UMPIRE CONSTITUTION 2018 For the Ottawa-Nepean Slo-Pitch League League Convenor: Leo Tardioli

Transcription

1 UMPIRE CONSTITUTION 2018 For the Ottawa-Nepean Slo-Pitch League League Convenor: Leo Tardioli NOTE: For the purpose of consistency, the pronoun He will be used for any gender references. The items below are specific rule interpretations to ensure consistency from one umpire to the next within the ONSPL: 1) BATTING LINE-UP the Modified unlimited batting OR Substitution and re-entry rules are permitted. At the start of the game the team captain will declare their selected batting line-up to the home plate umpire.(ie. Batting Everyone or a Set Lineup with Substitutions) The scoresheet must show everyone that is present at the start of the game but if someone shows up late, then the team captain MUST IMMEDIATELY approach the home plate umpire and announce the player will be added: a. To the bottom of the line-up, if the team has opted to use Modified unlimited batting, OR b. As a substitute, if the team has opted to use Substitution and re-entry. A player cannot be added to the line-up / used in the game if that player arrives after the beginning of the 5th inning (first pitch of the top of the 5 th inning). Note: The MODIFIED UNLIMITED BATTING rule should not be confused with the Re-entry Rule. This means that a team captain has the option to use everyone on the bench in the starting lineup AND as described above add a player to the BOTTOM of the line-up. 2) COED PLAYER RATIOS All Coed Divisions will be using a 6:4 Male to female Ratio as per the SPN Rule Book. 1 Batting order: The Batting order is one continuous lineup meaning every player must follow the same player for the entire game. The Batting order cannot have more than 2 males batting back to back at any point of the lineup. For example: with 4 women, you can bat a maximum of 8 men. 3) DEFENSIVE SUBSTITUTION As there is no limit to how many batters are allowed in the line-up, players can freely substitute defensive positions at any time provided players are in the batting line-up. a. For Coed, 4 women must be in the field defensively at all times. 4) INJURY, EJECTION OR SOMEONE HAVING TO LEAVE EARLY a. Regular Season: Teams MAY COLLAPSE the order only in the event of an injury; therefore there will be NO AUTOMATIC OUT even if the injury brings the number of that team s players to nine (9). If a player leaves the game for any other reason (ejected or has to leave early), that person s place in the batting order WILL become an AUTOMATIC OUT or a forfeit if an ejection brings the number of that team s players below ten (10). All Teams: MAY START with nine (9) players and receive NO AUTOMATIC OUT with the exception of the Coed division where teams must have a minimum of 4 women at all times. (For example coed teams can play with 9 if it s a 5:4 Ration men to women but not a 6:3 ratio) The rule with respect to COLLAPSING a line-up (as applicable 4.a above or 4.b below) would still apply.

2 b. Playoffs: Teams CANNOT COLLAPSE the order and pull someone out of the line-up, at any time, regardless of whether there is an injury, an ejection, or if someone has to leave the game early. The place in the batting order of the player who has to leave the game WILL become an AUTOMATIC OUT or a forfeit if an Ejection brings the number of that team s players below ten (10). The only exception is if there is a designated substitution available to take that players spot. 5) PLAYER EJECTION AND SUSPENSION a. In the regular season, any player ejected from a game must leave the park immediately and will not be allowed to participate in any further games that night. An ejected player will receive an automatic additional one night suspension from the league. b. In the playoffs, as above, any player ejected from a game must leave the park immediately and will not be allowed to participate in the completion of the game. An ejected player will receive an automatic additional one game suspension from the playoffs. c. Ejections/suspensions may be subject to further disciplinary action by the disciplinary committee. SPN Sanctioned Tournament Guidelines and operating rules (STG&OR) will govern conduct. Suspended players names (in the regular season) will be published on the League web site, for Team Captains and Umpires to be able to access. All suspensions automatic or otherwise must be served consecutively and cannot be deferred in any form. 6) ALCOHOL POLICY A WARNING will be given at the plate to Coaches and Captains about the zero tolerance policy on Alcohol (on the bench or around the diamond). 2 If alcohol is spotted in a players hands in or around the diamond during play of a game, the Umpire will: o Eject the player and the team Coach/Captain. o Ejected players must leave the BALL DIAMOND AND PARKING LOT, o Those players place in the batting order WILL become an AUTOMATIC OUT or a forfeit if an ejection brings the number of that team's players below ten (10). o In addition, Ejected players will receive suspensions in accordance with clause 5 above. 7) FORFEIT TIME There is a forfeit time of 10 minutes after the scheduled game start time. Umpires must begin play once each team has at least 9 players. 8) TIME LIMIT NO NEW INNING will start after 1 hour and 5 minutes has elapsed from scheduled game start time (not to be confused with the actual game start time, e.g. if the game s scheduled start time is 7:15pm and the game actually starts early at 7:05pm then no new inning will start after 8:20pm). 9) TIES STAND Ties will stand during Regular Season and Playoff Round Robin games.

3 10) SCORING AND MERCY RULE Mercy Rule is 12 runs after 5 innings. If the home team is up by 12 runs after 4½ innings, the game is over. Mercy rule is in effect for all games. 11) MAXIMUM RUNS There will be a maximum of 7 runs scored per team per inning with the exceptions of any inning deemed open by the umpire. An Umpire will declare an inning open when he or she feels it could be the last inning to be played in the game. In any inning where the mercy rule applies, a team is allowed to score enough runs to bring them inside the run spread (e.g. a team that trails by 19 in the 5th inning will be allowed to score up to 8 runs to get inside the 12 run rule). 12) HOMERUN RULE The Homerun Rule is the Match +2 Rule. No team can be ahead of the opposing team by more than 2 Homeruns. If a team is +2 in Homeruns, then any subsequent batter to hit an untouched ball over the fence is automatically OUT. 13) FOUR BASE AWARD Any fly ball that is touched by a defensive player that lands over the outfield fence is regarded as a deflected ball over the outfield fence. This constitutes a FOUR BASE AWARD. This is enforced regardless of whether the ball was deflected before the outfield fence or after the ball has gone over the fence. All Four base awards will be subject to the Walk-Off rule. 14) WALK-OFF RULE All divisions will employ the Walk-off rule on home runs and four base awards; i.e. the home run or four base award hitting batter is not required to run any of the bases. 15) CHECK FOR ILLEGAL BATS Check the bats to make sure they are all legal. Mostly, look for pronounced dents and missing tape on the handles to ensure safety. 3 In addition, the umpire may also suspect that a bat is illegal based on performance/sound etc., for this reason The umpire at their sole discretion has the right to remove any bat(s) from any game for any reason at any time during the game. Note: SPN has changed the rules around illegal bats for this season. Consult their website for more details on what is admissible for play this season ( 16) USE OF A STRIKE ZONE MAT TO ASSIST IN CALLING BALLS AND STRIKES a. Legally Pitched Ball: The pitched ball should arc min. 6 feet but no more than 12 feet above ground. b. The Strike Zone Mat will be placed on ground, completely covering the existing home plate. c. Strikes and Balls: A strike is a legally pitched ball that hits the strike mat or the batter swings and misses or fouls. All other pitches are considered balls. d. Illegal Pitch: When a pitch is very low, then the umpire should call illegal pitch and it is an automatic ball. The batter has the option of swinging at the ball and if contact is made the hit counts. If the batter swings and misses it shall be still counted as a strike.

4 17) COED - HOMEPLATE SAFETY ZONE In all COED divisions, when crossing The Scoring Line a base runner may not enter The Homeplate safety zone. If the base runner enters the Homeplate safety zone, the base runner will be called out. The Home plate safety zone is designated as the batter s box on the 3 rd base side of home plate. It shall be 3 feet in width and extent 4 feet forward of the Scoring Line and 3 feet to the rear of the Scoring Line. 18) COED FEMALE BATTERS No outfielder (min 4) may make a force out either directly or indirectly on a female batterbase runner at first base. The intent of this rule is to ensure player safety; any attempts to circumvent the intent this rule may result in team or player penalties. If in either instance the rule is violated, the team batting has the option of taking the result of the play or an award of one base to the batter and all runners. 19) COACHES AND CAPTAINS GROUND RULES At the Coaches and Captains Meeting, go over ground rules: time allotted, mention the profanity rule, substitution rule, and homerun rule etc. 20) INCLEMENT WEATHER In the case of inclement weather, unless the league has posted that games will be rained out before 4:30pm on the league website or social media, all teams are required to show up at their regularly scheduled game. The umpire will wait until the full grace period has expired and if both teams have enough players to play and the umpire feels that the field conditions are unsafe, he/she will call a rainout by notifying both team captains at home plate. 4 Note: If one of the teams does not have enough players to field a team and the field conditions are determined to be playable, default wins will be awarded to the team that did have enough players. 21) All other rules are governed by the 2018 SPN rule book.

5 SPECIFIC GROUND RULES FOR SOFTBALL DIAMONDS CARLINGTON PARK #3 1) Net in Left Field a. Any ball that hits the net or post and comes back onto the field of play is live and playable. b. If the ball gets caught in the net, the batter will be awarded a ground rule double. c. Any ball that goes between the top of the fence and the net is a ground rule double. DUMAURIER EAST 1) Gully in Left Field a. ANY fairly hit ball that rolls down into the gully regardless if the defensive player makes an attempt on the ball or not is a ground rule double. DUMAURIER WEST 1) Gully in Right Field a. ANY fairly hit ball that rolls down into the gully regardless if the defensive player makes an attempt on the ball or not is a ground rule double. b. Any thrown ball that makes contact with the light fixture is out of play. 2) Small Tree Down the Left Foul Line a. Any ball flying into the tree that is played by the defensive player and is caught will be called an out AND players on base will advance one base because the call will be as if the defensive player caught the ball and carried it out of play. BELL WEST 1) Parking Out of Bounds a. In general all players will respect City of Ottawa By-laws. With respect to parking, this is restricted to designated areas only. Umpires will not commence game play if vehicles belonging to ONSPL participants, family and friends are parked out of bounds. 5 GREENBORO Homerun Run, Ground rule Double: As a cycling path surrounds the entire outfield at the Greenboro ball diamond the following will apply: a. Any ball that flies untouched onto or over the cycling path will be considered a home run. The homerun rule will apply. b. Any touched or untouched ball that bounces or rolls onto or over the cycling path will be considered a ground rule double. c. Any ball that is touched in flight and lands onto or over the cycling path will be considered a ground rule double. d. Any ball that makes contact with a light standard located in the field of play will be deemed a ground rule double.

6 LYTLE Park (Fallowfield) Homerun Run, Ground rule Double: As a walking/cycling path pass through the right outfield at the ball diamond the following will apply: a. Any ball that flies untouched onto or over the walking/cycling path will be considered a home run. The homerun rule will apply. b. Any touched or untouched ball that bounces or rolls onto or over the walking/cycling path will be considered a ground rule double. c. Any ball that is touched in flight and lands onto or over the walking/cycling path will be considered a ground rule double. d. Any ball that makes contact with a light standard located in the field of play will be deemed a ground rule double. 6