RANCHO BERNARDO
LITTLE LEAGUE
BASEBALL, INC.
FARM DIVISION
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Revised September 2017
***This document is provided for guidance where the Little League Operating Manual and the Official Regulations and Playing Rules of Little League Baseball provide latitude to individual Leagues.***
- Ground Rules
1.1.The ball will be out of play if it passes the imaginary line from where the left and right field fences end, to the outfield fence.
1.2.The chalked-off area behind the backstop is an extension of the dugout, for coaches only. This is a dead ball area. Coaches are still responsible for the actions of their players in the dugout. A ball thrown or deflected in play that goes into the chalked-off area will be awarded one additional base.
- Team Selection
2.1.The Farm Division draft will take place as soon after tryouts as possible, preferably on the following Saturday.
2.2.Only the Player Agent, League President, Farm Division Director, Selected Board Members, and Farm Managers will be in the draft room. If a team has co-managers only one manager will be present in the draft room. If a manager is unavailable he will appoint another approved league member (an approved list of coaches will be provided) to take his draft position or it will be the division director’s responsibility to draft for that team.
2.3.A Manager’s meeting will proceed the draft session.
2.4.At the draft, the Player Agent will post all eligible names, which include the following:
All 8, 9 and 10 year olds who were not drafted into Majors or Minors.
No 10 year olds may play in a division lower than the Farm division.
7 year olds can only be put on the farm board if the parent requests it, a farm manager requests it, and the farm coaches unanimously approve it.
2.5.The names of all eligible players will be posted alphabetically by age.
2.6.Sibling options will be annotated on the draft board in some manner.
2.7.The Manager’s son/daughter will be drafted as a Third round draft pick.
2.8.Prior to player selection, Farm Managers will select ONE League Approved designated coach. A League Approved Coaching List will be provided to each Manager.
2.9.The designated coach’s son/daughter will be drafted as a Fourth round draft pick.
The “Brother Option” rule will apply to managers and coaches.
If these placement rules dictate the Manager’s and/or coach’s son/daughter be drafted in the same round, then they shall be placed in back to back rounds.
2.10.The draft will be conducted in accordance with the Operating Manual using the “METHOD IN FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION – PLAN A”
2.11.Wild Card(s) may be assigned by the Player Agent to balance out the number of players per team. Wild Card positions will not be predetermined.
The Player Agent will decide on a method, to be kept confidential between himself/herself and the League President, of determining who shall receive the next Wild Card.
Teams with the greatest deficit of players will be assigned a Wild Card first.
2.12.Managers should sit opposite of the draft board in order of their pick.
2.13.Team name selections will occur in the reverse of the draft order.
2.14.After completion of the draft, managers will have the opportunity to trade players before leaving the draft room. Once managers leave the draft room, no more trades are allowed.
- Playing Rules
3.1.Teams must start with at least seven players on the team roster.
3.2.Teams may borrow players from the other team to field all nine defensive positions. The borrowed player(s) will be the last player(s) in the line-up to start the game and the last out(s) during subsequent innings.
3.3.The five run per inning rule will not apply during the sixth inning only.
3.4.The ten-run rule option will be used per the guidelines set forth in the Green Book.
3.5.The “Safety Base” option will be used per guidelines set forth in the Green Book.
3.6.Game time limits are as follows:
No new inning may start after two hours.
The game shall end immediately after two hours and thirty minutes. If the inning is not completed, the score will revert to the previous inning per the Green Book.
3.7.Pitching/Coach Pitch Games
3.7.1.If a pitcher hits three batters in one inning, the manager must remove that pitcher.
3.7.2.Coach Pitch Games: These games will be used to help players make the transition from Rookies to the Farm Division. These games will help players, coaches, and parents understand the rules of the Farm Division. The games are non-standing and are used for instructional purposes. At least the first 5 scheduled games of the season, but no more than the first 8 scheduled games, at the discretion of the division director, will be non-standing games and not calculated into records for season championship or tournament seeding. Comradery between coaches and players from the opposing teams is encouraged.
3.7.3.For the first scheduled five to eight games of the season, the coach pitch games, the following will apply for and will be used as follows:
Live modified pitching all game.
Pitching shall be modified as follows:
- If the player/pitcher throws four balls, the batter will not take a base…
The following will occur:
- The manager or coach from the team at bat will pitch a maximum of three pitches from the base of the front of the pitcher’s mound. The player fielding the pitchers position will position himself/herself just to the left or right of the coach.
- If the batter fails to put the ball in play, he/she is out.
- If the batter puts the ball in play, he/she cannot advance past First Base.
- All other baser-runners are free to run the bases normally and at their own risk.
3.7.5The rest of the season only players will pitch and all normal pitching rules apply.
3.8.Base-running
3.8.1.Players may not advance on an error for the first scheduled five games.
3.8.2.During the exhibition games, a modified steal rule shall be used. The modified steal rule goes as follows. If the catcher catches the ball or the ball is within reach of the catcher the runner may steal and be awarded the base if stolen. However, if the ball is a passed ball or the catcher cannot reach the ball the base runner must return to original bag occupied before the pitch was thrown. Players cannot steal during coach pitch. Per the green book, players cannot advance to the next base during a steal attempt until the ball crosses home plate.
(The modified steal rule will be discussed with the division director after all exhibition games are complete with all managers to determine if they would like to continue to use during the regular/playoff season.)
3.8.3.Base-runners may not steal when the catcher throws back to the pitcher for the entire season.
3.8.4.Players are not allowed to advance more than one base while stealing or advancing on an error.
3.8.5.Stealing of Home is not permitted the entire season. A runner may only score if he/she advances on a fair ball or is forced home on a Base on Balls or a live in play throwing error.
3.8.6.When the batter hits a ball to an infielder, runner(s) may only advance to the base to which they are headed once the ball is in the infielder’s control; and he/she is in the dirt and not attempting to make a play on any runner.
3.8.7.When the batter hits a ball to an outfielder, runner(s) may only advance to the base to which they are headed once the ball is in the control of the pitcher who is not trying to make a play on the runner and is within the vicinity of the pitcher’s mound.
3.9.Mandatory Play
3.9.1.NO player shall sit out two defensive innings until all players have sat out at least onedefensive inning.
3.9.2.All players shall play at least two defensive innings in an infield position to be completed within the first 5 innings of the game.
3.9.3.Every player will play the outfield at least three consecutive outs in one inning every game prior to the completion of the 5th inning.
3.9.4.Except for the pitcher, who must follow the pitching rules, no player may play the same position more than two innings in a game.
- End of Regular Season
4.1.All teams will be seeded for tournament play based on the regular season final standings.
4.2.If two or more teams finish the regular season tied with the same record, final standings will be determined using the following tie-breakers:
Head to head record
One game playoff. Home team will be determined by a coin flip.
4.3.The Board will decide how the tournament bracket will look depending on the number of teams in the League and/or Inter-league play.
4.4.In the opening round of the tournament and all Winners’ Bracket games, the Home team will be the higher seed.
4.5.In the championship game, the team from the winner’s bracket will be the home team.
4.6.For all Loser’s Bracket and ‘IF’ games, the Home team will be determined by a coin toss.
4.7.There will not be a time limit in the Championship game.
- The Classic Game
5.1.Following the conclusion of the Local League Tournament, the Board has the option to hold a Farm Classics Game consisting of selected players from the Farm division only.
5.2.The two highest seeded managers from the tournament will be the managers for the Classics Game. If for any reason there is not a tournament the two highest seeded managers will be determined from regular season standings.
5.3.The division director will determine the number of classics players that will play in the classics game. The classics teams will have an equal amount of players from each regular season team when possible. Any issues or discrepancies about amounts of Classics players selected will be decided upon by the Division Director.
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