Superstar Baseball will continue with the format introduced last year: four individual heats, each with its own winner that will automatically advance to the playoffs, although playoff eligibility has been slightly tweaked.

Players should feel free to play any opponent at any time. Managers will be given buttons designating their participation in the tournament, which they can wear on their badges. In addition, a sign-up sheet will be attached to the kiosk, so players can use that method to schedule games, as well.

Tally sheets will be left near the kiosk, and will be available throughout the convention. Boxscore sheets will also be provided, for those managers that wish to track that information (which is entirely optional, but appreciated, for what it adds to the recap).

Completed tally sheets must be turned in at the registration desk by 6pm each day.

Each morning, the prior day's heat standings will be posted on the event kiosk (which will be located at the same place, each day to be announced at the initial meeting).

THE DRAFT

During the first meeting, managers will select a team and be given any necessary instruction. Managers will also be given tally sheets for recording games played. Each team can be selected once. You will keep your team for all four heats.

After the initial draft, managers can locate the GM, Chris Palermo, to receive tally sheets and teams, if they wish to play (check with the registration desk). Only teams not previously selected will be available.

TALLY SHEETS

After each game, the opposing manager must sign the tally sheet. Opposing managers should not sign the tally sheet until all the information is completed. The only information that must be presented to the GM are the teams involved, the date of the game and the scores, as well as any 'notable' occurrences. The tally sheet should be filled in from top to bottom - do not skip games.

THE SCORING

Teams can play each other a MAXIMUM of twice per heat. Additional plays will be disregarded.

Teams can play a maximum of 10 games per heat. Each heat begins at 7pm. Make sure to turn in your tally sheets by 6pm the following day to get credit for the games you play.

We will keep the change to the scoring system introduced last year. First, since all teams are not created equally, a handicapping system has been put in place in the form of "outs" (more later). In addition, points will be earned by each team -- a minimum number of points is needed to be qualified for the playoffs (to offset a team going 1-0 and claiming they're undefeated and qualified for the playoffs).

Teams receive five qualifying points for the first win against a team; three qualifying points for any subsequent wins; one qualifying point for any loss. These points are reset after each heat.

Examples:

Yankees: 8; Padres: 4; first time played:

Yankees receive 5 pts; Padres receive 1 pt.

Yankees: 8; Padres: 4; second time played:

Yankees receive 3 pts; Padres receive 1 pt

But, instead if the Padres won the second game, the:Padres would receive 5 pts (first win); Yankees receive 1 pt

THE PLAYOFFS

Once all games are completed in the heat, the top FIVE "point totals" will be separated, and ranked in order of winning %. The top two teams will advance to the playoffs automatically. There are NO heat playoffs. In case of a tie (such as two teams that are undefeated), the team with more points will advance. If there is *still* a tie, the tie-breaker will come from all the second-place finishers. There are many variables here - including if a single team finishes first in one heat and second in another; there will be a space opened (if needed) in the playoffs.

There will be a total of eight teams in the playoffs. Assuming there are four unique heat winners and four unique second-place finishers, they will take the 1-4 and 5-8 slots, respectively, sorted by win percentage. If a team wins multiple heats, they will automatically be ranked higher, regardless of win percentage. In the event the same team finishes in the top two slots in two separate heats, the remaining playoff seeds will be filled from the highest third-place team (across all heats) and so on, until there are a total of eight different playoff teams. Those "wild card" teams will always be seeded the worst, regardless of their win percentage (e.g., it's possible a third-place team in one heat could have a higher win percentage than a second-place team in another heat; that will be immaterial in terms of playoff seeding."

The four heat winners will be ranked from 1-4 in order of winning percentage (note: If a team wins multiple heats, it will be ranked higher than other teams, even if its win percentage is lower).

The four second-place finishers will be ranked #5-#8 in order of winning percentage, and will face off against each other.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

First Round

Game 1: #8 will play #5

Game 2: #7 will play #6

Second Round

Game 3: #4 plays winner of Game 1

Game 4: #3 plays winner of Game 2

Third Round

Game 5: #1 plays winner of Game 3

Game 6: #2 plays winner of Game 4

World Series

Game 7: Winners of Game 5 and Game 6 play

There is an advantage to playing more games: The system rewards those who play frequently (i.e., Play often, Play well).

Laurels will be awarded in the following order:

Loser of Game 4: 6th place

Loser of Game 3: 5th place

Loser of Game 6: 4th place

Loser of Game 5: 3rd place

Loser of Game 7: 2nd place

Winner of Game 7: 1st place

The Playoff schedule will be announced Saturday evening, with the final World Series game scheduled to be played at 9am on Sunday. Additionally, the results will be listed on the kiosk.

SSB-SPECIFIC RULES

If you have the Superstar Baseball special dice, please bring them this year. Otherwise, because this event is not in one room for a specific duration of time, a nominal deposit of $5 will be collected by the GM for anyone needing the special dice for the game. This money will be refunded when the dice are returned at the conclusion of the tournament.

Teams SHOULD roll for home team. Playing two games against opponents home and away is recommended, but that is incumbent upon the two managers to determine.

No DH will be used.

Pitchers can start every third day (three-man rotation). Starting pitchers cannot pitch in the two games following a start, regardless of how many or few innings they pitched. Pitchers appearing in relief can pitch a maximum of five innings in any game, but MUST sit out the following game, regardless of how many or few innings they pitched.

This year, _I_ will not be tracking pitcher usage. That will be incumbent upon each player. You will still keep track of your pitchers on a separate tally sheet, and share that with your opponent; but I will not double-check to make sure pitchers were used correctly. If you are beaten by a team that has misused its pitchers, shame on you for not checking!

The rules regarding pitcher TIRE ratings will change slightly. For tired pitchers, all "D" results (that are not automatic defensive outs) are treated as blanks (swing). 'D' results that ARE automatic defensive outs will remain automatic defensive outs.

Injuries will last for ONE game only.

The players in Right and Left Field must have a defensive rating as an OF and the player in Centerfield must have a defensive rating as a CF - there is no switching of positions.

HANDICAPPING MODIFICATIONS

Each team has a number of "Outs" assigned to it -- this is the number of outs the team will already have used BEFORE starting the game.

So, for example -- if a team has nine outs, and its opponent has 0 outs, The game will start in the first inning. The opponent will take its first inning -- batting until it reaches three outs, and then, the team with nine outs will simply "pass" -- taking three outs (no runs, no hits). This will happen for the first three innings, until all nine outs have been 'used' At that point, the game will resume as normal.

This allows the weaker teams an opportunity to get more hits/runs by actually "playing" more innings.

TEAM LIST

As there was last year, there will be an assortment of teams from various years to choose from.