Simi Valley Baseball League 2010 Local League Rules Board Approved January 5, 2010 I. Introduction a. Simi Valley Baseball League (SVBL) is a member of the Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken League. SVBL provides a full range of baseball experience for children ages 4 through 18 years of age. b. The League is divided into eight separate divisions based upon the age of the players. The playing age is the child s age as of April 30, 2010. c. Division Ages (These are Target Age Groups) II. Rules Governance Cal Ripken Divisions: 1. T-Ball: 4-6 year olds 2. Coach Pitch: 6-7 year olds 3. Farm: 7-9 year olds 4. Minors: 9-12 year olds 5. Majors: 10-12 year olds Babe Ruth Divisions: 6. High School Prep: 13-15 year olds 7. Senior: 13-15 year olds 8. Pro Division: 16-18 year olds a. In addition to these local rules, each division has a set of division specific rules, the basis of which is governed by the SVBL Bylaws, the Official Major League Baseball Rule Book and Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken League Rules. b. Each manager, coach and player is required to abide by these rules and the rules of their division. The Executive Committee with a majority vote of the Board may implement rules in the name of safety or fair play at any time. An appointed Rules Committee comprised of selected Board Members will make an annual review of these local rules. III. Team Composition a. All prospective Managers and coaches will complete the manager/coach application. Manager candidates shall be interviewed by the Board appointed selection committee. The player agent will present all committee member approved candidates to the Board 1
of Directors for a vote for approval. Manager selections shall be governed by the needs of each division. Overall coaching experience, player retention, Babe Ruth League certification, approved background check, parental/guardian relationship with player, and the overall needs of the Simi Valley Baseball League will be factors for selection of team managers. (Ref: 10 factors discussed and used by Player Agents this year) b. Each team, with a NEW manager, is allowed one (1) manager option (manager s child or guardian). Each team will get one (1) coach option, for a designated assistant coach (player s parent) for the upcoming season, to be designated prior to tryouts. c. Each team will consist of a maximum of twelve (12) players for Farm, Coach-Pitch, and Tee-Ball. A maximum of eleven (11) players for Minor, Major, and Babe Ruth HSP. Minimum players on each team shall be in accordance with Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Rules. d. The team Manager must report the loss of a player to the Player Agent within 24 hours. After the Player Agent verifies this player loss, he/she will present to the manager the names of any player waiting for assignment. If no waiting list exists, the manager may select from a lower division a replacement player. This information and the movement of the player are to be administered by the Player Agent. The Player Agent shall instruct the manager that he has five (5) days to bring a player up from the division directly below his/her division if there is no waiting list in his/her division. Direct contact with the player to be brought up by the manager is not allowed without prior authorization from the Player Agent. Failure to choose a player that agrees to come to the team within (5) five days shall cause the player agent to immediately place a player on the team missing a player on the 6th day. 1. Draft Order: The order for the draft has been pre-determined as follows: The team with the LEAST returning and option pick players at the beginning of the draft will pick first. In the event that multiple teams have the same number of players, draft order will be determined by the 2009 final spring season standings, with the team lower in the standings being granted the earlier draft selection. If a tie exists in the standings, then the team that finished lower in the division playoffs will be granted the earlier draft selection. An expansion team, if applicable, will be awarded the first pick. In the event of multiple expansion teams, the draft order will be based on the total number of players each expansion team has prior to the draft AND follow the above rules. A coin-flip will be utilized when each expansion team has the same number of players. (Example: Expansion Team #1 has 3 players prior to the draft, (M/O), and a (S/O); while Expansion Team #2 has only 2 players, (M/O) and prior to the draft, Expansion Team #2 would pick ahead of Expansion Team #1.) Expansion teams will always pick ahead of returning teams; however, if a returning team has fewer players than an expansion team, that returning team shall pick ahead of the expansion team. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY INSTANCE WHEN AN EXPANSION TEAM WILL NOT HAVE THE FIRST PICK. 2
2. Option Picks: ALL CATEGORIES of Option Picks, M/O, C/O, S/O, will be placed in the first open slots on the draft card prior to any picks being made in the draft. All teams will have one coach option pick. This pick MUST be a new player to the division and SHALL be a child of a designated field coach. This field coach SHALL be verified by the player agent, prior to the draft. ONLY new managers to the division, without a child designated as a returning player to the division, will be allowed a manager option (M/O) pick. The manager MUST be the legal parent or guardian of the child used for this option pick. Sibling option(s) (S/O) shall be announced prior to the draft and are the brother or sister to another option player, returning player, or newly drafted player. S/O players SHALL be placed on the draft card, prior to the draft, when their sibling is a returning player on the same team. 3. Trading Players/Player Leaving Their Team: Trades between teams are allowed. The player agent will approve all trades. Returning players wishing to leave their existing teams may do so with just cause and Player Agent approval. At the beginning of the draft, the player requesting to leave his/her team will remain on the roster of their original team and the player agent MUST disclose that this player is eligible to be drafted. Once this designated player has been drafted, the player agent will stop the draft and award the team losing this player a Compensation Pick (C/P). This pick will be used immediately to replace the lost player. This (C/P) player will be placed in the draft slot originally occupied by the lost player. All players MUST report to the 2010 team that as drafted him/her. Calls to drafted players are required for Major Div.- 10 yr olds and Minor Div.- 8 yr olds. If a player, in the age groups described above, declines an appointment to one of these divisions, they shall be allowed to return to their lower division team. If a player cannot be contacted on draft night, the team drafting him/her will do so at their own risk. All players in this category that decline will not be allowed a mid-season promotion to the upper division that drafted them, for the balance of the season. All other draft eligible players that decline a draft appointment to an upper division will be returned to their lower division and placed into that division s draft pool. There will be no compensation pick for the original team, in this instance. All teams, including their original team, will be eligible to draft this player. All players that decline will not be allowed a mid-season promotion to the upper division that drafted them, for the balance of the season. If there is knowledge that a player may decline his/her draft, the player agent SHALL call the parents to verify. If this player declines, he/she SHALL be immediately placed in their originating division s draft. If a player cannot be contacted on draft night, the team drafting him/her will do so at their own risk. Players that DO NOT participate in tryouts shall be selected at the conclusion of the final round of the draft. A hat drawing, by draft order, shall be used. 3
RD 1 837 Dalton DeHart 811 Noah Rosen** 708 Matt Dodd 821 Diego Hernandez 810 Noah Balandran 916 Erik Brown 929 Colin Sonnemann 815 Avery Cook** 2 807 Brayden Arnold (M/O) 936 Dexter Stevens 933 Gavin Alvarado* 847 Joshua Valadez* 942 Brandon Nolfo 912 Kyle Zornes 939 Connor Beitz 909 Jack Marten 3 832 Jake Sebring 911 Jeffrey Nadybal 835 Zane Christie 907 Michael Maxson 840 Matthew White 822 Mark Horton 927 Justin Lawrence* 818 Anthony Aguirre 4 1 2 3 952 Justin McGee 829 Brianna Mitchell 918 Daniel Eidman 801 Spencer Odle 816 Calvin Asplund 5 6 5 4 706 849 714 926 Colin Mitchell Nicholas Nelson Conner Bernstein Cameron Russell (M/O) 601 713 999 6 7 8 9 10 Dominic Womack Dakota Orme Johnny Ballgame (M/O) 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 7 914 John Grant 913 Joseph Hart 820 Tyler Dobbs 8 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 9 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 10 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 11 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 12 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 4
The Draft (refer to the draft card example above): 1. Start by building your team from the top of your draft card (rounds 1, 2, and 3). Input the identified returning players (R/P) to your team on your card (returning players that declined an upper-division draft cannot be placed on your card). Option players shall be listed immediately following your returning players. 2. Expansion teams, then returning teams will be pre-listed, in draft order, based on the total number of returning players and option players each team has least to most. Teams with the same number of players shall have their draft order determined by the previous spring seasons final divisional record. If a returning team has fewer players than an expansion team, that returning team shall pick ahead of the expansion team. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY INSTANCE WHEN AN EXPANSION TEAM WILL NOT HAVE THE FIRST PICK. 3. The draft may now proceed with the expansion team(s) first (if applicable), then returning teams by order described above. The draft selection will snake from first team to pick to last team to pick in each round and alternate in subsequent rounds from last team to pick in the previous round picking first to team picking first in the previous round, etc. 4. You will be allowed a MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES to make a draft selection. Unless you want the draft to last all night, it is highly recommend that we all follow this rule. Player trades will be allowed at the conclusion of the draft, for a 60 minute period. The player agent must finalize all trades, prior to the end of this 60 minute period. 5. At the end of the draft, copies of the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken roster forms for your team will be distributed. All managers will fill out the roster forms and turn them into the Player Agent, prior to leaving the draft. Local Rules Additions Dealing with Draft Issues: 1. No skipping of divisions (i.e.: Farm to Majors). It is in the best interest of the player to experience all levels of play within Simi Valley Baseball League. Additionally, this rule discourages the building of teams for the future and focuses the attention on the current season as it should. Each player must participate in each division sequentially. Winter Ball can be used to meet this requirement. 2. 12 year olds: The Major Division should make every effort to draft all twelve year olds into the division. Twelve (12) year olds with little to no baseball skills shall be considered for Minors with the understanding that the Minor Division experience would benefit the development of the player(s) skills. Additionally, it is strongly encouraged that should a call-up to the Major division become necessary during the season, that any and all 12 year olds be taken first for the reasons stated in #1 above. Also, this would accelerate the player(s) development necessary to transition into the Senior (Babe Ruth) division the following season. 3. 10 and 8 year olds: The Major Division shall draft every eligible 12 year old, prior to ANY 10 year olds being drafted. The Minor division shall draft every eligible 12 and 11 year old prior to drafting ANY 8 year old. 5
4. A draft committee shall oversee each divisional draft to ensure the enforcement of the spirit of rules and that the overall benefit of the children participating in the SVBL is guaranteed. This draft committee shall prohibit the exploitation of any loop holes in the rules or of rules written poorly, leading to possible ambiguity. Upon discovery, the committee has the ability to modify the rule(s) to reflect its original intent. This draft committee will also determine the application of Rule #2 above (12 year olds). This committee shall be made up of; Baseball Operations, Player Agent, Player Development, and At-Large E-Board member.(not including the President) 5. Roster Maximums: The following roster maximums shall be observed for the Spring Baseball Season. A draft maximum will ideally be observed in order to leave open roster spots for late sign-ups. Draft Maximum (ideally) Season Roster Maximum - High School Prep: 11 players 12 players - Senior Division: 11 players 12 players - Major Division: 11 players 12 players - Minor Division: 11 players 12 players - Farm Division: 12 players 13 players - Coach-Pitch Div.: 12 players 13 players - Tee Ball Div.: 12 players 13 players 6. Trades: The trading period shall end 60 minutes AFTER the conclusion of a division s draft. Player movement after this trade period shall only be initiated by the player agent and MUST be for the well being of the child. 7. Choosing of teams by new coaches to a division is done by coaches names going into one hat and the first name picked gets to pick which team they want. If agreements can be made amongst all the coaches new to a division, no hat draw is necessary. 8. Baseball Operations, Player Agent and Player Development will rate high school returners with the help from the high school coaches and place them by the top player going to the worst team and then so on according to the standings. V. Game Preliminaries a. Completed line-up cards must be submitted prior to the start of each game. Copies of the line-up card go to the plate umpire, the Official Scorekeeper and the opposing manager. b. Line-up cards must have the complete name of the player and number. The starting pitcher to be used in the game shall be noted. For pitchers, number of innings pitched in the week SHALL be listed on the line-up card. Teams may start and play the game with eight (8) players. Once a team has less than 8 players, the umpire shall declare the game forfeit by the team with less than 8 players. c. The Umpires, Official Scorekeeper, and opposing manager are not to accept incomplete line-up cards. 6
d. All defensive substitutions shall be declared to the plate umpire to ensure that required playing time, for each player has been recorded. The plate umpire will report the substitution to the official scorekeeper to record the defensive replacement. e. In the event that a manager is late to the game, one of his/her coaches is to fill out the lineup card. Once it is submitted to the plate umpire, it becomes the official line-up f. The use of a cell phone or other communication device is NOT allowed on the field by ANYONE at any time. If a call must be made or taken then that person MUST leave the field, INCLUDING THE DUGOUT, for the duration of the call. The umpires shall warn the offender that compliance with this rule is absolute. VI. Score keeping a. The home team will be responsible for the official league score book. The official scorekeeper keeps the league score book for all divisions except T Ball and Coach Pitch. If the manager of the home team wants their score book kept, they are responsible for making that happen. b. A Scorekeeper from each team must be in close proximity to the plate umpire. c. The winning team managers will report the game score to their Player Agent following each game. Standings will be recorded and posted at the Snack Shack and the SVBL web site. VII. Game Participation a. Each team is allowed one (1) Manager and three (3) Coaches in the dugout. b. Players can base coach in Minors and above only if wearing a helmet. 1. Base Coaches must stay in the coaching box. A warning for an infraction will take place followed by an ejection. c. At the request of a parent or manager, a player may be benched for disciplinary reasons pending approval by the Player Agent. 1 The umpire and opposing manager must be notified prior to the start of the game as to the status of any benched player. This must also be reflected on the lineup card and in the official book. 2 A letter of discipline signed by the manager and the player s parent(s) must be filed with the Player Agent. 3 Abuse of this rule by managers and coaches may result in disciplinary action by the Executive Committee. 7
d. Both teams are responsible for field preparation (repair & water the infield and batter/catcher area) and trash removal before and after the game. The home team will be on the 3rd base side, except during double headers. e. After each game, the trash cans must be emptied if full and relined if necessary by the both teams. f. If time permits, both teams may conduct a pre-game warm-up on the infield. The visiting team will take pre-game warm up first. g. Both teams are responsible for clean-up of their dugouts and the stands after every game. h. Following the final game of each day, both teams will put the bases and all equipment in the supply bin, do the final field closure, and be sure that the equipment bin is locked. VIII. Regulation Games a. No game, where score is kept, will be considered complete if finished in a tie score. The game will be finished at the next scheduled meeting of the two teams, or as arranged by the Player Agent. b. All games that are tied at the end of regulation innings will continue if the regulation time has not expired. Tie games on weekdays will be allowed to continue for an additional 30 minutes, as daylight allows, with NO NEW inning starting after the 30 minute time. Once the inning starts it must be completed. The same rule applies to the last game on Saturdays, as needed. c. No game will be considered complete if it has been called for any reason, except a forfeit due to loss of players, prior to the completion of a regulation game. The game will be considered suspended, and will be finished from the point it was halted, when the next scheduled meeting of the two teams occurs, or as scheduled by the player agent. The continuation game must be completed before the scheduled regular game is started. d. In the event of a rescheduled or continuation game, the pitching eligibility that existed in the original game are in effect for the entirety of that re-scheduled game. This pertains to pitching eligibility, innings pitched etc. All other pitching rules and required rest must also be observed for the make-up game as well as any of the other regularly schedule games in that calendar week. e. All games shall be played as scheduled by the player agent of each division. Failure to field a team for rescheduled or suspended games will be cause for game to be forfeit by the team not able to start the game. The Player Agent will present recommendations to the Board for a decision. 1. A regulation game in the Cal Ripken Division is 4 innings (3 1/2 if the home team is ahead). 2. A regulation game in the Babe Ruth Division is 5 innings (4 1/2 if the home team is ahead). 8
f. Each division has their own established time limits. Please see division specific rules. IX. Equipment 1. The umpire will keep the official time. The official scorekeeper must record the official starting time in the score book. The official start time SHALL BE when the players are in their defensive positions, the first batter is in the box, and the plate umpire says, Play ball. (Per the MLB rule book) 2. For all divisions except T-Ball and Coach Pitch, game time is the official start time. If the minimum number of players is not present at the start of regulation time, there will be a 15- minute grace period before a forfeit is declared. 3. Once an inning has started, prior to the expiration of regulation time, it must be completed. The next inning is started immediately after the third out of the previous inning. 4. If at any time the home plate umpire deems that it is too dark to play or the weather or other factors make the playing conditions unsafe, the game will be halted and will be considered suspended unless it qualifies as a regulation game. 5. There will be no case in which any game will be allowed to continue past sunset, as established by the time printed in the league-designated guide. 6. If a game is ruled suspended, any player that has not played his/her required innings must be in the starting lineup for the continuation game. The player must remain in the game until his/her minimum innings for the game have been fulfilled. 7. The Ten (10) Run Rule will be in effect in all divisions except T-ball and Coach Pitch. After three and one-half (3 1/2) innings if the home team is ahead, or after 4 innings if the visiting team is ahead, and is leading the other team by ten (10) or more runs, the game will be considered a complete game. The 10 run rule applies in the senior division after four and one-half (4 1/2) innings if the home team is ahead, or after 5 innings if the visiting team is ahead. 8. There will be (1) one offensive timeout allowed for the coaching staff of each team per inning. Defensive timeouts are defined in the Official Rule Book. During all games and practices male players must wear a hard cup. Female players must wear a soft cup. All players shall wear shoes with cleats. Plastic or rubber cleats SHALL be worn in all of the Cal Ripken divisions. The Babe Ruth divisions shall be allowed to wear metal, rubber or plastic cleats. 9
X. Playoffs a. There are no playoffs in T-ball or Coach-Pitch divisions. b. All other Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth Divisions will follow the SVBL Board approved double-elimination playoff format. c. Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth tournament rules will apply to all SVBL Playoff games. d. Playoff seeding in each division SHALL be set based on the final regular season standings. The regular season will not be divided into halves. 1. Teams with identical regular season records: the higher seed will be determined by: a. Head to Head b. Least runs allowed c. Most runs scored d. A coin flip e. The higher seed in each playoff and championship game will be awarded home team, except: 1. In the event of a second championship game, the home team for the second game shall be determined by a coin toss. f. Each Division Playoff Champion will be the last pick in the following spring season draft, regardless of their final regular season finish. The balance of the draft order shall be determined by the reverse order of the win/loss records of the regular season. In the event of identical season ending records, a coin toss will determine draft position. XI. Tournament of Champions a. Tournament eligibility is decided for the Farm, Minor & Major Divisions by first taking the regular season Playoff Champion, and then the next two highest seed SPRING season teams. b. Example: i. Spring season seed 1 wins Championship. Spring Seed 1, 2 & 3 advances. ii. Spring season seed 2 wins Championship. Spring seed 2, 1 & 3 advances. iii. Spring season seed 4 wins Championship. Spring seed 4, 1 & 2 advances. 10
XII. Fielding a. All players shall play a minimum of (6) six consecutive outs defensively and bat at least once for those teams not using free substitutions. Failure of any player to get his/her minimum defensive or offensive playing time in a game shall require that player to start the next game. The player shall be placed in that game until the required innings and at bats are accomplished for the previous game and the current game. b. All substitutions must be made before the first pitch of the 4th inning. In regards to teams using free substitution, all players MUST be in defensively by the first pitch of the 4th inning. For those teams using free substitutions the defensive players do not have to play consecutive innings. c. All players present for each game will be in the batting order and there will be free defensive substitution. Major, Babe Ruth HSP and Pro Divisions may use Free Substitution. d. Any player not able to take his turn at bat will be declared out the first time only. The batting line up will compress after the out has been taken for any team using free substitutions. The player missing their turn at bat cannot return for the balance of the game. If the game suspended they cannot bat in the continuation game. e. In the Major, Babe Ruth HSP and Pro Divisions an EH (extra hitter) will be allowed as an offensive option. Using a EH will give the batting order a total of ten (10) batters. The player starting at EH will always bat in the same spot in the batting order, and will have to play 6 consecutive outs on defense. The EH must be in the field before the first pitch of the 4th inning. The EH must bat at least once before being replaced. f. In the Major, Babe Ruth HSP and Pro Divisions, each manager has the option to bat all players and have free substitution. This option must be declared at the time of the pre-game conference with the plate umpire, and documented as such on the official lineup card. g. For all Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken Divisions, a pitcher removed from a game as a pitcher shall not return as a pitcher in the same game. XIII. Manager Responsibilities a. Each manager must hold at least one meeting with the parents of all team members immediately following the draft. It is recommended that the Player Agent be in attendance. The meeting should take place prior to the start of any scheduled practices. 11
b. Managers are responsible for the conduct of their players and parents during games, practices, and any baseball sanctioned function. c. The League Code of Conduct shall be observed at all times. Negative comments or criticism of players, opponents or umpires will not be tolerated. The plate umpire will forward a report of such behavior to the Player Agent and the UIC. Depending upon the circumstance, the Player Agent and the UIC will settle the matter directly with the person responsible for the infraction or take the matter to the Board. Disciplinary action may follow. d. If an individual is ejected from a game, he/she must leave the field and the complex immediately (players and minors without parents present are excluded). The ejected person shall also be banned from the next scheduled game. The individual has the right to an appeal and shall notify the Player Agent of the appeal within 48 hours of the ejection. A second ejection of the same person shall be governed as above with the exception that he/she will be banned for (2) two games. Managers or coaches who are ejected twice will be requested to appear before the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Committee has the right to impose greater sanctions, including dismissal from the team position, or banishment from the league. e. Managers are responsible to communicate concerns and/or ideas from parents, players, or members to their Player Agent for submittal to the Board. f. Managers, with the assistance of the Team Coordinator are responsible for distributing information from the league to the players and parents. Information includes game schedules, schedule of events, parent and team requirements etc. g. Team Coordinators, along with the managers are responsible for collecting revenue for team requirements. Examples of this are Dodger night, team sponsors, and prepaid pancake breakfast tickets. XIV. Manager Requirements a. Managers are required to get coach certification, background check, attend, (or be represented at) the annual Manager s meeting and Coach s clinics. In addition they are to attend any other meeting called for them by their Player Agent or the Board. Field usage and field assignments for practices will be based on attendance and participation at required meetings. b. Managers are responsible that every person on his/her team is properly registered with the league. They also must have in their possession a signed Consent for Treatment form given by the League Secretary, to practice or participate in any team activity. The league does not insure persons not properly registered, therefore, you as the Manager could be personally held liable for any injury sustained by a non-registered participant. c. Managers are responsible for the proper supervision of all team members during all team activities. d. Managers are responsible for players that are not retrieved promptly at the end of practices and/or games. You are required to remain until the player s parent arrives. It is recommended that at least two adults remain at any game, or practice until all players are picked up. This will help avoid any questions regarding questionable conduct. 12
These rules may not be changed by any manager, coach or umpire without the consent of the SVBL Board of Directors. Recommendations for rule changes should be forwarded to your Player Agent. The Local Rules Committee and/or the Board of Director s reserves the right to make changes to these rules during the season should it is deemed necessary. 13