10U Rules 2007

LEAGUE POLICY

STANDINGS: Team standings are not kept during the regular season.

END OF SEASON TOURNAMENT: A 10U coaches meeting will be held to determine the details of the tournament following the regular season schedule.

PLAYING TIME OF PLAYERS: All players bat. No player sits out on defense for more than one consecutive inning. Late arriving players must be placed at the bottom of the batting order.

Base Length is 60ft. Pitching distance is 35ft.

Unsportsmanlike Behavior: The league directors expect the head coaches to take proactive steps when unsportsmanlike behavior occurs. Officials also expect to be notified if/when inappropriate behavior occurs so corrective actions can be taken.

UMPIRES: The home team shall provide an acting umpire.

10U WSGS RULES

1. Scheduling

1.1. Home team will be decided by the WSGS schedule.

1.2. Home team shall have the third base dugout (consideration and exceptions allowed for double headers).

2. Field Conditions

2.1. The Seattle Parks Rainout line determines the availability of the fields based on weathering factors. If the field hasn’t been officially closed by the Seattle Parks Department, the coaches at the field will decide fitness of the playing field prior to the game.

2.2. In case of a rainout, the coaches may decide to make up the game. All makeup games must be scheduled by the league.

3. Equipment

3.1. Catchers will wear catcher’s equipment (helmet, mask, chest protector, and shin guards) at all times while in the catcher’s position.

3.2. Batting Helmets

3.2.1. Base Runners will wear a helmet while running the bases.

3.2.2. Batters will wear batting helmets with face guards and chin straps.

4. Game Duration will be 1 hour and 15 minutes. If there is no following game scheduled coaches may agree PRIOR to the start of the game to play longer.

4.1. No new inning shall start after 1.25 hours from the scheduled starting time unless otherwise agreed upon (see #4 above). An inning that has been started must be finished unless the game is called by the coaches due to poor conditions.

4.2. One half of an inning consists of three outs or five runs, whichever occurs first.

4.1. There will be on “unlimited” last inning.

4.2. One minute between innings will be strictly enforced. A pitcher will be allowed no more than five warm-up pitches per inning.

5. Fielding

5.1. The defense is allowed a maximum of 10 players on the field. Four of the ten must be outfielders. The outfielders must play behind the base lines.

5.2. A team must start and field at least eight players.

5.2.1. There is a ten minute grace period from the scheduled start time of the game to get eight players.

5.2.2. If a player arrives late and the team has less than ten players, the player must play defense.

5.2.3. Regular season games will not be forfeited.

5.2.4. Borrowing of players is permitted if a team cannot meet the eight player minimum.

5.3. If a ball hits a coach or runner after the ball has passed a fielder, play continues.

5.4. Play is ended when the pitcher has the ball within an eight foot diameter around the mound.

5.4.1. Runners may continue to advance if they are more than halfway between bases.

5.4.2. All runners who are not more than halfway to the next base must return to the previous base if unoccupied.

5.4.3. Play will continue if the pitcher attempts to throw out a runner, unless time is called by an umpire.

5.4.4.

6. Substitutions

6.1.1. Free substitutions on defense are allowed.

6.1.2. Base running is offense, therefore no courtesy runners are allowed except for the catcher.

6.1.3. Courtesy runner is allowed/encouraged for the catcher to compliment the one minute rule.

6.1.4. If a runner is hurt and cannot continue to play, she will be excused from further participation in the game (offense and defense), and will be replaced by the last out of the inning. Upon the injured or sick player’s at bat, no out will be recorded.

7. Pitching

7.1. A batter may see a maximum of 6 pitches, excluding last pitch foul balls.

7.2. The player will pitch the first 4 pitches to the batter.

7.3. If the batter remains after 4 pitches, the coach of the batting team will pitch the remaining 2 pitches. The batter will always begin coach pitch with a minimum of one strike.

7.4. Strikes are only called on missed swings and foul balls.

7.5. Batter is out on three missed swings.

7.6. There are no called balls, therefore there are no walks.

7.7. If the batter remains after 6 pitches, the batter is called out, with the exception of a foul ball.

7.8. First base is not rewarded to a hit batter.

7.9. The play is dead on a dropped third [swinging] strike.

8. Batting

8.1. Batting Order

8.1.1. The batting order is made up of the entire roster of attending players.

8.1.2. A late player is added to the bottom of the batting order.

8.1.3. Once the batting order is established it must remain the same for the entire game.

8.2. Bunting is allowed

8.3. If a batted ball hits the coach pitching, the play is a do-over.

8.4. If the batter is hit by the batted ball in fair territory, the batter is out.

8.5. If a batted ball hits a runner other than the batter in fair territory before it reaches a fielder, the play is over, the runner is out, and the batter is awarded the base.

8.6.

9. Base Running

9.1. Stealing is not allowed. The base runner may not leave the base until the bat has made contact with the ball. If a runner leaves the base before the ball is hit the play is over, no bases are awarded to the runners, and it’s considered a pitched ball.

9.2. A base runner is allowed no more than one extra base on a throwing error per at bat.

9.3. Once the runners are set on base they may not advance on a ball thrown back to the pitcher – pertaining to infielders only.

9.4. A runner on third base may score on a fair hit ball, or a caught fly ball (not on an overthrow).

9.5. A fielder may not obstruct the runner’s path intentionally. The runner will be awarded the base on violation.

9.6. The runner may not intentionally obstruct a fielder attempting to make a play on a hit or thrown ball. The runner will be called out on violation.

10. Safety

10.1. If the batter throws the bat, a warning will be issued after the play is over. The player will be removed from the lineup on the second offense.

10.2. Sliding into a base is encouraged to avoid being hit by a thrown ball.