The Winter Challenge League, hereby referred to as TWCL, is a unique, highly competitive, retro net-play Strat-O-Matic baseball league. The purpose of the league is to provide league members a chance to make friends with other SOM nerds like themselves, HAVE FUN and exercise their managerial skills while exploring baseball's grand history using teams drafted from the greatest baseball seasons and SOM sets ever. Each season, a new card set (eg- 1930 season 1977 season, HOF card set, Negro Leagues card set, 1973 Japanese League, anything goes...) will be selected by a Card Set Tournament and a new serpentine draft will be held. There will be no roster holdovers, no draft picks to trade, no incentive to finish last; everyone starts with a clean slate.
Games will be played using the latest version of the Strat-O-Matic baseball computer game. All games will be net-play or auto-played by the league if games are not played by a specified time. All league members will be encouraged to use Discord, email, telephone and text to communicate with other league members.
Not every situation can be anticipated and incorporated within this Constitution; Therefore, the Commissioner has the authority to modify, adopt, and change any and all of the rules contained within this constitution at his discretion. That said, forming a league consensus is the preferred manner for change but cannot always be followed thus giving the Commissioner absolute amending authority. This constitution is meant to serve as guidelines for fair play and for good sportsmanship and not as a stone tablet to be followed without reason.
The LZP Assembly Guy will serve the league by insuring it has a reasonably current lzp for use during the season. He will also be responsible archiving game files, sending out restore files and assisting the Commissioner in watching and reporting all over-usage. Because of the importance of these key functions and because of the demands of the tasks, league members, especially The Commissioner will hold The LZP Assembly Guy in high regard and always be grateful for the essential work performed by this person. Our league can't exist without him. It says so in The Constitution.
Any suggestions for new rules or rule amendments should be sent to the Commissioner via the rules-and-rule-changes Discord channel. League voting can be held to gauge the league's opinion on the matter but ultimately the Commoner will decide rule changes based on discussion of the proposed changes.
Managers that repeatedly demonstrate disinterest by not communicating with other league members or not playing their games in a timely manner will be reviewed by the Commissioner to ensure that they are putting in enough effort into the league. League members will be encouraged to get along with others and look out for the other guy. Eventually, we will have sixteen guys in this league who care about each other, enjoy each other's friendship and fellowship and play their games on time. We'll try to meet these goals in the nicest way possible. It is the responsibility of each league member to do their utmost to assist the Commissioner and the LZP Assembly Guy to insure roster and game files are correct.
Inter-personal communication is essential to our league. Emai, text, and phone are acceptable ways to communicate. However, the free voice and text chat software Discord will be our primary method of communication. All league members are required to download, install and use Discord on their computers. League members are also encouraged to install Discord on their phones for the purpose of easy to use voice chat. Support is available to league members to help meet this requirement.
TWCL will have a flexible league and/or division structure based on the card set being played and the number of league members for the given season. The Commissioner will decide League Structure after consulting with league members. Draft position for the purpose of picking draft position will be determined randomly using the leagues Draft Position Generator at https://twcl.xyz. For the TWCL34 season we will have two divisions of each teams each. The season will feature inter- and intra-divisional games. Because the league format calls for two divisons, the two World Series participant GMs from the previous year will hold a draft to determine division alignment. The World Series winning GM will pick first. Because TWCL focuses on providing a challenging managerial environment, there will be no DH except in seasons where both MLB leagues played using the DH (eg- 2022).
Since the SOM game software is set up to handle MLB and it's two leagues, our TWCL34 lzp will include two leagues that will be called Divisions. Doing this will provide division based stats as well as overall league stats. Using leagues for our divisions will also make it easier to use the Create All-Star Game and Create Playoff League features offered by the SOM Baseball game software.
After the regular season, the top three teams in each division will participate in an NFL inspired three round tournament. The division winners receive a first round bye guaranteed HFA in the Divisional Playoffs. The 2nd and 3rd seeded teams in each division will meet in the first round in best of 7 playoff series. In the case of ties between 1st ,2nd and/or 3rd place teams, HFA will be determined by head-to-head regular season records. In the case of a regular season series ties, the ties will be broken by higher winning percentage in intra-division games then by the higher winning percentage in inter-division games. If one or more games are needed to decide a tie for the final playoff berth(s) in a division between two or more teams, the game(s) will be played after the scheduled end to the regular season, hosted by the team that won the regular season series against the other.
In the case of a regular season series tie, HFA will be determined by higher winning percentage in intra-division games then by the higher winning percentage in inter-division games. The tiebreaker game(s) will count as (a) regular season game(s) and special usage rules will apply (see below). There will be at least one day of rest between the end of the regular season (including tiebreakers) and the first round of the playoffs.
The higher seed has home field advantage in each round except for the World Series. HFA for the World Series goes to the Division that won the TWCL34 All-Star Game. After at least one day of rest, the Round 1 winners will play a best of seven versus the division champion. Following at least two days rest, round two winners meet in the TWCL World Series. All Playoff and World Series games will be LIVE Streamed over Discord for the enjoyment of our league members providing that at least one of the participants can provide the stream.
Pitching rotations and relief pitcher rest will NOT reset before tiebreakers (if necessary) or playoffs. Injuries will be reset before tiebreaker games and the playoffs. During tiebreaker and playoff games injuries will be limited to one game only. Pitching rotations and relief pitcher rest will go continuously from the last scheduled regular season series through tiebreaker and playoff games.
During the playoffs, clubs can change their playoff rosters before each series. Each series is an exact number of days; should a team advance in less than the maximum games they receive off-days for any un-played games. Each playoff series will begin one day following the end of the longest running series in the round being played. For example, In the Divisional Round, Series A runs 4 games and Series B runs 6 games. After one day of rest the Division Championship Series will commence. In this example, the winner of Series A will receive 4 days off before the Championship Series and the winner of Series B will receive one day off. All playoff series are best of-7 (2-3-2). The World Series is a best-of-7. There will be one day off whenever teams change cities.
Starting pitchers must be named in the CM before a playoff series for each scheduled game in the series. However, after every game starting pitchers may be adjusted by either manager. In the event both teams want to change starters for a particular game, the visiting team names first and the home manager gets the last change. Of course, both managers must have the opportunity to adjust their lineups based on any starting pitcher changes. For the purposes of starting pitcher eligibility, with the exception of pre-1920 season, the Super Advanced Starting Pitcher Rest Chart will determine which pitchers are eligible to start in tiebreaker or playoff games based on the last 4 games of the regular season pitching rotation. With pre-1920 seasons, HAL will determine all pitcher rest for tiebreaker and playoff games. Relief pitcher fatigue will carry over from the final scheduled series of the regular season based on HAL's determinations. After the Super Advanced Starting Pitcher Rest Chart (if applicable) has determined SP rest for tiebreaker and playoff games, HAL will determine pitcher fatigue for the rest of the playoffs. Once the tiebreaker(s) or playoff series have commenced, HAL will determine rest for all pitchers in all series through to the World Series and the end of the playoffs. HAL's sometimes crazy and contradictory behavior will be considered part of the challenge this league presents.
Tie-breaker games will be played to decide a tie whenever a final playoff spot needs to be determined. Any additional Regular Season games for the purpose of establishing final playoff positions will be added to the end of the regular season schedule as tie-breakers. Because the games are part of the regular season, the 40 man roster rule will remain intact for tie-breaker games. Per MLB tradition, there will be no days off between the end of the regular season and any tie-breaker games added to the schedule. As mentioned previously, pitching rotations will be continuous through the end of the season through any tie breakers into the playoffs. Since this is essentially a playoff game, any starting pitcher not rated for relief may pitch in relief with a rating of R(2/0). Home Field Advantage for any tie-breaker game will be determined first by head-to-head record, then by intra-divisional record then run differential in head-to-head games, then overall run differential then state lottery drawings. Overused players are not eligible for any additional tie-breaker games. However, players with 0 ABs or IPs remaining are eligible.
Because tie-breaker games are being added to the schedule, ALL hitters will receive ADDITIONAL ABs equal to approximately 1/160th of their real life ABs before each tie-breaker game using the following table:
| Hitters Real ABs | Bonus AB |
|---|---|
| 0-239 ABs | 1 AB |
| 240-400 ABs | 2 ABs |
| 401-560 ABs | 3 ABs |
| 561-720 ABs | 4 ABs |
| 721+ ABs | 5 ABs |
ALL Pitchers will receive ADDITIONAL IPs based on the following table:
| Real IPs | Bonus IP |
|---|---|
| 0-59 IP | 1 IP |
| 60-119 IP | 2 IP |
| 120-179 IP | 3 IP |
| 180-239 IP | 4 IP |
| 240-299 IP | 5 IP |
| 300-359 IP | 6 IP |
| 360+ | 7 IP |
Additional At Bats and Innings will be added manually to the players by updating player parameters in the lzp. Single game injuries will be activated during tie-breaker games.
In tie-breaker games, a starting pitcher can be replaced under the following conditions: 1. Bases loaded, no score. 2. After one run is scored providing there are at least two runners in scoring position. 3. After two runs are scored providing there is at least one or more runners in scoring position. 4 After three or more runs are scored. (NOTE: In order to start in a tie-breaker or playoff game, a pitcher must have enough usage available to pitch a minimum of 4 innings) . If a starting pitcher is removed after giving up the minimum runs required by the above stated rules then both teams may substitute freely from that point.
Each team will play 162 games. Each team will play 14 games (7 home and 7 away) against division opponents and 8 games (4 home and 4 away) against out of division teams. The season will be divided into six (6) blocks, which will each last approximately one month beginning in mid-September and ending March 31st. The schedule is balanced for weather effects (ie- there are an equal number of Spring/Fall and Summer games). All teams get the same days off. April and September are entirely intradivision games. Stadiums without lights such as pre-1988 Wrigley Field and other instances where we can demonstrate an unlighted field, will host only day games. Hence, all games prior to 1935 will be day games. For seasons 1935 and later the ratio of day to night home games for each stadium will match the real life ratio as closely as possible. The TWCL Steve "CookieÇΓ¥ Kramer All-Star Game to decide Home Field Advantage for the TWCL World Series will be played each year on July 4th on the schedule. All-Star games prior to 1942 will be day games. 1943, 1944 and 1968 plus any season after 1969 will be night games. All Tiebreaker/Playoff games prior to 1971 will be day games. Due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the November and December blocks will have a reduced amount of games scheduled.
A new ballpark will be drafted each season. Ballparks can be changed during the draft and before the start of the season. A neutral ballpark, named "Ann Lee Field" that looks like Fenway Park (Ballpark Code 4) will be used for the All-Star Game. The All-Star Game Stadium will have Single, Home Run, Double, Triple and weather numbers based on the median numbers of all ballparks (rounded up) in the league for the season being played.
All managers are expected to pursue playing their games regardless of whether they are the home or visiting team. Common courtesy applies. If a manager becomes unavailable for any reason, it is expected that he will inform the league and his opponents.
Rosters may never exceed 40 players. Only 25 players may be eligible to play at a time. Rosters will be eligible for changes each series, however any pitcher starting a game will need to be on the roster the entire block. Once a roster is set for the first game of a series, the roster can only be changed to replace injured players.
All teams must have at least one back up at each position on the active roster. That means two (2) players eligible at each infield position and four (4) players eligible to play the outfield.
Active rosters will expand to 40 man for last Block of the year. Once the playoffs begin the active roster will return to 25.
Due to SOM software restriction, only 15 pitchers can hold roster spots simultaneously. Therefore in order to make the maximum number of pitchers available in a game it is permissible to send starting pitchers to the minors temporarily during a series. For example, if pitchers A, B, C and D are starting in a series, when A starts in Game 1 it's permissible to send B, C and D down because they can't pitch in Game 1. In Game 2, A, C and D can go to the minors while B pitches, etc.
Each team must submit a 25 man roster before each playoff series. Once established, rosters can only be adjusted due to injuries. Any player eligible to play in the regular season can play in the post-season. Any player with over 400 plate appearances or 150 innings pitched are unlimited during the post-season. Catchers over 250 plate appearances and true relievers (pitchers rated only as RP) over 60 innings pitched are also unlimited. (In the case of a catcher with between 250 and 400 plate appearances, the use of such a catcher in any position other than catcher voids the player's unlimited status. In the case of a SP/RP with over 60 IPs, the use of such a pitcher in any position other than RP voids the pitcher's unlimited status). Exception: In the case of an injury a catcher can move to another position and preserve his unlimited status). All other players are limited to 6.5% of their yearly ABs or IPs per series. The source of these numbers will be the official league LZP including any usage adjustments. This is followed using a hard cap. Therefore, even if a player starts a game within the usage limits, once a player exceeds their usage limit the player is considered overused. In the case that a player becomes overused, he is immediately barred from use but is forced to remain on the active roster for the remainder of the post-season. At the discretion of the Commissioner, games played with overused players will be forfeited by the offending team or, with the overused player omitted from the offending teams roster, replayed by both teams, or auto-played by the league.
Injuries may occur to any player during the course of a game. Regular season injuries will be limited to the current series being played. Regarding playoffs, it is known that many GMs prefer injury free playoffs. However, to encourage team depth and managerial challenge, injuries will occur in our playoffs. As a compromise, we will set all playoff injuries to current game only. During the regular season, if an injury occurs to any non-Starting Pitcher that will make them ineligible to play the rest of the series, any eligible player on the inactive roster may replace that player on the active roster. If a pitcher scheduled to start later in a series is injured while being used as a pinch hitter, that pitcher must be replaced from the inactive roster (or from the 40 man roster) by another starting pitcher for the game he was scheduled to start.
Position players can only be used 100% of their actual at-bats. Per the official SOM Baseball rulebook: A manager is not permitted to pinch-hit for, pinch-run for or otherwise voluntarily remove the last player on his team eligible to play a position. However, if injuries temporarily eliminate all eligible players for a specific position, fill the position with the most logical remaining player (see below). One exception: An OF may play in any OF spot according to SOM Outfield Adjustment Chart. If a GM runs out of ABs at a position (after ALL ABs for that position are burned) or an injury forces a substitute player to play out of position, only corner INFers can replace corner INFers, only middle INFers can replace middle INFers, only OFers can replace OFers, and only Catchers can replace Catchers. If a replacement player can't meet the position requirements (eg' an OFer is the only player qualified to replace a Catcher) the replacement player (the new Catcher née OFer in this example) must have a WAR roughly equal to the BACKUP player he is replacing. In other words, out of position replacement players can't be offensive upgrades. All out of position replacements must be made with the concurrence of the opposing GM. This rule must be enforced during game time and cannot be enforced after the fact.
All starting position players must play at least 4 innings in the field unless removed from the game due to injury or if either team removes it's starting pitcher. The intent of this rule is that there are no substitutions before the 5th inning unless one of the pitchers are removed due to poor performance or injury. NOTE: The home pitcher can be pinch hit for in the bottom of the 4th because he has met the 4 inning requirement. If a player is injured during the first 4 innings, he must be replaced. It is permissible to pinch run for an injured player and then replace the pinch runner with another player who will play the field. Replacement of an injured position player does not open the door for further substitutions by either team.
All pitchers are limited to 100% of their actual innings pitched. This is followed using a hard cap. Therefore, even if a player starts a game within the usage limits, once a player exceeds their usage limit the player is considered overused. Starting pitchers need to rest according to Strat-O-Matic's Super Advanced SP Rest Chart. A starting pitcher must pitch through a minimum of 4 innings or give up four (4) runs before he can be taken out. In playoff and tie-breaker games the limit becomes two runs scored and at least one more runners in scoring position. When a loss by a team falling behind in a playoff game could result in the elimination of that team a starting pitcher from that team can be replaced under the following conditions: 1. Bases loaded, no score. 2. After one run is scored providing there are at least two runners in scoring position. 3. After two runs are scored providing there is at least one or more runners in scoring position. 4 After three or more runs are scored. (NOTE: In order to start in a tie-breaker or playoff game, a pitcher must have enough usage available to pitch a minimum of 4 innings) . If a starting pitcher is removed after giving up the minimum runs required by the above stated rules then both teams may substitute freely from that point. Also, no starting pitcher may pitch in relief unless he has a relief rating and no relief pitcher may start unless he has a starting rating. A starting pitcher with a relief rating may only enter in relief if not scheduled to start in that series. Exception: In the event that a game goes beyond the 12th inning, GMs may use their bullpens as they please after all RPs have been used. Exception: In the playoffs, a starting pitcher otherwise not rated for relief may pitch in relief with a rating of R(2/0). In the event that a team uses all of its relief pitchers in an extra inning game, the managing GM has the option of using a position player to pitch and finish the game. At final pitcher will finish the game no matter how many innings it takes to do so. If a GM runs out of SP innings and there are no other SPs available, that GM must start his RP with the lowest WAR. If that pitcher can't go 4 innings due to usage, he must be replaced with the RP with the next lowest WAR. In other words, out of position replacement pitchers can't be upgrades. All out of position replacements must be made with the concurrence of the opposing GM.
Per official the official SOM rulebook section 25.3, position players may only pitch in extreme emergencies. In the Winter Challenge League, this means only in cases where ALL relief rated pitchers have been used and the final relief pitcher has been injured, will become overused or has pitched 3 innings past his endurance rating. Per official the official SOM rulebook section 10.2, for the purposes of realism a Starting Pitchers will not be used as a reliever during the regular season unless he has a relief endurance rating higher than "0". (eg- a pitcher with a relief rating of 7/0/N cannot be used as reliever under any circumstance during the regular season) .
If a player is at his usage limit at the start of a game, that player may not used in that game. For TWCL34, Starting Pitchers are allowed a maximum of 180 pitches thrown. Once they reach the 140 pitch limit they must be replaced unless they are throwing a perfect game, no-hitter, shut-out or have a lead greater than one run or are trailing by less than 5 runs. For future seasons, the maximum number of pitches a pitcher can throw in a single game will be based on % of complete games pitched during the year on which our TWCL season will be based. Calculate the % of complete games to determine the max number of pitches.
| % of CG | Pitches |
|---|---|
| < 5% | 120 |
| 5-15% | 150 |
| 16-25% | 160 |
| 26-35% | 170 |
| 36-50% | 180 |
| 51-70% | 190 |
| 71% + | 200 |
Relief Pitchers will be limited to two innings more than their fatigue rating. Therefore a pitcher with a fatigue rating of (1/N) must be replaced after their third inning pitched. These rules may be waived or modified for pre-1920 card sets.
If a player exceeds his usage limit in a playoff series game and no other player on the roster is rated to play that position, the offending player must be immediately removed and any other player, including pitchers must play. If nobody is left on the bench, stop the game, give the overused player max defensive stat. If the player comes to bat, he must Swing Away and record a non-productive out (eg- popout, lineout, strikeout, etc) or a double play. No bunting or hit and run permitted. If a player is at his usage limit at the start of a playoff game, that player may not used in that game.
Each team will nominate up to 6 players to participate in the All-Star Game. Each All-Star Team will have a 35 player roster. There will be 3 players at each postion and at least one player from each team in a division. These players will come from the list of nominated players. Nominations will close once roster selection is begun. Three "at-large" picks can be made to meet the 3 players at each position and at least one player from each team in a division requirements and otherwise round out the rosters. In other words, each team is allowed at least 29 nominated players and up to 3 at-large picks. Teams will play for Home Field Advantage in the TWCL World Series. We're asking the GMs to do their best to be competitive and still play as many players as possible. The following usage rules will apply: 1. Pitchers will be limited to 3 innings. Please note all starting pitchers have been assigned a ΓÇÿ2' relief endurance rating if they were otherwise rated ΓÇÿ0'. 2. Position players will be limited to 6 innings unless the game goes past 9 innings. 3. No DH!!!. 4. OFers can play any OF position. Otherwise, players can only field positions they are rated for unless the game goes past 9 innings. In All-Star games, the following conditions apply to both teams from the start of the game. A starting pitcher can be replaced under the following conditions:1. Bases loaded, no score. 2. After one run is scored providing there are at least two runners in scoring position. 3. After two runs are scored providing there is at least one or more runners in scoring position. 4. After three or more runs are scored. In the All-Star Game, in order to minimize the impact of Monster Cards, low AB/IP players will be limited in use based on the following rules: Hitters:Under 100 ABs- ineligible 100-243 ABs- 1 PA 244-400 ABs- 2 PAs 400+ ABs- limited only by in game usage rules Hitters under 244 ABs cannot gain additional PAs by remaining in extra inning games. Pitchers: Under 30 IP- ineligible 30-60 IP- 1 inning 60+ IP- limited only by in game usage rules Pitchers under 60 IPs cannot gain additional IPs by remaining in extra inning games.
Not all players in a card set are eligible for play. In order to be eligible, a player must meet the following requirements: 1) A position player must have at least 50 at-bats. 2) A pitcher must have at least 20 innings pitched. At-bats and IPs will come from the original roster source (ie- 100% of original AL, NL or Negro Leagues usage), No usage increase will apply. If a player has two cards in a set the GM drafting that player will receive both cards and that player will occupy only one roster spot. The GM drafting a two carded player must use the cards in the order that they appeared in real life. For example, Doyle Alexander pitched 117 IPs for ATL in the first half of the season and 88 IPs for DET in the second half of the season. A GM drafting Doyle Alexander would have to pitch him 117 innings before switching to his DET card. If a player becomes misused the player is immediately becomes inactive for the rest of the season and this MAY include the playoffs. The Commissioner will review all misuse situations and MAY declare forfeits for games played through with misused players. If the misuse occurs on a team in games affecting the outcome of a playoff race FOR THE TEAM WITH THE OVERUSAGE, forfeits WILL LIKELY be declared for any game won in which an overused player was used. The intent of the league's usage policy is to prevent abuse. The policy is not intended to change the course of pennant races through arbitrary enforcement in cases where honest mistakes occur on a non-contending team. In the case where the commissioner or another officer of the league is involved in the overuse, a three GM board will review the overuse and produce a ruling. Uninvolved volunteers will be sought first to fill the board with remaining vacancies filled by a random drawing.
When a player has two cards use the card of the first team the player played for first. The card that finishes the season goes to the playoffs. When figuring playoff usage, use the player's total PAs for the entire year. The first card must be used up before the second card used in the playoffs.
Certain pitchers have two cards because they also played in fielding positions (and batted more than 50 ABs as a position player). These players are known as Double Duty Players and their use is restricted in the following ways: 1. Double Duty Players can play positions on days when they aren't pitching in a game (ie- a DDP can start as a pitcher but not move to the field or a DDP can come off the bench and relieve but not continue as a fielder). 2. Double Duty Players can be used as pinch hitters. In that case, they can continue the game either in the field or as a reliever but must finish the game in that capacity. ("Finish" includes being removed from the game before the end of the game.) . A Double Duty Player cannot pinch hit for himself (eg' A GM can't start a Double Duty Player as a pitcher then pinch hit for him with his fielding card). 3. Double Duty Players can be moved from the mound to the field or vice versa ONCE per game in a game where a teammate pitcher has left the mound due to injury or during a tie-breaker, playoff and World Series games. 4. Double Duty players cards will be treated individually for the purpose of determining overusage. A DDP hitting card is considered overused when the number of ABs listed in our league LZP is exceeded. A DDP pitching card is considered overused when the number of IPs listed in our league LZP is exceeded. In other words, overusage rules apply to whichever aspect of the DD player was overused. Once overused, whichever card was overused (or is in peril of overuse) will/can be removed from play per our usage rules. If the hitter card is removed but the pitching card remains the player may still bat using whatever number pitcher's hitting card is assigned to the pitcher by SOM game software.
Subject to the discretion of the Commissioner or a GM review board, if a player becomes overused the player is immediately becomes inactive for the rest of the season including the playoffs. This is followed using a hard cap. Therefore, even if a player starts a game within the usage limits, once a player exceeds their usage limit the player is considered overused. As previously stated, once a player becomes over-used, he immediately becomes inactive for the rest of the season. However, that player will count against the 40-man roster for the remainder of the season. The Commissioner will review all overuse situations and may declare forfeits for games played with overused players. If the overuse occurs on a team in games affecting the outcome of a playoff race, forfeits WILL be declared for any game won in which an overused player was used.
The 100% usage limit mark will be built into the first restore file of the year. The correct player usage percentage is listed in the game. This is found by going to Statistics->Team Stats-> Usage Display. The number of AB left is the number to use.
Because TWCL focuses on providing a challenging managerial environment, there will be no DH except in seasons post 2020 when all MLB teams began to use the DH. When there is no DH permitted, players with no positions listed on their cards may play at either 1B or the corner OF positions with the worst possible defensive ratings: A 5 range rating, the highest "e" rating for the position and a +5 throwing arm.
A manager may not pinch hit after a base runner has taken a lead. Instead, a pinch hitting must enter the game and then a lead may be attempted. Justification: IRL, it would be highly unusual to pinch hit for a batter once a base runner has stolen a base. Therefore we don't permit knowing the outcome of a stolen base attempt before making a pinch hitter decision.
Pitchers listed in the current block's starting rotation may be used in relief provided the pitcher has a relief endurance rating higher than 0 and the pitcher is not listed as a starter in the CURRENT series even if the pitcher was scheduled to start in either the previous or next upcoming series. Justification: Since we play series out of order, it is difficult to track pitcher rest outside of the current series. This rule is intended to insure that all teams are treated equally when it comes to relief pitcher availability.
Our schedule has built in days off that occur after every two series. These days off can be used as a rest day allowing pitching rotation adjustments.
Each season a new season roster will be chosen from baseball's rich historical eras. A tournament will be held to determine which season we will play. Each GM will nominate a season to play. Nominations can come from any decade except those of which a season has been previously played. The 2025 Card Set Tournament nominations will not include seasons from the 2010's,ΓÇÿ90s, ΓÇÿ80's, ΓÇÿ70's, ΓÇÿ60's 40's, 30's and ΓÇÿ20's. Each week during the tournament league members will vote on matchups determined by state lottery drawings. Voting ends on Monday at noon Eastern Time. In the case of a tie, voting will continue to Tuesday at noon Eastern Time. In the case where all league members have voted and a tie remains (eg- 8-8 tie in a 16 member league), the previous season's GM with the worst record gets to break the tie.
Typically, the league draft will be held in July to give plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming season. Every season will begin with a new serpentine draft of cards from the upcoming season's card. The drafts will have a maximum of 41 rounds. Each team owner will draft up to 40 players and ONE stadium. Stadiums may be changed before the season starts. Draft order will be determined randomly by the TWCL Draft Position Generator. Once an order is determined, players will pick their draft position in that order. For example, Team A gets the first pick, they can choose to draft 8th or any other position they want.
All drafts will be conducted at stratdraft.com. In order for the draft to be conducted in a timely and efficient manner, ALL team owners must be proficient in the use of the site's autodraft feature unless waived by the Commissioner.
Because in this league format the draft largely determines the success of the team, we encourage a slow draft that allows GMs to thoughtfully consider their draft strategy and individual picks. Therefore, we allow up to TWO MONTHS for the draft to unfold. Since the draft occurs during the summer and league members take vacations and have other real life obligations, there is no set schedule for picks. However, we do require that league members inform other league members using Discord or our TWCLeague@googlegroups.com email address if they expect to delay the draft after 4pm EDT. During downtime, league members waiting to draft WILL use the pause to strategize, plan picks and set autodraft if desired. Complaining about downtime will be considered unsportsmanlike.
The goal of any TWCL draft is to produce the best possible teams. In furtherance of that goal we allow GMs to correct draft errors. In our Draft Position Draft, GMs have the right to change their draft position decisions if the spot they want is still available. Any other GMs impacted by such a change have the right, in order, to update their positions. Each GM may initiate only one change per draft. In our Player Draft, GMs have the right to change player choice decisions made in error and for any other reason provided that the player they want is still available and no more than 15 more picks have been made. Any other GMs impacted by such a change have the right, in order, to update their player choices. Each GM may initiate only up to three changes per player draft. Drafts will be put on hold to correct draft errors or to update choices made by other impacted GMs. Otherwise, the drafting will continue. If a Draft Admin is not available to stop a draft and correct a mistake and another pick occurs that involves the player requested to be substituted, the draft will be wound back to the time when the draft correction was requested.
The Winter Challenge League is a draft based league. There is no trading permitted.
Free Agents may be picked up throughout the regular season and after the Rookie/Free Agent draft. Free agents are awarded to the first team that claims the player.
All teams will play the schedule created by the Commissioner or a league member appointed to create the schedule. We will play a balanced schedule featuring a realistic mix of day/night games, balanced weather effects, days off to allow pitching rotation reshuffling and intra-division schedule for Blocks 1 and 6. Stadiums without lights such as pre-1988 Wrigley Field and other instances where we can demonstrate an unlighted field, will host only day games. Hence, all games prior to 1935 will be day games. The TWCL Steve "Cookie" Kramer All-Star Game to decide Home Field Advantage for the TWCL World Series will be played each year on July 4th on the schedule. All-Star games prior to 1942 will be day games. 1943, 1944 and 1968 plus any season after 1969 will be night games. All Tiebreaker/Playoff games prior to 1971 will be day games. Games do not need to be played in order, however no team can play a game in a block other than the current one.
The league restore file including CMs will be distributed by The LZP Assembly Guy before the month's games are to be played. To insure good order, the block will always end on the last day of the month (the real life month, not the SOM schedule month). Every team must then post CM's by the the 5th of the month. After that deadline, the The LZP Assembly Guy will generate a CM for any team that missed the submission deadline. GM's can submit their CMs late but this must be done before playing any games in the new block. Once games are played with a CM, it can't be replaced without approval of the Commissioner. If the Commissioner fails to respond by the next.lzp issue date, The LZP Assembly Guy can approve the new CM. The chief concern is that pitching rotations must be set before games are played in the block.
After starting a series, the home manager must give all players' rest by clicking on the Give 15 Days Rest button (only for first game of each series) Also, the managers must make sure that the Game Result Files' box is checked. With one week left in the block, any games not uploaded will be reminded by either The LZP Assembly Guy or Commissioner of the games needed to be played. All scheduled games in the block period are to be played by the end of the last day of the block.
Once a block period ends, there is a two day grace period before unplayed games are autoplayed. During the grace period, any games that have not been played can be finished using CMs, netplayed by the GMs or played against a substitute GM. Communication is key; the LZP Assembly Guy will publish an unplayed games report at the end of the block period, but if GMs know that they have unplayed games, they should communicate with the opposing manager to decide who can play the games and let the LZP Assembly Guy know that they are doing it. If the games have not been played within two days after the end of the block, the games will be autoplayed. Any game auto-played by the The LZP Assembly Guy will be played with Fully Control Overusage checked unless waived by the Commisioner. REMINDER: Players are still subject to overusage penalties even when games are played by a sub unless waived by the Commissioner.
Once all games for the period have been completed then the LZP Assembly Guy will generate the new lzp for the next block and post it to the cloud (goal is within 1-2 days after all games have been played). Once the lzp has been uploaded, managers will have 2-3 days to update their CMs and submit them to the cloud . the LZP Assembly Guy will then incorporate the updated CMs into the lzp, regenerate, and repost the league lzp for the next block period (goal is within 1-2 days after CMs have been updated). To accommodate these activities, there will be up to a 7 day break between blocks.
No team is allowed to make a mid-block rotation change unless the team has yet to play a game in the block. Once the team does play a game, the rotation may only be changed if an error was made filling out the rotation schedule or a pitcher will become over-used if the pitcher starts a game. The Commissioner or the LZP Guy must declare that a rotation change is necessary before the change is made.
In the event of a change due to over-usage, the player replaced must be fully rested and come from the 25 man roster (or 40 man roster in Block 6). Otherwise the pitcher scheduled to pitch must start even if he will become overused. If the pitcher is replaced, he must remain on the 25 man roster (or 40 man roster in Block 6) for the entire block.
The switch to the newest version of the SOM Windows game software will be performed by all teams at the end of Block 5 before the start of Block 6 (so the switch should occur at the end of February/beginning of March). Thus, Block 6 CMs will be sent to the cloud from the SOM 2024 software.
The following table:
| MAIN RULES | Maximum Levels |
|---|---|
| STEALING | Super Advanced Steal System |
| MISCELLANEOUS | Use Miscellaneous Rule |
| INJURIES | Use Injuries |
| GROUNDBALL A | Allow GBA on Pitcher Cards |
| BP/WEATHER/CLUTCH | Ballpark Effects, Weather Effects, Clutch Hitting |
| STRATEGY | Super Advanced Strategy Charts |
| CLOSER | Use Closer Rules |
| PITCHER FATIGUE | Use SADV Fatigue & Pitch Count |
| MAX RULES | Improve statistical accuracy - NO, Bunt for base hit - YES, Improve out distribution - YES, Improve base running realism - YES, Home field advantage - NO, Starting pitcher clutch - NO, More base running decisions - YES, Doubles/Triples options - YES, Force daily injuries - NO, Realistic throwing errors - YES, Allow extra pre-1920 errors - YES, Pitch-around option - YES, Robbing HR Rule - YES, Correct Board Game Excesses- NO, Allow Errors on Bunts- YES, Allow Errors on Pickoffs- YES, Allow Errors not shown on SADV-X charts- YES |
The following table:
| Category | Rule |
|---|---|
| VISITING TEAM LINEUP | Draft League |
| HOME TEAM LINEUP | Draft League |
| SCHEDULED DAYS OFF | Give Scheduled Days Off |
| AUTO SWAP-O-MATIC | No Auto Swap-O-Matic |
| MINOR LEAGUERS | Minor Leaguers- INELIGIBLE |
| OVERUSAGE | Ignore Overusage (Autoplay- Fully Control Overusage) |
| USE SUPER HAL BULLPEN | YES |
| USE SUPER HAL LINEUP SUBS | YES |
| ALLOW EXTRA GS FOR CERTAIN PITCHERS | YES |
| USE ACTUAL PITCHER BATTING CARDS | NO |