Diamond Legends Rules
| The Draft | Setup | Season Play | The Playoffs | No Transaction Charges |
| A) Selecting Your Players |
- Your team roster will consist of 30 players. On the draft web page, we have suggested that you draft at least one player at each position, but, except for filling your catcher and pitcher requirements, you don't have to draft a player at each position. For example, you can draft three center fielders and play them at each of the three outfield positions.
- Of those 30 players, 25 will make up your active roster. The other five players will go to your minors (for injury reserve).
- You will be given $50 million in fantasy funds to acquire the 30 players.
- Your pitchers have "start ratings." These ratings show how many games you can expect a pitcher to start during a season. For example, a hurler who can pitch every four days will get around 45 starts a year. In Diamond Legends:
- A pitcher who can make 45 starts a year, gets a start rating of "5."
- A pitcher who can make 36 starts a year, gets a start rating of "4."
- A pitcher who can make 27 starts a year, gets a start rating of "3."
- A pitcher who can make 18 starts a year, gets a start rating of "2."
- A pitcher who can make 9 starts a year, gets a start rating of "1."
All pitchers have start ratings. When you sum up the start ratings of all your pitchers you are drafting, they must add up to 20 or higher. (Once the season has started, your pitchers' start ratings need to add up to 18 or higher.) Every week during the Diamond Legends season, you will play 18 games (see Season Play for more information). A pitcher's start rating indicates how many times during each 18-game week you can start that pitcher.
- Catchers also have start ratings because most catchers can't start every game in a baseball season. They need days off. However, their start ratings are much higher than pitchers'. We strongly recommend you carry three catchers on your active roster at all times. When drafting your team, the sum of your catchers' start ratings also must be 20 or higher. (During the regular season, your catchers' start ratings must add up to 18 or higher.)
- If you are unable to sign a player in the draft, Diamond Legends will assign you one who plays the same position and has a similar value and start rating.
- Any or all players on your team may be cashed in (waived, released) at 100 percent of their salary before the season starts. After the season has started, you will get back 80 percent of their catalog price.
-
STATS
will randomly assign an owner a number, 1 to 12, which will determine the draft order.
- Once
STATS
receives your player requests, you'll be placed in a 12-team league. The league will be divided into three divisions of four teams each.
- Your league will begin play no less than five days after the draft has been run, and no more than 13 days after the draft has been run. For example, if the league is drafted on a Tuesday, it will start play the next Monday, but if the league is drafted on a Saturday, it will start not the very next Monday, but the following Monday. League play always starts on Mondays. The transactions for those Monday games are due the previous Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.
- You will receive an e-mail from Diamond Legends when your team has been drafted.
- The winner of each division and one wild-card team will qualify for the playoffs.
| B) Choosing Players |
- The players in the game are listed with important information: their price or salary, their handedness and their main defensive position. If you click on their names, you will be shown their career statistics.
- For pitchers and catchers, their start rating also is shown.
- A player's main position is determined by where he actually played in his major league career.
- Diamond Legends has priced each player based on the length and quality of his career and the anticipated demand for his services. The demand factor will make some players appear overpriced in light of their career performance. Others will appear to be underpriced. Some players will be priced just right.
- When choosing your players, remember that the start rating of your pitchers and catchers must add up to 20.
| C) Drafting |
You may go to our draft page, draft a few players at a time, leave our site, and come back any time to continue. We have made your drafting process easier by giving you access to career statistics by clicking on the player names.
When entering your draft requests on the web, please keep in mind the following guidelines:
- You can never exceed $50 million when selecting your team (some teams may surpass $50 million during the season. See Player Signings and Releases for more information).
- We strongly recommend you acquire at least three catchers. Their combined start ratings must equal or exceed 20, and the more, the better.
- We strongly recommend you acquire at least 12 pitchers. Their combined start ratings must equal or exceed 20, and the more the better.
- We recommend that for the other seven defensive positions (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF) you select players who started at least 600 games at those positions. We won't shoot you if you don't, but your team won't be as good.
- We recommend you try to acquire a team that will look something like this:
Hitters- 3 Catchers (combined start rating of 25)
- 2 First basemen
- 2 Second basemen
- 2 Third basemen
- 2 Shortstops
- 2 Left fielders
- 2 Center fielders
- 2 Right fielders
- 1 DH, who is listed as a DH, or someone who was better known for hitting than fielding.
For a total of 18 hitters
Pitchers- 1 Starter with a start rating of 5 (45 starts per season)
- 2 Starters with a start rating of 4 (36 starts per season)
- 2 Starters with a start rating of 3 (27 starts per season)
- 2 Starters with a start rating of 1 (9 starts per season) These starters will fill in as spots starters in case your regular starters get hurt.
- 1 Closer, preferably with 100 career saves. If less than 100, you may be better served signing two closers
- 2 Middle relief pitchers. Preferably one left-handed and one right-handed.
- 2 Swingmen or starters. These pitchers may be promoted from your minors to your majors in case of injuries
For a total of 12 pitchers
| D) Selecting Your Home Park |
Many people consider selecting a home park as important as constructing your team. For example, you may not want hitters who launch towering flyballs if they'll be playing in a field with a 500-foot center-field fence. Those fly balls would be homers in smaller parks, but in large parks, they will be long, towering outs.
You can select any of the current 30 major league parks (not including Safeco Field in Seattle), or select from more than 50 other historical parks. You are guaranteed your ballpark choice. The same park may appear more than once in the same league.
Please note that you cannot change your home park once your draft is completed.
For more information on ballparks, purchase STATS' Ballpark Sourcebook: Diamond Diagrams. We wish we could provide you all the information that is in this book, but it wouldn't be practical because it contains more than 200 pages of diagrams, essays and rare photographs. The third printing of this acclaimed book is available for only $24.95. Shipping and handling is free. It is a must for any Diamond Legends player.
| The Draft | Setup | Season Play | The Playoffs | No Transaction Charges |