III) LEAGUE STRUCTURE
A) The Commissioner will provide ALL teams with the Official MWBL Season Organization Disk/Commissioner Disk. Please DO NOT set up your own organization. All owners are required by law to purchase the officially published copyrighted season disk even though a league disk is provided.
B) MWBL will be composed of two fourteen-team leagues, with three divisions. Two of the three divisions in each league will have five teams each, with the other division having four:
1) Beginning in 2020, both the American and Nation Leagues will utilize the Designated Hitter.
C) The MWBL will simulate each Major League Baseball season through BBW 5.75 represented by 28 “Pro-Active, Knowledgeable, and Committed Owners.” This is a continuous ownership league and all players, once drafted, will remain with the team until traded or released. There will be no inter-league play.
D) Each team will play 162 games.
1) Rainouts may cause a team to be under 162.
E) There will be no ballparks effects.
F) Franchise Fees.
1) Franchise Fees for the following season will be due at the end of each current season. Dues of $50.00 are payable by September 1st.
2) If an owner is in both MWBL and MWBL (Mid-West Winter League), the price would be a combined $75
G) Realignment
1) When realigning divisions, a vote must be made to approve the realignment.
2) All teams changing divisions must agree to realignment.
3) Including the moving team’s ‘Yes’ vote, all Divisions receiving new teams must approve by a 3/4 (if 4 teams) or 4/5 (if 5 teams) majority.
4) Including the moving team’s ‘Yes’ vote, all Leagues receiving new teams must approve by 10/14 majority.
H) Ownership Changes
1) In the event that a single change in franchise ownership occurs, the Commissioner will attempt to find a new owner for the franchise. Once the Commissioner has approved and officially handed over the franchise to the new owner, said owner will take full stewardship over the franchise. This includes the ability to make any trade, roster changes, franchise files and changing the team’s name if they so choose.
2) If multiple owners leave the league at the same time during the offseason, all affected franchises will be placed in a Dispersal Draft (See Article VII Section D)
3) Franchise and player records will be collected based upon the time at which the new owner receives stewardship.
1. If the new owner takes over before the All-Star break in the middle of the MWBL season, all franchise and player statistics will be collected under the franchise’s new name and the owner will be permitted to vote on Post-Season awards for the current season.
2. If the new owner takes over during or after the All-Star break in the middle of the MWBL season, all franchise and player statistics will be collected under the previous franchise name however the owner will still be permitted to vote on Post-Season awards for the current season.
4) Any new owner will be allowed to cut any inherited Un-Carded player from their roster in their initial off-season before trading is allowed.
1. In the event a Dispersal Draft is held, new owners are not required to draft all players available including Un-Carded players. They will be allowed to stop drafting at any point.
2. If a team comes into the league after trading is opened, they must state their Un-Carded cuts before any trading.
I) Rules Proposals
1) Beginning April 1st (League Manager Calendar) all MWBL Franchises may “Propose” rule changes for the upcoming season.
1. Proposals must be submitted in E-Mail to the Commissioner’s Office no later than August 31st (League Manager Calendar).
2. Proposals must have a valid reason along with the proposal detailing why the Proposal would be a good idea for the league to adopt.
3. All Proposals will be reviewed by a (3) man Commissioner’s Office committee with 10+ years of Ownership. The committee will review all rules, determine if they are either (1) rules that are in the betterment of the league and will adopt them without a vote or (2) considered eligible to be voted on by the league.
4. Voting will be held around September 1st (Real Calendar) and results will go into effect at the start of the upcoming MWBL Season.
5. Seventeen (17) votes by the league members are needed to adopt a proposal for the upcoming season
a. If less than 28 owners are eligible to vote, the proposal would pass with a 55% majority of eligible voters.
6. The Commissioner’s Office may at any time institute a new rule that he deems is for the betterment of the league
J) League Disk
1) MWBL uses the official disk provided by APBA with several modifications
1. Prior to the beginning of the season, Wizard is used to adjust the pitcher grades using the MLB averages from that season. See Article VIII Section I
2. Player & Pitcher adjustments will be made according to Article VIII