A. General DIVISION AAA 1. These WLALL Division AAA Rules are in addition to Little League Official Rules. To the extent the following rules contradict the Little League Official Rules the WLALL rules are controlling. 2. The AAA division is an instructional league. The goal is to prepare the players for the WLALL majors division by teaching baseball skills. The emphasis should not be on winning but rather playing the right way through good sportsmanship, consistency, hustle, and being a good teammate. Winning should be a by-product of those teachings. 3. All managers and coaches must be patient and exercise restraint with the umpires. The Code of Conduct is for the parents, players, managers, and coaches. Any form of bad sportsmanship from managers, coaches, parents, or players will not be tolerated and can cause expulsion from the field, the league, or both. B. Pool Players 1. It is the responsibility of the manager to have at least nine players present at the start of play and for the duration of the game. The manager shall request pool players from the AAA commissioner promptly on learning the team will or may have less than nine players for a game. The AAA commissioner shall use best efforts to recruit one or more pool players as needed so the team will have nine players for the game. Pool players shall be assigned by the AAA commissioner in his or her discretion. Pool players once assigned may not be canceled by the manager within 48 hours before the scheduled game time without the express prior permission of the AAA commissioner or league president. 2. Managers shall not recruit pool players without the express prior permission of the AAA commissioner or league president. Recruitment by managers shall be limited to exigent circumstances such as loss of the team s ninth player within two hours of the scheduled game time. 3. Each assigned pool player must play the entire game regardless of team members arriving before or during the game. Pool players must bat last in the batting order. Pool players may not play the position of pitcher, catcher, or infielder; provided pool players may play infield when the team has four or more pool players for the game. C. Pre-Game 1. Teams shall allow the grounds crew to prepare the field without interference. The visiting team shall be allowed access to the field for ten minutes of on-field warm- %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%4/14/16% % Page%1!
up. The visiting team shall be ready to take the field for its warm-up 30 minutes before the scheduled game time and its 10-minute period shall start then or as soon as the grounds crew completes field preparation. The home team shall then have access for ten minutes of on-field warm-up. If less than 20 minutes remains before the scheduled game time the teams shall split the on-field warm-up time equally. Opposing team players shall remain off the field during a team s on-field warm ups. 2. Each manager shall deliver his or her line-up card to the scorekeeper and the opposing manager at least thirty minutes before the scheduled game time. Players shall be identified by uniform number and first and last name. 3. Managers shall meet with the umpires at home plate five minutes before the scheduled game time to discuss ground rules. 4. The Little League pledge shall be recited before the game begins. D. During the Game 1. All games shall be played in accordance with Little League Official Rules except as modified by these rules. Managers may not change the rules by agreement. Rule changes for any game must be approved in advance by the league president. 2. Scheduled start time. The game shall start at its scheduled time. Both teams must have nine players to start play. A team not ready for play fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall forfeit. A team having less than nine players after play has started shall forfeit. 3. Only the manager or acting manager shall engage the umpires during the game. 4. Dugouts. The home team occupies the third base dugout. The only persons allowed in the dugout are the players, the manager, and up to two league-approved coaches. The manager and coaches shall not enter the field of play during the game except to coach bases, attend injured players, report substitutions or position changes, and after time out has been called. The manager or at least one coach must remain in the dugout with the players at all times during the game. The manager or one coach may stand or sit in the opening to the dugout during play unless the umpire requires them to be in the dugout. 5. Pitching and pitch count. No player may pitch during more than three innings regardless of the number of pitches thrown in any one inning or in total. Substitute pitchers entering the game in the middle of the inning may throw no more than eight (8) warm-up pitches consuming no more than two (2) minutes. The pitcher who starts the inning should warm up in the bullpen prior to the inning. A pitcher who reaches the pitch-count limit imposed by the Little League Official Rules while facing a batter may continue to pitch to that batter until the at-bat ends. A pitcher who delivers %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%4/14/16% % Page%2!
41 or more pitches during a game may not play the position of catcher for the remainder of the game. The manager or one of the two coaches may visit the mound to speak with the pitcher after a time out is granted by the umpire. An individual pitcher shall be removed from pitching if visited more than twice during an inning or more than three times during a game. Except as provided in this paragraph D5, the Little League Official Rules govern. 6. Batting. All players shall bat and batting shall be done in continuous order. A player arriving after official play has started shall bat at the end of the batting order. A batter who cannot start or complete an at-bat due to injury shall be removed from the game and the next batter in order shall take the injured player s at-bat starting with a fresh count. Dropped 3rd strikes are NOT in play in AAA. If the catcher does not catch the ball cleanly on a 3rd strike, the batter shall still be ruled out. 7. Sliding. Sliding feet-first is permissible but not mandatory. Players shall be taught to slide on a close play. However there is never a situation in which a runner must slide. Refer to Rule 7.08(a)(3) of the Little League Official Rules, providing Any runner is out when... the runner does not slide or attempt to get around a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to make the tag. Players shall be taught the rule with emphasis on its application only when the fielder has the ball and is waiting to make the tag. Sliding headfirst is not permitted when the runner advances toward any base. However a runner retreating to a base (e.g. on a pick-off play or where the runner has overrun a base) may slide headfirst back into the base. 8. Mercy rule. Five runs per half inning is the maximum allowed until the last inning of the game. The game shall end and the team ahead shall be declared the winner without further play when: (a) the home team is ahead by 15 runs or more after completion of 3 ½ innings or the visiting team is ahead by 15 runs or more after completion of 4 innings; or (b) the home team is ahead by 10 runs or more after completion of 4 ½ innings or the visiting team is ahead by 10 runs or more after completion of 5 innings. The mercy rule applies during the regular season and during the playoffs. 9. Time and time limits. During the regular season, the last inning, if not the 6th inning, shall be the inning commencing after 1 hour and 35 minutes of official playing time. Extra innings shall be played as necessary to declare a winner, however, during the regular season any inning that commences after the time limit shall still be the last inning and the game may end in a tie. During the playoffs, the last inning, if not the 6th inning, shall be the inning commencing after 1 hour and 55 minutes of official playing time. Extra innings during the playoffs shall be played as necessary to declare a winner with no time limit, and the game may not end in a tie. Umpires are instructed to notify both managers when the last inning begins including if the last inning is an extra inning. If the first three innings have not been completed in the first sixty minutes of %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%4/14/16% % Page%3!
official playing time, there shall be no further defensive warm-ups between innings with the pitcher limited to three warm-up pitches. A complete game requires a minimum of four innings of official playing time. In the interest of time a courtesy runner may be used to replace a runner who will play the position of catcher in the next half inning. The courtesy runner must be the player who made the last out regardless of whether the out was made on the bases or at-bat. 10. Safety. Players coaching first or third base must wear helmets. All male players shall wear athletic supporters. Male catchers must wear metal or plastic cups besides long-model chest protectors. The bullpens in left and right field may be used to warm up pitchers during official play but only when an additional player with a mitt and helmet stands in front of the bullpen mound to protect the pitcher and catcher warming up. 11. Mandatory play requirements. A. Each player on the team roster and present when play commences must play a minimum of four innings of a regulation 6-inning game. Any player who does not meet this mandatory play requirement during a regular season game shall start the next scheduled game, play a period equal to the remainder of the mandatory play requirement from the prior game, and then play the mandatory play requirement applicable to the current game. The preceding sentence is not applicable to playoff games and when the mandatory play requirement has not been met in a regulation game lasting less than a full six innings (e.g. due to home team advantage, mercy rule, or weather). B. No player on the team roster and present during a game shall sit out consecutive defensive innings. A player who has sat out for three consecutive defensive outs must play in the field for the next three defensive outs. A player who is sitting out may enter the game at any time for any player other than a player who sat out the previous inning. No player is required to sit out for any number of defensive outs. C. The manager shall keep a contemporaneous record of where each player played during every inning and shall ensure all players meet or exceed the mandatory play requirements of (A) and (B) above. The manager shall report failure of any player to meet a mandatory play requirement for a game to the AAA commissioner within 24 hours after the game ends. Violations of a mandatory play requirement shall be subject to penalties as determined by the league president after such consultation with the board as he or she deems appropriate. Penalties in the case of repeated violations or single violations done for a competitive advantage may include suspension for one or more games and forfeiture of games won. 12. The manager shall control the coaches, parents and children on his/her team. Anyone ejected from the game who continues to interfere with the game shall cause the %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%4/14/16% % Page%4!
team to forfeit the game. An ejection is punishable by a mandatory one game suspension for the person / player ejected. The person ejected may also be assessed additional penalties as determined by the league president after such consultation with the board as he or she deems appropriate. 13. The visiting team shall be responsible for the scoreboard and announcing of the game. E. Post-Game. 1. The home team shall rake and drag the field after each game. 2. Trash in the dugout shall be cleaned up and deposited in the trash can. 3. Failure to comply may cause forfeiting a turn at bat at the next game. Repeat violations shall be assessed such additional penalties as determined by the league president after such consultation with the board as he or she deems appropriate. 4. Managers shall be responsible for complying with the 2015 WLALL Field Procedures as published from time to time by the WLALL Field Director F. Playoffs. 1. Each team makes the playoffs. The regular season record determines the placement for a double elimination tournament. If two or more teams have the same record the seeding will be determined in order by: (a) head-to-head record; (b) total runs scored; (c) total runs allowed. 2. The team with the higher seeding shall be the home team unless the team with the higher seeding is coming out of the loser s bracket. 3. The winner of the tournament will be AAA division champion and will represent WLALL in the District 25 Tournament of Champions. G. Other Rules. 1. If a team from the majors division loses a player, the majors manager, with assistance from the majors commissioner and player agent, must call up a replacement player from the AAA division. The manager of the AAA team that loses a player must then choose a replacement player from the AA division. Only with the prior express approval of the league president may a AAA team carry fewer than 12 players on its roster. 2. Violations of the rules shall be punished in a manner as determined by the league president after such consultation with the board as he or she deems appropriate. Managers and coaches are reminded that volunteer positions are a privilege conferred by the league and not a matter of right. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%4/14/16% % Page%5!
VI PITCHERS PITCH COUNT RULES FROM THE LITTLE LEAGUE RULE BOOK page 38 (a) Any player on a regular season team may pitch. (NOTE: There is no limit to the number of pitchers a team may use in a game.) (b) A pitcher once removed from the mound cannot return as a pitcher. (c) The manager must remove the pitcher when said pitcher reaches the limit for his/her age group as noted below, but the pitcher may remain in the game at another position: League Age 13-16 95 pitches per day 11-12 85 pitches per day 9-10 75 pitches per day 7-8 50 pitches per day Exception: If a pitcher reaches the limit imposed in Regulation VI (c) for his/her league age while facing a batter, the pitcher may continue to pitch until any one of the following conditions occurs: 1. That batter reaches base; 2. That batter is put out; 3. The third out is made to complete the half-inning. (d) Pitchers league age 14 and under must adhere to the following rest requirements: If a player pitches 66 or more pitches in a day, four (4) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 51-65 pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 36-50 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 21-35 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar days of rest must be observed. If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar day of rest is required. Exception: If a pitcher reaches a day(s) of rest threshold while facing a batter, the pitcher may continue to pitch until any one of the following conditions occurs: 1. That batter reaches base; 2. That batter is retired; 3. The third out is made to complete the half-inning. The pitcher will only be required to observe the calendar day(s) of rest for the threshold he/she reached during that at-bat, provided that pitcher is removed before delivering a pitch to another batter. (e) Each league must designate the scorekeeper or another game official as the official pitch count recorder. (f) The pitch count recorder must provide the current pitch count for any pitcher when requested by either manager or any umpire. However, the manager is responsible for knowing when his/her pitcher must be removed. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%1/22/15% % Page%1!
(g) The official pitch count recorder should inform the umpire-in-chief when a pitcher has delivered his/her maximum limit of pitches for the game, as noted in Regulation VI (c). The umpire-in-chief will inform the pitcher s manager that the pitcher must be removed in accordance with Regulation VI (c). However, the failure by the pitch count recorder to notify the umpire-in-chief, and/or the failure of the umpire-in-chief to notify the manager, does not relieve the manager of his/her responsibility to remove a pitcher when that pitcher is no longer eligible. (h) Violation of any section of this regulation can result in protest of the game in which it occurs. Protest shall be made in accordance with Playing Rule 4.19. (i) A player who has attained the league age of twelve (12) is not eligible to pitch in the Minor League. (See Regulation V Selection of Players) (j) A player may not pitch in more than one game in a day. (k) A player who has played the position of catcher for more than 3 innings in a game is not eligible to pitch for the remainder of that game. An inning is defined as receiving one official pitch during that inning, and has nothing to do with the number of outs. To be clear, if a catcher receives one pitch in his 4 th inning catching, he may not pitch. (l) A player who has pitched more than 40 pitches may not move to the catcher position for the remainder of that game. To be clear, if a player pitches 41 or more pitches, he may not catch. NOTES: 1. The withdrawal of an ineligible pitcher after that pitcher is announced, or after a warm-up pitch is delivered, but before that player has pitched a ball to a batter, shall not be considered a violation. Little League officials are urged to take precautions to prevent protests. When a protest situation is imminent, the potential offender should be notified immediately. 2. Pitches delivered in games declared Regulation Tie Games or Suspended Games shall be charged against pitcher s eligibility. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Rev.%1/22/15% % Page%2!