2009 AL DRAFT and RULES PACKET

(First Stage of a Three Stage Draft)

Welcome to Scoresheet Baseball. This packet contains all of the information you should need for drafting the first stage of your team. Included are American League player lists, a description of the draft's roster balancing procedures, information on statistics used in Scoresheet, additional Scoresheet Baseball rules, and a complete sample lineup card with explanations. Also available is a complete AL draft/rules packet in PDF format.

NOTE: If you are doing a web based draft then the rules in this packet DO apply. But rather than sending a ranking list to the Scoresheet office you will be creating a ranking list on your specific league's web page. You can begin preparing for the draft now by looking at our player lists, and in early February we will send you the address of your specific league so that you can create your ranking list. Those web based drafts will then start drafting approximately February 15th. You can also go to the web based drafting page to read more about web based drafting.

After reading this packet, your first step in building your team will be to complete and submit your ranking sheet. This season's player lists are ordered according to major league playing time last season, so you should be able to easily identify last year's starters. Using the player lists, rank your top 90 player choices on the ranking sheet, in the order you want them to be eligible for drafting by your team. Your number 1 listing will represent the player you want the most, and so on down the list. PLEASE include BOTH player numbers and player's last names, but first names of players are not necessary. Since various owners always list different players on their first ranking sheet, 90 choices is enough to allow each owner to receive 11 different players. (In fact, you'll probably get all 11 players from your first 60 picks - you can list less than 90 players if you like.) When your list is finalized, we recommend that you make a copy of it, as we keep the sheet that you send us. And keep your draft packet for use in the next stage of the draft and during the season!

New American Leagues that we form consist of 10 teams. Team numbers will be randomly chosen, with the draft order reversing in each later round. (Team 1 picks first in round 1, team 10 picks first in round 2, team 1 picks first in round 3, etc.) As your team's turn comes up in each round, you will be assigned your highest-ranked undrafted player, subject to our roster balancing procedures described later in this packet. (Our drafting rules are designed so that you can list players according to how you think they'll perform in the upcoming season, and then you'll get a balanced roster, receiving starters at every position before you begin receiving reserves.) And you do not need to group players by position on your ranking sheet. Players should simply be listed in the order you think they are most valuable.

At the conclusion of the first stage of the draft, we'll send you: 1) A list showing the first 11 rounds of picks by each team in the order chosen; 2) Each team's roster broken down by position; 3) A blank ranking sheet and instructions for Stage 2. In Stage 2, you will proceed as before, ranking up to 90 more players, and sending us the list of your choices. We'll repeat this process again for Stage 3, and send you blank lineup cards to fill out before the season starts. The results of the third stage will also include the season schedule of games to be played. You'll choose a team name when you send in your lineup card.

Every year many owners call us wondering when they'll receive their draft results. Generally we draft and mail out results about 6 days after your postmark deadline, meaning you'll receive them in the mail about 8 or 9 days after your postmark deadline. For this first stage, sending in your ranking sheet a few days early may mean you'll get your first draft results back that much sooner! Sorry, but we cannot give out results over the phone; otherwise we'd never have time to get all the leagues drafted. But we will also post draft results on your league's web page as soon as your draft is run, and will send you an e-mail as soon as the first stage is done, letting you know those results are up, what league you are in, and what your league's web address is. (A list of all our league's web page links can be found at www.scoresheet.com/list.html)

Hint: The draft is really very simple. We just go down your list, giving you your top listed player that is still undrafted. We simultaneously keep track of the players you've already drafted, and we will skip over players that are listed at positions you have already filled, ensuring that you get a balanced team. We also suggest that you save your top picks for established quality players and use the first stage to acquire players you are certain will perform well this year - save your gambles for the third stage, or at least late in the second stage!

We do recommend that you do read the enclosed Scoresheet Baseball rules. If after reading over this packet you have any questions, please give us a call at: 530-470-1880. The best time to reach us is from 9 to 5:30, Monday thru Saturday, Pacific Time. Good luck in your Scoresheet season - we hope this year brings you the utmost in baseball appreciation!
P.S. If you are paying on the installment plan please remember that you should include a check with your ranking sheet!