Rules and Regulations

ENYTB RFA RULES
i.e., Adding Players From Other ENYTB Teams

Prior to 2013, ENYTB used a PLAYER RELEASE SYSTEM to regulate player movement inside the league. This system proved to be unfair, inefficient and generally inadequate. Parents were offended by the process and the league was spending an inordinate amount of time advising parties on both sides of such transactions.

In recognition of these problems and shortcomings, ENYTB designed and implemented an entirely new system for regulating intra-league player movement called the RFA Cap & Credit System. That system, along with all modifications thereto since, shall be presented below.

**NOTE: This system applies to Summer Season rosters only, for players aged 16U or younger. In 2020, all players of baseball age 17 or older were exempted from this policy.**

For purposes of regulating intra-league player movement, ENYTB separates players into two groups: Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) and Restricted Free Agents (RFA).

UFA

A - Prior to ever participating in ENYTB, players are classified as UFA and thus are free to begin participating in the league by playing for any ENYTB team the player has a mutual agreement with, regardless of place of residence.

B - Players who have participated in ENYTB but have been inactive for two years or more, are also classified as UFA.

C - Lastly, any player that has been cut by a team or whose team has ceased being active in the league is also classified an UFA.

ENYTB regulations allow teams to add UFA to their ENYTB roster w/o restriction.


RFA

Once a player begins league participation by agreeing to play for an active ENYTB team, that team places the player on its official ENYTB roster with a designation of “primary” (more on primary/secondary below) and his league status instantly changes from UFA to RFA.

Restrictions on RFA Player Adds....

(A) YEAR 1 .... Once a player joins an ENYTB team on a primary basis he can NOT change primary teams again in the current season except for special circumstance e.g., the player appeared in fewer than three games and the player's club agrees to cancel the player transaction.

(B) Year 2 or Later .... All players are free to change teams. However, ENYTB restricts its member teams by imposing various limits on how many RFA it may add to its roster in total in a given year as well as by various head-to-head (H2H) limits between teams over the lifetime of the two teams.

Each team is given a fixed number of RFA credits at the start of each new league year depending on its club status e.g., teams owned by franchise members get more RFA credits than teams owned by non-franchise members. Teams also can earn BONUS credits depending on the number of UFA they add to their roster in the same year. H2H limits are the same for all teams.

Thus, ENYTB members are allowed to “take” a limited number of players from the rosters of other ENYTB teams (the ENYTB player pool) w/o permission from the league or the player's current primary team, provided two conditions are met:

1 – First, the player and/or his family has agreed with the acquiring team as to the player transaction (change of teams); and,

2 – Second, the acquiring team has the necessary RFA credits and cap space to process the transaction according to the league's rules.

To acquire an RFA, the acquiring team must possess at least one unused RFA credit and it must NOT have exhausted its head-to-head limit vis a vis the player’s existing primary team. Each team's RFA CAP INFO can be viewed at:

? LEAGUE PLAY ? RFA Cap Info ? RFA Cap Space - By Team


COMPENSATION FOR TEAMS THAT LOSE PLAYERS TO OTHER ENYTB TEAMS

When a team loses an RFA to another ENYTB team it is awarded a "compensatory" RFA credit. When a player goes directly from active status for team A to active status for team B, w/o delay, the process is sufficient.

Many players, however, don't go directly from one team to another. Instead, they go from (1) active status for team A to (2) INACTIVE status for team A to (3) active status for team B.

In such cases, to ensure that Team A gets compensated for its loss, such players are placed on a team's "DNR" (Did Not Report) list. DNR is an inactive category. Players remain on a team's DNR list until they sign with another ENYTB team or two years have expired, whichever happens first. Thus, a team's DNR list preserves its right to compensation for two years. After that time, the player is returned to the UFA player pool.

LEAGUE PHILOSOPHY re: COMPETITION FOR PLAYERS

ENYTB recognizes that its members are in competition with each other for players as well as with baseball teams from outside our league and with other sports and activities. It also embraces the reality that if a team is losing all its players to other teams in the league, or elsewhere, it probably isn't doing a good job running its team. Were the league to block player movement altogether, we would, in many cases, only be enabling those who run their club badly. That would not be in anyone's interest except those doing a poor job of running their club. In the end, it would drive players from baseball and from our league. That is not something any of us want to see happen.

Instead, ENYTB has developed and adopted a very flexible system of regulating player movement via team specific limits. This system allows players to change teams every year if they wish, w/o permission from this league or their current team. Except for the requirement that a player can NOT change primary teams more than once per year, the system does not restrict player movement per se. The system imposes restrictions only on teams. Players can move to any team they wish as long as that team has not used up all its RFA credits and other limits. This system is fair because it treats everyone the same. It also gives ENYTB members a strong incentive to upgrade their programs as much as possible in order to be successful in attracting and retaining players. What it doesn’t allow, is for unlimited numbers of players to coordinate in the process of leaving one team to join another team as a group. That would be predatory and destructive to our members and to the league and is outlawed by the rules below.


A. Annual Base Credits

i. Existing Teams = 2 per year
ii. New Teams
............................Existing Club = 5 per year
............................1st year Club = 3 per year

B. Annual Compensatory Credits

1 for 1 based on # of RFA players (Active or Inactive) lost to other ENYTB teams.

C. Head-to-head limits vis a vis other individual ENYTB teams

i. Annual Limit = 3
ii. Lifetime Limit = 3

D. Franchise Territory (Hometown) Player Exemptions Allowances

These apply to players residing in a club’s primary franchise area but playing for another ENYTB member club. These exemptions are on top of the head to head limits listed above.

i. Lifetime Limit = 3
ii. H2H Limit = 1 per year. (NEW in 2017)

F. Hardship Credit

Any team that loses its viability because of an abnormally high level of player movement under these rules or other factors may request additional RFA credits from the league. Where deemed reasonable and appropriate, such credits shall be granted