2018 WAWASEE BOYS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL RULES

Transcription

1 2018 WAWASEE BOYS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL RULES 1. All participants are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship. Coaches are expected to set examples of good sportsmanship for all players. Umpires may eject any participant who exhibits unsportsmanlike conduct. 2. Smoking, any other use of tobacco or foul language will NOT be allowed anywhere at the ballpark. 3. Major League shall be open to boys, who, on or before May 1 st, are 12 years old or younger. A player must have participated in 50% of his team s league games to be eligible for the postseason tournament or the town s travel team. 4. Except as specified herein, HFHS (High School Rules) shall apply. The umpire-in-chief (usually the home plate umpire) shall have all final decisions. There shall be no protested games. 5. All players present for the game for their respective team shall be in the batting order. 6. Each player shall play at least 2 innings in the field. This requirement is waived in a shortened game (weather, mercy rule, etc.) Teams may only use 9 players in the field. Any player leaving the position of pitcher may not return to that position, but may return to any other position. 7. A runner may not lead off his base until the pitch crosses the plate. In the event a runner leaves the base before the ball crosses the plate, the ball is dead immediately and the runner will be called out. 8. Suspended games: An official game is 6 innings. In the case of rain, time limit or darkness, a complete game consists of 4 innings (3½ if the home team is ahead). If a game is suspended before the completion of 4 (3½) innings, the game will be resumed at the point at which it was suspended. If additional players are available when the game resumes, they will be put at the bottom of the order. If players from the original game are not available on the day the game is resumed, they shall be removed from the lineup without penalty (unless the team has less than 9 players). 9. Mercy Rules and Extra Innings: If one teams is 10 or more runs ahead at the end of 4 innings (or 3½ if the home team is ahead), the remaining innings will not be played and the team who is ahead shall be awarded the victory. If one team is 15 or more runs ahead at the end of 3 innings (or 2½ if the home team is ahead), the remaining innings will not be played and the team who is ahead shall be awarded the victory. If the score is tied at the end of 6 innings, extra inning(s) may be played only if time remains in the time limit. If no time remains, the game ends in a tie. 10. The umpire will allow approximately 2 minutes between half innings for warm up pitches and infield warm up. The offensive team may supply a courtesy runner for the catcher. 1

2 Courtesy runners are allowed for the catcher that caught the previous inning only and only with 2 outs. The courtesy runner is optional and must be the batter that made the last out. If a courtesy runner is used, the catcher shall immediately begin putting on his equipment. In the event a team is not ready to begin an inning when the umpire-in-chief announces play, the umpire shall have the authority to begin awarding balls or strikes as appropriate depending upon which team causes the delay. 11. Every player on a team shall wear the same color uniform and hat. No player will be allowed to take the field without proper attire, including hat. No player shall wear jewelry, which includes but is not limited to necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and watches. Putting tape over these does NOT make it legal. The catcher is required to wear a protective cup. It is the coach s responsibility to ensure that all players are legally equipped to play. 12. Every player shall wear a batting helmet, while batting, on deck, running the bases or coaching a base. 13. The pitcher may pitch up to 4 innings in a game. If a pitcher pitches more than 2 innings in a game he is not eligible to pitch the next game. Once a pitcher is removed from that position, he will not be allowed to pitch again in that game. One pitch constitutes a full inning for the pitcher. 14. Throwing curveballs or sliders is prohibited. Penalty: If an umpire suspects that a pitcher is throwing curves or sliders, the pitch will be called a ball regardless of the pitch location or whether or not the batter swings and the pitcher will be given a warning. Further violations of this rule will result in the pitcher being removed from the mound for the remainder of the game. 15. There shall be no balks. 16. No new inning will start after the one hour forty-five minute time limit. If the game is tied at the end of the 1:45 time limit, it will be scored as a tie. 17. The infield fly rule DOES apply. 18. The batter may not advance on a dropped third strike. The batter is out. 19. No metal cleats are allowed. 20. There shall be no intentional walks. 21. Base runners are required to slide feet-first at 2 nd base, 3 rd base & home plate, if a play is possible. The inevitability of a play will be at the discretion of the umpire. Example: If the ball is in center field, the base runner is not required to slide. The base runner who intentionally or maliciously collides with a baseman or catcher will be called out. A catcher can not block home plate unless he is in possession of the ball. 2

3 22. Time permitting, infield practice of 5 minutes per team will be allowed before each game. However, 5 minutes before game time, all infield practice shall be completed. All games will start promptly. 23. Any player arriving after the start of a game shall enter the game at the bottom of the batting order. All players in the team s line up must be present at the start of the game or be placed at the bottom of the line up upon arrival. 24. No extra equipment will be allowed in the field of play. 25. No coach shall be in the field of play, except those coaching a base or for a conference as allowed by the umpire. Coaches not coaching a base or participating in a charged conference should be on the other side of the fence in the immediate vicinity of their dugout. (for example; coaching/watching from the bleachers or behind home plate is prohibited) 26. When a bat is thrown in a manner that causes the umpire to be concerned about safety, the umpire shall immediately warn the offending team. Upon the next infraction by that team, the ball will be immediately dead and the player violating the rule shall be called out. All runners will return to the base occupied at the time of the pitch. 27. In case of rain, call the Homefield Representatives one hour before game time. Home field Representatives are: Milford: Shane Bucher (574) Syracuse: Pat Moore (574) North Webster: Starr Senter (574) The coaching staff for a team is allowed 3 defensive conferences per game. A defensive conference means a trip to the mound without replacing the pitcher or any other defensive conferences on the playing field during an inning. After the third (beginning on the 4th) defensive conference, the pitcher shall be removed. 29. Each team shall have 7 players in order to play the game. Any team with less than 7 players shall forfeit the game. A MINOR league player, or a player from a developmental league (coach pitch or T-ball) on the roster of a team from that town may be used if the coach feels it s necessary to provide an adequate number of players for the game. If a minor league player is used, he/she shall be placed at the end of the batting order and play only the minimal number of innings in the field if a player on the original roster is available. A minor league player will not be allowed to miss one of his/her minor league games to play in a major league game. 30. When a team starts with less than 9 players, or during the course of the game drops below 9 players, one out will be taken each time that spot(s) in the batting order comes to bat. The only time an automatic out is taken is if a team plays with less than 9 players. If a 3

4 team drops below 9 players and another player becomes available (for example, a player shows up late), that player may take the previously vacant spot in the batting order. 31. No participant (player, coach or team representative) may taunt opposing player(s). No participant shall shake or bang on the fence in a distracting manner. In the event of a violation of this rule, a team warning will be issued. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players. Coaches who do not control their teams may be restricted to the dugout and/or ejected if the conduct is severe enough. The offender may also be ejected if the umpire judges the act to be severe in nature. 32. Sportsmanship and Bench Decorum: The first time a coach is ejected from a game, he/she will be suspended for the team s next game. If a coach is ejected for the second time in a season, he/she will be suspended for the next 2 games. The third time a coach is ejected will result in him/her being dismissed from his/her coaching duties for the remainder of the year. Suspended coaches may NOT be present during the games for which they are suspended. 33. A player or coach may verbally request an appeal of an umpire s call. Any appeal must occur before the next pitch is thrown. A judgment call may be appealed by (first) asking the umpire who made the call to seek assistance from the second umpire. The umpire who made the call has the right to deny the appeal at which time his call is final; or if he wishes, the umpire making the call may ask the second umpire s assistance and such umpire may affirm or overrule the initial decision. To properly make an appeal, a coach must first request time out. 34. Conferring with the WCYL UIC If the WCYL UIC is present at the game site, the umpires working the game may choose to confer with him/her to interpret a rule. The umpires will not confer with the UIC on judgment calls. The umpires are not required to confer with the UIC, but may do so if they choose. If the UIC is not present, or if the umpires working the game choose not to confer with the UIC, the ruling made on the field by the umpires will be final. 35. Except as otherwise specified in these rules, players may be freely substituted in defensive positions. 36. The home team will keep the official scorebook. Teams should reconcile the scorebook after each inning. 37. The schedule must be followed if at all possible. If a team has enough players to start the game, the game SHOULD NOT be rescheduled. If there is a situation where rescheduling a game cannot be avoided, this must be done by Wednesday of the week prior to which the game was originally scheduled to be played. The WCSL UIC and the local boards must also be notified no later than this. No games will be rescheduled after this deadline. 4

5 Tournament Play Teams will be seeded based on overall records during league play. Ties will be broken using the following guidelines: 1. Head to head wins 2. Runs allowed throughout the season (if this information is available prior to each team s last regular season game) 3. Coin toss If the tie is between 1 st and 2 nd place, co-champions will be declared. The above tiebreaker will be used to determine the #1 seed in the tournament. All playing rules for the tournament will remain the same with the following exceptions: 1. Pitching limitations reset prior to the first tournament game. The result is all pitchers are eligible to pitch in the team's first tournament game. After that, the previous restrictions apply. 2. Games will be played to completion. There will be no time limit on tournament games. Games will not be shortened due to weather. If a game is stopped due to weather, the game will be resumed from the point at which it was suspended. 10-run and 15-run rules still apply. 3. The team with the higher seed will be the home team and have their choice of dugout regardless of the playing site. Revised February, 2017-Rule 21 was changed to require a base runner to slide at 2 nd base, 3 rd base & home plate). 5