2. Managers are responsible for their coaches and fans and to promote an atmosphere of good sportsmanship.

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1 A. MISSION The Nesconset Athletic Association (NAA or league) is dedicated to developing and enhancing the skills of young baseball and softball players through competition while maintaining a high degree of good sportsmanship. B. GENERAL RULES 1. Zero tolerance for cursing, yelling at the umpires or players, gesturing or fighting, or any other type of misconduct. This applies for all managers, coaches, parents and players. 2. Managers are responsible for their coaches and fans and to promote an atmosphere of good sportsmanship. 3. Umpires are not to be berated and judgment calls are not to be questioned. Only players may request time out from an umpire. 4. If a question arises pertaining to a rule interpretation, the team manager, and only the team manager, shall have a cordial discussion with the umpire. 5. Alcoholic beverages and foul or abusive language or gestures are strictly prohibited. This includes players, coaches and fans. Violations of this rule will result in immediate ejection. 6. Throwing of equipment may result in ejection from the game and may include suspension from another game.

2 7. Fighting will result in ejection from the game and a subsequent suspension determined by the league. 8. Field areas should be kept clean and free of litter. All equipment should be kept in the dugout and away from the playing area. 9. Only team personnel are allowed in the dugout. Everyone else (parents, friends, relatives, family members) are to stay in designated areas to view the game. An umpire may hold up a game or a give a warning until people are in the appropriate spot. 10. Smoking or tobacco products are prohibited on the field or in the dugouts. 11. All injuries must be reported immediately to the league. NAA contact information is ( , NAA P.O Box 736, Nesconset, NY, 11767, nesconsetaa@gmail.com) 12. All players must bat in the lineup and play an approximate equal amount of time. This will be enforced by having no player sitting a second time until each player has sat once. No player shall sit a third time until each player has sat twice. Failure to comply with this rule will result in disciplinary league action. 13. The manager is permitted to visit the mound twice in any inning per pitcher per game without removing the pitcher. Any visit in excess of the allowed visits must be for the purpose of making a pitching change. A visit to the mound resulting from an injury is not to be considered as one of the allowable visits.

3 C. WEATHER CONDITIONS: LIGHTNING/THUNDER 1. Decisions regarding the league and/or town regarding cancellation of games are final. 2. Once the game starts, if an umpire feels that weather conditions are not conducive to playing the game, his decision becomes final. 3. As soon as lightning is visible or thunder is heard, the game must be stopped by the umpire. 4. Play may continue after a 15 minute wait. If there is a second lightning/thunder incident, after the 15 minute wait, the game is cancelled. 5. If a started game is cancelled due to inclement weather, and it is cancelled before it comes an official game, the game must be replayed from the first inning unless both managers agree to continue from the point of cancellation, along with league approval. D. GROUND RULES 1. Division rules will be discussed with the managers, coaches and division coordinators at the managers meeting. 2. Ground rules will be discussed between the managers and the umpire prior to the start of each game. A coach can fill in for the manager if the manager is not available. 3. Every effort should be made to play the games as scheduled.

4 E. EQUIPMENT, UNIFORMS, RECORDS 1. Batting and running helmets are mandatory. 2. Batters must wear helmets with protective cages in divisions: K, 1 st, 2 nd and National in baseball and Juniors and Minors in Softball. 3. Hats must be worn by all players and shirts must be tucked in at all times. 4. No jewelry can be worn by players. 5. All players must wear NAA uniforms and hats supplied by the league. Any other uniforms or hats (travel apparel) will be prohibited. 6. Each catcher must wear a protective cup, mask, throat protector, hard hat, chest protector and chin guards during games and while warming up the pitcher between innings. 7. Bats must be in good condition and not altered in any unauthorized matter. Aluminum bats must have a welded handle. Bats having anything other than straight handles are illegal. All aluminum bats must have a handle grip. 8. The umpires may remove from the game any equipment that they deem unsuitable or unsafe for competition. 9. Metal spikes are prohibited in all divisions. 10. Wood bats are permitted in any division. There is no "minus" requirement for a wood bat.

5 F. LINE-UPS Prior to the start of each game, team managers will be responsible for exchanging a line up containing the name and uniform number of all players listed in the order in which they will bat. Any changes in the lineup after the initial exchange must be immedialty brought to the attention of the opposing manager. G. SUBSTITUTIONS 1. Since all players will be batting in the lineup, there are no substitutions. If a player arrives late to a game, he may be added to the end of the lineup without penalty. 2. If a player must leave the game for any reason, his position in the batting lineup can be skipped without a recorded out or other penalty. If that same player returns to the game, he must re-enter the batting order in the same position that he left. 3. There is unlimited defensive substitution, with the exception of pitcher. 4. A team must have 7 or more players prior to the start of the game. If one team starts short players the opposing must lend up to 2 players to help the team field in the inning. We do not want forfeits so we expect all managers to comply with this rule. 5. If the home team has 7 players but the away team is short players, the away team is permitted to bat while waiting for the 7th player to show. If a manager knows he will be without 7 or more players he should notify the opposing manager before game day to try to reschedule the game.

6 H. FORFEITS A Forfeit will be awarded under the following circumstances: 1. A team is not ready to play after 15 minutes after scheduled game time. 2. A team is unable to field at least 7 players throughout the entire game. 3. Under misconduct or poor sportsmanship by a manager, coach or players, the umpire will have the right to stop the game and forward a report to the league for that team to forfeit a game. I. PROTESTING A GAME 1. The only person who may protest a game is the team manager or the person in charge of the team. 2. The only grounds for protesting a game is the decision of the umpire based on interpretation of the rules. Judgement calls made by the umpire are not grounds for protesting a game. 3. The protest must be made immediately prior to the resumption of play and indicated to the umpire in a highly visible manner. 4. The protest may be removed at any time during or immediately after the game. 5. After conferring with the umpire in charge and establishing the grounds of the protest, the protesting manager will make a note of pertinent game information of the time of the protest. 6. The umpire in charge will state that the game is being played under protest, and after checking accuracy, the umpire in charge will make a note of this in the scorebook.

7 7. The protesting manager must notify the league within 24 hours after the completing of the game that there is a protest. The protest should be either ed to the league at nesconsetbaseball@optonline.net or phoned in at The fee for protesting a game is $ After review, the league will make a decision as promptly as possible, and if the protest of the game is upheld the game will be resumed at the point of the protest. The $25 fee will be returned if the protest is valid. J. MAKE UP GAMES The procedure for rescheduling any game is as follows. 1. The two managers must agree on a makeup game. 2. Once the managers agree, the home team manager will contact the division coordinator with a request for rescheduling. 3. The division coordinator will contact the In-house coordinator to determine when a field is available and the in-house coordinator will give the division coordinator a date and time. 4. The division coordinator will advise both coaches that the game has been rescheduled. If this date and time doesn t work for the teams in question then the in-house coordinator will supply alternative dates and times that might be acceptable. 5. Managers cannot reschedule any games on their own.

8 K. BASE RUNNERS 1. There are no courtesy runners permitted. The speed up rule, for catchers only, may be applied, if there are two outs. This rule is to be applied at the manager s discretion in divisions that allow it. 2. The speed up rule requires the player who recorded the last out to pinch run. In the event of an injury, a temporary runner may be used. This will also be the player who recorded the last out. L. INJURY OR ILLNESS 1. Any player who receives a substantial injury must be removed from play for the remainder of the day. Any player rendered unconsicous during a game shall not be permitted to play in subsequent games without a written authorization from a physician. All substantial injuries must be reported within 24 hours to the league. M. CONDUCT A manager, coach or player shall not: A. Deliberately throw a bat or a helmet. B. Call time or use any command or commit any act for the purpose of trying to cause a mistake by the opposing team. C. Use words or acts to incite spectators, or use profanity, gestures or remarks, which reflect upon an opposing player, umpire, or spectator. D. Stand behind the backstop in an attempt to distract the opposing team. E. Use amplifiers or bullhorns on the bench or on the field during the course of the game. F. Maliciously run into a fielder.

9 G. Have any object in his possession in the coach s box other than a scorebook. H. Be outside the vicinity of the field, bench, on-deck circle or bullpen area. I. Verbalize in any way with the opposing team for the purpose of intimidation. J. Exhibit behavior that is not in accordance with the spirit of fair play. K. Failure to comply with any of the rules may result in the game being forfeited. N. PENALTIES TEAM CONDUCT 1. For a first offense, the manager, coach and / or player(s) may be suspended. 2. Upon subsequent offenses by the same manager, coach, and/or players, the manager, coach, and/or player(s) may be barred from NAA for the remainder of the season. 3. Managers and coaches are solely responsible for the conduct of the parents of their players. 4. Umpires will report any manager, coach, player or organization that violates these rules. Records of these complaints will be kept on file by NAA for further reference. 5. Any person or team who receives two or more complaints by league officials will be subject to review by the league and suspension from league may be imposed. 6. When a manager, coach, player or parent is ejected from a game they must leave the field immediately. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the game. Note: an ejected person should not be able to be seen or heard by the umpire.

10 O. BARRELING No base runner is permitted to barrel into another player. A base runner should slide, give himself up or go around a defensive player. If in the judgment of the umpire, unnecessary contact is made which could be considered potentially dangerous, the umpire must eject that player and call the runner out. P. THROWING BATS If a batter throws his bat after hitting the ball in any manner that could cause harm to another player, the umpire will issue a warning to the player and the manager of the team. Q. PLAYOFF FORMAT Teams with best record are home team throughout playoffs. The playoff schedule varies from division to division. You will be notified of playoff structure as it develops. Teams are seeded by standings. Once the 1 st round is played, the remaining teams get reseeded based on standings again. The procedure applies to all rounds until there is a winner. R. TIEBREAKERS 1. Will be determined by head to head competition. If still tied A coin toss with managers and representative from the league All playoff games scheduled by the league are final.