The Virtual Baseball League Rule Book

Version 3.1
12 March 2000

Significant changes from Version 1.9 are highlighted in red.
Significant changes from Version 3.0 are highlighted in green.

I. General

Purpose: The Virtual Baseball League (VBL) is a play-by-email league formed in 1998 to provide and promote honest, fun competition between adults. There is no prize structure in the VBL, and no prizes are awarded. We play solely for "bragging rights".
Communications: All official VBL communications are via email. Deadlines for communications are specified by the time they must be received by the Commissioner. Deadlines are specified in Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Time as appropriate for the deadline date. The Commissioner may or may not accept communications received after the deadline at his discretion. The Commissioner will not send VBL communications to .mil nor .gov email addresses under normal circumstances.
Rules: VBL games are played using the Strat-o-matic Baseball Game. Situations not adequately covered by these rules are governed by the rules of the Strat-o-matic Baseball Game and the Rules of Major League Baseball (MLB). Situations not covered by those rules will be decided by the Commissioner. There are no "statutes of limitations" in these rules. Infractions, whenever discovered, will be dealt with as specified in the applicable rule(s) when possible. When that is not possible, the Commissioner will take any remedial action he deems necessary, fair, and consistent with the intent of the rules.
Commissioner: The VBL Commissioner operates the league and is the final arbiter of all disputes. The Commissioner is responsible for the enforcement of the rules, the execution of the Owners' instructions, the play of the games, and the distribution of league information.
Owners: Members of the league play by controlling a VBL team. The league member controlling a team is referred to as that team's Owner. Each team may have only one Owner and each Owner only one team. The Owner of each team determines the team's basic information, draft picks, batting orders, defensive lineups, managerial tendencies, and personnel actions.

II. Membership

Who May Join: Anyone may join the VBL, subject to the unanimous consent of the current members of the League. Applications for membership must include the prospective member's full name, address, phone number, and email address. The Commissioner will allow a reasonable amount of time for all current members of the league to consider the application before calling for a vote upon the request. All votes not cast, including those not received before the voting deadline, will be considered affirmative.
Requirements: Each member must have a functioning email account. All official VBL communications are via email. (It is also highly recommended that each Owner have both access to the World Wide Web and an ICQ address. Much valuable league information is only available on a routine basis via the VBL Web Site. The Draft and the VBL Playoffs will both be conducted via ICQ to the extent they can be.)
Fees: This league is FREE. If the costs of running the league become excessive, the commissioner may ask for contributions from the members. In this case, it will be the commissioner's responsibility to account for -- and to report to the Owners about -- the use of any funds received.

III. Teams

Basic Team Information: Basic Team Information includes: location and name, ID code, and ballpark data. The Commissioner reserves the right to refuse any name, location, ID code, or ballpark adjustment for any reason.
1. Location and Name: An Owner may use any name for their team, subject to the following restrictions: the name may not contain profanity and may not contain another VBL team's name. The location may be any name of any place, real or imaginary, subject to the same restrictions as the team name. (Due to formatting limitations within the Strat-o-matic Game, it is recommended that the total length of the team's location and name, including spaces, not exceed 21 characters.)
2. Identification Code: The team's ID code is the three-letter abbreviation used to identify the team in most formatted reports. The ID code must be unique within the VBL, easily associated with the team's name and/or location, and may not be 'VBL'.
3. Ballpark: Teams may use any MLB ballpark as their home field. Multiple teams may use the same ballpark. Any new ballpark must be an unaltered MLB ballpark. After a Team uses a ballpark for a year, the Owner may adjust the ballpark's effects during the Interseason. in any or all categories, up or down, by up to 10% (i.e., they may adjust any ballpark effect die roll by adding or subtracting up to 2). If any ballpark effect die roll is already at its minimum (0) or maximum (20), the Owner may request permission to add a dome to their stadium or to select a new ballpark in lieu of altering the current one. See Appendix B for the list of Owner-adjustable ballpark parameters. Note that weather determination rolls are not 'effects' and are not alterable.
Changing Team Information:
1. Routine Changes: Owners may not change their team's basic information during a season. All changes must be made during the Interseason; i.e., after the end of the VBL Championship Series and before the Draft.
2. Change of Ownership: When a new Owner takes over a team, the new Owner may change any or all of the team's basic information after the close of the current season. The new Owner may choose a new ballpark, regardless of the status of the current ballpark.
3. All changes are subject to the Commissioner's approval.
Unowned teams: A team which does not have an Owner will be managed temporarily by the Owner of a team in another Division or by the Commissioner. Such temporary Owners are authorized to perform all the functions of a normal Owner.

IV. Players

Eligibility: All MLB players included in the Strat-o-matic Baseball Game are eligible to play in the VBL. Those players for whom Strat-o-matic provided "Interleague" combined stats cards will use their combined (IL) stats cards. Position players with less than 40AB and pitchers with less than 14IP are eligible for VBL play but may not be drafted nor signed to multi-year contracts. Players not included in the Strat-o-matic game at all, but already under contract to a VBL team, are ineligible for play but may be retained.
Availability:
1. Regular Season: Each player's VBL availability is limited to their ACTUAL use during the MLB season in play.
  1. Position players are limited to their actual MLB AB or GP (whichever comes second). Position players may only be included in lineups at positions for which they are rated. (Note that ALL position players are rated at the DH position.)
  2. Pitchers are limited by their IP or GP (whichever comes second) AND may not exceed their actual number GS. Pitchers may only be used as relievers if they have a relief rating and may only start if they have a starter rating.
  3. Overuse Violations: If any player is used in excess of his availability due, in the opinion of the Commissioner, to an action (or lack thereof) by the player's Owner, the team incurs the following penalties:
    1. The game or games in which the player played in excess of his availability are forfeited to the opposing team. In the unlikely event that both teams in a game go into violation simultaneously, the original results of the game will stand, but the other penalties imposed herein will be imposed normally.
    2. Upon the first violation, the earliest draft pick controlled by that team will be moved to the end of that round. On the second violation, the team forfeits the earliest draft pick they control. Each subsequent odd-numbered violation will result in the movement of the team's earliest draft pick to the end of that round, and each even-numbered violation will result in the forfeiture of the earliest draft pick controlled by that team. The Commissioner will accelerate this penalty schedule when he deems it necessary to do so.
    3. Note that this rule will be strictly enforced. Even one excess AB, IP, GS, or GP will be grounds for the imposition of penalties, though the Commissioner reserves the right to waive forfeiture penalties. Note also, that while Owners will not be penalized for overusage due solely to moves made by the computer manager, such situations are extremely rare.
    4. The Commissioner will take appropriate actions, when necessary for the good of the league, to prevent overusage. This in no way lessens the Owners' responsibility to manage their team appropriately. The Commissioner will include the violations he prevented in a team's total number of violations when determining that team's penalties.
2. Post Season: Player availability in the post season is based upon the date on which they were acquired and by their MLB usage. To be eligible to play for a team in the post season, the player must have been on contract to the playoff-bound team continuously from 31 Aug (GD) to the end of the season. Eligible players have either Unlimited or Limited Availability.
  1. Unlimited: Position players with at least 300AB or 80GP during the regular MLB season have unlimited post-season availability. Relief pitchers with at least 60IP or 40GP may make unlimited postseason appearances. Starting pitchers with at least 15 starts during the regular season may start up to 3 post-season games.
  2. Limited: Players not meeting the minimum requirements for Unlimited Availability have Limited Availability. Position players with Limited Availability are available for (7/162)*(MLB AB) at bats or (7/162)*(MLB GP) games. Limited relief pitchers are available for (7/162)*(MLB IP) innings pitched or (7/162)*(MLB GP) games. Limited starting pitchers may make (1/10)*(MLB GS) starts. When calculating availability, round values up.
3. Injuries: Injuries are determined by the Strat-o-matic Baseball Game at random. Injured players on a team's Disabled List (DL) do not count against the maximum length of the team's Roster.
4. Injury Replacements: Owners may obtain temporary replacements for players on the DL from the waiver wire through the normal transaction process. Note that this rule is not designed to provide a new means of player acquisition. It is intended merely to provide a means for Owners to overcome a temporary personnel shortages due either to excessive injuries or to injuries in key roles.
  1. Requirements. The injured player must be placed in the minors. The temporary sub and the injured player must share at least one rated position (to meet the "replacement" intent.) The Commissioner may waive the shared rating requirement if the Owner can demonstrate that the replacement fills a lineup hole created by rotating another player on the roster into the injured player's position. For example, if a starter is injured, requiring the owner to move a spot starter to the rotation, then it would probably be reasonable to allow the Owner to pick up a reliever to fill the resulting hole in the bullpen.
  2. Retention. When a player returns from the DL, another player will automatically be released from the Team's roster. The player signed as the temporary sub for the returning player will be released unless the Team's Owner has identified in advance, to the Commissioner and all other Owners, another player to be released instead.
Retention:
1. Normal Retention: At the completion of each VBL season, after releasing any free agents, each team may elect to retain up to 16 of the players they currently have on contract. Players not retained are released to the draft pool.
2. Free Agency: VBL players are signed to three-season contracts when acquired by draft. They are also signed to three-season contracts when acquired by waiver wire transaction if that transaction is announced on or before Opening Day and the player is eligible to be signed to a multi-year contract and is not already on contract when acquired. Players become a free agents after the third VBL World Series following the start of their contract. (Exception: Non-carded players may not be signed to multi-year contracts. Players who Strat-o-matic lists as "Computer Only" become free agents at the end of the current season unless subject to special retention as a "phantom".)
  1. Neither trades nor injuries affect the scheduled termination date of a player's current contract.
  2. A player's contract may be terminated, and his Free Agency clock reset, when the player is released to the waiver wire. A player's contract is terminated if the player spends at least one week on the waiver wire. (The additional restrictions on players re-signed by the team that dropped them are hereby removed.)
  3. For contract purposes, a player is considered to be on the waiver wire 3 hours after the time stamp on the email announcing his release. A player is considered to be off the wire immediately upon the time stamp of the email claiming him off waivers.
  4. At the completion of a season, prior to the release of Free Agents, Owners may forfeit a first-round draft pick in the upcoming draft and sign any one player on their roster to a 3-year contract. Each Owner may extend no more than 2 players in this manner at the end of each season. Each extension costs one first-round pick.
3. Special Retention: Players owned by a VBL team at the end of a season, and who meet the other retention requirements, but who are not included in the Strat-o-matic card set for the following season, may be retained by their VBL Owner as a "Phantom".
  1. The phantom player's Free Agency clock continues unaffected, and if the player's contract expires while the player is a phantom, the player is removed from the VBL player list.
  2. Phantom players may be traded normally. When a phantom player is released to the waiver wire, he is immediately removed from the VBL player list.
  3. Phantom players count against maximum roster length prior to and during the draft (i.e., on the Interseason and Preseason Rosters), but are considered to be on the DL during the regular season and the playoffs.
Transactions:
1. Trades: Trades may only involve two teams, but may involve any number of players and/or draft picks. Trades may NOT include "players to be named later" nor any other ambiguous consideration. Trades may only include picks from the current (or upcoming) draft and the first following draft. To complete a trade, the Owner of one of the Teams involved must send the Commissioner and all other Owners an email specifying ALL the terms of the trade. The Owner's email must also specify which, if any, players from each team are to be released to meet the 32-player Team Roster limitation. Trades will not take effect until all required information is announced.
  (Note: The Commissioner is NOT required to notify Owners when their announcements are insufficient. The VBL, therefore, strongly encourages BOTH Owners involved in a trade to send their own announcement to help to ensure that all details of the trade are fully and accurately reported.)
2. Waiver Wire: During the Regular Season, all MLB players eligible to play in the VBL but not currently on any VBL Team Roster are identified on a list called the "Waiver Wire". To pick up a player off the waiver wire, an Owner must notify the Commissioner and all other Owners (usually via email) . The email must specify the desired player by full name, MLB team, and position and whether the player(s) is(are) to be placed on the 25-man active roster or into the minors. If necessary, the email must also specify which player(s) currently on the Team's roster is(are) to be released to make room for the new acquisition(s). If more than one Team tries to claim a player off waiver wire, the Commissioner will award the player to the Team that correctly claimed him first, as determined by the content and time stamp on the transaction emails.
3. Execution: Transactions become effective 24 hours after the Commissioner receives the complete and correct announcement, if the transaction is not cancelled or challenged within that period. Once executed, transactions may not be cancelled by the Owners involved but may still be cancelled by the Commissioner or challenged by other Owners.
4. Cancellation: Either Owner involved in a trade may cancel the trade in its entirety within 24 hours of its announcement by notifying the Commissioner and all other Owners. Trades that violate any league rule (roster length, for example) may be cancelled, denied, or reversed unilaterally by the Commissioner, regardless of execution status.
5. Challenges: Any Owner may challenge a transaction. Challenges to transactions must specify the reason(s) for the challenge and be sent via email to the Commissioner and to all other Owners. If a transaction is correctly challenged within 24 hours of its announcement, it is suspended pending a vote of all Owners. The Commissioner will set the voting deadline. The transaction will be allowed to proceed unless the majority of the votes cast by the deadline are to disallow the transaction.

V. Interseason

General: Following the final game of the VBL World Series, the Commissioner will release all players whose contracts have expired from all teams to Free Agency and will publish the resulting End of Season Rosters. He will then set a date by which each Owner must publish their Interseason Roster, specifying which players (up to 16) their team will keep.
Team Information Changes:
1. Basic Information: Owners may request changes to their teams' basic information. Changes to teams' basic information will not affect the contract status of the teams' players. Teams may request reassignment to another Division, but must may only do so by trading places with a team in that Division, and the Owners of both teams must agree to the exchange.
2. Ballpark: After a Team uses a ballpark for a year, the Owner may adjust the ballpark's effects in any or all categories up or down by up to 10% (i.e., they may adjust any ballpark effect die roll by adding or subtracting up to 2). If any ballpark effect die roll is already at its minimum (0) or maximum (20), the Owner may request permission to select a new ballpark in lieu of altering the current one. See Appendix B for the list of Owner-adjustable ballpark parameters. Note that weather determination rolls are not 'effects' and cannot be changed.
Transactions: After all teams have cut to 16 players, Owners may trade players and draft picks during the Interseason using normal procedures and subject to the usual restrictions, except that: Interseason Rosters may exceed the 16-man limit as a result of such trades. Trades that violate any league rule may be cancelled, denied, or reversed by the Commissioner, regardless of execution status.

VI. Preseason

General: The Preseason officially starts with the Draft. The Commissioner will announce the Draft schedule and instructions no later than 01 Feb. The Preseason ends on Opening Day.

Draft: The annual Draft is the primary means by which teams acquire players. The Draft occurs in rounds. The number and frequency of rounds depends on the means by which the Draft is held. The order in which teams make their picks during each round is determined based upon the results of the previous season. At the end of the Draft each team should have enough players to form a full Regular Season Roster.

Draft order is determined by each team's regular season record at the end of the previous season. Each team will draft in the inverse order of their final position; i.e., the 12th place team will draft first, the 1st place team will draft 12th. League standings are determined by winning percentage. Tie breakers are, in order: Interleague winning percentage, League winning percentage, Division winning percentage, coin flip.
Draft Selections

Draft Rounds via Email If the Draft is held via Email, then by the announced draft time for each draft day each Owner will email the Commissioner a list of draft picks for each scheduled round or rounds with at least as many players as their last selection in the round(s) (e.g., if in one round, an Owner has pick number 5, they would send 5 names; if, in two rounds, they had 4 and 8 they would send 20 names, etc.) The list must specify the full name, MLB team, and position of each desired player. Each team will get the first player that is still available on the most recent list they've submitted to the Commissioner. If no name on the most current list is available, the Commissioner will use an older list, or other available guidance. If the Commissioner cannot determine which available player in the draft pool should be selected the team forfeits their pick that round.
Interactive Draft Owners submit their draft picks in the manner specified above. The Commissioner will log onto an interactive service (currently ICQ) at the time of Draft resolution. Owners present actually or virtually at that time may override their email pick if they so desire. The Commissioner will ressolve the Draft normally for those Owners not present, Owners who chose not to change their email pick, and Owners who elect to change their pick, but do not do so in a timely manner (at the Commissioner's discretion.)

Special The Commissioner will draft for unowned Teams. The first priority will be to ensure a complete season at each position. Normally, at each draft opportunity, such teams will take the player with the most games at a currently unfilled position, but the Commissioner may also consider player ratings, including MLB Sagarin ratings and Rotisserie salary lists. (Note: This is to ensure that unowned teams have future potential, even if they are currently a bit weak.)
Rosters From the start of the Draft until one week following the Draft, teams may hold up to 40 players on their Preseason Roster. One week following the Draft, all Owners must publish their 32-man Regular Season Roster.
Undrafted Players All undrafted MLB players eligible to play in the VBL go onto the waiver wire at the completion of the Draft. All players released by teams cutting down to 32-man rosters are returned to the waiver wire.
Transactions: Owners may trade players and draft picks during the Preseason using normal procedures. At no time may a team's Preseason Roster exceed the current 40-man or 32-man limit. The Commissioner will not intentionally execute trades or draft picks that would result in any team's roster exceeding the current limit. Trades that violate any league rule (roster length, for example) may be cancelled, denied, or reversed unilaterally by the Commissioner, regardless of execution status.

VII. Regular Season

General: The VBL Regular Season is designed and timed to coincide as nearly as possible with the MLB regular season. Owners arrange their players and give instructions to their on-field manager (usually referred to as "Sparky" or "Hal") to maximize performance against their scheduled opponents and to avoid overusing their players. Injuries and trades add complexity to the planning.
Organization: The VBL consists of two subleagues, the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Each subleague is further divided into two divisions, East and West. Each division is comprised of three teams.
Schedule: VBL teams each play 162 games in the regular season: 48 in their Division, 42 in the other Division of their League, and 72 in the other League. Each team gets 20 days off in the course of the season.
Rosters: Each team's Regular Season Roster consists of up to 32 uninjured players, broken into a 25-man Active Roster and a 7-man Minor League Roster. Players on a team's Minor League Roster are inactive and cannot play. Owners may move players between their Active Roster and Minor League Roster freely. During the regular season, injured players on the Minor League Roster do not count against team roster limits. Note that the Minor League Roster may exceed 7 players, but the Active Roster may not exceed 25 at any time, nor may the Regular Season Roster exceed 32 players.
Designated Hitter: All VBL games will be played using Designated Hitters (DH).
Process: The Commissioner runs 3-game series on Sunday nights and 4-game series on Wednesday nights. Owner inputs, including lineup changes, must be received by 2100 ET on game day. Game time is approximately 2200 ET. The Commissioner publishes the results after completing the games.
1. Owners submit lineup changes and manager instructions by email. Owners may submit as many or as few instructions or changes as they deem necessary. The Commissioner will use the information contained in the email with the latest date stamp. Note that Waiver Wire transactions received by the Commissioner less than 24 hours prior to a series will not take effect until after that series.
2. See Appendix B for lists of the settings and instructions Owners may make for their teams. Each team must publish a Lineup, a Minor League Roster, and a Starting Rotation at least one week before the first Play Date. All three may be updated prior to each series.
3. Teams will play with whatever information is available to the Commissioner at game time. If necessary, the Commissioner will make only those roster changes necessary to play the scheduled games. The Commissioner is not responsible for the success or failure of such forced roster moves.
4. The VBL keeps to a regular production schedule, so an Owner going out of town or becoming otherwise unavailable will know how many games will be played while they're incommunicado and should provide team inputs in advance.
5. The Commissioner announces the results of the game via email. More information, if desired, is available to the Owners on the VBL Web Site.

VIII. Post Season

At the completion of the Regular Season, the teams with the best records enter the playoffs to determine the League Champion. Before the end of the Regular Season, the Commissioner will publish the schedule and instructions for the post season. When possible, post-season games will be played interactively.

Qualification: At the end of the regular season the team with the best record in each Division, as determined by adjusted winning percentage, wins that Division. In the case of a tie, the two teams will play a one game tiebreaker, with the winner of the game winning the Division. The winner of each Division goes to the playoffs.
Structure: The two Division winners in each League play a best-of-seven series for their League Championship. The two League Champions play a best-of-seven series (the VBL World Series) for the VBL Championship.
1. The winners of the American divisions will play a best-of-seven series against each other for the American League Championship. The winners of the National divisions will play a best-of-seven series against each other for the National League Championship. Both series will be played in a 2-3-2 format, with the first and last two games played at the home field of the team with the best regular season record.
2. The American Champion will play a best-of-seven series against the National Champion to determine the World Champion. The series will be played in a 2-3-2 format, with the first and last two games played at the home field of the team with the best regular season record.
3. The winner of the World Series is the VBL Champion.
Rosters: Before the start of the playoffs, on or before the date specified by the Commissioner, Owners of all teams qualified for Postseason play must publish their Playoff Roster. The Roster must list all the team's players eligible for Postseason play and must specify their availability (e.g., "unlimited", or "limited - 3GP/10AB", etc.) Playoff Rosters may not exceed 32 players, including a 25-man maximum Active Roster. Normally, players may only move from the Minor League Roster to the Active Roster between postseason series, but the Commissioner may allow moves during a series under extreme circumstances.
Designated Hitter: All VBL games will be played using Designated Hitters (DH).
Overusage: Penalties for overusage of players with limited Postseason availability are the same as those for overusage during the regular season.

Appendix A - Strat-o-matic Game Settings

General Rules Options:
1. Main Rules: Use Maximum Level Rules
  - Improve Statistical Accuracy - on
  - Bunt for Base Hit - on
  - Improve Out Distribution - on
  - Improve Baserunning Realism - on
  - Home Field Advantage - on
  - Starting Pitcher Clutch - on
  - More Baserunning Decisions - off
  - Doubles/Triples Options - on
  - Force Daily Injuries - off
2. Stealing: Super Advanced Steal System
3. Miscellaneous Rules: Use Miscellaneous Rules (Note: Misc Rules allow outfield to play in at end of game and allow position players to play unrated positions.)
4. Injuries: Use Super Advanced Injuries
5. Groundball A: Allow GBA on Pitcher Cards
6. BP/Clutch: Ballpark/Clutch:Yes, Weather:Yes
7. Strategy: Super Advanced Strategy Charts
8. Closer: Use Closer Rules
9. Pitcher Fatigue: Use Super Advanced Fatigue
Lineups and Usage:
1. Visiting Team: Draft League Mode No Rest
2. Home Team: Draft League Mode No Rest
3. Scheduled Days Off: Give Scheduled Days Off
4. Auto Swap: No Auto Swap
5. Minor Leaguers: Minor Leaguers INELIGIBLE
6. Overusage: Ignore Overusage

Appendix B - Owner Choices

Lineup / Batting Orders: Each team must submit a lineup at the beginning of the season, and may update their lineup prior to each series.
1. The lineup must specify which players are in the Minor Leagues
2. The lineup must include at least two (up to four) batting orders. Each batting order sets up the team according to the opponent's starting pitcher. Each batting order must specify 9 position players by name in order of plate appearance and indicate which position each player plays. All batting orders must include a DH. The allowed batting orders are:
  - vs left-handed pitchers (mandatory)
  - vs right-handed pitchers (mandatory)
  - vs reverse left-handers (optional)
  - vs reverse right-handers (optional)
3. Note that while an Owner does not have to specify the third and fourth batting orders, they do have to be entered into the game. The Commissioner will use the most appropriate Owner-specified batting order to complete any order not specified by the Owner.
Starting Rotation: Each team must file a Starting Rotation at the beginning of the season, and may update their Rotation prior to each series.
1. The Rotation must list at least four pitchers by name in the order they are to appear. Note that a four-man rotation will not usually be sufficient for more than one series due to fatigue. The pitching rotation may include up to seven pitchers; 1-5 are normal starters, 6 and 7 are spot starters.
2. The Owner may individually specify whether each pitcher in the rotation is to appear in relief never (default), sometimes, or as needed.

Manager Settings All manager settings are optional, and may be updated prior to each series.

Relief Pitching: Teams may specify up to 4 relief pitchers: a setup pitcher vs right-handed batters, a setup pitcher vs left-handed batters, a closing pitcher vs right-handed batters, and a closing pitcher vs left-handed batters.
- setup vs left-handed batters
- setup vs right-handed batters
- closer vs left-handed batters
- closer vs right-handed batters
Batting and Substitutions:: Teams may specify one pinch hitter vs left-handed pitching and one pinch hitter vs right-handed pitching. The settings may also identify up to 3 defensive substitutions, listing the players by name in descending order of importance and indicating individually the position each player is to play.
Manager Tendencies: These settings govern how the computer manager actually runs the team.
1. The Owner may set each the following 6 tendencies as Very Aggressive, Aggressive, Normal (default), Conservative, or Extra Conservative:
  - Steal
  - Base Running
  - Hit and Run
  - Bunting
  - Use Relief (also has Extreme Aggressive)
  - Intentional Walk
2. You may specify Closer Usage as Normal (default) or Maximize.
3. Owners may specify which inning they want the infield to start playing in (this is very aggressive and makes manufacturing a run more difficult, but increases the chance of a single). Set Infield In to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th. (Default is 3rd.)
4. You may set the following tendencies regarding stolen bases. The first three are set in increments of 5% (0% to 95%), the fourth is yes/no.
  - Hold Runner - min Steal%. (Defense- default: 50%)
  - Hold Runner - min Lead%. (Defense- default: 0%)
  - Min % to Try Steal. (Offense- default: 0%)
  - Hold Exceptional Base Stealers Always? (Defense- default: yes)

Detailed Player Tendencies: Owners may specify if and how the computer manager will handle specific players individually. Each of the following is yes or no; the default for each is no.

Batters:	Pitchers:
Avoid LHP	Avoid Lefties
Avoid RHP	Avoid Righties
Bunt More	Quick Hook
Don't Bunt	Slow hook
Hit and Run More	Mop-up
Dont Hit and Run	Max 6IP/Start
Steal More	Max 7IP/Start
Don't Steal	Can Relieve when Tired
Don't Steal if Held	Avoid using in Blowout
Don't PH for vsL	Avoid using before 6th
Don't PH for vsR	Avoid using before 7th
Avoid Using as PH in Blowout	Avoid using before 8th
Remove for Defensive Sub	Avoid using before 9th
	Max Relief 1-2 IP
	Max Relief 2-3 IP
	IBB less with

Ballpark The following items are all the information pertaining to ballparks that are adjustable by the Owners. Remember that all VBL ballparks are based on real MLB ballparks, and must use actual MLB parameters for at least the first year they are in use. After that, Owners may request changes to their parks. In the listings below, BPE stands for "Ballpark Effect". Finally, note that the Commissioner does not know what some of these parameters do.
1. General:
  - Ballpark Name.
  - Use Weather? (yes/no)
  - National Anthem. (US/Canada)
  - MLB Ballpark ID.
  - BPE Single Roll for LHB (1-20) (Higher is easier.)
  - BPE Single Roll for RHB (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for LHB (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for RHB (1-20)
2. Weather Determination: Note that if you selected "Use Weather - no", none of these parameters, nor the "Weather Effects" below, matter. Also note that these determination numbers are fixed when a park is selected, and cannot be changed.)
  - Probability of Good/Ave/Bad Weather in Jun/Jul/Aug During Day. (Three percentages, which must total 100%)
  - Probability of Good/Ave/Bad Weather in Jun/Jul/Aug at Night. (Three percentages, which must total 100%)
  - Probability of Good/Ave/Bad Weather in Apr/May/Sep/Oct During Day. (Three percentages, which must total 100%)
  - Probability of Good/Ave/Bad Weather in Apr/May/Sep/Oct at Night. (Three percentages, which must total 100%)
3. Weather Effects: Note that if you selected "Use Weather - no", none of these parameters, nor the "Weather Determination" above, matter.
  - BPE Single Roll for LHB in Good Weather. (1-20, Higher is easier.)
  - BPE Single Roll for LHB in Ave Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Single Roll for LHB in Bad Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Single Roll for RHB in Good Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Single Roll for RHB in Ave Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Single Roll for RHB in Bad Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for LHB in Good Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for LHB in Ave Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for LHB in Bad Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for RHB in Good Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for RHB in Ave Weather. (1-20)
  - BPE Home Run Roll for RHB in Bad Weather. (1-20)
4. Extra Base Hits: These parameters reflect the actual number of extra base hits made in each MLB park. How these are incorporated into the game, I don't know.
  - Number of Triples.
  - Number of Doubles.

Appendix C - Glossary

AB: At Bat(s) (a statistic)
AL: American League (a VBL subleague)
ALE: American League East (a VBL division)
ALW: American League West (a VBL division)
BPE: Ballpark Effect. This means that the result of an AB will be determined by the ballpark, not the batter or pitcher.
CD: Calendar Date - The "real-life" day something happens. Play Dates (and deadlines unless otherwise specified) are Calendar Dates.
DH: Designated Hitter (a player position)
DL: Disabled List - When an injured player is moved to a team's Minor League Roster, that player is considered to be on the DL.
GD: Game Date - the virtual date on which a game occurs. There are normally multiple GD per PD during the regular VBL season.
GP: Game(s) Played (a statistic)
GS: Game(s) Started (a statistic)
IP: Inning(s) Pitched (a statistic)
MLB: Major League Baseball ("real-life" baseball)
NL: National League (a VBL subleague)
NLE: National League East (a VBL division)
NLW: National League West (a VBL division)
PA: Plate Appearance(s) (a statistic)
PD: Play Date - the actual date upon which VBL games are processed by the Commissioner. During the regular season, PDs normally occur on Wednesdays and Sundays.
VBL: Virtual Baseball League