2 December 2004

Vol. X No. 33

 ISBL HOME    ENCYCLOPEDIA    DISKS    AUCTION SITE    FORUMS    E-MAIL 

  2005 ROSTERS    2005 CALENDAR    2005 FINANCES    2005 JR DRAFT LOTTERY    2005 BALLOT  

GETTING READY FOR 2005 The Diamond Mind Baseball MLB2004 disk is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 9. That means it's time to get ready for the 2005 ISBL season. We expect to release the first ISBL2005 disk on Sunday, December 12, which will give us time to update all of the important player information, accounting for any rule changes. At that time, preseason trading will commence. Below you'll find a number of tools to help you in preparing for the coming season. Most important of these is the ballot for 2005 rule changes. We need all of these submitted by 5pm EST on Sunday, December 12, with no exceptions. Failure to complete the ballot will result in us finding another owner for your team (and we have a long and eager waiting list), so get 'em in.

ISBL ENCYCLOPEDIA (2001-2004)

The ISBL Encyclopedia, encompassing the 2001 through 2004 seasons, is now online for your perusal and enjoyment. You can find the encyclopedia HERE. 

2005 ROSTERS

If you want to take a look at your preliminary roster (and those of other teams) as it stands entering the coming preseason, you can find it HERE. Please note that the unlimited/ineligible information is based on stats found online, and may be subject to change if they differ from what ultimately is on the DMB disk. Also, please contact stats@isbl.com if you find any errors.

2005 CALENDAR

Looking for the 2005 ISBL schedule? You can find it HERE. Again, if something looks goofy, please contact stats@isbl.com. 

2005 FINANCES

The finances for the 2005 season (both what you have to play with preseason and what you'll have after Feb. 1) can be found HERE. These numbers may be subject to change, based on how the voting goes, as you'll see in the ballot below. Questions? stats@isbl.com. 

2005 JUNIOR DRAFT LOTTERY

The lottery will be held SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 3PM EST. You don't have to be attendance, but it'd be nice to have a few there.

The lottery will be conducted in the same manner as last year's. A virtual "ping-pong ball" lottery will be conducted, using a random number generator. There will be 56 "balls" in total, and they will be allocated to teams relative to how they finished in the ISBL2004 season, as follows.

• Sluggers and Raccoons -- 1 ball each

• Underdogs and Giants -- 2 balls each

• Wolverines and Beavers -- 3 balls each

• Cyclones and Dirt Dogs -- 4 balls each

• Cardinals and Pioneers -- 5 balls each

• Legends and Willows -- 6 balls each

• Bulldogs and Nomads -- 7 balls each

"Balls" will be drawn one at a time. The first ball drawn will indicate the team that will select 14th in the Jr. Draft, and the rest of that team's balls will be disregarded. The next ball drawn will indicate the team that will select 13th, and so on, until the team that holds the #1 pick in the Jr. Draft is determined.

The draft will consist of two rounds, with the selection order reversed for the second round. The draft will be conducted after the conclusion of the ISBL2005 Auction. Teams selecting Jr. Draft players must have a 40-man roster spot available for each player selected (although these players will NOT count toward the "18 batter/14 pitcher" minimums), and must have $200k in salary available to pay to to each player. Junior Draft players are not eligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, but are eligible for Cup play. Should a drafted player not achieve eligibility for the ISBL2006 season, the teams loses the rights to that player at the conclusion of the ISBL2005 season.

Players eligible for the 2005 Junior Draft are those that appeared in the MLB2004 season who

• amassed less than 30 PAs or 10 IP in the MLB2004 season;

• do not qualify as low unlimiteds;

• have never amassed 30 PAs or 10 IP in a previous MLB season. 

Players who previously qualified as low unlimiteds in ISBL may be among those in the draft; however, teams who currently hold those players' rights may elect to keep them as uncarded players for ISBL2005, provided they pay that player's salary.

The players eligible for the 2005 Junior Draft include:

Additionally, batters Matt Diaz (GRI), Joe Thurston (FOR) and Tony Torcato (BAN) and pitcher Joe Dawley (CYC) will be eligible for the Junior Draft should their respective owners elect not to retain their rights as uncarded players.

These are your odds of landing the respective picks (margin of error + 0.10%):

2005 BALLOT

Here's the biggie for this week. We need everyone to complete this NO LATER THAN SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 5PM EST. NO EXCEPTIONS. Rules issues need a 2/3 majority to pass.

QUESTION 1 - PARTICIPATION IN 2004 ISBL SEASON

Will you be participating in the 2005 ISBL Season? By answering YES, you agree to make the time available to meet all league obligations and commitments, making arrangements and playing games in a timely manner, without repeated tardiness or prompting from the league office.

NOTE: If your answer is NO, you need not complete the rest of the ballot, as your votes will not be counted.