Twn f Crested Butte Parks and Recreatin Department 507 Marn Avenue P Bx 39 Crested Butte, CO 81224 recreatin@crestedbutte-c.gv www.crestedbutterec.cm 970-349-7197 CRESTED BUTTE SOFTBALL RULES AND REGULATIONS 2017 Updated 05/25/2017 CAPTAINS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THEIR TEAMATES ARE AWARE OF AND ABIDE BY THE RULES AND REGULATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS PACKET. Get yurself and yur teammates familiar with ur website, www.crestedbutterec.cm. All f yur infrmatin regarding game times, lcatins, standings, make-ups, etc. will be available nline. Additinally, all game schedules will be psted inside the equipment bxes. Rule #1: HAVE FUN!!! Rule #2: Obey all Twn f Crested Butte Park Rules. Alchl: Only 3.2% alchl by vlume cntent beverages in cans are allwed in Twn f Crested Butte park facilities. Beer is nt allwed n the field f play during games. Glass is nt allwed at any Crested Butte ball field. Dgs: Dgs are nt allwed at any Crested Butte ball field. Sprtsmanship: All players, captains, caches, umpires, and spectatrs will exhibit gd sprtsmanship. CAPTAINS are ultimately respnsible fr the cnduct f their players and fans. The use f prfanity and abusive language by anyne is prhibited. All leagues (Recreatinal, Cmpetitive, and Men s) must realize this is recreatin, which is ccurring in a public park, and mst seriusly, children are present. The Parks & Recreatin Department empwers the umpires t enfrce gd sprtsmanship. Games may be stpped at any time fr enfrcement. Furthermre, players may be ejected frm games and park facilities. Spectatrs may be ejected frm park facilities. Captains may be ejected due t the actins f their players and/r spectatrs in additin t r separately frm their players/spectatrs being ejected. If additinal enfrcement is necessary, call 911, r fr nn-emergency calls, lcal law enfrcement can be reached via the nn-emergency number at Gunnisn Dispatch 970-641-8200. Player Eligibility & Rsters: Players are nt rstered until they cmplete and sign the Liability Waiver n the team rster. Players must sign rsters prir t playing! If a player plays in a game prir t signing their team s rster, all f the fllwing will ccur: That game will cunt as a negative game twards that player btaining their eligibility fr playffs. The team that plays an ineligible player will frfeit their last win. Fr every ineligible player in every game, the team will be fined $10. Example: Tw (2) ineligible players play n Tuesday night, and ne (1) n Thursday night will be three ineligible players ttal, fr a $30 fine. This fine must be paid by 5:00 pm three (3) business days prir t the team s first playff game, r they will be ejected frm the league until the fine is paid in full. Players must be 18 years f age r lder as f June 6, 2017 r Players under 18 must be 16 r lder as f June 6, 2017 and either Play n a team cnsisting nly f players wh are 16 r 17 years ld as f June 6, 2017 r
Play n the same team with their parents/guardians and with their parent/guardian present at every game Players must play a minimum number f games t be eligible fr playffs, which is half the number f games yur team played minus ne Additins t the rster will be accepted until 5:00 pm Friday, July 7, 2017. Guest Players may be added after this date, but will nt be eligible fr playffs. Rsters will be cllected after the first night s games They will be brught t all ther games fr the first week f the seasn nly. After the first week, all players wishing t add t a rster must cntact their team captain. The Seasn: Regular seasn schedules will be available Wednesday, May 31 nline at www.crestedbutterec.cm Adult Sftball then lk under Frms and Links. They will be e-mailed t the captains as well. All games will start at either 5:00 p.m. r 6:30 p.m. The regular seasn will be played: Tuesdays & Thursdays r Wednesdays beginning June 6 Games will be played n Pitsker, Gthic and Tmmy V Fields. Nte: yuth leagues have pririty ver field usage Regular Seasn Standings: 1. Win Percentage 2. Head t Head Recrd 3. Fewest Runs Against 4. Mst Runs Fr Playffs: Playffs begin immediately fllwing the regular seasn and frmat will be determined by number f teams. Playffs will cnclude August 16 & 17 The higher seeded team will be the hme team fr the entire turnament except fr the fllwing: Fr the Final Game(s): In the final game the team frm the winner s bracket will be the hme team fr the first final game. If a secnd final game is needed, then the hme and visiting teams will flip a cin t determine which team will have hme field advantage. Umpires: During regular seasn play, each team will prvide ne umpire fr the ther game at the same field f the same night (e.g. Team A & B play at 5:00 pm, they each prvide ne umpire fr the 6:30 pm game at the same field and vice versa fr the late game) Failure t meet yur team s umpire respnsibilities will change yur last win t a lss Umpires are respnsible t knw the rules f USSSA sftball, and everything in this packet NO SHOW umpires must be recrded in the screbk and the Parks and Recreatin Office must be ntified that night r the fllwing day T leave a message after hurs dial 970-349-7197 One cpy f the 2017 USSSA Sftball Rule Bk and this packet will be in each equipment bx thrughut the seasn. Playff umpires will be determined by captains vting fr their favrite umpires. A mandatry umpire training will take place prir t the start f playffs. Playff umpires will be paid. Screkeeping: Screbks are prvided in the equipment bxes. Be sure t prvide yur wn pen/pencil. Yu must fill in all f the pertinent details legibly. Filling in the screbks crrectly and legibly eliminates discrepancies and recrding errrs. See attached sheet fr a perfect example. Make sure t include: Players legibly written, subs written belw
Yu may put ne line thrugh the starters, but if they re scratched ut it will be assumed that they did nt play at all Runs per inning/ttal Runs after each inning Game Ttal fr bth teams, with yur team s scre first in bld and circled, with win r lss fr yur team (bth sheets). Umpires Signatures (bth sheets). Captains Signatures (bth sheets). Safety Rules: N metal cleats allwed N titanium bats N extra anything n field. This includes balls, bats, hats, glves, beers, clthing, etc. Rules: Ced rules apply t all female players and male players 60 years f age and lder. One and One Rule: The batter shall assume a ne-ball, ne-strike cunt upn entering the batter s bx. Curtesy Ful Rule: If the batter hits a ful ball n their first third strike they shall be awarded a curtesy ful and they will still nly have tw strikes. If they receive anther strike (their secnd third strike) in any frmat (ful, swung n, r lked at) they will be ut. N utfielder may advance inside the white line in the utfield while a ced player is at bat until the ball is hit. USSSA Fielder Rule. Ten players (a maximum f five male and a minimum f five ced players) with the fllwing psitining requirements: Tw males and tw ced players in the infield Tw males and tw ced players in the utfield One male and ne ced player in the pitching and catching psitins Infield players must be psitined in the infield prir t the ball being hit. This is a judgment call t be made by the umpires upn appeal frm the team captain prir t the hit. The infield area is defined n each fields as: Tmmy V Field within the base paths f the 90 base plugs. Gthic Field ne (1) step in the grass Pitsker Field In the skinned, dirt, infield area. The batting rder must alternate between males and ced players A maximum f fur (4) extra hitters (EH) may be used in the batting rder EHs may be remved at any pint during the game Yu may nly add extra hitters prir t yur team ging thrugh the batting rder the first time A male (nt ced) batter wh walks, intentinally r nt, is autmatically awarded secnd base. (1) With less than tw uts, the ced batter must hit. (2) With tw uts, the ced batter has the ptin t either bat r take a walk. Frfeits: An ineligible player cnstitutes a frfeit A frfeit will be given at 5:15pm and 6:45pm t teams with 7 r fewer players present A team may start with a minimum f seven players with a minimum f three ced players Teams that frfeit still need t supply umps fr the ther game A NO SHOW r a FORFEIT is extremely rude and unacceptable After three strikes (three n shws) the delinquent team will be banned frm the league In a frfeit game the entire winning team gets credit fr playing the game The lsing team gets credit nly fr the players that were present and accunted fr n the scre sheet Rain Outs & Lightning: A dwnpur will make the field unsafe t play n. Lightning, 30 secnd then 30 minute rule need we say mre? See attached Wet Field Plicy
Traffic and Pedestrian Warning Signs: The Park Staff will place sftball-warning signs in the center f 6 th Street. Players at each field s late game must remve signs frm the traffic right f way. Disputing a call: Only team captains can cnfer with the umps when a call is questined. Players invlved shuld apprach their captains. Captains may nly apprach the umpires t review an interpretatin f a rule. Fr example, was the infield fly rule actually in play? Captains and players may never questin the judgment f an umpire, such as safe r ut. If a captain feels the ther umpire had a better view f a play, nly the captain can request a cnference f umpires. It is the authrity nly f the umpire wh made the initial call t change the call after a cnference if they s desire. Warm ups: All warm ups will be cncluded in a reasnable time Pitchers get five warm-up pitches at the beginning f the game and will be allwed three warm-up pitches between innings, (except fr new pitchers wh will be allwed five warm-up pitches) Time cnstraints: If ne team is ahead at 6:30 and the inning is cmpleted, the game is ver and the team ahead is awarded the win If the game is tied at 6:30pm, ne mre inning is allwed and all batters will start with a 3 ball, 2 strike cunt t determine winner. There is n curtesy ful allwed during extra innings. The last ut frm the previus inning starts as a runner n 2 nd base. If the game is still tied after this last inning, the game is ver & it will be recrded as a tie. It is the umpires respnsibility t ensure that games begin n time and are played in a timely fashin s that games finish in the time allwed Hme Runs: An ut-f-the-park hme run is awarded ONLY when the ball clears the safety nets, except at Tmmy V Field where a hme run is any ball that clears the eight ft chain link fence, in fair territry. All balls that hit the nets are live and in play (except at Tmmy V Field). If a ball is caught ff a net r fence, it des nt cunt as an ut. Any ball deflected ff a glve r any part f a defensive player and ver the hmerun fence (e.g. J. Cansec) will be cunted as a fur-base hit, and nt cunted as a hme run. The 4 and 1 up hmerun rule will be enfrced. Either team can hit up t 4 hme runs and then, the next hme run is a single (base runners advance like it was a ne base walk) unless the ther team has hit at least ne keeping the maximum difference f hmeruns at 4. Fr example, Team A can hit 4 hme runs and if team be has nt hit any yet, then team A s next hme run is a single. If team B hits ne hme run in the time perid that Team A hits 4, then team A s next hme run is still a hme run. 10 Run Rule: USSSA Run Rule/Flip Flp Rule will nt be in effect. All games will be played thrugh n matter the scre. 10 runs by a team will retire the side fr innings 1-5, then unlimited runs fr innings 6 & 7 It is the batting team s screkeeper s respnsibility t infrm the umpire and ppsing team when they have reached 10 runs. If they fail t d s Only 10 runs scred fr the inning will be cunted All at bats by any players (even thse that shuldn t have batted) will be cunted, they will nt be allwed t bat immediately again in the next inning
Bats: Only USSSA and mdel year 2014 r lder ASA apprved bats are allwed. All bats must have the USSSA r ASA stamp f apprval. Pitsker Field bats fr Men: Either a wden bat r specific single walled bats may used fr male batters at Pitsker. All single wall aluminum bats with MSRPs (manufacturer s suggested retail price) less than $75.00 will be permitted fr play at Pitsker Field upn department apprval. This des nt mean that the sale price yu get the bat fr n E-Bay cunts. It is the MSRP price that will be lked at. T get bats apprved yu will need t acquire a Crested Butte Parks & Recreatin sticker frm ur ffice. Bring the bat and a print ut f the bat and it s MSRP with picture t ur ffice during regular ffice hurs, Mn Fri 8:30 am 5:00 pm. Safe Base (1 st Base): The White Bag (left side) is the fielder s bag; the fielder must use this bag fr the tag The Orange Bag (right side) is the runner s bag; the runner must tag this bag in rder t be safe The Fielder must use the range bag t play frm in ful ball territry; in this case runner must use white bag Once runner reaches 1 st base, the safe base n lnger exists Safety Line: Once the runner has passed the 20ft cmmitment line frm hme plate, the runner cannt return t 3 rd base and must tuch a bdy part acrss the safety line in rder t be safe at hme. The safety line is an extensin f the 1 st base line past hme plate t the backstp. Only defensive players can tuch hme plate. Base runners may nly crss the safety line, which des nt include the plate. If the runner tuches hme plate, the runner will be ut and the ball will remain live. Situatins in which the runner may tuch hme plate: ut-f-the-park hmeruns, and if there is a play at the plate and the runner needs t tuch hme plate in rder t avid cntact and/r a cllisin during the play. If the runner has passed the cmmitment line, cntinues t run n the riginal ful line, and interferes with the fielder taking the thrw, a dead ball shall be declared and the runner is ut. Frce Play: A runner wh has been frced ut at a bag must get ut f the way f a defensive player attempting t make anther play, r the runner clsest t hme will als be called ut N verly aggressive play is permitted. Avid physical cntact at all times t prevent serius injuries Cnsequently, a runner is ut when a defensive player has the ball and the runner remains n his feet and deliberately and with frce, crashes int the defensive player. (Nte: If the act is determined t be flagrant, the umpire has the authrity t eject the ffender frm the game.) Curtesy Runner: An injured player may request a curtesy runner nly after they have made it t first base A male must run fr a male, and a ced fr a ced This runner must be the last male/ced batter ut If n matching male/ced player has been ut yet in the game, the male/ced up in the rder ahead frm the batter will be used If a curtesy runner s turn at bat cmes up while they are n base, they are declared ut in their at bat psitin Dead Ball Rule: Any ball batted, thrwn, deflected r carried ver the ut f play line immediately stps play. A batted ball caught in the ut f play area is dead and the batter is given a strike; the batter is nt ut. The ball is dead if it is beynd the ut f play line even if the fielder s feet are in play, except where a ball can be caught ver the fence while the player remains in the field f play, fr example: the utfield, and infield fences.
Player ejectin: 3 STEPS. #1 Warning #2 Ejectin frm Game #3 Ejectin frm the league Ntify the Rec ffice f all ffenders and make a nte in screbk *Depending upn the severity f the infractin, steps 1 and 2 may be bypassed and step 3 enacted at the Crested Butte Sftball Bard s discretin Appeals: Live Ball and Dead Ball Appeals. Refer t USSSA Rules. Quick Pitch: Pitcher has t pause fr a secnd after catching ball, befre pitching; therwise umpire can call n pitch due t quick pitch. This is similar t a balk in baseball. Fallen Runner: Only anther base runner can help a fallen runner. If smene falls and needs help getting up, n base caches are allwed t help. As sn as the fallen runner is tuched by anyne ther than anther base runner, the fallen runner is ut. Fake Tag: A defensive player may be called fr making a fake tag when they knwingly d nt have pssessin f the ball First ffense: A warning will be issued. Depending n the situatin the umpire may decide t award the base runner ne base If the runner is injured due t a fake tag, the player wh made the fake tag may be ejected and will be held respnsible fr any medical bills Batter s Bxes, Wildman s Rule The Batter s bx is an imaginary bx three (3) feet wide, n either side f hme plate. The bx length is determined by placing a bat at the back pint f hme plate, and laying the bat n the grund. The frnt f the bx is even with the end f the bat while it s tward secnd base. The back f bx is even with the bat when it is flipped tward the backstp.
Strike Zne The pitcher may release the ball frm the pitching rubber, r anywhere within an imaginary 2 W x 6 L bx extending directly behind the rubber tward secnd base. Pitches must be between 6 12 feet in height at the peak f their arc. The ball must hit any part f the black mat, r the back triangle f hme plate t be ruled a strike. See gray area f diagram. Infield Fly Rule (excerpts frm ASA Rules): Frm 2011 ASA Participant Manual: An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball, nt including a line drive r an attempted bunt, which can be caught by an infielder, pitcher, r catcher with rdinary effrt, when first and secnd, r first, secnd and third bases are ccupied, with less than tw uts.. (Recmmendatin: When a batter steps int the batter s bx, in a pssible infield fly situatin, the umpires shuld declare Infield Fly Rule in effect befre the first pitch.) The pitcher, and catcher and shall be cnsidered infielders fr the purpse f this rule. Frm ASA Online Rule Clarificatin: The definitin f an Infield Fly in the 2005 Official Rules f Sftball included the sentence, The runners can tag up nce the batted ball is tuched (prir t catching) the same as n any fly ball. When the 2006 Official Rules f Sftball was rerganized fr publicatin, the abve mentined sentence was remved because fly balls, as they pertain t when runners may attempt t advance, are all treated the same. When a fly ball is als an infield fly, runners have the same restrictins as n a nn-infield fly batted ball hit in the air. If the infield fly is caught, runners must tag up and MAY attempt t advance with liability t be put ut after the ball is tuched by a fielder. If the infield fly is nt caught, runners MAY advance with liability t be put ut the same as with any ther fly ball that is nt caught. Additinally, n an infield fly that is nt caught runners d NOT have t advance because the batter is ut, therefre remving the frce ut. T be declared ut in this situatin advancing runners must be tagged with a live ball while ff a base.