Rules of Play for 13U House League 2024

13U House League Rules 2024 season

Imperial Measurements shall apply

 

1. The official start time for all games shall be a pre-set scheduled time. No new inning shall begin after one hour & 45 minutes (1:45). Dead Ball shall be after two (2) hours of play. The umpire or his designate shall be the official timekeeper.

 

2. Standard Rules of Baseball shall apply unless otherwise stated. Base lines shall be seventy-five (75) feet in length and the pitching rubber shall be fifty (50) feet from Home Plate.

 

3. A team with fewer than seven (7) players after a fifteen (15) minute Grace Period from the scheduled start time shall forfeit that game. If neither team is able to field the minimum number of players, both teams shall forfeit the game. When one of both teams forfeit the game, the remaining players should form two teams and play an exhibition game.  The assigned umpires will remain and umpire this exhibition game.

 

4. All games shall be six (6) innings long, and the maximum number of runs scored in any one half inning shall be five (5). The 4th, 5th and 6th inning is an Open Inning and as many runs as is possible may be scored. Three and one half (3 1/2) innings with the home team leading, shall constitute a game in the event of Dead Ball time or adverse weather conditions. In the event of a curfew or suspended game, the final score will revert back to the last complete inning. When curfew is called, the current batter shall be allowed to complete his at bat. Mercy Rule: Should a team be leading by ten (10) runs after four (4) innings, they shall be awarded the win.

 

5. Batters are allowed to use wood or non wood bats, that are appropriate size for this division but only non-wood bats with a length to weight differential of -10 or less are permitted. Player’s shoes with metal cleats are not allowed. Players shall not wear any visible jewelry except medic alerts. A pitcher who wears a medic alert bracelet should wear it on his/her non pitching wrist. The legal diameter of any bat is 2 ¾ inches

 

6. All players shall wear the same NBA uniform, that is, gray pants, sponsor coloured shirt and matching hat. All batters and runners shall wear a helmet with a fastened chinstrap.  Helmets with ear flaps are permitted. Catchers shall wear full protective equipment behind the plate. Coaches and players are required to wear a mask while warming up a pitcher anywhere in the ball park including behind the dugout or in the bullpen. First Offense: Team will receive a warning. Second Offense: The offending person WILL BE EJECTED.  All players are allowed to wear sunglasses

 

7. Players may be called up from a lower house league team but not from another team in the same division. These players shall not have priority playing time over regular team players or be allowed to pitch.

 

8. No player shall play the same position more than twice in a game with the exception of pitchers and catchers who will be allowed to play their position 3 times in a game.  Each player shall play the Outfield at least once in the first four innings of a game. No player shall sit twice until all players have sat once.

 Exception:  If a pitcher or catcher plays in 3 consecutive innings, then they must sit off in the next inning.

 

 

9. Players shall bat in their proper rotation and the batting order cannot change after the game commences. Players who arrive late shall be added to the bottom of the batting order. For play-off games, once a player misses batting for the 2nd time, he/she will not be permitted to bat in that game. Coaches are required to make every effort to change the batting order for all regular season games to ensure that all players have the chance to bat at the top and bottom of the order as evenly as possible. (Not applicable to playoff games)

10. Pitchers may be changed at any time during the course of the game or inning; however, once a pitcher is removed from the mound he may not pitch again in that game. New pitchers are permitted five (5) warm-up pitches; returning pitchers are permitted three (3) warm-up throws. Balks are to be called after one (1) warning per team.

 

11. Pitchers may pitch for a maximum of three full or partial consecutive innings.  Catchers may catch for a maximum of nine (9) outs.  No player may catch and pitch more than twelve (12) outs.

Pitchers are allowed to wear Compression Sleeves on pitching arms, but they cannot be white, gray or distracting in nature. Must be one solid color.  Determined by Umpire.

 

 

12. Teams will be permitted two (2) visits to the mound per inning to confer with their pitcher. The third (3rd) such visit shall result in the pitcher being removed from the mound. A mound visit shall occur when any team member crosses the foul line, has communication with the pitcher or causes play to be delayed.

 

13. Pre-game infield warm ups are not permitted.

 

14. Lead offs and stealing are allowed. Lead offs shall be a maximum of 6 feet and are permitted only once the pitcher has engaged the pitching rubber. The base runner must return to the bag after each pitch. Stealing is only allowed once a pitched ball has crossed the plate. Each team will be granted one warning for leaving too early. On the second team offense the runner will be called out.

 

15. With two (2) outs and the catcher on base, he shall be replaced by the last player called out.

 

16. There is no “A Runner Must Slide” rule. Runners are therefore instructed to slide to avoid contact. If contact does occur, only the umpire shall have authority to interpret and enforce the Malicious Contact Rule.

 

17. If there is an injured player, the following shall apply:

a) If a player becomes injured during the game, a coach must state this prior to the start of that team’s offensive inning.

b) If the injury occurs during the at bat, then the next batter will take over with the same count.

c) If the injured player is unable to bat at all, then the offensive team will skip over that player without an out being registered and the batting order would continue from that point.

d) An injured player would then be out of the rest of the game and would not be allowed to play.

 

18.  Playoff standings and positions will be determined by the Goalline Computer Program but subject to change by VP of Senior House League or UIC.

 

19.  All playoff games will follow Rule #1 and 4 for game times and length. Only Championship Finals will be 6 complete Innings with the Mercy Rule still in effect.

 

20.  ELECTRONIC DEVICES: The use and possession of electronic devices on the playing field is now prohibited by all participants.  This includes players, coaches, managers and umpires. Umpires will ask players, coaches or managers to immediately remove electronic devices from the playing field. Failure to do so will result in ejection. Electronic devices include Mobile Phones, PDA, Pagers, Tablets, Laptops, Smart Watches and Fitbits.  Only Dedicated watches or stopwatches and electronic pitch counters are permitted. It is a safety issue that all participants on the field of play are focused during a game.

 

21.  Bench Restriction Rule: In 2016, Baseball Ontario has introduced a new tool for umpires to assist with game management, The Bench Restriction.  This allows the umpire to restrict a coach or manager to their bench for the remainder of the game when they commit a minor violation. The coach or manager is allowed to remain in the game but is not allowed to enter the field of play except to assist with an injured player  The coach/manager is not allowed  to argue, yell or speak to the umpire, if they do they will be ejected from the game. The umpire has the sole discretion of whether  a violation is minor or major and whether to use the Bench Restriction Rule.