WEST HERNANDO ATHLETIC CLUB FOR SENIORS SOFTBALL RULES & LAWS

Transcription

1 WEST HERNANDO ATHLETIC CLUB FOR SENIORS SOFTBALL RULES & LAWS The following WHACS Softball League Rules shall be in effect for the softball season, and shall remain in effect until properly changed, amended, altered, and/or revised in accordance with the WHACS By-Laws. All previous editions are voided and are to be considered obsolete. It is the responsibility of each and every WHACS Softball League Player to follow, adhere, comply and support the Softball League Rules. Individuals violating the provisions of these rules may subject themselves to corrective action by the League. WHACS Softball will be governed by a Player Committee, herein referred to as the Committee. At least one member of the Committee will be in attendance at each official game. I WHACS LEAGUE RULES (GENERAL): 01. NSA rules will apply unless pre-empted by a WHACS rule stated herein. The purpose of the Rules is to assure competitive and consistent play for all concerned. 02. All players must reach the age of fifty-five (55) or older during the season in order to play. 03. Once the Umpire declares Play Ball, only those who have signed the WAIVER are allowed in a dugout or on the playing field. 04. SEASON s SCHEDULE FORMAT: a. REGULAR SEASON: 1) Regular season shall be two seasons, Fall (Sep-Dec) and Spring (Jan-Apr); producing first-half and second-half winners. 2) Canceled Games: Time and schedule permitting, canceled games will be made-up with the following consideration; the Committee will attempt to balance the number of games played by each team. Secondary consideration will be to resolve ties for First Place. b. PLAYOFFS: 1) End-of-season ties will be decided by head-to-head competition; if there is a tie, winning percentage (of both half seasons) shall be used to determine the winner, 2) Best two-of-three playoff will declare the League Championship, 3) Should the same team win both halves; the League Championship tournament shall be skipped. 4) A full-league double elimination will follow the League Championship (seeded by both halves Won- Lost added together), 5) No Pick-Up or Pool Players allowed in Post-Season play. 05. GAME TIMES: a. Regular games shall be played on Monday-Wednesday-Friday (Any team plays TWO games/week), b. First game will start at 9:00am; second at 10:30am, c. January/February games will be moved back to 9:30am/10:00am and 11:00am/11:30am, d. Game times shall revert back to 9:00am and 10:30am in March, 06. SPONSORS UNIFORM: a. Players, who have been issued a uniform, MUST wear the Sponsor s shirt, at all times, when playing in an official game, b. If uniform is altered, in any way, player will be ineligible to play until uniform is corrected, c. Players will have the choice of wearing their TEAM s hat or NO hat, smk 09/26/2017 page 1

2 d. If a player doesn t have his uniform, the (on-site) Committee rep will determine if the reason is reasonable enough to allow him to play. 07. HOME TEAM s FIELD RESPONSIBILITES: a. Home team dugout is on first base line, b. HOME teams will provide the Umpire with a game ball and a good backup ball, c. After each game, the home team manager will keep BEST ball (for next game) and place the other ball in a MARKED BUCKET in the shed (for WHACS to recycle) d. FIRST game: the HOME team will lay out the bases, line the field, etc to get field ready to play, e. SECOND game: the HOME team will put all bases, scorekeeper table, etc away, f. POSSIBLE EXCEPTION: Bases (ONLY) will be left on the field ONLY if the SSIL is playing the second game. 08. PLAYER POOL: a. Players, not placed on a team, will be assigned to the Player Pool. b. Anyone refusing to enter the pool shall be entitled to a refund. c. New applicants and WHACS player with less than two (2) consecutive WHACS seasons will have an evaluation try-out. The Committee will rate them as A (Best), B or C, d. POOL players will remain in the pool until there are enough Pool Players to evenly distribute amongst the teams. 09. TEAM ROSTERS and PLAYER RE-ASSIGNMENTS: a. A team roster will be a maximum of 15 players, b. MANAGERS may approach the Committee about perceived uncompetitiveness and/or imbalance of their team, c. If it is deemed that teams are NOT competitively balanced, the Committee may re-assign players as needed, d. the Committee will ATTEMPT to gain agreement from both managers and players involved before moving any player. 10. MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES: a. Smoking is NOT ALLOWED in the dugout, near the dugout entrance, on the field or outside the fence (less than 10 ), b. Managers are responsible to remove that player from the game; result is an out when it s the removed player s turn to bat. 11. UMPIRES RESPONSIBILITY: a. Profanity, from any WHACS member, will NOT be permitted in the dugout, on the field or outside the fence (within 10 ), b. Offender will receive one warning, per game, before being ejected. 12. EJECTIONS: a. Any ejected player shall IMMEDIATELY be removed from the game and MUST vacate the vicinity of the ball field, (1) The player s spot in the batting order will be an out, (2) Teams with less than 11 players will play short for the remainder of the game, (3) The player will also be suspended for the team s next scheduled game, b. Fighting, with contact, will result in a 10 game suspension, (1) The suspension will run through any playoffs and will extend into the start of the next season, (2) It is the Committee s discretion to suspend player(s) based on the seriousness of the offense, (3) Player(s) may NOT appeal this suspension nor be at the field while suspended. smk 09/26/2017 page 2

3 13. QUITTING a TEAM or THE LEAGUE: a. A player, quitting his team, once the season has started, without a legitimate reason (as determined by the Committee) will be suspended for one year from the date of his action, b. The manager shall notify the Committee of any player quitting his team, c. There will be NO DUES REFUND, d. Such player(s) MUST APPLY, in writing to the WHACS BoD), for re-instatement to play in subsequent seasons. 14. SUSPENSION of PLAYERS: a. The Committee has the authority to suspend a player for disrupting the team or for conduct detrimental to the league. Suspension shall be for the remainder of the game being played PLUS a minimum of the next two (2) games that his team plays, b. The manager will report the incident, IN WRITING, to the Committee for both review and approval before any action other than the immediate dismissal from the game, c. Player(s) involved may appeal their suspension. The appeal must be submitted, to the Committee, IN WRITING, at their team s next scheduled game, after the initial suspension. 15. PROTESTS: a. Protests must be declared at the time of possible infraction and the Umpire (or ScoreKeeper) will annotate the ScoreSheet (noting time and inning), b. Protests (with a $15 Protest Fee must be submitted by the (protesting) manager, to the Committee, in writing within 72 hours, c. The written protest must explain, in explicit detail and citing what rule(s) were violated, d. The Committee will base his decision on NSA/WHACS rules and respond within 48 hours to the manager, e. The Committee s ruling will be final, f. $15 fee will be returned (to the protesting manager) if Protest is upheld. II PLAYING THE GAME: 01. THE BALL (COR / COMPRESSION): a. WHACS will use a 44/375 Trump softball (used in Florida Half Century). 02. HOME PLATE(s): a. Home plate has been widened to 19 by 35, b. A SECOND home plate (regular size) shall be placed, in line with the first base line, eight feet (8 ) past the Main Plate, c. Plays at home are simple force plays. The runner must touch the outer plate BEFORE the catcher, with the ball, touches the main plate, d. Catcher may use ENTIRE home plate for plays at home, e. A (second) base line shall be drawn from third base to the second plate, f. A Commit Line shall be drawn, perpendicular to the foul line, 20 from the second plate. g. If a runner touches or passes the Commit Line, he MUST proceed towards home. 03. FIRST BASE: a. First base consists of a WHITE base and an ORANGE base (in foul territory), b. If initial play can be made at first; batter must touch orange base (to be safe), fielders must touch white base (to be out). Runner is out if he touches the white; safe if fielder touches the orange, c. If initial play can NOT be made to first; runner may touch the white bag and round to move towards 2B. 04. GAME DURATION: a. Games shall be (minimum of) eight (8) innings, smk 09/26/2017 page 3

4 b. Mercy rule is twelve (12) runs after six (6) innings; twenty (20) after four (4) innings, c. EXTRA INNINGS: 1) If game is tied after eight (8) innings, the LAST OFFICIAL batter of the previous inning will occupy second base, 2) The last batter must touch second base prior to time being called to request a courtesy runner. 05. LINEUP CARDS: a. Managers shall provide their line-up sheet to the official scorer ten (10) minutes before game time. b. Official scorer will then pass line-ups to opposing managers. 06. REPLACEMENT PLAYERS: a. GENERAL: 1) Short-handed teams can pick up ONE or TWO replacements to in order to field 11 players, 2) Teams trying to field 8 will be forced to play 10; missing player s turn at bat will be SKIPPED, 3) Replacements, assigned the night before, MUST play a minimum of three (3) innings unless the REPLACEMENT chooses not to, 4) Late arriving players: a) If team is playing less than 11; late-arrival will go directly in lineup batting at bottom, b) If team is playing 11+; late-arrival must sit until his replacement plays 3-innings and, then, assumes replacement s position in lineup. 5) Replacements will NOT be allowed to play in any playoffs nor tournaments b. RESPONSIBILITIES (PLAYERS and MANAGERS): 1) PLAYERS MUST notify their manager at least ONE day before any game they will miss (so managers can secure a replacement), 2) MANAGERS must notify the designated Committee member a need for replacement(s) if 11 can NOT be fielded, 3) The Committee will attempt to satisfy the manager s needs with players of equal talent (to those missing). c. PLAYER POOL(s) MANAGEMENT: 1) The MAIN POOL (see section I, 08) MUST BE EXHAUSTED before delving into the VOLUNTEER POOL. 2) Each manager will provide the Committee with THREE volunteers (to create a VOLUNTEER POOL); ONE A, ONE B and ONE C player, 3) If a team does NOT supply the 3 volunteers, then that manager will not RECEIVE an equivalent replacement if/when needed (for instance, a team supplies ONLY a B and C ; then this manager will NOT receive any A replacements from VOLUNTEER POOL) 4) When a team needs a replacement, The Committee will ATTEMPT to select a Pool Player based on the missing player s rating, 5) If an equivalent player can not be secured, then the Committee will move down a rating level until a replacement can be made. 07. GAME TIME REPLACEMENT: a. If a team loses a player during the game (injury or other justified reason) they can NOT pick up a replacement if they can still field 11 but, that player s turn at bat will not count as an out, b. If a team cannot continue to field 11; the Committee will attempt to replace the lost player with a replacement with equal ability, 08. LINEUPS and EH (same as DH for WHACS purposes): a. Manager must bat all his players who show up to the game, b. Player/Managers are considered PLAYERS and MUST bat (per 08 a above) in ALL his team s games, c. Players, not assigned to a position in the starting 11, will be identified as EH (for scorekeeping only), smk 09/26/2017 page 4

5 d. Players, including EH, may play any fielding position but MUST remain in the original batting order, e. Minimum play: 1) Each player in the lineup desiring to play in the field (defense), shall be afforded the opportunity to play a minimum of three (3) innings, 2) When the game is shortened due to weather or run rule, the rule is waived. 09. PITCHING and the PITCHING SCREEN: a. Each batter will start out with a 1 ball; 1 strike count; no courtesy foul, b. Pitched ball must arc between 6-12, c. Umpire will say (the word) ILLEGAL (loud enough for batter to hear) as soon the arc peaks (so batter has adequate time to decide about swinging, d. A Pitching Screen will be used in all games: (1) Once ball is released, pitcher MUST move behind the screen, (2) Once ball is hit, he is free to move outside the screen to attempt to field the ball, (3) If, in the Umpire s opinion, the pitcher touches a ball WITHOUT moving/remaining behind screen first; Umpire shall declare a DEAD BALL and award batter first base with any forced runners moving up one base also, (4) Umpire will issue pitcher a warning for first offense; removed from mound for second, e. A batted ball, which hits the screen directly off the bat, shall be declared a foul ball and treated as any other foul ball. 10. COURTESY RUNNERS: a. Teams may use unlimited courtesy runners BUT each courtesy runner may be used only ONCE per inning, 11. FIVE-RUN RULE: a. The 5-Run Rule WITHOUT Catch-Up will be used, b. From 4th inning on; Catch-Up is allowed to solely to avoid a mercy, c. 5-Run Rule is waived from 8th inning on. 12. ON-DECK BATTER: a. Manager must ensure his next batter is in, or moving towards the On-Deck Circle when the current batter steps into the batter s box, b. Umpire will NOT allow a pitch to be thrown (at his discretion). 13. PROTECTED HITTER (PH): a. The premise of this rule is to ensure the batter the opportunity to swing at a minimum of one pitched strike. b. The team manager has the option of selecting two (2) batters designated as PROTECTED HITTER (PH). c. The PH may be intentionally walked only under one of the following conditions: 1) A PH may be walked after receiving a second strike, either called or swung at. The PH has the option of accepting the walk anytime after the 4th ball is pitched, 2) Once per game, the opposing team may intentionally walk a PH regardless of any other limitation or the result of any other turn at bat. The two PHs must be identified in the scorebook prior to the start of the game. d. Pool players may not be a PH. smk 09/26/2017 page 5