TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES:    Below are the guidelines that I use in conducting this tournament.  As mentioned, this is all single elimination, cards and dice, Basic side of the cards with Basic rules, with all teams randomly seeded in eight-team "regionals".  I admit that these guidelines have sort of been a work in progress, and back when I started in 1980 I may have been a bit vague as to how certain situations would be handled.  Still, here are the ground rules, which have been created with the goal of assuring that teams use their "primary" players but allow for team depth to also play a role in their success or failure.

Endless Single Elimination Tournament guidelines:

1.  DH is used for all teams.

2.  Minimum 4 man starting rotation is used.  All SP must have a minimum of 100 IP; starter only pitchers with less than 100IP can be used in relief.  If fewer than 4 pitchers have 100 IP, then subsequent starters are those remaining with the most IP.  6-12 roll on the DH is a pitcher injury.

3.  Highest AB person (as rated by Strat for primary position) is used at each position; selection of the DH is flexible, particularly for non-DH era teams, but should be a logical choice with a minimum 100 AB (i.e., no low-AB wonders).  A better fielder than the highest AB person at a position can be used in the field instead of as DH, but then the higher AB person must be used at DH.

3a.  Any substitutes, with no AB restrictions, can come in after 5 complete innings.  All position starters must play for a minimum of 5 complete innings unless injured.

3b.  If the highest AB person rated for a primary position has fewer than 100 ABs, the remaining non-starting player with the most ABs who is rated at the position (even if not primary) must start assuming that they have at least 100 AB.  If no remaining players are thus eligible, the remaining player with the most AB who is rated at the position must start.

4.  Full injuries are used; no AB restrictions on selecting injury replacements, but an injury sub must (either directly or indirectly) enable the position of the injured player to be filled.

5.  Starting pitchers must go 5 IP or 5 RA; starters can go a max of 10 IP.  

6.  Relief pitchers can go a maximum of 4 IP.   They can have 1 IP for 3 games in a row, 2 IP for 2 games in a row, 3 innings for 1 game, then must rest one game.  If they go 3.1 to 4 innings, must rest 2 games before appearing.  Starters who relieve must rest 2 games before starting.   

7.  Basic game rules apply.    Revised basic catcher hold ratings (-4 for C-1, etc) apply.  Two out creates +2 to running.  Other runners advance (including the batter) if lead runner is caught taking an extra base; otherwise, no "cutoff" rule in effect.

8.  Old-school (fielding 1 through 4) basic fielding chart is used for all players with fielding ratings 1 through 4.  New-school basic fielding chart used for players with 5 rating only.

9.  When two cards are provided for a player on the same team (e.g., traded players), only the card with the highest AB/IP is eligible to be used.