High & Tight Constitution

High & Tight

Constitution

Updated:  January 2023

TEAMS AND ROSTERS

1.1. There will be 14 teams in the High & Tight Baseball League consisting of a mix of American and National League players. Each team will consist of 23 players (16 starters and 7 bench players), with 1 spot available for NA and up to 4 spots for IL players.

1.2. A team's active roster consists of the following players:

1 catchers
1 first baseman
1 second baseman
1 shortstop
1 third baseman
3 outfielders
2 utility players (non-pitcher who can be any offensive player)
6 pitchers (any combination of starters and relievers)
7 bench players (any position)

1.3. There is a minimum innings requirement for all staffs of 18 innings per week. Anyone who does not achieve 18 innings per week, will lose all 5 pitching categories.

1.4. Keepers: A team may keep up to 6 players from their previous season’s roster. There is no restriction to how many hitters or pitchers you must keep.

1.5. Replacing an Owner:  When an owner decides to leave the league, each remaining owner may present one candidate to replace the departing owner. If there are multiple candidates for one spot, each individual will answer a questionnaire, which will be posted on the league blog. A vote will be held to determine the winner. In the event of a tie, a second vote may be taken with only the candidates who tied for the most votes. If it remains a tie, the vote of each of the remaining original owners will count twice. If there is still a tie, the commissioner will cast the deciding vote.

1.6. Co-Managers:  Teams are allowed to have a co-manager without a vote of the league. However, co-managers do not automatically have rights to takeover the team if  the original owner leaves; they must be approved by the league. Any unforeseen issues related to governance and the competitive interest of the league will be determined and handled by the commissioner.


DRAFT

2.1. Each team must fill all 23 active player spots by the end of the draft, and must also maintain no less than 23 active players on their roster throughout the season.

2.2. Draft order: The order of the first six draft picks will be determined by the best record for a non-playoff team during the prior season (9th place = 1st pick, 14th place = 6th pick). The remaining order will be determined by lottery.  The team that wins the championship the prior season will have the lowest chance to get the highest pick (#7), the runner-up will have the second-lowest chance.  The remaining chances will be determined in reverse order of the regular season standings.  For example, the team that ended the regular season in 8th place will have the greatest chance to receive the highest pick (#7), provided they were not the champion or runner up from the previous season.

2.3. Draft format: A snake draft format will be used.

2.4. There will be 17 rounds to the draft.


POSITION ELIGIBILITY

3.1. Determined by the host website. In the case of Yahoo!, a position player must makes 5 starts or 10 total appearances at a new position during this season to eligible to play that position.  Pitchers need to make three starts to become eligible as a starter and five relief appearances to qualify as a reliever.


FEES

4.1. Entrance fee is $100.  The last and second-to-last place teams must pay an additional $30 and $15, respectively, the following year (the fee is removed if the team leaves the league).

4.2. Deadbeat Owner Fine: At the Commissioner’s discretion, an owner may be fined $10 for failure to properly set their lineup. Fines may be escalated in $5 increments for subsequent violation at the Commissioner’s discretion.

4.3. All transactions are free.


PRIZE MONEY

5.1. All fees shall be paid promptly to the Commissioner by the end of the post-season. The Commissioner may issues fines for late payment at his discretion.

5.2. The money shall be paid out as follows:

Regular season champion:  25% of total prize pool
Playoff champion:  50% of total prize pool
2nd place (playoffs):  25% of total prize pool
2nd place (regular season):  $100


STANDINGS

6.1. The standings are determined through head-to-head competition. There will be 10 categories:
On-base Percentage
Total runs scored
Total home runs
Total runs batted in
Total stolen bases
Total quality starts
Total saves + holds
Composite earned run average
Composite WHIP (walk + hits/innings pitched)
Total strikeouts

6.2. The standings will be determined by winning percentage.

6.3. Tiebreakers: There are no tiebreakers during the regular season, only the playoffs.

6.4. Tiebreakers during the playoffs will be determined highest seed.


TRADES

7.1. There is no trade review process, with the exception of the parameters outlined in item 7.6. Upon approval, trades will be executed after one full day.

7.2. Offseason trades are permitted and have no restrictions (other than the parameters outlined in item 7.6).

7.3. The trade deadline is 2 weeks prior to the end of the regular season.

7.4. When trading draft picks, the first 6 rounds of the draft are designated for keepers, meaning the initial round of the draft equates to the 7th round for purposes of the draft and trades.

7.5. During the regular season, prior to the open trading period, teams may only trade future picks after the 9th round. The open trading period will take place two weeks prior to the trading deadline, when teams may trade up to two future picks in Rounds 7-9. There is no limit on the number of picks a team may receive. There are no restrictions to offseason trading, which begins the day after the championship and ends two weeks prior to the draft. This rule is intended to maintain the competitive balance of the league by incentivizing teams to delay mass sell-offs until the end of the regular season.

7.6. In the event two teams agree to a trade during the season and seek to execute a trade involving the same player(s) within the subsequent 12-month period as of date of original executed trade, the trade will be subject to vote by the league and may be vetoed. This rule is intended to ensure teams do not make “quid pro quo” trades, whereby a non-contending team effectively rents a player to a contending team in exchange for a draft pick, with the understanding that the contending team will trade the player back to the non-contending team at a later date.

In determining whether to vote to veto, teams should seek to ensure the compensation between the two teams is just, with significant consideration given to the timing of a trade (i.e.,  the amount of time the player(s) spent on the receiving team prior to the second trade), the original compensation, and any other player(s) involved in the second trade, with particular consideration for the value of the players at the time of the initial trade.

The Commissioner will determine if a trade is subject to a vote, taking into consideration fairness of proposed compensation.  When it is determined that the rule applies, each manager involved in the trade must provide written justification for the trade, which must be posted to the website by the Commissioner within 24 hours.  Two-thirds (66.7%) of the remaining 12 teams must vote against the trade to prevent it from being executed.  The vote will be taken anonymously by the Commissioner.  All feedback from voting teams must be communicated directly to the Commissioner and only him.  In order to remove any potential for impropriety (i.e., future compensation in exchange for a positive vote), teams are prohibited from revealing their vote publicly or in private and may be subject to fines for violations of this rule. The teams involved in the trade may propose alternative deals to address the issues presented by League, as communicated by the Commissioner. If the Commissioner is involved in such a trade, a designee selected by the League Elders (see item 10.3) will be temporarily be given Co-Commissioner status via the website and will lead the process.


WAIVERS

8.1. Teams then have 2 days to put in a claim for a player who is on waivers. The owner with the highest waiver priority will have that player added to his roster.

8.2. The team who waived the player cannot claim the player off waivers. That team must wait until the player clears waivers and becomes a free agent before reacquiring the player.


FREE-AGENT ELIGIBILITY/TRANSACTION LIMIT

9.1. Any player who is on an active Yahoo! payer, not owned by another team, and not currently on the waiver list may be acquired as a free agent.

9.2. Offseason free agent acquisitions are not permitted. Free agents may be picked up two days after the draft until midnight on the last day of the High & Tight postseason.

9.3. Each team is limited to 60 transactions during the regular season. Each waiver wire pickup and free agent pickup, will count as one transaction against their 60 transactions allowed for the regular season.

9.4. During the postseason, each team will be allowed 5 transactions per week. The postseason begins immediately after the end of the regular season at 12:00 AM EST on the last night of the regular season.


GOVERNANCE

10.1. The decision of the Commissioner supersedes the rules herein and is final in any disputes. He also has the power to change a rule with an unforeseen loophole post de facto for the benefit of the league. The overall good of the league as a whole will be greater than the benefit to any sum of its constituents.

10.2. Changes to the constitution will be voted on by majority vote of the owners each offseason. Midseason changes to the constitution are not permitted unless unanimously supported by the League.

10.3. If there is a situation in which the Commissioner has a clear conflict in making a ruling, a group of three League Elders will act as Commissioner as it relates to the issue at hand. The constituency of the group will be determined first based on tenure, then by availability of owners to address an issue on a timely basis. The Commissioner will only act to organize the group, which will then rule on the issue at hand, independent of the Commissioner. If necessary (due to confidentiality of a vote, for example), a League Elder may be granted temporary Co-Commissioner status to address any issues on the website.