FALL BASEBALL RULES SUPPLEMENT

 

All Pony Baseball Tournament Rules, Official Baseball Rules, and OHYSA Baseball/Softball Blue Book Regulations will be observed with the following exceptions which will either override or add to those rules. This supplement is for league play at Oak Hill only.

PLAYING RULES

1) Regulation games will be determined in each league as follows:

b) PINTO LEAGUE: Maximum six (6) innings, but no regulation inning (one thru six) may be started after one (1) hour.

c) MUSTANG LEAGUE: Maximum six (6) innings, but no regulation inning (one thru six) may be started after one and a half (1/2) hours.

d) BRONCO LEAGUE: Maximum seven (7) innings, but no regulation inning (one thru seven) may be started after one (1) hour and forty-five (45) minutes.

e) PONY LEAGUE: Maximum seven (7) innings, but no regulation inning (one thru seven) may be started after two (2) hours.

2) If the time limit expires during the middle of an inning, then that inning will be completed, the game will be stopped, and the umpire will declare a complete game.

3) If the score is tied after the maximum regulation innings have been played, however, the time limit has not yet expired, then additional innings may be played until a winner is declared or the time limit expires.

4) All complete games ending in a A tie@ will remain a A tie.

5) For Baseball, no team can score more than five (5) runs in a regulation inning in the Shetland and Pinto Leagues and no more than three (3) runs in a regulation inning in the Mustang, Bronco, and Pony Leagues.

6) There will be no open innings or 10 run rule during league play.

7) There will be unlimited and free substitution of players entering the game.

8) All players are in the batting line-up, even though they may not have entered the game defensively; players arriving late for a game may be inserted at the end of the batting order.

9) A team may start a game with fewer than ten (10) players in the Shetland and Pinto Leagues and fewer than nine (9) players in the Mustang, Bronco, and Pony Leagues; however, each vacant batting order position in a line-up of less than the above numbers will be an automatic out when that vacant batting position comes to bat. A substitute player may be obtained if the starting line-up falls below the above numbers, subject to the following exceptions:

a) The player must be registered in the appropriate league for the current Oak Hill Fall Baseball Season.

b) The substitute player shall not pitch.

c) The substitute player must play in the outfield.

d) The substitute player must bat at the end of the batting order.

10) The maximum number of coaches for each team will be five (5) in the Shetland and Pinto Leagues and four (4) in the Mustang, Bronco, and Pony Leagues. Shetland League teams may have up to four (4) coaches positioned in the outfield during their teams defensive half of an inning.

11) There will be no protest committee and the Umpires final decision will stand.

12) After one (1) warning by the Home Plate Umpire, Team Managers, assistant coaches, players, and/or spectators can be ejected from the ball park for continued unsportsmanlike behavior.

13) The Mustang Baseball League will adopt Playing Rule F.(1) of the Pony Baseball Mustang League Rules & Regulations: Runners may lead-off and steal bases, as in Official Baseball Rules.@

14) There will be a mandatory slide rule at Home Plate when the player covering Home Plate has the ball in his/her possession. The Umpire shall make the call as to whether the runner is safe or out (regardless of whether an attempt to slide was made by the runner); however, failure of the runner to attempt a slide may result in an ejection of that player from the remainder of the game.

15) Suicide squeeze plays and outright stealing of home without a pause or break before the ball crosses home plate, shall be illegal. The runner shall be called out and the Team Manager ejected. A safety squeeze or delayed steal is a legal play.

17) The End of Season Tournament will be limited to the same time restrictions as the fall regular season games with the exception of ties, which will be played until a winner is determined.

BASEBALL PITCHING RULES (MUSTANG, BRONCO, AND PONY LEAGUES ONLY)

1) A minimum of four (4) pitchers must be used in each regulation game.

2) The maximum number of innings an individual pitcher can pitch in a regulation game is three (3).

3) Each pitcher can only appear in one (1) inning for the first four (4) innings of a regulation game (i.e., Pitcher #1 in the first inning, Pitcher #2 in the second inning, Pitcher #3 in the third inning, and Pitcher #4 in the fourth inning).

4) If a pitcher throws one (1) pitch during a regulation inning, then that pitcher is considered to have pitched the complete inning (i.e., If Pitcher #2 relieves Pitcher #1 in the first inning, then both pitchers will have pitched in the first inning, and Pitcher #3 must start in the second inning, Pitcher #4 must start in the third inning, and Pitcher #5 must start in the fourth inning).

5) After the fourth inning has been completed, any pitcher may pitch in any of the remaining innings.

6) Balks will be called, but will not advance runners in the Mustang League. Balks will advance runners in the Bronco and Pony Leagues. The Umpire should point out to the pitcher and coach why the balk was called.