BPL League Rules (MLB 2K)

BPL POLICIES

Everyone is required to read the rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

BPL (Baseball Premeir League) MLB 2K9

League rules are based on fair play and respect for your fellow owner. We are a community with a primary goal to provide a medium for owners to have FUN while encouraging competitive play. The bottom line is to have FUN win or lose. Owners are expected to uphold principles of sportsmanship and fair play at all times and will refrain from running up the score. Communication is a building block for our leagues. We mandate the wearing of headsets during each league game and encourage conversation between owners. We are as much in this for the community building aspect as the competitive league play. Owners will be polite and refrain from the use of offensive or abusive language. This is not tolerated under any circumstances. Each owner will play fairly without the use of known glitches or cheats. Non-sportsmanship like behavior will result in your removal from the league. If owners do not respect the league, fellow owners, and its rules you will be removed. This is your warning so removal will be immediate. Everyone is required to read the rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

Fair Play, Sportsmanship, Respect

All disagreements and disputes are to be handled in a professional manner, in private, and involve the owners and commissioner(s). Any public display of disrespect toward your opponent, either on the forums or the 2K8 League Site will result in your removal from the league. All owners will play within the spirit of the game. Stealing every base you can and only throwing balls is NOT SIM. Quitting is strictly prohibited. Above all, use common sense and play the game like it is meant to be played. If you follow those guidelines, you will not have to worry about "cheese" or “glitches”. I am assuming that most of you know the rules of baseball and the spirit of the game, and if you have any problems/thoughts/concerns let commissioner(s) know. Its real simple guys follow them. If you don’t follow them and play in the spirit of the rules you will be asked to leave. The reason for league play is to limit cheesing and questionable play so if you’re here its because you want to play fairly and that we all will do. Not knowing, not reading, not familiarizing yourself with the rules is not an excuse for breaking them. So please do yourselves a favor and read them, the less problems we can avoid as a league the better.

Fair game play and respect is vital to this league. If you don’t have that you don’t have a league so. We will NOT tolerate any disrespectful play or attempts by any owners to circumvent the rules. If you do not agree with our rules and cannot adjust your game play style to fit within the rules, simply find another league. There is no need to pad stats or rub a game into anyone’s face. With that said I don’t expect to catch anyone disrespecting or running up scores or anything of that nature. Doing this will only get you removed.

DISRESPECTFUL TALK IS NOT PERMITTED We understand that in the heat of battle things can be said and words can be exchanged. But DO NOT make this a recurring theme. If you are constantly being disrespectful to others then you will be removed from the league, no questions asked. An owner of this personality type really has no place in our league and does not fit in. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! I do not disrespect anyone and neither should you.

ARGUMENTS AND DISPUTES will be handled in the commissioner’s office thread. PLEASE POST YOUR COMPLAINT IN that section of the MLB forum and we will address is swiftly after all parties have spoken. State the nature of your complaint and do it tactfully and respectfully, if you use foul language, belittle or speak badly about your opponent your complaint will be dismissed.

PLAY WITHIN THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME Things like running up the score and abusing your opponents will not be tolerated here. If you are going to be a manage in this league it is important to remember that we are a SIM STYLE LEAGUE. So play your games that way. No 20 hit and runs per game, no throwing the same pitch in the same location every batter. No Squeeze plays every time a runner on third. You get the point. Do not abuse things or game situations that take advantage of an AI flaws in the game.

Game Setup

1. Unranked Lobby
   
2. Difficulty: Pro
   
3. Season Length: 2 Games vs. every team
   
4. Innings: 9 Innings
   
5. Injuries: OFF
   
6. All others: Default Setting
   
7. Playoffs: 8 teams Make the Playoffs
8. Best of 3 Series for the Playoffs
   
9. Trades Off

Game Play Rules - Anti-Cheese/Glitch (Include but are not limited to):

HITTING/OFFENSE:

1. Only 4 Steal attempts per Game
2. No more than 3 bunts in a game.
3. No more than 1 Squeeze play per game.
4. Don’t steal bases or bunt runners over when leading by more then 5 runs in the last 2 innings of play. Just play with some "Common Sense" and courtesy if and when a game becomes out of hand.

PITCHING:

1. There will be a 4 man Starting Picher Rotation. The 1 through 4 Rotation should go 1^st, 2^nd 3^rd, 4^th. You can only use your guys on that designated day.(NO SKIPPING DAYS) Each team owner will be required to post there 4 man rotation and Closer in the Message boards.
2. You can replace a pitcher in your 4 man rotation with any other Starting Pitcher or Long Reliever on your roster. Most long relievers can start anyway. Changes to the rotation should be posted at least a week (7 Days) in advance of the day you play the game. The request to change your 4 Man Rotation must be posted on the 4 Man Rotation sticky thread in the BPL Forums. .
3. Failure to start the correct pre determined pitcher in a game will lead to a replay of the game if you win and a warning/Yellow Card.
4. Try and throw close to the strike zone. Throwing balls repetitively on purpose is not Sim and will not be tolerated. We all want to play as realistic game of baseball as possible. So please mix it up and DONT THROW JUST BALLS!
5. A Starting pitcher in the rotation CANNOT be used as a relief pitcher UNLESS you have used EVERYONE in your bull-pen.
6. Closers- If you use any pitcher in excess, they will fatigue and not be as sharp when maybe you need them. For that reason, you can use any reliever at any time.

GENERAL RULES:

1. HEADSETS ARE MANDITORY: Failure to ware a headset will result is a warring (Yellow Card)
2. If a team owner is not playing within the frame of the rules then please contact the Commissioner via a Private Message. Please do not get into a verbal war with the other owner on the message board. Headsets ARE mandatory, try and work it out like grown men.
3. DISCONNECTIONS: In the even that a game is disconnected during the game there is a simple method to follow. First off write down the score of the game and the inning. If possible write down all the stats you can. Then if it is a zero zero game and two can agree that the game had no one in position to score you can agree to start over. If the game has a score however there a simple ways to continue. Talk to your opponent and find a way to finish the game, make sure you write down the statistics and move.
   
   EX--If it was 4-2 in the 5th inning. You play a 4 inning game to continue. Just make sure you play a total of 9 innings. Very simple be adults and work it out .If you cant find a way to work it out contact the commissioner. (RULE MAY BE VOIDED DUE TO THE FIRST SEASON BEING ON THE 2K Site.)
4. Although it is not mandatory, the winner is encouraged to post a game recap at the end of their game. Be creative, list players, stats etc... If you’re the losing team, post how bad your team played etc... Have fun with it!!!!!
5. Substitutions: Bbe realistic here. If a guy never plays a position in real life don’t put him there in a game. David Ortiz should not be catching for example. Check the player profile, it should tell you where a player can be positioned. If you notice your opponent playing someone out of position bring it his attention by pausing the game and telling him. If you disagree play the game and file a complaint with the Commissioner.
6. Mercy Rules and Sportsmanship: If your up by 10 runs or more don’t make an attempt to slaughter your opponent any more. Going for stats and not respecting your fellow owners will not be tolerated. The purpose of this rule is to keep the game moving and not disrespect your opponent. If we find people running up the score you will be removed! The coaches in this league who control “lesser” teams are the BACKBONE of the league and should not be made to suffer horrible defeats so guys can prove whatever it is they prove with a 20 run win. THIS IS THE EPITOMY OF BAD SPORTSMANSHIP and will be dealt with quickly and severely. What’s the difference between a 20 run win and a 10 run win? Bad sportsmanship. IF THE LEAD GOES UNDER 10 runs YOU MAY try to score again.
   
   STATS: If you are shown to be rolling up STATS for awards… think again. We WILL NOT reward bad-sportsmanship with ANY type of award, other than league removal . These awards are intended to be fun and should be motivation for you to compromise good sportsmanship. If it is a league problem we will remove them entirely along with the abusing owners. We are ALL adults here. We FULLY expect you to act like it.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The ABSOLUTE WORST part about running a league is this facet. If this were a perfect world everyone would play “straight” and there wouldn’t be any problems. The Commissioner is always available if you ever need to file a complaint. ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW: we cannot be there to watch your games. We will have to take the information given to us and make a decision off of that. Some people do not feel this is fair, but it is the ONLY way to monitor you. Don’t make us have to be babysitters. We are ALL adults.

If you feel your opponent is “cheating” the first step you should take is PAUSE THE GAME AND TELL YOUR OPPONENT WHAT HE IS DOING WRONG. YOU MUST HAVE A WORKING HEADSET AND IT MUST BE ON YOUR HEAD AND PLUGGED IN AND WORKING DURING ALL GAMES. You will then discuss the decision LIKE MEN. If I find out that you guys are talking *** over AIM and EMAIL you will be removed. Discuss it like men and come to a resolution.

One thing to remember: DO NOT QUIT THE GAME. If you quit you will be put on Warned with a Yellow Card or removed from the league. Even if your opponent is the biggest cheater in the book you MUST FINISH THE GAME.

DO NOT COUNTER A CHEATER WITH CHEATING. You cannot make a case for yourself after the game if you decide to battle cheating with cheating. Finish the game. File a complaint. And let us take care of the situation. That’s what we’re here for.


Miscellaneous

There is sure to be other various situations that arise. Remember these KEY things… it’s only a video game, its not life and death. If you feel that you need to bend the rules, or maximize any crack, nook or corner of the rules to get ahead to win, this league is NOT FOR YOU. This league is intended for guys who love this video game, like we do, to get together,

HAVE FUN and just enjoy it. Be a good sportsman. Play within the spirit of
the league and its rules.

Any owner who continually misses deadlines during the season, without a reasonable excuse (i.e family commitments, vacation, travel, natural disasters will be excused from the league and replaced immediately. This is to prevent inactive users from keeping teams from people who are on the waitlist.

ANY COACH WHO DOES NOT FINISH OUT THEIR ENTIRE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE INVITED BACK FOR THE FOLLOWING SEASON.

League and Team Structure

Scheduling

All games must be played in order. Any game played in advance without prior consent of the league commissioner will be voided and re-played. Scheduling games should be done using the Schedule Center threads in the forums. This is very important. Using Xbox live exclusively to schedule games is not acceptable. You must post in the contact thread to show that you are making an effort to schedule games. Again, very important! If you are having difficulties scheduling a game let your commissioner know. If you will be unavailable for a period of time you must PM the commissioner and post in the contact thread so your opponents are aware. Communication is the heart and soul of our leagues and is very important.

Disciplinary Actions

Those that do not complete games by the deadline must submit a Deadline Missed Report (DMR) no later than 24 hours after the deadline has passed. Each owner is required to turn DMR in for a scheduled game. The DMR is used to communicate why a game has not been played and it is to be explaine by both owners. Those that have not made attempts to schedule games will be given a Yellow Card disciplinary warning by the league commissioner. Accumulate 3 yellow cards and you will be given a Red Card league infraction and removed from the league. If you receive two consecutive yellow cards you will given a red card league infraction and removed from the league. Premier Gaming Leagues reserves the right to remove owners immediately if a situation warrants such action.

If an owner is going to be out of town for any reason (vacation, work, etc.), you either need to turn a DMR in for each game you will miss OR post in the Out of Town Thread the dates you will be gone. This will take the place of any DMR required while you are gone.

Feedback Reports

We will be using the Feedback Reports to give feedback rating to help the admins see who is keeping up with their league responsibilities.

There are 3 areas to leave feedback ratings: scheduling, communication, and sportsmanship. The three ratings are: Good, Neutral, and Negative. Use the reason section to leave any additional comments that you would like to say. Any negative or neutral feedback MUST have comments in the reason section explaining.

Failure to do Feedback Reports may result in Yellow/Red Card Policy.

Reports are due within 24 hours of week deadline.

Game Statistics

Beginning in Season II we will track team statistics. Both owners will record the following stats for there respective teams and enter the stats via the Schedule/Results link on the league menu. Next to the date in the header is a button. Click on the button and a new screen will open that displays the game to be edited. Use the drop down menu called Starting Lineup / Events: and select your game. Each stat that we track is called an event. Choose the event, the team, and the quantity and hit save. Stats to be recorded for each game:

Offensive Stats

• Hits
• Homeruns
• Stolen Bases
• Runs For

Defensive Stats

• Strikeouts
• Saves
• Errors
• Runs Against