The Scandalous League
The Scandalous League uses 5 Batting and 5 Pitching categories. For Batting, we use Batting Average, Runs Scored, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, and Stolen Bases. For Pitching, we use Wins, Saves, Strikeouts, E.R.A., and W.H.I.P. The teams are ranked from the best total in each total to the worst total in each category. The best total will be assessed 11 points, the second best 10 points, etc....the worst total will be assessed 0 points.
Weekly standings are tabulated by adding the totals from each batting and pitching category. The team with the highest total is the first place team. The team with the lowest total is the last place team.
Statistics are calculated daily and provided online by OnRoto.com. The stat week runs from Monday to Sunday.
The Scandalous League consists of 12 teams. Each team will draft a roster consisting of 23 Major League players and 3 Minor League Players. Players may be selected from both the American and National Leagues.
Every team will draft 14 position players and 9 pitchers. Each team needs 2 catchers, a 1st baseman, a 2nd baseman, a shortstop, a 3rd baseman, a cornerman (either 1b or 3b), a middleman (either 2b or SS), 5 outfielders, and a designated hitter (any position). The pitching staff can consist of 9 pitchers of any type, however, the staff must accumulate a minimum of 1100 innings pitched*. If the staff fails to reach the minimum innings threshold, then the offending team will forfeit their points in the "ratio" categories - ERA and WHIP. We will also draft 3 minor league players and these slots may include A, AA, and AAA players.
* In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season we went with a 400 IP minimum, a pro-rated calculation based on the 60-game schedule season (vs. 162 games).
Shohei Ohtani rule: In 2021 we voted that Shohei Ohtani could be used as both a hitter and a starting pitcher on the owner's roster, but never in the same scoring period. The owner can choose to swap from a hitter to a pitcher on a weekly basis.
The majority of the draft order will be randomly picked. The draft will consist of 23 rounds. We use a snake draft, with the second round being the reverse of the first round. (eg. An owner with the 1st pick in the 3rd round, would also have the 12th pick in the 4th round)
The first 3 picks of the draft will be picked using a lottery system. The team that finished in last place the year before will have 12 "chances" at the first pick of the draft. Meanwhile, the first place team from the prior year will only have 1 "chance" in 78 at the first pick of he draft. The second and third picks will be chosen the same way. After the first 3 picks are allotted, the draft order will go in reverse order of finish from the prior year. Note: The worst draft position in the first round that the last place team can have is the 4th pick. The worst draft position that the 11th place team can have is the 5th pick. The worst draft position that the 10th place team can have is the 6th pick.
Each team has the right to protect 8 players from last year's team. For each player protected, an owner would lose the draft pick in the round that each player had been picked in prior years' drafts. If two players are kept from the same round, the owner will lose the pick in the preceding round. Players may be protected twice. Every three years the protected players will go back into the draft pool. Any minor leaguer that becomes part of an active roster will be considered to be an 18th, 19th or 20th round draft pick. Players drafted in the first round of the minor league draft will be protected as an 18th round pick, players drafted in the second round of the minor league draft will be protected as an 19th round pick, and players drafted in the third round of the minor league draft will be protected as an 20th round pick.
1. In 2008 we voted to allow minor league players to be kept as their own separate entities. Owners may choose to keep 1-3 minor leaguers in their farm system and lose the subsequent draft pick for that current year. This only applies to minor leaguers not promoted to the active Major League roster before Opening Day.
2. Prior to the next draft, owners may choose to keep a minor leaguer from the previous season as one of their 8 protected players. If the player starts the season in the major leagues, the owner will loose the corresponding draft round for the player (18, 19, or 20th round). If the player starts the season in the minor leagues, then the owner will lose the corresponding minor league draft round (1st, 2nd, or 3rd minor league draft pick).
3. A minor league player that is never activated during the season will not have the "keeper clock" started on them until they appear on the active roster or until the player reaches some playing time thresholds described below. Potentially, a player may be under an owners' control for 4 or more years.
4. In 2013 we voted
to alter and append on to the
minor league keeper eligibility rules.
We decided that players picked in the minor league rounds will no
longer be able to be kept for 3 additional years by default even
if
they were never promoted by a fantasy team to the active roster.
Instead, we instituted a maximum threshold of career at-bats (hitters),
career innings pitched (starting pitchers), and career appearances
(relief pitchers) that a player picked in the minor league round must
stay under in order to be eligible for that 3rd time. If a player
exceeds the threshold, they will be treated the same as every other
player on an owner's roster - the player can be kept two more times.
Thresholds for 3rd year eligibility:
At-Bats: Hitters must stay under 200 career at-bats
prior to September 1st of that fantasy season.
Innings Pitched: Pitchers must stay under 70 career
innings pitched prior to September 1st of that fantasy season.
Appearances: Pitchers must stay under 25 career
appearances prior to September 1st of that fantasy season.
The above thresholds equate to roughly 2 months of regular activity on
a major league roster. The intent of the rule is to encourage owners to
promote their "minor league" talent. There is no advantage to keeping
one of these players inactive solely for keeper strategy purposes.
Ultimately the keeper eligibility will be determined by playing time in
the big leagues.
A player must have appeared in 20 games at a position in the prior year to be drafted at that position. Players that had missed an entire season due to injury may be selected at their original position. Players that were in the minor leagues the prior season may be drafted to play at their projected position. Common sense should be applied with players that played 20 games in the prior season, but didn't qualify at a position. The Commissioner usually has the right perspective and should be trusted implicitly.
In 2024 we voted to have Shohei Ohtani split into two
players - a hitter version and a pitcher version. Each version of Shohei
Ohtani will be drafted separately in their own unique rounds. Their
keeper value will be the round that each version was drafted in. Each
version does not have to follow the same keeper clock. It's possible
that one version will be in a draft, while the other version is kept.
If a player drafted is not on the 25 man roster by Opening Day, he will be lost. An exception can be made for a pitcher that "made" the team out of spring training, but based on circumstance isn't used as a 5th starter for that first week of the season.
In 2012 we added a rule about "Borderline Players" - Have people nominate players anonymously to have draft status checked. If a player is still with the Big Club the day of the draft they will be eligible for the draft unless there is reported news/heavy speculation that they will be sent down. Regardless, we will have a "list" at the Commissioner's desk that indicates the status of these players - Draft Eligible or Minor League Eligible. If there is any unsureness, we can vote on a player status BEFORE the draft so everything will be black or white.
An injured player may be drafted an placed on the Injured List prior to Opening Day. This transaction can be made during the pre-determined 1st week of transactions.
Owners will draft three minor league players. Ideally, this draft will be one week after the regular season begins. The only players that may be drafted are players that do not make the Major League Roster and still retain rookie eligibility as defined by Major League Baseball.
"A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the Injured List). "
1. The 3 round draft will be a snake draft and the draft order will be based on the prior year’s standings. The Champion from the prior year will get the 1st pick in the minor league draft. Starting in 2015 we voted that the remaining 11 picks in the first round will be determined by a weighted lottery. The 2nd round will be the reverse order of the first round.
2. When/if a drafted player is promoted to a Major League Roster, that player does not need to be activated by their Scandalous League roster. This player may stay on your reserve list for the entire season, without penalty, if the owner chooses.
3. Once you’ve activated a player, you can not replace him with another Minor Leaguer. You can not trade for another Minor League player to fill that spot. If that player, once activated, is sent back down he can be moved back to your minor league system. However, that player’s keeper year starts with that current year.
4. The only way a player can be traded and stay a part of the owner's minor league system is if each owner includes a minor league player as part of the deal. In the event that a Minor Leaguer is only on one side of the trade, that Minor Leaguer must be activated by the receiving team immediately.
5. If a player becomes part of an active (one of the 23 players) Scandalous League roster and then is sent back down the minors. The player remains property of the team that had him on the active roster.
J. Eligible Major League Players
Starting in 2015, we have clarified
the rules for drafting major league players. A "major league player"
is defined as a player that has accumulated enough service time that
they can't be considered a minor leaguer or eligible for the minor
league draft. A major league player also includes suspended players,
unsigned players, and players that are starting the season in the
minor leagues. If a drafted major leaguer starts the season in the
minors, he can be replaced at the first transaction period. You can
place that player on your bench. If the player is unsigned, he can
occupy one of your four bench spots during the first opportunity for
bench moves.
III. Maintaining Rosters {Top}
Each owner has the right to cut players from his roster to pick up another player from the free agent pool. Transactions will be made on Sundays and Mondays. Starting in 2023 we will be using rolling transactions for priority transactions. Rolling waivers are continuous and for every successful priority pickup, that team owner drops to the bottom of the priority order, while everyone else moves up one. Each week a starting priority list will be set based on the previous week's results, continuing the rolling priority pickup process. Eg. The owner that made the most recent priority pickup will be last in priority the following week. The owner that made the second-to-last pick will be 11th in the priority pickup list, and so forth and so on. The only week that is the exception to this rule is the first transaction period of the year (typically before the season starts) and is set in reverse order of the 23rd round of the draft.
Sunday transactions after 10 PM and Monday transactions are first come, first serve. Players that are unsigned, in the minors, or on the IL may not be picked up until they are on the active Major League roster.
Stipulations:
1. The team of the free agent you are putting in for, hasn't had their game start yet. A move must be made before the 1st pitch. (Starting pitchers - ONLY starting pitchers - are exempt if they are not scheduled to start on Monday) This is a hard deadline.
2. You may not cut a player if he has already appeared in Monday's game. Released players must be in before the 1st pitch of his game on Monday.
3. Once a transaction is posted at ScandalousLeague.com, the transaction is final. Only transactions that were posted as a misunderstanding with the Commissioner may be changed. This protects the Commissioner from having to interpret the intentions of the owner.
4. Transactions may be given to the Commissioner in person, over the telephone, via voice mail, text message, instant message, or through an e-mail. Electronic transactions are time stamped. The players will be assigned accordingly. If an owner anticipates a player heading to the IL, he can call/e-mail a courtesy move earlier in the day. In that case, even if the player is injured on a Monday after the major league games have begun, the owner will be free from a "shady" transaction.
5. Starting in 2015, transactions will be submitted through the OnRoto.com website. The Commissioner does not have the ability to submit priority transactions on the owners' behalf (website doesn't have that functionality). However, once the 10 PM deadline has come and gone, the Commissioner is able to submit first come, first serve transactions.
Owners are able to replace an injured player with a healthy player from the free agent pool or by activating a player recently activated to his major league team. An injured player is defined as a player that has officially been placed on the Injured List by Major League Baseball. This news is usually reported through the A.P. Wire and newspapers. If there is some sort of dispute, we can always put the issue up to vote. Common Sense needs to be applied if a player is severely hurt and his team doesn't have a Monday game or if it's around the All-Star break.
In 2022 we voted to eliminate the "suspended list". Any player that is suspended for PEDs, misconduct, etc.., can be reserved and placed on the bench. We expanded the bench by one spot to accomodate these situations.
1. Owners can place any four players from the active roster onto their Bench. Players must be on the active roster for at least one full week before they can be added to the Bench. Players must come from Free Agent pool to active roster. You cannot pick up a player and put them on the Bench. So you’re basically deactivating an active player to make a move. To satisfy roster requirements, if you bench a hitter you must pick up a hitter ; if you bench a pitcher, you must pick up a pitcher.
2. You can place a player on your Bench as a corresponding free agent transaction or as an extra player received in a trade.
3. Timing of Pickups: Bench moves can be submitted along with Priority Transactions or First Come, First Serve Transactions.
In addition to the three minor league players on each roster, there are times when a major league player will get sent to the minors. In this case, the owner will be able to replace that player with a player from the free agent pool, or by activating another player. Starting in 2022 we will not have a special minor league list designation. Players optioned to the minors may be placed on the bench. We expanded the bench to 3 players to account for this change.
After a player has been activated to the major league roster, the owner will have two weeks to activate him on his roster. An owner has two opportunities to activate the injured player. If the player is not activated within 2 stat periods, the player will go back into the free agent pool.
F. In-Season Position Eligibility
A player must appear at a position 5 times to qualify occupying a roster spot at that position.
The bench is expanded to six players in September. These players picked up in September cannot be kept as keepers for the following season.
If the season ends on a Monday, that does not count
as a transaction period. The prior period would be eight days (rather
than the typical seven). If the season ends on a Wednesday, like it
has in recent years, there will be one final transpaction period that
covers Monday-Wednesday games.
The Execution:
Transactions will be made like any other Sunday night or Monday. The Bench expands from 3 players to 6 players in September. Players may be shuttled back and forth between the bench and active roster similar to the first five months of the season.
* We modified the above rule in 2015. Prior to 2015, we used a Taxi Draft and Taxi Squad for September.A trade is when one owner decides to exchange players with another owner. This can be done prior to the season, on draft day, and during the season. All trades are fair game unless decided as grossly unfair by league members. In this case, a Competition Committee will vote on the trade. The trade will either be accepted or voided.
1. A trade will be considered lopsided and voided if the number of players that Team A receives exceeds the number of players that Team B receives by more than one. (eg. No 3 for 1 trades or 4 for 2 trades) Team A may not make multiple trades with Team B in any given week to circumvent the rule.
2. The only time a player may be exchanged for a draft pick is in the time period between when the protected list of 8 is due thru Draft Day.
3. "Player to be named later" trades are not allowed.
4. Draft picks may not be exchanged until the protected list of 8 has been submitted. (eg. Team A cannot trade Player Z to Team B for a draft pick or include Player Z in a trade that includes draft picks)*
* If a trade involving draft picks does happen, those draft picks cannot be used as compensation to "even out" a prior trade. All trades are to be viewed as independent from each other. If Collusion is suspected, the Competition Committee will get involved.
If a trade is made in the pre-season, any player received by a team must be protected by that team. Any traded player may not be dropped into the draft pool. A traded player may be traded again, so long as someone is protecting that player. If a 2 for 1 type trade is made, the owner that gives up the extra player will protect one less player than the limit.
A player that has been picked up from the free agent pool can only be traded after he has accumulated one full week of active status on that owner's roster.
The only way a player can be traded and stay a part of the owner's minor league system is if each owner includes a minor league player as part of the deal. In the event that a minor leaguer is only on one side of the trade, that minor leaguer must be activated immediately by the receiving team.
While trades are considered fair game, after the All-Star Game the scrutiny will become more intense. Any trade considered grossly unfair by members of the league will be voted on by a Competition Committee made up of the 3 teams lowest in the standings not involved in the trade. The Committee will either accept or void the trade. Trades may be reworked to gain approval. The decision is final.
Generally falls on the 3rd Monday of August. No trades may be made beyond this date.
Each owner is expected to pay their entry fee on Draft Day. If this can't happen, specific arrangements need to be made with the Commissioner. The Commissioner reserves the right to discipline offending owners in a way that he sees fit.
A list of 10 protected players is due 2 weeks prior to the draft. Each owner will have 1 week to make any 2 for 1 type trades before the list is narrowed to 8.
C. Final Standings Tie-Breaker
In the event of a tie for first place, we will use the below criteria for determining the sole winner.
1. Head-to-Head comparison of the tied teams in each of the categories. The team with the most head-to-head category wins will be the league champion.
More often than not, if there were two teams tied for first place, those two teams may also be tied with five head-to-head categories won. In that case....
2. The team with the most categories with at least 6 pts is the champion. If still tied....
3. The team with the most categories with at least 7 pts is the champion. If still tied....
4. The team with the most categories with at least 8 pts is the champion. If still tied....
5. The team with the most categories with at least 9 pts is the champion. If still tied....
6. The team with the most categories with at least 10 pts is the champion. If still tied....
7. Co-Champions
A. Entry Fee - Each owner will pay an entry fee. That fee will go into the money pool to pay for expenses and to pay off the winners. The fee will be determined on draft day.
B. Transaction Fee - In 2008 we decided to go to a flat entry fee and no individual transaction fees.
C. Payoffs - First place team receives 60 % of the pool, second place receives 30 % of the pool, and third place receives 10 % of the pool. If there is a tie for 1st, 2nd, or third place, the Tie-Breaker criteria above will determine the final standings for history and money purposes.