2015 Chicagoland Sunday Baseball Rules (updated March 30th, 2015)
1. INSURANCE
COVERAGE
Teams must provide proof of league insurance
coverage with their registration.
2 LENGTH
OF GAMES
Pinto (8 yr olds)
6 innings
Mustang
(9 &10) 6 innings
Bronco
(11 &12) 7 innings
Pony
(13 & 14) 7
innings
3. SLAUGHTER
RULE
Although there is no limit to the number of runs a
team can score in an inning, if at the end of the below mentioned inning a team
is twelve (12) runs ahead, the game is complete. Note: since teams are
travelling to play games, the slaughter rule for the season is a little higher
(12 runs and not 10 runs) with the intention of giving teams that are
travelling a chance to play some more baseball.
Pinto
/ Mustang After 4 innings (3 ½
if the home team is ahead)
Bronco After 5 innings (4 ½ if the home
team is ahead)
Pony After
5 innings (4 ½ if the home team is ahead)
4. DIMENSIONS
Pitching
mound Bases
Pinto ( 8 yr olds) 40’ 60’
Mustang (9 & 10 yr olds) 44’ 60’
Bronco (11yr & 12 yr olds) 48’ 70’
Pony (13 year olds)
54’ 80’
Pony (14 year olds)
54’ / 60’ 80’ / 90’
Pony (14 year olds) - If a home
team has a field that is able to be configured using bigger dimensions, it is
at the option of the HOME team to play with a 60 foot pitcher’s mound and 90
foot bases. CLSB was created with the goal of preparing our players for making
a high school team. If a team’s home field is only configured for 54’ mound /
80’ bases, the game should be played using the home team’s smaller dimensions.
5. EQUIPMENT
All on deck batters must wear protective helmets.
Only rubber spikes and gym shoes are allowed for
Pinto, Mustang and Bronco
Steel spikes are allowed for Pony levels.
BPF - "Bat
Performance Factor". A measure of a non-wood bat's performance
relative to wood bats. A BPF of 1.15 means that bat will perform at a rate of
115% to a similar-sized wood bat
8’s / 9’s and 10’s
Boys
·
No
bats shall be more than two and five- eighths in diameter at the barrel.
·
Non-wood
bats which are manufactured to achieve a Bat Performance Factor (BPF) of 1.15
or less through the life of the bat are approved for play in Chicagoland Sunday
Baseball. A BPF stamp of 1.15 or less
should be on the bat. This is the same rules as PONY, Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken and
Little League Baseball.
11’s and 12’s Boys
·
Same
rules as 8’s/ 9’s and 10s.
·
If
a game is played on a Little League field (60 foot bases), then only bats with
a 2 1/4 barrel dimension can be used.
13 year old level
·
Same
rules as 8’s / 9’s and 10’s above, except a drop cannot be greater than a (-10)
length to weight drop differential.
14 year old boys
·
Only
(-3) bats may be used and the bat must be BBCOR certified. The bat which may be
a wood or non-wood product shall be not more than two and five-eights (2-5/8”)
in diameter at the barrel and is to be stamped with a BPF .50. These are the
rules for high school.
If a player
is found to have an ‘illegal’ bat, the following rule applies:
·
If
the bat is identified prior to the player putting the ball in play, the manager
of the ‘guilty’ player must remove the bat from the playing field. No penalty given
to the player and the player continues his at bat.
·
If
the bat is identified after the ball is in play, then the bat is to be shown to
the umpire. If the bat is ‘illegal’ then the player is called out and all
runners return to the bases that they previously occupied. The manager of the
‘guilty’ player must remove the bat from the playing field.
The spirit of the -3 bat restriction rule for the 14
year olds is not to create controversy during a contest. It is in place to
prepare the players for high school. Chicagoland Sunday Baseball expects all
managers to adhere to the rule, but in the event of an infraction, both teams are
to respectfully honor the rule.
Absolutely no players with soft or hard casts are
allowed to play.
6. PITCHING
Per
Game
8 year olds 2 innings
9
year olds 2 innings
10
year olds 2 innings
11
year olds 3 innings
12
year olds 3 innings
13
year olds 3 innings
14
year olds 3 innings
One pitch constitutes an inning.
Balks: Pony
& Bronco only. The umpire shall give
each pitcher one warning before the balk rule will be enforced. (No balks in Pinto
or Mustang Division)
If a pitcher hits three batters in a game he must be
removed.
A pitching change must occur on a manager or coach’s
second trip to the mound, except in the case of an injury.
7. SUBSTITUTIONS
In any Chicagoland Sunday Baseball game, a player
removed from the game may return, unless the player is removed from the
pitching position. That player may not
return to the pitching position. The
batting order may not change and roster batting is in effect. All players must play a minimum of three
innings in the field.
8. MISCELLANEOUS
RULES
Stealing, lead-offs and batting order:
Stealing Lead-offs Batting Order
Pinto Not allowed Not allowed Continuous
Mustang Allowed* Not allowed Continuous
Bronco Allowed Allowed Continuous
Pony
Allowed Allowed Continuous
·
Mustang
players cannot leave a base they occupy until the pitched ball has passed home
plate. Once a pitcher has stepped on the
rubber, runners who leave bases before the pitched ball passes home plate shall
be called out and the pitch shall be considered a dead ball.
Delayed steals are allowed at the Mustang level.
Infield fly rule shall be in effect in the Bronco
& Pony Division only.
Dropped third strike applies in the Bronco &
Pony Division only.
Kill play – 10, 9 and 8 year old levels – play is
considered stopped and runners should not advance when the pitcher or any other
player has possession of the ball on the pitching mound. If a runner is more than half way to the next
base when the ball gets on the mound, the runner gets to occupy the next base.
If the player in possession of the ball on the pitching mound puts the ball
back in play, the play is ‘ live ‘ again and both the defensive team and
offensive team will proceed at their own risk. IN ORDER TO STOP THE PLAY, ALL
THE DEFENSIVE TEAM NEEDS TO DO IS TO
KEEP THE BALL ON THE MOUND. The mound is considered the part of the
field that is within a 3 foot radius of the pitching rubber. The judgment of
the umpire is final.
Courtesy runners are
allowed for catchers if there are 2 outs. The runner must be the player
who made the last out. If a catcher has a substitute runner, the player
(catcher) who had a substitute runner
must catch one full inning immediately following the substitute runner.
The only exception to this rule is if there is a pitching change or an injury.
This rule is in place to speed up the game and is not intended to provide the
batting team an opportunity to use faster players for slower players.
9. GROUND
RULES
A discussion of the ground rules between the
managers and umpires should take place before each game.
All players on the batting team, except the on deck
batter must remain in the dugout except for retrieving bats or warming up
pitchers.
Bats, helmets, and equipment must be kept in the
dugout during games.
Contact with equipment on the field of play shall be
considered a dead ball and runners may advance one base (same rule as if ball
were to go out of play)
No Smoking on the field.
No alcoholic beverages in the baseball park area.
10.
FORFEITURE
The umpire may declare a forfeiture under the
following conditions:
A team fails to field nine rostered players within
ten minutes of the games starting time.
Failure to complete a game not officially called by
an umpire.
Failure to comply with an umpire’s directive to
remove a fan, coach, manager or player previously ejected from the area. The term area shall be defined as the
umpire’s field of vision from his position on the field. Each manager is responsible for the action of
his players, coaches, and fans.
Should a player, coach, fan or manager direct
remarks to other than their own team the following procedure will be used:
A warning will be given to the manager. The umpire will designate the disruptive
person(s). The manager should then
attempt to correct the problem.
If the person designated by the umpire fails to
comply with the warning, the umpire shall inform the manager that the offending
person has 5 minutes to leave the area or the game shall be forfeited.
11. FIELD
SAFETY
Play shall be immediately halted in the event any
player is injured. The umpire shall have
the final say on where the base runners are positioned.
A runner is automatically out, if he intentionally
or un-intentionally, runs into or interferes with a fielder who is attempting
to play a hit or thrown ball.
A runner who fails to slide or fails to attempt to
avoid a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to make a tag is out.
A fielder may not block the path of a runner
attempting to reach a base unless the fielder has possession of the ball or is
in the process of fielding the ball.
12. UMPIRE
CONTROL
Umpires are in complete control of all games from
the game’s scheduled start time. The
following is a guide to the control an umpire may exert in officiating a game:
The umpire will offer a warning to players, coaches
or managers for but not limited to:
Throwing of equipment
Improper or unsportsmanlike conduct
Harassment of an umpire
An Umpire will eject players, coaches or managers
for but not limited to:
·
A
second infraction of a previously warned issue
·
Profanity
·
Destruction
of property or equipment
·
Any
act of physical violence
13. Game
Time Restrictions
Each game will be assessed a 2 hour and 15 minute
time limit. This means that no inning can start later than 2 hours and 15
minutes from the start time of the game. Some towns may have a local time rule at their
fields that makes the time slot available shorter time for the game. If that is
the case then the local time rule needs to be honored so that the host town can
maximize the use of their fields.
14. Rain
delay games
Games that are not able to be completed due to rain
shall be considered complete games after the below designated inning. Incomplete games will be continued from the
point of stoppage at a later date
Pinto After
4 innings (3 ½ if the home team is ahead)
Mustang After 4 innings (3
½ if the home team is ahead)
Bronco After 5 innings (4 ½ if
the home team is ahead)
Pony After 5 innings (4 ½ if the home
team is ahead)
A decision to continue the game at a later date is
the decision of the two managers involved in the game. CLSB recommends that
both managers takes into consideration the current score and distance travelled
when making a decision to continue a rain shortened game at a later date.
15. Player Safety
Each manager
is responsible for their players’ safety. If the field conditions are poor and
provide a risk to the players, the managers need to put safety first and reschedule
the game. Some towns have lights on their fields. If either the visiting team feels that the
quality of the lights are not safe, you are
to cancel the game and then should contact Chicagoland Sunday Baseball
to notify the league of the field with the light issue.
16. Discipline issues
In the event of there being an issue with the
behavior of a player, coach or fan, the following process should be followed:
·
Chicagoland
Sunday Baseball will open an investigation on the incident and complete the
investigation within 7 days of the event being reported to the league.
·
The
president of both towns involved will be notified of the incident.
·
Chicagoland
Sunday Baseball will interview both managers, the umpire and any other eye
witnesses that were present when the event occurred.
·
After
CLSB completes their investigation, an e-mail will be sent to both managers
whose teams were involved in the incident and the presidents of both leagues.
The e-mail will document the disciplinary action, if any, being issued by the
league.
·
In
the event of suspensions or removal of a player, coach or parent from the
league, CLSB will expect the cooperation of the house league that is
responsible for the team.
·
In
the event a team does not follow the CLSB ruling and suspensions, CLSB will
remove the team violating the CLSB ruling from the league and reschedule the
rest of the season for the opponents of the team being removed.
