Rule Book

NOTES
For the 2023 season the third to first pick off play is not a balk at Westurban.
Teams can play with 8 and take no outs, 7 and take 1 out, 6 is a forfeit but lets play a game.
All teams 6-14 must use Game Changer or Team Manager.
Intentional walk - you must throw 4 pitches.

WESTURBAN BASEBALL
RULE BOOK

PURPOSE

These rules are formulated in accordance with the purpose of Westurban Baseball, which is to develop character and usefulness and to improve the sportsmanship and physical condition of the youth of our community, endeavoring to teach team play and team spirit, companionship and association, through competitive sports.
Managers, Coaches, & Players – Any manager, coach or player violating the Code of Conduct is subject to immediate ejection from the game by the umpire in charge and subsequent suspension or disciplinary action from the Board of Directors.
Parents & Fans – The umpire will notify the manager of the offending team if a parent or fan is violating the Code of Conduct, and said manager must inform the offending parent or fan that they are in violation of the league’s rules and may be ejected. In the event of a second violation during the same game, the offending party may be subject to ejection. In the event that the offending individual(s) refuse to comply, the manager of the offend

PARTICIPANTS

All youths between the ages of four (4) and eighteen (18) may participate.
The players’ age, on April 30th of each year, shall determine the age division he/she is eligible to participate in.
A participant may play in a division for older ages.
A participant’s age must be validated by a state or government birth certificate by the Director prior to their participation in the league.
All participants must have written permission of their parents or guardian prior to participation in any league activity.
Participants in age divisions fourteen (14) years old and under, must play in at least fifty (50) percent of all Westurban League games to be eligible for postseason play

TERMS

Only participants appearing on the official team roster on file with the Treasurer and who have paid the required registration and fundraising fees as verified by the Treasurer will be eligible to play in any regular league game.
No participant may be assigned to more than one Westurban team.
A manager or coach may not drop players that played the previous year until that team reaches recruited league age –13 year olds. At 13 year old teams can be fully recruited
A participant can not change teams once a signed roster has been submitted and accepted by the league. All roster movement will be aapproved by the board.
No participant may be added to a team roster after June 15th, unless approved by the Board of Directors.
No participant shall receive a refund of any fees if said participant has played in any league game. No refunds will be given after the league year starts. All rosters will be final after June 15th.
All players on a Westurban team league’s roster who meet eligibility requirements must be invited to play in a statetournament for which the team qualifies
The penalty for violation of any of the rules of this section will be forfeiture of the affected game(s) and suspension of coaches

ROSTERS / PLAYERS

New Teams - New teams must apply for admittance to Westurban baseball. Factors that will be used in determining acceptance: The number of former Westurban players, number of new players, teams experience, the teams’ baseball objective and the reason for the new team. Returning Teams– age groups 5-12 may add at their discretion, up to three recruits .Remaining roster spots will be filled by impartial assignments or the draft procedure. The philosophy behind these rules is the Board of Directors will make a valid attempt to keep players together and provide teams for current Westurban participants whenever possible. The Board of Directors will make every effort to prevent teams thus created to have an unfair advantage over existing teams within the 5-12year old age groups.

Players will be assigned to teams by either recruitment, impartial placement by the Westurban, or remaining on a team from last playing season.
A recruited player will be defined as any player who was not on a team roster in the previous playing season, unless impartially assigned by the Westurban or placed on a team through Westurban.
Ages Tball through 8 must carry a minimum of 12 paid players with a maximum of 15. Ages 9-14 may carry a minimum 11 but must pay for 12. . Any abuse of this rule, such as signing a phantom player(s) for the purpose of meeting the minimum number of eleven(11) or twelve (12), will result in the head coach being suspended for the remainder of the season and he/she will have to ask to be reinstated. The team will be allowed to continue to participate in league and will have to take outs for the phantom player spots until those spots are filled by actual players. The team will not be eligible for post season certifications from Westurban, their insurance coverage will be limited to Westurban league games and they are not eligible for league awards.

GENERAL RULES FOR ALL DIVISIONS

Interpretation of playing rules will be determined from Official Baseball Playing Rules, except where in conflict with the following rules.
Warm up is limited to on your field and the batting cages and soft toss stations- Helmets must be worn in the cages/stations and players must be supervised by the coach- the use of bat boys/girls will not be allowed.
Infield practice will be limited to five (5) minutes per team. No infield practice after 530 p.m. games. On field warm up is allowed prior to game start, behind the baselines or in front of the dugout. Violation of this rule is a one (1) game suspension for head coach.
Teams are allowed no more than four (4) coaches for age divisions T-Ball through age seven (7). For age divisions eight (8) and up, no more than three (3) coaches are allowed.
All games will start promptly at the designated time. Any team must have eight (8) players and at least one (1) adult present to start any game. If a team is unable to start the game within five (5) minutes of the designated time, that team shall forfeit such game.
In the event a game starts with eight (8) players on a team, a ninth (9th) entry (vacant) must be made in the batting order prior to the start of the game.
The vacant position is an automatic out when that turn is due at bat. Vacant position may be anywhere in the lineup. At the arrival of a ninth (9th) player, that player must enter the vacant position.
If a team at any time is unable to field eight (8) defensive players for any reason, that team must forfeit.
Any decision as to the playing conditions due to bad weather or other unsafe factors will be the responsibility of the Commissioner or Director on Duty. If the teams are pulled from the field for weather, the game shall be considered suspended unless the requirements for a complete game have been met according to pro rule, Westurban’ run rule, or General Rules,. Any team unable to resume the game, at the discretion and appointed time of the League Director, shall forfeit the game.
Any game which is suspended due to unsafe or un-playable conditions, or other similar reasons and which would result in either incomplete or tied game, will be completed at a later date as scheduled by the Division Director. At the later date, play will resume for such game at the exact point where play was suspended in the original game. In a suspended or continued game because of a rain-out, a player\not there at the regular league game, but comes to the rain-out game — is eligible to play, according to regular lineup rules. If a player was present at the league game and not present at the rainout game — his place in the batting roster will not be called an out when his place comes up in the batting order.
In the event a game is stopped due to unsafe or un-playable conditions, or similar reasons, the game shall constitute a complete game if more than one-half (1/2) of the regularly scheduled innings have been completed. For example, a nine (9) inning game will be considered complete after four and one-half (4-1/2) innings if the home team is leading or five (5) innings if the visiting team is leading: seven inning games are complete after three and one-half (3-) or four (4) innings, six (6) inning and five (5) inning games are complete after two and one-half (2-1/2) or three (3) innings, respectively.
If a game is rained out or postponed for any reason, the pitching rule is not waived.
Extra innings- in the event the game is tied after the completion of allowed innings or time limit has been reached, the game will result in a tie- if time is left teams can play one more inning starting a runner on 2nd base.
No game will begin if the preceding game is not completed before 11:00 p.m. The Director on Duty shall be the sole judge of time

PROTEST

A protest must involve a matter of INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES, NOT A JUDGEMENT CALL.

Procedure of the Protest:
1. It is the responsibility of the team representative that these procedures are strictly followed.
2. Protest must be made to the umpire before play is resumed. If more than one protest is made during a game, a protest will be made each time — each handled separately.
3. The opposing coach must be notified that the game is being played under protest before play is resumed and the official score book shall be marked at that time and signed by the umpire.
4. A written protest must be filed with the General Manager, who will file it with the Board of Directors within 24 hours of the incident. A Deposit of $50.00 must accompany the protest.
5. The following information must be included:
  1. Identification of both teams involved
  2. Names of the umpires
  3. A brief description of the dispute
  4. A $50.00 cash protest fee. If the protest if upheld, the fee will be returned.
Procedure for handling protests:
1. Protest will be upheld or rejected with seven (7) days after being received by the Board of Directors.
2. The protest will be handled by a six (6) person Protest 33Committee consisting of:
  1. League Commissioner
  2. League Vice-Commissioner
  3. General Manager and Supervisor of Officials
  4. Division Director
    1. If the Division Director is involved, the Board will appoint another Division Director to take his place.
  5. Two members of the Board of Directors
3. Coaches and umpires involved in said game shall also be present, if necessary.
4. In the event the protest is upheld, the game will be resumed from the point of the disputed play. Players will be assigned to the same batting and playing positions by the coaches involved, according to regular lineup rules
5. All decisions made by the protest committee shall be deemed final, with no appeals made, granted, or heard.

GENERAL PLAYING RULES FOR ALL DIVISIONS

All players must appear in full uniform including baseball caps
A double-flap protective helmet must be worn while at bat and running bases. If a player enters the batter’s box without a helmet, an automatic out will be called regardless of whether a pitch is delivered or not.
Any runners who deliberately removes his helmet while there is game action, shall be called out (it shall be considered a timing play if it is the third out).
For all Age Divisions, catchers must wear a double- earflap protective helmet. with mask and throat guard-Hockey style mask is acceptable
For ages T-ball maximum Bat diameter will be 2 5/8 inches, for machine pitch maximum Bat diameter will be 2 3/4 inches
Home team shall use the third base line dugout.
Home team shall be the official scorer and Visiting Team will operate the scoreboard. Scoreboards are to be operated under adult supervision at all times. All changes in the lineup must be reported to both scorekeepers .Final score must be turned in by the Winning team.
All players, managers, coaches, and equipment must remain in the dugouts while not taking part or being used in the normal course of the game. The on-deck batter must remain in their team’s designated practice circle. Base coaches must be in the properly designated areas. Ages 7 and under will not have on deck batters.
In all age divisions, a maximum of two (2) minutes will be allowed between innings. Penalty: The Umpire shall call a ball if it is a defensive delay and a strike if it is an offensive delay. The calls shall be made at twenty (20) second intervals until play resumes.
Only two trips to the mound will be allowed any team during one inning per pitcher. On the second trip to the mound in the same inning for the same pitcher, the pitcher must be removed from that position. Crossing the foul line at any given time constitutes a trip to the mound, except for injury to a player, or a discussion with an umpire.
Each player present and eligible to play must play at least two (2)complete innings on defense in a game of four (4) innings or more or one (1) complete inning on defense in a game of three (3) innings. Failure to comply with this rule will result in an automatic forfeit.
In league play, teams who finish with identical records, will be given same place trophies

Pitching Rules

Column A – The number in this column represents the most pitches a pitcher can pitch in 1 day. Then must rest 1 day.
Column B – The number in this column represents the most pitches a pitcher can pitch in 1 day and still pitch the next day.
Column C – The number in this column represents the most pitches a pitcher can pitch in 2 consecutive days. Then must rest one day.
Column D – the most inning’s a player can pitch in one game.

Age	A	B	C	D
8	50	40	60	3
9 &10	65	50	70	6
11&12	75	55	80	6
13&14	80	65	90	6

Game Time Limit

Age tball – 60 minutes
Age 6-8 75 minutes
Age 9-12 90 minutes
Age 13-14 95 minutes
No new inning will be started after the game time has expired. Innings in progress will be completed. Last out of previous inning constitutes the start of a new inning.
Once the time limit has been reach and the mathematical run rule has been reached the game is over.

Run Rules and Limits and Game Lengths

For 5-6-7-8 year olds there are no run rules

Age	After 3	After 4	After 5
9 -12	none	10	8
13&14	15	10	8

Runs Limits per inning.

All ages - If the 5th or 6th run scores due to an over-the-fence home run, all runs scored by the home run will count.

Age	per in.
4-5	4
6-8	5
9-12	5
13 & 14	6

Game Lengths

Age	Innings
5-8	5
9-12	6
13&14	7

TEE-BALL - Ages 4 & 5

There will be an 8'line across the mound. The player playing the pitcher position must remain behind the line until the ball is hit.
The ball must go beyond the arc (15 feet arc in front of home plate) to constitute fair, otherwise it will be considered a foul ball.
All players present and eligible to play will bat in rotation and play at least 2 defensive innings
Defensive team will be allowed two (2) coaches on the field to help instruct the players. There will be no interference by the two coaches once the ball is in play.
A Tee-ball stand will be used and the coach with the player up to bat will be responsible for removing the Tee-ball stand from home plate once the ball has been hit.
Each batter will be allowed three (3) strikes. Each attempted swing that is missed will be considered a strike. Three (3) strikes are an out (coaches please use discretion and judgment on this, we want kids to hit). If the batter hits a foul ball on the 3rd strike, the batter swings again.
Runners cannot steal. Runners may not lead off any base before the ball is hit. The runner cannot advance additional bases on an overthrow.
The style of play will be base to base- After a hit, play will stop when a runner reaches the next base he or she is advancing to.
No scores and/or standings are to be kept in this division.
Game/Inning will be by 3 outs is half an inning and teams switch from fielding to batting Home team can bat in the home half of the last inning
No catcher will be used- 4 outfielders will be used
On deck batter will remain the dugout

MIGHTY MITES - Ages 6-7

Pitching machine will be 40 feet to the arm and set at 3-4-5(6) and 3-4-7(7)
All players present and eligible to play will bat in rotation.
The operation of the machine, the speed and location of the pitches, and the need during a game for any adjustments, shall be adjusted during the top and/or bottom of each inning by team at bat.
There will be a 8'line across the mound. The player playing the pitcher position must remain behind the line until the ball is hit.
A thrown ball hitting the machine is immediately dead, play stops, and any runners get the base to which they are advancing.
If a batted ball hits the machine, the ball becomes dead and the batter is awarded 1st base. Runners will advance only if they are forced to.
If the pitching machine is inoperable, the games will be coach pitch.
No walks are permitted.
A maximum of five (5) pitches will be allowed per batter. After five (5) pitches the batter will be called out unless he sooner strikes out or hits the ball into play. Home team scorekeeper will be responsible for the count of the pitches. If foul ball on 5th pitch, the batter will receive another pitch and continue until they reach base or make an out
A runner cannot steal. Runner may not lead off any base before the ball is hit. (The runner is out and the ball is in play unless there are two (2) outs.)
When the ball is thrown from the outfield, play stops when the ball is in the infield. (Infield is defined as the dirt area between the foul lines.) . All runners shall be placed according to their positions. (A CATCH is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it; providing he does not use his cap, protector, pocket or any other part of his uniform in getting possession.)
There is no advance on overthrows in the 6 year old division,
7u- Batted ball that does not leave the infield- Batter/runner can advance one base- exception – a play is made on the lead runner and overthrow occurs runner can advance one base at risk- one overthrow advance per at bat- example after over throw on lead runner a play is made on a trailing runner and ball is over thrown- no runner advance–
Batted ball that reaches the outfield – once the ball is thrown back into the infield dirt regardless of control, the runners cannot advance past the base they were running towards -no advance on overthrow Runner batter is at risk to being put out unless time has been called. Do not send your runners and then come up and say- “if the umpires send him back we are ok”- do not push the envelope on this- 7u is one small step up from station to station- do not turn it into a track meet
There is no bunting allowed in Age Divisions 6 and 7and there are no on deck batters.
The infield fly rule and the dropped third strike rules will not be enforced.
6 yr old coaches will be allowed 1 defensive coach
6 and 7 yr old will be allowed 4 outfielders
Ages 6 and 7 will not have an on deck batter

BANTAM: Age 8

Base distances are 60 feet. Pitching distance is 43 feet.
All players present and eligible to play will bat in rotation.
Runners may not lead off base until the pitch crosses home plate. (The runner is out and the ball is in play unless there are two (2) outs.)
Stealing home or scoring on a passed ball is not allowed.
No runner may advance from third to home unless he is batted home or forced by a walk on base or a hits batsman. The runner on third cannot advance on a wild pitch or passed balls.
Substitution is allowed for all positions, except the pitcher. Once a starting pitcher has been removed from that position, he may re-enter that position one time in the same game.
There is no on deck batter for 8 yr olds
Runner cannot advance except when the ball is returned after hit and no time is called.
No balk rule, infield fly rule or dropped third strike rule will be enforced.
A base runner may steal all bases except home. A Runner on third may advance only on a batted ball. If a runner attempts to advance home on anything but a batted ball he is considered a live runner and is running at the risk to be put out. Example: A runner on 2nd Base attempts to steal 3rd Base. The catchers throw to 3rd Base goes into left field. The base runner may not advance to home. However if he does not stay on 3rd Base he is a live runner and can be put out anythime he is off 3rd Base. If he does advance and cross Home Plate, he will be called out.
A designated runner will be allowed for either the pitcher or catcher, at anytime. Same designated runner may not run for both the pitcher and catcher in the same inning. If batting entire line up use the last recorded out

ROOKIES: Ages 9-10

This group shall consist of 9 and 10 year old teams divided into competitive divisions.

Base distances are 65 feet. Pitching distance is 45 feet.
All players present and eligible to play will bat in rotation.
Unlimited substitution is allowed for all positions except pitcher.
Once a starting pitcher has been removed from that position, he may re-enter that position one time in the same game.
In the Rookie Division, the balk rule will be enforced as follows. Infield fly rule and dropped third strike rules shall be enforced.
1. Upper Division– Balk Rule will be enforced-No warnings
2. Middle Division– One warning per pitcher and then the balk rule will be enforced.
3. Lower Division– The Balk Rule will be instructional.– It will be a dead ball and all runners return to their starting base and no pitch will be counted.
4. A designated runner will be allowed for either the pitcher or catcher, at anytime. Same designated runner may not run for both the pitcher and catcher in the same inning. If batting entire line up use the last recorded out.

JUNIORS: Ages 11-12

This group shall consist of 11 and 12 year old teams divided into competitive divisions.

Base distances are 70 feet. Pitching distance is 50 feet.
All players present and eligible to play will bat in rotation.
Unlimited substitution is allowed for all positions except pitcher. Once a starting pitcher has been removed from that position, he may re-enter that position one time in the same game.
A designated runner will be allowed for either the pitcher or catcher, at anytime. Said runner cannot be in the current lineup; and will be a free substitution and not entered in the scorebook. Same designated runner may not run for both the pitcher and catcher in the same inning. If batting entire line up use the last recorded out.

SENIORS: Ages 13-14

This division shall consist of the American League, thirteen (13) year olds and the National League, fourteen (14) year olds.

Base distance:
1. 13 year olds-80 feet
2. 14 year olds-90 feet
Pitching distance:
1. 13 year olds-54 feet
2. 14 year olds - 60 feet
Once a team has played in the 13-14 Age Group they may not play in a lower age in a later year.
A manager will be allowed to bat his entire line up, play 9 bat 9 or use the NBC EH rule or bat his entire line up
The use of a designated hitter is not permitted.
A designated runner will be allowed for either the pitcher or catcher, at anytime. Said runner cannot be in the current lineup; and will be a free substitution and not entered in the scorebook. Same designated runner may not run for both the pitcher and catcher in the same inning. If batting entire line up use the last recorded out
Extra Hitter (EH) —This rule is optional. A team must declare its intent to use this rule before the game starts. A team may bat ten (10) players, but may not revert to a nine (9) player lineup except for injury or illness, and only then, if no substitutes are available.
Optional: Bat entire line-up: This rule is optional. A team must declare it’s intent to use this rule before the game starts. A team may not change once game begins. If a team elects to bat the entire line-up, free defensive substitution will be allowed -with the an injury a team is not penalized with an out until the number of batters falls below nine(9). With the bat entire line-up option, players who are late will be added to the bottom of the line-up without penalty. A player does not need to play a fielding position to bat.

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