The Mario Mendoza Memorial League of Fantasy Baseball Official Rules

commish@mendozabaseball.com

Updated 7/15/2005

1. Goal of Mendoza Baseball

Mendoza Baseball is an experimental fantasy baseball game that attempts to simulate as closely as possible the experience of owning a Major League Baseball franchise. Transactions, roster rules and even team financial performance are designed to simulate the real thing. Player performance is scored using the latest sabermetric research, and individual performance is evaluated only in a team context. Mendoza scoring and transaction rules are continually evolving in response to new research on performance value as well as changes in the structure of MLB. No other fantasy game comes close to providing the realism of Mendoza Baseball.

Mendoza Baseball was invented in the late 1990s by two regular guys who were dissatisfied with conventional fantasy baseball games and wanted something more. We still run this site in our spare time, when we aren’t doing things like working or taking care of sick loved ones.

2. Governance

2.1. League Commissioner

Each league is governed by a commissioner selected from among league owners. The commissioner is vested with the authority to act in the best interests of the league in establishing the league preferences, recruiting owners, approving or rejecting trades, resolving disputes, and monitoring for owner misbehavior. Commissioners have broad authority to take necessary enforcement actions against owner misbehavior including fines, temporary suspension of privileges, and in severe cases, franchise revocation. The Commissioner must exercise prudent judgment and act consistently and in the best interests of the league at all times.

2.2. Game Administrator

All other authorities rest with the game administrators. In particular, the game administrators may suspend or revoke a Mendoza franchise for failure to make payments when due. In addition, the game administrators reserve the right to change the rules at any time in order to enhance the simulation. However, further changes are expected to be minor, and every effort will be made to seek feedback on proposed changes and to minimize disruptions to existing owners.

2.3. E-mail Notification

Certain Mendoza transactions require owners to take timely action. For example, an owner that submits the winning bid on a player in a Mendoza auction has three days to find a roster spot for that player. Also, if a player on a Mendoza DL is activated by his MLB team, the Mendoza owner will have seven days to move the player to an active roster spot. Mendoza Baseball generally sends daily e-mail notifications to owners in these circumstances. However, e-mail notification is a courtesy only. Mendoza owners are responsible for maintaining their rosters according to Mendoza rules, and the roster rules will be enforced regardless of whether e-mail notifications are sent or received.

2.4. Anti-Competitive Behavior

Mendoza Leagues are designed to be competitive leagues. Anti-competitive is strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated. Examples of anti-competitive behavior include:

• Fixing or attempting to fix prices in a Mendoza auction
• Agreeing to share end-of-season earnings
• Agreeing to considerations in a trade other than players and cash as reported to the Commissioner

Trades made for the primary purpose of shedding payroll do not necessarily constitute anti-competitive behavior, nor do trades that involve a tradeoff of future vs. current value, such as a veterans for prospects trade. League commissioners must consider the unique aspects of Mendoza Baseball vs. other fantasy baseball games, in particular the simulation of franchise economics and the ongoing nature of franchise ownership. With these considerations in mind, league commissioners have the authority to use their best judgment in the long-term interests of the league to define and take enforcement actions against anti-competitive behavior.

3. Scoring

Mendoza league standings are based on well-established, sabermetrically correct estimates of the number of runs each team would score and allow.

3.1. Runs Scored Calculation

The formula used to determine batter performance is Jim Furtado's Extrapolated Runs (XR). For more details on Extrapolated Runs, see Jim's Baseball Think Factory Website. The number of runs scored by a team is the sum of all the XR accumulated by players on its active roster. Extrapolated runs for each player are calculated as a simple weighted sum of all relevant hitting stats.

* Incremental Values. IBB are also included in total walks, and strikeouts are included in total batting outs.
** XR/27 is included as a rate stat. XR/27 is calculated as XR/(AB + SAC + SF + CS + GIDP - H) * 27.

Example

3.2. Runs Allowed Calculation

Base Formula

The number of runs allowed by a team is a function of each pitcher's runs allowed and innings pitched. Each team must accumulate 9 * 162 or 1,458 innings for the year. For a team with enough innings, the formula for runs allowed is:

Runs Allowed = Sum(Pitcher Runs)/Sum(IP) * 1,458

For example, if a team accumulated 1,800 innings and allowed 900 runs, its net runs allowed for the year would be 900/1800 * 1458, or 729.

Innings Requirement and Penalty

If a team does not accumulate enough innings during the year, it receives a penalty of one run per inning less than 1,458. For a team without enough innings, the formula for team runs allowed is:

Runs Allowed = 9 * Games Played – Sum(IP) + Sum(Pitcher Runs)

For example, if a team accumulated 1,400 innings and allowed 700 runs, its net runs allowed for the year would be 1458 – 1400 + 700 = 758.

Reliever Innings Leverage

Innings pitcher and runs allowed for relief pitchers are adjusted depending on the role assigned to them. Each team designates up to one closer, two short relievers, and four long relievers. When calculating team runs allowed, innings pitched and runs allowed are multiplied by 1.50 for closers, 1.25 for short relievers, and 0.667 for long relievers. The adjustment takes place after the calculation of penalty runs, so that reliever leverage has no effect on whether a team has accumulated enough innings to avoid penalty runs.

Starting Pitchers Used as Relievers

Pitchers that are used as starters in MLB may be used as relievers in Mendoza leagues. However, innings pitched and runs allowed in MLB starts are divided by three to reflect reduced innings pitched by relievers. For example, if an MLB starter used all season as a Mendoza reliever pitches 180 innings during the season and gives up 90 runs, his effective innings pitched, before reliever leverage adjustment, will be 60 and runs allowed 30. These numbers are then subject to further adjustment for reliever role.

Example

3.3. W-L Record

Winning percentage is calculated using Bill James' Pythagorean theorem:

(Runs Scored)² ÷ [(Runs Scored)² + (Runs Allowed)²]

Total wins and losses for each team and calculated by multiplying the team winning percentage by the total number of games played.

Example

3.4. Daily Standings Updates

Mendoza standings are updated daily based on an estimated number of games played thus far in the year. The daily standings provide an indication of how each team is faring at any given time. However, final league standings are calculated based on the cumulative stats accrued by each team. This means it is possible for a team’s win total may increase one day and decline the next day. Thus, the daily standings are advisory only.

3.5. Earnings

Each Mendoza owner pays his team payroll into a pot that is divided among all owners according to the formula described below. In addition, some owners pay luxury taxes. There are three types of earnings: regular earnings, bonus earnings and luxury tax earnings.

Regular Earnings

Half of the gross league payroll is divided among teams according to the number of wins. Each team’s number of wins is divided by the sum of all teams’ wins, and the result is multiplied by 50% of the league payroll to determine the team’s regular earnings.

Bonus Earnings

The other half of the gross league payroll is divided among teams according to position in the standings. The first place team receives X shares, where X is the number of teams in the league. The second place team receives X-1 shares, etc. The last place team receives one share.

Luxury Tax Earnings

Luxury tax revenues are divided equally among all teams.

Example

4. Rosters

4.1. Major League Roster

The major league roster will consist of up to 40 players from the eligible player pool. Players on the major league roster may be designated an active starter, an active substitute, a reserve player, or may be placed on the disabled/developmental list.

4.2. Minor League Roster

The minor league roster will consist of up to 20 players from the Mendoza eligible player pool.

4.3. Daily Lineup Submission

Daily lineups may be submitted up to seven days in advance. If a team does not submit a new lineup, the previous day’s lineup is carried over. The deadline for submitting a lineup each day is 12 PM Eastern Time. A team’s daily lineup consists of the following positions:

Active Starters

5 starting pitchers
6 or 7 relief pitchers
1 catcher
1 first baseman
1 second baseman
1 third baseman
1 shortstop
1 leftfielder
1 centerfielder
1 rightfielder
0-1 designated hitter

Starting batters may accrue an unlimited number of plate appearances. Pitchers as a group may accrue up to 9 innings per game played, or 1,458 per season.

Active Substitutes

1 catcher
1 middle infielder (2B or SS)
1 infielder (2B, 3B or SS)
2 outfielders (LF, CF or RF)

Plate appearances for active substitutes are limited based on XXXX

Reserve Roster

0-5 players (any position)

The reserve roster is intended for teams to be able to carry a few extra players that are active on MLB rosters in case of injury. Any player can be placed on a reserve roster position.

Disabled/Developmental List

0-10 players (any position)

Only players that are not on active on MLB rosters may be placed on the Mendoza DL. Due to source data limitations, Mendoza Baseball makes no distinction between players on an MLB disabled list or players that are inactive for any other reason (released, in the minors, etc.).

Position Eligibility -- Batters

At the beginning of the season, a position player will be eligible at any position in which he appeared in more than 10 major league games during the previous year. If he did not appear in more than ten games at any position, he will initially be eligible at a single position based on minor league playing time and/or pre-season publications (Baseball Prospectus, STATS Notebooks, etc.). During the season, a player becomes eligible for an additional position once he appears in 10 games at that position.

Position Eligibility -- Pitchers

Any pitcher may be placed in any role. However, pitcher performance will be adjusted depending on the role as described above under "Standings".

4.4. Assigning newly acquired players

After acquiring a new player, whether in a Mendoza auction, through a trade, or other means, a Mendoza team will have three days to assign that player to a roster position. If the player is not assigned after three days, he will be automatically released and the Mendoza team will continue to be responsible for the remainder of his contract.

5. Transactions

5.1. Promoting Players from Minor League to Major League Roster

Any player may be promoted from the minor league to the major league roster any time the team has an open major league roster slot.

5.2. Reassigning Players from Major League to Minor League Roster

Players with less than three years' service time may be optioned to the minor league roster at any time. Players with more than three years' service time must clear assignment waivers before they can be reassigned.

5.3. Waivers

There are two types of waivers in Mendoza Baseball: assignment waivers and unconditional release waivers. A team may seek waivers on any player at any time. A waived player does not count against the team’s 40-man major league roster. Waivers last seven days, during which time any team may place a claim on the waived player. At the end of the seven days, all waiver claims are evaluated, and the player is awarded to the team with the worst record. If the waiver deadline falls before May 1, the player is awarded to the team with the worst record during the previous year. The claiming team assumes the player contract and all salary obligations.

Assignment Waivers

Assignment waivers allow a player to be moved from the major league roster to the minor league roster. If no team claims a player on assignment waivers, he is automatically assigned to the waiving team’s minor league roster. A player need only clear assignment waivers once during the season, after which he can be moved back and forth between the major league and minor league rosters at any time.

Unconditional Release Waivers

If a player on unconditional release waivers is not claimed during the seven-day period, he is automatically released from the team’s roster and is available to be signed by any team during the weekly free agent auction. The waiving team continues to be responsible for the player’s salary for the remainder of the contract term.

5.4. Trades

Trading is permitted between January 1^st and August 31^st each year. Trades must be submitted to the Commissioner for approval using the "Propose Trade" form. The trade is official immediately upon Commissioner approval. Teams may trade players for other players, cash or both. However, any cash included in a trade must be approved by the commissioner and counted against the team's salary cap.

5.5. Activation from MLB Disabled List

When a player on a Mendoza DL is activated from his Major League team's DL, his Mendoza team will have seven days to make a move to clear a space for him on its roster. If the team fails to do so, the player automatically becomes a free agent and the team will continue to pay his salary.

6. Player Contracts and Team Payroll

6.1. Player contracts

Player contracts are signed by submitting the winning bid in any Mendoza Free Agent Auction. When signing a player, a team commits to pay the salary of the player as determined in the auction for the duration of the contract. A team may transfer the contract and salary obligation to another team through a trade or waiver claim. Player contracts are voided and the salary obligation is eliminated when a player is removed from the eligible player pool. The salary obligation is retained for all other transactions, including reserving, disabling, or releasing a player.

6.2. Multi-Year Contracts

Mendoza leagues may choose to allow player contracts of up to three years in length. Multi-year contracts are signed by submitting a winning, two- or three-year bid in a Mendoza free agent auction. One year of salary is due at the end of the year for each player on a multi-year contract. This amount is withheld from the team’s end-of-year disbursement.

6.3. Transferring a Contract

Contracts are transferred from one Mendoza team to another via trades or waiver claims. Salaries of transferred contracts are assigned to teams based on the number of days the player spends with each team and the total number of days in the contract. For example, a player signed during the Spring Auctions is paid over 182 season days. If the player is traded on the 100^th day of the season, the original team pays 100/182 of the player’s salary, and the new team pays 82/182 of the salary. A player signed on the 50^th day of the season is paid over 132 days. If this player is traded on the 100^th day of the season, the original team pays 50/132 of the salary, and the new team pays 82/132 of the salary.

6.4. Eligible Player Pool

The Mendoza eligible player pool is established each year during spring training, and comprises all players in camp with an MLB team of the appropriate league. Players that are in camp with an MLB team of the opposite league, or are not in camp with any MLB team, are not included in the eligible player pool. During the season, the eligible player pool is updated only when a player is traded to an MLB team in the opposite league.

6.5. Salary Cap

Team payrolls may not exceed the Mendoza salary cap for more than three consecutive days. Team payroll includes the salaries of players on both the minor league and the major league rosters. Cash that changes hands as part of a trade is counted against the salary cap. Administrative fees are not counted against the salary cap. The salary cap for 2010 is $185.00

Penalty for Salary Cap Violation

Violation of the salary cap will result in loss of the team's highest-paid player. If the team is still above the cap after subtracting the salary of the player lost, the team will lose the next-highest paid player, and so on until the team payroll is below the salary cap. A penalty will also be imposed that is equal to the salaries of the players lost. The players lost become available for bidding during the next free agent auction.

6.6. Luxury Tax

A luxury tax is assessed against team payroll amounts above the luxury tax threshold. Luxury tax monies are distributed equally among all teams in the league. Administrative fees are not assessed a luxury tax. The luxury tax rate for 2010 is 40% on payroll above $162.00

7. Auctions

7.1. Types of Mendoza Auctions

Spring Free Agent Auctions

Each Mendoza league holds one or more Spring Auctions each year during March. The dates, closing times, and assignment of players to auction dates are determined by the league commissioners, subject to a completion deadline. The default format is as follows:

• All players in the eligible player pool are randomly assigned to one of three auction pools.
• Bidding closes at pre-specified times on all players in each auction pool, generally though not necessarily on different days.
• Any players not signed during one of the first three auctions are made available to be signed during a fourth, "Supplemental" auction.

Individual leagues may choose alternative formats.

Weekly Free Agent Auction

During the regular season, free agent auctions are held weekly. Weekly auctions close at 10 PM Eastern Time each Thursday and are subject to the same auction rules as the Spring Auctions.

Instant Auction

Any players not signed during any of the Spring Auctions are available to be signed in the Instant Auction for the league minimum salary of $0.25.

7.2. Auction Rules

Bid Submission

Mendoza bids constitute a binding contract offer for the price and duration specified by the owner. All bids are submitted via the bid submission form available on the Mendoza site. The minimum bid is 25 cents, and all bids must be in 25-cent increments. If a team submits more than one bid on a player, only the most recent bid will be active. However, all bids that are less than or equal to the current auction price will be rejected, regardless of the owner.

Price Calculation

Mendoza Baseball uses "second-price" auctions. This means that the auction price is equal to the second-highest bid, except in the case where a bid results in a new winning bidder, in which case the auction price is equal to the second-highest bid plus 25 cents.

Bidding and Price Calculation in Multi-Year Leagues

If allowed by the league, owners may offer contracts of one, two or three years’ duration. Bids of different duration are compared by converting each bid to an "equivalent value" for a common length of time. The winning bid is the one with highest equivalent value. The equivalent value formula gives owners a small discount for offering contracts of longer terms. The auction price is then equal to the second-highest equivalent bid, converted to the number of years offered by the winning bidder.

Overtime Bidding

If a bid is submitted with less than two minutes remaining in a Mendoza auction, the auction close time for that player is extended by two minutes. Each subsequent bid extends the closing time by another two minutes from the time of the last bid. The auction closes two minutes after the last bid is submitted on a player.

After the Auction Close

After the Spring Auction, owners will have until the final spring roster deadline to find a roster spot for newly-acquired players. For all other Mendoza auctions, owners will have three days after the close of a Mendoza auction to find a roster spot for the newly-acquired player. If the player does not occupy a roster spot by the appropriate deadline, the player will be removed from the team’s roster and made available in the next Mendoza auction, and the team will retain the obligation to pay the player’s salary for the duration of the contract.

Limitations on Winning Bids

There is a limit on the total dollar amount of winning bids by each Mendoza owner. The limit is equal to four dollars for each dollar of positive balance in the owner’s Mendoza account. Further bids will be rejected until additional money is added to the Mendoza account, or until another owner submits a new winning bid. For example, an owner with a positive balance of $50 may submit winning bids totaling up to $200. If the owner has winning bids totaling $192, any bid larger than $8 will be rejected.

Each team’s bid limit is updated no more frequently than once daily and is fixed no later than twelve hours prior to the close of an auction. Once established, a fixed position limit will not be updated until the following day.

8. Reserve Clause and Player Service Time

8.1. Definition of Mendoza Service Time

A player’s Mendoza Major League service time determines his Reserve Clause status. Mendoza Major League service time is calculated by Mendoza Baseball, and therefore may differ from the player’s MLB service time. A player receives one year of Mendoza Major League service time for each 160 days (out of 182 total in a season) spent on an MLB team’s active roster, up to three years. Time spent on a MLB team’s disabled list does not count as active service time (unlike MLB). After three years, the player receives a year of service time for each calendar year regardless of MLB roster status.

8.2. Players with Less Than Three Years’ Service Time

Players with less than three years’ Mendoza Major League service time are bound to their teams by the Reserve Clause and may have their contracts renewed for a small raise. In addition, players with less than three years’ service time may be optioned to a Mendoza team’s minor league roster without restriction.

8.3. Salary Arbitration Rights for Players with More Than Three Years’ Service Time

Players with more than three years and less than six years of Mendoza Major League service time are still bound to their teams by the Reserve Clause, but have the right to salary arbitration. In salary arbitration, the player and the owner submit salary offers to an arbitrator, who chooses either one side or the other based on which offer is closer to the arbitrator’s neutral view of a fair market salary. The arbitrator must choose a winning side, i.e., he may not choose a number in between the two offers.

Mendoza Baseball uses an arbitration simulator to estimate both the player’s and the arbitrator’s view of the player’s fair market salary. The simulator uses MLB performance data from the past three years and salary data from the most recent Mendoza year. The player's estimate will always be higher than the arbitrator's estimate, based on a more optimistic view of expected performance and league salaries. Salary scales are position-specific, both for position players and for pitchers. The player’s fair market salary is discounted by 15% for players with five years of service time, 30% for players with four years of service time, and 45% for players with three years of service time.

The decision to offer arbitration and the arbitrator's decision are binding and result in a contractual obligation to the player for the following year.

Process for Completing Mendoza Salary Arbitration

1. Owner submits a salary offer. Submission of a valid salary offer begins the arbitration process and renews the player’s contract for the following year. The owner may not submit an offer that is less than the player’s current salary. The owner will have only one chance to submit an offer, and may not change that offer at a later time.
2. Player submits a salary request based on performance during the past three years and expected average salaries for the following year.
3. If the owner’s offer is higher than the player’s request, the player will immediately accept the owner's offer, the arbitration process will terminate, and the player’s salary will be equal to the team’s offer.
4. If the player’s and owner’s numbers are close, the player may offer to settle at the midpoint between the two numbers. If the owner accepts the offer, the arbitration process terminates and the player's salary is established at the settlement price.
5. If no settlement is reached, the case goes to arbitration, and the arbitrator selects the offer that is closer to his own salary estimate.
6. The deadline for completing all arbitration cases and contract extensions is 3/16/2010. Players who have not been offered contracts by the deadline become free agents. If an owner has begun but not completed an arbitration case by the deadline, the arbitrator will decide in favor of the player.

8.4. Eligibility for Free Agency

Players with more than six years’ Mendoza Major League service time are eligible to file for free agency and may not have their contracts renewed. These players can be re-signed by their existing teams during the Spring Auction.

9. Payment

9.1. Deposit

Reserving a Mendoza team requires a non-refundable deposit of $80. This deposit will be returned only in the event that the Mendoza league folds before the start of the regular season. This deposit is applied toward Mendoza fees.

9.2. Admin Fee

The administration fee for Mendoza leagues is $30 per team per year. This fee is assessed during March of each year.

9.3. Team Payrolls

Mendoza owners must submit payment for their entire team payroll by May 1 of each year. All payroll monies are disbursed at the end of the year according to the formula described above under "Standings".

9.4. Method of Payment

Payment must be made via Paypal to the account commish@mendozabaseball.com.

9.5. End-of-Year Disbursement

Mendoza Baseball will send monies owed to Mendoza teams each year by no later than November 30. End-of-year disbursements for each team will be sent via Paypal to the e-mail address registered at Mendoza Baseball. Paypal may require owners to establish Paypal accounts to receive these funds. Paypal does not currently charge for these accounts, but does levy a transaction fee of 1.5% of the amount transferred.

9.6. Retaining funds at Mendoza Baseball

Mendoza teams may opt to have an $80 deposit withheld from the end-of-year disbursement in order to retain their franchise ownership for the following year. Teams that do not opt to retain at least $80 in their Mendoza accounts are made available to prospective new owners. Teams may opt to retain any amount of additional funds in their Mendoza accounts. Mendoza Baseball does not pay interest on funds held in Mendoza accounts, but retaining funds at Mendoza Baseball does help avoid Paypal transaction fees.