This league shall be primarily governed by the “Official Rules of Little League Baseball,” as published by Williamsport, PA. The following exceptions and modifications to the existing rules have been generated and Board approved in the interest of safety, fair play, and more even competition.
I. Pre game and post game rules:
A. Home team duties and responsibilities (Home team listed first on the schedule.)
1. Uses the first base dugout
2. Has the field for practice from 6:10PM to 6:25PM (except Sat.)
3. Furnishes a new game ball
B. Visiting team duties and responsibilities
1. Uses the third base dugout
2. Has the field for practice from 5:55PM to 6:10PM (except Sat.)
3. Furnishes a good back-up ball
C. Dual responsibilities
1. Any available practice time prior to 5:55PM will be shared equally.
2. All players, managers, coaches and equipment not directly involved in the game must remain in the dugout.
3. Batting orders and previous game pitchers and number of pitches thrown must be exchanged prior to every game.
4. There will not be any batting practice permitted, within 1 hour before the start of any game. There will be no exceptions.
5. There is no on-deck position in Little League. No batter may warm up outside the field of play during the game.
6. All teams will track pitchers and wins throughout the season. After every game the opposing managers or coaches must fill out the score of the game, the pitchers’ name, age and number of pitches thrown. Also, the VP of Baseball must be notified of all pitching and game results, and will monitor the information and be in charge of the final record. Send all results and pitching information to the VP by e-mail immediately after the game.
II. General rules and Avon Little League rules:
A. Managers will not be allowed to cancel any games. Any cancellations due to school functions or inclement weather will be decided by the Umpire-in-Chief. For a school function, the manager must contact the Umpire-in-Chief, 7 days before the assigned game, to request a change of schedule. In the case of inclement weather, the manager or assigned coach can call the Avon Little League hotline, at 934 – 1197, to find out about the field conditions and if their game has been cancelled. All make-up games must be rescheduled with the Umpire-in-Chief.
B. All Make-up games will be rescheduled by the Umpire-in-Chief and VP of Baseball. The Forfeit Rule will apply if any team does not show for the rescheduled game.
C. A manager must request from the VP of Baseball a Minor League player to fill-out the 9-man roster. Minor League call-ups will be obtained through the VP of Baseball only, and be randomly drawn from a list of 10 and 11 year old Minor League players. A manager must request a new player every game. Failure by the manager to follow these guidelines will result in a forfeit.
D. A player called up from Minor League may not pitch. Also, the Minor League player may not play in the game if any Major League roster player has to sit out and can only be used for injury substitutions only. Exception: If a Major League roster player shows up late or is unexpected, the player called up from the Minor League will be allowed to play the minimum required of 3 innings, and must share the playing time with the roster player that showed up late.
E. All teams must use a continuous batting order and all eligible players must be included in the batting rotation. If play has started and a player shows up late, he/she will assume the last position in the original batting order; see Rule 4.04 in the Little League Handbook.
F. Each member of the team eligible to play must not sit out for more than 3 defensive innings. These 3 innings must not be consecutive. If a player does sit out 2 innings in a row, he/she must play the 2 innings immediately before or after.
G. Defensive players may not be moved during an inning except for a pitching change, injury or other emergency.
H. No more than 3 adults will be allowed to represent the team in the dugout. An adult must be used in each of the coaching boxes during the game.
I. The Slide or Give-Up rule is in effect. Base runners must “slide or give up” at all bases (except 1st) and home plate on all close plays. Review the rules with the umpires, coaches, and players before every game.
J. Avon Little League adheres to the strict discipline of the pitching and catching rules with regard to the number of pitches thrown per player during a game and the mandatory rest days. Please read and understand the pitching rules adopted by Little League. The pitching rules will not change in any week containing a make-up game or games. The pitching rules will not change for the league tournaments.
K. The number of pitches thrown per player will be tracked by each team and compared with the base umpire after every inning. After any two- (2) consecutive 12-yr-old pitching appearances, 11 or 10-yr-old(s) must pitch at least 3 outs.
L. No inning will begin after 2 hours from the start of the game.
III. Final notes:
A. Profanity or abusive language of any kind will not be permitted from any player, manager, coach, parent, etc. Violators will be banished from the field or ballpark and violating players will be benched and may be suspended if necessary. At the discretion of the manager and the approval of the VP of Baseball, a player, manager, or coach may be suspended for disciplinary reasons for one game. If this occurs a second time, the Board of Directors shall review the player, manager, or coach, for possible expulsion from the league. All league officials can recommend disciplinary action to the Board for all off field violations by players, managers, coaches, etc. while on Little League property at any time!