SPANISH FORT DIXIE YOUTH BASEBALL

MINOR LEAGUE RULES 2017 SEASON

CAL RIPKEN OFFICIAL RULES APPLY, EXCEPT AS MODIFIED BELOW:

  1. The decision to call a game “Rained Out” prior to the start of said game is solely that of the Minor Commissioner or, in his absence, Baseball Commissioner or the President.
  1. The decision to suspend a game because of rain after the game has started is solely that of the head umpire.
  1. Rain delays will be 30 minutes, after which, the game will be suspended and rescheduled for the best available date at the discretion of the league commissioner. Rained out games will be rescheduled within the same calendar week. Example: A game rained out on Monday or Tuesday will be rescheduled on Wednesday. A game rained out on Thursday or Friday will be rescheduled for Saturday.
  1. Teams must have a minimum of eight (8) players present in order to begin a game. Game will be forfeited by the team that is short that number of players at the end of a 15-minute grace period after the posted start time. Teams must have a minimum of eight (8) players present in order to begin a game. If you are in danger of forfeiting (know so in advance that you could be short), you MUST make every effort to get an 8-year-old SFSA Peanut player to fill in for you. The player must be a registered player in SFSA for 2014 to be able to play for you. Single-game fill-in players must be placed at the bottom of your batting order and play only in the outfield during the game.
  1. No game will be delayed to allow a team to wait for a specific player. If the team has eight players present, the game will begin.
  1. The time limit for Minor games shall be 90 minutes. No new inning may begin within 5 minutes prior to the time limit’s expiration. If time permits, additional innings may be played to resolve a tie. However, no new inning may start within five minutes of the 90 minute time limit.
  1. The official scorekeeper (home team) shall record game time in the scorebook.
  1. Equipment – The following rules will apply to equipment used in the games.
  • Bats – The maximum size barrel that a bat can be for use in Cal Ripken Minor play is 2 5/8 inches. Bats with barrels of 2 ¾ are illegal. Players who use a 2 ¾ inch bat in a league game will be called out.
  • Batting Helmets–Cal Ripken Rules do not require batters to wear a facemask. However, all park issued batting helmets will have a facemask and SFSA encourages players to wear facemasks for their own safety.
  • Caps under Helmets -- Players are not allowed to turn their cap backwards to wear underneath their helmet when batting.
  1. PITCH COUNT – Please See attached Pitching Rules Attached
  1. Coaches are required to keep their own pitch count for their pitchers. You will assign a team parent or coach to keep the pitch count and both representatives from each team will sign off each other’s pitch count sheet (provided by the park) at the end of the game. It is recommended to communicate after each inning with the other teams pitch tracker.
  1. Any manager or coach suspected of manipulating a pitch count, a protest must be made to the commissioner. Any manager or coach not adhering to the pitch count rules or caught manipulating the pitch count rule WILL BE SUSPENDED ONE (1) GAME -- no exceptions.
  1. Once a pitcher is removed from pitching he may play any other position but will not pitch again in that game or any other game until the rest period described in Rule 9 is adhered to.
  1. The pitcher will be allowed a maximum of eight pitches to warm up between innings or until the umpire calls the ball in play.
  1. A game can end in a tie.
  1. A second visit during the same inning by a manager or coach to talk to his defensive players while the same pitcher is on the mound will cause the pitcher’s automatic removal from the mound, but not the game.
  1. The game shall be considered a completed game when a team is ahead by ten runs after four full innings, or in the case of the home team, when it is leading by 10 runs after 3 and ½ innings (10-run rule).
  1. All players will bat until three (3) outs are made or 7 runs are scored in a team’s turn at bat.
  1. Managers are required to list all players in the batting order for each game. Each player must play six defensive outs. It is advisable to increase defensive play for players when circumstances warrant such.
  1. A manager or coach is not required to list a player in the batting order even though he may be present in the dugout in the event of illness or injury. He may not be required to list a player for disciplinary or the other justifiable reasons, provided he informs the opposing manager and the scorekeeper prior to the beginning of the game.
  1. A player absent from consecutive practices, unless excused, is not required to play.
  1. If a Manager/Coach makes a pitcher substitution, they will advise the head umpire and official scorekeeper. The official scorekeeper will announce the pitcher substitution and record same in the official score book. Announcements of substitutions other than the pitcher are not required.
  1. All Minor League games shall be played a full six innings with the following exceptions:

1)Ten-run rule has become in effect.

2)Rain suspended game

3)Time Limit (see rule 6)

  1. No manager or coach will leave the dugout (if defense) or base coaches position (if offense) until he calls official time out. Discussion with umpires is only allowed during official time outs and should be conducted in private. Only one defensive coach is allowed to travel freely outside the dugout, the other coaches must stay in the dugout or outside of the fence. On offense you are allowed 2 base coaches and 1 additional coach outside the dugout but he must be beyond the dugout on his side of the field.
  1. Minor League teams, during the regular season, will utilize four (4) outfielders. All outfielders MUST be positioned at least 10 feet back from the edge of the infield dirt.
  1. Any attempt by a batter to distract a pitcher by gestures and/or movements outside the normal batting/bunting stance will not be tolerated. The umpire will issue a strike call on the first offense, an out on the second offense and the third offense will result in the coach being ejected from the game.
  1. No protests will be accepted for judgment calls made by the umpire.
  1. The home team is responsible for keeping the official scorebook.
  1. The catcher cannot talk to the batter. The opposing teams may not attempt to disrupt the batter or the opposing pitcher in any manner (NO “Hey Batter Batter!” etc). First offense of violating this rule is a warning to the manager/coach. Second offense is ejection of manager.
  1. The catcher must wear protective cup. Do your best to speed up the game by getting your catcher ready to go back on defense between innings. The player that made the last out may run for the catcherto help him get ready for the next inning. If no outs have been made in the inning it’s the player from the last inning that made the last out.
  2. If a player is ejected from a game he is suspended for one game. If this becomes habitual for that player, punitive action will be taken. (Discretion of the minor league commissioner, baseball commissioner and/or SFSA Board.)
  1. If a coach is ejected from a game one time he is suspended for the remainder of that game AND the next game. He CANNOT coach from fence or the stands. If a coach is thrown out again, he will be dismissed as a coach. This can be protested to stand before the SFSA Board. You may or may not be required to attend this meeting. (This can apply to rule #26 and at the discretion of the minor league commissioner, baseball commissioner and/or SFSA Board).
  1. Foul language will not be tolerated. This offense can lead to a manager or a coach being ejected from a game. Refer to Rule 33 for action taken if ejected.
  1. Threats will not be tolerated. Threats made by manager/coach/fan will result in ejection from the park premises and count as an offense and will be dealt with by rule #33. (A repeated offense will be dealt with at the discretion of the minor commissioner, baseball commissioner and/or SFSA Board and may lead to being banned from the park.)
  1. If your pitcher has hit three batters, it is highly suggested that you pull him. This is obviously a safety factor.
  1. The All-Star coach for both divisions will be selected by the Baseball/League Commissioner.