The proposal for a draft in the 55 division was approved. Here are the basic details:
Any new players entering the 55 division will be placed into a draft pool. The teams within the division will select available players in reverse order of their standings (ie the 8th place Peppers will draft 1st, the Hawks will draft 2nd and so on).
Players who are selected in the draft will be required to stay with their new team and meet playoff eligibility requirements for one season. After the first season, that player becomes a free agent.
If the drafted player leaves his team after one season to join a team that finished higher in the standings, the team that loses the player will receive a draft pick in the supplemental draft round which will occur between the first and second round of picks. The team that gains the drafted player will not lose a first round draft pick.
If a drafted player leaves his team after one year and joins a team that finished lower in the standings, there is no compensation of draft picks.
As far as free agency for players who were already in the 55 division:
If a free agent leaves his team to join a team that finished higher in the standings, the team that loses the free agent will receive the first round draft pick from the team that gains the free agent.
If a free agent leaves his team to join a team that finished lower in the standings, there will be no compensation of draft picks.
No team can lose or gain more than two free agents in a single season (drafted free agents will not count against this limit (i think))
Without getting into the pros and cons of this plan, I would like to say that the proposal was discussed during three meetings of the 55 managers since the end of last season. Their proposal was then reviewed by the Board of Directors at our January 4th meeting where at least three revisions to the proposal were presented. The 55 GMs supported the original draft proposal as well as the Board suggested revisions by a vote of 7 - 1. I think that the process that was followed and the open communication between board members and GMs were healthy and productive.
Thanks for the update, Don. After several years, my schedule at work has finally changed. I'm working early mornings now, and will have my weekday evenings free this spring, which means I can come back to the 55 division. Since I've been out of the 55's for several years, and did not play in any division last season, I'm assuming I would have to sign up for the 55 draft. Is there a deadline for signing up? Thanks for your help, and I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on the field this spring. Stay warm! Read Shepherd
Read - I invite any of the 55 GMs to correct me if I am wrong on this response.
As a player who has not been active in CDMSBL for one year (or more) you would fall into the category of a "community player" and would not be subject to the draft. Basically you can contact any GM and join any team in the division. The "community player" category was created by the GMs to allow teams to recruit guys from outside the league. The logic is that is the GM of team X recruits a player from outside the league, that player would be more likely to join the league as a member of team X.
I would also think that if contacting a GM directly is not practical or successful, you could place your name in the draft pool. I think that John Reel is establishing the pool of draft eligible players. Good luck.
