You may keep him. Here is what it costs.

In a redraft league everyone starts level every September. Keep players and somebody must pay for it, or the manager who won first wins forever.

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A pick surrenderedA salary that climbsA contract with a term

A taped draft board half filled with name stickers, marker in hand, function room behind — The board, mid-draftNames go up in the order they were called. The ones already spoken for went up before anybody sat down.

A room set with chairs and a projector before a draft — Before the nominationsThe room before nominations start. In an auction every seat is bidding on every player.

Draft Formats

An auction prices every player. A snake prices only the position.

That single difference is why auction leagues argue about salaries and snake leagues argue about picks.

A stack of bound arbitration reports on a desk — At full scaleArbitration reports: the same argument, at full scale and with lawyers in the room.

Reserve Clause

In 1975 an arbitrator ended the reserve clause

Baseball's arbitration is the same argument at full scale: what a club may keep, for how long, and what it owes for the privilege.

A legal pad of scrawled salary figures and crossings-out beside a laptop

The signature

Paid once, paid yearly, or paid on a date somebody has to remember.

Three mechanisms, and the whole difference between one keeper league and another. Each one charges at a different moment, and each one produces a different argument in August.

Once, on draft day

Listed the way everything else on this site is listed: as type, in one run.

The Sheet

Somebody has to write it down. Then somebody has to amend it.

The constitution, and who keeps the sheet.

Every piece on the sheet, in one list

You may keep him. Here is what it costs.

An auction prices every player. A snake prices only the position.

In 1975 an arbitrator ended the reserve clause

Paid once, paid yearly, or paid on a date somebody has to remember.

Paid once: the pick he would have cost

Paid yearly: the escalator

Paid on a date somebody has to remember

Listed the way everything else on this site is listed: as type, in one run.

Somebody has to write it down. Then somebody has to amend it.

You may keep him. Here is what it costs.

An auction prices every player. A snake prices only the position.

In 1975 an arbitrator ended the reserve clause

Paid once, paid yearly, or paid on a date somebody has to remember.

Paid once: the pick he would have cost

Paid yearly: the escalator

Paid on a date somebody has to remember

Listed the way everything else on this site is listed: as type, in one run.

Backing the ledger

Supporting the archive

Also supporting

Somebody has to write it down. Then somebody has to amend it.