Constitution

Official Constitution of
the USML
Rotisserie Baseball League

as modified in March 2016

Index

Preamble

We, the People of The USML Rotisserie Baseball League,
in order to protect ourselves from the machinations of
both the Klein-Nine and the Evil Empire,
abolish the “Race to the Commissioner” as
well as the ill-conceived “Robbins Rule,”
kiss domestic Tranquility good-bye,
promote the general Welfare in Tidewater —
where it’s been tearing up the International League —
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and those we’ve left on Base,
do ordain and establish this
Constitution for The USML Rotisserie Baseball League,
and also finish this run-on sentence.

Article I. Object

To assemble a lineup of 23 American League baseball players whose cumulative statistics during the regular season, compiled and measured by the methods described in these rules, exceed those of all other teams in The USML Rotisserie Baseball League (the “League“).

Article II. Teams

There shall be no less than ten and no more than twelve teams in the League.

Article III. Rosters

  1. A team’s active roster (its “Active Roster“) shall consist of the following players: five outfielders, two catchers, one second baseman, one shortstop, one middle infielder (either second baseman or shortstop), one first baseman, one third baseman, one corner infielder (either first baseman or third baseman), nine pitchers and one utility player (who may play any non-pitching position).
  2. A team’s reserve roster (its “Reserve Roster“) shall consist of those players acquired through the Rotation Draft (as defined in Article V), trades, demotions from its Active Roster or through free agent signings or waiver claims.
  3. After the Auction and until the day after the season ends, the cumulative salary of players on a team’s Active Roster must be at least $200 and may not exceed $330.
  4. Any transaction that causes a team’s Active Roster to (i) be over-represented at any position or (ii) fail to comply with the requirements of Section 3.3, or that causes a team’s Reserve Roster to have more than 17 players, must, before the end of the Reporting Period (as defined in Section 11.2) in which such transaction occurs, be accompanied by one or more transactions to remedy that defect.

Article IV. The Auction Draft

  1. A major league player auction (the “Auction“) shall be conducted on the first weekend after the opening day of the baseball season or at such other time as the League, by general agreement, shall determine (“Draft Day“). Each team must acquire a complete Active Roster consisting of exactly 23 players at a total cost not to exceed $260 (the $260 amount exists only to set a team salary limit on Draft Day — see Article VII for the fees to be paid to the League). A team need not spend the maximum. The League, by general agreement, shall determine the order in which the teams may nominate players for acquisition.
  2. The team bidding first opens with a minimum salary bid of $1 for any eligible player; the bidding proceeds at minimum increments of $1 until only one bidder is left. The initial bidder shall, at the time the initial bid is made, state the positions at which the nominated player is eligible; other teams may state other positions at which such player is eligible; and any disputes shall be resolved at that time. The final bidder acquires the player for the final bid. The process is repeated, with successive teams that have open Active Roster positions introducing players to be bid on, until every team has an Active Roster comprised of 23 players, by requisite position.
  3. Any player on an American League team’s major league roster or disabled list may be acquired in the Auction. Minor league players and unsigned players are not eligible for acquisition in the Auction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Auction shall be held before the opening day of the baseball season, (i) all players on an American League team’s 40-man roster on Draft Day (or on a different day prior to Draft Day as the League, by general agreement, shall determine) will be eligible to be acquired in the Auction, regardless of expected major league status and (ii) any player not on an American League team’s 40-man roster on Draft Day (or relevant different day) will not be eligible for to be acquired in the Auction, regardless of expected major league status; provided, however, that any non-rookie who is under contract with any American League team will be added to the pool of players eligible to be acquired in the Auction if any USML team designates that player to be added to the pool by Roster Freeze Day.  Any player who is purchased in an Auction that takes place before the opening day of the baseball season will begin the season with Year One contract status, even if the player is not on a USML team’s Active Roster on the opening day of the baseball season.
  4. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the Auction.
  5. No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford, based on the amount bid and the number of remaining players that the team must draft.
  6. No team may bid for a player who qualifies only at positions that the team has already filled.

Article V. The Rotation Draft

  1. A rotation draft (the “Rotation Draft“) shall be conducted immediately following the Auction. In the Rotation Draft, teams successively draft up to 17 additional players in 17 separate rounds of selection. Initially, players acquired in this fashion comprise a team’s Reserve Roster.
  2. Any player may be drafted in the Rotation Draft, other than a player on the major league roster of, or in the minor league organization of, a National League team. Eligible players include, without limitation, previously undrafted American League players, American League owned minor league players, unsigned players, Japanese players, high-school or college players, retired players and the kid down the block with the great arm.
  3. Teams are not required to select players by position in the Rotation Draft.
  4. The order of selection for each of the 17 rounds in the Rotation Draft is determined by the order of finish in the previous season. The fifth place teams selects first, then the sixth through last place teams, followed by the fourth, third, second and first place teams.
  5. A team may elect not to participate in the Rotation Draft or any round thereof. If a team does not make a selection in any round in the Rotation Draft, it foregoes its pick for that round and may not participate again until its turn in the next round.

Article VI. Position Eligibility

  1. A player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season. If a player did not appear in 20 games at a single position in the preceding season, he may be assigned to the position at which he appeared most frequently. Notwithstanding the first two sentences of this Section 6.1, if the preceding season shall be shortened, then an appropriate adjustment shall be made to the 20 game appearance requirement. In addition, once the season is under way (before or after Draft Day), a player becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he has appeared at least once.
  2. Subject to the second sentence of Section 4.2, eligibility questions shall be resolved by League vote prior to the commencement of the Auction.
  3. Except as set forth below, for purposes of Section 6.1, only appearances at the major league level shall count. If a player did not appear at the major league level in the preceding season, then appearances in other organized baseball leagues shall be used to determine position eligibility.

Article VII. Fees

  1. No money passes directly from team to team. No bets are made on the outcome of any game. All fees are payable to the prize pool and are subsequently distributed in accordance with Article IX.
  2. The Annual League fee shall be $100 per team. In addition, each team shall also contribute equally toward League administrative expenses, including the cost of compiling and distributing statistics. There shall be no additional fee for transactions made at any time.
  3. All fees shall be promptly collected by the League Treasurer, who is empowered to subject owners to public humiliation and assess fines as needed to ensure that payments are made to the League in a timely fashion.

Article VIII. Player Salaries

  1. 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 long-term contract.
  2. The initial salary of a player acquired in the Auction shall be his auction price.
  3. The initial salary of a player acquired in the Rotation Draft shall be determined, without regard to whether the acquiring team has participated in all preceding rounds of the Rotation Draft, as follows:
    • if the player is selected in the first round, $15;
    • rounds two through six, $10;
    • rounds seven through twelve, $5; and
    • rounds thirteen through seventeen, $2.
  4. The salary of a player claimed on waivers shall be his previous salary. The contract status of such player shall also remain unchanged.
  5. The salary of a free agent is his acquisition price. Except as set forth in the next sentence, the contract status of a free agent acquired on or before the last weekly transaction deadline before September 1 is that of a first-year player. The contract status of a free agent who, during the course of the season, was in the final year of his contract, is that of a player in the final year of his contract. The contract status of a free agent acquired after the last weekly transaction deadline before September 1 is that of a player in the final year of his contract.

Article IX. Prize Money

The fees for any season, less any League related administrative or other expenses for that season, shall be divided among the first four teams in the final standings for that
season as follows:

  • first place – 50%,
  • second place – 25%,
  • third place – 15% and
  • fourth place – 10%.

Article X. Standings

  1. The following criteria shall be used to determine team performance:
    • Composite batting average (“BA”);
    • Total home runs (“HR“);
    • Total runs batted in (“RBI“);
    • Total runs scored (“R“);
    • Total stolen bases (“SB“);
    • Composite earned run average (“ERA“);
    • Total wins (“W“);
    • Total strike outs (“K“);
    • Total saves (“S“); and
    • Composite pitching ratio: (walks + hits) / innings pitched (“Ratio“).
  2. Teams are ranked from first to last in each of the ten categories, with first place in any category being worth that number of points which is
    equal to the number of teams in the League and last place being worth one point. The team with the most total points wins the pennant.
  3. A team must pitch a total of 900 innings to receive points in ERA and Ratio. A team that does not pitch 900 innings maintains its place in ERA and
    Ratio ranking but receives zero points in both of these categories.
  4. A team must have 4250 at bats in the season. A team that does not have 4250 at bats maintains its place in BA ranking but receives zero points in
    this category.
  5. A pitcher’s offensive stats are not counted. A position player’s pitching stats are not counted.
  6. In cases of ties in an individual category, the tied teams shall be assigned points by totaling points for the rankings at issue and dividing the
    total by the number of teams tied.
  7. In cases of ties in total points, final places in the standings shall be determined by comparing placements of teams in individual categories. Respective performances shall be calculated and a point given to each team for bettering the other in a category. Should one team total more points than the other, that team shall be declared the winner. Should the point totals still be equal, the tie shall be broken by adding each team’s total at-bats at season’s end, plus triple the number of its innings pitched. The team that scores a higher total by this measure wins the pennant.

Article XI. Transaction Reporting and Stats

  1. The player statistical data provided by AllStar Stats (or such other provider and publisher as the League Commissioners shall select, subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole), shall constitute the official data base for computation of standings in the League. There shall be no changes made to such data unless agreed upon by the League Commissioners, subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole.
  2. The League season shall be divided into a series of weekly periods (each, a “Reporting Period“). The first and last Reporting Periods of the season may be less than one week long. Each Reporting Period (other than the first Reporting Period) commences on Sunday, immediately before the commencement of play.
  3. Notice of each transaction shall be given to the League Secretary. The reporting deadline for transactions shall be noon on Sunday. The effective date of any transaction reported to the League Secretary before the deadline, for purposes of statistical calculation, shall be the commencement of the Reporting Period immediately following the Reporting Period in which such notice is given.
  4. The effective date of any trade or Reserve Roster move made on Draft Day shall be the commencement of the Reporting Period immediately following Draft Day.
  5. Performance stats of a player shall be assigned to a League team only when he is on the Active Roster of that team.
  6. Standings shall be tabulated and issued on a weekly basis.

Article XII. Trades

  1. From the day after the season ends until the first weekly transaction deadline after August 1, any team in the League can consummate a trade with any other team in the League. Thereafter and until the last weekly transaction deadline before September 1, a team can only consummate a trade with teams contiguous to it (or tied with it) in the League standings. No trades may be consummated thereafter until the day after the season ends.
  2. At no time from the day that rosters are frozen prior to Draft Day (“Roster Freeze Day“) until the day after the season ends can any team have on its Active Roster more players at a particular position than allowed under the rules of the Auction. Trades made from the day after the season ends until Roster Freeze Day are not bound by the position eligibility requirements.
  3. No team may have more than 23 players on its Active Roster at the commencement of any Reporting Period. A team may have more than 23 players on its Active Roster at other times.
  4. No team may have more than 17 players on its Reserve Roster at the commencement of any Reporting Period. A team may have more than 17 players on its Reserve Roster at other times.
  5. Trades do not affect the salaries or contract status of players.
  6. No trade may be made for players to be named later, Auction funds, FAAB (as defined in Section 14.2) funds, Rotation Draft positions or picks or future considerations of any kind.
  7. Trades subject to contingencies may not be made. A player acquired through free agent bidding or a waiver claim may not be traded in a contingent transaction made in the Reporting Period during which the related bidding or waiver claims for such player occur.
  8. During the season, a team may not engage in any trade in which the difference between the number of Asterisk Players (as defined in Section 12.12) that it trades away and the number of Asterisk Players that it receives is more than one.
  9. During the season, a team may engage in a trade with another team in which the difference between the number of Asterisk Players that it trades away and the number of Asterisk players that it disposes of is one, provided, that the teams involved in the trade have not consummated another trade with each other during the season in reliance on this Section 12.9.
  10. A team that is a party to a trade involving more than two teams in which there is no difference between the number of Asterisk Players that it trades away and the number of Asterisk Players that it receives will not, by virtue of that trade, be deemed to have consummated a trade in reliance on Section 12.9.
  11. A trade involving more than two teams that would otherwise be prohibited by Section 12.8 will be permitted if the teams involved can articulate the trade as a series of trades that otherwise comply with Section 12.8 and Section Section 12.9.
  12. An “Asterisk Player” is any player who is in the final year of his contract or who has a salary of at least $25.
  13. From the commencement of the Auction until June 1, any player whose contract is not running may not be traded.

Article XIII. Movement Between Active Roster and Reserve Roster

A League team may demote a player from its Active Roster to its Reserve Roster or promote a player from its Reserve Roster to its Active Roster, at any time and for any reason.

Article XIV. Signing Free Agents

  1. Major league players (including those on a major league disabled list) who are not on any League team’s Active Roster or Reserve Roster at the conclusion of the Rotation Draft become free agents. During the course of the season, the pool of free agents may also include minor league players not on any League team’s Reserve Roster who are promoted to an active American League major league roster; players traded into the American League from the National League; free agents who sign with an American League team; and waived players who are not claimed. From the conclusion of the Rotation Draft and continuing through the season until the last weekly transaction deadline during the season, such free agents may be signed in accordance with this Article XIV. A minor league player will not join the pool of free agents until he is promoted to an active American League major league roster and may not be acquired as a free agent prior to such promotion.
  2. Each team shall have, for the purpose of acquiring free agents during the course of the season, a supplementary budget of $100, known as its free agent acquisition budget (“FAAB“).
  3. At the weekly transaction deadline, a League team may submit a sealed bid for one or more free agents. The minimum bid shall be $5; bids above $5 shall be in whole dollar amounts only; the maximum bid shall be the amount remaining in a team’s FAAB. A free agent bid may be contingent upon the success of another free agent bid made by the same team. All non-contingent bids shall be considered before any contingent bids are considered. For example, consider the following bid: League team A submits the following: I bid $5 for x and if I don’t get him then I bid $5 for y and if I don’t get him then $10 for z. The bid for x shall be considered a non-contingent bid. If another team makes a non-contingent bid of $2 for z then that other team would acquire z, even if team A fails to acquire x or y.
  4. A free agent goes to the highest bidder. If more than one team bids the same amount on a player, and if that amount is the highest bid, the player goes to the team that is lowest in the standings for the most recently completed Reporting Period. If reference to the most recently completed Reporting Period does not resolve the deadlock then the deadlock shall be resolved by coin flip or similar selection process satisfactory to the interested parties. The team acquiring the player shall have an amount equal to $1 more than the second highest bid deducted from its FAAB, if there is a single bidder then the minimum bid amount ($5) shall be deducted, and if more than one team bids the highest bid, the highest bid
    shall be deducted; no other team’s FAAB shall be reduced. Collusive bidding for the purpose of creating an Asterisk Player is prohibited.
  5. A free agent may be signed to a Reserve Roster. The contract status of a free agent signed to a Reserve Roster shall be determined in accordance with
    Section 8.5. If a bid does not specify whether it relates to an Active Roster position or a Reserve Roster position, such bid shall be deemed to relate to an Active Roster position. Each team submitting a bid is responsible for communicating any other transactions to the League Secretary that will be necessary in order for that team, if it is the winning bidder, to comply with the requirements of Article III in a timely fashion. A bid may, but is not required to, indicate other roster moves (but not other bids) involving the Active Roster or Reserve Roster of the bidding team (and no other team) contingent upon the success of the bid.
  6. If a player who is traded to the National League during the course of a season is on the Active Roster or the Reserve Roster of any team in the League, that team may elect to waive the player at any time during that season while the player remains in the National League. Upon any such waiver, the salary of the waived player shall be immediately added (as opposed to waiting until the commencement of the next succeeding Reporting Period) to the waiving team s FAAB; provided, however, that in the case of a player acquired in the most recent Rotation Draft or retained on a Reserve Roster without having his salary deducted from the team s $260 expenditure limit for the most recent Auction, $2 shall be added to the waiving team’s FAAB. The right to have funds added to a team’s FAAB is limited to the League team on whose roster the player appears when the player is traded to the National League, provided, that for the limited purpose of this Section 14.6, a trade between League teams shall be given effect as of the time that the trade is generally announced to the League. This Section 14.6 shall not apply to off-season major league trades.
  7. FAAB balances shall not be retained from season to season.

Article XV. Releases and Waivers

  1. Subject to Section 15.5, a player may be waived at any time other than between Roster Freeze Day and the conclusion of the Rotation Draft, for any reason. Any waived player who is then on an American League major league roster or disabled list shall be subject to waiver claims in accordance with this Article XV. No other waived player shall be subject to waiver claims.
  2. The waiver period commences with the Reporting Period immediately following a team’s notification of waiver to the League Secretary and extends for one full Reporting Period. No team may submit a free agent bid for a player during the Reporting Period in which that player is subject to waiver claims. At the conclusion of that Reporting Period, if the player is unclaimed, he goes into the free agent pool.
  3. Waiver claims are honored according to the inverse order of the standings at the commencement of the waiver period. Ties shall be resolved by coin flip or similar selection process satisfactory to the interested parties. A waiver claim may be contingent upon the success or another waiver claim made by the same team. All non-contingent waiver claims shall be considered before any contingent waiver claims are considered. For example, consider the following claim: League team A submits the following: I claim x and if I don’t get him then I claim y and if I don’t get him then I claim z. The waiver claim for x shall be considered a non-contingent waiver claim. If another team makes a successful non-contingent waiver claim for z then that other player would acquire z, even if team A fails to acquire x or y and ranks lower in the standings for the relevant Reporting Period than such other team.
  4. A team may reclaim a player it has waived only if all other teams in the League decline to claim him.
  5. Subject to Section 14.6 and except as provided in Section 16.6, a player on a long-term contract may not be waived, except in the final year of his contract.
  6. A player claimed on waivers may be initially placed on a Reserve Roster. If a waiver claim does not specify whether it relates to an Active Roster position or a Reserve Roster position, such waiver claim shall be deemed to relate to an Active Roster position. Each team submitting a waiver claim is responsible for communicating any other transactions to the League Secretary that will be necessary in order for that team, if it acquires the waived player, to comply with the requirements of Article III in a timely fashion. A waiver claim may, but is not required to, indicate other roster moves (but not other waiver claims) involving the Active Roster or Reserve Roster of the claiming team (and no other team) contingent upon the success of the waiver claim.

Article XVI. The Option Year and Long-Term Contracts

  1. A player who has been under contract during two consecutive seasons and whose service has been uninterrupted (that is, he has not become a free agent, although he may have been traded or claimed on waivers) must, prior to the freezing of rosters in his third season, be released; signed at his then current salary for an option year; or signed to a long-term contract. If released, the player returns to the free agent pool and becomes available to the highest bidder at the next Auction. If signed at his then current salary for an option year, the player must be released back into the free agent pool at the end of that season. If signed to a long-term contract, the player’s salary in each year covered by the new contract (which commences with the option year) shall be the sum of his then current salary and $5 for each additional year beyond the option year.
  2. As used in this Article XVI, a “season” is understood to be a full season or any fraction thereof. Thus, a player called up from the free agent pool in the middle of the 1997 season and subsequently retained at the same salary without being released in the 1998 season (even though he may have been traded) enters his option year in the 1999 season and must be released, signed at the same salary for an option year or signed to a long-term contract no later than Roster Freeze Day for the 1999 season.Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 16.2, the first “season” of a player will not be deemed to occur until that player loses major league rookie status or that player appears on the Active Roster of a League team, provided, however, that if a player with major league rookie status who has appeared on the Active Roster of a League team is subsequently selected in the Rotation Draft, his prior appearance on the Active Roster of a League team shall be disregarded. Thus, a minor league player with major league rookie status acquired in the Rotation Draft in 1997 who is first activated to a major league roster in 2000 without being activated by his League team and without losing his major league rookie status will not be considered to have played his first season. If that player is activated in the 2001 season by both his major league team and his League team, then 2003 will be that player’s option year (even if he retains rookie status and spends all of the 2002 season in the minor leagues).
  3. A player may be signed to only one long-term contract, at the end of which he becomes a free agent.
  4. Option-year and long-term contracts are transferable; the trade of a player shall not affect his contract status.
  5. If during the course of a long-term contract a player: (i) is traded to the National League and waived in accordance with Section 14.6 or (ii) commences a season on the roster of a National League team, such long-term contract is rendered null and void. The team losing such player’s services shall
    be under no further obligations.
  6. A player with a long-term contract may be released back into the free agent pool at any time during the season or during the off-season, but a team that chooses to do so will, for the next Auction only, have that player’s salary deducted from the team’s $260 limit. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, a player with a long-term contract may be released back into the free agent pool without penalty at any time after completion of the Rotation Draft for the season which is the final season under the long-term contract.

Article XVII. Roster Protection

  1. For each Roster Freeze Day, each team may retain from the prior season no more than 9 of the players from its Active and Reserve Rosters. Players protected may include players who have spent the entire previous season on a Reserve Roster. A player who is in the National League on Roster Freeze Day may not be retained.
  2. Roster Freeze Day shall be March 15 or such other date as the League, by general agreement, shall determine. The names of players being retained must be recorded with the League Secretary by Roster Freeze Day. Specific notice must also be made at that time of any new long-term contracts being entered into. After Roster Freeze Day a team may elect to waive one player who was previously protected on Roster Freeze Day. Any such waiver must be recorded with the League Secretary not later than 11:59 p.m. (Chicago time) on the second day following opening day of the major league season or such other time and date as the League, by general agreement, shall determine. Any player may be waived according to this section except a player signed to a long term contract in effect during the most recently completed season. While a player signed to a long term contract following the end of the most recently completed season may be waived without penalty according to this section, no other modifications to the terms of such a player’s long term contract shall be permitted.
  3. The cumulative salaries of players protected immediately prior to the Auction shall be deducted from the team’s $260 expenditure limit, as well as any amounts deducted in accordance with Section 16.6, with the balance remaining available for the acquisition of the remaining players needed to complete the team’s Active Roster. However, the salary of a player protected on Roster Freeze Day (assuming that such player remains on a team’s Active Roster or Reserve Roster on Draft Day) shall not be deducted from the $260 limit if, on Draft Day, such player is not on an American League team’s major league roster or disabled list and such player has not completed his first “season” within the meaning of Section 16.2.
  4. Protected players who, on Draft Day, are on an American League team’s major league roster shall be assigned to the protecting team’s Active Roster. Protected players who, on Draft Day, are on an American League team’s major league disabled list shall be assigned to the protecting team’s Active Roster unless the protecting team elects to assign such player to its Reserve Roster, such election to be made not later than the commencement of the Auction. Protected players who, on Draft Day, are not on an American League team’s major league roster or disabled list shall be assigned to the protecting team’s Reserve Roster. If the Auction shall be held before the opening day of the baseball season, a protected player who, on Draft Day, has not completed his first “season” within the meaning of Section 16.2 shall be assigned to the protecting team’s Reserve Roster, otherwise, such player shall be assigned to the protecting team’s Active Roster (in each case, without regard to anticipated opening-day major league status, but subject to the the second sentence of this Section 17.4). This Section 17.4 does not change the application of Section 17.3.
  5. In addition to the players that a team may protect from its roster of Active and Reserve Roster players pursuant to Section 17.1, a team may also protect an additional three players on its Reserve Roster, provided, that such players have major league rookie status and have never been on the Active Roster of a League team (without regard to anticipated opening-day major league status).
  6. Assignment of a protected player to a Reserve Roster position is at the protecting team’s discretion. That is, a team with a $10 minor leaguer carried over from the preceding year might, for strategic reasons, assign that player to the 17th position in the Rotation Draft, thus foregoing a $2 pick, or the team might assign the player to the first round and forgo a $15 pick.
  7. The League Secretary shall promptly notify all teams in the League of each team’s protected Active Roster and Reserve Roster, including player salaries, contract status and amount available to spend in the Auction.
  8. To ensure compliance with Section 12.2 on Roster Freeze Day, a League team may assume that specified players will not be on an American league team’s major league roster or disabled list on Draft Day. On opening day it may become apparent that such League team’s Active Roster does not comply with Section 12.2 because that team’s assumptions were wrong. The player or players that such League team had assumed were going to be in the minor leagues and that cause such League team’s Active roster to not comply with Section 12.2 will be waived automatically unless the conditions set forth in Section 17.9 are satisfied. If the conditions set forth in Section 17.9 are satisfied, then the League team will be permitted to make roster moves in the manner set forth in Section 17.10 in order to comply with Section 12.2. If on opening day such League team’s Active Roster complies with Section 12.2, but falls out of compliance prior to Draft Day, then the League team will be permitted to make roster moves in the manner set forth in Section 17.10 in order to comply with Section 12.2 without regard to Section 17.9.
  9. In order to avoid automatic waiver of a player pursuant to Section 17.8, the League Commissioners (subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole) must have previously determined that its was most likely that the player subject to automatic waiver was going to begin the season in the minor leagues. Promptly following Roster Freeze Day, the League Commissioners shall notify all teams in the League of those players included on protected rosters that the League Commissioners deem to be most likely to begin the season in the minor leagues. Any League team may challenge the determination of the League Commissioners with respect to any player. Upon such a challenge, the Committee of the Whole will determine whether the player (or players) in question is (or are) most likely to begin the season in the minor leagues. If a League team dissents from the final determination made in accordance with this Section with respect to one of its players, such League team will be permitted to make roster moves in the manner set forth in Section 17.10 in order to eliminate the potential that one or more of its players will be automatically waived pursuant to Section 17.8.
  10. Whenever a League team is permitted to make roster moves in accordance with this Section, such League team will be permitted to remove players from its Active Roster or Reserve Roster solely with a view towards ensuring compliance with Section 12.2. For example, a League team with a potential conflict at catcher may not use the opportunity afforded by this Section to cut an Active Roster pitcher. A team may reclaim one player previously not retained by it on Roster Freeze Day for each player removed from its Active Roster or Reserve Roster by operation of this Section. Whenever a League team is permitted to make roster moves in accordance with this Section, such roster moves must be made within 48 hours or such longer period as the League team persuades the League Commissioners (subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole) is appropriate under the circumstances.
  11. A roster move (whether automatic or discretionary) made pursuant to Section 17.8 or Section 17.10 shall not constitute the discretionary waiver permitted by Section 17.2.

Article XVIII. Governance

The League is 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. Three owners shall be designated as League Commissioners. The League Commissioners shall have the authority to interpret this Constitution and handle all ordinary course League business. All action by the League Commissioners shall be subject to veto by the Committee of the Whole. Rule changes, pronouncements, and acts of whimsy are determined by majority vote of the Committee of the Whole. The League has two official meetings each year, Draft Day and the Gala Postseason Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Failure to attend both meetings (at least by telephone) is punishable by trade to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. By virtue of Andy Klein’s complete lack of respect for the sanctity of the process by which these rules have been refined over time (and since the scribe responsible for this document wants to curry favor with the Riptorns), all ambiguities shall be interpreted against the Klein Nine.