(The below message was posted prior to the 2004 season. Since no new fine schedule was adopted prior to the 2005 season, the below fines are still in place.)
The Rules provide that any changes to the fine schedule are to be posted before the start of the season. While, thankfully, overusage of players and lateness in reporting series results have not been a significant problem for ARBA of late, it is my belief that the current fine system needs some refurbishing. Thus, here is the fine schedule for the 2004 season (bearing in mind that, per the Rules, "in cases of gross overusage, the Commissioner may impose greater penalties above and beyond the fine schedule" and "[f]ines may be waived by the Commissioner in his discretion for good cause.")
Late Reporting of a Home Series: $50K per incident
Failure to Play and Report a Home Series within 2 weeks after the Due Date: $200K per incident
Games Started in Excess of Total Allowed: $25K per GS
For PA and IP usage in Excess of Total Allowed: $2K per PA $5K per IP PLUS, an additional penalty applicable only to PA/IP overusage: For PA/IP fines totaling less than $49K: +$50K For PA/IP fines totaling between $50K and $99K: +$100K For PA/IP fines totalling $100K or greater: +$250K
For example, if Player X has 3 IP over the allowable limit, but the team owning Player X has no other overusage, that team will be fined $65K (3*5K + 50K).
As another example, if players on team Y aggregate to 21 IP over their allowable limits, team Y will be fined $355K (21*5K + 250K).
Finally, if player Z makes 31 starts when he was only allowed to start 30 games, but the team owning player Z has no overusage fines for PA or IP, that team will be fined $25K. (additional penalty only applies to PA/IP overusage fines)
While this may seem harsh, the reality is that most teams do not overuse any players in a given season and most minor cases of overusage are explainable in such a way that a fine can be waived or reduced in the Commissioner's discretion.
As always, I welcome any comment or discussion on this subject.
