the owners responsibility to check their roster each week.                     

                             

                             

Auction Draft Day                        

                             

The Player Auction will be conducted on any day prior to the first day of the Baseball Season. Each team must acquire 25 players at a total salary cap not to exceed $280 (play money). All bidding is done in whole dollars. Once a team has their 25 players, then that team can no longer take part in the draft. The order of the bidding will be determined by the final standings of the previous season. The fifth place team will get the first bid. The sixth place team will get the next bid on down to the last place team. The fourth place team will get the 5th bid on up to the first place team getting the last bid. Note: If this is the first year of the league then a number will be drawn to determine the draft order. 

 

Regardless of the seating order, after each opening bid, the bidding starts with anyone that wants to bid.                            

                             

No team can bid for a player if it will take them over their salary cap. For example, a team with $3 left and two openings on their roster is limited to a maximum bid of $2 for one player and $1 for the other player. The team announcing the player to be bid on also will announce the roster position the player will fill. No team may bid for a player who qualifies only at a position that the team has already filled. 

 

If a team cannot attend the draft either in person or on the phone then a replacement will try to be found. If a replacement cannot be found, then the No-Show System that has been devised by the Commish’s Office will be used.                    

                             

 

Position Eligibility                           

                             

When a player is frozen just prior to the draft, he can be frozen only at one of the positions as shown in the Official Position List. He can always be frozen at the DH position.                 

                             

When a player is drafted, he can only be drafted at the position as shown in the Official Position List. He can always be drafted at the DH position.            

                             

Once drafted at a qualified position or signed during the season, a player will always be qualified at that position provided he is not moved by the owner from that position. If a owner moves that player from his drafted or signed position to DH, he can only be moved to the position as stated in the During The Season paragraph below. For example, if you drafted Michael Young (Texas) at 2B when he was qualified at 2B (he is now qualified only at SS) you could leave him at 2B as long as you want, provided you do not move him to another eligible position. Once you move him to another eligible position then he cannot be moved back to 2B until such time as he has 10 qualifying games at 2B. This paragraph does not pertain to a player signed at the DH position or left at the DH position during week one of the season.           

                             

On the first day of the season, a player can be moved to any position as shown in the Official Position List. He can always be moved to the DH position.           

                             

During the Season --- The Baseball Reference Web Site will be used to qualify a players position(s). The Baseball Reference Web Site, which I pay for, lists the Position Eligibility which will be used Monday through Sunday. Up to the time a player qualifies at a position(s) a player that shows only one position from the Official Position List in the Previous Season's column, can be moved back and fourth from the DH position to that one position. A player with mulitple positions from the previous season can also be moved back and fourth from those positions including the DH position. Even though the RotoWorld Web Site displays the Position Eligibility which is updated daily, you cannot move a player to a new position until the following Monday. Once a player has 10 games at a position in the current season, all positions from the previous season are void.     

                             

The number of games played at a position as shown in the Official Position List (current year column) is obtained from the Baseball Reference Web Site on Sunday night of each week. Any player(s) that shows that they just obtained 10 or more games at a position(s) will be posted to the Official Position list sometime after Monday 10am.        

                             

Please note that if a Pitcher is also a batter, he will be listed as a DH until he has the 10 game minimum at a position other than Pitcher.                   

                             

Fees                         

                             

Each owner, except for the Commish, pay's a $30 entry Fee. An additional $5 is collected if the team would like to be part of the post season games.                           

                             

                             

Basic Fees                         

                             

The cumulative total of player salaries for the acquisition of a 25 man roster on auction draft day may not exceed $280 (play money).                            

                             

Transaction Fees                         

                             

Each team involved in a trade will pay $2.00. The number of players in a trade does not matter. Every substitution during the week will cost $1.25. One dollar goes into the prize money and the twenty-five cents goes to the Commish's Office as an administrative fee. There is no charge for a player being moved from one position to another.                            

                             

Activation Fees                          

                             

There is no charge for a player activated from the injured list.                         

                             

Waiver Fees                        

                             

There is a $1.00 fee for every player claimed off of the waiver list. This fee includes the player being released or placed on the injured list to compensate for the additional player. The waiver list only lasts for one week. It is created each starting lineup day and contains all of the players that were released on the prior starting lineup day. Whatever the player's salary was when he was placed on the waiver list, is the salary which he is signed.

                             

                             

Free Agent Fees                          

                             

There is a $1.00 fee for every player claimed off of the free agent list. This fee includes the player being released or placed on the injured list to compensate for the additional player. The free agent list consists of all players that are not on any ones team or on the waiver list. The player's salary is $10 if signed before the last week of the MLB season. During the last week of the MLB season the player's salary is $25. This fee is waived on the first Monday of the season if you are placing a player on the injured list.  

 

If a player is being signed at a position that he is not qualified at, then that player will be signed at the position that he is qualified at.                     

                             

                             

Player Salaries                          

                             

The salary of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition and does not change unless the player becomes a free agent or is signed to a contract. Also see ""The Guaranteed Contracts"" section. The salary of a player acquired in the auction day draft is his auction price. The salary of a player signed up to the next to last week of the MLB season is $10.00 or if a free agent then his current salary. The salary of a player signed in the last week of MLB season is $25.00.                     

                             

Prize Money                        

                             

The interest income from the prize money is kept by the League Treasurer.                            

First place will receive 50% of the pot after fourth place receives $75. Second Place will receive 30% and third place will receive 20%. In no instance will third place receive less than $25 more than fourth place. Fourth place will receive 20% more than the original entry fee. Fourth will be adjusted down if third place receives less than $25 more than fourth place.                             

                             

                             

Standings                          

                             

All RBI's and Runs for each of the nine players playing each day are totaled up for each team. In each head to head game the winner is thus determined. If the head to head game is tied, it remains a tie.                              

Using the old method of breaking a tie, a ""+"" will be placed before the ""00"" if the team would have won the game under the old method. Of course, a ""-"" is placed on the other teams ""00"". This ""+"" and ""-"" calculates in breaking standing ties.

                             

The old method was using the player that had the highest score while in the lineup.                        

                             

There must be at least 4 Major League days (Mon through Sun) of 1 or more games scheduled for our game to be official.                             

                             

There will be a bye week during the All Star Game Week regardless of the number of games that week.      

                             

                             

Stats                        

                             

The daily box scores from ESPN Website determines the official computation of the official data.                        

                             

                             

Trades                             

                             

Up to the next to the last week of the MLB season, all teams can make trades of any kind without limit, except as stipulated below, so long as the active rosters of both teams involved in a trade reflect the required 25 man roster upon completion of the trade.

                             

Trades do not change the salaries or the contract status of players.                                                         

Trades cannot involve players to be named later or draft picks. Trades can include cash only if the cash is paying for the transaction of the other team or teams in the trade. Trades can include future considerations if that consideration is if the player is on the MLB injured list or not.                             

                             

After the auction day draft, up to the next season’s auction day draft, any trade that transpires with any owner that subsequently drops from the league before the next seasons auction day draft, then the Commish's Office can void that trade.

                             

                             

Free Agent List                          

                             

A team must keep its roster at 25. Whenever a team places a player on the injured list, or waives a player, or trades a player, then they must sign a player(s) to keep their roster at 25. After a trade they must end up with a 25 man roster either because of the trade or signing additional players to make up for more players traded than received in the trade. All transactions must be done on Monday before the 10AM deadline.                      

A suspended player cannot be placed on the injured list.               

                             

Once a specific action, as noted above, has been taken to remove a player from its 25 man roster, then a team is free to select any eligible player from the free agent list or the waiver list. If the same player is claimed by more than one team on a given Monday, then that player goes to the team ranking lowest in the most recent standings. If it is week one, then the previous years standings is used.                      

                             

A player cannot be signed and then placed directly onto the injured list. A player must remain on the team’s roster for one week before being placed on the injured list. Exception - between the auction day draft and opening day.                         

                             

When a player is reinstated to the active 25 man roster, then a player must be waived or placed on the Injured list.

 

Effective with the 2027 season – If a player being signed is already on that leagues Roto Team, then the signing team will be warned. From then on and throughout the season, a $1 Trans fee will be charged for each repeat occurance.

                             

                             

Waiver List                        

                             

A player cannot be waived if he is in a contract. Exceptions - the player under contract is placed on the MLB injured list, is released by their MLB team, is signed by another MLB team, is sent down to the minors, is placed on the 50 or more day suspended list by their MLB team or if the player is on the MLB injured list and his time on the injured list is extended or if on the MLB opening day the player is still a free agent. Of course if the player retires he can be released.                            

During the season, if a player is in any of the situations stated above, he must be released from his contract on or before the second Monday after the effective date of the situation. During the off season, you can release the player up to and including the submittal of the Preliminary Frozen.

                             

All players not in a contract can be released at any time.       

                             

A player that is released during the season is placed on the waiver list. Thus the waiver rules are enforced for one week.                           

                             

Preliminary Frozen Roster                            

                             

After the Preliminary Frozen Roster has been submitted you can only make 3 changes (Add, Change, Delete) to make up your Final Frozen Roster. With any additional changes a $1 fee, per change, will be paid as a transaction for week 1. Exception, if a trade(s) is made between the Preliminary Frozen Roster and the Final Frozen Roster then the players involved in the trade will not be counted towards the 3 changes.    

                             

                             

Final Frozen Roster                            

                             

A player cannot be removed from the Final Frozen Roster unless the player is placed on the MLB injured list on or after the Final Frozen Date, is released by their MLB team, is signed by another MLB team, is sent down to the minors, is placed on the suspended list by their MLB team. Another exception is if the player was already on the MLB injured list when the player was Frozen and his time on the injured list has been extended. Release exception you ""cannot"" release the player after a Roto1 or Roto2 trade if the player on the Final Frozen Roster was placed on the MLB injured list, was released by their MLB team, was signed by another MLB team, was sent down to the minors, or was placed on the suspended list by their MLB team ""prior to the trade"".   

                             

                             

The Guaranteed Contracts                             

                             

A player is credited with one year in the league if he is frozen in March. If he becomes a free agent then his years in the league goes to zero. A player that has been credited with two years must at the end of that two years, be released or signed to a guaranteed contract.                       

If released, the player returns to the free agent pool and his years are zeroed.

                             

If he is signed to a guaranteed contract, then the player's salary is increased at the rate of $5 for every year of his contract.                

At the end of his contract he is automatically placed on the free agent list.                        

                             

 

Contracts xxyyzz                         

                             

xx=salary amount   yy=CT (on Contract Through) or OE (Option to Extend)   zz=Year (end of the season CT expires and player becomes Free Agent) or (end of season OE is required or player becomes a Free Agent)                          

                             

Roster Protection                        

                             

At the end of each season, each team can retain no more than 15 players of its 25 man roster. Exception - if the team has more than 15 players on contract. During the first three seasons each team must retain no fewer than 7 players."                        

                             

The cumulative salaries of the players protected prior to the auction draft day are deducted from the team's $280 salary cap. The balance is then available for the acquisition of the remaining players needed to complete the team's 25 man roster.                           

                             

Players you must protect include any player with a Contract.                             

You cannot sign a player to a contract if that player will prevent you from obtaining a 25 man roster because of the $280 salary cap.                             

Players you cannot protect are players that just finished their guaranteed contract.                             

                             

You cannot freeze more than 2 at any of these positions: C 1B 2B 3B SS DH. You cannot freeze more than 6 at the OF position. In other words, you cannot freeze more than twice the number of players that you can start at any one position.         

                             

                             

Injured List (IL)                        

                             

You can place any number of players on the IL. If you drop a player from the IL then there is no transaction fee. You can wait one extra week before removing a player from your IL when he is taken off of the MLB IL. For instance, Player A is on your IL. During Week 4, Player A comes off of the MLB IL. You can wait until you turn in your lineups at the beginning of Week 6 before you have to move Player A from your IL.

 

If you do not take your player off of the IL after the above, then the Commish will send you an email which will show up on Sunday and Monday AM. If you don’t remove the player from the IL on that Monday then a $1 transaction fee will be charged. Each Monday after that the transaction fee will increase by $1 each Monday until that player has been taken off of your IL.                    

                             

At the beginning of our next to the last week of the season, you must remove all players from the IL and either place the player(s) on your active roster or release the player(s).                

                             

                             

Team(s) Dropping                         

                             

If a team drops from a league then all of their players are placed on the free agent list regardless if any of the players have contracts. Of course if an owner is found for the team then you would not be reading this rule.                         

                             

If the 6th place team dropped then the next auction draft would go 5th, 7th, 8th then 4th through the 1st. This would mean that that one of the teams in a league would have a bye each week. Also, the league would only be 21 weeks long so each team would play each other 3 times. Of course the league could vote to go all 26 weeks."                        

                             

                             

Lineups                            

                             

Lineups are due before 10am on each Monday or on Thursday if the season starts on that day. If you do not turn in a lineup, a $1 transaction fee is charged.       

                             

All Lineups need to be emailed to the Commish's Office. If the Commish's Office claims it never received an email, but that team claims to have sent an email, then that team only needs to have another team that received a copy of that email sent to the Commish's Office. The lineups must contain one player at Catcher, 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, short stop, designated hitter. The lineups must also contain 3 players in the outfield. If any of the lineups do not contain the aforementioned, then see exceptions below. If no lineup is emailed, then the Sunday lineups are used.

                             

Monday or the first day of the week is the only day transactions and trades can be made. Exceptions to Transactions are noted in the Substitutions Rule and Trades can be made during the off season.                                

The Commish will not replace players that are in your starting lineup and are on the IL. The Commish will send you an email to tell you that a player(s) is on the IL but it is your responsibility to sub for that player.               

     

It is the responsibility of each owner to check their lineups at the beginning of each week.                             

                             

                             

Substitutions                            

                             

Tuesday through Sunday substitutions must be emailed to the Commish's Office prior to 10am on the day you want the substitution to take effect. Players may also be moved between positions during the week, but the following rule must be used.

                             

The player you move (example from 1B to DH) must be placed in your lineup or if you are moving a player that is already in your lineup, then they must remain in your lineup.

                             

Once a player is removed from the lineup, he cannot be placed back in the lineup until the following lineup day, usually Monday.          

                             

If you cannot replace a player during the week because 100% of your players at that position are on the IL and were not previously in your lineup that week, then you can place one of the players on the IL and sign another player at that point, not having to wait until Monday.

                             

                             

Free Substitutions                             

                             

If a player is placed on the IL and is in your lineup at that time, you are not charged for his substitution during that week if you notify the Commish that he went on the IL.

                             

As soon as a team has clinched any of the positions in the standings, they then have free subs for the rest of the season.         

                             

The following is started the week after the All-Star Break. The following is the formula for any team in one of the last four positions of the standings. Take the number of weeks left in the season and divide it by 2 and round up. Subtract the team's wins from the first payoff team's wins (each tie is a 1/2 win). In an 8 team league it would be the 4th place team. If the result is equal to or greater than the weeks left in the season, then that team receives free subs during that week.                          

                             

                             

Scoring Individual Games                             

                             

You add the Runs and RBI's each day of each player that is in your lineup.                           

                             

                             

Scoring Individual Teams                             

                             

You add up every individual player that was in the lineup during that particular week to create a total score. After comparing the scores of a head to head game, the team with the most points is given a win and the other team is given a loss. If there are ties, they remain ties. However, for tie-breaking reasons, the previous formula for breaking ties is used to break standing ties.                           

                             

                             

Contributions                            

                             

Each owner, except for the Commish, pay's a $30 entry Fee. An additional $5 is collected if the team would like to be part of the post season games.                           

                             

                             

Rule Changes                             

                             

If any of the rules are changed or a new rule is passed during the season, then there must be a 100% agreement of the owners for the rule to become effective immediately.                         

                             

                             

Breaking Standing Ties                         

                             

The most wins will determine the order of the teams in the standings. If two or more teams are tied with the same number of wins, then the following procedures will be used. After placing a team higher in the standings, always return here with the remaining tied teams. Note: Ties will be considered as a 1/2 Win.

                             

If the tied teams have not played against any of the other tied teams then use the following steps otherwise go to the next set of rules.                           

 

Step 1 - Take the tied teams and the team with the higher total points scored so far this season is placed higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                         

 

Step 2 - Take the tied teams and add all of the point spreads of their common opponents. Take the team with the better point spread and place them higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                           

 

Step 3 - Take the tied teams and add all of the point spread in all of their games. Take the team with the better point spread and place them higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                           

 

Step 4 - Take the tied teams and list all of the starting players in all of their games and add each starting players total points in those games. The team with the best player (starting from the player with the most points and working down) is placed higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                           

 

Step 5 - If this is for week one then use the standings from the previous year otherwise use the standings from the previous week. Place the team that was higher in the previous standings higher in today's standings.

                       

If any of the tied teams have a head to head record with any of the other tied teams then use the following steps. Note: If the head to head record is a Tie(s) then 1/2 point will be added to each team in lieu of 1 point to the head to head record winner.                             

 

Step 1 - Take all of the tied teams and if that team has the tie-breaker over another tied team then add 1 point. If they have played another tied team but do not have the tie-breaker over that tied team then give them a minus 1 point. Add up the points of each of the tied teams and place the team with the most points higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                           

Step 2 - If all of the tied teams have the same number of games against each other then continue with this step, otherwise skip to the next step. Add all of the point spreads in all of their games. Take the team with the better point spread and place them higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step."                          

 

Step 3 - Take all of the tied teams and add all of the wins and loses against the other tied teams. Take the team with the better win/loss record and place that team higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                           

Step 4 - Take the tied teams and list all of the starting players in all of their games and add each starting players total points in those games. The team with the best player (starting from the most points and working down) is placed higher in the standings. If all of the teams coming into this step are still tied then go to the next step otherwise return to the beginning with only the tied teams from this step.                             

Step 5 - Take the tied teams and if this is for week one then use the standings from the previous year otherwise use the standings from the previous week. Place the team that was higher in the previous standings higher in today's standings.                            

                             

                             

The MLB Post Season                            

                             

Before each draft, if you paid an extra $5, you will be entered into the MLB Playoffs. All Players on your roster at the start of the Final Week will be involved in the MLB Playoffs. You could have from zero to 25 players playing for you. From the Wild Card Playoffs through the World Series, your players could be accumulating points. All Playoff Games will count as one of our games. The Winner in each league takes all. Ties will be broken just like we break our regular game ties.       

                             

                             

Governance                         

                             

These leagues are governed by a Committee of the Whole consisting of all team owners. The Committee of the Whole may designate as many league officials as from time to time it deems appropriate. Although only two - the League Secretary and the League Treasurer - ever do any work. The Committee of the Whole can also designate annually an Executive Committee composed of three team owners in good standing. The Executive Committee has the authority to interpret playing rules and to handle all necessary and routine League business. All decisions, rulings, and interpretations by the Executive Committee are subject to a vote by the Committee of the Whole. Rule changes, pronouncements, and acts of whimsy are determined by majority vote of the Committee of the Whole. For adding, changing and/or deleting of any rule(s), there must be over 50% of all of the owners voting in favor of the rule being added, changed and/or deleted. Also, what rule is changed MUST apply to all leagues under this Governance.