Simi Valley Baseball League 2009 Local League Rules Revised 3/18/2009 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, 2009. 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. 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 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. 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 to be designated prior to tryouts. 1
c. Each team will consist of a maximum of thirteen (13) players for Farm, Coach-Pitch, and Tee- Ball. A maximum of twelve (12) 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. IV. Player Draft a. Tryouts are mandatory for all divisions, except T-Ball, Coach Pitch, returning 8 yr old Farm, returning Major and returning HSP players. Any player not selected in the draft will be randomly placed on a team. For safety reasons, any player may be moved up a division at the discretion of the Board. Parental permission is not required, but parental notification will occur prior to promotion. b. If a tryout is missed, the Player Agent shall verify that the reason is justified. Players that are excused from the tryouts with Player Agent approval will be placed into the draft or selected as a hat pick at the discretion of the Player Agent. c. Returning Players: 1. Returning players to a division may change teams with the consent of the Player Agent. The requesting player s parents must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Player Agent just cause why the player should be allowed to leave a team. The manager who has this player on his/her roster must be notified and an equitable trade of the player must be attempted. 2. Returning Players to a division CANNOT be designated as a Managers or Coaches Option with ANY team in the division. d. A new player refusing to go to the team that selects him may be traded. These trades are subject to the approval of the Player Agent and the manager loosing the player. The manager can ask that the parents be called prior to resuming the draft. If they are not available, the manager can select the player at his own risk. Calls are required for 9 and 10 year olds drafted up to the Majors, and 8 year olds drafted up to the Minors. Only these 8, 9 and 10 year olds that decline an appointment to an upper division team will be allowed to go back to their original lower division team. These players cannot be brought up to the upper division for the balance of season. e. Any 9 year old returning Farm player, or 11 and 12 year old returning minor player that refused assignment to an upper division team SHALL be placed into their originating division s draft and eligible to be drafted by ANY team in that lower division. They shall only be considered returning players to their original team if they have not been drafted to an upper division. 2
f. Any known issues that lead a player to want to leave a team SHALL be disclosed to the affected manager prior to their divisional draft. Likewise, if a draft eligible player/parent makes known a validated conflict with a Manager or Coach, discretionary notice will be given to said manager prior to the start of the draft. g. The Draft: Please refer to the draft rules and procedures document for a complete explanation of the rules and procedures. 1. The draft order for each division shall be determined by reverse order of the regular season standings and Playoff results. The playoff champion from the previous spring season SHALL pick last in the draft regardless of their previous spring regular season finish. The balance of the draft order will be determined by the reverse order of the regular season win/loss record. In the event of identical season ending records, a coin toss will determine draft position. 2. No team may have more than seven (7) 12 year olds, seven (7) 11 year olds, or two (2) 10 year olds at the conclusion of the draft and any subsequent trades with a 11 man roster, and no more then eight (8) 12 year olds with a 12 man roster. 3. Any newly added team (expansion teams) to a division will be placed first in the draft order. Expansion teams will draft first, then last, in alternating rounds (i.e.: first pickround 1, last pick-round 2, first pick-round 3, etc). 4. If more than one new team is added, the new teams will be placed at the top of the draft order. The order of the new teams will be decided by a coin toss. 5. Manager/Coach option players must be identified before the start of the first age group of the division at tryouts. Two option players of the same age would cause the second optioned player to be placed in the round before the first optioned player. 6. Before the draft, all returning players and optioned players will be placed on the draft board. Optioned players are the son/daughter of the manager/coach. Returning players will be placed at the bottom of the board. Optioned players will be placed as follows: Babe Ruth HSP Division: 15 year olds in the 3rd round,14 year olds in the 4th round, 13 year olds in the 5th round. Major/Minor Division: 12 year olds in the 3rd round, 11year olds in the 4th round, 10 year olds and 9 year olds in the 5th round. Farm Division: 10 year olds in the 3rd round, 9 year olds in the 4th round, 8 year olds and 7 year olds in the 5th round. 7. Expansion teams will receive up to 3 bonus picks before the draft opens. Teams with fewer than 3 returning players will get a bonus pick before the draft begins. This will allow all teams to begin draft process with 3 players. 3
8. The draft will begin in the first round and will continue through the 4th round with picks from all teams in draft order. Teams with players placed on the draft board, prior to the beginning of the draft, will not select in rounds where a player is listed. Players that have Player Agent approval to change teams are considered returning players and will be counted as a returning player on their originating team until they are traded during the draft. a. After the 4th round is complete, teams with less than 5 returning players will select 1 player in draft order. These picks will be placed at the bottom of the draft board. The team with the fewest returning players will select first. The 5th round will then be drafted. b. The same process will continue after each subsequent round until all teams have 5 players at the bottom of the draft board. The draft will then be completed in the remaining rounds. 9. Sibling Option rule is in effect. If a player is selected and that player also has a sibling awaiting selection, the sibling will automatically be placed on the team in that teams next draft position. The desire of the parents to split the siblings will be honored. 10. At the conclusion of the draft, managers will be allowed up to one hour to trade players. Following this time period, the draft will be considered final. 11. All trades will be one player for player. All trades must be completed prior to leaving the draft. Both managers must report the trade to the Player Agent, the Registration Coordinator and the Uniform and Trophy Coordinator. 12. No trades will be considered after the draft is final. 13. The player agent has the authority to make adjustments to the draft procedure where a specific issue is not covered. 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 under the position column. For pitchers, number of innings pitched in the week SHALL be listed on the line-up card. Teams must start the game with nine (9) players. If a player is unable to play during the course of a game, the game shall continue with 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. 4
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 his score book kept, the home team should have two scorekeepers for that game. 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. 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. 5
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). f. Each division has their own established time limits. Please see division specific rules. 6
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. IX. Equipment 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. 7
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 doubleelimination 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. Least runs allowed b. Most runs scored c. 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 XII. Fielding 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 advance. ii. Spring season seed 2 wins Championship. Spring seed 2, 1 & 3 advance iii. Spring season seed 4 wins Championship. Spring seed 4, 1 & 2 advance. 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. 8
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 a 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 line-up 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. 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. 9
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. 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. 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. 10