Baton Rouge MSBL/MABL RULES 

Revised

February 2, 2007

Rule 1 – Uniforms

All players must be properly uniformed with matching jerseys and like hats and “BASEBALL” pants.  In addition, uniform numbers are mandatory on the back of the uniform shirts and each player must have a differentiating number.  A player will be denied participation if he is not properly uniformed.

Rule 2 – Helmets

All batters and runners must wear a helmet with at least one earflap.  The MSBL/MABL strongly urges that all helmets are double ear flapped, but at a minimum, the batter’s ear that faces the pitcher must be covered by an earflap.

Catchers, while playing defense, must wear a protective helmet.

There will be NO deviations/exemptions from this rule.

Rule 3 – Code of Conduct

Managers and players shall conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. No manager or player shall commit the following:

Lay a hand upon, shove or strike, or threaten an official. Players and managers guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall remain suspended until his conduct is reviewed by the board of directors. Players and managers guilty of such conduct shall be subject to suspension for the remainder of the season or expulsion from the league for life.

Refuse to abide by an official’s decision. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall remain suspended until his conduct is reviewed by the board of directors. Players guilty of such conduct shall be subject to probation or suspension for the remainder of the season.

Be guilty of objectionable demonstrations of dissent at an official’s decision. Players and managers guilty of such conduct shall be subject to suspension from further participation in the game.

Discuss with an official or officials the decision reached by such official or officials, except for the manager or his designee who are authorized to participate in such discussions. Players guilty of such conduct shall be subject to suspension from further participation in the game.

Use unnecessarily rough tactics in the play of the game against the body or person of an opposing player. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall be subject to probation or suspension for the remainder of the season.

 

Be guilty of physical attack as an aggressor upon any player, manager, official, or spectator, before, during, or after a game. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall remain suspended until their conduct is reviewed by the board of directors. Players guilty of such conduct shall be subject to suspension for the remainder of the season or expulsion from the league for life.

Be guilty of verbal abusive attack upon any player, manager, official, or spectator, before, during, or after a game. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall remain suspended until their conduct is reviewed by the board of directors. Players guilty of such conduct shall be subject to suspension for the remainder of the season.

Consume alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs during the game or be upon the field of play at any time in an intoxicated condition. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game and shall be subject to expulsion for the remainder of the season. Alcohol is also not permitted, in open containers, in the parking lot of any fields used for league play.

Smoke on the field of play or in the dugout. Players guilty of such conduct shall be immediately suspended from further participation in the game.

Penalties

If a player is under suspension and attempts to play, the umpire will rule the player ineligible and will not allow play until player has left the field of play.  If the team and/or player fail to comply the umpire will be in touch with one of the board members immediately for further action and at that time the team will be facing forfeit and/or suspension.  Please do not make this an issue.

Any player that physically assaults an umpire WILL FACE charges and will be banned from the Baton Rouge MSBL/MABL for life.

Any player that physically assaults another player will be banned from the league for life and the victim will be encouraged by league to press charges.

 

 

 

Rule 4 – Equipment & Baseballs

Wood and all metal type bats are permitted for league play, as well as metal cleats.  For metal type bats, a maximum of minus three (-3) will be permitted.  No metal bats exceeding 36” in length and/or a 2 5/8” diameter are permitted.  Composite and metal-wood bats are permissible.  Upon protest, the penalty for using an illegal bat will be an out for the violating player.

Each team is required to enter a minimum of 3 baseballs per game.  The league will provide each team with game balls as part of your league fees.  Only the balls provided by the league are permitted, if a team runs out of game balls they may order more from Mark Allen.  Other balls may be deemed appropriate if approved by the opposing manager AND umpire.

Rule 5 – Number of Players

Teams must have eight (8) players for an official game.  The team may borrow one player from the opposing team if the manager of this team consents.  The team with eight may also borrow a player from a team other than the one that they are playing if, and only if, the opposing manager consents.  Games will be forfeited if a team can not field at least eight players within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time, or officially adjusted starting time. 

Rule 6 – Courtesy Runners

Teams are allowed to courtesy run for 2 players in a ballgame.  Those two players can be designated at the start of the game or during the course of play, once a runner reaches base.

Catchers and pitchers are no longer “automatically” eligible.  Only 2 designated players.  Please take note!

Each time a designated player reaches base, he will call time out and at that point will be replaced by the last batted out or a player not currently in the hitting line-up.  If the last batted out also is listed as needing a courtesy runner, the second to last batted out will run.  In the case that no outs have been recorded when the designated player reaches base, the last batter in the lineup will act as the last batted out.

In the event that a player becomes injured during a game, he may be courtesy ran for without penalty.  The injury must be acknowledged by the umpires and opposing manager!!! (EXAMPLE: A runner reaches base and runs in his first at bat.  In his second at bat he reaches and is declared to have a “bum” knee.  That will not be accepted as an injury.)  If you have an injured player, it’s best to declare that person at the beginning of the game.  Injury exceptions, unless approved by the opposing manager, are for on the field injuries.

If the offensive team replaces the runner with the wrong courtesy runner (a player that was not the last batted out) and the opposing team protests before the next pitch, then the original runner must run and the right to use the courtesy runner for this particular batter will be forfeited for the balance of the game.

If a designated runner inadvertently runs for himself and the opposing team protests after the first pitch, the right to use the courtesy runner for this particular batter will be forfeited for the balance of the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rule 7 – Lineup

For the sake of fairness and accuracy, team’s roster present at the game, including names and numbers and not just the starting lineups, must be exchanged by teams before the start of each game.  Proper format would be as seen below…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managers will provide opposing manager and the home plate umpire a copy of your line-up as defined above.

The Rules Committee suggests that teams come to the event with a complete prepared roster form with all of the above stated information.

Offensively

Each manager has the prerogative to bat as many players in his initial lineup.  If the manager wishes to add players to the bottom of the lineup (i.e. hitting positions 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, etc.), he may do so at any time.  Added players to the bottom of the line-up may be added as individual hitters or as A/B.  Any added player to the bottom of the lineup or pinch hitter must notify the opposing team manager of the batting order change.  If no notification is made, and proper protest is made, an automatic out will be assessed to that batter.  If a player is pinch hit for, he may not re-enter the game as a hitter, but may stay in the game defensively.  Batters may not be deleted or skipped over, regardless of their batting position or when they were added to the game.  If a team increases the size of their lineup, their line-up must remain at that increased number for the remainder of the game.

An exception exists to this aspect of the rule.  If a player is forced to leave a game due to injury or ejection, a reserve player, not previously entered into the game as a hitter, must hit in the replaced batter’s place.  If there are no reserves who can replace the individual, the spot is skipped and all hitters below that position move up. The first time this vacated spot comes up in the batting order, an out will be assessed.  After that one time, no out will be recorded for skipping the spot vacated by the displaced player.  Exception exists for injured players, there will be no out assessed for player forced out of the line-up due to injury.

A team MAY declare at the time that lineups are exchanged prior to the start of play that any batting order position will be occupied by two (2) players in each such batting position.  That is, 3A/3B, 10A/10B, etc.  The first time that position 3 gets an at bat, 3A would hit and the next time this slot hits, 3B would be up.  Then 3A hits the third time this spot in the order comes up, and so on, alternating between these two players throughout the game.  Once a team declares the use of this A/B system, it must continue using it for the remainder of the game. Hitters in the A/B position from the batting order may be pinch hit for, just as any other player.  An A/B position may be added to the bottom of the lineup at any time during the game.  Teams can not add a “B” batter to an existing lineup spot once the game begins.

In the case that a team bats a player not designated on the roster given to the home plate umpire and the opposing team, that player, upon proper protest, will be found illegal and declared out after one pitch is thrown.  The opposing team may protest this illegal player at the time of the offense.  Penalties will not be retroactive and teams may not protest the use of this illegal player once the game is completed.  If the team feels the player is not on the team’s tournament roster, then the protest will be heard.  The best way to prevent this issue is for any player entering the line-up to declare himself with the home plate umpire before stepping into the batters box for his first at bat, at which time the umpire will notify the opposing manager.

In the case that a team has mistakenly put the wrong numbers for their players on the lineup given to the home plate umpire and the opposing team, the team will correct the error(s) with no penalty.

The penalty for a team having a player bat out of turn is an out, if protested before the first pitch.

Defensively

All players may be substituted for, at any time, except the pitcher.  Defensive players need not be in your batting order.  In regards to substituting for the pitcher, only the starting pitcher is allowed to re-enter the game.  He can only re-enter once and it must be at the beginning of an inning.

Rule 8 – Age Requirement

Players must be 18 years of age or 35 years of age by the first game of their respective divisions to participate.  There is no upward age limit for the MABL Division; therefore anyone over the age of 18 can be a part of the MABL event.

Rule 9 – Length of Games, Ties , Run Rule, Rain-outs, etc.

All league games are 9 innings.  5 innings constitutes a complete game in the event of rain.  In the event a team is playing a double-header (first, second, or both games), that team has the right to declare the game shortened to 7 innings prior to the first pitch of the game.  If they do not declare to the opposing manager and umpires that they desire to play a 7 inning game before the first pitch, they must play 9 or full time is time limits exists.

Prior to popular belief, we do not have a “time limit” for our games.  HOWEVER, if you are playing a game in which there is a game scheduled behind you, you can not start an inning within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time of the next game.  Therefore, 15 minutes prior to the start time of the next game, the game will complete the current inning and the game will be called by the home plate umpire.  There is no reverting back to the last inning or starting a new inning if the score is tied and you have played into the 15 minute time period before the next game.  If, during the home teams at bat, time expires with the home team leading, the game will stop at the point.  Once the 3rd out is recorded in the bottom of an inning, the new inning immediately begins.  For example, if the third out is recorded in the bottom of the 8th inning and there are 5 minutes remaining until the 15 minute time period, the 9th inning immediately begins and may be started.

Teams cannot arbitrarily stop a game (quit) if the score is lopsided and the team that is losing decides it does not want anymore runs scored against them.  If a team “quits” before the time or 9 innings, the final score will be changed to reflect 10 additional runs times the # of un-played innings.  The game must be played a minimum of 5 innings/2 hours for this rule to be in effect.  In addition, no team can arbitrarily forfeit a game because they will “benefit” by not playing.  Any team that purposefully forfeits a game will be ineligible for the playoffs.

Games can end in a tie and standings are determined by points.  For example, your team will receive two points for every win you post, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss.  Obviously, the team with the most points will win their respective division and playoff seeding will be set based upon the same point system.

The umpire may cancel or call a game if, in their opinion; the safety of the players is compromised due to weather or darkness.

9 inning games ending in a tie may be played out if time permits.  However, teams will be responsible for added umpire fees.  See Umpire Fee section for more details.

Rain out games will be re-scheduled if at all possible.  Managers of the involved teams and the commissioners will work these situations out as it best fits the schedule of both teams and available umpires

There is a ten (10) run rule after 7 innings and (15) run rule after 5. Play can continue if desired by the losing manager and as long as play does not interfere with the next scheduled game.  The umpires or winning teams are NOT allowed to stop play, unless the losing team accepts the mercy rule or time does not permit continuing the game.  If the winning team refuses to continue, they will be ruled as the losing team in the game.  The reasoning behind this rule is to allow a mercy rule, but also to allow teams to play for their money spent.  If a game is played to 10 run rule in an hour and half, the losing team may feel as though they can come back, or at least get a full game out of their umpiring fees.  With the points seeding system in play, even a losing team can change the seeding down the road by scoring more runs in any given played throughout the season.  Use common sense, if there is a scheduled game behind you and you barely have time to start the next inning, accept the mercy rule and call it a game.

Rain outs will be at the discretion of the umpire after consulting with managers and any other league or field officials present.

 

 

Rule 9b – Forfeits

Any team that forfeits will be fined $100 for their first forfeit and kicked out of the league on their second.  The $100 fine will be due by the Friday before their next scheduled game, if they do not pay the fine on time, they will be removed from the league.  If a team gives Locke or Mark due noticed we will do our best to re-schedule a game if needed, however last minute changes will be considered a forfeit.  I believe it’s fair to the league, umpires, and us working for the league to request a 24 MINIMAL NOTICE, if you call me Saturday night.  It’s too late…if you have enough men on your roster, you should NEVER have to forfeit a game anyway…

 

 

Rule 10 – Collisions, Decoys and Slide Rule

Collision Rule

The rules committee is concerned about possible unnecessary and violent collisions that may occur with the catcher at home plate, and with infielders at all bases. The intent of this rule is to encourage base runners and defensive players to avoid such collisions whenever possible.

a. When there is a collision between a runner and a fielder who clearly is in possession of the ball, the umpire shall judge:

(1) Whether the collision by the runner was avoidable (could the runner have reached the base without colliding) or unavoidable (the runner’s path to the base was blocked) or

(2) Whether the runner actually was attempting to reach the base (plate) or attempting to dislodge the ball from the fielder.

PENALTY—If the runner, a) could have avoided the collision and reached the base, or b) attempted to dislodge the ball, the runner shall be declared out even if the fielder loses possession of the ball. The ball is dead and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the interference.  The player will be ejected from the remainder of that game, and will not face further suspension beyond that game.

(3) If the fielder blocks the path of the base runner to the base (plate), the runner may make contact or slide into, a fielder as long as the runner is making a legitimate attempt to reach the base or plate.

(4) If the collision by the runner was flagrant, the runner shall be declared out and also ejected from the contest. The ball shall be declared dead.

b. If the defensive player blocks the base (plate) or base line clearly without possession of the ball, obstruction shall be called. The runner is safe and an immediate dead ball shall be called.

(1) If the base runner collides flagrantly, the runner shall be declared safe on the obstruction, but will be ejected from the contest. The ball is dead.

Decoy Rule

Any fielder may use a decoy only if it serves a strategic purpose.  For example, if a fielder, who sees a man attempting to steal second base during a hit and run, looks upward into the sky and says that he’s got the pop-up when in fact the ball has been hit on ground is a legal decoy as it may cause the runner to retreat to first base and prevent him from advancing.

However, if a fielder fakes a tag, forcing a player to slide, when there is no strategic purpose or apparent play, the runner will be ruled safe and all runners will advance one base.

This is entirely an umpire judgment decision and not a rule that may be protested.

Force Play Slide Rule

The intent of the force-play-slide rule is to ensure the safety of the defensive player. This is a safety as well as an interference rule. Whether the defense could have completed the double play has no bearing on the applicability of this rule. This rule pertains to a force-play situation at any base, regardless of the number of outs.

a. On any force play, the runner must slide on the ground and in a direct line between the two bases.

Exception—A runner need not slide directly into a base as long as the runner slides or runs in a direction away from the fielder to avoid making contact or altering the play of the fielder.

(1) “On the ground” means either a head-first slide or a slide with one leg and buttock on the ground.

(2) “Directly into a base” means the runner’s entire body (feet, legs, trunk and arms) must stay in a straight line between the bases.

(3) If a runner goes into a base standing up and does not make contact or alter the play of the defensive player, interference shall not be called.

b. Contact with a fielder is legal and interference shall not be called if the runner:

(1) Makes a legal slide directly to the base, or

(2) Is on the ground at the time of contact and the fielder moves directly down the line between the two bases to attempt a play.

(3) Makes a legal slide and makes contact with a defensive player who is on or over, but not beyond, the base.

(4) When the base runner slides beyond the base, but does not (a) make contact with, or (b) alter the play of the defensive player, interference shall not be called.

c. Actions by a runner are illegal and interference shall be called if:

(1) The runner slides or runs out of the base line in the direction of the fielder;

(2) The runner uses a rolling, cross-body or pop-up slide and either makes contact with or alters the play of a fielder;

(3) The runner’s raised leg makes contact higher than the fielder’s knee when in a standing position;

(4) The runner goes beyond the base and either makes contact with or alters the play of the fielder;

(a) Beyond the base” means any part of the offensive player’s body makes contact with or alters the play of the fielder beyond the base.

(5) The runner slashes or kicks the fielder with either leg;

(6) The runner illegally slides toward or contacts the fielder even if the fielder makes no attempt to throw to complete a play.

PENALTY:

(1) With less than two outs, the batter-runner, as well as the interfering runner, shall be declared out and no other runner(s) shall advance.

(2) With two outs, the interfering runner shall be declared out and no other runner(s) shall advance.

(3) If the runner’s slide or collision is flagrant, the runner shall be ejected from the contest.

(4) If the bases are loaded with no outs, a double-play attempt is made, and interference is called, all other runners must return to their original bases.

 

Rule 12 – Protests and Makeups

All protests must be lodged with the Locke or Mark within a reasonable time frame after the completion of the game in question.  All protests will be decided by the Rules Committee.

Protests regarding a player’s eligibility must be made before the game or as soon as the player in question enters the game, offensively or defensively.

In the event of a rained out game or games, every effort will be made to make up the contest(s), but this is not guaranteed.

We will not be completing tie ball games this season.  There are too many hurdles to face yearly; the burden of rescheduling of tie games is not a worthy hurdle.  As outlined above, teams will have the ability to finish tie games if scheduling allows.

Rule 13 – Player and Team Participation Requirements

Determination of eligibility to participate in the Baton Rouge MSBL/MABL will be based solely on the decision of the Rules Committee.

Team rosters must be submitted to the local league by date of final payment.  Rosters can not be changed after July 4th.  Any needed roster additions after that date must be filed to the board and decided upon appropriately by a majority vote among the board members. 

All players, prior to participating in a game, must have signed waiver forms on file with the league.

To participate in a playoff and/or championship game, each player must have had one plate appearance that must be documented within the league games; otherwise the player will be deemed ineligible.

Player Pool

We have a new section on the website called Player Pools.  If you know anyone looking to get on a team please direct them to it, or if you are looking for a player please use this service.