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Text File | 1994-09-06 | 56KB | 999 lines

╔═════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ KEYBOARD COACH FANTASY BASEBALL ║ ║ COPYRIGHT 1994 ║ ║ by McS Custom Software ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════╝ RELEASE 2.03 CONTENTS PAGE AN OVERVIEW OF FANTASY BASEBALL..................... 1 PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS................................ 2 SETTING UP KEYBOARD COACH............................2 League Types.....................................3 Standard Contract Length.........................3 League Fees......................................3 salary increase..............................3 salary cap (or franchise fee)................4 trade fee....................................4 free agent fee...............................4 roster move fee..............................4 Selecting Statistics.............................4 Weekly Prizes....................................5 Team/Owner Information...........................6 RUNNING KEYBOARD COACH...............................6 Statistical Updates..............................7 automatic updating ..........................7 manual updates...............................8 Manager's Options...............................10 select team.................................10 view roster.................................10 choose player...............................10 Individual Player Options...................10 view stats.............................10 view contract status...................11 change position........................11 extend contract........................11 release player.........................11 Major League Players Data Base..............11 Roster Expansion............................11 Release Players.............................12 Commissioner's Options..........................12 Calculate Standings.........................12 View Standings..............................12 Print (newsletter, active stats)............12 Prize Fund Options..........................13 accounts receivable....................13 view distribution......................13 Search For A Player.........................13 League Editor...............................13 Search For A Player.........................13 League Editor...............................13 View League Records.........................13 Player Auction (or Draft)...................13 Exit Program....................................16 Program Registration........................16 Automatic Help On/Off.......................16 Backing Up Data.............................16 Quit Program................................16 -1- Ever noticed that there are three things the average man figures that he can do better than anyone else? Generally those three things are barbecue a steak, run the company he works for, and manage a baseball team. The last is the reason for Fantasy Baseball. Fantasy baseball is the game that has swept the national pastime over the last several years. Fantasy Baseball allows a student or college professor, a Chairman of the Board or a steel mill worker not only to manage a professional baseball team, but to "own" it. With your own team made up of real-life major league stars you become owner, general manager, manager and chief talent scout. No longer do you have to agonize over the errors made by those mental midgets that are running your favorite team into the cellar. Now the day to day decisions are yours to make. Do you bench Canseco? Extend Fielder's contract? Trade Sandberg for Clemens? When you own the team it's all up to you. The USA Today estimates the number of fantasy team owners to be about half a million (and growing!). The fantasy team owner is ridiculously easy to spot. He's the guy who can't get to work on time because the paper boy was late again and he ain't leavin' until he finds out how Glavine pitched last night. He's the guy sitting in the rear of the divorce court watching ESPN's Sportscenter on his portable TV while his wife is divorcing him for neglect. Now Keyboard Coach Fantasy Baseball brings Fantasy Baseball to your computer. Gone are the hours of pouring over the sports section, armed with reams of paper, several pencils and a five pound box of erasers as you try to get a handle on your league's statistics. Keyboard Coach will organize your league in a manner that will reduce the time spent entering statistical information to about an hour a week (or a matter of minutes using USA TODAY download files)! Keyboard Coach will conduct your player draft, keep track of team rosters, starting lineups, player contracts, league standings, fees & fines, and print out your league newsletter for you. The program allows rosters of up to 30 players per team (44 in the registered version) and can be played for "big bucks" or "just for fun". If the program is set up as an Auction League (the "big bucks" version) it can re-define the office pool. Players no longer need to sit passively and watch the teams they drew in the pool but can build their own team, wheeling and dealing their way to weekly prizes as well as the season end pot. The basics of Keyboard Coach are simple. Grab 2 to 20 friends to form a league. Decide on which of the 14 statistics you want to base your league standings on (see page 4) (you may use as many of the statistics as you like). Each team selects up to 30 real-life Major League players in a draft or auction (again, 44 players are available in the registered version). These players then become the "property" of the owner that drafted them and their real-life statistics become the basis for his Fantasy League standings. Each week the USA Today publishes the season total statistics - 2 - for all players in the Major Leagues. These stats are entered into the program (either by hand or by using files downloaded from the USA TODAY SPORTS CENTER) and Keyboard Coach determines the league standings based on each team's performance in each category. Points are awarded based on the number of teams in the league. For example, in an eight team league, first place in each category is worth 8 points, second place is worth 7 points, third is worth 6, etc. While the basics of the game are simple it is loaded with nuances. Of the 30 (or 44) players on a Fantasy Team's roster, only 23 are "active" at any time. A Keyboard Coach roster* consists of 9 pitchers, 2 catchers, 1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 1 third baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 corner (can be either a first or third baseman), 1 middle infielder (shortstop or second baseman), 1 utility man, 5 outfielders, and either 7 or 22 reserve players (depending on program version). Players who are not occupying an "active" position do not count toward league standings. Thus the trick to a successful season is building your team and then determining which players are "hot" and activating them at just the right moment. While luck will allow the casual owner to pick off an occasional weekly pot, the big winnings will invariably go to the owner who is a student of the game. * IF YOUR LEAGUE RULES CALL FOR MORE ACTIVE PLAYERS THAN THE "STANDARD" FANTASY LINEUP, SEE PAGE 12, ROSTER EXPANSION FOR DETAILS ON CHANGING ROSTERS. ************************ IMPORTANT NOTICE ************************ Keyboard Coach has the following minimum requirements: A 386 or faster computer Windows 3.1 A MOUSE. Our feeling is that running Windows without a mouse is like running a boat without a rudder. There are Windows programs that may be run without a mouse. This is not one of them. YOU MUST HAVE THE STATEMENT FILES = 30 IN YOUR CONFIG.SYS FILE ON YOUR BOOT DISK. This is a minimum requirement. If the number of Files and Buffers specified in your config.sys exceeds these numbers that's fine. If you don't have enough files specified it is a simple procedure to add the above statements to your CONFIG.SYS file. Simply load your current CONFIG.SYS file (found in the root directory of your hard disk or boot-up diskette) into your favorite word processor and add the above lines, or edit the current FILES = statement. MAKE SURE YOU SAVE THE FILE IN THE ASCII FORMAT (there will instructions on saving an ASCII file in your word processor). DOS 5 (or later) users can use the EDIT program that comes with DOS. EDIT automatically saves in the ASCII format. ******** SETTING UP KEYBOARD COACH ******** Keyboard Coach needs to be configured to meet your league's requirements. The first time you run the program it will default to the setup mode. If you are not sure of each item, don't worry, any - 3 - data entered now may be changed using the LEAGUE EDIT feature (under COMMISSIONER'S OPTIONS) Areas where you are required to enter data are white boxes with black text. To move from area to area, you may use the <TAB> key to move to the next area, or hold the <SHIFT> and <TAB> keys simultaneously to move backward. You may also select any data field with your mouse. The first screen in the setup procedure will ask you for your league type, standard contract length and various league fees. LEAGUE TYPES The League Types are as follows: AUCTION LEAGUE: In this type of league players are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Teams are allowed to spend up to the league's salary cap during the auction to purchase their players (see Hold Player Auction, pg. 14). Money generated by the auction, plus any fees for player trades and free agent signings, becomes the leagues prize fund which is split among the top four finishers at the end of the season. DRAFT LEAGUE WITH CASH PRIZES: In this type of league players are selected in a round-by-round draft. Before the draft begins each team is assessed a franchise fee which becomes the basis for the league's prize fund. Fees for player trades and free agents signings are added to this fund and it is split among the league's top four finishers at the end of the season. DRAFT LEAGUE WITH NO CASH PRIZES: This type of league is played "just for fun" and braggin' rights. Players are chosen in a round-by-round draft just as above but no franchise fees are assessed and no prize money paid. STANDARD CONTRACT LENGTH You may choose 1, 2 or 3 year contracts. The standard contract length determines how long you "own" each player when you draft him or purchase him at auction. Players will remain the property of the drafting or purchasing team until the end of the year their contract expires, or until they are traded or released. Free agents are usually signed until the end of the current season, but if your league rules differ from this, you may easily edit the year of expiration on the form when the player is signed. LEAGUE FEES Fees can be edited to any amount. Make sure the players in your league are comfortable with your fees. You don't want eliminate players who would be good owners because they can't afford your fees. SALARY INCREASE: You may wish to extend a player's contract before it expires. As in actual life, the player expects a substantial increase if you wish to retain his services. This rule prevents one team from tying up a star player for his entire career without having to pay for the privilege. - 4 - Salary increases are computed as follows: BASE SALARY + (SALARY INCREASE X NUMBER OF YEARS) EXAMPLE: let's say you chose $5 as your salary increase amount. If you own Ryne Sandberg and his current salary is $35 and you wish to extend his contract for another 3 years, his salary would become $50 per season (35+5+5+5). Salary increases are not available in draft leagues as there are no player salaries and therefore no way to increase them. You may not extend a player's contract in a draft league because there are no penalties for doing so and a team fortunate enough to draft a major star has no reason not to tie him up for his entire career. SALARY CAP (or FRANCHISE FEE) When this screen appears this fee will be listed as the Salary Cap. If you choose a Draft League with Cash Prizes the fee's name will change to Franchise Fee. The Salary Cap is the amount each team is allowed to spend during the player auction (see Hold Player Auction, pg. 14). Players whose salaries are being carried over from the previous year are deducted from the Salary Cap. Thus, if your cap is $260, and you retained players from last season whose salaries total $140, your spending limit for this auction will be $120. The standard salary cap is $260, but this may be a bit pricey for the average player. Many leagues we know of use the "dime per dollar" cap which amounts to $26, a bit more in line with what most wives will let you out of the house with on auction night. The Salary Cap becomes the base for the league's prize fund with various league fees being added to it as the season progresses. If you chose a Draft League this fee will be called the Franchise Fee. The program charges each team this fee automatically when it begins a new draft. As with the Salary Cap, these fees become the base for the league's prize fund. TRADE FEE This is the fee that is charged each team involved in a player trade regardless of the number of players involved in the trade. If your league fee is $10, whether you trade one player for one other player, or trade three players for five players, each team involved in the trade is charged $10. Trade fees are added to the prize fund. FREE AGENT FEE This is the fee that is charged to sign a free agent. A free agent is a player that is un-owned by any other team AFTER the player draft or auction. Unlike the Trade Fee, the Free Agent Fee is charged for EACH player signed. Free agent fees are added to the prize fund. ROSTER MOVE FEE This fee is charged each time an owner moves a player from a Reserve spot to any active position. Roster move fees are charged for EACH player moved to active. Roster move fees are added to the league's prize fund. SELECTING STATISTICS Statistics are the basis of your league. They will determine the league standings. Each week, every team in the league is "graded" statistically. The statistics for all of the active players on each - 5 - team are added together and points are awarded based on each team's ranking in each statistic. See Calculating League Standings (pg 12) for further details. Keyboard Coach will allow you to base your league on any or all of 14 statistics. These statistics are: Batting Average* Homeruns* RBIs* Stolen Bases* Runs Scored Slugging Percentage On Base Percentage Pitcher's Wins* Pitcher's Saves* Pitcher's Earned Run Average* Pitcher's Ratio* (OR WHIP) Pitcher's Win/Loss Percentage Pitcher's Homeruns Allowed (per 9 innings) Strikeouts (either number or strikeouts or strikeouts per 9 innings) * These stats are considered "standard" fantasy baseball statistics When this screen appears, the "standard" 8 fantasy baseball statistics are checked. Statistics are turned on or off by clicking on them. Those statistics whose boxes are checked are considered to be on and will be used when league standings are calculated. The Strikeout stats are mutually exclusive, you may have EITHER Strikeouts or strikeouts Per 9 Innings. You may turn as many stats off or on as you wish. COMMISSIONERS INFO / WEEKLY PRIZES This screen asks for the name of your league, the Commissioners name and phone number and for the number of teams in your league. This information appears in the league newsletter and makes it easy for league members to get in touch with the Commissioner for roster changes, free agent signings, trades, etc. On the same screen is the weekly prize information. Keyboard Coach may be configured to pay weekly, as well as season-end prizes. Weekly prizes are only available in Auction Leagues and in Draft Leagues with a prize fund. WEEKLY PRIZES ARE DEDUCTED FROM THE LEAGUE'S TOTAL PRIZE FUND AND ARE BASED ON STATISTICS ACCRUED BY EACH TEAM'S STARTING LINEUP DURING THE LAST 7 DAYS ONLY! Over the course of our league, we have found that some members tend to drop out of the season standings relatively quickly. Members who are no longer in competition tend to lose interest and this makes the league less fun for everyone involved. Weekly prizes then to maintain interest as even a team far down in the standings can have a big week and pick off some weekly prizes. - 6 - When you calculate standings (pg 12) you will be asked if you want to calculate Season and Weekly standings. If you choose to calculate both, the program will make up a set of standings based on each teams' performance over the period since the last update. This allows the payment of weekly prizes. When entering prizes, use the <TAB> or <SHIFT><TAB> keys to move from field to field. If you would like to see the effect of weekly prizes on your total prize fund, press the FORECAST button at the bottom of the screen. This will show how much would be payed out over the season in weekly prizes, how much will remain at season's end and how the season-end prizes would be distributed. Keep in mind that these prizes are approximate. Various league fees, such as trade and free agent fees, will be added to the total prize fund as the season progresses. TEAM AND OWNER INFORMATION SCREEN This screen allow you to enter each team's name, the owner's name and the owner's phone number. Team and owner names may be up to 30 characters long. There are two pages available for team and owner information. Use page one for teams one through ten. If you have more than 10 teams, press NEXT PAGE to place the remaining teams on page two. PLEASE NOTE: Teams are assigned data files according to their position on this screen. For example, the team occupying the number 3 slot will be assigned the data file TEAM3.DTX. Using this screen, you may change a team's name, owner or phone number. DO NOT CHANGE THE TEAM'S POSITION ON THIS PAGE AFTER THE DRAFT. IF YOU CHANGE THE POSITION YOU ALSO CHANGE THE DATA FILE AND THUS THE SET OF PLAYERS THE TEAM OWNS. This step completes the installation process. To select players, choose HOLD PLAYER AUCTION (or DRAFT) under COMMISSIONER'S OPTIONS on the main menu. ********************************************* RUNNING KEYBOARD COACH ********************************************** Keyboard Coach Fantasy Baseball is almost completely menu driven. The main menu is broken down into the following categories: STAT UPDATE MANAGER'S OPTIONS COMMISSIONER'S OPTIONS EXIT PROGRAM This manual will discuss each category in turn, beginning with a diagram of the category's menu, showing all available options, and then discuss each option on the menu as it appears. -7- **************************************************************** STATISTICAL UPDATES **************************************************************** ╔═══════════════════════════ ║ STAT UPDATE ╚════════════╤══════════════ ╔══════════┴═══════════╗ ║ AUTOMATIC UPDATE ╟────┐ ║ MANUAL UPDATE ╟┐ ╔═╧═══════════════════════╗ ╚══════════════════════╝│ ║ PAUSE AFTER EACH PLAYER ║ │ ║ QUICK UPDATE ║ │ ╚═════════════════════════╝ │ ╔═══════╧═════════════════╗ ║ BEGIN UPDATE ║ ║ CHANGE BEGINNING TEAM ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ AUTOMATIC UPDATING: Automatic updating requires a modem and a subscription to the USA TODAY SPORTS CENTER but will reduce your time inputing stats dramatically. The Sports Center will also give you access to the latest player injuries, trades and other news that is extremely valuable to your league. For information on subscribing to the Sports Center, call 800 826-9688. The first step in the automatic update process is to download the stat file from the Sports Center. This is done using the software that the Sports Center sends you when you subscribe. Keyboard Coach does not handle the actual downloading process. Using the Sports Centers on-screen menus, find and download the latest MLB statistical files. Use a different file name each week (IE WEEK5.CAP) for the download file. You may wish to capture the pitcher's file and the batter's file into two separate .CAP files, or you may combine them into one file if you wish. After exiting the Sports Center's software, load Keyboard Coach and select AUTOMATIC UPDATE from the main menu. You will be given the choice of pausing after each player is updated, which allows you to spend a little time viewing or even editing the player's stats, or a quick update, where each player remains on-screen for about two seconds (or until the next player in the download file is located). The first information required by the program is the name and location of the download file(s). For example, if you called your download file WEEK1.CAP and it is located in your \USA directory, you would enter C:\USA\WEEK1.CAP on the line for pitcher's download file. When you press <TAB> to move to the next field, you will find that the name you assigned to the pitcher's file automatically repeats in the batter's file area. If you used two cap files in the download process, use the delete key to reset the batter's area and then enter the name for the batter's file as you did for the pitcher's. Once your data files are correctly entered, press BEGIN UPDATE to start the update process. The first thing the program checks is the USA Today ID number for the players. If you did not enter each player's USA Today ID number during the auction (or draft), you may ask the program to search the download files for the names now. Correct spelling is a must and you may wish to have a printout of the download file handy in case you spelled Hershiser, HershiZer like I did. Once the program locates the proper player his ID number becomes part of his permanent file and the program will not ask for it again. Once all players have an ID number the actual update will begin. As each player appears a screen will appear showing you the - 8 - player's SEASON, BENCH, WEEK and ACTIVE statistics. REMEMBER!!!!!! SEASON STATS are the player's actual MLB statistics. BENCH STATS are the stats accrued either before this player was owned by this team or while he was not a starter. WEEK STATS reflect the player's performance since the last update. ACTIVE STATS are the ones that count toward the season standings You may also edit a player's Season, Week or Bench stats as they are updated. Active stats automatically change when Season or Bench stats are edited. Also, changing Season stats will automatically change Week or Bench stats (depending on whether or not a player was in a starting position). Use the mouse button to choose the stat you wish to edit. Press <DEL> to reset the stat and then enter the information you wish to appear. When you are through viewing a player, press NEXT PLAYER to bring another player into view. Automatic updating creates a list of players who are currently not owned by any team in your league. This list, which includes the player's current statistics, may be printed by selecting COMMISSIONER'S OPTIONS and then PRINT...and finally FREE AGENT LIST. **** MANUAL UPDATES **** Stats may be updated manually by using the USA Today Newspaper (or any paper that publishes season total statistics). Every Tuesday the USA Today publishes the season total statistics for the AL and on Wednesday they publish the statistics for the NL. Keyboard Coach will let you break up a manual update into several sessions if time does not permit you to update all or your players at once or, if you are running a mixed league, with AL and NL players, you may wish to update the AL players on Tuesday and the NL players on Wednesday. Keyboard Coach will save you a great deal of time by organizing your update by Major League team. Instead of going down each of your teams' rosters and jumping around the paper locating each Major League team, the program will search through all of your rosters and then update all of the Baltimore Orioles first, followed by the Boston Red Sox, etc. As each player appears, click on the top stat under SEASON (At Bats for batters, Wins for pitchers). You will notice that all 3 stats in the top row will turn white, indicating that you are working with these 3 stats simultaneously. Remember: SEASON STATS are the player's actual MLB statistics. BENCH STATS are the stats accrued either before this player was owned by this team or while he was not a starter. WEEK STATS reflect the player's performance since the last update ONLY IF HE WAS IN A STARTING POSITION. ACTIVE STATS are the ones that count toward the season standings HINT: a business card is the perfect size to use as a marker when using USA Today stats. Placing the card under the player's name as you update his file will prevent you from reading in the stats for - 9 - incorrect players. Press <SPACE> to reset the data in the current field, or, if the player's stats in this field have not changed from last week, you may press <TAB> or <ENTER> to move to the next field. When you enter new numbers into each Season statistical field, the Bench, Week and Active will change according to the player's status. If the player is holding a starting position, his Week and Active stats will increase. If the player is an inactive reserve, his Bench stats will increase. As you change stats you will also notice the calculated stats (batting average, slugging percentage, ERA, etc.) near the bottom of the screen change to reflect the new data. After each Season stat is entered press <TAB> to move to the next stat, or <SHIFT><TAB> to back up. HINT: by keeping your left hand on the <SPACE BAR> and your right on the numeric keypad you will quickly develop a rhythm (<SPACE>, data entry, <ENTER>) that will allow you to cruise through the update process. If you are not using certain stats the program will jump over them to save you unnecessary key strokes. For example, if you are not using slugging percentage you will not be required to enter total bases. If, for some reason, you wish to change the Week or Bench stats, you may click on the particular stat you wish to change. Changing Bench stats will also change the player's Active stats. If you make an error and are unsure of how the Week or Bench stats were effected, you may press RESTORE to re-set the stats to what they were when this player's file first came up. HINT: after reaching the bottom stat on the screen, it is a good idea to take a quick glance at the players Season batting average or ERA near the bottom of the screen and compare it with the USA Today. If it doesn't match you have entered at least some stats incorrectly. When you are finished with a player's season stats, pressing <TAB> will automatically select NEXT PLAYER. You may press <ENTER> or click on NEXT PLAYER to load the next player's file. After the program is has located all of the players on a particular Major League team, it will notify you that it has finished this team and ask if you wish to begin the next team. If time does not permit you to finish now, or if you are running a mixed league (AL & NL players) and don't have the newspaper for the next league yet, you may answer "No" to "Begin Next Team?". This will allow you to pick up with the same team the next time you select MANUAL UPDATE. When you have finished updating all of the players in your league you may choose CALCULATE LEAGUE STANDINGS under COMMISSIONERS OPTIONS (see pg 12). - 10 - ═══════════════════════════════════ MANAGER'S OPTIONS ════╤══════════════════════════════ │ ╔═══╧═════════════════════════════╗ ║ SELECT TEAM ║ ║ VIEW ROSTER ║ ║ CHOOSE PLAYER ║ ╔══════════════════════════╗ ║ INDIVIDUAL PLAYER OPTIONS ╟──╢ VIEW STATISTICS ║ ║ ACCESS MLB PLAYER DATA BASE ║ ║ VIEW CONTRACT STATUS ║ ║ ROSTER EXPANSION ║ ║ CHANGE POSITION ║ ║ RELEASE PLAYERS ║ ║ CHANGE MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ ║ EXTEND CONTRACT ║ ║ RELEASE PLAYER ║ ╚══════════════════════════╝ SELECT TEAM: You must select a team before using any of the Manager's Options other than ACCESS MLB PLAYERS DATA BASE. To use this option, just click on it to bring up a screen listing all of the teams in your league. Select the team you wish to work with by clicking on it. Once a team is selected, the other options in this menu group will be enabled. VIEW ROSTER: This option will allow you to view your entire roster, including reserve players. Players will be listed by position. This screen allows you to view your roster only. To make position changes select CHOOSE PLAYER and then CHANGE POSITION. CHOOSE PLAYER: Before using any of the INDIVIDUAL PLAYER OPTIONS, you must choose the player you wish to work with. Clicking on this item will bring up a screen showing all of your players by roster position. To choose the player you wish to work with, click on the box to the left of his position. After you choose a player you can then select INDIVIDUAL PLAYER OPTIONS to view his stats or change his position. INDIVIDUAL PLAYER OPTIONS: This sub-menu is where you can view or edit a player's statistics or contract status, or change his position or Major League team. VIEW STATISTICS: Clicking on this option will bring up a scree showing the selected player's statistics broken down into SEASON, BENCH, WEEK and ACTIVE stats. Season Stats reflect this player's actual Major League stats. Bench Stats are stats that were accrued while the player was a reserve or before he was owned by this team. Week Stats are the stats accrued since the previous update period. Active Stats (Season - Bench) are the stats that count toward your league's season standings. To edit the stats shown, click on the stat you wish to change and then press <ENTER>,<DEL> or <SPACE> to reset the data in this field. Changing Season Stats will change the player's - 11 - Active Stats and either the Week or Bench depending on whether this player is a starter or not. If you make an error and are not sure of what the stats should be, press RESTORE and the stats will be set back to what they where when this screen first appeared. VIEW CONTRACT STATUS: This screen allows you to view or edit the player's name, salary amount (if yours is an Auction League), the way the player was acquired (draft, trade or free agent), USA Today ID number (for automatic updating) and the year the player's current contract expires. CHANGE POSITION: Clicking on this option will bring up your roster screen showing your current lineup. To move the currently selected player to a starting position, click on the circle to the left of the position. The player will then be moved to the new position and if there is a player currently occupying that position he will be moved to reserve. If you wish to assign the currently selected player to a Reserve position, click on the circle to the right of the word Reserve. EXTEND CONTRACT: This option is available ONLY in auction leagues. There are no player salarys in draft leagues, and therefore no penalties for extending a player's contract. If contract extensions were available in draft leagues there would be nothing to keep a team from tying up it's star players for their entire careers. When you extend a player's contract he is given an automatic pay raise based on the Salary Increase (pg 3) you chose during setup. The player's salary is increased by the league's salary increase times the number of years you wish to extend his contract. EXAMPLE: Let's say you chose $5 as the Salary Increase amount during setup. You own Rickey Henderson whose current salary is $43. Henderson's contract is about to expire and you would like to retain his services for another 3 seasons. A 3 year extension would bring Rickey's salary to 58 bucks a year (43+5+5+5)! Another thing to consider is that most leagues consider an extended contract a GUARANTEED contract. In other words you HAVE to KEEP Henderson in the above example for another 3 years at that salary (and hope his wheels hold up). RELEASE PLAYER This option releases a player from your ball club. He may then be picked up as a free agent by another team. You may also use the RELEASE PLAYERS option under the MANAGER'S OPTIONS main menu to release several players at once. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The stats accrued by players who are released UP UNTIL THE TIME OF RELEASE are retained by the team that owned them. Stats accrued after the time of release become the property of the team that signs them as free agents. - 12 - ACCESS MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYER'S DATA BASE This option allows you to see view the previous season MLB statistics sorted by position and league and divisision. For example, you can view the statistics for all of the second base- men in the National League West. This allows you to compare the performances of players you may be considering signing as free agents. When the MLB players' data base screen appears, click on the League/Division you wish to search and the position. A list of players and statistics will appear. If more players are available in this position/division than can be displayed on one page, you may flip through the pages by pressing the Next Page/ Previous Page buttons. ROSTER EXPANSION Some leagues allow more players than the "standard" 23 man fantasy roster, other leagues expand rosters on September 1st to emulate Major League Baseball's roster expansion. Clicking on this option will allow you to make any or all of your "bench" or reserve players active and have their stats count toward league standings. To active or de-activate a player, just click on him to toggle the check box next to his name on or off. Players whose boxes are checked will be considered active and their stats will count toward both weekly and season standings. RELEASE PLAYERS Choose this option if you wish to "cut" or release players from your roster. When the roster screen comes up, click on each player you wish to release. If you make an error, clicking on the players box will turn it off. Players whose boxes are checked will be released and are then available to any other team as free agents. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ COMMISSIONER'S OPTIONS ═════════════════════╤═════════════════════════ ╔══════════════════════════╗ ╔═══════════════════════╗ ╔════════╗ ║ CALCULATE STANDINGS ╟─────║ PAUSE AFTER EACH STAT ║ ║ SEASON ╟─────────╢ VIEW STANDINGS ║ ║ QUICK CALCULATION ║ ║ WEEK ║ ║ PRINT .... ╟─── ╚═══════════════════════╝ ╚════════╝ ┌──────╢ PRIZE FUND OPTIONS ║ ╔╧════════════════════════╗ ╔═══════════╧══╗ ║ SEARCH FOR A PLAYER ║ ║ NEWSLETTER ║ ║ACCOUNTS REC. ║ ║ LEAGUE EDITOR ║ ║ FREE AGENT LIST ║ ║VIEW DISTRIB. ║ ║ VIEW LEAGUE RECORDS ║ ║ ALL TEAMS' ACTIVE STATS ║ ╚══════════════╝ ║ PLAYER DRAFT ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ ║ CLOSE OUT SEASON ║ ╚══════════════════════════╝ CALCULATE STANDINGS This option computes your league standings on both a season and weekly basis. You will be given a choice of pausing after each stat (so that you may view each team's status) or a quick calculation (standings may be viewed in detail in the newsletter (printed under COMMISSIONERS OPTIONS / PRINT...) - 13 - You will also be given the option of calculating just season stats or both season and weekly stats. Choose season and weekly stats if your league pays weekly prizes or if you are interested in league records. Points are awarded based on the number of teams in the league. If you have an eight team league, first place in any category is worth 8 points, second place is worth 7, etc. If you elect to pay weekly prizes, these standings are based on the statistics FOR THIS WEEK ONLY! (in other words the stats accrued since the last update). VIEW STANDINGS Clicking here allows you to view the season or week total standings if you need a quick review. PRINT... Opens up a sub-menu of items that can be printed on your printer or to a disk file. Printing to a disk file allows you to edit the output and add enhanced print or other options in your favorite word processor. NEWSLETTER brings up an additional menu allowing to choose which items you wish to include in your newsletter and then allows you to send the output to a disk file or to the printer. FREE AGENT LIST is only available if you are using automatic updating. The automatic update process compiles a list of players who are currently not owned by any team in the league, along with their stats. This file may be printed to the printer or to a disk file. ALL TEAMS ACTIVE STATS allows you to print the active stats for every team in the league with one selection. (Active stats are the ones that count toward league standings). PRIZE FUND OPTIONS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE brings up a screen showing any fees or fines that are owed by the teams, how much each team has spent this season (included any franchise fees or money spent in the auction), and how much each team has won in weekly prizes this season. You may reset any data on this page by clicking on it and then pressing <DEL>. You may then enter any changes you wish to make. PRIZE FUND DISTRIBUTION shows how a the prize fund would be distributed if the season were to end today. SEARCH FOR A PLAYER This option allows you to search the entire league for a player if you are not sure who owns him, or even if the player is in the league. You may search on any part of the player's name. If, for example, you entered WIL the program would find Matt WILliams, WILl Clark and Trevor WILson (if these players were in the league). LEAGUE EDITOR The League Editor will allow to change the information you entered during the setup procedure. You may change League Fees, selected statistics, or team/owner information with the League Editor. VIEW LEAGUE RECORDS If you calculate BOTH weekly and season standings in the Calculate Standings option, the program will keep track of the best performances by teams for any given week. Selecting View Records will allow you to view or edit these records. Since these - 14 - records are created when weekly standings are calculated, this option will not be available if only season standings are calculated. PLAYER DRAFT (OR AUCTION) The player draft or auction (depending on the mode you selected during installation) is how you select the players for each team. You may use the program to actually conduct your draft or auction, or you may reconstruct the draft or auction using the program at a later time if all of your league's owners won't fit into your computer room. The basic procedures used for both types of leagues are outlined below. Feel free to modify the procedures if your league rules differ. AUCTION LEAGUE PROCEDURE: The procedure we use for our auction league is as follows: The auction is held on the weekend following opening day. Statistics accrued by players up to this point DO NOT count toward league standings. NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO COUNT STATS EARNED UP TO THIS POINT, ANSWER "NO" TO THE QUESTION, "HAS THE MAJOR LEAGUE SEASON STARTED?" WHEN YOU CHOOSE PLAYER AUCTION FROM THE MAIN MENU. AS SOON AS THE AUCTION IS COMPLETE RUN A STAT UPDATE (SEE PG 7). Each team must purchase at least enough players to make up it's starting lineup as defined by your league rules. (If your lineup consists of more than the "standard" 23 players, see PG 12, Roster Expansion). Each team is allotted the full amount of the salary cap selected during setup as the spending limit for the auction. Note that after the league's initial season the salaries of players who are carried over from the previous season is automatically deducted from the salary cap amount. Owners take turns nominating players for bid. The opening bid is $1 and bidding proceeds until only one bidder remains. That bidder becomes the "owner" of the player until his contract expires, or he is traded or released. The amount of the bid becomes the players salary, which is deducted from the salary cap. No owner may bid on a player when the current bid would take him beyond the salary limit. As each player is successfully bid on, select the success- ful team from the team's menu and then see DRAFT/AUCTION OPTIONS (below). DRAFT LEAGUE PROCEDURE: The draft is held on the weekend following opening day. Statistics accrued by players up to this point DO NOT count toward league standings. NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO COUNT STATS EARNED UP TO THIS POINT, ANSWER "NO" TO THE QUESTION, "HAS THE MAJOR LEAGUE SEASON STARTED?" WHEN YOU CHOOSE PLAYER DRAFT FROM THE MAIN MENU. AS SOON AS THE DRAFT IS COMPLETE RUN A STAT UPDATE (SEE PG 7). If you are playing a draft league with cash prizes, each team will be accessed a franchise fee (PG 4) at the start of - 15 - the draft. This fee becomes the basis for the league's prize fund, to which fees for player trades and free agent signings are added. Each team must draft at least enough players to make up it's starting lineup as defined by your league rules. (If your lineup consists of more than the "standard" 23 players, see PG 12, Roster Expansion). Draft order is the inverse of league standings the previous season. In other words, the team that finished last drafts first. In the league's initial season the order of draft is assigned randomly by the program. As each owners turn to select comes up he will be given the following options: DRAFT / AUCTION OPTIONS: VIEW ROSTER: brings up a list of all players currently owned by this owner sorted by position. VIEW MLB PLAYERS' DATA BASE: allows owners to view major league players sorted by position and division. If an owner needs a second baseman and your league is limited to the AL EAST, this allows you to view all AL EAST 2nd basemen and their stats from the previous season. Note that the data base is compiled as soon as the previous MLB season is complete. Free agency and trades may have effected the divisions since then. SEARCH FOR A PLAYER: allows you to search the entire league if you are not sure if another player currently owns a particular player. You may search on the full name or any part of the name. For example, a search for WIL would turn up WILl Clark, Trevor WILson, and Matt WILliams if these players are in your league. RELEASE PLAYERS: allows players to "cut" unwanted players after the draft or auction begins. Our league does't allow this, but we were suprised by the number of leagues who do and requested this addition. CHOOSE ANOTHER TEAM: used by draft leagues in case this draft choice was traded away, this option brings you back to the original SELECT TEAM menu. QUIT FOR TODAY: if your draft or auction is to be split into several sessions because of time restraints use this option. You must choose CLOSE OUT DRAFT/AUCTION before you may start the actual season. CLOSE OUT DRAFT/AUCTION: ends the draft or auction for this season. You must choose this option before you can begin play for the season. - 16 - ═══════════════════════════╗ EXIT PROGRAM ║ ════════════╤══════════════╝ │ ╔══════╧══════════════════════╗ ║ REGISTER PROGRAM ║ ╔════════════════════╗ ║ TURN AUTOMATIC HELP ON/OFF ║ ║ FULL BACKUP ╟─────╢ BACKUP DATA FILES ║ ║ INCREMENTAL BACKUP ║ ║ QUIT PROGRAM ║ ╚════════════════════╝ ╚═════════════════════════════╝ REGISTER PROGRAM This option makes out a registration form that is filled out and sent to McS, along with $45, in order to receive the registered version of Keyboard Coach. The registered version expands rosters to 44 players and comes with a free copy of the General Manager's Disk. The Keyboard Coach General Manager allows you to make those block-buster trades and sign free agents. TURN AUTOMATIC HELP OFF/ON Keyboard Coach has several automatic help screens which pop up without the user clicking on a help icon. This option turns these screens off (or back on). BACK UP DATA FILES: Use this option to back up your data to a floppy disk. We heavily recommend using this option on a regular basis. You will be given the choice of a FULL or INCREMENTAL backup. A full backup backs up all data files in the current directory. An incremental backup will back up any files that have been updated since the last incremental backup. Our league uses a full backups and uses a new disk for each week of play. This allows the commissioner to restore a previous week's data in case he didn't activate a player by mistake or made another kind of error. QUIT PROGRAM: This is the ONLY safe way to exit the program. Turning your computer off or re-booting may leave some of your data in the buffer and corrupt your league's data.