2017 Softball By-Laws

Transcription

1 2017 Softball By-Laws 1. League Policies A. Registration: Register online at GreenvilleRec.com or register at the office. Please contact Rich Dixon at / ext 134 or Steve Cooke at / ext. 123 for more information. B. Rosters: In order to participate in the league, players must be listed on the current roster and have turned in a signed Player Contract. Rosters and photo ID will be checked at every game (regular season and playoffs). Players must show photo ID to play. There is no limit on the number of players that may be listed on the roster. No player can be added to the roster after the publicized roster freeze date. Player contracts must be submitted to Greenville Rec 48 hours prior to participating in his/her first game. C. Umpire Fees: Each team will be required to pay a $20 Umpire fee before each game. There will be 2 Umpires calling each game. There will be a $15 charge per team for games that only have one Umpire (in the event there is a problem where an Umpire cannot make it to a game). D. Forfeits: There will be a $40 forfeit fee for any team that forfeits a game. E. Weather Cancellations: 2. The Game An Overview 1. Greenville County Rec. will try to make all weather cancellations by 4:30 p.m. the day of a game during the week. 2. All weather updates will be placed on the home page of our website and on the weather hotline at (Option #2). 3. You can follow weather updates on Twitter at gcrdfields 4. You can sign up for text alerts by texting to Some cancellations may be made at the field at the discretion of the Umpires and Field Supervisors. We will be using a Double First Base. In efforts to protect our players, the base runner must tag the orange base on a close play at first. Please refer to the 2015 ASA Softball Rule Book to the Rule # 8; Section # 2; Letter M; for Double First Base Specific Rules. A. The Rules: The official Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Rulebook will govern all games in league and playoffs play. The Greenville Rec local rules contained herewith supersede rules in the ASA Rulebook. All team captains and players should acquaint themselves with the rules. Team Captains and Umpires should discuss ground rules prior to the start of all games and the Umpires decisions will be final. B. The Teams and Players: Teams must have a minimum of eight (8) players throughout the game. An Extra Player (EP) may be used (1 for men, 1 male and 1 female for coed), however, ASA guidelines will apply. A player may play on multiple teams within a league (ie. Men s Open). However, a player cannot play or be on two team rosters within the same division (ie. Monday Men s East Riverside). Once teams are set for playoffs and brackets are filled, players on multiple teams within a league must declare ONE team to participate with. If no declaration is made; the first team they participate with in league playoffs becomes their declaration, win or lose. A league team may participate in multiple divisions, however, the team may only qualify for league playoffs in one division C. Time: Game time is forfeit time. (There are no exceptions.) However, there may be some occasions when games will not be started on time because of a late running game scheduled before your game. 1

2 Forfeit time on these occasions will be when the umpires call both teams to start the game. Both teams must have a minimum number of 8 players to start. If not, this is grounds for a forfeit. There will be a one (1) hour time limit for all games. A new inning cannot begin after the time limit has expired. Games may end in a tie. D. Scorekeepers: Scorekeepers must sit together near the home plate umpire. The designated home team is the official scorebook. E. Line-Up Cards: Teams are required to use the line-up cards provided by Greenville County Rec. Line-up cards will be available at the fields from the Field Supervisor. Line-up changes must be reported to the home plate umpire (use last names and first initial only.) F. Equipment: Each team will be required to wear matching jerseys with numbers on them. Players are encouraged to wear cleats, however, metal cleats or golf shoes will not be permitted. Improper uniform or equipment will result in a player, or team, not being allowed to play. 1. Ball Specific Rules: 1. Each team will need to have a new ball available. 2. Teams may start with a used ball providing the ASA Stamp is legible; legibility will be determined by the Umpire. 3. Optic Yellow Softballs are required: (12 ).52 PolyCOR, 300 lb. Compression, Composite or Leather Cover, Optic Yellow Softball, legible ASA approved stamp. NO White Softballs will be allowed. Each team will hit the ball they bring. 2. Bat Specific Rules: 1. Only ASA Sanctioned bats will be allowed. 2. Any altered or non-asa approved bats are considered illegal. 3. If a batter enters the batter s box with an illegal bat they will automatically be out and ejected from the game. If this happens during the playoffs, the player is ejected for the remainder of the playoffs. This could also jeopardize the player s eligibility for the rest of the season G. Mercy Rule: There will be a ten run lead rule in effect after five (5) innings, a fifteen run lead rule after four (4) innings, and a twenty run lead after three (3) innings. 3. Game Play A. Home Runs: Players do not have to round the bases for over-the-fence home runs; the batter and base runners may safely return to the dugout, and points will be awarded. There will be a three (3) over the fence homerun limit per team, per game. Any other homeruns after that will be ruled as an out. Any ball touched by a defensive player causing the ball to go over the fence, shall not be included in the total of over the fence homeruns. B. Each hitter will begin his/her at bat with a 1 ball and 1 strike count. C. There will be no base stealing. D. There will be no 5th infielder used in any league or division. E. A courtesy runner will be allowed once per inning to pinch-run for an individual providing it is approved by the opposing coach. The courtesy runner must be the individual who made the last out. In Coed, females will run for females and males for males. If the courtesy runner is needed in the first inning, before an out is made, the courtesy runner shall be the last person of the same sex listed on the lineup card. Should a courtesy runner still be on base when their bat comes up, they shall be called out on the base and take their turn at bat (if the situation is the 3rd out in an inning, they will lead off their team s next turn at bat). 2

3 F. The Captain s Code of Conduct will be strictly enforced. 4. Umpires A. Only the Team Captain will be allowed to enter a discussion on the field with an Umpire. B. The Field Supervisor has complete control of the ball field and adjacent property. This means that he/she can stop the game at any time. He/she also has the authority to ask any players, team captains, spectators, etc... to leave the park or the adjacent property. He/she will report unsportsmanlike conduct to the Greenville County Rec Athletic Department. 5. Rainouts A. An official game is 4 innings, or 3.5 if the home team is winning. (If the game does not go this far due to rain, it will be started over from the beginning.) B. The Field Supervisor and Umpires shall make the decision as to whether a game should be called on account of rain or wet grounds once the game starts. C. Both teams and umpires shall be present for a scheduled game unless the teams have been informed that the field is too wet to play. Notice of rained out games will be made from the Greenville County Rec. office. Please refer to page 1 for the ways to get field closures. D. Rained out games will only be rescheduled one (1) time for make-up, or as deemed necessary by the Greenville County Rec athletic staff due to the standings. 6. Coed Specific Rules A. A team must have the required number of players present to start or continue a game: Coed--- 8 players (4 male and 4 female) Coed--- 9 players (4 or 5 male and 4 or 5 female) Coed---10 players (5 male and 5 female) Coed---with two extra players (EP) 12 players (6 male and 6 female) B. If the EP is used, they must be in the starting line-up before the game starts. They cannot be added once the game begins. C. If the EP is used in Coed, any 10 players from the 12 can play defense. Defensive positions can be changed as long as the following ratio is used: 2 male/2 female in the outfield 2 male/2 female in the infield 1 male/1 female as pitcher/catcher D. If 8 or 9 players are used, the following ratio will be used on defense: 1-2 male / 1-2 female in the outfield 1-2 male / 1-2 female in the infield 1 male / 1 female as pitcher/catcher E. The batting order for Coed softball shall alternate the sexes. There are no exceptions to this rule. However, if short a full 10 person squad, an automatic out will be called when two batters of the same sex bat back to back. F. Any walk to a male batter will result in a two base award. With less than 2 outs, the next female hitter must bat. With two outs, the next female hitter has the option to walk or bat. 3

4 7. End of Season Playoffs A. Greenville County Rec. will offer a postseason playoff for both the Men s and Coed divisions. B. The playoff will be a single elimination bracket. C. Greenville County Rec. will take all teams that finish ABOVE.500 to the Postseason Playoffs. D. In the event of a tie for playoff position, the following will be used to break the tie: overall record, headto-head season record, record vs. common opponents, coin flip. E. The teams in the playoffs will be responsible for the Umpire s fees. 8. Expected Conduct and Rules A. The Field Supervisors, Game Umpires, Sheriff s Deputies, or other staff that works for Greenville County Rec., will make a report to the Greenville County Athletic Department on any of the following conditions that, in their opinion, happen at the ball park, on the playing field, or in adjacent facilities and property, by a player, coach, or fan: 1. THREATENING AN UMPIRE..SEASON SUSPENSION 2. HITTING AN UMPIRE..PERMANENT SUSPENSION 3. DRINKING..SEASON SUSPENSION 4. FIGHTING..SEASON SUSPENSION 5. EJECTION FROM A GAME..SUSPENSION FOR NEXT GAME 6. SECOND EJECTION..SEASON SUSPENSION B. There will be no smoking within 100 yards of the field or dugouts. C. The Greenville County Rec. Athletic Department will review the report of the Umpires, and carry out the rules as deemed necessary. If a player or team captain is put out of a game, he/she will be asked to leave the field. If he/she does not leave, the game will be forfeited. 9. Protest Procedures A. A legal protest shall be one which involves a violation of playing rules or the use of an illegal player. B. JUDGEMENT CALLS CANNOT BE PROTESTED. C. The protest must be in writing and submitted to the Greenville County Rec. Athletic Department according to the protest schedule, and accompanied with a $100 protest fee. (No faxed or ed protests will be accepted.) D. The Greenville County Rec. Athletic Department has sole authority and will rule on all protest. E. If the protest is ruled valid, the protest fee will be returned. If the protest is ruled invalid, the protest fee will not be returned. F. Both Team Captains as well as the Umpires will be interviewed as part of the normal protest process. G. Decisions on protests are final, and there will be NO appeals. 4

5 The range of disciplinary actions against a team who is involved in a valid protest may vary depending on the severity of the infraction. The disciplinary actions are as follows: 10. Protest Schedule a. A warning b. Suspension for the rest of the season c. Losing a single game d. Losing all games e. Being dropped from the league f. Suspension from all leagues and future seasons A. GAMES PLAYED ON MONDAYS The team representative will have until 4:30 P.M. Wednesday to file a protest. B. GAME PLAYED ON TUESDAYS The team representative will have until 4:30 P.M. Thursday to file a protest. C. GAMES PLAYED ON WEDNESDAYS The team representative will have until 4:30 P.M. Friday to file a protest. D. GAMES PLAYED ON THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, OR SATURDAYS The team representative will have until 4:30 P.M. Monday to file a protest. E. GAMES PLAYED ON SUNDAYS The team representative will have until 4:30 P.M. Tuesday to file a protest Revised April 1,