MLR Rulebook

/r/fakebaseball

Last Revision: January 23, 2020PDF Built: January 30, 2020

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ContentsIntroduction 3

Rules 3

1 League Operation and Conduct 31.1 The Office of the Commissioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 Rule interpretation/implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.3 Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.4 Player Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.5 GM Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Player Creation and Transactions 62.1 Roster information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2 Player creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.3 Lineup creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.4 Signing free agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.5 Releasing players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.6 Placing players on hiatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.7 Player suspensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.8 Replacement of general managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.9 Team captains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Gameplay Rules 103.1 Season Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.2 Game rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.3 Game mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143.4 Draft Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 Minor League Redditball (MiLR) 194.1 Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.2 Team structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.3 Third position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.4 Free agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Range System Index 21Range Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Pitcher Hand Bonuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Park Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Infield In Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Type Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Batter Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Pitcher Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Pitcher Hand Bonuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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Introduction

This is the official rule book for Major League Redditball, a game operated by, for, and on the subreddit /r/fakebaseball.Reddit users get the chance to take on the role of baseball players and executives in a simple game of number-guessing.

The league uses real current and former MLB teams in MLB division format.

Following are the rules to Redditball. The overall goal is to keep it relatively simple and accessible, while still allowingfor flexibility in player and GM strategy, statistical variance, and fun!

Rules

1 League Operation and Conduct

1.1 The Office of the Commissioners

1. The Office of the Commissioners (OOTC) is responsible for administrating and moderating the league.

2. The OOTC consists of up to 10 members, 5 ”Commissioners” and 5 ”Technicians”.

a. There are to be 5 equal, elected Commissioners. whose primary responsibilities are to guide league-wideoperations and make decisions on behalf of the league.

b. There are to be up to 5 Technicians, appointed at sole discretion of the Commissioners, with the followingtitles and responsibilities:

i. MiLR Manager, sole acting Commissioner of MiLR, under guidance of the Commissioners.

ii. Head Umpire, responsible for selecting and assigning umpires, and overseeing appeals within games.

iii. League Statistician, responsible for maintaining the league’s statistics in a publicly presentable andaccessible manner.

iv. Media Manager, responsible for moderating and administrating the league’s Fake Sports ProgrammingNetwork.

v. Website Manager, responsible for maintaining, administrating and overseeing development of theleague website, https://redditball.com.

3. Commissioners will be elected in two cycles per season.

a. One election will appoint 3 members to start Session 4 of each season.

b. The other election will appoint 2 members to start Session 13 of each season.

c. All players and GMs of the community will be eligible to vote.

4. In the event that a Commissioner resigns, is removed, or is otherwise no longer capable of fulfilling the role,the following procedure shall take place if there is reasonable time (at least 3 sessions) before the next regularelection:

a. An emergency election will be held, taking no longer than one session.

b. The elected Commissioner will hold the position for the remainder of the term of the departing Commis-sioner.

5. In order to be eligible to become a Commissioner, a person must meet the following requirements:

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a. Must have been an active (non-retired) member of the community for 6 months prior to the election beforebeing elected.

b. Must maintain a presence in the league discord for at least 1 month prior to the election, and for theduration of their time in office. Leaving the discord while a Commissioner will be considered resignation.

c. Must not have been removed from a Commissioner role by the committee.

6. At any point, the committee is capable of impeaching a Commissioner, forcing an immediate replacementprocess. This will require a two thirds vote to pass.

a. Impeachment and removal proceedings will follow this procedure:

i. To impeach a commissioner, 5 committee members must all co-sponsor a Motion of Impeachmentwhich details the reasons for impeachment.

ii. Once a commissioner has been impeached, at the beginning of the next committee office hours, officialremoval proceedings will begin. A discussion period of no less than 36 hours will be started as withany other proposal.

iii. At the close of the discussion period, a vote on removal will be held for a period not less than 36hours. There will be at least 2 pings for the vote, 1 at the beginning of the vote and one 24 hours later.

iv. At the close of voting, if 2/3rds of votes are cast in favor of removal, the Commissioner will beremoved for their position. A quorum of 60% of voters is required for a removal vote to be final andvalid.

b. Once a Motion of Impeachment has been brought against a Commissioner, that Commissioner will besuspended from all powers and duties of their office until such time as impeachment proceedings haveconcluded.

1.2 Rule interpretation/implementation

1. Rules are always malleable by the commissioner’s office. Suggestions may be made for consideration by thecommissioner’s office. All rules are ineffective until explicitly approved by the commissioner’s office.

2. The commissioners office may not post a rule officially until it has been at the very least presented to thecommittee room prior to implementation (see Committee).

3. Rule interpretation may vary between officials. Concerns with the rules interpretation shall be directed to thecommissioners office.

1.3 Committee

1. The MLR Committee is responsible for introducing new rules and procedures to the league, and operates con-tinuously within its own framework. Its constitution can be found here.

1.4 Player Conduct

1. Players must report to any team they are signed, drafted, or traded to, regardless of their real-world allegiancesor opinions of a team’s real-world analog.

a. Quitting or otherwise becoming inactive chiefly due to these feelings may be met with a ban from theleague.

2. Reporter figures and accounts are activley encouraged, but if operated by an active player or GM, their identitymust be divulged to the commissioners office to avoid any concerns of using alternate accounts.

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3. All community members must treat their peers with respect, be it their GM, teammates, or other teams.

a. Trash talk is normal an encouraged (on Discord and in trash talk and game threads), but the commissionersoffice reserves the right to moderate conversations. Don’t make things personal.

b. Players and GMs who feel disrespected by someone on their team or in the league may file a grievance withthe commissioners office. Possible action can include a ban from the league and free agent compensation.

1.5 GM Conduct

1. Good Faith Trading

a. All GMs must participate in trade discussions in good faith.

i. Good Faith is here defined as not grossly misrepresenting the activity of a player either in their levelof discord activity or the last time they were active

b. If any GM is found to have misrepresented the conditions of the trade, that trade is void unless renegotiated

c. Any trade that is found to grossly benefit one team may be overturned at the discretion of the OOTC

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2 Player Creation and Transactions

2.1 Roster information

1. Rosters must have a minimum of 9 players including 1 pitcher. A team may not field a roster of over 20 players.

a. A pinch-hitting GM (see GMs as Players) does not occupy a roster slot.

2.2 Player creation

1. Player names submitted by a player cannot be changed without approval from the commissioners office.

a. Names may not match or strongly resemble those of active MLB players.

b. Names may not bully or demean other players or members of the community.

c. No alternate accounts may be used. Players and GMs are limited to using one account in the game, anddiscovery of the use of an alternate account will result in an immediate and permanent ban of both accounts.

i. Reporter accounts are the only exception (see reporter rules)

2. Players are required to have a Reddit account in good standing to sign up.

a. Reddit accounts under 6 months of age and with minimal karma may be rejected as part of our policy onalternate accounts.

i. Accounts not meeting these requirements may be vouched for by existing members of the communityin good standing.

3. Position players have the opportunity to choose their primary and secondary positions. Available secondarypositions for each primary position are listed below.

Primary position Available secondary positionsCatcher First base, third baseFirst base Third base, left fieldSecond base Shortstop, first base, right fieldThird base Second base, shortstop, left fieldShortstop Second base, third base, center fieldLeft field Right field, first baseCenter field Left field, right fieldRight field Center field, first base

2.3 Lineup creation

1. Starting lineups mut be valid when submitted. Invalid starting lineups must be fixed as soon as possible, or riskbeing overridden by a default lineup or one set by the commissioners office (see Game rules).

a. A valid lineup consists of 9 (or 10 when using a DH) players, in positions they are each eligible for, withall positions represented.

i. Players are eligible to play either their primary or secondary position.

ii. Players playing out of position may be allowed on a case-by-case basis with valid reason, and mustbe approved by the commissioners office.

b. Pitchers may only play as pitchers. They may not play a defensive position other than pitcher.

i. Pitchers may pinch hit or play a position in case of emergency.

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c. Any player is eligible to slot in as DH.

d. Since catcher is not an available secondary position, a backup ”emergency” catcher may be designatedprior to each game.

e. Position player pitching

i. Position players may come in to pitch in a game when both of the following are true:

1. All pitchers on the team’s roster are unavailable.

2. The umpire believes the substitution of a position player to pitch is necessary or justified.

ii. Position players that pitch will never get a hand bonus and have a special pitching range (see RangeSystem Index).

f. GMs as players

i. GMs have two options if they would like to play in a game.

1. Full time player-GM

a. Full time player-GMs occupy a roster spot on their team and are eligible to start in a game fortheir team.

b. They also choose a primary and secondary position, type and hand. These are not able to bechanged until the offseason.

2. Pinch hitter GM

a. Pinch hitter GMs do not occupy a roster slot on their team and are not eligible to start in a gamefor their team.

b. They also choose a type and hand, which are not able to be changed until the offseason.

c. Pinch hitter GMs may pinch hit for any player at any point in the game. They assume theposition of the player they are replacing, but cannot be moved to other positions once in thegame.

2.4 Signing free agents

1. After signing up, players will be posted to the GM channel and the free agent list. Once posted, they enter a12-hour no-signing period.

a. Free agents cannot officially accept a contract until the 12-hour window has passed. This time should beused to consider offers from every team who extends one.

b. The time and date of the no-sign period will be included on the free agent listing.

2. Free agents signed while a team’s game is ongoing are not eligible to play in such game.

a. Gifted free agents by the commissioners office are an exception to this rule.

b. Newly signed players are eligible to play in MiLR.

3. To sign a free agent to a team, a GM must post a confirmation from the player (date included) to the GM channelin the Discord.

4. The commissioners office reserves the right to deny free agent signings if they do not follow procedure or in thecase of conflict, such as multiple teams’ claims on a free agent.

5. Players that are not listed on the free agent list may not be signed prior to their posting. This includes free agentswho have been wiped from the list (they will need to sign up and be posted again).

6. A free agent may inform the commissioners office of retiring, in which case they will be removed from the list.

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2.5 Releasing players

1. A player’s tenure on a team is considered at-will, and players may be released for any reason.

2. Players will be placed on three-day waivers when released.

a. Waiver claim order is defined as the reverse order of the most recent semi-official power rankings publishedby the Major League Redditball Awards Association (MLRAA). That is, the lowest ranked team has thehighest waiver priority.

b. If the player clears waivers, they revert to free agent status and may be signed by any team.

2.6 Placing players on hiatus

1. If a player knows they will unavailable for a time, their GM may place them on the hiatus list.

a. Valid hiatus reasons include, but are not limited to, parental responsibilities, vacations, mental health,school reasons, etc.

b. The commissioners office must approve all hiatus list additions, and GMs must provide proof of a player’ssituation to corroborate the request.

c. Teams must be able to field a valid lineup (see Lineup creation) without the player being moved to hiatus.

2. Players on the hiatus list do not occupy a roster slot and may not play in any game, but remain under teamcontrol.

2.7 Player suspensions

1. Players may be suspended by their team or by the commissioners office.

a. Suspended players may not play in any game, but do occupy a roster slot.

2. Players suspended by the commissioners office may appeal the decision within 24 hours.

a. The appeals committee shall consist of one GM, one player committee member, and one member of thecommissioners office.

i. Each of these groups may select their appeals committee member, but chosen appeals committeemembers may fill any holes by themselves if any members are not chosen within 12 hours.

ii. Anyone directly involved in the matter at hand, or affiliated with the suspended player’s team, maynot be involved with the appeal committee.

b. The commitee shall hear from both the suspended player and the league official who handed down thesuspension.

c. When the committee is ready, they may privately deliberate.

d. The committee shall then vote on how to handle the suspension. The three possible outcomes are:

i. Overturning the suspension

1. This requires a unanimous vote of the appeals committee.

ii. Reducing the duration of the suspension

1. This requires a 23 vote of the appeals committee.

2. The reduction is determined by the appeals committee.

iii. Upholding the suspension

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1. This is the default outcome.

e. The committee has 72 hours to make a final ruling. If they fail to do so, a new committee is formed underthe same procedures and the process begins anew.

f. While a suspension is being appealed, the player’s suspension is delayed until resolved, and they may playnormally.

3. Suspensions must be handed down either:

a. Between sessions, or

b. When the player is not currently playing in a game.

2.8 Replacement of general managers

1. In the event of an unplanned departure of a GM, the team’s primary captain becomes acting GM. Their status asa player is unaffected. The OOTC can choose the acting GM at their sole discretion if the primary team captainis not suitable for any reason.

a. Departure here is defined as no longer fulfilling standard GM duties such as setting lineups.

i. Discord presence is strongly recommended but not explicitly required. In the case of a Discord ab-sence a player must be appointed to represent the team in the GM channel. They will be deemed anInterim GM.

2. The team may collectively put forth a teammate for consideration for the GM position.

3. In the event no teammate is chosen or in cases of their being denied by the commissioners office, the commis-sioners office will submit 3 candidates to the team. One of these candidates must be chosen by the team tobecome the new GM.

4. The Mutiny Clause: Additional conditions for GM removal

a. 3 missed lineup submissions

b. 80% or 10 players vote of no confidence from team

c. 2 games lost to Auto-K/BB forfeit or 10 Auto-K/BBs per 4 game session.

2.9 Team captains

1. GMs may designate a primary team captain and up to two secondary team captains. These players must bedisclosed to the OOTC and they can be added or removed at any time.

2. Team captains can make emergency substitutions and set emergency lineups in the case of an unavailable GM(see Substitutions and Captain Lineups).

a. Umps should not initiate contact with team captains except in extreme cases or otherwise stated in therulebook.

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3 Gameplay Rules

3.1 Season Layout

1. Seasons consist of a schedule of 16 games followed by playoffs.

2. Games are played one at a time, in periods of time called ”sessions”.

a. Sessions are 10 days long.

b. Sessions begin two days after the previous session ends.

i. Exceptions to this may occur due to holidays or shortage of league officials.

c. Games begin on the first day of the session, generally at 12pm ET.

d. Games that are not completed by 12pm ET on the final day of the session, (that is, 240 hours after the startof the session) are designated as shortened games.

i. If the home team is winning and the game is in the bottom of the inning when the session concludes,the game will automatically end with the home team declared the winner.

ii. Otherwise, games will end at the end of the current inning. If the game is tied, the inning is treated asthe 6th inning, and any further innings will be played under extra inning baserunner rules (see Extrainnings).

iii. All games that run over the end of the session are subject to shortened extra-inning auto timers (seeExtra innings) effective immediately upon session end.

e. The trade deadline is set at 12pm ET on the first day of session 13.

f. Playoff format

i. From each league, three division chapions and three wild card teams will advance to the playoffs.

ii. The playoffs consist of four rounds: the Wild Card round, the Divisional Games, the League Cham-pionship Games, and the Paper Cup. Teams will be seeded first by division winners followed by thewild card teams.

1. The Wild Card round is the first round of the playoffs. In each league the wild card teams and thelowest seeded division winner will face off. The division winner will host the lowest seeded wildcard team and the highest seeded wild card team will host the middle seeded wild card team.

2. The Divisional Games is the league semifinal round. In each league, the top seeded team hoststhe lower ranked winning team from the Wild Card round, and the second seeded team hosts thehigher seeded winning team from the Wild Card round.

3. The League Championship Game is the game to decide the American League and NationalLeague champions. The higher of the two remaining seeds hosts the lower seed.

4. The Paper Cup is the game that decides the champion of the Major League Redditball season.Home field advantage is determined by regular season record, with the wild card tiebreakersapplied as necessary.

iii. Tiebreakers

1. Ties between two teams are applied in the following order:

a. Division tiebreakers: 1) Head-To-Head Record → 2) Record vs Division → 3) Strength ofVictory → 4) Strength of Schedule → 5) Run Differential → 6) Number of Autos → 7) HomeRun Derby (10 outs)

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b. Wildcard tiebreakers: 1) Head-To-Head Record → 2) Record vs Common Opponents → 3)Strength of Victory → 4) Strength of Schedule → 5) Run Differential → 6) Number of Autos→ 7) Home Run Derby (10 outs)

2. Ties between 3 or more teams are applied in the following order

a. 1) Head-To-Head Record → 2) Record vs Common Opponents/Division → 3) Strength ofVictory → 4) Strength of Schedule → 5) Run Differential → 6) Number of Autos → 7) HomeRun Derby (10 outs)

b. If a team is eliminated from a tiebreaker while two or more teams remain, the tiebreaker processwill be started over with the remaining teams, starting from Point 1. The only exception to thisis if a tie breaker is encountered in the order where one team beats all other teams in the sametiebreak, in which case, they will be awarded the playoff spot.

3. In the event of multiple teams being tied for both a division and a wildcard spot, the divisiontiebreaker will be run first, and once a qualifier has been pulled from there, the wildcard tiebreakerwill then be ran, with the division winning team not counting for the purposes of the CombinedRecord vs Tied Opponents tiebreaker.

4. If two teams are tied for multiple wildcard spots, we will run a tiebreaker once to get the firstteam, and then start a fresh second tiebreaker, not including the first playoff qualifier.

3.2 Game rules

1. This game being modeled after real baseball, any situation or definition not covered under the rules in thissection will default to MLB rules and procedures.

2. Game procedure

a. Umpires are designated by the Ump Warden, or the commissioners office in case the Ump Warden isunavailable.

i. Umpires are responsible for setting up the game thread and pinging pitchers and batters for numbers,as well as keeping track of game state.

ii. When assigned, umpires are listed on the schedule tab of the rosters sheet. GMs are required to sendin their lineups on time.

1. Lineups may be sent to the Ump Warden at any time. They will be directed to the appropriateump by the Ump Warden.

2. GMs may designate a default lineup for umps to use if a lineup is not submitted within the first 3hours of the beginning of a session.

a. If a player on a teams default lineup is traded or released, the default lineup must be adjustedbefore the release or trade is approved.

b. If a team has not set a default lineup, and that team has not submitted a lineup within the first3 hours of the beginning of a session, the commissioners office reserves the right to create alineup in their place.

c. If a GM has not set a lineup for a session and the session has begun, team captains can submitan emergency lineup within the first 3 hours of the beginning of a session to be used in placeof the default lineup.

i. An ump may ask a team captain for an emergency lineup during this window.

b. Games last 6 innings in regulation time. If the game is tied after six innings, extra innings will be playedto determine the winner. See Extra innings.

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c. As soon as a pitch is needed, the umpire shall notify the pitcher either via Discord or Reddit message.

i. Stating the result of the previous at-bat to the pitcher via Discord or Reddit is considered notificationof a new pitch being needed.

ii. In the case of a list pitcher (more than one pitch at a time) the Umpire MUST clearly request a newpitch or list of pitches once their current list has been exhausted. This is the only case in which statingthe result of the previous at bat is not considered notification of a new pitch being needed.

d. When a pitch number is acquired, the umpire shall post a top-level comment on the game thread signalingthe batters plate appearance. This must include the players username as a mention so they get a notification.The umpire is also recommended to mention the player in the Discord if applicable, but this should be seenas a courtesy and is not required.

e. The player then replies to the top-level comment with their swing. There must be a clear number to beused as the swing, but may optionally include roleplay or other commentary.

i. If multiple numbers are included in the writeup, the batter must make clear which one is the swing.If there is no clear swing, the umpire will use the last number in the swing comment. To ensure thecorrect swing is used, batters should include it at the very end of the comment, e.g. Swing: 123.

f. The umpire shall post the result of the plate appearance as a reply to the players swing.

g. Instances of communicating pitch or swing numbers, real or fake, between the current pitcher and batterconstitutes unsportsmanlike conduct and will be met with a suspension.

h. Umpire mistakes

i. In any case of an umpire misapplying rules, general procedure shall be:

1. Reversal of the play if another batter has not completed a plate appearance since the error.

2. Continuation of play if another batter has completed a plate appearance since the error.

3. This procedure applies generally to every situation. In some cases, the commissioners office maymake a different determination of how play shall proceed.

3. Auto timers

a. Both pitchers and batters are subject to an auto timer from the time they are pinged to the time they submita number.

b. The auto timer consists of a hard limit of 12 hours.

c. Players have until the auto timer expires to submit a number and fulfill their obligation.

i. For example, a batter that is summoned for a plate appearance at 9am has until 9pm to submit anumber.

d. If a player fails to fulfill their obligation, an auto is issued.

i. For batters who fail to provide a number, they are issued an automatic strikeout. This strikeout iscredited to the batter and pitcher but officially counts as an automatic strikeout.

ii. For pitchers who fail to provide a number, the batter they are set to face is issued an automatic walk.This walk is credited to the batter and pitcher but officially counts as an automatic walk.

iii. Any numbers submitted after the hard cap has passed are invalid and will be ignored.

e. Pitchers who are issued two consecutive automatic walks must be automatically subbed out.

f. Delays of game

i. A team that is caught purposely delaying a game will forfeit the game. Teams caught purposefullydelaying a game are given a 9-hour auto timer for the game following the forfeiture.

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ii. Warnings for delay of game shall be issued to a team after 3 total auto walks or strikeouts by thatteam.

iii. 5 total auto walks or strikeouts by a team in a game shall result in automatic forfeiture of the game bythat team.

g. The auto timer may be paused for certain situations.

i. Pinch hitters and pitcher substitutions automatically pause the timer (see Substitutions).

ii. The commissioners office may also pause auto timers leaguewide for special events such as holidays.Players and GMs should keep an eye on Discord announcements for these cases.

4. Extra innings

a. Games may enter extra innings if the score after 6 innings is tied. The following additional rules apply togames in innings 7 and later:

i. Teams begin each extra inning with baserunners according to the following table.

Inning Beginning situation7th The player who batted last in the 6th inning is placed on

second.8th The player who batted last in the 7th inning is placed on

second. The player who batted second-to-last in the 7thinning is placed on third.

9th or later The player who batted last in the previous inning is placedon first. The player who batted second-to-last is placed onsecond. The player who batted third-to-last is placed onthird.

ii. All runners who begin an inning on base shall be counted as unearned to the pitcher. The runner isalso not credited with a run if they score.

iii. In extra innings, the auto timers are shortened to a soft 6, hard 12 hour cap.

5. Substitutions

a. GMs and team captains are responsible for making substitutions during the course of the game. All sub-stitutions default to MLB rules for lineup rules, including the DH rule (see valid lineup rules).

i. For those unfamiliar with the MLB rules, listed below are the most common and important rules.

1. Players who exit the game may not be substituted back into the game in any capacity.

2. Players may not move between slots in the batting order.

3. Quick overview of the DH rule

a. If the DH takes up another defensive position, the team forfeits the use of the DH for the restof the game. The pitcher bats in the slot of the player who is replaced in the field by the DH.

b. Only players who are not already in the game may sub in at DH.

b. Pitching changes must be announced in the game thread as a top-level comment separate from or immedi-ately preceding a plate appearance.

c. Pinch hitters must be presented to the pitcher prior to a plate appearance. The pitcher shall be given areasonable opportunity to change their pitch in the event of a pinch hitter.

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i. This need not apply in the case of a list pitcher. Instead its highly recommended to ask a list pitcherhow they want pinch hitters handled before they begin pitching.

ii. The auto timer for the plate appearance will pause when the substitution is made by the GM/Captain,regardless of when the umpire responds to it, and will resume at the time the new pitch is confirmed.As a courtesy to avoid confusion, umpires should post in the new plate appearance how much time isremaining before an auto.

d. Substitutions are official and final immediately upon being sent to the umpire by the GM or acting GM.

i. Substitutions involving one or more conditions shall be considered official and final immediately uponall their conditions being met. These types of subs may be cancelled by the GM before the conditionsare met, and GMs must do so explicitly.

ii. Substitutions are to be made by either: 1) sending a message to all of the involved umps or 2) postinga top-level comment in the game thread. If neither of these two are met, the substitution will not beofficial.

iii. If an umpire presents a pinch hitter to the current pitcher, any further changes regarding that pinchhitter prior to the announcement (e.g. changing which player will pinch hit) must also be presented tothe current pitcher.

6. Ejections

a. GMs or players may be ejected from the game by an umpire.

i. Ejected GMs must choose a player to take their place. If no choice is made, this will be your primaryteam captain.

ii. Ejected players must be replaced with a valid substitution (see valid lineup rules).

iii. Ejected persons should refrain from commenting in the game thread.

3.3 Game mechanics

1. Standard plate appearances

a. Each plate appearance involves a pitch number and a swing number, each between 1 and 1000 inclusive.

b. The 1-1000 range wraps around, meaning a pitch number of 10 is 10 away from both hitter numbers 20and 1000.

c. The difference between these two numbers, combined with the types and hands of the pitcher and batter,determines the outcome of the plate appearance. See Range System Index for a deeper explanation of thismechanic and for a listing of batter and pitcher types and hand bonuses.

d. Players can be right-handed or left-handed. A pitcher with the same handedness as the batter they arefacing receives a slight bonus to their numbers, increasing the likelihood of recording an out. This isdetermined by the pitchers hand bonus (see Range System Index).

e. Teams may also elect to utilize custom park factors for all their home games. These factors apply to bothteams playing in the game. See Range System Index for an explanation of how they work.

i. With park factors affecting a teams entire home slate, they must be submitted during the offseason foruse in the following season. New parks will not be added midseason.

f. The following table describes each possible outcome of a plate appearance.

Outcome DescriptionHome run (HR) Everyone on base as well as the batter scores.

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Triple (3B) Everyone on base scores. The batter is placed on thirdbase.

Double (2B) Anyone on third base or second base scores. Anyone onfirst base moves to third base. The batter is placed onsecond base.

Single (1B) Anyone on third base scores. Anyone on second basemoves to third base. Anyone on first base moves to sec-ond base. The batter is placed on first base.

Walk (BB) Anyone on third base scores if there are runners on firstand second. Anyone on second base moves to third baseif there is a runner on first base. Anyone on first basemoves to second base. The batter is placed on first base.

Flyout (FO) The batter is out. Anyone on third base with less than twoouts scores. This is scored as a sacrifice fly and does notcount as an at-bat.

Strikeout (K) The batter is out.Popup (PO) The batter is out.Right-side groundout(RGO)

The batter is out. If there is a runner on first base withfewer than two outs, the runner and batter are both out asa double play. On any right-side groundout that does notend the inning: Anyone on third base scores. Anyone onsecond base moves to third base.

Left-side groundout(LGO)

The batter is out. If there is a runner on first base withfewer than two outs, the runner and batter are both out asa double play. On any left-side groundout that does notend the inning: Anyone on third base scores. Anyone onsecond base stays at second base, unless there is a runnerat first.

g. A special case for a triple play: when there are zero outs and runners on first and second (or loaded), aplate appearance resulting in a difference of between 496 and 500 inclusive will result in a triple play. Thisis considered a force triple play and no runs score.

h. When there are two outs, any hit advances runners one extra base than they normally would. This does notapply to the batter.

i. For example, if a batter hits a single with two outs and runners at first and second, the runner onsecond scores, the runner on first moves to third, and the batter is placed on first base.

i. Intentional delay of a plate appearance by a batter will result in the ejection of the batter.

i. This must only be enforced if evidence is provided that the player admitted to the delay, or is veryobviously ignoring Reddit and Discord mentions.

2. Steals

a. A runner may attempt to steal any time they are on base.

i. The steal may be initiated by the GM or the player. Steals are initiated by submitting a steal numberto the umpire.

ii. The steal must be submitted before the next batter swings.

1. The auto timer for the plate appearance is paused when a steal is submitted, and will resume whenthe next pitch is submitted and the batters plate appearance resumes.

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iii. Multi-runner steals are allowed. They must be explicitly mentioned by the player or GM initiating thesteal.

1. Only the lead runner is considered for the purpose of determining success or failure. Trailingrunners will always succeed.

iv. Pitchers have the option of submitting a second number explicitly marked as a steal pitch before anat-bat. If a steal is attempted in this at-bat, the pitchers steal number is used in the outcome, or theoriginal pitch if one is not designated.

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b. Outcomes of steals are determined according to the following table.

Base being stolen Diffs/outcomeSecond base If steal is within 300 of the pitch, the runner is safe. Oth-

erwise, they are caught stealing.Third base If steal is within 150 of the pitch, the runner is safe. Oth-

erwise, they are caught stealing.Home If steal is within 25 of the pitch, the runner is safe. Oth-

erwise, they are caught stealing.

3. Bunts

a. A batter may elect to make their swing a bunt. This must be clearly stated in the swing comment.

b. The outcome of a bunt is determined according to the following table.

Bunt-pitch differ-ence

Outcome

0-50 inclusive The play is treated the same as a normal single.51-375 inclusive The batter is out on a sacrifice. Anyone on third base does

not advance. Anyone on second advances if third base isnot occupied. Anyone on first advances if third base isunoccupied, or second base is unoccupied.

376-475 inclusive The batter strikes out.476-500 inclusive The batter is out. Anyone on first base is out in a double

play. Runners do not advance unless there is a runneron first and second, in which case the runner on secondadvances to third and the batter and runner on first are outon a double play.

4. Infield in

a. With a runner on third base, the pitcher, GM, or team captains of the team currently in the field can ask forthe infield in at any time prior to the next swing.

b. When the infield is in, a modifier of +18 to singles, -9 to RGO, and -9 to LGO will be added to the resultingranges for the at bat to be applied after park factors.

c. When the bases are loaded, an RGO or LGO results in an out at the plate and all other runners includingthe batter advancing.

d. When the bases are not loaded, an RGO or LGO results in the runner being held at third base, and thebatter is out at first. A runner at first base will advance to second on this play.

e. There are no double or triple plays in effect when the infield is in. Bunting and stealing are not impactedby the infield being in.

f. If the pitchers, GMs, or team captains choices for infield in differ, the following priority will be given inthe following order: GM, Primary Captain, Pitcher, then lastly a Secondary Captain

i. In the event two secondary captains have differing choices, infield in will not be called.

5. IBB (Intentional Base on Balls)

a. Intentionally awarding a batter 1st base. Can be submitted to the ump by either a pitcher or the GM. Pitchertimer does NOT reset.

3.4 Draft Rules

1. Number of rounds

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a. The Starting number of rounds will be 6

b. The number of rounds may be changed depending on the amount of sign-ups

2. Number of picks

a. All teams will be guaranteed a minimum of a first and second round pick if enough players are available.

b. Starting in the 3rd round, a team will be able to claim their own or acquired (via trade) picks in that roundif their player roster is 6 or more players below the current roster limit. A team that has traded their pickfor that round must also have a player roster at 6 or more players below the current roster limit

c. If a team can not provide the promised pick, the standard procedure will be that the team given a faultypick shall select a player from the guilty teams roster. The GM of the guilty teams roster may protecta number of players equal to the draft round in question. For example if team A promised a 3rd roundpick and cannot provide it, Team B may select any player from Team As roster except 3 protected playersdecided by Team As GM.

3. Draft order

a. The Draft Order shall follow the following rules:

i. Teams that did not qualify for the playoffs, starting with the worst record and ending with the best

1. Teams meeting this criteria with the same record will be placed in a group

ii. Teams losing in their leagues Wild Card Series, starting with the worst record and ending with thebest

1. Teams meeting this criteria with the same record will be placed in a group

iii. Teams losing in their leagues Divisional Series, starting with the worst record and ending with thebest

1. Teams meeting this criteria with the same record will be placed in a group

iv. Teams losing in their leagues Championship Series, starting with the worst record and ending withthe best

1. Teams meeting this criteria with the same record will be placed in a group

v. MLR Runner-Up

vi. Paper Cup Champion

b. For teams placed in ”groups” their order will be decided publicly by a random number generator for thefirst round the group participates in and shall be in the reverse order for every other occurrence (snaked).

c. If expansion teams are added, they will receive 2 picks at the start of each round in a random, snakingorder.

4. Any free agent may re-sign with their team up until the draft. Any player who is a Free Agent during the draftmay not re-sign with their old team until the end of session 1. If a team did not benefit during the draft from saidplayer being off their roster then that player may re-sign with their old team under normal free agency rules.

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4 Minor League Redditball (MiLR)

4.1 Structure

1. Minor League Redditball (MiLR) is the official minor league affiliate of MLR.

2. MiLR consists of a single league of 16 teams, with 15 MiLR team being affiliated with 2 MLR teams and thelast being a team consisting of GMs and free agents. These team pairings are determined randomly prior to eachMLR season.

3. MiLR games follow the same schedule as MLR games, the only exception being that sessions begin and endone day later than MLR sessions.

4. The MiLR regular season consists of 14 sessions. The league will be split into two groups of 8 with gamesplayed in a double round robin format.

5. After the 14 game regular season, the top four MiLR teams by record per group will advance to the MiLRplayoffs, which consist of a semifinal and final game to be played parallel to sessions 15 and 16 of the MLRregular season.

6. The MLR teams affiliated with the MiLR champion team each earn a first round protected draft pick in the nextMLR Draft unless the GM/Free agent team wins, in which case no picks will be awarded.

4.2 Team structure

1. Every MLR team must send 5 people to their MiLR team every session.

2. Players playing in a MiLR game may also play in their teams MLR game, but they do not receive the MiLRbenefits (see: third position rules).

3. It is recommended, but not required, for a team to have a single person designated as their MiLR GM, who willbe responsible for creating lineups and acting as the point of contact for umpires and MLR GMs.

4. Unlike MLR, MiLR teams may not have a default lineup due to the constant turnover of players.

a. If an MLR GM has not submitted a list of at least 5 players to play in MiLR by the start of a MiLR session,the MiLR GM may ping that MLR team in their MiLR team channel asking for volunteers.

b. If no MiLR lineup is submitted within the first 3 hours of the start of a MiLR session, the commissionersoffice reserves the right to create a lineup in its place. If MLR GMs have submitted players in the MiLRDiscord channel, those players will be used in this lineup. If a team has not submitted any players, thecommissioners office reserves the right to choose which of that teams players will play in MiLR.

i. As always, these automatic reps can be subbed out if desired by the MiLR GM.

4.3 Third position

1. Players participating in MiLR may begin earning a third position of eligibility for MLR. This third positiondoes not have the same restrictions as normal secondary positions - that is, any position player may choose anyposition to add as their third position (pitchers are ineligible for this benefit).

2. Players must accrue 9 plate appearances in MiLR at their desired third position to acquire it.

a. Plate appearances that result in an auto K or take place during a session in which they also play in MLRdo not count towards this total.

b. Players that bat in the DH or P positions may apply their plate appearances to the position of their choice,provided they have previously earned at least one plate appearance in that position.

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i. Pitchers that do not bat are not eligible for this benefit.

ii. Players must confirm with the MiLR League Manager which position they want to apply these plateappearances to, and must do so prior to the beginning of the next session. DH and P plate appearancesare lost if they are not assigned prior to the beginning of the next session.

1. It is the players responsibility to confirm, not the MiLR League Manager’s.

c. Upon reaching the requisite 9 plate appearances, players will be asked to confirm their third position. Upondoing so, they become eligible to play that position in MLR.

3. Third positions may only be changed in the offseason, and players must still meet the 9 plate appearance re-quirement for the position they desire to change it to.

4. Players may decide to replace their primary or secondary position instead of using those at bats for a thirdposition. This would require 9 plate appearances exactly like gaining a third position. This is not restricted bytraditional primary/secondary position pairings, for example, you could take catcher as a secondary position.This may only be done during the offseason. Doing this will reset all progress towards new positions.

4.4 Free agents

1. Free agents may play in MiLR games by declaring their intention to do so to the MiLR League Manager or inthe free agent market Discord channel. Depending on volume, free agents will either be assigned (high volume)or can be picked up by teams for individual games (low volume).

2. If a free agent plays in 2 MiLR games without recording an Auto K, they will be eligible to change theirprimary/secondary positions in the middle of the season. If the free agent was on an MLR team prior to thisposition change, they are not allowed to re-sign with that team until the end of the season.

a. This benefit may only be used once per season.

b. Players who change position in this fashion will be reposted as if they were a new player, and will besubject to the normal 12 hour waiting period.

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Range System Index

Feel free to experiment with the official Major League Redditball calculator to get a feel for how the ranges andmodifiers work. The calculator can be found at https://redditball.com/tools/calc.

Range Basics

The outcome of a given play depends primarily on the difference between the swing and pitch numbers, but also variesbased on the batter and pitcher types, hands, and pitcher hand bonus.

Each batter type contains 250 points spread across each plate appearance outcome (HR, 1B, etc.).

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGO TotalBasic Neutral 11 3 20 37 20 51 49 10 24 25 250

Each pitcher type contains 251 ”points”.

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGO TotalBasic Balanced 14 2 15 36 20 56 44 12 27 25 251

When a batter type and pitcher type are added together, then, we get a total of 501 points spread across each outcome.This determines the size of the outcome range.

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGO TotalBasic Neutral 11 3 20 37 20 51 49 10 24 25 250

Basic Balanced 14 2 15 36 20 56 44 12 27 25 251Total 25 5 35 73 40 107 93 22 51 50 501

When these outcome ranges are stacked in a sequence, it represents the total spectrum of the difference ranges.

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGOTotal 25 5 35 73 40 107 93 22 51 50Diffs 0-24 25-29 30-64 65-137 138-177 178-284 285-377 378-399 400-450 451-500

Pitcher Hand Bonuses

In addition to the batter and pitcher types, each player also has a handedness, right or left. If and only if the batterand pitcher have the same handedness, the pitcher gets a small bonus to their out ranges, pulling points from hitter-beneficial outcomes.

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGO TotalBasic Neutral 11 3 20 37 20 51 49 10 24 25 250

Basic Balanced 14 2 15 36 20 56 44 12 27 25 251Subtotal 25 5 35 73 40 107 93 22 51 50 501Balanced -5 -1 -6 -8 -1 4 8 1 4 4 0

Total 20 4 29 65 39 111 101 23 55 54 501

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Park Factors

After a total range is calculated, park factors may be applied to it if the game is utilizing them (that is, if the hometeam has created a park with custom park factors).

Park factors work as a modifier similar to the pitcher hand bonus, but is applied as multipliers for specific plateappearance outcomes. A typical park may look like this:

HR 3B 2B 1B BBNo Stadium 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Fake Shea Stadium 0.879 1.042 1.032 0.963 1.000

These multipliers act as modifiers on those specific outcomes. With park factor adjustment, an outcomes size is thusmultiplied by the given factor and rounded to the nearest integer to get an adjusted size.

HR 3B 2B 1B BBCombined Range for AB 20 4 29 65 39

Fake Shea Stadium 0.879 1.042 1.032 0.963 1.000Modified Range 17.58 4.168 29.928 62.595 39

Rounded Final Range 18 4 30 63 39

In this case, a total of 3 points are taken away from hitter-beneficial ranges. To balance this and keep the total rangesize at 501, the points are equally distributed to each pitcher-beneficial range.

In the case of a net addition to hitter-beneficial ranges, points are taken out of pitcher-beneficial ranges, also contributedequally. In some cases, a range may be too small to offer any additional points to balance the scale. In this case, therange contributes all of its points and remains at size 0. The remaining needed points are contributed from the otherranges.

Creation Rules:The next table represents the Minimum and Maximum modifiers that can be given to each outcome during parkcreation.

HR 3B 2B 1B BBMin 0.83 0.66 0.87 0.92 0.94Max 1.24 1.69 1.23 1.08 1.08

In order to assign these values to a park, for further balancing purposes, parks will start at a flat 1.00 multiplier andwill adjust towards the max/min values via a Point Buy system. Teams will have 25 points to spend on adjustments ,and each point will be worth 1/10th of the distance to maximum or minimum values in each factor, with a limit of 10points per factor. For example, adjusting HR factors would be +0.024 or -0.017 per point.

Effect per point HR 3B 2B 1B BBTowards Max 0.024 0.069 0.023 0.008 0.006Towards Min 0.017 0.034 0.013 0.008 0.008

Infield In Modifiers

If the infield in rule is in effect, it’s modifiers are added after park factors. 18 will be added to the singles range and 9will be subtracted from the RGO and LGO range.

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HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGO TotalBasic Neutral 11 3 20 37 20 51 49 10 24 25 250

Basic Balanced 14 2 15 36 20 56 44 12 27 25 251Subtotal 25 5 35 73 40 107 93 22 51 50 501

Fake Shea Stadium mods -3 0 +1 -3 0 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 0Subtotal 22 5 36 70 40 108 94 23 52 51 501Infield in 0 0 0 +18 0 0 0 0 -9 -9 0

Total 22 5 36 88 40 108 94 23 43 42 501

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Type Listings

With a brief explanation of the range system out of the way, here is a listing of every current batter type, pitcher type,and pitcher hand bonus. Park factors are maintained on the rosters sheet.

Batter Types

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGOBasic Neutral 11 3 20 37 20 51 49 10 24 25Basic Power 21 1 14 20 20 60 60 6 24 24

Basic Contact 8 3 16 52 20 45 31 10 32 33Max Homers 40 1 4 8 6 11 5 5 85 85

Speedy 6 12 25 20 18 62 60 28 10 9Extra Base Focus 19 8 23 10 9 11 95 25 25 25

1B/BB 8 2 14 41 40 45 25 1 33 41Extremely... Neutral 15 15 15 15 15 35 35 35 35 35

Work The Count 10 4 14 22 49 40 40 31 20 20HR/K 24 1 12 23 15 31 75 8 30 31

Three True Outcomes 22 2 7 10 40 20 124 5 10 10Sacrifice Master 10 2 15 34 30 99 10 10 30 10Single Focused 11 3 15 40 25 55 50 10 21 20

Pitcher Types

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGOBasic Balanced 14 2 15 36 20 56 44 12 27 25Basic Strikeout 12 3 17 35 20 56 61 7 19 21Basic Finesse 14 2 15 37 21 45 33 9 36 39No Homers 2 10 25 34 22 52 40 25 20 21

Flyball Pitcher 19 6 20 12 9 85 25 25 25 25Three True Outcomes 21 2 7 10 40 20 125 5 10 11Trust Your Defense 6 12 24 28 16 63 15 14 37 36

Extreme Groundballer 10 5 30 33 14 11 5 3 70 701B/BB 8 2 14 41 40 45 25 1 34 41

Extremely... Neutral 15 15 15 15 15 35 35 35 35 36Weak Contact 10 3 26 30 14 25 10 110 12 11Nothing To Hit 12 2 14 25 43 45 30 8 36 36Single Focus 10 3 15 41 25 55 50 10 21 21

Position* 19 9 19 44 32 55 10 26 19 18

* The Position pitcher type is only used in the case of a position player pitching, and is balanced to emulate thatsituation. It cannot be chosen by a pitcher.

Pitcher Hand Bonuses

HR 3B 2B 1B BB FO K PO RGO LGOAnti-Homer -7 -1 -5 -5 -1 2 8 -1 5 5Anti-Single -4 -1 -7 -11 -1 5 8 5 3 3Balanced -5 -1 -6 -8 -1 4 8 1 4 4

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