2K13 League RULES & GUIDELINES

FORMAT

30 Real Teams: Given out on a first come first serve basis.
162 Games: Real 2013 MLB Schedule
Post Season: 10 teams
Difficulty: Default All-Star
Trades/Trade Deadline: Off/Off
Flex Schedule: On
Game Play: Sim

RULES

1. SPORTSMANSHIP: All owners must adhere to a strict sportsmanship policy and that means that there will be NO tolerance for arguing, name calling, excessive complaining, quitting, garbage play or failure to respect your fellow owners and admins in this league. If found in violation of this rule at any point you may be removed from the league without warning at the admins discretion.

2. ACTIVITY: The 162 game season is going to follow the pace of the real MLB season and will work as follows.  We will open 1 month of the schedule at a time and you have the entire month to play all the games on your schedule in any order you wish.  Any games not completed will either be simmed or played against the CPU as determined by the admins.  Each case will be evaluated separately and the best possible solution will be enforced.

3. SET-UP & PLAYING A LEAGUE GAME: Because this years game did not include online leagues, we will be using the “Invite Friends” feature from the “Play Ball” menu to play all of our league games.  All of the info needed to set up the game can be found on your team schedule.  Once you have determined what game you would like to play, the home team shall send an “ Invite to custom match” to  the opponent.  Use the following settings; Game Mode: Exhibition, Difficulty: All Star, Game Length: 9 Innings, Game Start Time: User Preference (Schedule time suggested), Wind: User Preference, Weather: User Preference, Pitcher Fatigue: 50, Designated Hitter: AL Hosted.

(A) CAMERA SETTINGS: Everyone must use either "Pitcher" or "Pitcher 2"
camera setting for the pitcher view. "Broadcast" and "Pitcher 3" view
causes the game to lag when runners reach second base and changes the
timing of the game. This changes the dynamic of the game and is an
advantage for the pitcher.

(B) GLITCH POLICY: After a lot of thought and listening to a lot of bickering we have
decided to make the following policy official with regard to ANY 2k glitch in this game. In the past we have tried to have gentlemen rules for various stuff but it simply does not work. Guy's act like everything is a glitch and expect opponents to give themselves up for
outs, maybe the other guy has a different point of view and before you know it they are just arguing and accusing one another of cheesing etcetc. So, with that said, here is the policy......

There is now no such thing as a glitch, all balls in play will be played out regardless of what you see happening. If your fielder don't catch the ball, catcher won't throw to first, middle IF's get stuck in animation and wont throw the ball etc etc. It is now being considered random errors and part of the game. PERIOD!

If we all play the same way, everything will come out in the wash. Sometimes you will be on the right side and sometimes on the wrong side. Sometimes it may cost you the game and sometimes it may win you one. Whatever the result be a man and accept it for what it is, we will all have a lot more fun in the end. Random goofy stuff happens all the time on the field in real life and that is what we are going to categorize this stuff as from here on
out.

If you and your opponent agree to not follow this policy and use some sort of gentlemen agreement for these types of things, you can, but any dispute that may arise will not be mediated by any admin of this league, you are on your own!

4. GAME COMPLETION AND RESULTS POSTING:  When the game has been completed, the winning team is responsible for capturing the screen shot of the Team Stats page and posting that screen shot, the schedule date of the game & #btbresults via Twitter.  If the result is not posted then the game will not count and must be replayed.  It is highly recommended that both users get a screen shot just in case a dispute arises for any reason.  If for some reason you forget to get the screen shot and your opponent did not get one either, but you can come to a mutual agreement on the result, the result will be accepted provided both users pm this information to the admin.

5. PITCHING ROTATION: Each owner must post their 5 man rotation and closer in the designated area of the forums prior to the start of the season. At the end of each month, you will have the opportunity to change your rotation.  Note: No pitcher may start twice in a row without at least 3 days rest, so keep that in mind when making changes to your rotation.

(A) Following your rotation: All the pitching match-ups  are posted on each teams schedule.  Use the match-up for the game you are going to play.

6. ON THE FIELD: This is a sim-style league and all games should be played as such. “Ranked-match” or “garbage” play will not be tolerated. Play how you want to be played and above all play baseball how it is supposed to be played.

(A) PITCHING: This a balls & strikes league. Each owner is free to pitch their own game, but please keep it sim!
(1) No Quick Pitching: You must allow the batter at least 3-4 seconds in between pitches.
(2) YOUR STARTING PITCHER IS IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM ALLOWED TO REMAIN IN THE GAME ONCE HE GIVES UP 6 RUNS! You may leave him in to finish the inning if you desire, but he has to be replaced in the next inning. 
(2a) A pitcher may only pitch a complete game if he has a No Hitter, Perfect Game, or has given up 2 runs or less and your team is winning!

(B) BATTING: Learn to work the count! Plate discipline will be a key factor in determining your success or failure in this league. If you like to power up on every swing, swing away, but don't complain when your opponent pitches you accordingly. Do not “preload” or pull back on the stick early, it is considered “cheese” in this league. You should be using the pull back as your step timing and should be done at the pitchers release point.

(C) BUNTING: Because bunting can be taken advantage of we will use the following rules to govern bunt situations.
(1) You are only allowed 2 successful bunts for base hits for the entire game. If you bunt and reach safely due to an error, it does not count toward this total.
(2) You may not bunt with 2 strikes unless it is a sacrifice situation. Sacrifice means runner on 1st or 2nd with less than 2 outs.
(3) You may not take extra bases on any bunt attempt unless a fielding or throwing error has occurred on the play. If your opponent throws the ball to the wrong bag in haste, this will be deemed a throwing error.
(4) You get 1 squeeze play per game unless game goes to extra innings, then you may squeeze at your discretion, but all other bunt rules apply.

(D) BASE RUNNING: It is each owner's responsibility to run the paths how they see fit, but keep in mind that over-aggressive base running will be frowned upon and could earn you a reputation of a garbage player.
(1) STEALING:
(1a) Do NOT be a tool and try to steal with every batter who makes it on base. Steal in appropriate situations.
NEW!!! (1b) If you attempt a single steal or hit and run, you may not retreat back, you must advance to the next base.  If you go back out of habit or by accident then you must give your self up for an out before play can resume.
(2b) If you attempt a double steal or hit and run you may not retreat any base runner or attempt to get caught in a run-down to exploit the throwing animations.

(E) FIELDING: It is each owner's responsibility to field any ball in play until the play is over. If you hold on to the ball in the outfield, don't complain when your opponent takes a base while you're day-dreaming. A ball in play that is fielded and thrown to the wrong bag will be considered a human error.

7. MANAGING: It is each owner's responsibility to manage his team on the field as they see fit. Def. sub's, pinch hitters, pinch runners or relief pitchers will be entirely at the discretion of the owner, but must adhere to the following guidelines.

(A) PITCHING & BULLPEN:
(1) At no time can you sub in a relief pitcher in the middle of an at bat. You may only sub in pitcher to face a new batter. So even if you only throw one pitch to a batter you must finish the at bat. If you forget this rule and make an illegal sub, you must walk the batter and face the next batter.
(2) Starting pitchers may not pitch more than 9 complete innings.
(3) Relief pitchers can be used in any role other than starters during a game.
(3a) Designated closers are not allowed to pitch more than 2 complete innings or 6 outs.
(3b) Middle relief pitchers or set-up pitchers are not allowed to pitch more than 3 complete innings or 9 outs.
(3c) Long relief pitchers are not allowed to pitch more than 6 complete innings or 18 outs.

*If the game goes to extra innings all of the above does not apply except for closers. Even in extra innings, closers are not permitted to work extended innings.

(B) DEFENSIVE POSITION PLAYERS:
(1) Position players are permitted to play any position on the field.

8. INCOMPLETE GAMES: It is the internet, it does happen.
Any game where a screen shot of the final result is not captured and posted is deemed incomplete and must be replayed unless both managers can agree that one or the other was going to win, then the  losing team can concede and just report what the score was at the time of the incomplete game via Twitter #btbresults.  Repeated quitting will not be tolerated, so if we begin to notice a pattern we will just ban you from the league.

9. COMMUNICATION: COMMUNICATION is the key to this league. What I mean by that if a league member sends you a message/challenge trying to get a league game in with you, you must respond to whether you can play at that time or not. Ignoring league messages will not be tolerated. If we keep hearing complaints about the same players not responding to messages we will replace that owner right away, no questions asked. We cannot allow a members to be inactive and ruin this league for everyone else. Use the forums, private messaging or xbl, that's what they are there for!

10. DISCLAIMER: All rules are subject to change at the admins discretion for the betterment of the league. If a rule change is to be made there will be a formal notification to the league prior to the change being implemented. If you find anyone not following the rules you should bring it up to the admins via private chat or message and they will take appropriate action.

What would happen if your current rotation gets messed up by a roster update? For example, I have say Garza in my rotation. When he goes on the DL in real life, the game would likely update a few days later, in between a month season. Then I'd be forced to update my rotation before the month is over.

Hopeful Cubsfan wrote:What would happen if your current rotation gets messed up by a roster update? For example, I have say Garza in my rotation. When he goes on the DL in real life, the game would likely update a few days later, in between a month season. Then I'd be forced to update my rotation before the month is over.

In that instance you could just insert the new pitcher into Garza's spot in the rotation or we could allow an adjustment to the rotation at that time but the rule of a minimum 3 days rest between starts would still apply. So any pitcher could take over Garza's spot provided he did not just pitch within 3 days of his next scheduled start. Make sense?

I agree.