GSAC BASEBALL POLICIES

Transcription

1 GSAC BASEBALL POLICIES (Approved by Baseball Coaches ) Updated TABLE OF CONTENTS I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV Awards Conference Meetings Conference Tournament Game Ball Guidelines For Play Host School Duties NAIA Tournament Berth Player/Coach Protocol Pre-Game Protocol Protests Ratings Scheduling Policies Sport Chair Statistics Umpires & Supervisor of Umpires

2 I. AWARDS A. The Conference coaches shall select recipients for the All-Conference first team, as well as the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. B. Coaches shall not vote for themselves or for their own student-athletes for any of the awards except for Player of the Year. C. Student-athletes named to an All-Conference first team shall be awarded a certificate from the Conference. Plaques shall be awarded to individuals named Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. D. All-Conference Team Selections (Adopted ) In the sport of baseball, position requirements dictate the All-GSAC team and the recommendations for All- America. The following 20 positions shall be awarded: 1 First Base, 1 Second Base, 1 Third Base, 1 Shortstop, 2 Infielders, 1 Wild Card 5 Outfielders, 2 Catchers, 4 Pitchers, 1 Relief Pitcher, 1 Designated Hitter ^ ^ If there is no viable candidate for the designated hitter position, this all-conference selection can be adjusted with the agreement of all coaches. GSAC policies state that a DH must have 50% of his AB s as the DH as required for the Regional and National awards ( ). The Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year shall come from the 20 student-athletes above E. All-Conference Selection Process The following process shall be used in selecting the All-Conference team: 1. Coaches may nominate an unlimited number of players for Conference awards. The Conference Office will solicit nominees two Mondays prior to the end of the regular season. (April 15 in 2019) 2. Nominations are due to the Conference Office two days after the solicitation of nominees. (April 17 in 2019) 3. The conference office will distribute a ballot containing all nominations the following day. (April 18 in 2019) 4. The coaches shall meet on a mandatory telephone conference call on the Monday prior to the end of the regular season to discuss their respective nominations. (by 10am on April 22 in 2019) 5. The voting ballot shall be ed to the Conference Office by no later than 12:00pm PST on Monday, April 24, Players are ranked with highest points being awarded to the player that is deserving of that position. A second vote will take place at 5:00pm PST on Monday, April 24, 2019 to decide the final infield positions. 6. The Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year shall be selected by write-in vote. 7. The Chair and the Commissioner shall review the final tally of votes. 8. The All-Conference team shall be released by 10:00 am on the Wednesday (April 26) following the regular season. F. An All-Tournament Team shall be selected at the conclusion of the GSAC Tournament. The team will consist of 4 outfielders, 4 infielders, 1 catcher and 2 pitchers. The team would be voted on by the Host Head Coach, Host Sports Information Director and Tournament Director. ( ) 2

3 II. CONFERENCE MEETINGS A. All Conference Meeting - GSAC Coaches will meet, via mandatory conference call, on the Monday prior to the last day of the regular season to discuss the All-GSAC team. ( ) B. Annual Coaches Meeting GSAC Coaches will meet at the conference tournament or in the fall for their annual business meeting. III. CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT A. The top five teams in the GSAC will participate in the GSAC Tournament. ( ) B. The tournament will be held at a pre-determined site as follows: 2018 Vanguard 2019 OC Great Park Baseball Stadium In 2018 and 2019, the tournament will be played the week prior to the NAIA qualification deadline from Monday - Thursday. C. Athletics Directors need to be available for helping with the management of the conference tournament. Game supervisors will be selected prior to the tournament each year. D. Playoff ticket prices will be determined by the GSAC Executive Committee. E. There shall be no restrictions on the GSAC Tournament dates. ( ) F. If a team playing in any games on Saturday of the baseball tournament has a conflict with their commencement exercises, that team can request to play the game on Monday following commencement. It was agreed by the Presidents that this request would be granted even if there are travel costs associated with this move. (6-9-14) G. Seeding - The GSAC teams will be seeded based on their final GSAC regular season standings. The tiebreak policy will involve the use of three criteria in descending order. 1. The first criterion is head-to-head competition between the teams involved. 2. The second criterion involves head-to-head competition versus the rest of the GSAC in order of finish beginning with the first place finisher(s). Note that if more than one tie occurs in the conference final standings, ties will be broken in descending order. 3. If teams are still tied after the first two criteria, the Bo Chip Rating of each team will be used to decide placement of the tied teams. (8/21/2013) H. There are no complimentary tickets to be issued for any GSAC postseason tournament game. There is a 30- pass limit for GSAC Conference Baseball Tournament. These passes include the student-athletes and support personnel. IV. GAME BALL A. All GSAC teams will use the NAIA championship ball (Rawlings) for regular season and tournament play. The conference office will negotiate a contract for the purchase of balls. 3

4 V. GUIDELINES FOR PLAY A. The GSAC follows the NAIA rules and regulations. B. No conference institution will disclose any information about another conference institution to any nonconference opponent. C. The coaches need to have the approved bat list available at all contests. It is encouraged to post these lists visibly for umpires, so they do not have to track coaches down in order to clear the bats for competition. D. Line-ups are to be presented prior to the start of competition. E. The NAIA 10-run rule will be waived for all regular season GSAC games. Exception: In a suspended game that has completed 7 innings, the 10-run rule will be in effect. F. Darkness Policy (1/9/2008) 1. Games ending in a tie due to darkness shall be continued at the next scheduled playing date for the two schools or at the next available date. 2. All darkness-delayed games will be made up starting with the same line-up that was in effect when the game needed. Any alteration in this line-up must be in accordance with NCAA regulation and approval from the umpire. 3. Any score or inning played prior to darkness must be documented by the host institution. Play will continue from that point. 4. Both schools of the tie game shall be responsible for the paying of the additional umpire fees when the game is resumed. ( ) VI. HOST SCHOOL DUTIES A. It is the duty of the host school to provide a safe, competitive environment, regulation baseballs, water and an athletic trainer. B. Provide a visual scoreboard and scorekeepers. C. Designate a warm-up area of the field for the visiting team. There needs to be an equitable use of cages for between games batting practice. D. Grounds: All mounds and boxes are to be shaped in accordance of rulebook. The intent of this rule is to eliminate home field advantage mounds that are peculiar in shape and slope towards pick off bases. The rulebook is specific to the amount of flat space on top of the mound and to its slope. All teams must follow the guidelines set forth in the pro rulebook. A home team forfeit will result if the umpire determines a mound to be illegal. Full batter boxes are to be put down prior to the game. Each Athletics Director is to certify that the mound at their institution meets the legal limits of the rules. There will be no challenges to the Athletics Director s certification. VII. NAIA TOURNAMENT BERTH The GSAC policy for deciding the recipients of one automatic berth in the NAIA National Baseball tournaments is the tournament champion. The GSAC policy for deciding the recipients of two automatic berths in the NAIA National Tournaments is as follows: 1. The tournament champion gets NAIA automatic berth #1. 2. The regular season champion gets NAIA berth #2 unless it is the tournament champion, then the tournament runner-up gets berth #2. ( ) 4

5 VIII. PLAYER/COACH PROTOCOL A. A. Fight policy: Any player who instigates, provokes, or participates in a brawl, as determined by umpires, videos, or higher powers, will be ejected from that game and suspended 2 more GSAC games, if the player is a pitcher, the suspension will be 3 GSAC games or 7 days, whichever comes later. In extenuating circumstances, the coaches may appeal the suspension to the protest committee. The Commissioner and both Athletics Directors must be notified in writing of all actions relating to the ejection and suspension. B. Players leaving their position or bench area to participate in an altercation shall be ejected from that game and serve an additional one-game suspension. Umpires will report names to the Commissioner and appropriate Athletics Directors. C. Handshake: Post-game handshake will take place after every game, except the first game of a doubleheader. IX. PRE-GAME PROTOCOL A. By the end of day on Wednesday, the pre-game protocol should be distributed to the visiting team. B. A meeting between the coaches and the umpires should take place during lineup exchange and field stipulations should be reviewed. C. The prayer (at institutions that wish to do so) and National Anthem shall be performed after player introductions. D. Saturdays: Visitors batting practice on Saturdays will be 35 minutes and will include entire use of the facility. ( ) (In case of poor weather it can be mutually agreed upon by coaches to hit in the cages only.) Coaches are to send pre-game schedules to GSAC opponents, which include the specific times allotted for visitor batting practice. Times are also to be posted in visiting dugout. E. There needs to be equitable use of cages for between games batting practice. F. Midweek Batting Practice: 1. Visiting teams may have the home team s batting cage the last 30 minutes before the home team is scheduled for pre-game but not more than one hour prior to game time. 2. The home team may take batting practice in cages any time prior to the allotted time and after the allotted time up until game time. 3. On field batting practice will not be allowed prior to weekday games. ( ) 4. Lineups are to be exchanged with official scorer 20 minutes prior to the start of the game. Throwing arm of the starting pitcher will be revealed 30 minutes prior to start of the game. ( ) X. PROTESTS A. Procedure for Protest Regular Season: (1/9/2008) When a game is completed under protest, (NOTE: The protesting school must state the intent to PROTEST to the Head Umpire about the play in question prior to a new play beginning.) after the completion of the contest the protesting school must: 1. Document the following information: a. The date, time, and place of the game. b. The names of the umpires and scorers. c. The rule and section of the official rules or local rules under which the protest is made. d. The information, details, and conditions pertinent to the decision to protest. e. All essential facts involved in the matter protested. 5

6 2. Notify by noon the next day the Athletics Directors of the two schools involved, the conference Supervisor of Umpires, and the Conference Commissioner. 3. When a game is protested, the Protest Committee will rule one of the following: a. The protest is considered to be invalid and the game stands as played. b. The protest is determined to be valid because of the misinterpretation of a playing rule. The decision will be corrected and the game shall be replayed from the point at which the incorrect decision was made. 4. Athletics Directors must agree on the next available playing date to conclude the game. 5. In the event the ruling calls for a replay of the game, either partial or full, teams will follow the following guidelines. 6. If there is a game(s) remaining at the same site later in the year, then it will resume prior to the scheduled game. If there is a game remaining with the same team but at the opposing site then the game may be finished there as long as it is not more than four innings. If the game is longer than four innings, then the team has the option to play the game as home team prior to the game at the opposing site or they may choose to have the game played at their own site. With the later the date the game will be played will be turned over to a schedule arbitrator who will determine the date of the game. B. Protest Committee - Tournament A rotation alphabetically of three teams (coaches) will compile the protest committee for the GSAC Tournament annually. If one or more coaches on the protest committee are involved personally with the protest, then the Baseball Chair will appoint the coaches next in order to substitute on the committee. (1/9/2008). 1. Procedure for Protest - Tournament The protesting school must state the intent to PROTEST to the Head Umpire about the play in question prior to a new play beginning. a. Document the following information: i. The rule and section of the official rules or local rules under which the protest is made. ii. The information, details, and conditions pertinent to the decision to protest. iii. All essential facts involved in the matter protested. b. When a game is protested, play is halted and the Protest Committee will rule one of the following: i. The protest is considered to be invalid and the game stands as played. ii. The protest is determined to be valid because of the misinterpretation of a playing rule. The decision will be corrected and the game shall be replayed from the point at which the incorrect decision was made. XI. RATINGS The following factors will be used in the ratings process for conference teams. The conference record will be leaned heavily on since that will be the determining factor for which teams make the conference tournament. However, like the NSC, the primary criteria are in no particular order and do not hold any particular amount of weight against one another. The primary criteria will be evaluated first and if two teams are still very close, secondary criteria will be used. PRIMARY for GSAC: Conference record Overall record/winning percentage Vs. Top 25 in Coaches Poll Bo Chip Rating 6

7 SECONDARY for GSAC: Head to head Common Opponents XII. SCHEDULING POLICIES A. Conference schools will play a 32-game schedule beginning in 2019 with four game series against each conference opponent. ( ) B. Any schedule change must also be approved by both Athletics Directors and the GSAC Commissioner. C. There is an NAIA maximum of 55 contests. 1. Teams are allowed two scrimmage games that do not count as part of the Teams are allowed more than two scrimmages as long as the total dates played do not exceed 57, counting all scrimmages. D. Rain-Out Guidelines ( ) The coaches involved in a rainout and reschedule must follow the criteria in order beginning with: 1. The two coaches involved come to an agreement no later than midnight the next school day. If they cannot agree, the respective athletics directors will make the decision. 2. The rescheduling must follow the GSAC policy of utilizing the first available date for a doubleheader (if needed). In most cases, this would be Monday. A team would not be forced to play more than five conference games in one week until the first week of April. Starting in April, in case of extreme rain years, the 5-game per week rule would not apply. 3. Schedule changes should be compiled so an updated master schedule can be distributed just before the GSAC schedule begins so possible rain adjustments can be reliable. Conference schedule changes necessitated by rain must be reported immediately to the GSAC Commissioner. This report will best be done by . The Athletics Director is responsible for getting the official institutional baseball schedule to the Conference SID prior to the start of GSAC play. 4. The decision to not travel to an out-of-market road contest shall be made by 8:00 am two days prior to the contest. If there is a 60% chance of rain, the coaches should discuss options. (6-1-17) XII. SCHEDULING POLICIES continued E. Conference Game Start Times ( ) 1. Start times for midweek single conference games: January games in Arizona 1:00 pm Prior to Daylight Savings in Arizona 2:00 pm After Daylight Savings in Arizona 3:00 pm February games in California 2:00 pm March games prior to Daylight Savings for SDCC, TMC, WC, BU, VU, HIU* - 2:30 pm *(HIU may need to move some game times due to facility) 7

8 March & April games after Daylight Savings for SDCC, TMC, WC, BU, VU, HIU* - 3:00 pm *(HIU may need to move some game times due to facility) All midweek games at Menlo College 2:00 pm ( ) All midweek games at William Jessup 6:00 pm 2. Start times for Saturday conference doubleheaders: 11:00 am The game times for Saturday doubleheaders after daylight savings time can be adjusted to 12:00pm start for the first game as long as both coaches agree and the adjustment is made in advance of the start of the season. (9-2-16) XIII. SPORT CHAIR A. The chair is appointed for a two-year term. The chair for 2019 and 2020 is Brian Schroeder, San Diego Christian College. XIV. STATISTICS AND REPORTING A. Game stats will be sent to the Conference SID after each game. B. GSAC game stats are to be posted on the school's website immediately after each game. C. Player of the Week will be announced by the GSAC Sports Information Director. Voting will be conducted by a committee of the league s sports information directors. XV. UMPIRES/SUPERVISOR OF UMPIRES A. There will be 2-person umpire crews at all GSAC games. B. Schedules are sent to the Supervisor of Baseball Umpires for officials' assignments by October 1 each year. C. The Supervisor of Baseball Umpires will: 1. Assign all game umpires. 2. Provide evaluation of umpires. Evaluation forms to be provided by conference office and returned to Coordinator of Officials ( ) 3. Handle any disputes, which involve umpires. 4. Gather input from coaches on umpires. 5. Acquaint umpires with any NAIA or conference rules. 6. Provide for the umpires' evaluation of coaches' conduct. 7. Provide uniformity of assignment - trust, consistency, conference control. 8. Umpires will receive a game fee if a scheduling cancellation occurs less than 30 days before the contest. In addition, each coach will write into the scheduling contracts for home contests with non-conference teams a stipulation that if the game is cancelled on opponent s request, the game fees will be covered by the respective institution. 9. Rain-out make-up games need to be offered to original umpires first. D. An evaluation program of the league s umpires will be conducted by the coaches in conjunction with the 8

9 Supervisor of Baseball Umpires. An electronic evaluation form shall be used. Coaches will be required to fill out an evaluation form after each series and send to the GSAC Supervisor of Umpires and the GSAC Commissioner. If the coach fails to do so, the penalty will be as follows: ( ) 1 st Offense Warning letter to the coach and Athletic Director 2 nd Offense - $100 Fine 3 rd Offense - $200 Fine with a Letter to the President 9