The most popular request we've received from managers over the years is to add Keeper Leagues to Baseball Manager and we're excited to offer Keeper Leagues for the first time in Baseball Manager history. You now have the ability to enroll your team in a Keeper League and be able to protect 7-10 players on your roster year after year.

Since many veteran managers play in the same leagues each season, we're hopeful keeper leagues will make maintaining these long-term leagues even easier. These leagues will be BBM Ultimate seasons year after year, and will allow you to work on being a General Manager as well as a Manager!

Keeper League Rules

1. You must designate your league as a Keeper League during enrollment.
2. Between 7-10 players can be kept for the following season.
3. The salaries will be fixed at the previous year's with 10% cost-of-living increase per player. There will be a minimum $100K increase, and the maximum salary of $5M.
4. During draft selection, the managers will be able to indicate which players they want to retain. These players will automatically be placed at the top of their lists for those managers. The other managers will not know who is being retained and can list them as they do now wherever they want to. (This will help to calculate the other salaries fairly.)
5. Once the SP first round takes place, all retained players are locked into place -- they cannot be moved in subsequent rounds.
6. Draft takes place as usual. Highest $$ goes first in the SP draft. Note: all owners will start with a reduced payroll -- i.e $40M minus retained players salaries.
7. During the draft round, when a manager's turn comes up, if he has a retained player slotted he automatically gets him (at the salary indicated above.) Once a manager has filled up a position, he no longer drafts in that round (so if he retains a 2B, he will only draft 1.)
8. Note that the salary cap still applies. So if you keep a 2B at $3M, you will not be allowed to lower your salary cap at that position below $3.4M ($3M+10%=$3.3M+$100k for another 2B.)
9. Leagues will be able to "re-assign" teams that have managers that do not want to continue. Or BBM can assist in finding mgrs to play them.
10. You can keep a player for a maximum of three years. However you can designate a player as someone you want to keep after three years, and you retain "First Rights" to him. The player goes back into the draft lists for everyone, and his salary is recalculated as usual. If you set your salary cap at that position high enough, you will automatically draft him at the new salary. Whether you draft him or not, the player counts against the 7-10 players that you are allowed to retain.
    As long as you retain that player every year, you will continue to have "First Rights" to him.
    
11. The three year period for a player is only reset if a team does not retain him, or if he is picked up by another team in the Free Agent pool. If a player is traded, then whatever restrictions he has (i.e., 2nd year player) will continue to apply to the new team.

1. Is the $139 fee a deposit?
   The $139 fee is not a deposit. It is a fee for 2 years of BBM. So, if you enroll in a Keeper League today, you can play in that league for two years. For those of you who have played BBM for years, this is a GREAT deal — we are basically charging the same as the regular cost of playing two seasons in a reserved league ($69.95 x 2), and $20 less than the cost of playing in a regular league ($79.95 x 2).
   
   
2. Will you be required to pay again in 2004?
   If you decide that you do not want to continue your Keeper League into 2005, you will not have to pay any additional monies for that Keeper League in 2004. That league will cease to exist at the end of that year and will not continue as a Keeper League. Additional Note: This refers to an entire league deciding to drop keeper... not an individual manager. See #7 below.
   
   
3. What if my league wants to continue as a Keeper League in 2005? 2006?
   You will be required to pay a yearly fee in advance to keep the Keeper League going. The price is not yet determined but will likely be the price we charge users that year, although we will not set any prices until that season. So, for those who enroll in a Keeper and continue with that Keeper, all you are doing is just paying the annual fee (one season)in advance.
   
   
4. But if you won't tell me the prices for 2005 why should I enroll in a Keeper now?
   Because you are getting the benefits of the Keeper League. If you decide that you no longer want to continue a league as a Keeper League, you can change your mind at the beginning of any season. So, for example, if at the beginning of the 2003 season, you decide you no longer want to continue playing in a Keeper League, you tell us so. You then have FULL rights to play in that league in 2004 but that league will not be a Keeper League after 2004.
   
   
5. Are there refunds for the fee to enroll in the Keeper League?
   No. The point of getting the money up front is to insure that people treat the league as a 2 year proposition. If they can get out at any time and get a refund, it will upset the competitive balance of the Keeper League.
   
   
6. Isn't this just a way for BBM to make a lot more money?
   Actually not. This is the structure we created that would let everyone who wants to play BBM year after year with the same set of managers — and even newcomers — take advantage of all the great BBM features.
   
   
7. What if one of the owners in my Keeper League does not want to return or cannot return?
   We will let the rest of the owners in the league find a replacement for that owner. If they cannot, BBM will try to find a replacement. This is why we are requiring confirmation of continuing in the Keeper League 10 days before general enrollments open. If someone is not returning to a Keeper League it gives the other owners in that league and BBM time to try to find a replacement.
   
   
8. Will BBM charge the other owners in the league if they bring in a replacement?
   If the other owners offer up a replacement, there will be no "replacement charge". We at BBM are still reviewing whether BBM will charge a replacement owner to fill an empty spot in the Keeper League. Even if we decide to do so, we will not charge the other remaining owners in that Keeper League. We would only charge the new owner who is getting a keeper team.
   
   
9. And what if a replacement cannot be found?
   If the remaining owners cannot find a replacement, BBM will work with the remaining owners to find one. However, there can be no guarantee that we will.
   
   
10. If I play Keeper this year, but decide before the 2004 season that I do not want to play Keeper in 2005, am still able to play in 2004? And what happens if I then decide in 2005 that I want to do Keeper for 2005 and 2006?
    If you enroll in a Keeper League this year, that gives you the right to play in 2003 - 2004. Before the 2004 season, you will need to decide if you want the Keeper League to continue into 2005. If you decide that you don't want the Keeper League in 2005, you still play your league in 2004. In 2005, if
    you decide you want to do a Keeper League, the price would be whatever the price is for starting a Keeper League in 2005.
    
    
11. What keeps an owners from not agreeing to be part of a Keeper League beyond 2004?
    Nothing. This is a two year commitment. If a league at the beginning of 2004 decides it does not want to continue with the Keeper League, it is under no obligation to do so. Right now, all we can offer users for Keeper is a two-year commitment with the annual ability to decide whether to continue or not. We will continue to look into into ways that we can have longer commitments.
    
    
12. What if BBM goes out of business?
    We are the longest running game on the Internet and we are still here after many other companies (including other fantasy companies) have gone out of business. While we can give you no guarantees on the future, we think our track record speaks pretty well for itself. And heck, we're as addicted to BBM as you guys. So we have every intention of continuing to run this game.
    
    
13. Why do I need to continue paying a year in advance?
    This is the way we have set this up as part of our initial roll-out of Keeper Leagues. We will continue to evaluate new ways we can make this product better including ways to alter the payment structure in future years.

If you enroll in a Keeper League, you are entitled to play in that league for 2003 and 2004, subject to the requirements herein. You must pay all fees associated with your team in a Keeper League when due. There are no refunds for monies paid to enroll in a Keeper League. In addition, you understand and agree that if you do not access your team in your Keeper League, and submit your team for the 2004 season by the date that is ten days before general enrollments open in the 2004 season, then you forfeit that team and all rights you may have in that team and that you will not be entitled to any refund for monies paid.

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