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 (Home team listed first on the schedule.)
1. Uses the 1st base dugout
2. Lines the field and sets up the pitching machine
3. Has the field for practice from 6:10 pm to 6:25 (except Sat.)
4. Furnishes a new game ball
B. Visiting team duties and responsibilities
1. Uses the 3rd base dugout
2. Puts the pitching machine away and any other equipment
3. Has the field for practice from 5:55 pm to 6:10 (except Sat.)
4. Furnishes a good back-up ball
C. Dual responsibilities
1. Any available practice time prior to 5:55 pm will be shared equally.
2. All players and equipment not directly involved in the game must remain in the dugout.
3. Batting orders should be exchanged prior to 6:25 p.m.
4. There will not be any batting practice permitted within 1 hour before 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. A player may not take practice swings until the batter is up and approaching the batters box.
II. General rules and Avon Little League rules:
A. League Standings will not be kept and the scores of the games will not be recorded.
B. 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.
C. Managers, make sure your players let you know in advance of absences. If a manager knows in advance that he/she will not have enough players, he/she should bring up a 6 or 7 year old from the Coach Pitch League to fill out a 10-girl roster. If 11 players show, feel free to play the player called up from the Coach Pitch League. Players can be moved between the competing teams so that the game can still be played.
D. 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, she will assume the last position in the batting order.
E. Each member of the team eligible to play must not sit out for more than 2 defensive innings and must play 2 of the 6 infield positions at least 1 inning each per game (the home team must comply with this rule by the end of the 5th inning). No player can play 1 position for more than 2 innings per game.
F. Defensive players may not be moved during an inning except for an injury or other emergency.
G. No more than 3 adults will be allowed to represent the team and both base coaches must be adults. Defensive coaches, on the playing surface, will be permitted on the playing surface through June 1.
H. There is a 5 run limit per team per inning or 3 outs – whichever happens first.
I. On a ball hit to the outfield, base runners will be frozen as soon as the ball is in the infield. Please use discretion in advancing your runners and remember that being overly aggressive only gets you to the 5 run limit faster.
J. Teams will have 10 defensive players maximum, including 4 outfielders, and they all must assume normal defensive positions. Only 1 player is allowed to play a position (e.g. only 1 player may play the pitcher position,) Outfielders must be in the outfield grass.
K. No inning shall begin after 1 hour and 50 minutes. Since weekday games begin at 6:30, no inning shall begin after 8:20. Six innings is the maximum unless a tie exists. Then, the time limit goes into effect.
L. A pitching machine will be used for the entire game. The umpire will call balls and strikes and strikeouts are allowed, but there will be no walks. The umpire will load balls into the pitching machine. The Managers will be responsible for the set up and any adjustments made to the pitching machine. Machine adjustments will be made by mutual agreement of both managers and the umpire. It should be emphasized that good judgment and fair play shall govern the need for machine adjustments, rather than obtaining an advantage over one’s opponent.
M. If a batted ball hits the pitching machine, the ball is dead, the batter is credited with a single, and every runner advances 1 base.
N. There shall be no warm-ups of any kind of the catcher with the pitching machine before the game or between innings. This is a safety issue.
III. Final notes:
1. THIS IS JUST A GAME! DON’T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY! HAVE FUN!
2. It is contemplated that this league will utilize youth umpires for its game. Many of the umpires will have limited experience at the beginning of the season. While these umpires will have limited training and education on the rules it is expected that the umpires will make mistakes during the game. No manager or coach may argue or dispute or attempt to change the call of an umpire regardless of any perceived mistake. A manager or coach is permitted, between innings to discuss a call or educate an umpire.
3. Players may not deliberately throw or abuse helmets, bats or other playing Equipment.
4. 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.
5. At the discretion of the manager and the approval of the VP of Softball, 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!